Ye Olde Dress to Skirt Refashion

Because this was done before I joined Wardrobe Refashion, there are no "Before" pictures. So imagine if you will...

I bought a dress at the annual Jewish Community Center clothing sale for $5. It was a very stiff, slim-fitting, floor-length dress that I had no hope of fitting into, but I loved the fabric, so I bought it, thinking I'd use the fabric for a bag. Fast forward about seven years while the dress sits untouched. Finally, last year, I dragged it out and realized there was a nice little summer skirt buried in there.

This drawing shows where the skirt came from. After making the cuts, I put in a new zipper, finished the (no longer tiny) waistband with bias tape, and put in a new hem. While this isn't a stunningly new idea in refashioning, it is a little more involved than making a casing and running elastic through it, so I'm glad I had some sewing experience under my belt before I tried this! Now to work on my illustration skills....

Branching Out

When searching for a lightweight jacket to take on vacation, everything was either too dowdy or too Junior Department. Finally, in desperation, I bought a plain, black hoodie. Sure it would keep me warm, but I wanted something CUTE, I wanted something DIFFERENT!

After looking around online for a bit, I decided to add an applique. I confess the design is 100% recycled. --hanging my head--

But isn't it cute?

Classic Refashion

One of the quintessential refashions: turning a pair of jeans into a skirt. A few summers ago, I took a pair of jeans that was too short and hacked them up to make this. This was before I had done much sewing, and when I look at it now, I can see I had a lot to learn. I've never been happy with the hem, but for bumming around on a summer day, it's fine.



I ended up using stash fabric for the inserts rather than the cut-off legs, because my sewing machine balked at all those layers. The fabric is a vintage cotton print that I've been saving forever, and I finally broke down and used some of it. There's still a tiny bit left, but I haven't found the right project for it yet. Ideas?

Weekend Report

Beginner's Greek by James Collins. Recommended! Peter and Holly sit next to each other on a plane and feel as if they were meant to be together. Peter, however, loses Holly's number and has no way of getting in touch with her. Of course there would be no book if they didn't find themselves together again...only problem is they're both involved with other people.

To me, one of the most interesting things about this book is that it was written by a man. Okay, maybe I'm being a female chauvinist, but the way he writes about little nuances in behavior and feelings just strikes me as atypical of a guy.


I read young adult titles for work, so I gave The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson a try. This is the first in a series in which the teenage daughter of the county coroner teams with her dad to solve mysteries. I wasn't impressed. The blurbs on the cover praise Ferguson's research into forensics, but the writing seemed strained. Save your babysitting money, kids.

Vintage Sheets

In today's Countdown to Refashion, we have an oft-used alternative to tradtional fabrics: the vintage sheet. These pajama pants were one of my first sewing projects, about a year ago. Using a sheet was perfect, because, well, I'm cheap, and PJ pants take a lot of yardage. There's also no way I would find a cotton at the fabric store that's as soft as this or in a design I like as much as this.

The remainder of the fabric is still in my stash, waiting to be turned into a cool and breezy pajama top. One of these days....

Countdown to Refashioning

My two month stint with Wardrobe Refashion starts in four days. If you aren't familiar with WR, you can read the rules at this link. Until then, I give you some previous refashions!

I found this skirt at a thrift shop a couple of years ago. It was orginally a reversible wrap skirt for someone really really skinny, but I bought it anyway, because I loved the fabric. It languished in my To-Do Pile, waiting to be made into a handbag. Then one day I realized that, even though I'd never be skinny enough to wear it as a wrap skirt, it did reach around me and overlap enough to be worn as a skirt, as long as I could fasten it in a different way.

First I removed the original binding (and therefore the ties which were made from the binding) from around the edges. It was very worn out and frayed anyway--this must have been someone's favorite skirt! Then I just sewed on new binding, made some buttonholes, and added buttons. Now when I'm thrifting, I look at wrap skirts in a whole different way!

Spring Cleaning

Around here, clothesline season runs from about April through October. Some hardcore folks (like my mom) hang things out all year, but I take a break in the winter. Today I gave my clothespins their annual bath. See that pink one right on top? That's my favorite. Doesn't everyone have a favorite clothespin?

Now that I have clean clothespins, I can get started on washing all the clothes I had packed away!

When I'm Not Reading...

Knitting is not my passion. I know how to knit. I enjoy knitting simple things. I even started a knitting group at my library. But you're not going to catch me knitting anything lacy, ruffled, complicated, or --heaven forbid--anything that needs to be sewn together.

Enter the cooperative blanket.

Someone in my knitting group suggested a project: we could all make blocks in different patterns, sew them together, and donate the results to charity. I'm in, I said, as long as I don't have to sew them together. So far, we have 21 blocks. I think 16 of them are mine. I've done plain garter stitch blocks, blocks with cables, checkerboard blocks, and striped blocks. One block is seed stitch (never again) and a couple are sand stitch (I think--I was winging it).

Part of the fun is seeing our progress. Not so fun is trying to arrange knitted blocks on the floor of the screen porch on a windy day. I finally pinned them down, which solves the blowing away problem but makes rearranging a pain. This isn't the final configuration--I would never put two of the cable blocks side by side like that--but it gives you an idea of what we have so far. I was afraid it would look like the dog's breakfast with all the different yarns, but I'm really pleased with it.

No Surprise

I finished Alexander McCall Smith's latest No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency book last night. As usual, I loved it. I'm not going to waste time convincing anyone to read this book, though. If you're going to try McCall Smith, start at the beginning of the series. Check out Alexander McCall Smith's Fan Site, where you can read summaries or excerpts if you aren't familiar with the books or join the fan club if you already know and love them. (They send out a very nice newsletter with sneak previews of new books.)

Reading Roundup

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. This is a long-awaited follow up to Good In Bed. I don't remember looooooooving Good In Bed like so many others, but I couldn't pass up the chance to read this when it crossed my desk. Surprisingly, I really liked it. It isn't as much of a "chick lit" book, probably because it takes place something like thirteen years later and the main character has a 12 year old girl. This is about family and relationships and growing up.

The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker. I picked this one up because it didn't look like my usual fare--executive at a pharmaceutical company takes in two homeless children, etc. Blech...there's a reason this isn't my usual fare. Take a pass on this one.

Farewell, My Subaru by Doug Fine. Another city slicker takes on green living. It said something on the cover about living a 21st Century life, complete with iPods and whatnot, but in a sustainable way. I expected something more...I don't know...accessible? Turns out, this guy moved to the middle of nowhere in New Mexico and raised goats. Not exactly info I can use.

The Wives of Bath by Wendy Holden. Ah, now we're talking. Fluffy chick lit set in England. Two women as different as can be--one a pampered princess and one a crunchy granola sort--each becoming a mother for the first time. My kinda book! Not going to win the Booker Prize, but enjoyable.

I'm Back!

Leave it to me to start a blog and immediately disappear for a few weeks. Oh well, no one knows about this blog yet, anyway!

The picture to the right sort of sums up our week in Ireland: very pretty and relaxing and LOTS OF TEA!