Quick 'Fix' Friday: No-Sew Floral

As I'm forcing myself to do a major purge of my stash (being very strict about what I keep and what I pass on) I decided to spend my morning playing dress-up with some of the pieces to help me decide. I pulled out this oversized floral dress I picked up while in Michigan last summer. My sister and I always take the time to plan a thrifting trip early on a Saturday so that we can have breakfast and go shopping kid-free. Rare chance for both of us! I absolutely loved the floral print on this dress and knew that I'd be able to do something with it.

Little did I know that I wouldn't have to sew a stitch to completely love the after! I started by unbuttoning the top two buttons and folding the collar inward. Then I put on a thrifted gold belt and called it quits!

I'm loving the bohemian feel to it. It's light and airy and lovely to twirl in :). So romantic! Hoping I can wear it on a date with my husband come warm weather.

Well, it's definitely a keeper, that's for sure! I have quite a pile ready for donation, and more to go through, so I'll update as I go. But if you're looking for a 'fix' for an oversized dress, sometimes a belt is as far as you need to look.

Make sure you pop over to visit Agy of Green Issues by Agy to see her Fix It Friday post! She's sharing tips on sewing zippers...one of my sewing nemeses ;). Happy Friday, all, and happy refashioning!

Peace,

Andrea

Quick 'Fix' Friday: Ink Spots

So I nabbed this mint cropped sweater at the thrift store for $1.33. Only problem? Ink spots on one sleeve. Not too much of a problem though!

I rolled the sleeve up twice, just enough to cover the stains, then did the same on the other sleeve.

I grabbed some matching thread, scissors and a needle, and tacked down the cuffs on the seam and then on the opposite side of the sleeve.

Easy fix that took me all of 5 minutes! They reach just about 3/4 length and now I've got the perfect kind of layering sweater to transition into spring.

I put it on over a loose silk blouse, then over a dress to give you an idea of how I'd wear this (since showing my midriff isn't an option ;). Because of the loose fit of the sweater, it would also balance out well over a more fitted silhouette. Now, if you've got the stains on the ends of any sleeves, you can also hem them under after cutting off the offending portions, or if it's just a jersey knit you can cut and let the edges curl over on themselves! Talk about another easy option ;). If you've got the skills, the permanent fix for something like this could be to undo the knit past the point of the stains and reknit new sleeve hems...which may be a part two to this quick mend.

Hope your Friday is a happy one!
Peace,
Andrea

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

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