// #thriftstylethursday // Anthro-Inspired Color Pop

Thanks to Kristi of Delightfully Kristi this week for our theme: Color Pop! I've been itching to do a refashion, and in keeping with my resolutions for this year, I wanted to shop my refashion closet/pile for just the right piece! Weeeeell, let's just say I found something ;). Here's what I pulled out:

This is a MAJOR mistake, right? Stripes and floral all in one but not in a good way. It felt like a clown shirt...boxy and poofy armed. Yuck! But it's also the perfect piece for a transformation because who else would be crazy enough to pick this out at the thrift store? Amiright? I used this Anthro Cloth & Stone top (check the back view) as my inspiration for this piece.

First I removed the sleeves, cut off the cuffs, then opened them up along the seam and laid flat and ironed.

Next, I cut straight up the middle of the back, and unpicked the center 5-6 inches of gathered fabric along the top back below the collar...you know the section, it has a name I'm sure! I trimmed up one of the sleeves into a 6 inch strip long enough to reach from where I unpicked at the top all the way to the shirt hem. I had to stitch two pieces together to get a long enough section. Then I sewed the panel into the opening I'd made in the back, finished off all of my raw edges with zigzag stitches, pressed all of the seams and folded the top portion over on itself before topstitching it back into place.

Next, I took in the sides, cut off the excess and finished off the edges. I also finished off the hem to match where I inserted the panel, finished off the sleeves with two lines of topstitching and this back view shows the folded over section in the back of the top. Anything like the original inspiration?

It turned out to be the perfect top to throw on with my favorite (and only) distressed denim, and a pair of cobalt flats for around the house...I'm home with a sick little boy today, and this is comfortable but cute enough that I don't feel like a slob ;).

Can't wait to wear this out with leggings and flats come spring! Or with skinnies and booties for work...and maybe a belt when I feel like changing up the look of it. It's still floral and stripes all over, but way toned down and with a modern style, it totally works for me. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Felt good to be back with a refashion, and now I'm looking forward to seeing what all the other ladies came up with for Color Pop! Head on over with me :)

Peace,
Andrea

#MMMay14: Day 2

Today was all about laundry, dishes, and cleaning....at least the first half. But I tackled all of it this morning so that my son and I could go out and enjoy the afternoon. Here's a snap he took of the me-made outfit I am wearing today.

My first refashion of 2014, this Anthro-inspired top, paired with 'skinnified' gray pants (super comfy) and some coral colored flats from UO. The top and pants were thrifted. I accessorized with my son's backpack and water bottle... ;). Why didn't I actually accessorize? I think I've gotten out of the habit as I don't wear much jewelry during the winter. Time to break out the collection and start playing with some pieces to go with my me-made outfits!

Hope I get to do some sewing this weekend, and then share some new creations with you!

Peace,
Andrea

Quick "Fix": Sweatpants

Ok, so I slipped a quick "fix" project in today even though my son and I spent most of the afternoon playing with Legos ;)

I'd seen Cotton & Curls' sweatpants refashion back in December and knew that I'd be doing this with a pair of sweats...but I didn't actually own a pair! Well, I found this pair at the end of January for $2 and could see they'd be just a tad big, so they'd be perfect for this refashion.

The previous owner had hemmed them up, and to get them to the length I wanted I just chopped them off above that hem.

Next, I put them on inside out, marked out how much to take in and then sewed up each outside leg. You can see here how much I took in. All that excess got the chop!

Then, I grabbed a couple of lengths of elastic that in a previous life were the straps that clip onto stockings from a garter belt. I gathered the outer sides of the legs, then pinned the elastic in place and sewed it down, stretching it as I went. I didn't even hem these as they roll under and I was just looking for a quick fix.

And here's how they turned out! Much cuter now for lounging around the apartment :)

Oh, and this is one of the Lego sets we were working on ;)

Peace,
Andrea

Valentine's Sweater

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'd decided a couple of weeks back that I'd do this refashion...knew it as soon as I saw the sweater at the thrift store. It's been sitting on my Refashion Ideas Pinterest board for months and I am super excited about it :) Here's the pin...does anyone know where this comes from? I'd love to site it, but the  image I pinned is just that; an image that leads me nowhere. Anywho, isn't it just the sweetest thing ever? I actually had thought of doing this refashion on the previous Sweetheart Sweater, but I'm glad I held off. 

Let's begin! I found this "grandpa sweater" at the thrift for half off two weeks back:

Gotta love the jammies :)

It's J. Crew, a cotton and cashmere blend (oober comfy!!!!) and because it was half off it only cost $2.50! That's my kind of deal :)

It did have a couple of very small issues. A bit of pilling on the butt region and a broken button, but it came with the replacement still attached! Really easy fixes: I used a razor to "shave" off the fuzzies and then simply switched out the button.

Now, I could have stopped there and it would have been a nice basic sweater to cozy up in on these winter stormy days, but we're gonna make it a little more than basic. I started by grabbing some stabilizing fabric and gathered a few different options to consider for appliqué.

After choosing the plum colored knit (removed from a cowl neck sweater), I cut out three hearts from scrap paper in graduated sizes. I layered the knit over the stabilizer then cut out those hearts from the fabric and pinned in place on the back of the sweater.

I thought that I would hand stitch the hearts in place, but instead I decided to zigzag them in place with my sewing machine (much faster, but without the advantage of ensuring there won't be pulling). I styled my newly refashioned sweater with a pair of leggings, white athletic socks (yeah, I'm stylish like that) and a side braid (pretty much how I wear my hair daily). Here's how it came out!

You'll have to excuse the bad hair day...and the random upside-down ottomans in the background! I am definitely not detail-oriented today. But at least I put on makeup ;) Oh, and the white socks? Sorry, they didn't make it into the shot!

The perfect kind of cozy sweater for a "snow day" Valentine's Day spent at home <3 Or, for any fall/winter day, for that matter. I look forward to getting to wear this out and about to show you perhaps a "better" way of styling such a cute sweater.

Here's the final before and after shot:

Peace,
Andrea

Love Bot!

Meet Love Bot!

I've seen these amazingly adorable little robots all over Pinterest and Etsy and thought that I'd make one for my little boy for Valentine's Day :) I didn't follow a tutorial (figured I'd just wing it) and I didn't take my time (the little boy was soooooo tired of waiting!!!). Yeah, he got his gift a little early ;). But I'm in love and will be making a girl version for myself with a weighted bottom so that it sits up on a shelf...or my desk...or maybe I'll just move it around with me wherever I am in the apartment throughout the day!

Stay tuned for more Valentine's Day refashions...

Peace,
Andrea

Romantic Lace Sweater

A crafty friend of mine (she creates beautiful vintage button bracelets), sent me a pin a couple of days ago of this sweater writing, "This piece made me think of you. You could SO do this :-). I like!" Well, I also liked and had seen other sweaters with this same style that I'd been wanting to replicate.

Now, part of the joy in thrifting (for me), is finding vintage lace, trims, doilies, etc, in good condition to incorporate them into some of my pieces. So, I've got a small stash of such notions just waiting for this kind of project!

Here's what I started off with: a gray (thrifted) sweater that I'd ruined by getting grease on it then washing it so as to fix said grease stain in place...yeah, and a couple of bits from my lacey stash!

Now, I don't have a step-by-step on how I went about this, because frankly there was so much trial and error involved, it would take too long to go through all of the errors ;). I can pretty simply explain the basic concept, though. First, I cut up each side seam of the sweater, opening up a triangular area in which to insert the lace I would be using. The doily was cut in half and sewn into each opening. The sleeves were cut shorter and at an angle, and these pieces were attached into the doily section to allow for some stretch on the sides (creating a better silhouette...don't worry, you'll see it in the pics). Then, the pleated lace-trimmed pieces were layered underneath the doily sides, and a longer piece of the same pleated ruffly trim was sewn under the back hem of the sweater. In order to get rid of the grease-stained section in the front, I simply cut out a thin crescent shape and finished off all edges with a zigzag creating a bit of ruffling by using my basic presser foot (there are special ones for avoiding this phenomenon of rufflage if you so choose).

Here's how it all came out:

I love it! It was seriously a pain in my rear to get just right (not sure why, but it was!), but I learned quite a bit about this process and hope to do something closer to the inspiration sweater with a forest green sweater I have in my refashion pile. Thanks, B, for sending it my way and getting my creative juices flowing on this one!

Here's one last look at the before and after:

Peace,
Andrea

My first refashion of 2014...a copycat!

I hope you enjoyed your holiday season, and have started this new year with a fresh and positive perspective. Attitude can be the key to more: more happiness, more experiences, more successes and failures, more pure enjoyment of life! Now, I'm not normally such a chipper, positive person. Far from it, some days, but I like to take advantage of each new beginning (whether its a new year, another birthday, etc) to get myself straightened out a bit ;)

Enough of the pep talk, and down to business. I burned myself out a bit doing an "all homemade and thrifted" Christmas for my family. Don't get me wrong, I loved doing it and I'm glad that I did. Lack of funds truly helped breed creativity! But, once I'd finished everything up, I didn't want to have anything to do with my sewing machine or notions. So, I took a couple of weeks off. As I was browsing through my "refashion ideas" board on Pinterest, I came across a copycat that I wanted to make of the Beckett Buttondown (no longer available) from Anthropologie. I had the perfect navy blue thrifted top sitting in my stash, so I figured, what the heck. Let's see if I've got my mojo back...here's how it went down.

I started with this thrifted polyester number in navy blue:

To start, I chopped off the sleeves and hemmed them with two lines of topstitching:

Next step, I carefully cut along the edge of the cuffs (from the chopped off sleeves) and zigzagged along the cut edge to prevent any potential fraying in the wash. Then, I pinned them onto each shoulder (to verify placement) and then attached by sewing down the end on the inside, then using the button from the cuff (removed and then sewn onto the shoulder) to button it onto the top of the shoulder on the outside:

I also decided to give it the same kind of high-low effect by shortening the front of the top. I did this by simply chopping off 3 inches and rehemming the bottom edge:

At this point I thought I was done. But I woke up this morning and decided to change the shape of the back (low) hem by rounding it. I also took in each side, from the sleeve down, by about 2 inches and tapering out to create a slight A-line. This helped slim out the top a bit which I prefer being a smaller busted woman. Here's the final piece:

I love how it came out, and this is how I would style it on a warm spring day with flats or sandals. It'd go great with a striped maxi skirt, or even a pair of cutoffs once summer rolls around. And because I cut off my head in all of the above shots, I'll share my tired looking self as I finished this up this morning :)

Have an awesome day!
Peace,
Andrea