Remember this mess of a fit handed down from a cousin?

Boxy cut is too big in all the wrong places, stretchy fabric catches on tiny front hooks, red square sequins a bit much for most uses.

But it’s precisely those red square sequins that made this an irresistable keeper.

Enter Dolly Parton concert for inspiration. Dolly has no fear. She grew up dirt poor. She married at 20 and stuck it out. She takes all kinds of risks. She laughs it off when people are rude and tacky to her. And she loves to show off a bosom.

So take her moxie to heart, and give a big chop of something you know fits really awfully a try. Here’s how I did it (and it was a long time in the making):

1. REMOVE SLEEVES. I sliced through the shoulder seams to remove the sleeves whole. I also cut off the tiny hooks and eyes meant to hold the front closed because they caught on the fabric.

2. PULL IN SIDES. Fit to your body, pin and stitch well. What were boxy shoulders now are effortless cap sleeves.

3. CUT OUT A NECK. The front used to close all the way up - I wanted a loose V-shape, so I had to cut off the excess fabric from the original neck. Also meant pulling off, one by one, the sequins that line the edge.

4. FINISH NECK. Hem the neck by hand or with a binding. I sewed in grosgrain ribbon with the machine, then hand hemmed it over.

5. CLOSE IT UP. Tried a bunch of things to make this a top rather than a cardigan. Wrap-style with ribbon ties looked silly. Pinned the sleeves like a band to the bottom to hold the wrap felt too bulky. Finally - since I knew I wanted the sequins to stretch out into a design - I sewed two big snaps on the bottom corners.

The first set was sewn to the inside and a corner,

the other to the outside.

6. PULL OUT THE BOOTS AND GO. I’ll add a tiny ruffled cami top underneath, and a fitted denim skirt on bottom before going out in public.

and back

Finally finished this t-shirt refashion that’s been a little forever in the making.

Decal came from a Marshall’s t around the turn of the century, back when I bothered to wear white. Love the anonymity of the girl band and the studs. Chopped off the logo once the shirt got dingy and stuck it in my sewing box.

Then a new serger in January gave it new life. Zig-zagged the decal onto a 5/$10 olive t-shirt from Walgreens, slimmed the sides, used the side trimmings to face the square neck.

Why it took so long to finish the sleeves, I can’t say. Blame the dreary winter for delaying any work on short-sleeved anything. Now that the snows have receded in Chicago, short-sleeving is *all* I can think of.

Dolly finally set her dates for Chicago. Poor thing had suffered back troubles and postponed her tour. Thursday (05/0 isn’t as good as Friday (02/29) though May fashion possibilities totally trump Feb. fashion, especially in the Chi. My concert top’s in progress:

Next step: Stitch grosgrain ribbon along cut edges and turn under as a facing.

Straightening pants is pretty easy and can be done in 10-minute chunks. I have a bunch of cords and jeans that flare into boot-cut bottoms and they fit well up top; they just don’t feel cool anymore. Here’s how to un-bell bottoms into straight legs like this:

1. Put the pants on and figure out where you want the straightening to begin. If they’re belled or boot cut, it’s usually around the knee. Mark the spot with a pin.

2. Flip pants inside out. Pick out the hem. Don’t be lazy now; your work will go smoother and look more professional in the end.

3. With a ruler and chalk/pencil, draw straight lines down to the hem from the pin mark. ***If you’re doing jeans, one seam probably will be topstitched. Deal with the seam that isn’t.

4. Pin the pants at the chalk lines and sew. Trim the edges and finish them as you like. With heavy fabrics, I do two seam lines then serge, but a wide zig zag will secure the edges, too.

5. Mark and pin up the hem. Stitch it as you like. On cords and jeans, I like a straight top seam all the way around.

In the works is a how-to on how to insert zippers into the bottoms of *really* skinny jeans. You remember.

What a winning little blouse, all black and ruffled and wrinkle-proof. The lightweight polyester-blended fabric will be great once the Thaw comes. The cuffs are ornate and adorable. The front has black-on-black stitched detail.

Except it’s hardly little.

I’m not teeny, but I’m not this unshapely, either, so I wanted to find a way to rock this in spring. Thanks to the Joann for having a sale on cone thread, and now I have enough black cones to run this thrifted little guy through the serger.

This blouse needs its sides pulled in, and the sleeves yanked up rather than hemmed, so the lovely cuff detail remains. Tightening the sides will require resetting the sleeves anyway so the shoulders don’t droop. I think I’ll puff them, since there’ll be plenty of fabric to do so. More to come. Work has limited not only my free time but my attention span to deal with proper sewing.

My mister’s aunt and uncle brought me stunning jewelry from India as a belated Christmas present. It’s all giant and chunky and in fantastic colors that I might not buy for myself but that I already love. My favorite kind of gift.

This glass necklace bugged me, though, because the multicolored beads were overshadowed by gold plastic spacer beads that already were chipping.

I did lose a few inches in the restringing, but the length is still great and this teeny adjustment makes me want to wear the beads all the time.

The news is bad. I guess it gives me more time to make a top though.