The Upcycle that Broke my Sewing Machine

I was almost one and...  Snap!  Then a tiny dart attacked my throat.  My tee-refashion broke my machine!!!  This is likely a sign that I am supposed to be working on my novel instead of sewing sweaters, but I tend to gravitate toward things I feel most comfortable doing... and I can't wreck a refashion -- the clothes are already trashed to begin with, so how can I hurt them more?  Right?

This was an old tee that was getting a bit tight across my tummy.  So I slit the sides.  Then I took a scarf that my dear friend Susan gave me over a decade ago and inserted a BIG triangle in the slits, so it really swishes.  The rest of the scraps were sewn across the front and the back to give it a little balance. 

I had a short length of lace with blue roses on it, so I hand tacked it across the top seem that was starting to pull (especially after I added the weight of the scarf!).  The last tiny scrap was perfect to top the tiny pocket that my husband had stretched out (thinking he was being funny, grrrr)... 

I wasn't even doing a thick section when the needle snapped; just sewing a super thin scarf scrap to across the back to the super thin tee-shirt.  Sigh.  Looks like I'll have to upcycle my machine before I can upcycle my next sweater!  I did buy some new needles, though...

Back-to-Back Disney

There's been a shirt-refashion circulating around Pinterest based on a knock-off of a certain store famous for its Christmas displays in the Big Apple.  Turns out there's one in Omaha, too, but the air there is rather rarified for me, I'm afraid.

Anyway, the style was very intriguing, where they replaced the back of a long-sleeved tee with a contrasting fabric.  Hmmmm.  I have a LOT of Disney fabric left over from the hoodie refashion.  How great would it be to save an old Ralph Lauren top that's starting to lose its shape?  And just in time for Disney!

 

 

It really was as simple as snipping off the back and replacing it.  Hem and done.

 

I really liked the simple pleat in the back.  And combining a non-knit fabric with the knit top gave the shirt back some structure.  It was getting pretty saggy before the redo.

 

 

Here are the side views.  I made the replacement panel longer in the back and gave it a curved finish.  The sweater on the right is how the shirt would look if I say the Pledge of Allegiance.  Or if I see Mickey Mouse - Be still my heart!!!

Disney frame of mind!

I'm sooooo looking forward to our trip to Disney...  I looked at the calendar and realized I hardly have time to pull together the pieces I've been planning to salvage for it. 

Last year saw a hoodie refashion.  The girls outgrew an old Mickey Mouse hoodie that I couldn't bear to part with.  Of course, it didn't fit me... but it could...

First I hacked off the zipper, because talk about a tight squeeze.  Ugh.  Then off came the hood...

 

 

A couple of W-I-D-E plackets to finish the front and S-T-R-E-T-C-H the front so it fit me.  Even lining the plackets with interfacing left me with a pretty floppy front, though.

 

 



So off to my favorite button bin, where I found a pair of yellow buttons, just like the ones Mickey wears on his pants!  Thank you, Momo!

The last bit was a cloth covered hook-and-eye set, so I can pull it closed around my middle and not have to walk around with my hand in my pockets through the whole park.  After all, what if I want to hold on really, really tight on Dumbo?

Tale of the Find-It Pendulum

Christmas left late at our house and I am sooooo grateful.  This weekend I went to play with the Romance Authors of the Heartland - what a talented, kind, encouraging group of women - and when I returned this morning, my dear husband surprised me with a Christmas-free room!  Tree and trimmings have officially come down - like a reverse-Santa only better.  I was convinced that the removal of Christmas ornaments from my house would reveal the lost lace, but so far nada.

I will admit that this could be karmic, because sometimes I'm a smart alec. 

My healer friend Doni keeps losing pendulums, so for Christmas I made her a find-it pendulum...  I told her she could use it to find her other pendulums.  Yes, I'm very clever. 

It's wired with tons of goodies with representations of things people lose, like

* keys,
* faith (it's tough to see, but there's a Celtic cross inside that circular bead),
* time,
* their hearts,
* money (represented by the button)

and I ended with an angel - because Doni loves angels - and Swarovski crystals for each chakra color. 

It turns out that teasing a healer about losing things could possibly have karmic repercussions...

May have to make myself a Find-It pendulum now, to find that lost lace!!!

Birthday Sweater Crisis . . . Lace Still Lost

The lost lace has not resurfaced.  We spent four days seriously tearing the house apart, but to no avail.  So I gathered up my coupons and went shopping to find frippery to upcycle this sweater... 

I got a little excited when I was finally re-mobilized on this project and snipped off the plain buttons before I thought to take a "before" picture.  Ugh.

After scouring my popcorn tin full of vintage buttons, I couldn't find any that were sparkly enough, so I took one of the snipped buttons to the store to compare sizes.  I found these.

Turns out, when you use three-dimensional sparkly buttons to replace flat boring ones, they won't fit through the original holes ... so it was back to the button aisle. 

Next stop: fabric, lace & ribbons.  Everything was too fussy and scratchy for a gift.  Fortunately, in an unrelated aisle, I found the softest scarf in the word ... complete with sequins!!!  I've seen some prom dresses made of these ruffles.  They remind me of a little of the dress that Val bought Kaylee for the shindig on Firefly, but that's a bunny trail for another blog.

The sequins presented another issue.  I have a blouse with sequins that were heat pressed to it instead of sewn, just like this scarf, and had a bit of a problem on a super hot day when I went out to lunch with my husband.  When I got out of his car to enter the restaurant, most of the sequins on the back had adhered themselves to the leather seat back.  Yipe.  Naturally, the next person to sit in my husband's car was his boss.  What a sparkly ride that was!

Anyway, given that knowledge, I knew that I did not want to put the scarf anywhere near a leather car seat, let alone a dryer.  This led to the solution of using the scarf to create a pin that can be removed prior to washing.

You can see, the scarf completely hides the buttons (or lack thereof). If I hadn't removed them in the first place, I would have saved myself some work! 

But, because I had finally found the perfect sized buttons, I sewed them on.  This way, she can wear the sweater with or without the scarf pin.  Happy Birthday, Natalie!

P.S.  I expect the original lace to surface any day now.... Yup, any day now....

A Birthday Sweater Redo...

Now that December 29th has passed, and  two more refashioned sweaters have been safely handed over to their respective birthday girls, I can post my latest upcycles. 

First is Vicki's sweater -- more of a tunic, really. 

I started with "good bones", a top that already had a lace front yoke.  It only took one of the scarves from the craft fair, and I was able to use all of the bits.  I removed the lace embellishment from the scarf and hand tacked it to the yoke.  Then it needed little lace rosettes.  I'm not very good at making them uniform in size, so I tried to affix them to the front so they looked like graduated:

No snipping or ripping on this one, but I learned a little more on how to finish the sweater sleeves without creating a bulky mess.  I left the gathered part of the sleeves on the outside.  With the lace band across the top, I think it looks very romantic.

The two best things about repurposing these scarves is how soft they are - even the lace feels feathery instead of starchy.  Plus, I can attest to their being washable.  I have a cardi that I repurposed with an identical scarf and have washed it a dozen times (it's one of my favorites).  Best of all, Vicki is a talented, accomplished seamstress so . . . .   even though I always give my creations to my friends with a promise to fix them if they come apart, Vicki can probably fix it W-A-Y better than I can!  Happy Birthday!!!