Upcycled kimono fabric top

I originally bought two of these pieces of kimono silk to use for my wedding dress, almost 8 years ago. The concept didn't work out and the fabrics have sat in my stash for all this time. The white piece was a gift from a friend that I have used as a scarf. I needed the extra fabric for this project though so it was time to refashion it.

This Simplicity pattern is a new favourite of mine

- one of the few that is generous rather than stingy with its measurements. 

There was just enough fabric to cut the top out! The front and back both have seams down the middle, but they look fine.

Kimonos are made from panels of fixed-width fabric, which is why I knew that I could use the two completely different pieces.

The embroidered piece is stiff and has a lot of loose threads on the back that would catch on everything.

I decided to line it with fabric from a dress that I didn’t wear because the cotton was too thin. Green is my favourite colour!

It made the front bulkier but way more comfortable. It also made the seams less bulky. Time to sew the front and back together!

The next question was sleeves or no sleeves?

I went with the sleeves, sewed them on and created a collar.

I hemmed the bottom, turning the cotton to the front for a contrast. 

Finished top!

Thought about wearing to to work for frock up Friday, but the outfit was a bit much!

#lovelypennypatterns

Naval-theme Top Refashion

This shirt was a good op-shop find, very nice cotton and in good condition. It sat down on the top of my thighs and was slightly too tight across the hips.

I loved the pockets on the front though, and the little pompom trim.

 To fix the length I made a chop, leaving enough fabric on the bottom to hem it again and not lose any of the pockets. 

Very easy refashion!

Op Shop Refashion - Shirt to Open Jacket

I've never been a fan of business jackets, finding that they don't fit well and don't suit me. So when I found this op shop shirt I thought it was time to change my look. Polyester, but as I am going to wear it indoors I think it will be ok.

It has big shoulder pads, not a style I need.

Very easy to remove those with an unpicker/seam ripper. Often these are sewn in separately, so you won't undo any major seams by removing them.

I'll keep them and use them for something else. They make good padded pockets.

The shirt also has pearl button and loop fasteners on the front.

They're very nice, but I want an open jacket for comfort.

More unpicking! I watch a lot of TV when I do this.

It left some stitches and marks in on the fabric, but they were easy enough to remove.

What I was left with was one side of the jacket with a placket, which is an opening used to help put clothes on in an easy way. On this jacket it tucked under the other side so as not to leave a gap in the middle.

I pinned it under and sewed it down, so that it was out of the way.

All dressed up and happy at work!

Refashioning a simple top to a funky blue one

I actually started this shirt here in an early post, and then it has been sitting on my desk for ages. I finally got around overlocking the edges to seal them so that I could turn it into a shirt.

It was going to be a simple top, but as with many of my creations that didn't last long!
I loved these different collars that I saw at a fashion show, and wanted to try one of them. 

They're just that bit different.

So I sewed it all together, made an off-centre, stiffened collar, and put that on too. I didn't mind it, it was very different. A little odd, maybe.

I decided to try wrapping the neck pieces around. Now I liked that better! A button to fix it in place.

And some stitches on the inside.

Only problem then was that the arm holes were too big and without the cover of the collar my bra was showing.

A family friend just gave me three boxes full of sewing stuff, including trims. This seemed like it could be useful.

I pinned it on and liked it. 

 But it didn't quite blend in...

 More trim from my own stash to the rescue!

A couple of lines of stitching and there's a new shirt. 

Op Shop Refashion - Sea green top for work

This op shop top caught my eye, it's such a lovely colour. I thought I could wear it to work, but there was something just a little bit off with it.
This is the front.

And this is the back.

I tried it on. And it fit ok. I still wasn't convinced.

My brainwave: what if I turned it around?

It fit so much better!

The interfacing/lining on the new back wouldn't stay flat, so I had to sew it down.

A very easy fix.

I also removed the tag that was on the original back of the top, so that it wasn't visible on the new front.

Not bad for $6! Here I am chilling at work, having paired it with my rainbow skirt:

Too many skirts, time for some shirts!

This blog has motivated me to do a lot of sewing and I've made some new skirts as a result. But what I'm finding now when I pull skirts out to wear to work is that I've already worn the top that matches the day before! Clearly I need more shirts to choose from, preferably that will match multiple skirts.

Black looks good with a lot of my cupboard and so does green, but I already have one each of these tops. I also don't want to wear black all the time, not enough colour!
One of my blue tops is brightly patterned, so it clashes with some of my equally bright skirts. It actually goes best with my orange skirt!
My other blue top is a darker shade of blue that doesn't match everything either.
I have a few blue skirts now, so more blue tops makes sense.
My white top is lace overlaid over black, so it's too much with some skirts. I need a white top, or at least one that is mostly cream.
I have nothing in pink or purple.

I have certain standards and looks that I impose on myself for work. Everyone's concept of 'corporate wear' is different and I believe in being comfortable and happy each day. Grey on grey is not part of my happiness!

I could buy more things, as a lot of fashion is cheap these days, but I dislike polyester fabric, as it is too hot in my area: why have a nice, cotton skirt on the bottom when your top is boiling? I also am more mindful of how many clothes we waste and what the costs of them are. Why would I make my own clothes, if I can buy a skirt and top from a generic store for a fraction of the cost? For me the answer is generally that the clothes I make will last me years longer than the cheap ones.

This book was an interesting read and has made me try to use my op shop-bag clothes in more ways before I think about donating them.

Back to the making of things.

The Spotlight store in my town has a permanent sale rack of fabric, which is fun to rummage through. I generally buy more than what I was looking for, but at the moment they have some great bargains: buy 3 metres or more, or the end of a roll, and you get another 50% off the sale price! 

These were some of my purchases:

Gold and cream cotton duck 

 (Cotton duck (from Dutch: doek, "linen canvas"), also simply duck, is a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric. Very sturdy. Doesn't crease as much as some of the lighter fabrics.) 
Purple Japanese-pattern cotton duck

Silver Dupion silk (way too nice to pass up!)

Woven blue Indonesian fabric (also cotton, beautifully light and feels nice against the skin)

Grey/yellow heavy cotton

As I share the hobby room with my husband, our sewing/gaming times often intersect. Sometimes I will just cut fabric out and pin things, so that it's quieter on my end of the room. As we also often listen to audio books or music together during this time, it feels more like couples time if we're able to talk freely ❤

All of these tops will be made from my homemade basic pattern: simple, sleeveless crop tops. I cut them out from a single paper piece, leaving plenty of seam allowance:

The back piece sits higher near my neck, and the front a bit lower. The front piece also has a dart either side for shape. I have experimented with different necklines, but it really works best if you have more pieces in the pattern.. which is also more work! I'll keep these ones simple instead.

I have a second crop top that has a crossover back. I cut a pattern off it and used it to cut the back of one of the tops.

Every edge that I can overlock to seal it, I will. I sometimes wish that I had two overlockers - one strung with white and the other with black thread, so that I didn't have to change them over! I usually need tweezers to accomplish it...

I hemmed all of the edges as well, to make it neater when I joined the three pieces together.

Then it was a matter of joining the seams together. This is the star top, all finished. Front:

Back:

You can't tell from the photos, but the darts that I put in the bust don't actually match up.. oops! My laziness, my fault. I will have to mark the fabric with a pencil next time, so that they match on either side.

I should be fairly well outfitted for work now 😊