Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: Denim, Part VII

This weekend's project had to be a quick one since I had other important things to do. So I grabbed a pair of jeans I've had for a couple years now. I'd altered them once already, but now the bottom hems were getting pretty ragged. I felt it was time to give them a new life. And yes, I forgot to remove my phone from my pocket before taking photos. Oops.

Denim Cut-off Skirt - BeforeDenim Cut-off Skirt - Before

Friday, March 28, 2014

Thursday Thrift Score: Denim, Part VI

Apologies for the tardiness of this week's thrift score. We were experiencing slight technical difficulties last night, which is to say Flickr was updating their site and not cooperating with my picture posting. Better late than never!


Step 1: Take one free denim shirt, leftover from someone's garage sale, and discover sleeves are too short.

Check.

Denim Shirt

Step 2: Roll up sleeves.

Check.

Denim ShirtDenim Shirt

Step 3: Be super comfy and trendy in your "new" free top.

Check.

Denim ShirtDenim Shirt

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: Denim, Part V

Okay, so I realize there is a difference between denim and chambray, but the thing is - I don't care. For the purposes of this series, chambray is close enough to denim.

Now that we have that cleared up, check out this 'before' dress! If it looks familiar, well, it should. I've already remade another dress from the same source, and now it's this one's turn!

Denim Sundress - BeforeDenim Sundress - Before

I came across this cute little chambray sundress on The Fancy Pants Report, via Pinterest naturally. Her dress came from Target and has adorable little white polka dots all over. My version will be sadly lacking in the polka dots department, but I'm hoping it will still be adorable as well.

Chambray Sundress

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Thursday Thrift Style: Denim, Part IV

So you may have asked yourself this past Sunday, "Why didn't she just over-dye that striped denim jacket to make it darker instead of wrestling with bleach?" Well, there were a couple reasons. First, I wasn't sure if dying it would actually even out the stripes or just make them dark stripes on a medium background, which wouldn't have been an improvement in my opinion. Secondly, I didn't need a dark denim jacket because I already had this one!

Denim JacketDenim JacketDenim Jacket

I found this in my favorite thrift shop, Thrift City in Richardson, Texas for... $5 tops. I've had it a couple years now, and I love it.

Denim JacketDenim JacketDenim Jacket

I just wish I could wear it more, but I hesitate to pair a denim jacket with blue jeans. Awkward!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Renegade Seamstress LIVE!

Last fall, I had the opportunity to participate in Season 2 of Refashion Runway, hosted by the Renegade Seamstress. Beth created such a wonderful, creative, encouraging, inspiring, and challenging atmosphere where I learned so much about myself and my abilities. And now it's your turn! You can learn from one of the best!


Beth has been asked by BurdaStyle to teach a live web seminar all about the refashion process. You can read all the details from Beth herself here, and then go check out the course description and register here. It all happens Monday, March 31, so hurry while there are still seats available!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day, Denim, Part III

Today, we finally return to our denim series. The denim portion of this refashion is actually no-sew, so to make it a real Sunday Sew-Day, I've thrown in a bonus refashion for your viewing pleasure.

This was my first ever experiment in bleaching! I would've been nervous if it weren't for the fact that I paid $0 for this 1980s striped denim jacket. It came to me in a huge box of leftovers from a garage sale. It fit great but reminded me a little too much of a pair of striped denim shorts I had as a kid.

Bleached Denim Jacket - BeforeBleached Denim Jacket - Before

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Thursday Thrift Score: Blazers Revisited

Thank you all for your kind words and understanding of my absence this past week. While my grandmother's passing was not sudden or unexpected, her loss is felt no less deeply. She led a long, full life - 97 years in January. She was an amazing woman - a surrogate mother to her siblings after her own mother's death, a Rosie the Riveter during WWII, a wonderful wife, a caring mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was "Grannie" to so many more than just her own kin. She was loved by everyone who knew her and will be missed greatly.

I suppose it was somewhat serendipitous that, just days before I would find myself in need of more somber garments, I stumbled upon this classic black blazer at Goodwill. I'd been looking for a wardrobe staple such as this for a while now and found $6 to be a perfectly reasonable price.

Black BlazerBlack Blazer

It's a pretty decent brand - NY&Co - but it's also machine washable, so bonus!

Black BlazerBlack BlazerBlack Blazer

I love the satin-y lapels against the matte finish of the rest of the fabric. And of course, I love that it fits me perfectly!

Black BlazerBlack Blazer

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Be Right Back...

Due to a death in the family, I will be out of town for a few days. I will be back next week with all new thrift scores and refashions.

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Sunday Sew-Day: Dog Tested, Mother Approved

The next part in our denim series must, sadly, be postponed. The bleaching is taking longing than expected. In the meantime though, I do have another sewing project to tide you over. Last weekend was Laika's 5 month birthday. She's getting better at only chewing on things she's given expressly for that purpose, so I decided to make her the crate pad I've been planning for a while.

A little back story: When we got Laika, she inherited an old blanket the Dude had since he was a kid. It was already stained and coming unraveled in a couple places, but even more so now after puppy teeth and claws have had a go at it. She also had an old cushion from a couch in her crate, but, in a fit of puppy rage at not being played with as much as she thought she deserved, she broke the zipper and started shredding the foam. So it was taken away, and she was left with only the hand-me-down blanket which had seen better days.

A couple months back, I found some lime green fleece in the remnant bin at Joann's for $7.50. Green is Laika's color - her collar, her leash, the placemat under her food and water bowls. It wasn't really intentional. I just seemed drawn to the green every time we needed a new accessory. So I picked up this remnant with the intention of making her a new crate cushion when she eventually learned the meaning of the word "no".

Fleece Dog Bed

Finally, that day has come! So I pulled the green fleece out of my craft closet, along with the leftover bits of chair cushion foam from my dining chair redux.

Fleece Dog Bed