One of the thrifty green projects that I really enjoy is remaking clothes. Last week I decided to go through my closet and get rid of anything that I didn't wear, or that didn't fit me that well or I didn't like the way I looked in it. One dress that I decided didn't work for me (I really liked it but it was a little to short and tight) I decided to remake for Mara.
It was actually a pretty simple project as I didn't have to do a lot to it. The picture above show how it fit her before I did anything to it.
I saw this really cool tip somewhere else online: when you need to figure out how much to take something in, put it on wrong side out! Above is Mara wearing the dress wrong side out and I figured out how much to take in the side seams and sleeves. I did that on both sides and then to make the shoulders fit better I added a bit of elastic. Then I cut a couple of inches off of the bottom and hemmed it again. With the extra fabric I added some fabric around the neck to fill in the neckline and I also made a headband for her.
Mara was quite pleased with the "new" dress and I was happy for her to have one that will be pretty and warm on her for the winter as well as looking better on her than it did on me.A blog reader recently e-mailed wondering if I had any ideas for re-using men's dress shirts (She was specifically interested in Shirt dresses.) I haven't ever remade any yet but after researching it a bit I am interested now! I thought I would post some of the neat links that I found. (The first my friend Betsy actually told me about some time ago.)
- A cute child's sundress.
- A video tutorial for making a shirt dress out of 2 men's dress shirts.
- A cap sleeve shirt.
5 comments:
Mara's dress turned out nicely. I checked out that sundress link. That idea is adorable. I will have to try and remember it! Anna
That's great--thanks for those links! I've started making shorts out of my boys' pants that have holes in the knees.
I once made seven children play clothes out of the green patterned curtains in my room. . . .
In all seriousness, I am not as talented a seamstress as you are! I probably couldn't turn an adult-sized dress into a kid-sized one. I did make a gnome hat for my daughter's Halloween costume--and I really did make it out of the remnants from green curtains!
Thanks for the tutorial and those links. This seems like the perfect way to revitalize your wardrobe without spending any money or using any raw materials. Your daughter looks great in her "new" dress!
I have to second Rebecca's comment about lack of sewing skills. Still, your post makes me want to acquire a bit of tailoring talent. what a creative way to sew without having to start from scratch! The link the the toddler dress made from a men's shirt is absolutely adorable! Thanks for joining us this Thrifty Green Thursday!
How creative! I have some extra dresses I've kept on hand because I couldn't bear getting rid of the material. I'm just now visiting your blog, and will hopefully be contributing to your Christmas series!
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