Before - Once again... Sorry didn't get the
before pic until it was cut up...
After - Now one of my favorite dresses...
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
2 men's dress shirts to a cute little sundress
Before - 2 men's button up dress shirts (sorry didn't get the before pic until the 2 shirts were cut up.) I cut the sleeves off both shirts, cut the cuffs off (I always seem to think I'm going to use them somehow & never do) & then cut the bottom seam of the sleeves to open them up. I laid the red plaid shirt out & cut it straight across at the point where it fit around my midriff. (You can see the top yoke & collar that I cut off in the pic.) I can't remember if I used the white sleeves or if I folded the back of the white shirt in 1/2 to get the material for the bodice, I think I used the white sleeves as a bodice liner for one of my other dresses. It doesn't matter either way as long as you can come up with enough material to cut out the pieces you need, I've even folded up the bottoms of the shirt front to get the material I needed. If I used the sleeves, I put them together, right sides facing & pinned the bodice pattern pieces to it, then cut them out... If I used the shirt, I just folded the back in 1/2, right sides facing, pinned the pieces to it & cut it out... Cut 4 pieces of the red plaid shirt in 1" wide, long strips, sewed 2 of them end to end to get the length of the strap I needed, then sewed the other 2 end to end for the 2nd strap. Folded 1 in 1/2, right sides facing, seamed the length of it, turned it right side out with a safety pin, did the 2nd one the same way & made the spaghetti straps...
I used this pattern (the one on the left) to make the bodice out of the white shirt material... Then I seamed the sides of the red plaid shirt bottom to fit my waist & hips.
Lined up the middle of the bodice with the buttons on the shirt, right sides facing & pinned the bodice to it, sewed it together. Then sewed the straps at the back & used a safety pin to run the straps through the casing at the top of the bodice, adjusted the straps to fit, tied a bow & here's the after pic of my cute, lil' sundress...
Refashioned/Recycled dress for a dime
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I picked this shirt up for a dime at my local Sr. Citizen's Thrift Store. I finally got around to digging through my attic in the 5 totes of (do something with later) clothes I had stashed from hitting sales like that... This is my 1st attempt at turning a men's dress shirt into a dress... I cut the sleeves off, then cut straight across under the second button & seamed the sides to fit me. Then, I put the sleeves together, right side facing & pinned a simple bodice pattern to it. I was super excited to find out there was enough material in the sleeves to be able to do that. I used another shirt that matched to make the bodice lining & straps, sewed the bodice & straps & sewed it to the skirt. YAY, I have a new dress for a dime!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
My DIY Elegant Redneck Wedding
Before ~ I was preparing for my wedding, my Aunt Mary gave me her 35 yr. old wedding dress & told me, "It's yours, do whatever you want with it." Thank you Aunt Mary! I had a really hard time with the thought of deconstructing it, this was a $400 dress in 1978, it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL & fabulously vintage, I hadn't sewn since I was in high school, I'm a newbie at deconstructing & reconstructing & the thought of ruining it just absolutely broke my heart.
Then I tried it on & realized she was about 100 lbs. when she wore this dress, I don't even remember being 100 lbs. It's beautiful, but not exactly my kind of style. And it dawned on me... Do I want this dress to continue to yellow, get fragile & eventually fall apart in a box where all it will do is take up space & never be used in all of it's glory? My answer was, Hell NO, I have enough stuff in storage!!!
I used Rit Fabric Whitener trying to get the yellow out, wasn't white enough to my liking so I used bleach. I figured if it fell apart I might still be able to use the lace for decorations if all else failed... It whitened up some, I managed to get the yellow out & it didn't fall apart, YAY!!! So, I got out the seam ripper & as carefully as possible I ripped it apart...
Around our parts we're proud to be Hick Chic Rednecks, I knew I wanted a Redneck theme with camo dresses... I laid the pieces of her dress on my Realtree AP camo material that took me FOREVER to find & almost cried at how beautifully it went together. I changed my theme to Elegant Redneck...
After trying the bodice on my Baby Girl/Flower Girl, Janeya, I decided it should be on her dress...
Flipped the bottom piece of the bodice upside down & used it as the waistband. Ripped the wide lace that wrapped around the entire bottom of the train off my aunt's dress & used it as the bottom lace trim of my niece, Maranda's Jr. Bridesmaid dress.
Maid of Honor & Bridesmaid dress waist ribbons were the long strips of lace that ran the length of the train, every few inches apart. I had A LOT of this lace...
Used a scrap of the wide lace, flipped upside down to doll up the neckline of my dress & covered the straps with the long strips of lace I had a lot of. Restrung my Grandma's old pearls & used a few of them to put in the flowers of the lace to doll it up a bit more...
Made matching $1 flip flops for all 6 of us girls by gluing the lace over the straps...
Here's a pic of the wedding party... My Best Friend, Jane made her own dress & Janeya's dress. Thank you Jane! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed to say the least... I made the other 4 dresses, my husband's vest & all the ties... This was the 2nd wedding dress I made a week before the wedding because I gained some weight & the 1st dress no longer fit. The underlay of my dress is the train overlay of my aunt's dress. I turned it into a skirt so I could just slip it off when the party started... Cut her cathedral length veil off, made a camo ribbon & trimmed it.
My sister & Maid of Honor, Lori...
My best friend & Bridesmaid, Jane...
My newly inherited children,
Best Man & Bridesmaid, Devin & Nicci...
My sons & Groomsmen, Austin & Dylan
walking me down the aisle...
Husband & Wife, FINALLY!!! I've been in love with Beez (Brian) since I was 12 years old... Waited 25 years, hoping & praying for him to come back to me & it finally happened... This truly was my dream come true! My uncle, Calvin carved the buttons for Beez's vest out of deer antlers & carved wooden, morel mushroom tie tacks for the guy's ties... My cousin, Tiffany used scraps of camo fabric to make my flowers. Thank you so much Uncle Calvin & Tiff!
Beautiful, baby girl, Janeya...
Monday, July 29, 2013
Shirt Revamp
Before...
Cut the sleeves off...
Cut the very top & collar off in a shape like this...
Cut the collar where it meets the top of the shirt... Cut the collar in 1/2 & fold over the neckline...
Cut the button part, arrow shaped part of the sleeves to make the straps... And here's the after shot of it all sewed together...
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