Refashion Runway 2, Week 6: Winter White

For the final Refashion Runway challenge, the competitors were charged with the task of creating something in Winter White. Below is my submission for your perusal. Once you're done here, hop on over to the Renegade Seamstress to see the other entries and pick your favorite!

When I saw this dated prom dress at the thrift shop for $6, I knew I had to have it. I am seeing lovely tulle skirts all over these days and have been wanting one of my very own. The bottom half of this dress will do nicely.

But wait, there's more! I'm going to need something to wear with fancy new party skirt. You may remember this wedding dress from my Halloween remake (and if you don't, you may want to see a doctor about your short-term memory loss). Well, I've still got the bodice from it laying in my scrap pile. That should come in handy.

But no, that's still not enough! Let's add a little lace to the tulle and satin, shall we? Enter this $4 thrifted lace t-shirt. It's not terrible as it is, that's true, but I've got a quick way to make it more versatile.

Bonus Halloween

Admittedly, this week's bonus refash is a bit of a cop-out. You see, the Cinderella costume was quite time-consuming last week, and then I had family visiting this past weekend. And since I needed to get busy on the final Refashion Runway challenge, I could only spare five minutes for a little somethin' somethin' to tide you guys over. Luckily, five minutes was all I needed for this one.

I grabbed this child's handmade dress from the thrift store weeks ago when the challenges were first announced. The skirt overlay reminded me of cobwebs, and though I had no specific plans, I thought it could be an interesting Halloween project.

Refashion Runway 2, Week 5: Halloween

For this week's edition of Refashion Runway, we were challenged to create something for Halloween. Check out what I made below, and then go see everyone else's creations and vote for your favorite!

Little did I know at the time, but I totally lucked into the perfect materials for this challenge a few months ago via my local Freecycle community. A woman was offering a wedding dress and two different pink 1980's bridesmaid's dresses. I always jump at the chance of free fabric, so without any idea what I would do with them, these dresses came to live with me. For months, they hung on the back of my sewing room's closet door, eliciting snickers from myself and my guests at even a glance from the hallway.

The wedding gown was quite pretty but a bit big on me (luckily, there was boning to keep the bodice up or these before pics could've been really indecent). The bridesmaid's dresses were a bit too small (just a couple inches shy of zipping/hooking in the back).

And let's not neglect the backs. Apparently, it's not formal wear without butt-bows.

So let's think for a minute. What sort of Halloween costume could I make with a floor-length white gown and two pink calf-length dresses? Hhmmm... I've got it!!

It's perfect! And you know Cinderella was a refashionista in her own right. Before she wowed Prince Charming in that blue gown her Fairy Godmother magicked up for her, she had grand plans of transforming her mother's "old fashioned" pink and white dress into something more fitting for the ball. Of course, waiting on her evil step-mother and step-sisters kept her too busy for sewing. Luckily, her mice friends and some lovely little birds lent a hand/paw/wing and finished her dress for her just in time. Don't worry though. I'll be recreating this fairy-tale dress all on my own - no cheating with tiny animal helpers.

Bonus Leather

Sorry for the delay in this week's bonus post, kiddies! It has been raining out the wazoo lately in Dallas, and while I love dark, dreary weather, it's not so good for blog photography (phoblography?). Luckily for you, the sun came out to play today, so I was able to get some decent photos of the newest additions to my jewelry collection.

After last week's leather jacket refashion (have you voted yet?), I had lots of little bits of leather. Not enough to make anything substantial, but too much to feel okay about throwing it in the garbage. I've pinned quite a few jewelry ideas made from leather scraps, so I thought I'd give it a whirl myself.

Refashion Runway 2, Week 4: Leather

To be perfectly honest, when Beth announced one of the Refashion Runway challenges was "Leather", I was a little afraid. Not because I'd never worked with leather and feared the technical aspects. No, that part was actually pretty exciting. But I was worried I wouldn't be able to find a happy medium between dominatrix and cowgirl. You be the judge. Have a look at my results below. Then head on over to the Renegade Seamstress to see how the other competitors faced this challenge and vote for your favorite!

I picked up this simple, A-line, black suede skirt at the thrift shop. The tag claimed it was a size 0, but I was able to get it zipped - albeit not comfortably - and I normally wear a size 8, so I have my doubts. But that's neither here nor there.

My first thought was a leather jacket. I already have a brown one, so a black one would fill out my autumn wardrobe nicely. But there was definitely not enough leather in this skirt for a full jacket. So I supplemented this thrift store find with an extra large long-sleeved tee from my heavier days.

Bonus Peplum

As a supplement to this week's Refashion Runway Peplum challenge (have you voted yet?), I present to you this perfectly-presentable-yet-blah-and-boring tweed pencil skirt.

If I recall correctly, I originally got it last autumn's clothes swap, and I was so excited to have some professional attire that actually fit. Fast forward a year and about 20 pounds later, and it no longer fits quite right. It's a bit baggie and rides a bit too low on my hips, making it unflattering and potato-sack-esque.

Refashion Runway 2, Week 3: Peplum

On this episode of Refashion Runway: Peplums! Hop on over to the Renegade Seamtress to see everyone else's entries and let us know which one you like best!

This dress, lovingly handmade by someone's mother years ago, came into my possession by way of our local Freecycle group. The gifter told me of her mother's love of sewing and her own hopes of finding someone who would appreciate the work that went into this dress (and several others she gave me) and who could give it new life again. This week's challenge seemed the perfect time to do just that!

Since there was clearly no part of the dress that fit me or was still in style, I knew I would have to start from scratch. And because this denim was a nice even tone throughout, it was ideal for a pieced-together refashion.

Bonus Emerald

This dress was a back-up plan in case my other emerald dress for Refashion Runway didn't pan out (Have you voted yet? The deadline is Friday, October 4.) It looks a bit more blue here, but trust me, it's the same teal-ish emerald as the other dress.

Refashion Runway 2, Week 2: Emerald

For the second week of Refashion Runway, our challenge was the Pantone Color of the Year for 2013: Emerald Green! I love this color, trendy or not, so I was totally amped about this project. After you're done here, don't forgot to head over to the Renegade Seamstress' blog to check out the other contestant's green outfits and pick your favorite!

Fair warning, this was probably my most involved refashion to date, so I apologize in advance for the extremely picture-heavy post and the at-time vague descriptions. So much of what I did was trial and error, so it's a bit hard to explain. And if you don't care about the details, feel free to scroll to the bottom for the happy ending! (uh, maybe I should rethink that phrasing...)

At $12.49, this skirt cost more than I would normally pay at a thrift store. But I loved the colors, the paisley brocade pattern, the fact that it was brand new with the tags still on it! I have a wedding to go to next weekend, and this skirt was the perfect jumping-off point for a cute semi-formal ensemble.

Bonus Plaid

The first challenge of Refashion Runway was so much fun, and I was so inspired by all the plaid outfits! (Voting is open until Friday, September 27 - don't miss your chance!) In fact, now that I'm conscious of this trend, I've been noticing more and more people wearing plaid in my day-to-day. So I decided to do another quick plaid remake from another one of my husband's never-worn shirts. When I first pulled this guy out, I hated it. It was the ugliest plaid I'd ever seen. Then, when I opened up my sewing closet a couple days later and saw it hanging there, it had magically grown on me. I'm not sure how this happened, but seemingly out of nowhere, I really liked it! Weird, huh?