striped

Striped Shirt Refashion

July 11, 2018 By Mary Peterson 17 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Summer has begun! I am through with summer school and have tons of time to sew before August! I recently spent some time at the thrift store and purchased this unused beauty for $3.50. I couldn’t wait to get started as you can see, I already started chopping off the sleeve in preparation for my vision.
I have been wanting to do something with a bell type sleeve but wasn’t sure what would work for me. If you are a long time reader you know I hate ruffles and like to keep it simple.

BEFORE

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After

The answer was pleats and I am happy with the result!

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This is how the transformation took place.

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TUTORIAL

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STEP 1: I started with this basic shirt. I wanted the finished sleeve to go no longer than my elbow so I cut off the sleeve accordingly. I planned to use the bottom of the sleeve to create the bell portion.

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STEP 2: I cut off the cuff and split the sleeve into 3 pieces as wide as I could make them.

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STEP 3: Next I connected the pieces with a patch of vertical stripes (to add interest and have the seam make sense). I initially thought I would gather the sleeve bottom but I hated it once it was pinned. I am not a ruffle girl. It made me feel like “Mary Poppins”

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STEP 4: I experimented with pleats and came up with this.

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STEP 5: I sewed the pleats down and hemmed the bottom before I attached it to the top of the sleeve

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STEP 6: I liked this look much better. Here it is sewn to the sleeve and ready for edgestitch to hold the seam in place.

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STEP 7: Here is the finished side view of the sleeve.

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STEP 8: Starched, pressed and ready to wear!

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I am here for your questions and comments! I always love to hear from you!!

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Happy refashioning!!!

Love to you all..

Mary AKA: Thrifty Chic

Dress Refashioned to a Maxi Skirt

June 1, 2014 By Mary Peterson 8 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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I have a quick offering for you this week. This one will be a cinch for beginners. It all started with this awful and boring tank dress with dreadful ties in the back.

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BEFORE:

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It’s saving grace was a beautiful rayon print with a great diagonal stripe pattern. It was also large enough to fit over my hips and become a basic maxi dress. Just the thing for work. Here it is paired with a tank, belt, and a denim shirt.

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AFTER:

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This was a really simple job

Here is a quick two step tutorial. This was done in about 30 minutes:

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Step 1) Cut off the dress at the sleeves making sure you have enough length for a full maxi with a 1″ tunnel elastic waist.

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Step 2) Overlock the top of the skirt, then turn and topstitch 1 inch to add an elastic waist and you are done!

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I would love to hear from you. Summer is almost here and that means more time to be creative!

Can’t wait!

Later…

Love Ya,

Mary

Refashion Runway Week 1: Stripes

June 8, 2013 By Mary Peterson 10 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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This week is the first of four in the Refashion Runway. The challenge this week was “Stripes” and here is my design. Click on the link to the right in my sidebar to be able to vote for your favorite (hopefully me). 🙂

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The following is the tutorial:

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It all started with this stripe t-shirt that I purchased a while ago from “The Gap” I didn’t wear it much as it was long sleeve but I loved the stripe and the back detail.

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I then added stripes cut from these t-shirts that were gently or not used by my rapidly growing kids.

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The final step was to add a border stripe of the floral print from this skirt purchased from
“Goodwill.”

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Here is a picture as I was putting it all together and fitting the sides.

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As for me, I need to finish my end of the year report cards so I can get to challenge 2 which is “Denim.”

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Gotta go!

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Happy Refashioning,

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Mary

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This Thrift Store Find Needs No Refashion!

April 28, 2013 By Mary Peterson 2 Comments

Hi Everyone!

One of the best things about thrift shopping and refashioning is that I can afford to take fashion risks and choose things I wouldn’t even look at ordinarily. Typically, I would choose my wardrobe based strictly on need for the basics. Don’t most of us do that? We put ourselves on the back burner because the car needs tires, the kids need this and that…you know how it goes!