Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: Larkspur Skirt

Another quickie refash was all I had time for this weekend. In fact, it's a re-refash! I down-sized it from a 20 to a 10-ish a couple years ago.

Pleated Skirt Before & After

I loss a little more weight after that, and now the skirt fits even better, BUT I still found myself never wearing it. The length was just all wrong.

Larkspur Skirt - Before

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Thursday Thrift Score & No-Sew Refashion

This dress, if you want to call it that, came to me through my local Freecycle community, which is to say, it was free. Because seriously, someone paid money for this originally? I've seen the blouse-under-a-sweater-vest fake-out a thousand times. That part, I get. What I don't get is making the faux shirt tail into a full circle skirt. It's short enough that one feels compelled to constantly tug it downward, making the stretchy knit vest hug all the wrong curves (and rolls and bulges). Plus the stripey polyester was so staticky I could feel it riding up with every stride. And the final straw? It was so shoddily made, the thing lost three buttons the first time I washed it!

Sweater Vest RefashionSweater Vest Refashion

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: 90s Floral Dress

Here's another piece from the clothes swap last autumn - a stunning early 90s number in navy floral with a quaint little lace collar.

90s Floral Dress - Before90s Floral Dress - Before

Reminds me of a little girl I once knew...

Throwback

I don't recall the occasion for the portraits, but if memory serves, I believe the dress was originally purchased for Easter. All the more reason my newly-acquired dress was the perfect choice for a holiday cookout this afternoon.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Thursday Thrift Score + The Red Herring Dress

Before I jump into the next series, I thought I might knock out a few refashions I've had in mind which don't really fit into any theme. So without further ado, I give you The Red Herring Dress.

Red Herring DressRed Herring Dress

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: Denim, Part IX

As with the jeans-turned-skirt from two weeks ago, these guys had seen better days.

Denim Frill Skirt

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Thursday Thrift Score: Clothes Swap Edition

This week, I had a lovely time perusing other ladies' cast-offs at the spring clothes swap hosted by Echo Theatre. I totally lucked out too! Apparently, someone my size was unloading lots of garments, so my wearable-to-refashionable ratio ended up a lot higher than it usually is.

First, let's tally up the good-to-go pile!

Six sweaters (one Gap)
Five t-shirts
One tank top
Two button-down shirts
One dress
One pair of Gap jeans
One Fossil bag

Clothes Swap Haul

And in this corner, we have the refashionables:

Five skirts
Two dresses
One pair of slacks (which might be wearable as is, I haven't decided yet)
One blouse

Clothes Swap Haul

All for just $20 and a box of donated clothes lacking refashion potential. Now to do some laundry and get to work!

Sunday, April 06, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: Eco-Friendly

I had this week's denim refash all planned out in my head - another cute skirt for summer - but alas, the weather took a turn for the cool and rainy this weekend. I just couldn't get motivated to work on a flowy little skirt when I knew I would have to suffer through an "after" photo shoot. So instead, I grabbed another project I've have on my mind. A friend of mine has set out on a weight loss journey of her own recently. She's doing really well (50 pounds gone so far!), and gave me a big box of refashionable clothes she's undergrown. In it I found several well-loved t-shirts, like this one (front and back).

T-Shirt Shopping BagT-Shirt Shopping Bag

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Thursday Thrift Score: Denim, Part VIII

I have, admittedly, been a tad reluctant to accept the return of 80's fashion. I realize styles are usually cyclical and everything old will be new again eventually. However, my full absorption of the trend took me by surprise when I found this denim vest in a box of garage sale leftovers and thought, "Ooo cute!"

Denim VestDenim Vest

It came as an even greater shock when I immediately thought of pairing it with my bright, bordering on neon, salmon maxi skirt (courtesy of Target's clearance rack).

Denim VestDenim Vest

I decided to forgo the trifecta though and skip the side ponytail.