Make: Men's Shirt Refashion

My husband has quite the impressive dress shirt collection. Currently, 47 long-sleeved dress shirts hang in his closet. If you think that's a lot, try guessing the number of ties! This set of 47 excludes a few that were recently discarded for either donation or refashioning — and subsequent move to my closet which isn't so much saving us storage space as it is moving items around. Oh well. Here is one such refashion.

I'm not really one to stay on top of fashion trends, but lately I have noticed more women wearing loose-fitting tops with cuffed sleeves. Like this NY&Co shirt. I love the look and think it's perfect for summer. So I dug through Matt's pile of discarded shirts and found one in a gorgeous deep blue tone. With a pretty clear idea of what I wanted the end result to be, away I went with my scissors and sewing machine. I am so thrilled with how this refashion turned out that I am tempted to make more just like it!

As you scroll down, you will find additional instructions and photos to (hopefully!) make everything clear. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Neckline
Begin by removing the collar and cutting the fabric to your desired neckline. In my case, I preferred a wide boatneck. Turn down and hem this newly-cut rough edge.

Sleeves
Cut off the sleeves at the spot right above your elbow. You want to make sure you have enough sleeve to roll. Now fold the sleeves up to your desired length and pin into place. I opted to sew the cuff into place (a 1/2-inch seam hidden along the interior of the sleeve) so that it wouldn't unroll willy nilly.

Now for the straps. Using the discarded fabric, cut a 1-inch wide strip (4-5 inches long) and fold it in half. Sew along the rough edge (making a narrow tube), then turn it inside out. Sew one end of the strip to the inside of the rolled sleeve  and pull it around to the outside of the sleeve, sewing this end into place too. Add a decorative button to this cover the outer seam. Repeat for the other sleeve. This is easier than it sounds; you want it to look like this:

Body
Take in the sides as needed. I wanted my shirt to have a flowing shape, so I only took in a bit of fabric around my chest. Play around with different degrees of tightness and decide what you like. Keep in mind that dress shirts don't stretch, so make sure it is loose enough that you can easily put it on and take it off.

Make: Skinny Refashion

First, a brief history. Second, a brief tutorial.

A Brief History

If you thought skinny pants were a product of the 20th century, you would be mistaken. Actually, slim-fit pants date back to the late 18th century. Not only that, they were a political statement. Radical left-wingers of the French lower class wore full-length pants tailored tightly from waist to ankle, all in response to the knee-length breeches popular among the upper class. Over the decades, the style's association has changed as often as the name, including drainpipes, stovepipes, cigarette pants, and pencil pants. Skinnies have been linked to everything from classic & subdued fashion (see Audrey Hepburn and Sandra Dee) to heavy metal and pop/rock music (see Poison and Freddie Mercury). The most recent (and current) resurgence was in response to the oversized and baggy clothing prevalent in the 1990s.

So there you go. I bet you were not expecting a history lesson today, were you?!?

A Brief Tutorial

For a while I'd been wanting to expand my skinny pant wardrobe beyond denim. Then a few weeks ago I was digging through some soon-to-be-donated clothes and noticed a pair of black bell bottoms. Inspiration struck and I was thrilled! Especially because they fit really well from the knees up, meaning the undertaking would be simple and straightforward.

If you want to skinny-fy a pair of pants, you have two options.

Option 1: Pinch and Pin
Turn your pants inside out and try them on in front of a mirror. Working your way down from hip to ankles, pin along the inside and outside of your leg, making the pant leg as tight as you prefer. After doing this on both sides, very carefully take off the pants. You can also mark along the pins for extra guidance.


Option 2: Template
Turn your pants inside out and lay them flat. Use a pair of (already-fitting) skinny pants as a template and lay them on top of your non-skinny pants. Be sure to line up the crotches (strange sentence to type, btw!) and mark where your new seams will be. Pin along those lines.

TIP: If you want to keep the "professional" seam on the outside of your pants, be sure to gather the fabric on the inside of your pant legs only!

Regardless of which option you choose, now you will sew straight seams along your markings/pins. Cut away the excess fabric, turn them right side out, and try them on. If you are unhappy with the first, repeat all of the above steps to alter as needed.

I chose the pinch and pin method and it worked great. I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy this project was. It makes me want to go through my closet and find more pants to transform!

Make: Sweatshirt Refashion!

Cute + Comfortable. These are my two goals in fashion. I spend most of my work days accomplishing the first, but generally not the second. So as soon as I get home I want to ditch the dress pants and fancy-lady shoes for my ripped jeans and moccasin slippers. To top it off? More often than not, an oversized hoodie sweatshirt. This moves me closer to my second goal (comfortable) yet further from the first (cute). Surely there is some way to achieve both!

My sweatshirt collection was huge and dated all the way back to my Freshman year of high school.
 I recently came to terms with the fact that I do not need a dozen hoodies taking up limited (and therefore precious) closet space. Thus I resolved to get rid of several, keep a few in tact, and try my hand at refashioning. Overall, I was successful in these endeavors. I have reclaimed some closet space and ended up with some cute redone tops.

Shawl-Neck Sweater

I am so proud of this project! It was inspired by a picture I came across online and wanted to recreate. I had my doubts that it would work, since I basically drew a sketch and started cutting away at the material. Considering that I was working with the limitations of an already-made top, I think I did a fine job turning an oversized, appliqued hoodie into a cute shawl-neck sweater!




Despite my desire to recreate the inspiring photo (left),
I just couldn't bring myself to hold my hands in such an awkwardly unnatural way.
Instead, I settled with cropping off the top 3/4 of my face.

You will need:
Hoodie
Coordinating thread
Button(s)
Pins
Scissors
Sewing Machine

Begin by removing the front pocket. Doing this actually required me to take off the entire band around the bottom of the sweatshirt (which I later re-attached). Also remove any unwanted embroidery with a seam ripper or small shears; if your sweatshirt has screen printing--sorry, that is not going anywhere.

I think the rest is easier to explain/understand with visual representation.

 

Note: I folded under the raw edge (of the little flap) for a cleaner look but this step is not necessary since the material won't fray.

If your sweatshirt already fits then you are done! If yours (like mine) is too big, then do the following:

Turn the shirt inside out and lay flat. Take a shirt that does fit (preferably another sweatshirt) and lay it on top. Line up the shoulder seams and mark where to take in the sleeves and/or sides. Also pin along this marked line. Sew along the marked lines and cut away the excess material. Turn it right-side out, try it on, then make any needed adjustments.

Ah, American Eagle! I told you my entire sweatshirt collection dates back to high school.

Now you are good to go! Get ready to be cute and comfortable!