DIY Summer Shorts Refashion Tutorial ~ 3 Different Hem Styles ~

There are lots of reasons one might want to make their own shorts from jeans or pants. 

The biggest complaint I've heard from my friends is they can't buy jean shorts for their kids that are long enough.  This would be perfect for that problem!  

Other reasons would be if you get a hole or a stain in the knee or bottom part of the leg of your pants.

Another reason would be if your child grew up but not out and their pants were now too short. Making them shorts would be a great solution. 

I  just want to point out, I've saved so much money refashioning clothes instead of buying brand new.

I really only shop at thrift shops and yard sales anymore.

Refashioning is a real money saver! =)

 

The first pair of shorts I did this time was for my jeans (capris?) I'm not sure what these were exactly. I got them at a yardsale and they are petites, so I can't decide if they are pants or capris. 

I wanted to make a nice regular hem on my shorts.

The first thing I did was try the pants on.  Then I took a white marking pencil and made a line where I wanted the final hem to be.  I also made a line 1.5" below the top line.

Next, I cut along the bottom line. On both legs.

Then I turned the (now) shorts inside out.  I made a line 1.5" above the raw edge with the white pencil.

I folded the raw edge up twice until it met up with the white line that I made. 

I pinned all around the fold to hold it in place.

I sewed close to the top of the folded edge all the way around the pant leg.

And here is the final product! 

=)

Next up...Cuffed shorts...

  

For this tutorial, I used a pair of my daughter's capri-type pants to transform them into a cuffed denim short. 

I purchased these at a yardsale at the beginning of summer and it looks like the previous owner must have tried to make a pair of capris from jeans.

I had my daughter try on the pants and

I marked where I wanted the final length of the shorts (while she was wearing them). Apparently, this tickled, because she started laughing uncontrollably. =)   Then I marked a line 1.5" below that line. I used a regular pencil this time because the white pencil line wasn't noticeable.

I cut along the bottom line to make shorts.

Keeping the jeans right side out,
 I folded the raw edge up twice until it lined up with the pencil line I made and pinned.

Lastly, I sewed along the top of the folded edge all around the jeans.

See how fun and cute they turned out? Love them! =) And my daughter said they are way comfy.

And finally...ruffled hem...

This tutorial also works great if you have already purchased a pair of shorts and they are too short. Or if your child's legs have gotten longer and their shorts look shorter. =) It's a great way to lengthen shorts. I suppose you could also lengthen pants or jeans this way as well.

I marked where I wanted the denim section of the shorts to end. (Pay no attention to the top line I made in the picture. This was done by mistake...I got confused, which, if I'm being honest, happens frequently when I'm sewing. =P  )

I cut along the bottom line.

The fabric I'm using for the ruffle came from a vintage sheet I got at a yard sale.  I have an obsession with vintage sheets...it's just so much material for so little money!  And I'm in love with this pattern! It's so pretty.

 

I measured around the pant leg and added a couple of inches. That's the length of fabric I cut from the sheet. I made the width 2" wide.  Because I'm lazy, I used the finished edge of the sheet, so I wouldn't have to hem it. =D

I sewed a gathering stitch on the raw edge of the flowered strip...this made an automatic ruffle.

With the right sides together, I pinned the raw edge of the ruffle to the raw edge of the denim.  (I overlapped a tiny bit at the end.) 

I sewed them together making sure to stitch just below the gathering stitch. 

Once I was done with that, I used a zigzag stitch on the raw edges of the ruffle on the inside of the shorts. 

The final step was to iron the ruffle down. 

Here is the end result! How cute are these?!?  I love them! They are so cutesy!

Thanks for reading! =) 

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Refashioning Winter Clothes Into Summer Clothes

 I'm saving a bunch of money this summer by refashioning alot of my cold weather clothes into summer clothes. 

I've turned some capri pants into shorts (which I will do a tutorial for sometime soon.) 

And now I'm changing some long sleeve shirts into summer tops.

Unfortunately, for this shirt, I was experimenting and forgot to take pictures of most of the sewing part. 

But I will do my best to explain....

 

 I started by cutting straight across at the bottom of the "v" in the v neck. I went all the way to the sleeve. 

Then I cut off the sleeves. 

Next I cut off the front portions of the shirt that were only attached to the back now.

 After this step, it looked like this:

 I took the sleeves that I cut off and cut up the seam and opened it up. 

          It looked like this:  

 

 To find the length that I needed for the straps, I tried on the top. 

I measured for width and length.  I also added about an inch (just to be safe) for seam allowances.

                                                                                  

Here's the part I forgot to take pictures of : After measuring for length and width, I cut out strips to those measurements from the sleeves that I cut open. 

Next, I pinned a strip to the back of the shirt. (I pinned them with right sides together, so when its flipped back over, the right sides are showing.) 

Then I sewed a gathering stitch on the other end.  I pinned it to the front of the shirt.  I did this for both straps.  Then I tried on the shirt to make sure everything was how I wanted it.

I sewed the straps into place on the back and the front.

And lastly, I tried on the shirt inside out, and pinned the excess fabric up the sides to give the shirt a better "fit". 

 I carefully removed the shirt and sewed along the pins. 

I tried it on one more time just to make sure it was perfect! =)

 
                                                                                                

Thanks for reading! =) 

And next time, I will try to remember to take tons of pictures! 

***If you have some time, stop by my Zibbet shop!***

www.zibbet.com/TheRufflyBuffalo  

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Turn Long Sleeves Into Flutter Sleeves

 

I got this red shirt at a yard sale (quelle surprise). 

When I bought it, I knew I was gonna make it a short sleeve shirt. 

I think it was 25 cents. I bought it at the same church yard sale that I got this shirt.  

The first thing I did was remove the sleeves with a seam ripper. 

 I used the seam ripper to remove the top 2 buttons.

 I folded the neckline under and pinned.

Then I sewed along the pins.

 I cut along the seam of the sleeves that I removed and laid it out flat.

 I cut off the top of the sleeve to use it as the flutter sleeve.

 I sewed a gathering stitch on the straight edge of the flutter sleeve. 

                                Then I pinned the straight edge to the armhole with right sides together.

I sewed along the pins. 

I forgot to take pictures of the next step (oooopsy)....I zig zag stitched the raw edge of my flutter sleeve. 

I also top-stitched near the shoulder seam. I did two rows of stitches to keep the sleeve a little more in place.

 And that's all there is to it! =)

Thanks for reading!

 I also want to point out my shoes! I love love love them! They were only 50 cents a yard sale! SCORE! =)

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Pretty Summer Shirt From A Men's Dress Shirt

Have I mentioned how much I love Yard Sales! =) 

 It's one of my favorite things about summer! 

I got this pretty pink men's dress shirt at a church yard sale. It didn't cost much. I think it was 25 cents.

It was big! I don't remember the size exactly and now I can't find the tag. lol 

Here's how I made it girly: 

First, I took off the pocket with a seam ripper.

Next, I laid out the dress flat in the floor. Then cut straight across from armpit to armpit.  I used a ruler to get a straight line.  (I set the top part of the shirt to the side, because I would need that later.)

Along the top, I finished the raw edge, by folding over the top twice (about 1/2") and sewing a hem.

Next, I turned the bottom part inside out and tried it on.  I used stick pins to pin the sides closer to my body.  This part is a little tricky. You want to pin the same amount of fabric on both sides.

I *carefully* took off the shirt so I could sew it tighter to my body. 

Next, I sewed along the pins on both sides.

I tried on the shirt (right side out) to make sure the fit was right. Not too tight, Not too loose, since I was adding straps.

 Once I was happy with the fit, I turned the shirt inside out again and trimmed off the excess fabric.

 Then I zig zagged the raw edges.

 This is what it should look like after the zig zag.

 

I turned the shirt right side out.  I sewed the top two buttons shut. (Not everyone would have to do this, but I'm a little bigger than average on top, and button up shirts tend to gap on me.)

 The next step was to try the shirt on again. I then measured for the straps,adding an extra inch on each end to sew inside the shirt.  I also measured how wide I wanted the strap to be.  For example, my straps needed to be 2.5" wide and 17.5" long after the raw edges were sewn.  

I used the material from the original sleeves to cut strips for my straps.

 I cleaned up my raw edges on my straps before I moved onto anything else.

 I took one end of my strap and sewed a gathering stitch straight across the bottom. I only did this for the part of the strap that will be on the front of the shirt.  **To make a gathering stitch, I turn up my thread ease to "9" and make my stitch size "5".  I leave a long tail of thread on each end so I can adjust the gather before I sew it to the shirt.** 

My next step was to attach the straps to the shirt (almost finished...yay!)  

To do this, I tried the shirt on (again), I found a place on the front of the shirt that I was happy with and pinned the gathered part of the strap there. Then I sewed it to the shirt.  I tried the shirt on again. This next step is a whole lot easier if you have a helper to pin the strap to the back of the shirt. 

Make sure the straps are tight enough before you sew them on.  If they aren't, adjust the straps from the back of the shirt until they fit the way you want.

Then sew the strap to the back where it's pinned.

 

 I felt the shirt was missing something. It seemed to plain. I went through my fabric stash and found some white fabric and decided this shirt needed a decorative ruffle.  To do this, I measured in between both straps then doubled that measurement.  Mine measured 9 so I cut a strip of fabric 18 inches long by 2 inches wide.

I put it in the sewing machine and sewed a gathering stitch.  This is how it looked after that:

I pinned the white fabric ruffle in place and sewed along the seam on the front of the shirt. Lastly, I zig zag stitched the bottom raw edge of the white ruffle.

    

And now I have a super cute summer top!

Thanks for reading! 
Hope this all made sense. If not, just ask and I'll do my best to answer any questions. =) 



                     ****If you have a minute, stop by my zibbet shop!****
              www.zibbet.com/TheRufflyBuffalo

                              Thanks!