Re-post: Completed my Vintage refashioning project

Hi readers,

I know I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties as of late. Work has me locked down and tired at the end of the day. So I figured for the rest of this week I would re-post a couple of my favorite posts. All will be related to refashioning. I have decided that next years challenge will include completing at least one refashioning project a month. Oh yeah and I think I will continue to stay away from department stores. My wallet thanks me

Well, it’s finally finished. A little bit here and a little bit there eventually I got it done. I had this visual in my mind of what I wanted it to look like if only I could find a few extra hours in the day to dedicate to the love of my life, refashioning and restyling clothing. Besides this one I have 2 additional projects in the hopper. The goal is to complete both before our Silver Spring Sewing Sisters Pants Making class on the 21st of August. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I found this dress while visiting one of my favorite DC vintage clothing shops “It’s Vintage Darling”. What a fabulous name and a beautiful store. It’s Vintage Darling frequently restock their $10 bin with some really good stuff. On the day I visited I pulled this dress out of the bin upside down and it immediately gave me an idea.

Fuchsia and Black Vintage Blake for I.F. Industries (circa 1986)

I love the bright fuchsia and the bold black. That’s what makes this dress so unique. The dress is from the mid to late 80′s and this is indicative of the “fancy sash-like” fabric draped across the front and rear of the dress. Ok now you know that sash MUST go! Whew, what were we thinking back then?

As I consider how to refashion and restyle this dress I began to envision one dramatic sleeve. I see this trending as of late and I see this as a top/blouse not a dress. It’s just waaay too much fuchsia and needs to be cut back. Less is definitely more in this case.

My vision was to use the drape as part of the end design.

I began by first removing the right sleeve. Since the drape was connected to the left sleeve I decided to leave it in tact. In fact is was in a perfect position for what I had in mind.

Removing the sleeve

Using a very good seam ripper I proceeded to remove the sleeve and the dreaded shoulder pad.

Using a seam ripper to remove the sleeve

Sleeve and shoulder pad removed

Thinking I would keep the other sleeve in tact I tried it on and the look was pretty dramatic. I was loving this design already. The next step was to shorten the dress,

Measuring from the hem of the dress to the desired length

I cut approximately 16 inches off the bottom

After laying the dress out flat and pinning just to make certain there is no shifting in the process

Bottom half of the dress removed with excess fabric on the right.

The leftover fabric was enough to make a sash for the bottom of the blouse. I cut it in half and folded it and attached it to the bottom of the blouse, It was a perfect addition.

Shown here the left over fabric. Cut in half, cut at the seam and pieced together to attach to the bottom with some left over to tie

At this point I’m feeling this blouse it truly coming together. Time for a fitting. Ut oh…… The sleeve and the drape make the blouse pull to one side. I must remove the other sleeve and also flip the drape. After pulling the drape to the opposite side of the dress the raw serged edges were shown. Had to reverse to conceal the stitching.

After removing the left sleeve and the sash (they were connected by the same single stitch and overlock)

re-attaching the drape to the right side armhole

Attaching the sash to the bottom of the blouse

When all was said and done, both sleeves removed had an even better cooler look.

Now time for the finishings

Stitching the drape raw edge

Finishing the raw edge of the armhole with bias tape

Seam binding attached to the armhole as facing

After a good cleaning and pressing job VOILA!!! It’s complete. I’m planning to accessorize my new blouse with some fabulous jewelry I found at Charming Charlies. Can’t wait for you to see me wearing the final product. I found some interesting pieces while going through my grandmothers old accessories over the weekend. I will be incorporating them into my upcoming designs.

A little bow at the hipline and a tie at the wrist. Perfect for a dinner party or night out

Me wearing my refashioned blouse and Vintage Manolo Blahnik’s

Completed my Vintage Refashioning Project from an item found at @VintageDarling1

Well, it’s finally finished. A little bit here and a little bit there eventually I got it done. I had this visual in my mind of what I wanted it to look like if only I could find a few extra hours in the day to dedicate to the love of my life, refashioning and restyling clothing. Besides this one I have 2 additional projects in the hopper. The goal is to complete both before our Silver Spring Sewing Sisters Pants Making class on the 21st of August. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I found this dress while visiting one of my favorite DC vintage clothing shops “It’s Vintage Darling”. What a fabulous name and a beautiful store. It’s Vintage Darling frequently restock their $10 bin with some really good stuff. On the day I visited I pulled this dress out of the bin upside down and it immediately gave me an idea.

Fuchsia and Black Vintage Blake for I.F. Industries (circa 1986)

I love the bright fuchsia and the bold black. That’s what makes this dress so unique. The dress is from the mid to late 80′s and this is indicative of the “fancy sash-like” fabric draped across the front and rear of the dress. Ok now you know that sash MUST go! Whew, what were we thinking back then?

As I consider how to refashion and restyle this dress I began to envision one dramatic sleeve. I see this trending as of late and I see this as a top/blouse not a dress. It’s just waaay too much fuchsia and needs to be cut back. Less is definitely more in this case.

My vision was to use the drape as part of the end design.

I began by first removing the right sleeve. Since the drape was connected to the left sleeve I decided to leave it in tact. In fact is was in a perfect position for what I had in mind.

Removing the sleeve

Using a very good seam ripper I proceeded to remove the sleeve and the dreaded shoulder pad.

Using a seam ripper to remove the sleeve

Sleeve and shoulder pad removed

Thinking I would keep the other sleeve in tact I tried it on and the look was pretty dramatic. I was loving this design already. The next step was to shorten the dress,

Measuring from the hem of the dress to the desired length

I cut approximately 16 inches off the bottom

After laying the dress out flat and pinning just to make certain there is no shifting in the process

Bottom half of the dress removed with excess fabric on the right.

The leftover fabric was enough to make a sash for the bottom of the blouse. I cut it in half and folded it and attached it to the bottom of the blouse, It was a perfect addition.

Shown here the left over fabric. Cut in half, cut at the seam and pieced together to attach to the bottom with some left over to tie

At this point I’m feeling this blouse it truly coming together. Time for a fitting. Ut oh…… The sleeve and the drape make the blouse pull to one side. I must remove the other sleeve and also flip the drape. After pulling the drape to the opposite side of the dress the raw serged edges were shown. Had to reverse to conceal the stitching.

After removing the left sleeve and the sash (they were connected by the same single stitch and overlock)

re-attaching the drape to the right side armhole

Attaching the sash to the bottom of the blouse

When all was said and done, both sleeves removed had an even better cooler look.

Now time for the finishings

Stitching the drape raw edge

Finishing the raw edge of the armhole with bias tape

Seam binding attached to the armhole as facing

After a good cleaning and pressing job VOILA!!! It’s complete. I’m planning to accessorize my new blouse with some fabulous jewelry I found at Charming Charlies. Can’t wait for you to see me wearing the final product. I found some interesting pieces while going through my grandmothers old accessories over the weekend. I will be incorporating them into my upcoming designs.

A little bow at the hipline and a tie at the wrist. Perfect for a dinner party or night out

Me wearing my refashioned blouse and Vintage Manolo Blahnik's

Re-Styling your Wardrobe with Silver Spring Sewing Sisters

On May 15th from 2-4pm Silver Spring Sewing Sisters a Burda Style Sewing Club will have our 4th Sewing Meetup at Wheaton Public Library.

What does it mean to restyle clothing? It means taking something from your closet and breathing new life into it by taking it apart, adding something to it or making alterations for the purpose of updating.

Do you have a skirt, jacket, dress or pair of pants in your closet that needs a hem or a button and needs to be fixed so that you can put it back into your wardrobe rotation?  Or maybe you have a vintage item in your wardrobe you would like to consider refashioning. This class is for you. One of the easiest way to learn garment construction is to take something apart. For this class students are asked to bring in a few items and we will together to figure out solutions. If you need to learn how to sew on a button or replace a hem in your pants or skirt bring it with you. If you have a jacket or dress where the sleeves are too short or too long or a skirt you would like to shorten this is the class for you. We will learn quick and easy solutions as well as long term fixes to various wardrobe challenges or malfunctions

Please bring matching thread, scissors, pins and a sewing needle. Sewing Machine is optional

(more supplies may be required, please check back next week)

Happy Sewing!

Jen

Weekend Sewing Project

After spending a week getting organized its time to positively impact my 30 in 30 challenge. I picked up this dress during National Swap Day at Nana’s on Mt. Pleasant sponsored by Quarterlife 202 back in January.

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like short dresses or skirts but I thought this dress had potential so I grabbed it. The label said hand wash so I did and here we are and I think it would better serve me as a blouse. I love the drape neck and the fact there are no sleeves makes it even better. The fabric isn’t very breathable and I couldn’t imagine wearing this under a suit in the summer time with sleeves.

So my project this weekend is to convert this dress into a blouse I can incorporate into my wardrobe for the 30/30 challenge