White Polkadot Wrap Shirt Refashion

Some time ago I bought a size 12 Marco Polo white wraparound polkadot shirt at a flea market for $5. I didn't try it on, but I love love love polkadots and thought that size 12 should be okay on me. However, whenever I thought to wear it somewhere, it just never looked right on me. It wasn't THAT big, but it didn't fit very well on me. I offered it to a friend, thinking it would be a bit of a shame to cut it up-but she didn't think it was her style. So, I thought, what the heck-I'll just refashion it. I've had it for more than 6 months and never wore it nor done anything to it because, well, it was really pretty by itself. I was afraid of mucking up something.Now if I did something at last,  at least I'd wear it.

This is what it looks like before.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The Polkadot Wraparound Shirt"][/caption]

It makes me think of a nurse's uniform somehow. The bow would never sit right and it felt that the sleeves were an awkward length on me.

I decided to recut the whole shirt to fit me better- at the sleeves and armholes, and at the side seams. And as in my other two refashions, to cut off the midsection and substitute with black stretch knit.

I cut off the midsection first-just folded the shirt in half and eyeballed it. I didn't really measure anything this time. I pinned the wrap fronts together before I started cutting.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Cutting off the midsection"][/caption]

Next, I unpicked the side seams and the armhole seams and removed the sleeves.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The unpicked shirt"][/caption]

To recut the armholes and the sleeves, I use my existing personal patterns as a guide to cut around.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My newspaper patterns"][/caption]

I wanted short sleeves with a black binding with tiny pleats built into it.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My new cut sleeves"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Plain ol' bias binding"][/caption]

I was so absorbed in making the sleeves I forgot to document the process. What you see next is the finished sleeve.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="I love bias binding"][/caption]

I love the new sleeve. It looks so much younger, instead of 3/4 length sleeves.

Here's another view of the sleeve. I really like my sleeve. Can you tell?

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Another view of the sleeve"][/caption]

Coming back to the missing midsection. I cut out 2 separate pieces of black stretch knit in a vaguely waist-like shape, the front piece one inch wider than the back, the total measurement, about 3/4 my waist measurement.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The missing midsection"][/caption]

I overlocked the side seams together, forming a tube. Then I joined it to the main garment, right sides together.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Pinning the two pieces together at quarterly intervals"][/caption]

Then I hemmed the bottom with a twin needle.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The finished product"][/caption]

Doesn't it look soooo much better? I love the new shirt!

Opshop Treasures and Other Bargains

I had the car last Thursday and went out shopping with a friend. Ita was the lovely church lady who gave me a stack of fabrics to start my stash. She had told me about an opshop at St Aidan's Anglican Church on the corner of OG and Payneham Rd which was only open in the mornings till noon. So we both went there to have a little browse. I was looking for jumpers and winter things, but was told that the winter things was only coming out on Saturday when they were having a fete. I wasn't too disappointed, as I picked up a pretty red Portman's knitted, short-sleeved turtleneck for $3.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="Red Portmans top"][/caption]

However, Little Wyld Man needed his nappy changed, so I went into the hall-where the fete was going to be. And all the winter things were hanging on the rack-the lady in charge said I could have a look if I wanted and if I wanted to buy anything I was welcome to. I went to have a quick browse, not really thinking I'd get anything, seeing as there were more coats than jumpers, and I was after the latter. However, I came across this gorgeous 7/8 wool winter coat with faux fur trim on the collar and on the sleeve, with princess lines but in a swing coat style. I tried it on and Ita and the other salesladies gasped-they said it was so Audrey Hepburn and soooo elegant and sooo me!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="A Frontal View"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="A Back View"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="Another View"][/caption]

The brand was Steve by Searle and on the care label it said CLEAN BY FUR METHOD DO NOT BRUSH PRESS OR STEAM. I went online after that and found www.searlenyc.com and guess what-all of their coats were in upwards of USD400 to 900, although right now they're having a half price sale. I also found the very same coat in black sold on ebay second hand at a starting bid of USD70. It stated that the coat was 70% wool, 20% nylon and 10% cashmere. And guess how much I paid for it at the opshop? $10. Yes. $10. I love the thrill of finding something so beautiful for next to nothing.

The next opshop we went was the Enfield Baptist Church opshop off Hampstead Rd. There, I picked up another red turtleneck and a brown long cardigan, both for $4. I was in a hurry and didn't try either of them. But they fit me perfectly, and Wyld Man especially likes the latter.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="Red Turtleneck"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="Another view."][/caption]

Those boots were on sale at Harris Scarfe's. I wasn't looking for any when I was there, but Wyld Man's been telling me to get another pair, because I keep complaining that pair I have pinches my toes. These were pure leather, and fully lined with leather as well. They were selling retail for $219.95 but was on manager's special for.....$39.95. And I bought them. And love them. They are sooo comfortable. The buckles are on a strap that can be taken off, so I can have 2 different looks too. 2 weeks ago I saw some at BigW for $70, and they were only PVC and I told Wyld Man that I was sure I could get some real leather one's for that price. And I was right.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="My brown long cardigan"][/caption]

This brown long cardi is very young, very versatile and very trendy. I can wear it with practically anything and it keeps me warm.

The next stop was Rivers. They had a catalogue in the newspaper selling women's cable knits for $14. I had to go and have a look to see whether they were worth buying. I'd have to pay$60-70 for knitted jumpers in a shop, $14 for a cable knit is very very good. Even opshops sell them for about $7 each. I got three.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="A olive green shawl neck cable knit."][/caption]

I also got the shawl neck one in black.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="A silver turtleneck cable knit"][/caption]

Total spent for 7 items-$63. A pretty good day's work. I'm all set for winter.

White Jacket

Some time ago, I thought that I'd like to have a white suit to wear to church-actually to William's baptism on 28 March. I rummaged through my fabricf stash and decided to make a white suit made of a waffle weave white linen that was given to me, trimmed with a navy blue polkadot fabric. This is the sketch I drew.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Fashion Sketch"][/caption]

It would have a shawl collar, and bias bound with the navy blue polkadot trim, with a sewn in belt feature, accompanied by a pencil skirt in the same polkadot fabric.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The chosen fabrics"][/caption]

This would be the first time I attempted a jacket, as well as make my own bias binding. I've always been intimidated by the jacket, with its facings, sleeve vents, linings and collars-but I decided to take the plunge this time.

I drafted a jacket block from Winifred Aldrich's Metric Pattern Cutting for Womenswear.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The Jacket Draft instructions"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My personal jacket draft"][/caption]

The shawl collar had to be drafted separately on another piece of paper and attached to the main jacket block.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My shawl collar piece"][/caption]

I decided where I wanted my style lines to be and marked them on the main block with pencil, and traced them out onto newpaper with seam allowances.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My cut pattern pieces"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Laying out my pattern pieces on fabric, ready to cut."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The cut fabric "][/caption]

I also cut my interfacing for the jacket facing and the belt.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Interfacing pieces"][/caption]

Next up was the bias binding. I used the continous binding method to make a long chain of binding. I estimated that I needed around 3.5 m of 2.5cm wide binding to go around the jacket. 2.5cm x350cm=875 cm squared, square root of 875 =29.5cm. So I cut a square of polkadot fabric 35cm by 35 cm, and marked 2.5cm intervals on the bias with tailor's chalk.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Fabric square marked on the bias with chalk every 2.5 cm intervals. The marks are not visible here."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="I cut the square into half at a 45 degree angle across the bias"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Now place one half of the square on the other side-making a rhombus like the picture. Match all the chalk marks"][/caption]



The rhombus has to be rolled into a tube and joined together, matching all the chalk marks again. This feels very counter intuitive because it feels like the fabric is twisted.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The rolled tube of fabric"][/caption]

Now I just cut the fabric into one long strip following the chalk marks I made.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My bias strip"][/caption]

To make it suitable for binding, like bias binding you buy in a package, I use my bias tape maker.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Pulling the strip through the bias tape maker and pressing as I pull it through."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My bias binding all pressed and ready to go"][/caption]

It was rather satisfying to make that loooong strip of bias tape.

Before I started sewing, I did all the other incidentals like fusing the interfacing into place.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="I fused the interfacing to the jacket facing."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My interfaced belt pieces"][/caption]

I sewed the lining pieces together first-to prevent sewing fatigue. You know how you've finished the main garment, then look at your lining and sigh-wishing that you didn't have to do it after all? Well, making the lining first prevents that problem.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The lining pieces"][/caption]

I started sewing all the main garment pieces together and didn't take pictures because I was in a hurry to finish the jacket. I sewed the binding all around the jacket by hand which took me the better half of two days.

This was the finished jacket.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Finished jacket"][/caption]

HOWEVER- I tried it on. And boy was I disappointed. It didn't fit!!!! Well. It fitted well enough in the shoulders, and had the jacket been a standard design with no in-built belt, it would have fitted beautifully. But, I didn't make a muslin, and didn't anticipate that the draft being a looser fit with standard jacket ease built into it would not carry my design well. My design needed an extremely fitted jacket, with the belt sitting and wrapping the waist precisely. This jacket billowed at the back. And it has so many seams that was I to make the alteration to fit, I'd need to recut the belt piece, as well as take out every seam at the waist, where I counted at least 8 seams. It's such a pity because I loved the colour combination-it's so pretty! Grgh! And because it didn't fit, I haven't the motivation to finish making the buttonholes nor put in buttons. And now it's officially an UFO-UnFinished Object. Sigh. I haven't the heart to make my polkadot pencil skirt either. That'll teach me to make a muslin next time I make a new draft of something.

Brown Shirt Refashion

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Brown Rayon Opshop Shirt"][/caption]

I bought this rayon shirt at the opshop when I was very pregnant. I assumed that just because the shirt fit at the shoulders, it would fit fine after I gave birth. However, I discovered that it was extremely billowyat the bottom and completely shapelesss. The collar was too high as well and the bow didn't sit properly. I decided to do something about it.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Shapeless"][/caption]

Knowing how well my first refashion turned out, I decided to do the same to this shirt. I planned to lower the collar and cut off the midsection and substitute it with stretch blue ribbed material.

Below I cut off the midsection about 8 inches above the hem.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Cut off midsection of shirt"][/caption]

I then measured myself around the waist and cut off a swatch of blue knit ribbed fabric less 2-3 inches in length, and the same width as the midsection that I cut off from the shirt.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My deep blue ribbed knit"][/caption]

I joined the two raw edges of the ribbed knit to make a tube and overlocked the other raw edges.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Overlocking the raw edges of the blue ribbed knit"][/caption]

Here below I'm overlocking the edges of the brown shirt.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Overlocking the raw edges of the brown shirt."][/caption]

Next I pinned the ribbed knit tube to the brown shirt right sides together, pinning in quarterly intervals.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Pinning right sides together"][/caption]

This is what it looks like after the tube is sewn on.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Half way there."][/caption]

To lower the collar, I unpicked the the collar seam and recut the collar to where I wanted it to be.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The unpicked collar"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The new collar position."][/caption]

And I sewed the collar band back on.

Tada!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="The finished refashioned shirt."][/caption]

I like it so much better. Wyld Man likes it too.