Refashion – Sherpa Fleece Jacket Collar

I've had this faux leather jacket for a few years now. I got it for a great deal at TJ Maxx and I've worn it a lot. And well loved means well worn, the faux leather has now started to flake away especially at the back of the shawl collar, covering me in little brown flakes. I still love the jacket but it's not cute to be covered in jacket dandruff. To remedy the dandruff issue and hopefully get a little more wear out this jacket, I devised a refashion.

Refashion – Zip Back T-shirt with Tutorial

Today I have a very easy, fun and satisfying DIY refashion to share with you. If you've ever inserted a zipper, this will be a breeze for you. Yesterday, in my DIY Outfit post I shared my inspiration for this top as well as sewing patterns and fabric to make it all yourself. If you don't feel like starting from scratch, you can grab a striped t-shirt from your closet or the local thrift store. Read on for all the how-to details.

How to DIY Jodhpur Pants

By now you probably know that I rather like funky pants. You know, the pants with little extra somethin' somethin'.  I'm not afraid of harem pants or printed pants. So, if you're wondering if I like jodhpurs, then you know the answer is a resounding "Yes please". Read on for how I would DIY this look. If you're looking for a last minute Halloween costume, just add some riding boots, helmet and a plaid jacket and you're ready to go.

Refashion – DIY Distressed Jeans

Do you ever find yourself liking something and then you see it everywhere? That's how I feel about sweaters and distressed jeans right now. They're everywhere and I love them. I had this pair of old jeans that I was getting kind of tired of so I decided to give them a makeover. It was really fun and quick to do. And it's so easy, anyone can do it.

Fall Sewing No. 2 – Refashioned Skirt

My favorite thing about refashioning garments is how much time it can save. I mean who doesn't love saving time, right? This skirt started out as a 1980s-era dress with large pearl-like buttons all the way up the front. I had plans to make the dress into a skirt over a year ago but never finished. Lately, I've been trying to clean up my closets and finish abandoned projects. When I pulled this one out of the bin, I had a flash of inspiration that I could add a black knit waistband and finish this one off.

Refashion - DIY Pocket T-shirt Tutorial

Adding a pocket to a t-shirt is a great way to bring new life to plain old boring shirt. It's really fast and easy and you can use pretty much any fabric. I used a piece of this self-designed fabric that I had printed with Spoonflower. If you get tired of the pocket (I mean, it happens right?) or want to change it to a different fabric, just use a seam ripper to remove the stitching.

Refashion – Ribbon Trim Puffer Vest

I've had this classic navy puffer vest hanging unworn in my closet for years. The poor little thing hasn't seen the light of day in quite a few years and not just because it really never gets cold in LA. It's just too large for me and makes me feel frumpy. So with a little trimming – both with snips and with ribbon – this vest has had a fabulous makeover

Thursday Thriftday - Plaid Button Down

As part of my new year's plans, I'm finishing up old projects and so far so good. I started refashioning this shirt back in October. I don't know what was wrong with me while making this shirt. All I wanted to do was recut it for a slimmer fit. I've done it a few times before but I guess it was so long ago I just didn't remember my exact method. So it took lots of adjusting and I still made probably the ugliest bumpiest hem ever. BUT, it's done. :) And I do like the athletic shape of the hem. Just don't look too closely.

How are your New Year resolutions going so far? Are you doing any refashioning? Any other crafty resolutions?

Mini DIY Tutorial – How to add Tweed Elbow Patches

Nothing says Fall more than tweed, denim and elbow patches (well, maybe leaves and pumpkins but we're talking fabric here, ok?). These are really simple to add to any shirt or jacket that needs repair or just a little extra flair.

Supplies:

Shirt, sweater or jacket

Material for patches

Steam a Seam Double Stick Fusible or similar product

Thread

Embroidery floss

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut 2 patches and finish edges with an overcast stitch (by machine or hand).

Step 2: Adhere patches to Steam a Seam. Trim any excess fusible.

Step 3: Determine placement of patches on sleeves. Fuse in place.

Step 4: Using embroidery floss, make a blanket stitch around edges of patch. Add embroidery as desired.

This is a fun and easy project to refashion any old shirt. It would look great to add suede or micro-suede patches to the elbows of an old tweed jacket. I'm thinking about adding more embroidery around the collar or pocket of this shirt. What do you think? Does it need something more? For more elbow patch inspiration check out this pin. And for more DIY inspiration see my DIY fashion pinboard.

Refashion – Sporty Tank Top

This sporty little tank top started out as a loose, knit peasant top that fell off my shoulders on the rare occasion that I actually wore it. The yellow contrast fabric is the swatch from a fabric I have on Spoonflower. (If you'd like to get some of your own, you can actually purchase it here.) I used the basic tank pattern that I used for my Dip Hem Dress. 

See more pics after the jump.

Refashion – Floral Fabric Covered Shoes

Long story short, I ended up with a pair of defective shoes that had an uneven toe. I hated to have them sitting around taking up space so – refashion! I found a complimentary fabric and covered up the defective toes. I also added a little tab on the back to make it look cohesive.

I lined the fabric and just glued it to the shoes. Hopefully it holds up. I then added an embroidered triangle to the front. I was thinking about painting it too but thought maybe that would be too much.

Have you ever refashioned shoes? They take so much wear and tear I've always been reluctant in the past.

Refashion – Painted Cutoffs

Cutoffs are probably the oldest or at least the most common refashion in the history of denim. I've had this pair of jeans for a while. I always felt like the length was just a little too short and rarely wore them. So, I couldn't resist cutting them up, grabbing some paint and going to town. It's really very quick and easy to do and will give your cutoffs a little extra flair.

Refashion – Wrap Dress to Cut Out Back

I bought this wrap front dress at a thrift store quite a while ago and have never worn it. It fit well but the skirt was too long and there was something about that plus the white fabric, sleeves and wrap front that reminded me of a nurse's uniform. So, it languished in the back of the closet. Then the other day, I was browsing in H&M and spied a white dress with a tiny dot print and a cut out back. I immediately thought of this dress and quickly set about to refashion it.

Here's the BEFORE:

And (drumroll) the AFTER:

The back features a yoke and cut out opening. This is my second cut out back dress this summer. The style is definitely trending these days. I'm quite pleased that I managed to make both dresses bra friendly yet in different ways. When cutting this dress I made sure not to cut the back too deeply while the yoke is quite high on the back making for a perfectly placed cut out.

 

As a nice subtle contrast, I added a white and black striped piping to the edges. I've used this piping on a dress a year ago (see it here). I bought the piping for only $2 in downtown LA and still have about a yard left. Speaking of dots and stripes, have you seen the Tessuti Awards contest? Their theme this year is exactly that! Shortly after finishing my dress I read about the contest and couldn't believe the coincidence.

Cut Out Back Refashion Instructions 

These instructions are very, very basic. A lot will depend on the style and size of the original dress. 

1. Remove seams at sleeves, shoulders and waist. (If your original dress is not a wrap front, you can probably leave the waist seam alone.) Trim skirt to desired length.

2. Using a basic sleeveless dress pattern as a guide, make a pattern for back yoke and cut out back. (I used Simplicity 1873)

3. Cut 2 back yokes using scrap fabric from dress skirt or contrast fabric. One yoke is for the lining.

4. Cut back using pattern. Cut off top of back and half circle opening.

5. Apply piping to half circle cut out. Finish with bias strips cut from sleeve.

6. Baste piping to back yoke (not to the facing).

7. Stitch back yoke to back.


8. Cut bodice front to match basic pattern and seam at center front.

9. Stitch shoulder seams. (I added an extra rectangle of fabric to my shoulders to get the length right. My original dress had a little section there.)

10. Stitch piping to neck edge and armholes. Finish with bias strips.

11. Attach bodice to skirt. I also stitched 1/4 inch elastic to the waist seam.

12. Hem skirt.

I also removed the pocket and then reattached it a little farther inside than the original location.

I'm really pleased with how this refashion turned out. It's so hard to tell when sewing whether something will work out or just go sadly, terribly wrong. The dress also works well worn with a belt. With a jacket or cardigan it would also be a little more modest, if the occasion calls for it that is.

Vintage Shirtdress Refashion

I inherited this vintage shirtdress with a modern circle print from my great-aunt. As-is it was a bit too small for me. But when I turned it inside out, I could see that the dress had been shortened at the waist and hem. I also found strips of this fabric that I think came from the hem.

All I had to do to alter this dress was undo the stitching at the waist and side seams (darts included) and then stitch it back together. Actually, I had to patch part of the button band at the waist that had been trimmed away. I matched the fabric carefully and you can hardly see the patch. And, the self fabric belt covers the patch completely.

Did you see the button placement? Grouped in pairs. So clever and such an easy way to add an interesting detail without any extra work.

I love the fabric pattern of this dress. For some reason it reminds me of mid-century style ceramics. Maybe it's the circles. I love the variety of circles and that they're not perfectly round and have a rough scratched up look.

Refashion – DIY Men's Shirt to Casual Dress

This is a casual little dress that I re-fashioned from a thrift store men's dress shirt and some scrap chambray fabric I had on hand. The shirt cost just a few dollars and was an extra large size meaning lots of fabric to use. Scroll down for some instructions...

This was a pretty quick dress to refashion and I still have some leftover bits from the shirt that I can use for something or other.

Here's how to do it:

1. Make the yoke. Cut front and back pieces from contrasting fabric with a center back seam and open at the front. I angled the front a bit to make a V-neck. I based my pattern on Vogue V8414 which I think is now out of print.

2. Remove the sleeves and collar from the shirt. Estimate the length you want and trim the top off the shirt straight across. Take in the sides as needed.

3. Stitch the yokes to the front and back.

4. Cut bias strips from the sleeves you removed from the shirt. Use the bias strips to finish the armholes and neck edge.

My only worry is that it turned out a little like a very short house coat. Although if I was 5 inches shorter, the length would not be an issue. But it is a cute little dress and great for the weekend.

Refashion Skirt with Godets

This lovely fabric started out as a dress more years ago than I care to recall. I love the fabric SO much but the colors just don't flatter my skin tone. Thus, the dress was relegated to the work in progress box, with the intention of making it into a skirt.

Initially, I wanted to make the English Garden skirt from the Twinkle Sews book (see my review here), but the pattern proved too challenging. I still wanted to add godets to the skirt so I used the excellent godet instructions from the book High Fashion Sewing Secrets by Claire B Shaeffer. 

For the waistband, I cut a piece of elastic the circumference that I wanted the finished waistband to have. I folded the top edge to the inside, inserted the elastic and used a triple zig zag stitch to stitch it all in place.

Refashion – Mullet Skirt

I bought this knit dress at the thrift store the other night and did a quick (45 minutes!) refashion to make a mullet skirt. The bodice of the dress was too small for me but the skirt had a lot of fabric. I started by cutting off the bodice. Then trimmed away the front of the skirt. From the trimmings, I cut a waistband. Using the same technique that I used for my knit stripe skirt, I added elastic and serged the waistband onto the skirt. Then I hemmed the edge and finito! I'm very pleased with the outcome of this refashion. It only cost $5.99, was quick to make and is easy to wear.

Refashion Pleated Floral Skirt

Believe it or not this is a dress that I wore to my eighth grade graduation. I love the floral pattern just as much now as I did then. The bright, rainbow colors and myriad of flowers are enchanting. The top no longer fit but the gathered skirt had plenty of fabric for a skirt.

There is a very similar skirt for sale on shopbop, the Milly Bianca Birch Tree Print Skirt that I looked at for inspiration. To do this refashion, I first cut off the bodice. Then I cut a waistband from the skirt and applied interfacing.

To make the button plackets, I cut down the center front, interfaced about an inch and a half strip then folded it in and stitched in place. Next I attached the waistband and made the buttonholes. It was a fun project to make and a great way to re-purpose a dress that no longer fit.