Refashion Runway Season Two: Week 1, Plaid

I love plaid.
I did not, however, love this outfit...

When I first saw this poor ensamble in our local thrift store,

I fell in love with the colors. Rich, deep tones are my favorite.

But the fit and style were terrible- so I left it alone.

For several months it languished alone and unwanted on the rack...

 then I learned how to sew!

I quickly snatched that baby up (at a bag sale no less) amid a few questioning looks.

In my mind, this was too pretty a fabric to simple start hacking away at,

so I laid it aside until the day arrived that I could bring out

the beautiful potential lurking in those folds!

When I found out this week's Refashion Runway challenge was plaid,

I knew that day had come!

Like I said, I love plaid,

but I have to admit there was just a little too much plaid going on.

So I decided to use a deep blue, tank top to break things up.

It had some lovely princess seams which made it perfect for a dress bodice.

Both the skirt and tank were too small.

The skirt was an easy fix, I simply removed the waist band and took out the side zipper.

Letting out those pleats created lots of extra breathing room.

As I started turning things inside out and tearing them apart,

I realized this was a home sewn garment.

The skirt was fully lined and even had pockets!

Removing the side zipper had resulted in a gaping hole,
so I pinned and stitched it closed.

Next, it was onto the bodice of the dress!

The tank top I chose was way too small,

but not to worry, I knew exactly how to fix that!

Using my handy-dandy seam ripper, I separated the front from the back by tearing apart
the seams at the sides.

This is what it looked like.

I measured how much extra girth I needed to add,
then divided that by two and cut two long strips from the back
of the plaid bag shirt.

I paid special attention to matching up the plaid so both strips
were the same.

I then pinned those sections to the sides of the tank top.

After hemming some raw edges and sewing the pieces together,
this is what it looked like!

With the bodice done,

 it was time to connect the skirt.

I'll admit, this was the longest part of the process.
I pinned, stitched, tore it out, and repined at least three times.
Once I finally had the length of the bodice and positioning of the pleats
as I wanted them, I sewed it all together and moved onto making a sash.

Using the waist band I had removed from the skirt,
I laid it out on the front piece of the shirt, lining up the plaid so it would match.

Then I cut it out!

There was pinning and ironing, and some folding right-side in,
until I created another band just like the original.
I stitched them together, then stitched them closed.

Now that I had a cute sash to tie around my dress,
I figured I had better add some sort of sleeves.

I messed around with a few different ideas,
cutting pieces from an ugly scrap fabric I had laying around,
but it just wasn't clicking.

Then I noticed this plaid scrap in the shape of a triangle,
and the perfect idea hit me!

I measured to make sure the length was right, cut off the ends accordingly,
then laid out my triangle onto another remaining piece and cut out a second triangle.

It was then that I noticed the plaid matched up perfectly!

I was just using the pieces I had, so this was completely unplanned!

This is what I call a 'God-smile'!

After my moment of 'awe',
 I set to work folding and hemming up all the sides of each triangle piece.

For the bottom of the triangle,
the edge I intended to attach to the straps of the tank top,
I did something a little different.
Not wanting a lot of bulk since it would be resting on my shoulder,
I zig-zagged the edge, then went back and straight stitched right along
the inner edge of the zig-zag.
I figured this would keep the fabric from fraying without the bulk of a folded hem.

To attach my triangular flutter sleeves,
I pinned them to the tank straps and stitched them down
right over the existing stitch lines.

Fwew!

After all that, I still had some scraps left over from the plaid shirt.

Now all I needed was a pair of boots...

And voila!

 I am in love with my new dress!

It even has the original pockets!

I love how the sleeves turned out,

and the plaid insert panels add a nice touch!

I know this pictures is out of focus...but I really like it.

One project down!
How many to go?
We'll see!

Head on over to The Renegade Seamstress and vote for your favorite!


Before it Starts...thoughts on Refashion Runway

Oh. My. Goodness.

 

For those of you who haven't heard yet,

I learned last week that I was chosen to be one of 8 contestants

to take part in the second season of Refashion Runway,

hosted by Beth, The Renegade Seamstress.

 

It was pretty exciting stuff.

And tomorrow is the big reveal for the first challenge!

 

Yes, yes, I'm a little nervous.

But in all honesty, I love my completed project,

so no matter what happens, I feel very good about what I did!

 

As this first week has played out, I have gone through a range of emotions,

and have arrived at the following conclusion...

 

 I am going to be me...and make what I would wear!

 

 

 

 

This is a competition, so naturally you want to put your best foot forward.

But I have decided that it is definitely going to be my foot, and not some fake,

give-the-people-what-they-want kind of foot. 

I have a unique style and taste, which may not gel with everyone.

But I will feel best about my projects if I love them,

and I'll love them best if they are a true representation of myself.

 

 

I knew when I started this competition, that the sewing would be the easiest part.

Challenging, oh yes, but I feel comfortable with a sewing machine.

You know what does scare me?

 

Presentation!

I am not in love with my hair, and haven't been for quite a while.

Now I have to do something with it before the rest of the world sees me!

Scary stuff.

 

Oh yeah, and while we are on that subject,

I feel the same way about makeup.

I like the stuff, but I barely wear it.

I like going au naturel most of the time, and even when I do use makeup,

it is pretty minimal, simply because I feel best

without worrying if my face plaster is coming off!

 

But that's not all.

 You want to know the aspect that really scares me?

 

It's not necessarily whether or not people will like what I make,

or whether I can keep up the creative flow of juices for the duration of the contest,

although those are certainly viable points.

 

No.

 

What really makes me nervous is...

Judging my fellow competitors.

 

Half of each project's scores comes from our fellow seamstresses.

 

And I think...

How do you put a number on someone else's efforts?

How do you grade another person's creative work?

Can you really distill all of their investments into a series of scores?

In my opinion, no.

You can't.

 

Speaking for myself,

just getting to this point is a great accomplishment,

and I'll be thrilled to death no matter how far I get!

I'll still stalk my computer each week to see what everyone has made

and be just as excited about the outcome as I was last season.

 

But everyone wants to make it all the way.

 

I think I can safely say the grading process will probably

take the most prayer and relative time out of everything.

 

 

And another thing....

(that is if you are still reading)

 

Please don't vote for me just because you know me!

 

I want honest results, and I don't like prejudiced votes.

My brothers' have competed in filming contests where the results

were determined by popular vote...and the winner was most often the one with

the most friends, not the best video.

It was pretty obvious to everyone, and it always stunk.

 

So if you read my blog, if you know me,

please, go and vote for your favorite project, whether it is mine or not.

 

I think prejudice and favoritism has cheated many a talented person

out of their just reward.

 

My soap box is creaking,

I think I had better get down now.

 

 

So yeah...

I think that sums it all up!

I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks,

and I hope you are too!

Refashioned Outfit: Look #2 Hi-Low Skirt

Last time,
I showed you a completely refashioned outfit.
In this post, I will be wearing the same button down shirt,
but I'm refashioning a different bottom to accompany it!

 

 

I started with this deep teal skirt.

It was a bag sale buy that I picked up intentionally for the following purpose...

 

 

...making a hi-low skirt.

I know, I know.

They have been done a million times all over the blog world.

But I haven't done it yet!

 

It seems pretty simple,

but in actuality, for a perfectionist like myself, this took me quite a while.

I messed around with how hi to cut it and just exactly the lines I wanted.

 

I ended up tracing a curvy little line instead of a straight angled cut.

I liked how that looked much better.

 

 

After all that, the rest was easy...chop and hem!

 

 

 

Here it is coupled with my previously refashioned top!

I adore how the colors go so well together!

 

 



 

As you can tell, my hi-low is a little less hi and a little more low than one usually sees.

I was brought up not to wear skirts much above the knee,

so I modest-ized this fashion trend.

 

 



 

 

 

 

It appears to be a reoccurring theme that our animals

want in on the photo shoots!

 



 

 

We asked very nicely if she would move...she just sat down and stuck her tongue out.

 Whatcha' gonna do?

 

 

 

 

So there you have it!

Two completely refashioned outfits.

With three pieces, I have two great new looks that cost me less than $1!

 

Button Down Shirt: (bag sale)  .20 cents ?

Striped Shorts: Free (hand-me-downs)

Skirt: (bag sale) .20 cents ?

 

Ahh, I love refashioning!

Refashioned Outfit: Look #1

Hello all!
Today I want to show you a completely refashioned outfit I made a couple weeks back.
The rest of the country may already be transitioning into Fall, but temperatures are still warm here in Texas, although they have actually been cooling down this week.
 So, I figured I had better get this refashion posted as it is a pretty summery look.


First, I started with this thrifted button down shirt I picked up at a bag sale.
 

 

 

In most places, this shirt fit me pretty well, except it had a lot of excess bulk in the back.
What's with that?

 

 



 

 

It had some great little features which I loved, like those roll up sleeves with a button tab,

and the double pockets.

 

One thing I wasn't really fond of, was that collar.

Collars can be fine, but this one seemed a little too stiff, and I just wanted a different look.

 

 Off with its head!


After I took off the collar, I hemmed up the open edge.
Then I sewed two long darts running all the way up the back of the shirt and
into the yoke across the back.
I did a lot of fiddling to get it fitted right, but eventually it worked out.


Now onto the second part of this refashioned outfit.

 

 

Terrible picture, I know.

But I picked these out of my slash spur of the moment and wanted to get to work right away,

so I didn't invest the time to take a really good 'before' shot.

Sorry.

 

 



 

 

I'm a sucker for seersucker garments, and these over sized capris had a lovely light blue and white

stripped pattern.

 

 

First things first, I took in the sides by about 2 inches on each side,

sewing all the way down to the legs.

Then I chopped off all that extra material. 

 

Next, I folded up the bottom hem of the legs

 

 



 

 

This exposed the ugly seem on the side from where I took in the shorts.

Hmm, how to fix this?

 



 

 

It just so happened that the excess material from taking in the sides included

two buckle loops. These would be perfect!

I removed those little do-dads, and sewed them on right over that ugly seem.

Not only did it do a great job of hiding it, but it is a cute little detail!

 

 

And here it is all together!



 

 

 

My newly improved button down.

 

 



 

Those long darts did the trick!

 

 





I love the new rounded collar!

 

 



 

 

My new shorts made this a complete outfit!

 



 

I love how this turned out.

And they are so comfortable!

 



Weird face!!

My photographer loves catching me when I'm talking...

 

 



 

 

...or with my mouth open....

 



 

But he gets me to smile too. :)

In my next post, I'll mix it up and show you another refashioned look
to go with this same button down!