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

A Long Time Coming

This refashion started in April. It actually got as far as only needing to be hemmed to finish it up. And then it sat. I was gone much of May, and then June kinda rolled by... Well, it's time! I finally finished up hemming it by hand and get to show you how it began, the process, and the final product! Yay ;)

Here goes.

I started off with this homemade dress that I thrifted for $5. I bought it because it was homemade, not because I particularly liked the dress or the fabric. But I knew I could turn this piece around. Literally.

The back, to me, seemed like it should be the front, while the front (with the zipper up the belly, the strange gap at the top of the zip and below the buttons...) seemed like it should be the back.

So, I chopped off the top of the bodice including the sleeves and shoulder pads. I then took it in along the side seams (bodice) and the front (now back) darts. I also created a cutout by cutting below the top two buttons out at an angle towards the waist. I had to unpick the waist, rehem all of the raw edges, and fiddle with the fit quite a bit to get it just right. And with the photo storage mishap that took place this week, I only recovered some of the photos of the process. After finishing off the bodice, I chopped off the 3 inch hem and reused it as straps for my dress.

Initially, the cutout was larger, and unfortunately gaped quite a bit. So, I sewed down the bottom edge of the opening to the waist at the back, which closed it up a bit making the cutout smaller. Here's what it looked like prior to the tweaks.

I'm so glad I grabbed this up the other day to finish hemming (and adding a hook and eye above the zip for better closure), because now I'm beyond in love with the final result! And you'll have to forgive me for going picture happy....I really really really like it!

It's perfect for twirling :).

Here's a few closer shots.

And the before and after. I'm so glad I could save this dress, and though it is a bit dark, it's such a light cotton fabric which is perfect for the heat and humidity we're experiencing. Yay for summer dresses! Yay for saving someone's homemade piece and giving it new life!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do, and if you have any questions on how I did this (as you may with the lack of step-by-step shots), feel free to ask! I'd love to hear from you :).

Peace,
Andrea

Shop My Closet On Instagram

I've decided that I'll start a little shop through instagram to sell items from my thrifting forays that either no longer fit in my wardrobe (physically or style-wise) or that I've previously refashioned and no longer use. Previous refashions may not have perfect finishing details...let's be honest. They won't have perfect finishing details. And that's because many of them will be earlier projects. However, I will be pricing them accordingly ;). I've just got a couple of questions for you all that I'd like to pose.

1. What should I name my shop? @shoplittledidyouknow seems appropriate, but is it too long? I'm leaning towards this as a way to keep continuity with the blog...

2. Would you (if you follow me on instagram already, and/or here) want to see some of the items I decide to post for sale or would that be a bit of a bother? I'm thinking I don't want to overload either the blog or my current instagram account with tons of pictures of items for sale, but I'd like to maybe highlight a particularly favorite piece once a week, for example.

3. Should I open it up for international shipping (with the understanding, of course, that rates would be higher). I tend to think that if you're looking for items on the cheap (and secondhand at that), buying internationally and adding extra shipping costs kinda defeats that purpose...but I could be wrong? I guess I could leave that up to the buyers :).

Well, wish me luck! I'll be sorting items this week, photographing and hopefully will be able to launch this weekend...

Peace,
Andrea