Altered t-shirts

I have not posted in a couple of weeks due to what I now call OUR FABULOUS GRANDBABY SPRING BREAKS ROAD TRIP.  When we got back here to the Phoenix Arizona area, we jumped into full hot summer temperatures.  I would like to discuss t-shirts.  We buy them when we visit a fabulous place or city or perhaps a college shirt, but then what about them.  As far as I am concerned, I have never worn t-shrits alot.  They haven't fit in my weather temps, but also, for me, they are just not that flattering.  Perhaps that is true for alot of women.  I have posted what I have done with my t-shirts.  I have made tank tops out of t-shirts.  It is easy, peasy.  Cut apart the t-shirt removing the neck ribbing, and cut across the shoulders and then remove the sleeves.  Use an exsisting tank top pattern cutting the front and back on the fold.  Then cut out the neck and sleeve binding out of the sleeves.  If you don't have enough fabric on the sleeves for the facing, buy another t-shirt at the thrift store of similiar color and use that for fabric.

These tshirts are the ones I altered to tank tops.

     The second thing you can do to t-shirts is to cut out the neck ribbing and replace that with another knit facing.  Again it doesn't have to match, and you can use another t-shirt purchased at the thrift store.  Sometimes just getting rid of a high neck ribbing makes a huge difference in how that t-shirt feels.  Another thing I do is shorten them and either hem them, or add a contrast t-shirt binding. Hopefully these ideas will inspire you to look at your t-shirts differently.

altered bustier/bustiere

Gosh, who knew there were two spellings for this fabulous garment. Wikipedia says that bustiers are traditionally worn as lingerie and also as evening garments. They are used as push up bras or as a camisole for outer wear. That is what I use them for. Either over long sleeve tops with my short skirts and leggings or over tank tops with shorts. Guess I can thank Madonna for using underwear as outwear. I have two bustiers I am currently working on. Both from the thrift store. The solid pink one is finished. The solid pink bustier was a little too tight, bra cups TOO big and had a closure down the back. First I found a pair of stretch capris at the thrift store just the right color to use for inserts in the back to make bigger. Second I cut the front of the bustier down the middle and used the capri pants fabric to make a binding. Then I inserted a zipper so I could do a front closure. I made bra cup linings so I could insert bra cup fillers. Bummer, but what's a girl to do. I also added pink elastic straps. This is really pink.

The second bustier is the pink poka dot one. Wow, sometimes I wonder where these come from or who wore them. It is not finished yet. I have cut off the ribbons in the middle and I am going to put a zipper down the center like I did the pink one. The bra cups are WAY TOO BIG and I have to figure out exactly what I want to do. Either add inserts like the pink bustier or try somehow to remake the bra cups.

altered straw hats

Today I would like to address my love affair with hats. Now I know, I can hear everyone out in blog space saying Oh, I love hats, I just don't look good in them or I can't wear them. Hear is my response. One that I heard from someone I know who sold hats. He said everyone looks good in hats, you just need to find the style that works for you, and I couldn't agree more. Not only do you look fabulous in a hat, hats help keep the sun off of your face and neck, and hats also keep you cooler. Jay Leno was interviewing Taylor Swift a week or so ago and was discussing her cover on some top magazine and she was wearing a hat. Jay Leno said something to this effect, that more women would wear hats if they knew how good they looked in them. I totally agree. Both of these hats have been altered. The aqua hat was tan when I picked it up at the thrift store. I dyed it with Dylon dyes and it turned out this beautiful shade. After I dyed it, the straw had lost it's sizing and was limp. I put a coat of Stiffy on one side of the hat. It was enough to give it some stiffness, but not make it too stiff. I was able to shape the brim. I also added the poka dot band around the hat and put the same poka dot binding around the hat brim. I love doing that. It is fun and easy, and I think adds a special touch. The second hat is a purple hat that I got in LA at the Melrose Flea Market several years ago. It had a HUGE brim, and because of that I never wore it. When looking at it the other day, I decided I would cut off a big chunk of the brim ( about 5"). I then applied the binding ( couldn't find a poka dot fabric that would work ) around the brim. I glued a piece of felt on the hat band, so I can clip different flowers on the hat. It now looks great, and I will definitely we wearing it.

Altered dress

This week I would like to tell you about one of my favorite makeovers. I purchased this dress at the thrift store for about $5. It had big, poofy, 80's sleeves and had a cheap acetate, straight bottom type skirt, and a totally cute little peblem. Guess I should say I here and now I love peblums. I also loved the black, red and white floral, graphic top, and bought it knowing I wanted to use the top. Sometimes I buy something with no direct thought on what to do with it, but I knew right away what I wanted to do with this dress. First I washed the dress. Here is a cautionary tail. I like to be able to wash my garments, but sometimes washing the garment backfires on you. This dress did shrink, and I had to let out the seams in the bodice. Thankfully I was able to let it out enough for it to fit. So be careful when thinking of washing a garment which says dry clean only. You should be prepared for it to shrink. After I washed the garment, I cut off the bottom skirt. I also cut out the acetate lining in the top, which I then finished off with a purchased black bias tape. I also took out the zipper down the back of the dress, using the existing front closure to get in and out of the garment. I did leave the acetate lining in the peblum. I pair this top with either a short skirt with leggings or in our warmer weather, over a tank top and shorts. I really love wearing this.

Sweater Coats

This week I am posting about some sweater coats/jackets I have made recently. They are a combination of Katwise sweatercoats and Barb Callahan garments. You can google katwise and see her wonderful creations. Katwise only believes in using wool sweaters and Barb Callahan uses a combination of t-shirts and sweaters. I have come to the conclusion from putting two jackets together, that I have no problem of using t-shirts, but I only want to use the heavy t-shirts and the bottom bands should be sweaters. The weight of the sweaters help weigh the skirt down. The black and white jacket came together just fine. It was the second sweater jacket I made. I learned alot from making the purple/pink/blues jacket. The purple/pink jacket I have redone twice. If I wasn't in love with the top sweater that I used, I would just junk the jacket and start over again. I do like it better this second time I have worked on it. I have come to the conclusion that I really like having a closure on the jackets and like the tabs type closures. In the black and white jacket I used the exsisting sweater tabs and it worked wonderfully. But what to do when the sweater you use for the top part of the jacket is a pullover such as the pink/purple/blue jacket. I ended up on the second redue putting a tab taken from a heavy t-shirt jacket with interesting ribbing. I think it worked pretty well. I definitely would leave out the bold striped sweater in the skirt. In fact I might think of re doing it a third time and take out that striped piece. Who Knows????

Altered Demin Jacket

Well here is my altered demin jacket. When I bought it at the thrift store I like the white and red stripped cuffs. The collar had red and white stripes as the under-collar. When I was looking around for a demin jacket to alter for Christmas, this jacket caught my eye because of the cuffs. I decided to take the collar off and reverse it so the white and red stripes were on the top. I also ended up quiting the collar and cuffs so they would lay flat. The gingerbread man and the snowman are ultrasuede and the holly and tree are fabric, made with a technique of Wendy Hill. I love the technique but it is time consuming to do. I also changed out the buttons on the jacket with buttons I recently took off a red suit. I am very pleased with the finished product and can't wait to wear it. Now I am all ready for Christmas 2012. All I have left to do is alter a red vest I thrifted for my husband.

Altered sweater

I am in love with all things polka dots, well maybe not all combination of colors of polka dots, but I always check them out when I see them. I found this pull on, polka dot, cotton/ ramie sweater at the thrift store. I loved the bold colors of both the sweater and polka dots. Unfortunately the polka dots were covered with sequins and it was a pullover which I don't like for all sorts of reason. First I cut off all the sequins and then I washed and dried the sweater, which by the way, did some shrinking, which I did not expect. Thankfully it was larger than I needed so that did not become a problem that had to be fixed. I then cut the sweater down the center front and applied single fold, purchased, bias tape. I sometimes make my own binding and use it decoratively, but decided against that this time. Then I put in a sport zipper that makes a pullover a slip on. Easy, Peasy. I love that. Can't wait to wear this sweater/jacket, which will be this week in fact.