Quick 'Fix' Friday: Mending

Today I've just got a quick mending project that I took on for a friend. I've not been feeling well and I just don't want to do much :-/. But this was easy. She had this cashmere sweater with three small holes near the tag and collar.

I picked out a matching thread, threaded my needle, and as the picture shows I sewed in a circle around the hole weaving through the knit.

Pull the thread taut and tie off, and voila!

Once mended, there is only a slight bit of pulling visible on the outside, and as there's a collar on this sweater, it won't show at all. Easy peasy and takes 5 minutes!

Hope this little mending job helps you out with all of those holey knits that crop up in winter time! Mend them up and if the spot shows too much you can always camouflage it with something like this or this! Oh, and don't forget to check out Agy's (Green Issues by Agy) post on darning socks!

Peace,
Andrea

//#thriftstylethursday// Winter White-Out

This week's Thrift Style Thursday theme is brought to you by the lovely Megan of Eclecticity. Now, I've never (as far as I can remember) worn all white, especially so in winter, so this theme was a challenge and kinda perfect to get me thinking about my wardrobe differently :) Props, Megan!

 //Scarf: thrifted $4, sweater: thrifted $3, skirt: Anthropologie [free], boots: thrifted/mended $9, earrings: clearance $2.50, rings: thrifted/found $4, necklace: thrifted $10. Total outfit cost: $32.50//

I put together this look after first considering white jeans as my base...but I figured that'd be way too comfortable ;) so instead I pulled out this white skirt I just got from Anthropologie. It was a sale item and priced at $9.95...and I paid with a gift card I'd won. So, yeah, free!!!! It doesn't immediately say "winter" to me, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the look, but I'm not mad at it ;).

My knit top and knit scarf are similar shades of cream/ivory. I definitely like the idea of mixing up shades of white, off-white, ivory, etc, but again it's outside my comfort zone. I think it works, but I'm just not used to seeing it on me.

My boots are the thrifted and re-soled pair I posted about here. My necklace and the rings I'm wearing (hmm, didn't get a close up of those rings) were also thrifted/found, and the earrings were bought on clearance.

I have a sneaky hope that the scarf was homemade (its cooler that way), and it is so snuggly soft and pretty. I love the detail that it adds, and I can't get over this necklace!

Here's a closer look at the detail on the skirt...sooooo pretty and I cannot wait to wear it weekly when spring comes! Definitely such a great addition to my wardrobe!

What would you put together for an all-white outfit? Make sure not to miss out on all of the other Thrift Style Thursday ladies' looks!

Now, don't feel shy about dropping me a line...I'd love to hear from you! Peace, Andrea

Quick 'Fix' Friday // DIY bootie heels

I found this pair of booties sometime last year, and wore them a handful of times. The problem with them was that the sole of the heels had completely come off and I was walking on the plastic core of the heel...loud, for one (sounded like I was always stomping around when wearing them), and not good for my feet (the heels were meant to be at a certain height and the difference was hurting my feet).

So, I decided I'd find a way to re-heel my boots all by myself. I'd taken boots to a local shoe repair shop before and walked away with unmended boots for the simple fact that he was charging more than I could afford. So, though replacing only the heel of these booties would have cost less, I still wanted to give DIY a go.

I gathered my supplies: rubber shoe soles I bought online, scissors to cut the soles down to size, shoe goo for repairing (and waterproofing), and some leather scraps.

As you can see, I'd already completed the project without taking pics of the step-by-step...but you can imagine what it looked like, right? ;)

I started by cutting the soles down to size. Now, if I'd found a pair the right size, then this step is moot, but I didn't on the first round of searching (I'm lazy and didn't want to search for too long). I traced the shape of the heel onto the sole, cut them out, then did a bit of trimming to get them just right. Now, because I used scissors, I didn't have a completely clean edge. Would have preferred something that'd leave me a clean looking sole, but oh well.

Next, I put shoe goo on the exposed heel and the sole, then pressed them together. I allowed them to cure for the full 72 recommended hours before taking on the finishing step of covering the seam with strips of leather. Once they'd cured, I cut the strips to equal widths and using shoe goo, adhered them to the heel/sole seam to cover it. The seam wasn't completely clean (as I'm not a professional and the heel was worn a tiny bit more in the back), so the strips helped to give the boots a finished look and a tiny added detail. Again, I let them cure/dry for a couple more days and voila!

I've got enough of the rubber soles left to repair another pair if need be. And figuring cost of materials...it was about $3 taking into account the amount of each item left over for future projects.

Time on this one isn't that bad. Yes, you have to allow the adhesive to cure for a few days, but the amount of time you actually spend working on this project is well within a half hour! Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.

These thrifted beauties went from practically unwearable, to my most wearable pair yet! Hope you found this repair inspiring, and that it pushes you to try out your own DIY mending/repairing project that's been sitting there for ages. Any questions, comments...feel free to drop me a line! And don't forget to check out Agy's Fix It Friday post here.

Peace,
Andrea

//#thrifstylethursday// Pinspired New Year

Happy Thrift Style Thursday! Today is my day to host and the theme I chose was Pinspired New Year (& Resolutions). I love using Pinterest to gain inspiration for putting together outfits, and as one of my resolutions is to shop my closet more, I thought I'd put together a look using thrifted items that I don't immediately grab or think to put together.

Here's the inspiration photo (it doesn't link up to a site anymore, so here's the link to the pin):

Now, I decided to use this outfit as a starting point, not necessarily copying it piece by piece. I loved the combo of the black and white with the cognac/caramel colored brown over top. Anything with stripes is pretty much good in my book ;).

I started out with this first look...

but I didn't love the boots and sweater together. One or the other, sure, but together, not so much. Plus the hat and hair wasn't working for me today. Too much static! I got rid of the hat, changed my boots to a newly mended pair, then landed on a ponytail as my best hair option ;).

Much better! Here's a breakdown of my final look // cardigan: thrifted $2.50, dress: yard sale $1, boots: thrifted $4//

The tights were bought new for $4 and the necklace I purchased several years ago at World Market (can't remember what I paid, but may have paid up to $15).

The boots are probably my favorite pair (I've found a few really great thrifted leather boots lately) and when I bought them, the heels were worn down through the sole to the plastic inside the heel...yeah. I didn't let that stop me from wearing them though a handful of times, but I knew I wanted to fix them. And I did! Here's a look at the DIY mended heels. I'll share the process tomorrow :).

One final note before I invite you to check out all the other ladies' looks taking part in Thrift Style Thursday. I was able to get in contact with Donna, the giveaway winner from earlier this month, and put together a cute little pack of homemade/refashioned/upcycled goodies to send off to her! The boot cuffs (of course), a knit/braided bracelet, and a cute little vintage button placemat clutch! All made by me <3 Hope you love these, Donna!

And now, hurry over to see what Pinspired thrifted looks my fellow bloggers have put together! I'm super excited to see what they've all come up with :). Hope you enjoy following along with us, and if you're interested in joining up, come see us over at our Facebook page and leave a message! We also all link up there, so if you simply like our page, you'll see the updates in your feed when we post! Oh, and we've got one who isn't included in the link up, so make sure to check her out as well...Simply Audree Kate.

Hope you stay inspired! Peace, Andrea

Help!

Hi! I'm trying to reach Donna, the giveaway winner from two weeks ago...your blogger profile is not public so I cannot view it or send you a message in any way. :( I really want to send off your prizes, so just shoot me a message and I'll have it out in the mail the very next day! You can reach me through my FaceBook page here with a message, or you can send me an email: anc.bookworm@gmail.com. Can't wait to hear from you :-D

Oh, and for the next giveaway, I'll use something that requires an email address (not to be made public) for contact purposes. ;)

Peace,
Andrea

Quick 'Fix' Friday: Tank Top Take-In

All this alliteration! Way too early for that ;) So starting this week, I'm linking up with Agy of Green Issues by Agy on our Friday posts. She is hosting a series called Fix It Friday, and I'm going with Quick 'Fix' Friday. My posts will mostly center around quick 'fix' refashions that are simple and quick.

Today's features this most awesome of all tank tops I ordered from Michigan Awesome in late summer on sale. Knowing it would fit tight on my stomach if I got a small size, I went with the medium expecting this to happen...

This is something I'm used to, so no big deal, right? Let's get to fixing the problem. Now, to start, I will sometimes take it in starting with the length of the straps. This helps if it hangs too low and too big on top, but this time, I didn't have to do that.

I pinched in each side at the armpit and marked where I needed to start. I then pinched down at my waist where I would taper out to meet up with the side seam.

 

I sewed down each side between my two points, trimmed my excess, zigzagged the raw edge and then using a slanting zigzag stitch I sewed along the inside of the straight stitching. This creates a smooth seam that doesn't pull.

And that is that! It took all of 10 minutes to get it just right (I did have to adjust a tiny bit where I tapered out). This may not seem the timeliest of refashions, but I've been wanting to represent for my home state and I can totally wear a big cozy cardigan over top or just throw this on to work out...until warm weather returns.

Remember to check out Agy's post which shows how to fix snags! And follow along each Friday for more quick refashions and mending tips :)

Peace,
Andrea