Restricting the bask to directly under the heat lamp.Filed under: Help me, Refashioned it, Sewed it, Thrifted it, Uncategorized | Tags: dress, Hawaiian, pattern, present, refashion, Salvy
I owe my sister-in-law a birthday present and had bought her this vintage Hawaiian dress to wear at my mom’s beach house, where us ladies like to roam the joint in muu-muus. That’s a true story. Mine’s green. Sister’s is red and white, our mom’s is leopard print.
SIL, who loves pink, didn’t have one, so I thought about hemming the original maxidress a little to fit her. It’s really good heavy fabric and has this great scoop back.
But.
What if she and her 4-year-old had the same dress? What if I hemmed the thing to the knee, a length she’s more likely to actually wear, and use the *good* foot of fabric at the bottom to make a dress for my niece?
I pulled out my little girl patterns and found a handful of possibilities for my niece.
The halter patterns on the left are very summer, but I think in the spirit of the muu-muu, I’m going with the dress on the right, the one with the ruffled skirt. I think it’ll fit the fabric I have better, too.
Thoughts while I hem the original dress? 4-year-olds still like to match their moms, right?
Filed under: How to do it, Refashioned it, Sewed it, Thrifted it | Tags: red, refashion, Salvy, silk, sweater
I bought this silk sweater set at the Salvy even though at a 1X, it was too big.
The silk was lovely, the muted red color is fantastic and sweater sets are in fact perfect for my work. Also, the bigger size meant the whole thing was longer than normal. And I’ve bought August Silk sweaters before – they last forever if you don’t dry the hell out of them.
Seemed like a worthwhile refashion.
Of course it took a while to get to fixing it. Pathetic: what an easy fix! Used the same technique as this purple sweater
Pulled in the sides. That’s it. Go see the how-to if you like.
The wide neck turned into de facto cap sleeves so I don’t need the top layer in the office.
Thinking now about adding ruffles using the scraps I cut off the sides and this trusty how-to.
Filed under: Finished it, Fixed it, Gifted it, Made it, Refashioned it, Sewed it, Thrifted it | Tags: Buddha, mama, maternity, refashion, Salvy, surgery, t-shirt
Mama’s shirt took more time and more hair-pulling compared with Poppa’s. I found this Buddha t-shirt for $1 at one of my favorite Salvy’s in the world early in her pregnancy.
Finally got the nerve to chop it right before her baby shower but didn’t quite make the deadline.
Anyway, she had about six weeks to wear it and seems to love it and it turned out a perfect fit.
I had to buy a new craft T and opted with a fitted one from JoAnn because Mama has a small and delicate frame, and I wanted the top of the top to fit her nicely.
So the logo was going over her belly. I thought about chopping the bottom off the plain T, but I ended up chopping the belly out of it, and fitting the logo back on. I also chopped about three inches off the bottom hem off the big logo T to make a tie – and to keep the nice hem.
The logo part got gathered on the sides, to make a pocket big enough for a full-term belly and sewn back on across the front and sides.
Look how cute she is!
Check out this how-to.
Filed under: Do it, Gifted it, How to do it, Made it, Sewed it, Thrifted it | Tags: gift, maternity, refashion, Salvy, surgery, t-shirt, wardrobe refashion
This surgery makes a cute maternity top with hip sash from a small plain T-shirt and a giant logo-printed shirt. You use the logo shirt as a sort of pocket for the big belly.
Make sure the top T-shirt fits the top of your lady’s frame.
Measure where the belly starts to protrude (right under the bosom) and mark with chalk. Carefully cut across the front (only the front) of the shirt. To open the sides up, measure about an inch away from the T’s side seam on the front and cut.
Figure out where you want the logo to go.
Cut across the giant T right below the arms, and slice up the back to open up the fabric. Fit the logo into the front and trim accordingly. The logo fabric should hang down below the hem of the plain T a few inches.
Chop off the hem of the giant shirt. 
If you have room, chop off a few inches at the bottom of the giant shirt and put that fabric aside to reuse the finished hem.
Gather the logo. 
With a long basting stitch, baste the top of the logo piece and along the sides. Pin the center top of the logo piece to the center of the plain front. Pull the gathering threads until the it fits. Pin. Baste in place if you like.
Fit the sides. Pull the gathering threads on the sides of the logo piece, too, fitting the fabric along the base T’s sides. Pin. Baste if you like and sew into place. Sew the top, too. (I used a wide zigzag.)
Finish the bottom. If you chopped off the hem of the giant T, pin roughly the center back of it to one side of the shirt. Pin along so you have a sort of sash at the bottom, easing so the sash ends up longer than the shirt. Remember the front of your new shirt is a lot bigger than the back. Stitch.
Filed under: How to do it, Love it, Refashioned it, Sewed it, Thrifted it | Tags: applique, how to, Led Zeppelin, Roxborough, Salvy, sister, t-shirt
Courtesy of my sister in Philadelphia, who transformed a classic Led Zeppelin shirt that had seen better days into two shirts. Zeppelin thrifted by me for $.99 at my favorite Salvy in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia. New backing shirts purchased by her on the Kohl’s clearance rack.
Check out the how-to here.
