Teal Polyester Refab!!

While perusing the racks at my favorite thrift store, I found this! Stunning in all of its polyester glory, I know.

I did not waste any time. First, I chopped off the sleeves and turned it around. I really did not want to deal with buttons down the front, and this seemed like the easiest way to avoid them. 

Next, I cut off the collar and turned it inside out.

I also cut off the fabric with the buttons and the button holes. Then, I pinned the seam back together and sewed it in place.

Next, I got to work making it fit by bringing in the sides some. 

Then, I sewed the sides in place and cut off the excess fabric.

Not too bad, so far!

There was some gaping on the sides, so I put in some darts to fix this. I seriously just start pinching and pinning the fabric until it lies flat. Nothing fancy. 

The front was still a little too high so I cut off an inch there. I also knew I wanted a key hole, so I marked with a pin where I wanted it to end and snipped! 

Then, I pinned and sewed the raw edges of the key hole. 

Next, I pinned and sewed the top of the key hole in place.

Making progress! I sewed all of the raw edges around the arms and neck under and slapped it back on the dress form. 

The fit was still not great. I found some elastic and decided it would do the job. I made it about 2 inches shorter than the circumference of my waist and sewed the ends together. 

Next, I pinned the elastic to the inside waist of the dress. I made sure that I got it on there evenly by pinning it first to all of the seams. Then, I sewed it in place with a zig zag stitch (so it stretches)!

I found some very thin ribbon type stuff that I had and used this for the straps. I sewed it by hand to the inside of the fabric so that the edges and stitches would not be visible.

And, done! 

  

                         

I love it! The pattern gives it a bit of a 60s feel. 

Here is the breakdown.

$2.99 for the dress

About 30 cents for the ribbon and piece of elastic.

Total cost=$3.29

Seriously.

Polka Dot Top Refab!!

Now that the busyness of the holidays is passed, I can get back to refabbing!!  A couple months ago, I found this polka dotted top at a local thrift store.  Let's just say that it leaves much to be desired.  

I tried to strike my most 80's pose.  I think I succeeded.  Why did I buy it?  Because I like the white with navy polka dots, and because it was cheap!

First things first, I removed the shoulder pads.  I mean, that's a given.  I also made the key hole a little bit bigger by removing about two inches of stitches.  

Next, I removed the sleeves to make bringing in the body a little easier.  Also because they were terrible.  

Now to make it fit!  Also, how do you like my dress form?!  I love it.  It makes these projects so much easier!  I would also like to give a shout out to Jo-Ann Fabrics and their Black Friday sales as well as to my husband for being the first one in line to get this for me!  Back to work.  I started pinning the sides to make this thing fit.  

Time to sew it in place!

In full disclosure, I ran into a problem here.  Because the fabric does not stretch at all, I could not get this top on.  Solution?  Put a zipper in!!  I got to work pinning and sewing the zipper to the inside of the back center seam.  After I sewed the zipper in place, I removed the back seam.  Voila!  I could get it on me!  

There was a little gaping across the chest, so I put the top on inside out and pinned the darts where needed and sewed them in place.  

Now for the sleeves.  I decided on very short cap sleeves for this one.  I started with the original sleeves and cut them to 2 1/2 inches to have enough for the seam allowance.  Then I sewed them in place.  

And the final product!!!

I think it turned out great!!  Dexter seems to love it, too!

So, here it is.  

$1.99 for the top, $3.99 for the zipper

Total cost=$5.98

That's pretty great, too!

Thrift Store Refab: Sweatshirt Edition

It's Autumn!!  That means crisp nights and walks in the leaves. What could be better than a great sweatshirt??  Anyone who uses Pinterest has probably seen people pinning these DIY sweatshirt pictures (here and here).  I figured I would give it a shot!!  So, I headed to my local thrift store to see what I could find.

Lo and behold, I found this beauty!!  Size XL, and for only $1.74?!?  Yes!!

First things first, let's cut it down to size and make it fit.  I put it on inside out and started pinning the sleeves until they fit.  Once I was done pinning, I sewed them using a zigzag stitch. Why zigzag, you say?  Well, zigzag stitches stretch a little, and that is good to have on a stretchy material. Otherwise, I might bust a seem, and that would not be pleasant. I also cut off the excess sweat-scraps, otherwise my arms wouldn't fit in the sleeves!

Next, I sliced it right down the middle. I could have left it like this, making it a weird sweat-cardigan, but, alas, that was not my long term plan.  Back to work!!

I also had this gem hiding in my stash that I got for $1.50 a couple months ago. I like the stripes so I decided to use the material as an accent.

I cut off the bottom hem, and sewed it to the edge of the opening I just made.

I knew that it was going to take some work getting this thing to fit me. So, I put on my beautiful sweat-cardigan and pulled the edge over pretty far.

I used some chalk to mark where I wanted it, and then sewed it in place.  Weeeee!!

It still didn't quite fit, so I put it on inside out again and started pinning the sides. Sew sew sew!  It finally fit!

This is what I was left with, but I still wasn't happy with it. What to do? What to do?  Aha!! Remember my sleeve sweat-scraps?! I bet they would make an awesome cowl!! 

I sewed the two pieces together, cut it in half length-wise, and sewed on some more of my striped fabric as a lining.

Then, I sewed all of my raw edges under and pinned this bad boy in place. I messed with a few options, but finally decided on doing a cross over in the front. The hardest part of this whole project?  Sewing this damn cowl in place. There were just so many layers of fabric that my sewing machine said to me, "Look, lady, I just can't do it today. I need a break.  It's you, not me." But after a long talk, a few tears, and a cup of tea, we worked things out and powered through.

For the finishing touch, I found two yellow buttons in my stash and slapped them on there.

And here's the final product!!  Seriously, though, you can do this one.


Total cost (with a little extra thrown in there for the buttons and thread in my stash): $3.50.

Word.

I really "need" another dress.

I looked in my closet the other day and thought to myself, "I really need another dress."  Keep in mind that need is a relative term.  This is what I made...

Now, let me show you how I made it!

First, I found some fabric.  I actually bought this fabric about five years ago, and I have no idea where I got it or why.  But when I saw it in my stash, I knew it would work for this project.

I decided the easiest way to make this dress without a pattern or really knowing anything was to find some items I already have in order to get the shape I wanted.  I used this black BCBG dress for the bodice shape, and this polka dot skirt from Forever 21 for the shape and length of the bottom.  Just lay them on there, and trace around them, leaving a little extra for a seam allowance!

Cut, cut, cut!

After cutting out the pieces, I pinned them together to see how the dress was going to fit.  Here's where I messed up...I didn't leave enough extra room for a seam allowance, so there was no way the dress was going to fit me (apparently I am wider than I thought!).  I problem solved my way out of this one by cutting some extra fabric and sewing it onto both sides of the front piece, like this!

Problem solved!

This added a little bit more width to dress so I could get it over my butt, and it added a neat design element.  Don't worry, you'll see in the end.  Next, I sewed the front and back together, and then I got started on the opening for the zipper and the vent in the back (so I can walk!).  

I hate putting in zippers.  Very much.  But there was no way I would be able to get this dress on without one.  I tried to follow the directions on the package, but it seemed more complicated than it needed to be.  

 

"Iron the zipper?"  Why?!?

I gave up on the directions and just sewed the zipper to my opening fully expecting I was going to have to either rip it off of there or just throw the whole dress away.  Surprisingly, it turned out great!  In order to get the dress to fit me right, I had to add in some significant darts in the front and back.  I also realized that the top of the dress was a little see-through, so I decided to use some of the extra fabric to line the top of the dress.  Like this!

I added some edging at the top since it looked a little blah.  I paired it with some "pearls" (every woman should own a set of pearls...just don't tell anyone that mine aren't real and I got them at a garage sale for 75 cents!), and voila!  

Boom!!