The Prettiest Way To Wear Sweats

Ahh, Sweats.  So soft, so comfy.  Totally unattractive.

Not anymore. I decided to transform this pair into a cute skirt! 

First, I cut off the sweats to a reasonable skirt length. Next, I grabbed my seam ripper and took out the seams of the crotch and legs.

It looked like this:

I turned the "skirt" inside out, and pinned up the seam to make it straight.
Then I sewed along those pins.

I did that to the front and the back.

Now, onto the ruffle.  I used the legs of the pants that I cut off.  I cut the cuffs off of the legs, and opened up the legs by cutting up the leg seam.

Next, I cut strips about 3"-4" wide from the legs.  I sewed them together to make one long strip.  Once I did that, I put a gathering stitch in the strip to make the ruffle. I did a gathering stitch by putting my thread ease on 9 and my stitch length on 5.

Then I attached the ruffle to the skirt. I did this by having the skirt right side out and pinning the ruffle on the outside of the skirt with the right sides of the ruffle and skirt together.
I sewed the ruffle on.

And this is what the comfy sweats look like now:

Pretty right?

Now it's possible to wear Sweats to the office. ;)

The new prettier way to wear sweats and a tee!  =)

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Tunic Refashion From a Dress

This dress has been in my sewing stash for months. I forgot I even bought it. I remember getting it from Goodwill for $1.  The tag on this dress was from "Blair" and the size was SML.  It started out as a dress, but one that seemed to have been shrunk in the dryer, because it was way too short. 

The first thing I did was remove that weird embroidered collar. I just cut it off.  However, I did leave a little extra on the edge so it could be folded under and sewn.

Before the cut ^^^^

This is what it looked like after it was all cut off.

Next, I pinned the neckline under and sewed up the raw edges.

 Once I was finished with the neckline, I moved onto the waistline.  It was shapeless before.  I decided to gather it with elastic.  Before putting the elastic in, I chalked a straight line across both sides of the shirt.  I sewed a few stitches in the elastic to keep it in place and while pulling tightly on the elastic (and making sure to stay along the chalk line) I sewed the elastic to the dress.  This creates that gathered look.

 To shorten the hem, I tried on the dress on to get the desired length. I marked it with a pin, removed the shirt and pinned across the bottom of the dress.  I trimmed it and sewed a new hem.

For the next step, I forgot to take pictures.  (Sorry)  I thought the shirt needed something else. I chose to ruche the sleeves.  To do this, I just cut a small piece of elastic and pinned it to the shoulder seam on the inside of the sleeve. I used the same technique I used for the waistline. I stitched the elastic in place and pulled tightly as I sewed it down the length of the sleeve.

And thats all there is to it.

I'm wearing a white tank top under this shirt, because when I cut off the collar and flowers, the neckline was way too low.

Now I have a cute top for fall that's comfy and is gonna get alot more wear than that dress it once was. =) 



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Turn An Oversized T-Shirt Into A Cute Fitted Tee

I scored this "gently used" tshirt at a yard sale this summer for 25 cents!

Now, I don't have any interest in college football. However, I've lived in West Virginia all my life, and I feel that I need to pick a side - Marshall University or West Virginia University.  My choice was simple. I look better in gold than green. =) 

**I do like the Washington Redskins (but only because my boyfriend does), so I really need to find a Redskins tshirt to do this to.**

To make this shirt more fitted, I had to move the shoulder seam. It was going half way down my arm. I put the shirt on inside out, and marked where the new seam should go with a piece of chalk.  I marked it all the way to the bottom of my armpit. Then I cut along the chalk line.

Next, I slid the sleeve (the part that I cut off) on my arm and pinned it for a comfortable fit. I sewed and trimmed the excess fabric. Then I pinned it to the armhole on the shirt and sewed it back on.

Once I finished the sleeves on both sides, I tried the shirt on inside out and pinned the sides to make the shirt fit better. 

Then I sewed up the sides. I trimmed the excess fabric.

Now, on to the ruching!!! (My favorite part!)

I used 1/4" elastic.  I chose to ruche the sleeves and the sides of the shirt.

I started by attaching the elastic with a few stitches, then I pulled the elastic super tight while I was sewing it to the shirt.

And this is how the ruching looked when I was finished.

  

Once I was finished, I realized that the shirt was still too long for my taste so I cut the original hem off. Since this is a t-shirt, I didn't have to re-hem it. I just stretched it a little and it rolled up.

Now it's perfect! I think I'm gonna start doing this to all of my oversized tshirts! =)

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My New Pretty Purse

 My New Purse!

            
                                                      Where it all began....




I got these two fabric remnants at a thrift shop this past Friday. They were only 99 cents each!  Not sure what kind of fabric the one on the left is. Maybe some weird polyester blend or something. All I know is that it feels sorta like polyester, has a tiny bit of stretch to it, and when I tried to iron a small piece of it, it disintegrated. (OOPS!)

The fabric on the right, is black corduroy.  It came from Piece Goods.

 I used to love that store! My mom took me in there a few times when I was a kid.

I immediately went on a pinterest search for the perfect sewing project that I could make with my new fabric.

I decided to make a new purse. I've been using the same purse for 2 years now. I bought it at Gabes for $15 (I think) and it's held up great! And while I still love it. I'd like to change things up a bit this fall.  


I found the perfect tutorial from  Crafty Vegas Mom. You can find it here.


While I was cutting the fabric. My 6 year old daughter asked if she could have some of the flower fabric.  A few minutes after I handed it to her, this is what I saw....

She used it as a Yoga mat. lol  I believe she was in the middle of saying "Ohm" when I took this picture. hehe  She makes me laugh.

For the Bow on the front....I used this idea. Only, I made mine really big. I didn't measure anything. I just eye-balled it. (I tend to do that alot).  To attach it to the front, I took a needle and thread and tacked it on with 3 stitches going down each side and 2 stitches in the middle. 

And now I have an awesome new bag that only cost $2 !

Pretty right? =)

***If you have some time, swing by my Zibbet shop and take a look around!***

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Dolman Style Top From Knit Dress

This dress was so comfy. Too comfy. It felt like a nightgown. And it was too clingy for my taste. I've been trying to decide for a long time what I wanted to make from this dress.  I figured I would keep it a dress, just a different style. But I came across a tutorial on Pinterest that sparked my creativity.  A lady had made a dolman style top from a knit skirt.  Since I had a dress, I had to do my refashion slightly different.

First, I cut off the top at the underarm seams.

Next, I flipped the dress upside down. Now the bottom of the dress was the top of my shirt. My dress had long slits on each side. I put those over my shoulders (with the dress inside out) and safety pinned them together.

 Then I sewed them together. I turned the shirt right side out and tried it on.  I didn't like how high the neckline was, so I cut a new lower one. 

I also cut the bottom of the shirt a little shorter because it was too long.

I turned the shirt inside out again. I pinned the sides a little tighter and sewed those up. I decided the side seams needed to be ruched. 

 So I got a quarter inch elastic, a couple inches long, and sewed them to the inside side seam with a zig zag stitch. I pulled the elastic as I sewed.

This created the ruching.



I tried it on and LOVED it! I'm gonna wear it with a turquois tank top that I got at a yardsale for under a dollar. =) 

Oh! The tag in the dress said "New York and Company" and I got it for $1 at a thrift shop! =)

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Too Tight Denim Dress Refashioned Into Comfy Strapless Dress

I want to start this blog by apologizing for the awful pictures. I really need to read the manual that came with my camera and figure out what all the settings mean. 

Also, please ignore that awful sunburn line on my shoulder.  I only did two all day outdoor activities this summer (one at the beginning of summer and one on Labor Day)  and both times, I got a sunburn.  I really need to remember to put on sunscreen.

Now that that's out of the way, this is a GAP dress.  I got it at a consignment shop for $1.  If it would have fit, I may have left it alone.  The tag says size 10. A couple of months ago, that would have been fine. But I've given into my love of Pop Tarts and I've been eating more of them lately than I care to mention.  It was also pretty tight in the chest area.  So tight, in fact, that it makes me think the dress shrunk in the wash at some point before I bought it.

This dress didn't fit right in the hips, so I decided to make it shorter and get rid of the tight part. So here's what I did.

I decided where I wanted my new waistline to be and marked it with a safety pin.

Then I decided where I wanted the hem to land by pulling the dress up. I marked that with a safety pin as well.

Next, I cut out the middle giving myself 3/4" on the top and bottom for seam allowance.

I removed the middle. I put the bottom piece in my sewing machine and ran a gathering stitch along the top.  This was done to make it match up with the top.  I then pinned the top to the bottom and sewed them together.

In order to fit on top,  this dress had to become strapless. So I cut off the top. I folded down the fabric on the top of the dress to create a casing for the elastic that I needed to add to keep the dress up.

Once I ran the elastic through, I sewed up the opening in the casing and I was finished! =)

It's pretty alone, but I LOVE it with my riding boots and my favorite navy and white striped cardigan (that I refashioned from an old lady tshirt I got for free at an estate sale.)

***If you have some time, swing by my Zibbet shop and take a look around!***

http://www.zibbet.com/TheRufflyBuffalo

Thanks! =D