Christmas Quickie

Whilst digging through my craft closet for gift wrap yesterday, my eyes instead fell on this buffalo plaid skirt. It's been hanging in there for months (years?) now, but for some reason, on this particular day, the sight of it gave me the immediate urge to sew something. I had no doubt, when I came across it at a clothes swap, that its soft wool blend fabric and pre-fringed edging would make a perfect winter accessory. Now was finally the time to make that happen!

First, I used my seam ripper to salvage the button and zipper, and also to separate the lining from the plaid around the back slit.

Next, I cut off the waistband (the photo of which has mysteriously disappeared from my phone) and picked out the darts. Then I stitched closed the back seam where the zipper and slit had been.

A final re-hemming of the top edge, and my new cowl was ready for a chilly night on the town.

I've been so preoccupied with yarn lately that my sewing machine had gathered a bit of dust, unfortunately. It felt really good to be able to whip something up in about 15 minutes.

I hope you're all enjoying some rest and relaxation and/or festive family gatherings. Happy holidays, everyone! See you in the new year!

Kiss Me, I'm (at least a little bit) Irish

I wanted to make something new, and green of course, to wear for St. Patrick's Day today, but with little free time to sew during the week, I was limited in how much I could accomplish. Then I remembered this linen blend tunic from last autumn's clothes swap. It wasn't terrible, just a bit too big, and I wasn't a huge fan of the poofy sleeves. But the color, the lace accents, and the linen fabric will all be perfect for the Texas heat on the horizon.

Don't Sweat It

As an inherently lazy person, I have been loving the recent "athleisure" style. Any fashion trend that makes it socially acceptable to wear sweatshirts in public is alright by me! This thrifted grey 4XL sweatshirt, however, was simply beyond my tolerance for frump. So comfy though!

Asymmetric Stripes

My uniform of late has consisted primarily of over-sized sweaters, fleece leggings, and boots (and typically my faux shearling vest too). I'm all about comfy-cozy as it gets chillier. I found this stripey sweater in the men's section of the thrift shop a few months back and have been eagerly awaiting sweater weather to show it off in its new form.

The Refashioners 2016: Denim Chanel-Inspired Jacket

My third and final "jeanius" project for The Refashioners community challenge is another attempt to replicate a popular style using an unconventional material - specifically a Chanel-inspired boxy, cropped jacket, typically made with tweedy wool, but here made with a pair of men's black denim jeans.

The Refashioners 2016: Denim Faux Shearling Vest

My second "jeanius" refashion for The Refashioners community challenge took a bit longer than anticipated, but it's finally finished! I was pondering the unique qualities of denim and how I could use those in unexpected ways to create something new. For inspiration and - copious amounts of fabric - I was perusing the men's section at Goodwill, when I spotted these rather large, sort of camel-colored jeans. The interesting wash gave these pants an almost suede-like appearance, and thus, an idea was born! A picture began to form in my head of a faux sheepskin vest with these brown jeans as the exterior and lots of frayed white denim (denim chenille, I believe it's called) on the inside to mimic the sheep's wool. So I grabbed the brown jeans and three pairs of white jeans as well, and headed home to plot out my course of action.

The Refashioners 2016: Denim Tunic

First things first - thankyouthankyouthankyou, everyone, for all your support during the Refashion Runway All Stars competition! I couldn't have achieved that silver medal without all of you!

I sort of suspected my sewing muscles would be super sore after that 5-week rigorous refashion regimen, and they were, but surprisingly, not as much as I thought they'd be. My machine and I only needed a couple days apart before we pined for each other's company again. Of course, I had The Refashioners community challenge and Portia's "jeanius" theme to encourage a speedy recovery. After all, I am a Texan. I may hate beans and fried things, but I do love me some denim. Hopefully, I'll have time to complete a few different ideas I have floating around in my head before the September 30 deadline.

First up was another tunic. I must admit, that Refashion Runway challenge showed me the light and I am now a total tunic convert! This tunic began with a pair of jeans a friend gave me when they got too big for her. You can see where I added a couple darts for her as she began to lose weight, but soon darts were not enough and she graciously gave them to me for refashioning.

Refashion Runway 4, Week 5: Riverside

Our final challenge for this season of Refashion Runway was Riverside Blue, predicted to be one the hottest colors for fall 2016 by the Pantone Color Institute. Have a look at what I cooked up below, then head over to The Renegade Seamstress to see the other competitors' project and vote for your favorite!

Photo credit: Pantone

I actually had quite a hard time finding something in this blue hue. Everything seemed to be too royal blue or too navy or too teal, but eventually I found this 100% cotton wrap dress with just the slightest hint of purple. Just what I was looking for!

Tunic Tee

In the search for the perfect tunic materials last week, I came across this linen blend skirt from a clothes swap a year or two ago. I never really knew what I was going to do with it until now. I only snagged it at the end of the night because no one else wanted it, and come on, quality fabric and hot pink?

Refashion Runway 4, Week 4: Tunic

For the next Refashion Runway challenge - Tunic - I took inspiration from the traditional tunics of southern Asia, known as "kurtas," which are typically straight cut, loose fitting, collarless shirts that fall somewhere around knee length with slits up the sides. They can be made from a variety of materials, such as luxurious silks for formal occasions, simple cotton or linen for everyday summer wear, or sturdy wool during winter. Rummaging through my refashion closet, I pulled out this skirt and top set in a linen blend, which I brought home from a clothes swap a couple years ago because I loved the pattern and fabric.

Unfortunately, this fabric was a bit thin to be worn by itself, I thought, so I began to ponder my options for a lining. That's when the light bulb went on. REVERSIBLE! Another dive into the stash produced this cotton muumuu with convenient nursing zippers hidden under the front ruffles. This one came from Goodwill a while back for... $3?

Penny For Your Thoughts

If you've been following the other competitors in this season of Refashion Runway, you may have seen Jen, of Diary of a Mad Mama, mention that, of all the weekly challenges, she was most looking forward to the metallic theme. Well, I was most looking forward to the button theme. Little did I know it was for the Exact. Same. Reason.

Yup. I originally made myself a beautiful set of penny buttons to be sewn onto my new blue shirt dress. Then, when the metallic entries were revealed a couple days later and I saw Jen's gypsy-esque dress with the dangling penny charms all over it, my heart sank. Don't get me wrong - she did a beautiful job! It was just my bad luck the metallic theme came before the buttons. Obviously, I couldn't use pennies for the next challenge and look like a copycat, so I had to figure out a different route to take for my buttons. But if you're interested, here's how I made my original penny buttons.

Refashion Runway 4, Week 3: Buttons

On this episode of Refashion Runway, the contestants were given the theme "Buttons" to inspire our creativity! Have a gander at my project below before you hop on over to The Renegade Seamstress to see the other entries and vote for your favorite!

I picked up this giant, blue, faux wrap dress at Thrift City a couple months ago with the intention of turning it into the shirt dress of my dreams, and this button challenge played right into my hands!

Metallic Meh

For last week's Refashion Runway metallic challenge, I had originally planned an all gold outfit, pairing this oversized gold sparkly sweater with my pleated curtain skirt. It's difficult to capture the sparkles, but trust me, they're there.

Refashion Runway 4, Week 2: Metallic

The next hurdle along the Refashion Runway was metallic! Check out my entry below, then go to The Renegade Seamstress to see the other refashionistas' creations and cast your vote for your favorite!

As I browsed Pinterest for ideas, I became increasingly envious of all the pleated skirts I was seeing, so my mind was made up. I scoured the thrift shops for anything pleated I could paint metallic or anything metallic I could pleat, and eventually I found the perfect ultra-high-sheen, gold satin (well, polyester) curtains at Thrift City. There were some holes and snags, but I could certainly work around those. To accompany my gold skirt, I also pulled out a silver metallic lace skirt that's been hanging forgotten in my craft room closet following a clothes swap a couple years ago.

Velvet Fallback

I'm an overly cautious person. Always have been. So I like to have a Plan B, in case things don't work out the first time. I did this during Season Two - thrifted multiple themed and plan to continue to do so for the current season as well. In fact, for the velvet challenge, the project I submitted in the end was actually Plan C. Plan B was an utter disaster. As my husband put it, I looked like I was headed for a renaissance festival... to play the jester. Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but certainly it wasn't competition worthy, or even Internet worthy for that matter. What follows was Plan A, which turned out fine, but I didn't feel it had that "wow" factor needed for the contest. It began with this lovely smocked velvet robe.

Refashion Runway 4, Week 1: Velvet

The latest season of Refashion Runway - the All Stars edition - is finally here! And we're kicking it off with a velvet challenge! This fabric has been all over the runways lately, and it's predicted to be all over a city near you soon as well. Once you've read my submission below, be sure to click over to The Renegade Seamstress to check out the other entries and vote for your favorite!

I found this 90s crushed velvet dress at Thrift City recently and knew it'd be the perfect starting point for a makeover. It had giant shoulder pads and was a bit too snug and too long, but I loved the color and the strappy details on the upper back.

Going Tribal

When I saw its brightly colored tribal print on the racks at Thrift City, I knew this maxi dress had to come home with me. Unfortunately, the torso was a bit too tight, and I wasn't keen on the peekaboo waistline or the side slits either. And of course, as I've mentioned before, I just never wear maxi dresses. But, having fallen madly in love with my last dress refashion, I immediately knew I wanted another one like it.

Stripes and Flowers

So. Who wants to know what I did with the top portion of the floral dress used in this project from a couple weeks ago?

Yes, I thought you might. All that was left was the bust part and its ruffle, along with a little bit I had trimmed from the skirt to even out the high-low hem. So I brought in a striped maxi skirt (already refashioned once) to create something new for my summer wardrobe.

Red, White, and Refashioned

When I spotted this skirt at Goodwill a couple months ago, I immediately knew it wanted to be part of an Independence Day refashion. The navy and white stars and stripes would look cute with a number of different colored tops and accessories, but would be perfectly patriotic when paired with red. So I rummaged through my refashionables and came up with a red tunic with lovely cross-stitch details, which I acquired from a clothes swap. Unfortunately, the skirt's elastic was completely shot and the length was a bit awkward. The tunic had damaged ties and a small ink(?) stain, and was a bit too tight around the chest.

Floral T-Shirt Dress

As summer burns hotter and hotter each day, I find myself in need of more lightweight, breezy dresses to keep as cool as possible. I actually made this dress several weeks ago, but only just got around to snapping pics. It all started with this $3 damaged dress with the most adorable floral pattern and that silly high-low hem that was, for reasons still unclear to me, so popular for a while there.

For a quick conversion, I decided to simply join the skirt to an existing t-shirt. So I rummaged through my dresser and came up with this purple tee, which I very seldom wear. It coordinates perfectly with the purple flowers in the dress' pattern.