I snatched up this dress at the Salvation Army a couple months ago while picking out things for my book’s photo shoot. It was plain, a little frumpy, an awesome neckline, and an excellent candidate for redressing!

Here’s what I did to make this frumpy dress into a cute little summer top.

Measure up from the bottom and cut off 11 inches.

Oh and make sure to not just cut straight across, the back is usually slightly longer than the front to accommodate your our behinds.

Press the edge under and straight stitch to finish off.

Sew together 3″ wide pieces of the scraps to make a fabric band.

Tie it off and enjoy OR pin and stitch it to the front so it stays put while wearing and then tie in the back.

I love it when I get to take something I wouldn’t be caught in and convert it into my new favorite piece to wear around town!

What have you refashioned into a summery piece lately?

Happy crafting!
Kristin

While I like to dress semi-nice, my semi nice is pretty casual. One of the things I love about being self employed is that I can switch it up from jeans and a t-shirt to a skirt and a silk blouse. Nowhere in this mix is there a fancy frock that looks good enough to stand next to Jason in a tux. No, we aren’t getting married (our date is for next fall), but one of Jason’s close friends is, which means I will be standing next to him in a tux.

What to wear?

I went shopping last weekend and found a few dresses that were “meh.” There was a cute shirt dress from Express that made me look like a sausage. Then there was the cute semi-vintage looking dress from Yonkers that made me look like a turtle.

Jason was like “why don’t you wear that dress you made?” Well, because…crap…it doesn’t fit any more. Plus I wore it to Jason’s friend’s wedding that was last summer and it’s the same group of friends. While I’m not crazy fashion conscious–I would say I’m pretty fashion unconscious–I want a new, fancy pants dress, dang it.

The allure of handmade and its perfect fitting ways makes store bought dresses sub-par (without spending a few hundred bucks). I decided to take a look in my fabric stash and I found just the fabric. I love this stuff, but up until now I haven’t had a use for it.

Then I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some supplies for the book I’m writing. Their Simplicity patterns were 99 cents! I instantly fell in love with this dress:

I was thinking about the boat neck collar (I have really wide shoulders for being short and it helps my neck look a little longer), sleeveless, and a sash kind of tie made from a cream satin.

I have about a month and a half to get this dress finished up, which is plenty of time. I’ll be posting progress shots along the way. I think this will be the fanciest dress I’ve made thus far. I’m pretty excited about it.

Have you ever tried to make your own dress? How did it turn out?

Happy crafting!
Kristin

Hopefully this will be the last part before the finishing post. Taking your generous advice, I went with option 3. After thinking about it, the gathers with the gathered fabric would have looked frumpy for sure. I think the nice, straight cotton is perfect. Plus, once I cut it out, the landscape of flowers was just too perfect.

Oh and yes, haha, I’m not surprised if you have some pillowcases like this in your linen closet. This is part of a sheet set I aquired from a thrift store back in DeKalb. I actually used the same fabric on this apron (love it!). And this is the last flat sheet of the set.

I cut out all the pieces and realized I was faced with another dilemma, hidden side seam pockets, or ones in the front.

After puzzling about it for awhile, I decided on both and snipped out the rest of the pattern piece. I’m hoping that once the July CLM is finished, I’ll have time to finish the dress for my road trip on Saturday. Some friends and I are going to Des Moines to Market Day, the Court Street Farmer’s Market, and the Des Moines Art Festival. It will be quite the little adventure.

I do have one problem. The linen, after dyeing and washing, is a wrinkled mess. I tried ironing quite a lot and it still won’t flatten out. After doing a bit of looking around, it’s supposed to come right out if it’s fully damp first. I’ll give it a try and report back. Here is a nice write up on linen care.

I’m really enjoying this clothing sewing kick. Granted I’m not as prolific as some, but I’m pretty happy with the new garment a month pace I’m setting. Have you made any new summer pieces yet this year? Can I see? Send me links in the comments. What’s your latest favorite pattern?

Happy sewing!
Kristin

I’m faced with a dilemma. I’m stuck on which color combo and fabric choice to go with for my next sewing adventure.

I’ve been holding on to this brown fabric for “just the right project” and I think I found it, but I’m just not sure. Here is the dress I’m going to make. It’s Butterick B5210 and in theory it’s Fast and Easy –looking forward to that.

So I’m thinking the brown crepe style fabric would give this pattern a nice rustic look, especially if I trimmed it with a solid color. I was thinking blue, because I love blue. The brown fabric will be sewn so the textured stripes are vertical, not horizontal.

I’m starting to lean toward this linen I dyed this winter. It’s been suffering in stashdom for too long.

{option 1}

This royal blue would look really dynamic as well.

{option 2}

Then I got cold feet and thought, “What if this pattern looks rotten on me?” There isn’t enough to make another dress from this fabric. It’s a thrifted find from awhile ago. That is a hoarding tendency right there, but I’ll get over it if you think it will look cute.

Anyway, I dug around a little more and thought one of these two options might be fun too:

{option 3}

{option 4}

Okay, so what do you think? It’s times like these I wish there was a Ravelry type community where I could look at all the fabrics and colors and body types with this pattern. Oh wait, that’s Burda Style. I found this member submitted project. Turns out that Butterick B5210 makes a nice blouse if I end up jacking the dress up too much.

I’m going to start adding my projects to Burda Style once I get it all figured out. For whatever reason, I have no clue what they are talking about when they want credit. I’ve tried a few combos to no avail. I’ll figure it out later.

Leave a comment with the option you like, I’ll choose and get started on it by next Tuesday.

Happy stitching!
Kristin

How long ago was that post about this poor forgotten shirt dress? Umm, months. Well, I got the sewing bug bad this past weekend and finally finished it. I took the time to add a few special touches and they were so worth it.

Pattern: Simplicity 3507 – inspired by Project Runway series
Pattern size used: 15/16
Fabric: Thin cheap-o cotton from Jo-ann’s “Red Tag” pile – about $2 a yard and used 1 1/2 yardsish.
Time: Honestly no clue. There was a lot of hemming and hawing and chatting and coffee drinking. I want to say 6 hours, but that may be because of all the ripping I did on Saturday. A semi-sane sewer would be able to whip it together in 4 or less.
Alterations: Okay, I know I need to lose some weight (lost 1 inch this month, hooray!), but how much would a person weigh if they fit this in it’s first go? I made the size for 36″ bust and it went past my knees. I had to take off 5 inches to get it to come to my upper thigh like in the picture. I made it fall right below my behind and is a bit more like a tunic/smock than a dress. No worries. I wish I would have taken a picture, that would have been a good before and after.

I used some vintage shirt fabric for the bodice liner, which turned out really nicely–super soft. The arms and neck are trimmed with 1/2″ bias tape. I’ll show you how to do that on Friday. I remembered to take pictures. :)

To help accent the pockets, I added a little bit of lace from my grandma’s stash–finally, an appropriate project! I think she would be happy to know I’m incorporating it into the clothes I make for myself.

I’m so happy to have finished this project–shirt #3 finished! Before you know it, I’ll be wearing 100% handmade clothes like over on MakeShift.

I think the Butterick Fast & Easy B5210 will be next. We will see how fast and easy you are, Butterick. Don’t make me make a liar out of you.

Happy sewing!

Kristin Roach

After two years of dropping off clothing donations at the Salvation Army, I finally made my way there to refresh my wardrobe. There is a big difference between stopping by the SA to browse and to shop for clothing. It can be overwhelming looking for clothing at the thrift store. There is so much and a lot of it doesn’t fit, is stained, is torn, or is just a completely bizarre fashion. When I want to find really golden clothing items, this is how I approach it so it doesn’t take all day or overwhelm me.

1. Dress in layers.

Wear a button up shirt over a tank top so you can easily try on shirts without a trip to the dressing room. It sounds silly, but seriously, it really speeds things up. There is only one fitting room in our SA and people go in there with about 40 items.

2. Be systematic about your approach.

Start on one side of the store and work your way to the other. Push the clothes to one side so you have room to slide them and actually see them. Then flip through one item at a time. You would be amazed how the really good stuff gets stuck between two weird circa 1980′s over-sized shoulder padded weirdness.

3. Know your pants brands and the sizes that fit.

Pants are a strange beast and I hate trying them on, especially at thrift stores. But so do the majority of other people shopping there, so you are sure to find some nice ones. Know the brands, styles, and sizes that fit and look for those. I usually find at least one pair that works great. If in doubt, take the time to try it on. Pants that don’t fit are a pain to alter. It’s the one thing that I will haul to the fitting room if I’m not sure.

4. Skirts and dresses – I love skirts and dresses from the thrift store.

You really can get things there that you won’t find anywhere else. And tucked in with a bazillion tight waisted granny skirts can be something like this:

or this:

All of my favorite skirts have come from the thrift store.

And if you are lucky, you can find sweet little shirt dresses like this number:

5. Are you okay with a little mending?

If you are, you are opening yourself to even more great finds. Like this cute shirt:

The underarms were torn. They can be fixed with a simple stitch and no more than a half hour. This shirt cost $1. That’s less than the cost of the buttons and fabric.

6. Know what you want to hone in on, but stay open to other options.

For this trip, I really wanted to get some basic shirts to wear this summer. You know those simple black fitted t’s–some v-neck, some scoop, some round. I found 4 really great black shirts to wear with just about anything, each just $1.99 – $1 after the sale discount. In a retail store, each one of these shirts would have cost $12.50 – $24.99 depending on the brand. They were all in great shape and the black hasn’t faded.

7. Take Allergy Meds.

This one Karen brought up after looking over the post and I think it’s a good point. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t wash their clothing before dropping it off at the thrift store. If you are allergic to cats, dogs, dust, smoke and the like, take some meds before you head out. Then you won’t have an allergy attack between the shoulder pads and your favorite new shirt.

Here’s to loads of happy thrifting!
Kristin Roach

I hope to find a use for every single scrap of clothing and office supplies, but it’s a little unrealistic. An item that frustrates and annoys me may be the perfect thing for someone else.

Find a new use for an old thing: Redress!

In the case of the office, studio, or wardrobe, try to think outside of the box and look at things in a whole new light. Sure you grew out of that shirt years ago, but could you remake it into something fresh? Could you use that thing-a-ma-jig as a fun and functional coat hook? Try to find a way it can fill a need in your home or studio that it may not have been originally designed for.

{photo by Karen Liao – awesome contributor and CL online editor}

Cut two shirts and stitch them together for a new one. A skirt can become a shirt. Cardboard can become drawer dividers. Foam core can become fabric panels. The options are endless…unfortunately even I get stumped.

If you are coming up empty on ideas, move on to the next.

Give someone else a chance: Donate!

Just because you can’t find a use doesn’t mean someone else won’t see it as the perfect thing for their home, studio, or wardrobe. We mostly think of the Salvation Army, but there are many other great charities that resell everything from clothing to office supplies. Check the yellow pages and pick the one you like the most or best suits what you have to donate.

{photo from wikicommons - I have a soft spot for The Salvation Army because of things like helping after the floods here in Iowa.}

If your clothing is in good shape, you can consign it for a little spare cash. It’s not a ton of money mind you, but it could be used to pick up some “new to you” threads at the same shop or a thrift store.

And Freecycle.org and CraigsList.org are great resources for passing your things on to others.

I keep a trash bag in the hall closet to put anything destined for the thrift store in it. When it gets full, about once every two weeks, I drop it off.  I pair it up with the trip to the recycling center and the library which are all on the same side of town.

Too beat up or just not the right type of thing to make a donation? Move right on.

Give it new Life: Recycle!

Sometimes you have loved an item so much that it’s completely unusable and would end up in the trash even at the Salvation Army. Old clothing can recycled into rags, pot holders, and dishrags. Weaving rag rugs is a great way to use up old cut up clothing.

{photo by Zaf on WikiCommons}

Paper, cardboard, bottles, jars, and just about anything else can be taken to your local recycling center. If you have curbside pick up, (envious!) all the better. Make sure all your bottles are rinsed and dried. Sort your drop off by type to make the whole process smooth.

We have a great program here in Ames called Cycles. They ride to your office/home/studio and pick up on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule. They are in such high demand that the owner has a waiting list (including me). He’s getting more work than he can hire people for. This is pretty amazing considering it’s a paid recycling service in an economic downturn. Maybe we are all on the upswing. Maybe people are starting to give a crap about the environment. Hopefully both!

Find your local recycling options on Earth911. They have many great recycling tips and articles. Take a look around their site for more info on what your trash gets recycled into.

How do you redress, donate, and recycle? What works best for your home/office?

Best wishes!

Kristin Roach

A big part of the wardrobe redress project is to fix up the clothes I love, so I don’t feel obligated to wear the clothing I don’t love because they are in better condition. This week I tackled my mending basket and fixed up three of my favorite items.

I had preemptively patched my jeans because I knew the one side was wearing thin. I did not correctly anticipate how the fabric would fail. Before I knew it, I was indecent again. Oh crap. Of course I fixed that up quickly with a bit of whip stitching, no worries there. I also trimmed up the loose fibers and re-enforced the edges around the hole with even more stitching.

I’ve had the buttons for this sweater for months and have sat down to stitch them on so many occasions. I would make a cup of tea, turn on a movie, set out my supplies, and…fall asleep. Ha! This weekend I finally succeeded, check out this awesome 70′s sweater jacket that’s now all ready to go for the winter (or chilly summer nights). It’s been missing it’s buttons for over 4 years!

Too bad in the whole mess of mending, I didn’t come up with this flash of brilliance until it was too late:

When you pick up replacement buttons for a garment, pin them to the garment. These poor little guys have been stolen by the ferrets, lost in my bag, lost in the couch, lost in the car, and now I can’t find them at all. I just had this set left (2 out of the four buttons needed) after all the loosing a finding, so I pinned it to the sweater and got them stitched on. Next time, I’ll pin them as soon as I place them with my mending. If you are using loose buttons, you could put them on a safety pin.

I’ve been ignoring the many many tears in my favorite t-shirt, well, no more! Check out these fixed up holes:

All of them:

Holy crap, that is a torn up shirt. I still totally love it! And thanks to an evening of mending, I can continue loving it to shreds.

Have you done any mending lately? What’s been sitting in your pile the longest?

Happy stitching!

Kristin Roach

This is going to end up being a 100 part series or something. I’m not sure what it is about this particular set of shirts, but I keep getting stuck on them. Thankfully, a friend of mine from the Sew ‘n’ Swap Judy, had a brilliant idea. Lining for the lining!

Here was the issue. I had bought this interfacing so I could finish up this shirt dress jumper deal, but it was pretty uncomfortable looking. I couldn’t imagine wearing it against my skin.

This is where the creative, awesome, more talented and more experienced seamstress, Judy stepped in. “Why don’t you just line it with that old shirt there?” It was an extra large, extra soft blouse that had already been partially used for sewing. Hmm, why not indeed! It was perfect. It fixed my scratchy interfacing issue AND used up some of the shirt that had been haunting my stash for over a year.

I’m hoping I can get this little number sewn up soon. There are a lot of non-sewing related things going on lately that need to some first. I sure do miss my normal crafting binges. I am just about to start painting the mural here in Ames. All the coordination, planning, and city hoop-jumping is taking up too much of my time. I can’t wait to be post-mural. :) Or at least I want the painting to start…that’s the fun part!

That’s the wonderful thing about Craft Leftovers. It gets me to keep working on these projects. I know if I keep checking back with all of you on this freaking shirt it will eventually get done. Then we can all celebrate the long road called “creative process.” Haha.

Do you have any projects sitting on the back burner while you figure out what to do next? Figuring out the next step is usually what puts my projects into solitary confinement.

Happy sewing!

:: Kristin Roach ::

Hi there, it’s Karen again! A few weeks ago, Kristin let me share a few of my attempts to “fancy up” my wardrobe. This week I have two more projects to write about. Last time, I wrote about my two tactics: embellishment and reconstruction. I thought it might be interesting to see how both techniques can be used on the same shirt for different results.

the shirt

A few years ago, I was running errands with my kids and saw this shirt. (Yes, it’s another wrinkly picture.) It came in a few different colors/patterns and I couldn’t decide between two. Time is of the essence when out with my boys, so I tossed them both in the cart and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, I wore it a few times and decided that something wasn’t quite right. The neckline and fit are a bit off for my build but not so bad that it can’t be worn.

embellish it

I got my hands on a copy of Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann and kept being drawn toward the “Pretty Petals Tank.” It’s a really fun and inspiring read with clear instructions. Even as a beginner, I was able to crochet the pattern below.

(I found this picture on the web. Nice, eh?)

Somehow, I connected my not-quite-right shirt with this tank top. I followed the Permann’s instructions for the crochet and then used the elements to change the neckline on my shirt. I had to use fewer of the motifs but I like how it turned out. The most difficult part of the project was finding a yarn that was a perfect match. I ended up with a yarn that was close enough. Since the shirt is a gauzy fabric, it’s passable.

reconstruct it

For the second of the two shirts, I decided on a reconstruction. What I ended up doing was rather simple but it took three tries to get there. The second shirt had this fun pattern. I’m not a tall person–5-ish feet. So I think the print was too overwhelming. Still, I thought if reduced the visual impact it could work. First I tried using some elastic to make an empire waist. That didn’t look right. In the photo below you can still see the crease marks where I added and then removed a casing for the elastic.

A few months later, I was out shopping for my kids and found the blue tank in the picture. It was ultra cheap and the right size and color. Instead of trying to make a “new” shirt, I decided to make a dress. The rough sketch shows where I made my cuts. I used the bit from the bottom of the shirt to add ties to the sides of the dress to give it a bit more shape.

It took two attempts to get it right. The ties aren’t visible in the picture, but are sewn on the side seam where the two fabrics meet.

And, sadly, this was the best picture I could get. I probably should have dusted the mirror too but dusting is in the same category as ironing. You get the idea, right? It’s a very light and airy dress. It’ll work nicely for a beach coverup on a sweltering summer day. It’s not to early to talk about the beach is it?

**********************

Karen Liao is a lifelong crafter and online editor for the Craft Leftovers blog. She sells her handmade goods for charity in her etsy shop, TurtleStar.