The Problem:
A completely "bleh" wardrobe (mostly cold-weather stuff, too) and a clothing budget of just about $0. If you saw how fast my kids are growing right now, you'd know why my clothing budget is so small. A secondary problem: I was getting into a clothing rut. Everything was starting to look the same, and none of it was very great.
The Mission:
To simultaneously revamp my wardrobe and jolt myself out of a fashion rut, all while spending next to no money.
The Shopping Rules:
1. Spend no more than 20 minutes in a thrift store.
2. No single piece of clothing can cost more than $5, preferably much less.
3. No trying-on. Yep. Just see, grab and go.
4. Take my stash home and turn it into something fabulous.
Here's my first attempt:
Yeah. This one is a wee bit too big for me. I decided I wanted a cute tunic, and this is anything but cute right now. That's nothing a little scissor treatment won't cure...
I decided I wanted my tunic to have a little shirring action going on.
First, I cut off the side seams, then I adjusted the front.
Whoa. This dress really needed a haircut. By the time it was all over, I cut about 8 inches from each side (!!!) and about 10 inches from the length on the back. The front I kept nearly the same length because I needed it for that shirring action, remember?
Then I drug the dress/tunic over to my handy-dandy sewing machine and made a running stitch on side seams of the longer front side. After a little adjusting of the gathers so that the total front length matched that of the back length, it was ready for a trip through the sewing machine.
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| Pinned and ready for action. Oh, no!! A skipped stitch! Relax. It's just the gathering stitch. Everything's gonna be okay. |
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| Zoom. Zoom. |
And that was it. I decided to leave the hemline raw because I was lazy I didn't want added hemline bulk and this is a knit, so it won't fray. Usually I am meticulous about raw edges, but this is a light, flowy knit and a bulky hem really wouldn't have been a good idea. Honest.
And here it is:
And here it is:
Now, isn't that better?
I'm a bit funny about showing my naked shoulders in public, so I grabbed a cardigan, and out I went. Here's a pic with my shoulders in hiding:
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| See? Wasn't that fun? |
So what do you think of our very first Refashion Friday? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments!
Have a great day!
Angela
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Absolutely adorbs! I am so impressed!
ReplyDeleteYou must obviously have a Vogue pattern book inside your head. :)
Snicker. Sadly, no. This was a lot easier than it looks. Truly.
ReplyDeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteThis looks so cute! If the girls ever finish their 4-H sewing projects, I may have to get inspired too! Right after I make Arlene some new drawers for her re-enacting costume.
It's so awesome that you sew. Outside of the blogosphere, I have a hard time finding other people who sew. And teaching your girls -- that is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely love it! Awesome post... you're starting to make me want to pull out and fix that sewing machine in my room... and machine sewing isn't even my thing!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll rub off on you yet....
ReplyDeleteThank you Laurie. I set up a craft room a number of weeks ago. I put a bunch of projects in it, but then they all disappeared. :( I haven't figured out what happened yet, but I would love to do that. Tip Junkie is pure awesomeness.
ReplyDeleteThis is fab, I find sewing knit fabric so difficult so I avoid it, you make it look so easy!!!
ReplyDeleteI actually find knits easier when I want to slam out an outfit fast, because it doesn't need finished seams. One thing to remember with knits is that they are stretchy. Use that to your advantage. When you are sewing a straight seam that doesn't require stretch (like a side seam), make sure you aren't stretching the fabric as it feeds into the machine. If you stretch it as you sew, it will end up being wavy and wonky. Make sure it's being fed into the machine the way you want it to lay when you're done. But if you are sewing an area that you want to have a little "give" (like the waist or a neckline that you need to slip over your head), ever so slightly stretch it as you sew (not much, or you'll have a wavy, wonky seam) and use a zigzag stitch that is set to look almost like a straight stitch rather than a regular zigzag. That slight zigzag will give your seam the ability to stretch and will prevent you from popping the stitching when you try to slip it over your head (or whatever area needs to stretch). Learning to work with knits on a thrift store refashion is a wonderful way to take the fear out of sewing knits. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? You ruin it? Great, you paid peanuts for it anyway. Chuck it in the trash and try again on another piece. Refashions are low investment and low commitment.
ReplyDelete