Category Archives: clothing

Black Cable Knit Crop Top

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"Blah" sweater just minutes before being decollared.

I have had this little black sweater in my closet for years. I keep it there because I need little black sweaters that I can throw on over a dress or a tank top and jeans. The thing is that I never pick this sweater. There isn’t really anything wrong with it, it’s just kind of blah. So after years of folding and refolding the same sweater over and over I decided it’s time to move it to the refashion drawing board. My refashion drawing board is really my dress form. When I have no idea what I want to do with something I put it on my dress form and stare at it for awhile. If I still have no good ideas then I leave it there and I look at it from time to time throughout the day and generally by the end of the day I’ve come up with something.

This refashion went in stages though. First I pinned the collar under and the ribbing up under the chestal area to try to get an idea of how my idea to turn this into a crew neck cropped sweater would look.

crop it in the front

 

leave it long in the back

First step is to take off the collar. I started with a seam ripper but gave that up after two minutes. I’m not very patient with seam ripping. I generally only like to do it when I’m watching a television show, otherwise I just don’t have the patience.  So I took my sweater over to the sewing machine and did a tight zig-zag stitch just inside the line where I wanted to cut the collar off, then I cut the collar off. I was a little afraid to cut the bottom of the sweater before I was sure I had the line right so I sewed a looser zig-zag stitch right along the edge of the ribbing so that the zig-zag caught both the edge of the ribbing and the edge of the sweater just under the chestal region.

juncture where new ribbing seam tapers out to the back of the sweater

 

 

Once I tried the sweater on and was sure I like the line of the crop I turned the sweater inside out and carefully cut away the excess portion of the sweater so that the bottom of the sweater could lay flat. Done! Or so I thought. After putting the sweater away I decided that I didn’t like the button or the little v-shaped opening at the top of the sweater so away they went. Done! Not so fast! It’s still a pretty blah-looking sweater. I dug through my drawer of weird and wonderful closures and found these beautiful ivory-colored crocheted frog closures. Perfect!

two frogs ...

 

 

three frogs ...

 

 

five frogs - Done! No really. It's done.

I sewed snaps to the sweater and onto the back of each toggle so that I could remove them before washing.  And BONUS – if I come across some other toggles that would work with this sweater I can interchange them.

 

Too Much Bling bebe!

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I acquired this super-soft brown top at a clothing swap. Trouble was that it was terribly outdated with white satin collar and faux-cuffs and that blingy-sparkly “bebe” logo in the chestal region. Not happening in my closet!

Check out the rhinestone logo!

 

 

I fooled around with it, desperately trying to make it work into a wearable top, because I loved the fabric – it was soooo soft and such a rich brown color. Finally I decided that trying to refashion it as a top was not going to work for me, mostly because I couldn’t get around the rhinestone “bebe” logo. So snip, snip and my refashion was done!

I turned it into an infinity scarf by cutting straight across under the arms to create a tube. I popped it over my head to take a look at my new infinity scarf and ehhhh. It was smaller than I wanted and I wanted to make this a zerio-waste refashion. So I cut the tube and each sleeve apart at one seam and stitched the sleeves to the body of the top to make a longer scarf. Then I stitched the whole thing back into a tube for a lovely long infinity scarf that can be worn long or looped around for a very thick and plush shorter scarf.

looped around twice

long loop with a button brooch

to be continued ...

And I’m saving the satin collar and cuffs as well as the rhinestone buttons for an upcoming refashion. Bling can work when done right.

Cropped T-Shirts

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The other day I dug into my t-shirt collection, eager to create something new and different. This refashion took ten minutes per t-shirt and I’m so in love with the end result that I have to restrain myself from taking the scissors to a whole pile of t-shirts!

Let me start by letting you all know that I cannot claim credit for the design inspiration for these t-shirts. For that you’ll have to turn to the Blakeney sisters’ book “99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim & Tie Your T-Shirt”. I’ll do my best to explain how to do these but their illustrations are much easier to follow than my verbal directions.

over-sized t-shirt about to get cropped

This t-shirt will end up being worn sideways so decide which direction you want the print to go before cutting, if it even matters, which in most cases it won’t.  Lay the shirt flat on a work surface with one sleeve at the top and the neckline to the left so that basically your shirt is sideways on your work surface. Mark your neckline with the first mark an inch or two above the armhole seam and the 2nd mark two to three inches below the bottom armhole seam. Then trace a gentle curve from Point A to Point B.

Mark your second cut at the bottom of the t-shirt roughly along the same lines as the line you marked for the neckline.

Cut out your neckline and your new waistline. Try on and make whatever adjustments you need.

I promise you that this photo doesn't do this top justice.

 

 

If you found the directions above confusing, I’m so sorry. I’ve tried my best to describe to you what I did but it does help to have the illustrations from the book.

My second try at this I used a little boys t-shirt that was much too small for me and the end result ended up being a bit dressed-up for a t-shirt. I can’t count the number of compliments that I’ve received when I wear these t-shirts. Hint: I wear a little cami-style shirt under these as the armholes are quite large and I’m not keen on flashing my belly button. Oh and now that winter is approaching I’ll be wearing these over long sleeved t-shirts for an extra layer of warmth and just because I like them 🙂

This one is my favorite!

 

 

If you happen to cut too deep or wide for your neckline – like I did – use small strips of the fabric that you cut away from your t-shirt to close one end of your neckline. See the photo below to see what I’m talking about.

easy fix for over-aggressive scissor action

 

 

Flip Flops

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Now that summer is over you probably have a pair or two of trashed flip flops. Perfect! You can turn them into brand new footwear to get you through the winter.  P.S. If you’re dying to do this refashion and don’t have a pair of old flip-flops Walmart has them for a dollar a pair, although now that it’s colder in many parts of the country they may not stock them anymore.

inspired by A Pair and a Spare

Platform Shoes

I saw this project over at A Pair and a Spare and just had to share it with you all. Thank you to Foam Magazine for initiating this project using pieces of foam such as the type you can buy at Michael’s Crafts Stores of Joanne Fabrics. A pair of old flip flops can be the perfect start to a new pair of platform shoes. If you’re dying to refashion a pair of shoes into a pair of platforms, picking up a piece of craft foam is a good option but I’m patient, persistent and a die-hard refashioner so if I don’t have a pair of old flip flops I’ll look for a pair while garage-saleing or thrifting to make my platform shoes. The flip-flops don’t even have to be your size. They can be your size or  bigger, just not smaller. Cut or pull off everything on the flip-flops leaving the sole bare. Place the shoes you’re restyling on top of the flip-flop sole and trace around the shoe so you’ll know where to cut later. Use a craft knife or Exacto knife to cut along the line you’ve traced. Repeat with the other shoe. Depending on how thick the sole of your flip-flop is, you can stop here or repeat with another pair or two of flip-flops until you have the desired height of your platform shoes. Glue the flip-flops to the bottom of your shoes. Let the glue dry for the appropriate amount of time.

 

inspiration from A Pair and a SpareYou’ll notice that the edges of your flip-flops look a bit raggedy. You can cover the edge of your platforms in a variety of ways:

  • glitter
  • sequins
  • decoupage fabric, lace, magazine pics, gift wrap … around the edge – protect with several coats of clear varnish or shellac
  • glue string or ribbon around and around the edge until it’s completely covered
  • sand the edges until smooth
  • and leave as is or paint

 

Urban Threads fantastic sweater boots

Sweater Boots

There are tons of tutorials all over the Internet showing you how to create a pair of boots using the sleeves of an old sweater. I like to use a pair of stripped down flip-flops for the soles of these boots rather than a pair of ballet flats because the thick foam helps to keep my feet warm, whereas the ballet flats make me feel as if I’m walking on top of a block of ice (when it’s cold out). Check out these tutes:

Urban Threads –  Sweater Boots

Craftster Argyle Sweater Boots

Craftster Knee High Sweater Boots

Happy Together Gathered Top Sweater Boots for Mom & Daughter