New Summer Clothes for free

After a few failures in the little boy refashioning department, I went back to little girls. My poor son. I'm glad he's too young to realize his sister gets a lot more new things than him. Hails is in the stage where she is out of the toddler clothes, but the little girls section looks like it belongs in high school. I'm not dressing my 3-year-old like a teenager. Thus began my t-shirt overhaul.
We had a lot of t-shirts that a friend gave to us last winter. They all fit great through the shoulders and neck, but all of them were a bit too short. Pants still do not fit my little one well, and so I like a little length on the shirts to close the gap a bit. So here is the first of 5.

I just used scraps from another t-shirt to add to the bottom, and then gathered up the little hydrangea looking thing. The white shirt was one I bought for .99 last year - two seasons of wear for less than 1.00! I like that.

Estate Sale Saturday

My awesome husband entertained the kids Saturday morning while I got to visit a couple Estate Sales (my favorite!). The first was in the most beautiful house I had ever seen. I think I missed most of the sale items because I was so distracted by the architectural details and gorgeous flooring and whatnot. I spoke with another woman there for a few minutes about how breathtaking the radiators were! A lot of the house was sectioned off, but I eavesdropped enough to learn that the house had belonged to the local Doctor, and a young married couple would be moving in shortly. Oh how I envied that young couple! I was in an upstairs sitting room when I saw this picture on the wall and said (out loud) "Oh my goodness!" There was an older lady stationed in the room and she smiled and agreed it was beautiful while I frantically dug through my purse trying to find my phone. She quickly realized I was calling for permission and told me about her secret purchases that she would hide from her husband. So cute. My sister has a copy of this picture that I've always loved. I don't even know where I'd first seen it, but I feel like I've grown up knowing and loving a lot of her art. It's the first piece of art that I've ever purchased for myself. I'm so in love!

Bessie Pease Gutmann Picture (13x17ish): $40.00
(check out her other pieces. They're beautiful) The next sale was in the exact opposite kind of house. Super creepy and strange. There were about 7-8 different staircases with only a few steps each. When in the kitchen you would be looking down into the living room. Like really far down - you could only see the tops of people heads. It was pretty dirty and dark, but I managed to find these alphabet cards for 50 cents. I've had my eye on similar cards in specialty shops and boutiques, but never wanted to pay $20.00+ for them. I'm missing the same 3 letters from both sets. My kids are sad that they aren't allowed to play with them, but I don't even like touching them without gloves on. They are pretty grimy! However, they have the perfect vintage look that I'm loving and will be perfect when displayed on the wall in their bedroom.

This 'W' had me confused for a few minutes. It took me that long to realize that it is a pocket Watch, and not a clock.

Finally, back at the beautiful Estate Sale I picked up quite a bit of fabric, including a yard or so of sequined fabric that quickly became the sparkly skirt my daughter had been aching for. It just happens to match her favorite Barbie's dress and there is plenty left over. The only trouble has been convincing her that it is a dress-up skirt and not an every day skirt, and sewing on this fabric is a beast! The sooner it is used up the better.

Turtleneck: Winter to Spring - $1.50

I found a gorgeous skirt this summer that was 2 sizes too big. It sat a little lower than it should, but other than that it was perfect. The problem was I did not have a single top that matched. I tried a few - but always felt self conscious about how they looked. Then I found this j.crew turtleneck that was the exact color! But it had a super super long neck, and even though the fabric is thin - it wasn't going to work for spring and especially not summer. So, chop chop.
The construction on this beauty is laughable at best. I sincerely hope no one looks too closely at the back collar. I even used black thread, because I didn't want to drive heck and gone to pick up some brown. Other than that it turned out beautifully! I put interfacing along the front collar so that the ruffles wouldn't stretch out. I need to trim it down some - that is the white you can see when the camera flashes at it.

It's a good thing asymmetry is in right now. The ruffles grow slightly bigger as they travel across the shirt.

Now I just need to put on some pregnancy weight so that I can fill out my big skirt and I think it'll be a great springy outfit, even with all the dark brown. (by the way: The skirt is a Talbot's that cost $3.00 I think.)

Womens Linen Shirt to Girls Skirt - $1.00

I don't remember when I picked up this shirt. Only that when I see 100% linen I feel compelled to purchase it specifically to use as something else. I turned it into a twirly play skirt for my 3-year-old. I had to use every bit of the shirt and there are plenty of wonky seams all over this thing (even a pleat on one panel), but it's only a play skirt - right? It gathered enough that the seams aren't too obvious. I actually used a Simplicity Pattern for it - but it was so simple I don't think it was necessary.

Rather than holler at her to keep her skirt down all day, I opted to chop up some stretch pants that had been too short and attach them to the skirt. As a child I had to wear a dress to school twice a week from Kindergarten through 5th grade. I remember getting into so much trouble when my mother discovered that I had been sneaking shorts under my dresses. I sort of felt like I was breaking the rules while sewing these shorts on.

She's been playing in it all day and it hasn't slipped down or gotten in her way. She says she likes it, but she does not like "all that brown stuff" and thinks it needs "more glitter".

Stay Tuned

Alright. After 5 months of hibernation I'm ready to start this site up again. I was inspired a ton by this girl's goal of refashioning something every day for a year. It's amazing! My family is also going to relocate in the next few months (don't ask me where - we have no idea as of yet), and I refuse to move my enormous pile of "Clothes to be cut up" with us. So whatever isn't used by the end of May will be donated. Which my husband is very happy about. We've been watching a lot of shows about hoarding and I'm getting nervous that my inability to toss old clothes may be creeping toward hoarding levels. I'm also hoping that having a timeline will make me braver when it comes to chopping and sewing. I'm no seamstress - just learning as I go. So good things to come soon - I just need to find the time to snap a few decent shots.

Cashmere Blend Skirt - $4.00

This was a strange looking cashmere and silk skirt that I thrifted a few months back. It was pretty thin and incredibly soft. I was excited about the fact that it had no shape, just a flat rectangle of yummy softness with nothing but a draw string waist. Blank canvas. Hurray! I finally turned it into a shirt for Hails. I don't feel right calling it a sweater, because it is pretty thin, but it definitely felt like sewing a sweater. I have never wanted a serger more in my life. This was my first time cutting and sewing knit - I did not love it, but I didn't hate it as much as I was anticipating. I cheated and used the waistband to put around the collar so that I wouldn't have to worry about finishing the raw edges.

My gut tell me that a few times through the wash and this thing is going to be stretched out beyond recognition, but for now it is cute albeit a little big. I love catching her petting the sleeves, and loath catching her pulling at the collar (something she does with all her clothes).

With the left over scraps I made a little creature-ish cap for my boy. I doubled up the layers to make it warmer (and the edges were so much easier to finish that way). He, of course, won't keep it on for more than 2 seconds - and my camera is not that fast.

But, if you quickly place it gently on his head (and don't pull it down over his ears) while simultaneously throwing food at him you can kinda sorta see how cute it'll be once winter hits.

*The Sleeves*

Oh My Word! I know where I am coming for fashion advice from here on out. I loved reading all the comments. It reminded me how amazing this whole blogging community thing is. Isn't anonymity great when it comes to giving your opinion? Seriously awesome. Believe it or not, the votes to keep the sleeves were equal to the votes to lose them (what are the odds?). I think I feel pretty good about taking them off and re-working them into something different. You'll be the first to know how it turns out. Thank you again!

Sweater and more Ruffles

I feel like I am pressing my luck with so many refashions in a row, but I have declared November to be a stash-busting month! (never mind the fact that I bought 7 more yards of random fabric last week) I have 2 baskets filled with clothes that need to be reworked and if I don't empty them out soon my husband has threatened to buy more laundry baskets. I firmly believe that no family of 4 needs 10 laundry baskets! That's like buying new underwear because you don't have any clean ones left isn't it? I am determined to empty out at least one whole basket this month.

Before: Anne Taylor sweater $3.99. It was soft, comfortable, and I loved the color. However, the neck was a little low for my liking and I didn't want to have to wear a camisole underneath it. The sweater felt a little empty on top, which made me feel a little frumpy in it. After: I cut up an old brown Halloween t-shirt and ruffled it up. I sewed it on by hand and my fingers are crossed that it won't all come undone in the wash. I had a bit of fabric left over which I added to the sleeves.
I love the higher neckline, but my husband gave me just enough of a weird look to make me unsure of the sleeves. He back tracked pretty quickly, but I'm still a little nervous. I could very easily remove them - but I think I need to seek fashion advice outside of my marriage. Keep them or cut them? What do you think?