Quick 'Fix': No-Sew Skirt

This post will be just as short and sweet as the refashion...time for a quick fix! Here's a look at the before, after, and wearing it out and about for a day in the city (NYC) with my boy.

Not a bad piece to start...a bit trendy, and definitely not long enough as a dress for me, but then I don't often wear strapless...

So, I cut off the top! That's it!

And it only cost me $.27 in the bag sale at the end of last month :). Good deal for me! I wore it with a thrifted silk tank top, a thrifted leather bag, and a mix of thrifted/gifted and store bought accessories. Happy Refashioning!

Peace,
Andrea

Eyelet Lace

This is another of the pieces I picked up in the bag sale, and was therefore only $.27. :) It's an eyelet lace skirt with lining by GAP and being 100% cotton is a perfect summer piece. But I don't wear white skirts, or even this style of skirt...they're just not my thing. But the beautiful eyelet lace is what this piece is all about.

I started out by removing the lining from the outer layer of fabric, keeping the waistband attached to the lining so that I can wear it as a slip. I simply trimmed the outer fabric as close to the elastic waist as possible.

I then laid out the eyelet skirt, found a top that I like to use as a template. I wanted to make this skirt into a light summer top!

I marked the lowest point of the scoop neck and the shoulders on the back of my 'top', folded it in half and cut out the scoop, then cut a more shallow rounded neck for the front of my 'top'.

I also marked the arm openings and cut using my pinking shears. I then basted my shoulder seams, tried it on, and pinned the sides where it needed to be taken in. After sewing up the side seams, trimming away the excess and finishing off the shoulders with french seams, I got to finishing off my arms and neck. I decided to use a leaf motif decorative stitch for the arms, and a simple straight topstitch for the neckline. I pressed all of my new hems/seams and was done!

It's just so pretty, isn't it? ;) I roughed up the prettiness a bit with some distressed denim, then threw on a bunch of thrifted/boho jewelry and my thrifted mocs. And you wanna know something really cool? It's reversible! I can wear it with the scoop in the front and it juuuuust sits high enough. But I definitely prefer it this way. It does seem to pull a bit under the arms, looking at the pics, so I'll probably open up the arms just a smidge.

I got to wear it for most of the day, but when we decided to bike to the park, I changed into something more suitable for that...leggings, t-shirt and a chambray shirt! It's been kinda chilly here in New Jersey the past couple of days (considering its late July). Or, maybe I'm just a wimp ;).

Also, I've been looking through my stash (not sure if you noticed that in the background of my photos...) and I'm coming up with a couple of scrap-busting easy projects. Stay tuned for those and many other refashions to come!

Peace,
Andrea

2 for 1: Stripes & Floral

I snatched up these striped pajama pants at a bag sale yesterday...they set me back a whole $.27. That's a rounded number as the actual price breakdown carried the digit out several more places, but for our purposes, they were just over a quarter. Now, the problem with these is that they are size XS (which I am not) and absolutely wouldn't work as they were. But there's a pretty simple solution...and this process works with many kinds of pants! (Jeans, slacks...even sweatpants)

Love me some stripes!!!

 I'm going to make a skirt, so I started by cutting out the inseam (you may want to unpick the seams rather than cut them out if you're worried about having enough fabric to reach around, but I had plenty and am lazy). I then put on my would-be skirt and pinned the front and back where new seams would be sewn.

It's hard to pin on your backside!!! I need a dress form, asap!

 Next, I ran the front and back through my machine, trimmed off the excess fabric and overlocked the raw edges. Now, this fabric is a polyblend and the new skirt was a really weird length on me (ankle-length is not my thang!) so I gave it a chop...or three ;). I kept trying it on and not being satisfied, but I finally figured it out.

Hmm, maybe this length, no shorter...ok, a bit shorter!

Final step was to overlock the raw bottom edge and hem it up! Oh, and press the hem and new seams (makes a major difference, folks). And I've got myself a hi-low stripy skirt :).

No, I did NOT clean up my sewing space, but it IS on my list...that counts, right?

 I like how this came out and the high-waist makes it much more flattering on me, imo. One little quarter, and about half an hour is all it took.

Long post...cause here comes another one! Well, I had cut off so many scraps from my skirt that I had to do something with at least part of them right away. I've had this floral maxi dress for a while now and haven't been wearing it because it is too clingy on my waist and the thin fabric is a bit unforgiving. So I'd brought it out thinking I'd make it into a maxi skirt but had no wide elastic for a waist band. In comes a scrap of striped stretch fabric...

Stripes, meet Floral ;)

 I took the widest section of the bottom of the skirt, folded it over, cutting straight across the top and along one end to create a yoga-style waistband. I sewed up the side (having measured the width I wanted) and set this aside.

Cut, cut, and sew!

 Next, I folded over the top of my dress where I'd already marked it to be cut, and made the chop.

1...now 2!

 Then, I put my waistband wrong side on the outside (right side) of my newly cut waistline and using an overlock stitch, sewed the two together stretching the striped fabric as I went. It was cut smaller than the floral so that it'd create a snug (but not too tight) waistband.

Finally getting the hang of these overlocking stitches on my sewing machine!

Folded over, here is how my stripes-meets-floral maxi skirt looks. Oh, and I even have the cropped top of my dress to play with for later ;).

This was incredibly easy...but that's kinda what I needed in the effort to get my sewing mojo back. And hopefully I have! Here's the final before & after shots:

So, what do you think? I'd love to know what you would have made with each of these pieces! Sometimes I go with the most obvious choice, out of habit I'm sure, but maybe getting a different perspective could help me broaden my vision for refashion possibilities! Thanks for your patience as I enjoy the beautiful weather with my family...but I've missed sewing and posting and hearing from you all! Happy Refashioning :)

Peace,
Andrea

Tribal Print Again

So I seem to be on a bit of a tribal print and floral kick lately...but they're just so fun! But a quick look at my thrifted OOTD...thrifted silk pants turned blouse (here), hand-me-down bathing suit refashion (here), thrifted jeans cutoff, and simple black sandals. Easy, breezy, and just the right amount of leopard ;).

Now, for the refashion. I started with this thrifted dress I picked up for $4 (I believe).

It's actually very cute, fits me perfectly, and I could have left it, but I felt like messing around with the flexibility of this dress. I pulled out my seam ripper separating the bottom from the top and got to finishing off the bottom as a skirt. I created a waistband by using a tie I'd cut off of a previous refashion (jersey knit dress), ran some elastic through it and then closed it up (having measured my waist) to make a loop. I then zigzagged it right sides together to my already gathered skirt. Simple as that!

Here's the skirt.

That left me with the top. I took a 1/4 inch wide length of elastic, zigzagged it to the bottom edge of my bandeau top (again having measured how tight I wanted it to hold) and folded the bottom under and zigzag stitched again to finish it off. Here's how it looks.

Now that I've got two pieces, I can play a little more with how I wear this. This is to show the bandeau top and skirt separated...

As a dress, still, if I prefer...

Or as a skirt (though I'm wearing the bandeau top here under my blouse)...

And I will be able to wear the bandeau top under other tops or alone with a different skirt. Either way, I like that I have a few more options with these two pieces than I did with the one :).

How about you? Do you cut into perfectly good clothing just to make it something more? If not, maybe you should give it a try ;). Hope you enjoyed this one. Happy Refashioning!

Peace,
Andrea

Tribal Dress...Crop Set...Peplum...T-shirt?

I started with this tribal 'dress' (though I would not have been able to wear it as one). Picked it up in Michigan for a couple of dollars and figured I'd do a simply refashion that I could post about while there...

so, I chopped it in half!

Then added an elastic band to the bottom section (folded inwards) to make it a skirt. It was still a little too tiny for my taste.

So, I brought it home with me. I cut the 'skirt' straight across the middle, cut away the side seams, then sewed each equal width section to another creating a loop. Here it is folded over, but the idea was to gather the top edge and reattach it to the cropped top portion to make a peplum. Which I did.

Gathered and reattaching it...

But I didn't like it. So, I thought, how about a peplum with pleats? I tried it. I folded the loop creating two large pleats in front and back, then reattached it.

And I didn't like it.

So, I reduced the size of my loop (after cutting it off from the now even shorter cropped top portion), and reattached it making this a fitted t-shirt.

But I also added thin elastic where I sewed the top and bottom together...so that I can simply fold the bottom under smoothly and wear it as a cropped top!

Should've been simple enough to chop the length then add elastic at the ribcage to get the final product...but why do things the easy way? ;)

Whew! Now that I'm done with that, I can move onto some more complicated refashions ;). I've got a few fun things lined up, including a cropped jacket I've been posting about over on my ig account. Hope you all have enjoyed your weekend! I'm ready for week two of 'summer break'...well, I will be once we sign the boy up for camp tomorrow and pick up our pool passes!!!

Peace,
Andrea

#MMMay14: Day 5

Day 5!!! And after four days of basics, I decided that today's outfit needed to push the boundaries a bit. I started off with these beautiful bright aqua jeans that I thrifted and altered (waist) several weeks back. I threw on a chambray shirt that I'd also altered slightly and took my son to school, planning to come home and actually plan my outfit a bit better :). I had pulled out this skirt turned top that I refashioned last year as one of the pieces to wear this month and when I looked at it a little more closely I realized that it would go perfectly with my jeans...along with a bright yellow thrifted belt and a thrifted ivory cardi as its a bit windy today. Bright, bold, and I feel so feminine ;).

Love how gathering it in the back with a belt gives a bustle effect! Oh, and the stand-up collar!!!

When you look at the closeup of this top, you'll see that the aqua and yellow are there, along with orange, black, green, etc. Love how I feel in this outfit, and though I initially thought this would only work for fall/winter, I'm finding the floral pattern and the weight of the lined 'skirt' make it perfect for spring weather!

Did anybody spy the pattern pieces in the background of the pics??? Cut out an 80's pattern for a top that I'll be making later today! Can't wait to see how it comes out and hope to wear it tomorrow :) Yay, for my second item made from a pattern! Now, I just have to make it...

What have you made lately? Are you wearing your you-made pieces this month?? I'd love to see pics of you all in your you-made items, so let me know if you are posting somewhere and add a link so I can follow along :).

One last reminder! The button bracelet giveaway ends today at 5 pm EST and the winner will be announced at that time! Open to US residents and all you need to do is go here and leave a comment on which of the two colors you'd prefer :) Good luck!

Peace,
Andrea

#MMMay14: Day 1

Who here knows what #MMMay14 stands for? Me-Made May 2014!!! It's a month-long challenge to wear your handmade items: knit, crocheted, sewn, refashioned, etc. Hop on over to 'So, Zo...' to get the low-down if you are still kinda lost ;). It's my first year participating and I'm pretty excited to not only challenge myself but to be inspired by all of the creators out there who will be wearing their me-made items!

Confession: I JUST signed up for this challenge!!! (Well, that is, I did earlier this morning when I started writing this post...before my run, thrifting, shower, breakfast, (in that order) picking up son from preschool and the temper tantrum that followed.) Talk about last minute and having to come up with a pledge on the fly...but I picked a very doable pledge and hope to document daily as an added challenge. Here is my official pledge...

'I, Andrea of Little Did You Know (littledyknow.blogspot.com), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear 1 refashioned item each day, make 2 'from scratch' pieces for the month, and refashion 10 items for the duration of May 2014'

Apart from my 'official' pledge, I'm thinking I may add a weekly challenge for myself and share that here. I tend to wear some of my refashioned basics everyday (i.e. 'skinnified' jeans/pants), and others not as often, so it'll be a fun month of styling my closet full of refashions :).

To start off the month...

my reversible mini along with a thrifted gray t-shirt and thrifted moccasins. After a couple of cold, rainy, nasty days, we have warm weather and sunny skies. Nothing like a bright floral skirt and bare legs to get me feeling happy again :). Oh, and ignore my overflowing 'stash' suitcase...its an attention seeking little tart! But it may be time for some stash-busting projects. 

And what happened with the tantrum-throwing child, you may be wondering? Well, after having it out for a good long time...

he's rewarding my patience with a bit of peace and quiet ;) And I may just take a nap myself...or maybe I'll sew.

Peace,
Andrea

Reversible Mini

Finally! I made this refashion over the weekend and now I'm getting to post about it :) We had unbelievably lovely weather up until Monday, so apart from throwing this together, all of my time had been spent out doing stuff. Then, Tuesday, it rained....ALL day. Then it started turning cold and overnight, it snowed :(. The least I can say for our weather today is that it is sunny. It is also windy, cold, and I had to wear winter gear all over again, but it's sunny. Which means I have enough light to take pictures!!! Hence, the posting of this refashion...

How about getting down to it? I found these three pieces at my local thrift store not long ago and paid $9 total.

I started to get an idea of what I'd want to do with these two tops as I was trying them on at the shop, though I had also considered just taking them in so that they fit better. The pajama pants I grabbed for the use of the pale gray fabric for another project. Once I got home, I set about my work. I'm making a skirt...but not just any skirt! It'll be reversible :) I laid out my floral top inside out, laid another jersey knit skirt on top and cut out around the edges. I then sewed up the sides and zigzagged the edges before turning it right side out.

I followed the same steps for the next top as well.

This is where the pajama pants come into play. Seeing as I really only bought them planning to use the legs, I went ahead and cut off the waistband to use here. I first sewed it to the top of one skirt using a zigzag stitch to allow stretch, wrong sides together, then did the same with the other skirt on the other side of the waistband. It looks like one long tube until you fold one skirt to the outside. There! Floral on one side, and gray and white abstract print on the other!

The gray patterned waistband is showing a bit of the floral and I'm still working out how I want to address that.

Here's the floral side: nice and casual and oh so comfortable! But also really cute and versatile, as it could be easily dressed up.

Now, the gray patterned side! Again, casual and cute, but I can see this with black heels and a bit of leather on a date night ;).

The hems line up so that if I tug the outer one down a tad it stays in place without riding up and showing the under layer at all. The fabrics aren't slippery, so they catch enough to make this super easy to wear either way. I can also see playing with patterns as I style this skirt when warm weather returns. I've got the perfect navy and white striped top to wear with the floral side, and I'd love to try a bold print with the gray side. I need to go play in my closet for a bit to get some ideas :).

Here's one final look at the before and after!

Peace,
Andrea