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Mary's Thrifty Chic

Upcycling thrift shop clothing/sewing

  • Blouses
  • Dresses
  • Jackets
  • Skirts
  • Sweaters
  • T-shirts
  • Sewing
  • Refashioned Upcycled Clothing

Sewing

Men’s Stripe Shirt Refashion

August 20, 2013 By Mary Peterson 28 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion01

I have been waiting on this refashion for a while, since June to be exact. The reason is that I keep changing the length and the hem. This one is a perfect example of the fact that things do not always work out right the first time. I could kick myself because I did not save the pictures of the changes (that will never happen again), but take it from me, this one has “Gone through the wringer.” Here is how it started:

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I am finally happy with it now. Here it is:

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion02

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Now I will tell you what happened in between. My first version was knee length. Call me lazy but I wanted to keep the original hem. I wore it to work and by the end of the day, it looked like I had slept in it. It needed to be shorter so the fabric did not bunch up in my lap every time I sat down.

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After that, I made it shorter with a shirt tail hem. I wore it again, but it was still a rumpled mess by the end of the day. There would be no avoiding some wrinkles. The fabric is such that it needs to be ironed and starched. I decided to make slits on the sides. This was just what it needed to let the garment move with me and keep it from wrinkling so much.

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Here is the tutorial for the end result:

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion03

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1) Cut the sleeves off and make changes to the side seams.

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This always seems to be the first step.

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion06

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2) Overlock and 1/4″ topstitch the new armhole.

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3) Cut out the ruffles with pre-made pattern. Overlock the edges.

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion07

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion05

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4) Turn under the edges of the ruffle and topstitch. Pin down the ruffles on the side of the top placket and topstitch down.

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion08

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5) I wanted to add a feature to the back so I made a line of stitching across the center and pulled to make even gathers on the center back.

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion09

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6) I removed the cuff from the sleeve and picked off the topstitching.

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7) Place the cuff over the center of the topstitch line and pin down.

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8) Topstitch around the cuff over the original topstitch lines.

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9) Add matching buttons (from the other cuff) on the opposite side.

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion13

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10) Create a shirt tail hem with side slits.

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Here are close-ups of the design features on the form.

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Whew! This one was a hard fought battle but I did it! I still need more practice with ruffles but not bad for my first time in years. What do you think??

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Mens Stripe Shirt Refashion17

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‘Til next time…

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Love y’all!

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Mary

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Filed Under: DIY, Goodwill refashion, mens shirt refashion, Sewing, Upcycle Tagged With: DIY, diy upcycle, goodwill refashion

Silk Dress Refashion

August 9, 2013 By Mary Peterson 23 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Silk Dress Refashion01

Meet the silk dress that refused to take a good photograph! This was a good lesson for me that sometimes prints are just not editorial. So, despite the fuzzy pictures, I will persevere. I spent too much time on this one to let it go.

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Silk Dress Refashion02

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The original dress (silk, by Jeremy Spenser) had 3 layers of ruffles, the first being asymmetrical. Way too fussy for me. I wanted to make it a top to wear over jeans. Mission accomplished, but it looks much better in person than it does in pictures. Taking pictures of my finished product is actually the hardest part of blogging for me. I often feel awkward and self-conscious. Modeling is really hard!

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The following is the tutorial:

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Silk Dress Refashion03

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1) Cut off the bottom 2 ruffles. The bottom ruffle is the longest so that is the one I planned to apply to the bodice.

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Silk Dress Refashion04

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2) Open up the side seams of the dress and the lining to the point where the new bodice seam line will start.

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Silk Dress Refashion05

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3) Trace baste the new bodice seamline around the front and the back. Cut off the top layer leaving enough for seam allowance. Don’t cut the lining. You still need it.

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Silk Dress Refashion06

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4) I had to add a strip to the lining as the dress was originally a little too snug (Ahem! Maybe it is time to watch the ice cream intake Mary.)

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Silk Dress Refashion07

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5) Add the ruffle back to the new bodice seam line. I didn’t want to remove the zipper so I attached the new flounce with tiny stitches to the new zipper.

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Silk Dress Refashion08

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Here is the finished product styled with coral skinny jeans from Target @ $24.99 and black sandals from Payless @$9.99. The former dress was a steal from Goodwill @ $7.99. I would love to hear what you think!

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‘Til next time…

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Love Ya,

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Mary

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Filed Under: DIY, Dresses, Sewing, Upcycle Tagged With: dress refashion, goodwill refashion

Summer Top Refashion

August 1, 2013 By Mary Peterson 14 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Summer Top Refashion07

How do you know what to do with a garment when you choose it? I get this question quite often. The answer is, I usually don’t know! When I go to the thrift store, I am just looking for something “Interesting.” Sometimes I am drawn to the fabric, shape, or have a vague feeling of what I can do with a garment. Once I get home, I put my treasures on and off the form, pin and play with them. If I am “not feeling it,” I will put the garment away until I get inspired. Then suddenly, I will see a picture or get a flash of an idea, and that is the garment I will pull out and start with. Even then, I often have to put it on the dress form, pin and play with it for days until I formulate a plan of attack in my head. I never cut into a garment until I have worked out the entire process in my head. As a result, I often have several projects going simultaneously as I work out how to refashion them.

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Summer Top Refashion06

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Here is the tutorial:

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1) I found this little beauty at Goodwill with the tags still on it. It was a size large and had absolutely no shape. The print was denim friendly (always a plus), and there were beautiful pintucks on the front bodice. Because it is summer the long elastic cuff sleeves had to go!

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2) In this picture I have picked off the sleeves at the armhole seams, taken in the side seams, and created two back darts for shape. Because of the print it is hard to see the changes in the photo.

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Summer Top Refashion04

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3) I wanted to add contrasting rib to the sleeves to bring out the chartruese color in the print. I used this old t-shirt from my stash (never throw your old ones away). When I cut off the hems at the stitching line, it created a perfectly-sized ribbing for the armholes.

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Summer Top Refashion03

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4a) Pin the binding in place and overlock sew in place. My overlock machine was the best investment I made in my sewing aside from my dress form. It transformed my finishing and made the sewing process much faster and cleaner.

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Summer Top Refashion02

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4b) Here is a look at the finished sleeves.

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Summer Top Refashion01

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5) The finished product!

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The finished product is totally me. I am a “border print junkie” and denim friendly prints are also a favorite. This one totally fits my personality. What kind of prints do you look for? What is your process for thrifting and refashioning? I would love to hear from you.

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‘Til next time…

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Love,

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Mary

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Filed Under: Blouses, DIY, Goodwill refashion, Sewing, Upcycle Tagged With: DIY, goodwill refashion, sewing, sewing refashion, thrift shop refashon, upcycle refashion

Hawaiian Shirt Refashion

July 6, 2013 By Mary Peterson 13 Comments

Hello Everyone,

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Refashion Runway is over and I had a ton of fun doing it. Thank you to everyone who voted, subscribed, and cheered me on. I met so many wonderful new friends. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to watch Season 2 unfold!

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Hawaiian Shirt Refashion1

Here is my latest endeavour. I found this men’s Hawaiian shirt at the “American Way Thrift Store” and fell in love with the print and the colors.

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Hawaiian Shirt Refashion2

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I love the way the armholes and hemline have totally feminized this once boxy man’s shirt. I always need pretty tops for summer and this will now be a staple for my summer wardrobe. Here I have paired it with black shorts, but it would also go well with denim jeans or even white pants.

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FOLLOW THIS TUTORIAL:

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1) Cut of the sleeves. Turn inside out and make fit changes to the side seams.

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Hawaiian Shirt Refashion4

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2) Reshape the armhole and sew with 1/4″ topstitch. You can’t see it here but I had to make some darts to keep the armhole from gaping.

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3) Then I changed the hem to the high low style that is popular at the moment. I did this all very quickly within 1 day. Once you have a lot of practice refashioning for yourself you will become very familiar with the shape of you body and how to alter garments to fit. If you are a beginner it takes a lot of practice fitting and refitting. Don’t give up though. It does get easier and it is so rewarding.

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Here is a front view of the finished product.

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Be sure to let me know what you think. I love to hear from you.

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Love ya!

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Mary

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Filed Under: Blouses, mens shirt refashion, Sewing, Upcycle Tagged With: DIY, men's shirt refashion, refashion, sewing, thrift shop refashion, tropical print

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