Sunday, February 15, 2015

Sunday SewDay: Silk Tee & Firmoo Glasses Review

I felt like I needed to do something pink or red for Valentine's Day yesterday, and this hot pink silk blouse from last fall's clothes swap fit the bill perfectly. Too bad it was a size 3X and had shoulder pads out the wazoo. Not to worry! I know just what to do!

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My first step was to remove those shoulder pads.


Next, I took in the sides and sleeves. With the blouse right-side-out, I pinned and stitched my new side seams. Then I trimmed off the excess as close as possible to the seam.


Then I flipped the shirt inside-out, pressed my side seams, and sewed them again, creating a french seam to encase the raw edges.


I cuffed the sleeves up and gave them a press, then added a few stitches to keep them in place. Don't worry - I'll be covering these up in a minute.


From the excess fabric, I cut three rectangles - one about 3"x10" and two 3"x5". I pressed the sides and ends inward, and then pressed them in half.


The long piece was attached the center front of my new top, to become a faux button band. I unfolded it and sewed straight down the center.


Then I folded it in half again and top-stitched around the top, right-hand side, and bottom. This asymmetric top-stitching will add to the button band illusion.


With the other two rectangles, I top-stitched all around.


Then I attached them to my cuffed sleeves as faux cuff straps. Once I add some buttons, you won't even know the difference.


Nine buttons later, and we're all set for Valentine's date night!

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I kept it simple with my black skinny jeans and black flats.

Silk Tee - After

Silk Tee - After

Add in some gold accessories for the bling factor.

Silk Tee - After

Also new this week, are these slick tortoise frames from Firmoo. I've been ordering my glasses online for years now, so I was super excited when I was contacted by Firmoo to do a review of their product and service.

New Glasses!

Their selection is fantastic and easily sort-able if you're looking for a particular shape, material, color, etc. You can even filter based on your PD (pupilary distance, or how far apart your eyes are). My eyes are much closer together than the average person, so this was very convenient. No point browsing frames with a bridge too wide for your face! You can also upload an image of your own face to virtually "try on" frames as you browse.

New Glasses!New Glasses!

Their service was fantastic too! I received my new glasses within one week of placing my order. They came with a really cute hard case, a black velvet drawstring pouch, a cleaning cloth, and a tiny keychain screwdriver for repairs on the go. I will definitely keep Firmoo in mind in the future when my prescription changes, or even if I'm just looking to for a new style.

What's even better? If you're a new customer to Firmoo, you can get 50% off your first pair! Check 'em out!

Disclaimer: I did not receive any payment for this post. I was given this pair of glasses in exchange for my honest review of Firmoo.com. Had I not liked their product or service, I would have simply not posted anything at all.

Silk Tee - Before & After

6 comments:

  1. Once Again, Carissa, another great refashion and you make it look so easy ! You also appear to be conquering the photography world too.
    Your work has encouraged me to take the flare from the legs of a pair of pants for the gym - stitching a slanting line along the inseam up to the crotch did the trick. Thanks for all of those lessons !

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    1. Thanks, Linda! I feel like every refashion teaches me a little something more (usually through a stupid mistake). I'm having a lot of fun with the photography as well, and while I don't think I'll ever feel photogenic, I do feel a lot better about these pics than my 'after' pics of the past.
      Also you've reminded me - I have an old pair of workout-turned-pajama-pants I should un-flare as well. Thanks!

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  2. I'm geeking out over that faux button placket! I had not a clue how you had made it look so perfect until I jumped over to see the breakdown. Genius! I'll have to remember this trick...Pinning now. :o)

    JJ
    www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com

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    1. I was just going to top-stitch the entire rectangle, but then I thought, "hey, what it's not top-stitch on one side..." I figured worst case scenario, it looks stupid and I go ahead and top-stitch that side too. Hooray for experimentation!

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  3. Girl after my own heart with the silk!!! This turned out so cool...inspired to do a bit more with my thrifted silk blouses than simply reshaping :)

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    1. I would be happy wearing the simply reshaped blouses too, but it's my desire to not waste those little remnants of silk that gets me thinking about how I could reuse those to embellish my new top.

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