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Denim skirt and edged cardi

Just look at what you can create when your husband leaves a pair of jeans lying around in the wrong place!  Ha!  You snooze you lose!

Only kidding - they were on his 'to chuck out' pile of things that won't fit in the drawer anymore, and I did ask before I cut them up.  You wouldn't think it now though as he keeps looking at me accusingly saying, "My jeans!".

Too bad though coz I love love LOVE my new skirt.  It's perfect for the weather, and soooo quick to make.  I didn't take pics of the process, but I literally just cut the legs off at the point where there were holes in the knees, opened the inside legs and crotch, and stitched it all together using triangles of denim (taken from one of the cut off legs) to fill in the gaps.  

I managed to get it done in about half an hour this morning whilst Jacob napped (and his naps are short!) so I could wear it when we went out after lunch.  I did go back to reinforce some of the seams later on, just to make sure.  This gave me a chance to try out my new double needle too.

I bought this needle for knitting jersey so I shouldn't really be using it on denim, but it worked fine and was exactly what I needed to secure the back seams which were fray-tastic.

So, onto the cardi.  I have been looking in my wardrobe for clothes to refashion, and maternity wear is an easy choice.  It's big enough to allow adjustment (and to fit my post-natal figure!) but I don't plan on wearing it again for it's original purpose!

Most of my maternity clothes have been recycled over three pregnancies or inherited from friends, but I did acquire a couple of new items this time.  One was a pair of jeans which I lived in, but which are sadly of no use now due to the fabric maternity belly - they would be too low cut without it.  Then there was this super soft angora mix jumper which is another matter.

It was a birthday present and I loved the colour, the soft knitted texture and the shoulder and cuff detail.  However, I hardly wore it after my mum informed me that it "looked as if I had no boobs"!  Clearly I wouldn't be wearing it as is post pregnancy either as it really doesn't flatter my pear-shaped figure, but I had a plan!


First off I cut off the back tie thingy and used an existing cardi to determine how long I wanted it to be.

Then I hacked it into bits, cutting off the bottom and slicing up the middle to make my cardi shape.  

Of course, there was now a question of what to do with all those raw edges, but I trawled ebay until I came upon this paisley binding with just the right colour combination.

I pinned the binding all the way around the raw edges and sewed it in place.  It was actually easier than I thought it would be.

And that was it.  I didn't add any catches or buttons as I wouldn't want to wear it done up.  So here it is...

 It's pretty cute and definitely wearable now - although not at the moment coz it's just too darn HOT!  All in all another successful wardrobe refashion - hooray!

Quick summer refash - shirt to halterneck top

It's hot.  Pretty unusual for a British summer in recent years!  It was stiflingly hot yesterday and I couldn't find anything cool that I was happy wearing (post-pregnancy!) so I took a leaf out of the Refashionista's book and remodelled this shirt that I picked up at a charity shop recently (excuse the appalling photo - I really must clean the mirror if I'm going to take any more photos like this!):

To start with I went with a no-sew refashion - folding the collar in, doing the buttons up and tying the sleeves behind me.  I've only got one photo of it like this, but it's cute! 

Ahhhh!  My sweet baby!  Anyway, I decided that whilst this worked around the house, I was less confident wearing it out and about, so I got the scissors out.  First I cut off the collar and sleeves and unpicked the pockets.

I cut each sleeve in two lengthwise and made a long straight strap and a shorter angled strap out of each sleeve.

I was left with this shape for the body.  I ended up cutting off the two top bits as well leaving just the shoulder yoke (is that what it's called?) which I folded to the inside.  This is great as it adds a bit of extra thickness in the boob area!  

I folded the top over to make a band out of the surplus fabric on the front section.  I pinned the shorter angled straps behind this band and sewed it all down.

I cut the back panels down and hemmed them just above what would now be the top buttonhole.

I put the top on inside out, took the sides in and sewed them up, catching the long straps in the new side seams.

And that was it!  Here's what it looks like:

I love the halter - it feels very fifties, and the back strap means I feel secure knowing that it's not going to pop open if the button fails!  It also means I can tuck the halter straps in and wear it strapless if I want to.  

Of course Jon doesn't like it - he thinks I look like I'm wearing a tablecloth, but you can't win 'em all!  Jacob doesn't seem to mind though...

Enjoy the sunshine folks!

Esme Top Completed!

That's it!  I have finally completed my first ever wearable garment!  Woohoooooo!

I managed to squeeze in some sewing time over the last week, mainly in the evenings when all the little darlings were asleep.  I did occasionally manage to sneak a little extra in after school (between making dinner, feeding an infant and doing the bedtime routine!) and at these times had a little helper:

Chief pin sorter!

She's keen to get involved, and we're thinking of starting a little project together soon - perhaps a pinny or a little skirt.   I wish I'd started sewing from a young age!  I'm sure my mum would have gladly shown me how (she sewed all the time when I was a kid) but I think I was probably a little too impatient in those days!

Anyway, back to the Esme Top.  In the end I cut the pattern out in a size 8 as I'd read that it comes up big, and I'm certainly glad I didn't go any bigger.  It's quite an airy, blousey top which will be lovely and cool for summer wear.  I love the bib detail on the front, and the sleeves are wonderful!  I'm really pleased with how it went together, and for a first attempt I don't think I did too badly.  I'm sure I'll be able to pick holes in it later once I have more experience, and it's not that tidy inside, but for now I am very happy with it.  

I'm really pleased with how it went together, and for a first attempt I don't think I did too badly.  I made a couple of mistakes in the initial cutting out which I will chalk up to experience but I had plenty of fabric so I was able to resolve these without difficulty.  I did make one glaringly obvious error when I chose to use a biro to mark my gather lines thinking that the end result would be hidden in the seam allowance - doh! 

I'm hoping this will come out in the wash, but I intend to wear it in the meantime anyway - after all, I made it dammit!

Celebrating with a Pimms!

 Happy weekend y'all!