Refashioning dresses - Challenge in Grey

A friend brought me three of her dresses to refashion. They were no longer worn (for various reasons) and she wanted them updated.

Challenge accepted!

This grey dress was the easiest of the three, so I tackled it first.

It was lovely, soft material, but too long. The braid at the top was fading as well.

I laid the dress out (very technically) on the floor and made a cut where we had placed a pin.

I made the new hem a little bit high-low, just for a touch more modesty at the back.

Overlocked and hemmed the bottom edge.

So half the refashion is done.

Onto the unknown part: replacing the braid at the top.

The ends were sewn into the gathered shoulders, so I had to unpick a lot of stitches to get them out.

But I did.

I had a kimono tie lying around in my stash that would be a funky addition to this dress.

I had to remove the tassle from one end and cut the two lengths that I needed.

I pinned everything in place and had to hand sew it all, as the braid was too thick for my machine.

I fixed a couple of small holes and then the dress was done! 

And she likes it 😊

Owl can I make this skirt new again?

You may remember one of my favourite skirts and favourite fabrics:

I've worn it for a couple of years now. It was starting to look a bit faded and the material was wearing out, particularly the underskirt which was losing colour. I decided that I needed to update it.
The first step was to add a new waistband, so that it would sit up higher. I had a couple of tops that I wanted to wear with it, but they flashed my stomach. I also had a fabric belt that I didn't wear anymore, so it was perfect.

But when I made the waist, suddenly the underskirt didn't sit right anymore, it was too tight. Rather than try to replace it, I decided to just patch the gap in the front of the overskirt and make it a single-layer garment. I chopped the underskirt out... and accidentally snipped a little hole in the overskirt! Nuts! That should teach me to watch TV and sew at the same time...

I knew that I could patch it with something, so I left it for the moment.
What to put in the gap at the front of the skirt? I had another skirt that my mum had printed with her own design and passed down to me. Unfortunately I didn't wear it as much anymore and had it in mind to refashion for some time. Given how much time I spend at work, I was better off having it to wear there.

I laid it under my owls and thought, 'wow, that's bright, I love it!'. I don't mind that they won't be the same length either, I'm fond of high-low hems.
I took a section of the new fabric and pinned it in place from the inside.

Then it was a matter of sewing it on.

I found a bit of lace and sewed it over the hole I had made,

And the refashioned skirt!

Yikes, the owls are really holographic, aren't they? People have complained to me before, but this photo really makes my eyes cross!

I used the leftovers from both skirts to make yet another skirt. Watch this space ;)

Useful Op Shopping Finds

You never know what you will find in an op shop.

When I went op-shopping recently I found a box full of fabric belts and ties that had obviously come off old clothing. The ladies thought I was a bit odd, as I bought about 20 of them, until I explained that I used them for waist bands and ties on clothing that I made. 
I can easily make ties from existing fabric, but if I can buy a perfectly good set for 20 cents and recycle, why not?

One of them did turn out to be one of those 'chill neck coolers', so when I washed it the gel inside swelled up! Might turn out to be useful anyway 😎

I try to only buy clothes that fit me, rather than things that I will have to alter. If it's very minor alterations it's not so bad, but major ones aren't worth it. Recently I have been buying white/grey cotton and silk shirts to dye. Sadly they have all been too small for me, but they made great presents.

I often look at the trims on nice dresses and weigh up whether the cost of the dress is worth it just for the beaded panels and things. This wedding dress was, but I bought it for the dress itself and the trims were a bonus.

I've also purchased a couple of shirts with nice prints on them that I have cut off and put on other shirts for my brother.  

I regret, when I lived in Japan, not buying more kimonos. Now that I'm in a refashioning mindset there are so many things that I could do with them. I have one displayed at home, but I've had that hanging for a few years now and I don't really want to cut it up. Next trip!!

This top is slightly too small, but it's also too long. I plan to fix it up to fit. Watch for another post in the future.

 I almost didn't buy this dress, but I absolutely loved the fabric. It fits well on top but it a bit too small on the bottom. It could become a top or could remain a dress.

Another trip netted me two pairs of practically new shoes for $15!

Amazing what you can find in an op shop!

Touching up a red dress

This is one of my favourite work dresses. When I bought the fabric, years ago, I didn't know what to do with it. So it was turned into a bag for archery gear, and the grey at the top (a kimono obi from Japan) was added for length. Then when I got a proper bag I unpicked it and made it into a dress, grey and all. After a couple of wears I also added the lace for length, feeling that it sat a bit high above the knee.

But now the bottom hem is fraying a bit, so I decided to added another layer of lace to cover the top part.

The bottom part of the lace appears to be fine, so the top part must be what brushes against things and snags, unpicking the stitches. I had some lace in mind:

It was the same length as the existing lace. But what I decided, upon looking at it, was if I folded it over and sewed it down it would have the added advantage of being less see-through. I didn't mind the different reds, they created a slightly different look. What's the point of being able to sew if you can't update your look when you feel like it?

I pinned one end in place and marked spots in the halfway and quarter-way of the lace, so that I ensured that it would make it all the way around the bottom of the dress when I sewed it on. I gathered it as I went around. It achieved exactly the look I was going for:

The refashioned dress:

And here's a local sunset to finish off with 😊

Sewing bags and bags of bags

Although plastic bags have their uses, I prefer cloth bags a lot of the time. They are more environmentally-friendly, don't break as often, and can be washed!

Often my odd, leftover panels and lengths become bags. They're useful to wrap presents in and make great gifts all on their own. I made a couple for a work colleague, expecting them to be used as shopping bags, but she likes them as handbags instead!

This was a pillow case that someone had wrapped a gift in, knowing that I like upcycling. 

The inside was a leftover piece of a fabric from a pillow project. The strap is an old Christmas belt that my mum handed down to me.

An impressed shout out to the clever JZ Baby Designs, who made me this bag from fabrics I gave her. Neither of us expected the colours to work so well together!

Two pockets inside and everything! Amazing work 😆

I've made a lot of little bags and purses to sell in the past, which were cute and fun. I printed some of the fabric myself and used odds and ends to dress them up.

This one was a sari crop top that I used to wear when I was younger.

This fabric was a lunch box wrapper, bought in Japan. The strap is a necktie.

I printed this fabric, it's my own lino design. More neckties as straps!

Yet more neckties upcycled.

What do you do with a leftover piece of lace this small? put it on a purse!

It's high time I made some more of these!