upcycle and refashioned thrifty clothing

Coat Part 7 Sleeves!!!!!

December 23, 2015 By Mary Peterson 5 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Setting a sleeve in a coat when you are making the pattern yourself is not for the faint of heart. It literally took me a week of fitting sessions over Thanksgiving vacation. It is a skill for someone with expert skills, so I don’t recommend you try it, or you may end up cursing me and swear off sewing altogether. If you are going to try to refashion a coat, I recommend you find a coat that fits through the chest and sleeves and take a horizontal stripe approach or create a different color blocking technique from the chest down. Maybe something like this:

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Or this:

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Here is my version. It was a tough battle, but the sleeves are finally on.

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I won’t even begin to try to to explain how I got to this point but this is a picture of the final fitting of the sleeve. From this point I had to trace baste the notches, (hence the red thread) and transfer the markings to the other side. Once both sides were set, I had to slip stitch the sleeves in place by hand before machine sewing them permanently. This keeps the sleeve from slipping as you sew.

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This is a side view of the sleeve before I removed it to transfer the markings to the other side and sew it up. I won’t even try to give you a tutorial on how I did it. There is enough material for that subject for an entire class! Like I said, Find a coat to refashion that fits in the sleeves and chest. You will thank me for it. I am currently one year into this project because of it’s complexity. Refashioning should be about simplicity in my book. I really took on a big job with this one. Can’t wait until I am done.

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Next stop, hems and lining. I can see light at the end of the tunnel!!!!

From my sewing studio to yours…MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE THRIFTY CHIC!!!

Let me know what you think!!!

Love Ya,

Mary

Winter coat Part 6

October 24, 2015 By Mary Peterson Leave a Comment

Hi Everyone!

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Here is the new underarm gusset and new armholes marked! I am much more pleased with the results and now ready for the next steps. Today I purchased some interfacing to beef up the back. then I need to work on the sleeves, lining, and facings.

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I figured out the armhole by making a pattern from a coat that is a similar fit.

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Onward to sleeves!

Can’t wait to get this thing done!

’til Later

Mary

Winter Coat Part 5!

September 27, 2015 By Mary Peterson 10 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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I know, I know, I have been stalling long enough. BUT in my defense I have had a lot of design problems to work through. The gusset question is just one of them. Below you see my original thought. And here is another BUT! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stitch it down. I felt I should sit with it for a while and sure enough…I have a new plan which I hope to unveil in the next week or two.

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I have to fill in the underarm but with what? is the question!!!

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This was my first plan but I don’t like it!

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My new plan is a little less obvious than this. I am going to use the herringbone fabric to fill in the area and the seam that it will create will be less obvious. It should blend in a lot better.

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Back to the drawing board!

Let me know what you think!!!!

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’til then…

Love ya!

Mary

Refashion Drama-Winter Coat Part 4

March 1, 2015 By Mary Peterson 4 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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This is where we left off on my “Little” coat project.

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Well, I will give you the bad news first. There was a terrible drama in part 4 of my coat! BUT the good news is that I think it happened for the best, and this project will emerge much better for the loss! What was the loss? About 2 weeks ago I decided to clean up and organize my sewing room a bit. I put scraps to toss in one bag, and all of the remaining pieces of my coat in another bag. Being the happy homemaker, I cleaned up my room to make it ready for part 4 and threw away what I “thought” was the bag of scraps. BUT GASP! IT WAS THE REST OF MY COAT! Once I discovered my mistake, the trash was gone. Never one to give up, I knew exactly what I needed to do to get out of this predicament. So, for the last 2 to 3 weeks I have been haunting the thrift shops looking for yet another wool sport coat. The color I had in mind was a dark shade of blue or teal and I FOUND IT YESTERDAY!

The picture does not do the color justice. It is a beautiful teal blue. This will actually solve a lot of problems for me. I will be able to use the pocket flaps of the teal coat as is and there will be no need to create new ones from the black scraps. Also, One of my side panels had this little problem. What you see next to the red pin is the remainder of the black pockets. I will be able to change this side panel under the arm to the teal color and take away this flaw.

My Sleeves will be in the teal color too. I am still deciding how to go with the back. and the bottom.

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What have I learned from all of this drama? #1 If you want to make a winter coat start in the Spring LOL! I have got to get busy now, but I will leave you with my latest find. The dress below was only $5, tags still attached, and my perfect size. Don’tcha’ love it? I have paired it with leggings and boots. No refashion required.

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I am working on several sweater rehabs and now I can continue on this darn coat.

’til next time…

Love ya,

Mary

Anthropologie Inspired T-shirt

October 12, 2013 By Mary Peterson 26 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Here I am again! I am taking a break from my series for a week or two while I wrestle part 5 into submission on my dress form. The two pictures below are my latest transformation ready for your comments! I got the idea from one of my Pinterest pictures from Anthropologie. You can see the picture below. What an easy way this was to give a boring t-shirt a brand new look!

Front view

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Back View

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Original Inspiration

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One could make so many different combinations of this look. With all of the t-shirts I have grown out of (AHEM!) or grown tired of (BETTER!) I have a lot to work with in my own closet without thrifting for the shirt.

Here is the tutorial:

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1) I purchased a yard of fabric to match with a white and navy stripe “Old Navy” T. The first thing I did was to make a center back pleat with a 1″ depth on each side. I was very careful to make sure the pattern matched from side to side as I did it.

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2) Next, I unpicked the side seams and cut out the back of the t-shirt just below the armholes. I left a 1 ” seam allowance as I did this. (BUT I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS STEP!)

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3) While on the form, I pinned the panel on the back of the t-shirt

Then down the sideseams.

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4) At this point, I laid it down to make sure everything matched up properly. I sewed across the back first and then down the side seams. This way you can make perfect corners under the arms.

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I rounded the back hem. It is overlocked, turned, then given a 1/2″ topstitch.

upcycle and refashioned thrifty clothing

Hi Everyone!

.

.

.

Or this:

.

.

Here is my version. It was a tough battle, but the sleeves are finally on.

.

.

.

.

Next stop, hems and lining. I can see light at the end of the tunnel!!!!

From my sewing studio to yours…MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE THRIFTY CHIC!!!

Let me know what you think!!!

Love Ya,

Mary

Hi Everyone!

.

Here is the new underarm gusset and new armholes marked! I am much more pleased with the results and now ready for the next steps. Today I purchased some interfacing to beef up the back. then I need to work on the sleeves, lining, and facings.

.

I figured out the armhole by making a pattern from a coat that is a similar fit.

.

Onward to sleeves!

Can’t wait to get this thing done!

’til Later

Mary

Hi Everyone!

.

.

I have to fill in the underarm but with what? is the question!!!

.

This was my first plan but I don’t like it!

.

My new plan is a little less obvious than this. I am going to use the herringbone fabric to fill in the area and the seam that it will create will be less obvious. It should blend in a lot better.

.

Back to the drawing board!

Let me know what you think!!!!

.

’til then…

Love ya!

Mary

Hi Everyone!

.

This is where we left off on my “Little” coat project.

.

My Sleeves will be in the teal color too. I am still deciding how to go with the back. and the bottom.

.

.

I am working on several sweater rehabs and now I can continue on this darn coat.

’til next time…

Love ya,

Mary

Hi Everyone!

.

Front view

.

Back View

.

Original Inspiration

.

.

One could make so many different combinations of this look. With all of the t-shirts I have grown out of (AHEM!) or grown tired of (BETTER!) I have a lot to work with in my own closet without thrifting for the shirt.

Here is the tutorial:

.

1) I purchased a yard of fabric to match with a white and navy stripe “Old Navy” T. The first thing I did was to make a center back pleat with a 1″ depth on each side. I was very careful to make sure the pattern matched from side to side as I did it.

.

2) Next, I unpicked the side seams and cut out the back of the t-shirt just below the armholes. I left a 1 ” seam allowance as I did this. (BUT I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS STEP!)

.

3) While on the form, I pinned the panel on the back of the t-shirt

Then down the sideseams.

.

4) At this point, I laid it down to make sure everything matched up properly. I sewed across the back first and then down the side seams. This way you can make perfect corners under the arms.

.

.

I rounded the back hem. It is overlocked, turned, then given a 1/2″ topstitch.

.

Well, what do you think? Will you try it? As I said, this is an easy fix.

Let me know if you have any questions.