Isn't that Pinteresting? - 3

The third installment in our Pinterest series relates to one of the main topics on this blog, restyling old clothes into something more useful and wearable, when the useful life of the original garment is past: in short, restyling!  You all know how much I love the search for raw materials, as well as the end results, of fashion upcycling.

This pin actually comes from a retail store called LaGarconne, based in NYC, carrying oodles of really on- trend clothing.  So the garment pictured was designed this way... but I was thinking... what about an old tank or T, joined to a discarded men's shirt?  Ooh-la-la et voila!

Do you get some of your inspiration from retail catalogs or websites?  Everyone hacks Anthropologie, right? What are your favorites?

Men's Shirt Upcycle

Remember the men's shirts I snagged at Salvation Army last week?  I decided to work with the blue checked one, which was $2.99 initial investment.

It's a very nice quality shirt - Polo by Ralph Lauren.  First I cut off the collar and the sleeves.

The I used some scrap quilting fabric I had on hand to make bias binding.  I used this to finish the neck and armholes.  Love the complementary colors!

I fitted the shirt to a woman's contours and added a sash made from the complementary fabric.

I made the back of the shirt into the new front, so all I have left to do is remove the pocket!

Even though the pocket still needs to be removed, I already wore the top out to do some errands.  Very comfy, and nicer looking than my usual T.  I'm pretty pleased with the outcome, but even if it was too "altered" for your tastes, you could wear it as a crafting or kitchen coverall!  What do you think?

Lessons From the Past:2 - Shirt Shuffle

The Make and Mend for Victory book has been so much fun to read, and such an inspiration.  I have always been interested in reuse of discarded or unwanted fabrics, but this book has helped me to see things through my grandmother's eyes even a little bit more than before.  Having been a young woman during the Great Depression and WW2, she knew how to pinch a penny until there were tears in Abe's eyes!

I stopped into our local Salvation Army store the other day and picked up two old men's shirts.  Both are large sized.  One was $2.99 and the other $4.99.  And, of course, you may have a stock of worn out men's shirts at your disposal for free!

I have plans to modify these into women's blouses, but another chapter of Make and Mend for Victory had me looking at the many other potential garments hiding within these shirts.  Many of you have young children.  These shirts are ideal for making all kinds of garments for the little ones! Again, patterns of the day are used in these layouts, but modern patterns would work as well if you haven't a source (or the budget) for vintage patterns.

I hope this gives you some great ideas, as it did me!  Happy sewing!

Shared on Frugally Sustainable.

Lessons From the Past - Suit Salvage!

So, one of my birthday presents to myself was Make and Mend for Victory which was published in 1942 by the Spool Cotton Company.  Chapter 5a deals with converting a men's suit to a woman's suit!  If you've ever been confusied about turning one garment into another, this chapter is for you.

In the chapter, old men's suits were converted to women's suits using three contemporary patterns of the day, Hollywood 949, Advance 2997, and Vogue 9137.  Prior to thinking about the pattern or the layout, one needs to acquire an old men's suit, too worn for daily wear, as is, but in goo enough condition to warrent a restyle.  For instance, severely worn cuffs on sleeves and pants might make the suit look too tacky for your man to wear, but if the main of the suit is in good condition, you're in business!  What?  Your man doesn't wear suits?  No problem!  Head on down to your thrift store and look for a larger sized men's suit.  These can often be had for a few dollars, when the wool suiting would cost scads if new!

Next, clean the suit in whatever manner you plan to use for your finished garment.  This will assure pre-shrinking, as well as give you nice clean fabric to work with.

Next, become best friends with your seam ripper and take the entire garment apart.  Save those buttons, and any detailing you think you can use.  Press all of the pieces flat for a proper layout.  Your pattern is laid out on the pieces as in this example (using Hollywood 949):

As you can see, the women's pattern fits into the pieces salvaged from the man's suit!  The sew your pattern as you normally would, you Goddess of Ecological Reuse!

Linked to:  Frugally Sustainable, The Thrifty Home

Workin' on the UFO

I get so angry with myself over these UFOs sometimes!  It frustrates me that I would begin a project and cast it aside without finishing.  That's just not something I would do in any other aspect of my life.  And yes, I suppose sewing is a "hobby" and perhaps not on the same plane as, say child rearing (Imagine putting your baby in a closet and coming back years later to finish "bringing him up"!), but there is an investment here.

First of all, it comes out of the bag looking as though someone slept in it!  This is the dress lining.

This is the fashion fabric for both the dress and the jacket, after pressing.  It's a charcoal grey with a subtle white check.  I think it's a good pick for the pattern.  It's deceptive in this picture but it's a very light weight suiting, definitely wearable in spring, summer and fall.

And I even managed to save the instructions!  Yay, me!  Well, heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work I go.

Completed Project - Boxy Jacket

New Look 6619 is done!  I'm not sure why I relegated this to the UFO pile, but I'm glad it's out and done!  I'm happy with the way it looks with the previously completed skirt, and it fits nicely.  Here are some pictures:

My biggest critique of myself here is that I did not carefully match the plaid.  I remember not really caring at the time I cut it, which is very uncharacteristic of me.  I remember having enough fabric to cut it, but not to match.  All in all, not bad for a UFO completion project.  Have a super day!

Next Project: UFO #1, New Look 6619

So, the first of my UFOs to be rectified is New Look 5519, a cute boxy jacket.  I believe I started this two years ago.  I had a great menswear wool suiting fabric on hand and I decided to make a suit.  I completed a nice pencil skirt, and chose this pattern to make a jacket from, and then cut it out and never began the sewing.  Though I have made many successful jackets in the past I remain intimidated by them - buttonholes and buttons and linings - oh, my! 

I have now gamely started the process of sewing and have put together the main body of the jacket, view C.  Next up is adding the sleeves.  I'll keep you posted!

Owl get it all done by Yule

This is the time, each year, when I wish I'd crafted and sewed my ass off all summer, and that all my Yule presents were made, wrapped and ready to go.  <Cue the maniacal laughter>  Well, needless to say, I haven't and they're not.  I'm going to make these cute little owl pillows for Mike's three 3 year old grandchildren.  This guy is the prototype.  Theirs are going to be made in a cuddly fleece instead of the recycled menswear, but you get the idea.  I'll post other things as I get them made, as long as it doesn't spoil anybody's surprise.

I've also been working on getting some garments finished for my Etsy shop, though this has been a painfully slow process as well.  Where does time go?  Anyway, I finished another upcycled vest.  The vest itself was obtained from a Goodwill shop some years ago and the embellishments were added by yours truly, and completed this morning!  Hope you like it!