Batgirl and Supergirl Op Shop Skirts to Capes Refashions

We took my niece op shopping again the other month and had a blast. I was pleasantly surprised when she found these two skater skirts on the rack and pointed them out to me. She's still in her superhero phase at the moment.

Certainly some girl power here!

She asked me to make her something from them. Some negotiations took place: if I made her something from the Batgirl skirt, then I could have the Supergirl skirt. We agreed on a Batgirl cape and I happily paid $4 for each skirt.
A while down the track and with her birthday looming, I decided that a cape from both skirts was in order. There would still be plenty of fabric left for me to use.
I cut the first shape out of the Batgirl skirt.

And then used it as a pattern on the Supergirl skirt.

These were very easy to finish with hems on both sides and ties sewn into the seams.

One cape ready to go.

And then two!

Just needs a mask to go with the Batgirl cape now! One happy super hero.
#lovelypennypatterns

Op Shop Refashion - Green cotton shirt

Another op shop find in need of refashioning!

It's not my usual pick, but it's nice, light cotton and I like the embroidered detail. I can definitely refashion it into something.

I eco-dyed it to make it a less.. fluoro yellow colour. and it made a huge difference.

These markings were where I pushed rusty nails through the fabric to create a pattern. Unfortunately it damaged part of the fabric, but the top row of markings are undamaged. So I'll take some fabric off the bottom.

I really love the full leaf print on the back

I thought about taking the collar off, because I never like those. I wanted to shorten the sleeves as well. But the more I looked at the shirt the more I felt like it needed to stay whole. Maybe I could add something instead? I do have a whole box of trims!

 The red stands out a bit, but what else is there?

 I didn't mind this blue.

 Or the plain black, though I thought it darkened the whole shirt,

 Some roses? No?

 The winner - multi-coloured tassle braid.

I used the trim to cover the nail holes, and it was a simple straight sew to add it to the bottom.

 And shirt done!

#lovelypennypatterns

Op Shop Refashion: Brown Water Colour Maxi Dress

When I saw this in the op shop I bought it straight up, no questions asked.

Didn't check the size. Didn't try it on. I just saw the fabric and had to have it. Luckily it was only $10. It reminds me of water colour paints, very unusual. I find that I'm drawn to browns lately, especially combinations like this.

It's David Jones, a decent brand, and size 14. But I have always found with maxi dresses that because they are designed to be worn loose they often have enough fabric in them to be worn by people of larger sizes. And this one was very, very close. If you like very, very clingy.

Which I don't. I had a good look at it and found that the top part above the tie fit very well. That meant that if I could make the bottom bigger I would be in business.
Step 1 - unpick the sides.
Step 2 - Find fabric to make slim triangles to put in the sides. I had this silk shirt that I eco-dyed that was unfortunately too small for me. I tried adding inserts to the sides, but I couldn't quite get it right.

 Lots of fabric here that I can use, anyway.

 Though I think that the back panel has the best colours to match my dress.

I didn't think the filler necessarily needed to run the full length of the dress, either. I could have stopped it at the knee. But I decided to run the full length. So I cut the panels out of the back of the shirt.

Then cut panels from the front of the shirt as well because it wasn't going to be long enough.

I tried pinning the inserts on the outside, but I decided that I didn't want the thread to show.

So I pinned on the inside instead and sewed seams. Tricky, but a much better result.

I cut the excess off and hemmed both sides.

The silk was the right choice, it drapes the same way as the original dress.

I think the colours go together really well.

Pretty happy with the final look.

Op Shop Refashion: Printing a Plain Shirt

I got this plain mint green shirt from the op shop a while ago. It was basically brand new, a really good find. Cotton, too, which is good when it's 38 degrees outside...

But as often happens when I visit my mum, we did some creative things. And when she was stenciling turtles I wanted to have one, so this shirt got a makeover.
Mum designed and cut this stencil out and he's pretty cute. Made using plastic sheets, like what you used to use in the old projectors.

This was a different piece of fabric that mum printed.

Stenciling is messy, but fun. We put some newspaper in the middle of my shirt so that it wouldn't bleed through to the front, as I was printing on the back. The turtle went on perfectly, and I dabbed some black on for his eyes.

Next: to fill the empty space in the middle. I decided on a shell

You can use a roller or a brush to stencil. We used a roller for the bigger turtle and then brushes to dab paint on for the shell. I was really happy with how it turned out.

 And isn't he a pretty turtle?

A very simple but effective way to upcycle a shirt.

Op Shop Refashion - Pants for my little niece

My friend and I regularly take her daughter, who is 3, op-shopping with us. She enjoys rummaging through the clothes, books and things as much as we do. Recently when we went she pulled these pants off the rack:

She likes her super heroes! It's nice flannelette material too, good for cooler weather.

The problem was that they were a size 8: length-wise they were taller than her!

Her mother suggested that if she asked her aunty very nicely, I might fix them for her. And so she did 😊 It's far easier to take things in than it is to make them bigger, so I knew that it was achievable.

There was a second pair that she picked out and asked to be fixed too. I think we may have started a new game with her!

Very soft, comfortable fabric.

Also waaaaaaay too big!

Luckily I had found a cute skirt for her in the op shop as well, so I had something to base the size off. 

I figured that with the elastic waistband and ties, the existing waistband would be the right size; it also appeared to be okay when I laid the skirt against it. She is growing so fast!
The tricky part would be the crotch of the pants. Obviously I would need to take it up, otherwise it would hang so low that she wouldn't be able to move.

 Using the skirt as a guide, I pinned it to where I thought it should be. I'll sew the new seam, then cut it down and overlock the edges to seal.

I looked up what the length of pants should be for a 3 year old and was surprised that it was 40cm. But when I thought about it and how tall she was getting, I realised that it must be correct.

So I measured the pants up and made cuts.

After that was done it was a matter of hemming the bottom of the legs and they were ready to go. 

With the Superman pants as a guide it was easy to fix the loveheart pants to match.