(see how the wide collar gapes?)

I found a fantastic mid-length dress at Ruche (Way to go, Ruche, for offering mid-length dresses & skirts this season!), but I had the sneaking suspicion that the neck would be too wide. That proved to be true. This idea for a refashion hit as I was debating whether I should keep it or not. I decided it was worth the $40 risk. 

I used a piece of leather to gather the back into a bow-like shape. It doesn’t change much of the neckline, but it does tighten it down a bit so that when I bend over, my girls don’t show.

I’m glad I took the risk! I’m excited to start working this into my regular wardrobe.

Read more for how to do it yourself! You’ll find yourself finishing this refashion in a matter of minutes. It’s really that easy.

Put the top on a dress form & mark the centerline & where you want the gathering to stop. For me, this ended up being about 10-11 inches from the top of the dress. Grab a friend to help you mark the spot if a dress form isn’t available.

Figure out how big a “knot” you want. I used leather, but you could definitely use a tube of jersey or anything else for that matter. If it’s not leather or felt, finish the edges. For me, it was 1 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

Make a slit slightly smaller than your “knot” piece, where you made your marking in the first step. Add fray check around the edges for extra stability.

Thread your leather/knot piece through the small slit & sew ends together along the back side. Since my top was actually a dress, there was a lot of weight pulling on the slit I made, creating an ugly gap. I reinforced the slit by hand sewing it into the pleats & the knot piece.

Add more fray check for extra stability.

Turn right side out & enjoy your family-friendly slouchy top!

You’ll love how it looks from the back, you’ll want to wear your hair up. Enjoy!

• Terms of Use •

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this text, publish more than 1 photo or outright steal this idea for any publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

I doubt I’m the only one with this problem. Or am I? I bought these PacSun jean leggings through Groupon at an insanely low price ($5? I’m in.). I was concerned that the fit was going to be a bit tight on my legs, but I ordered just as the size chart suggested. Sure, I fit in my jeans, but they weren’t very comfortable. In fact, they’re too loose in the waist & a bit too tight in the legs.

I’m sure I could’ve taken them back for a bigger size, but unfortunately I had already ripped off the tags. Instead I decided to make them bigger & thankfully it worked! Here’s how:

1. turn your jeans inside out – make sure there’s at least one non-felled seam down your pants
2. sew along the inside edge of the surged seam
3. unpick the inner seam & remove any stray threads
4. launder & wear

This little tip will give you about 1/4-1/2 inch of extra leg room in each pant leg! Easy peasy! You just need to know how to sew in a (relatively) straight line. For best results, do this on a dark wash pair of jeans. If you do have lighter washed jeans & you want to cover up the unpicked line, you might want to try a tuxedo approach like these J brand skinnies (as seen on Taylor).

See how you can’t even tell that I added 1/2 inch of leg room in my pants? I know for sure I’ll get a lot more use out of these ridiculously cheap jeans.

Click here to see outfit details.

I love this coat! It’s 100% awesome wool with a 100% silk lining. Oh yeah, you heard me, this coat is legit. Not even Anthro provides coats this nice at their $300 premium. The only problems I had with this coat straight off the rack were the short sleeves and the trench-like length. The sleeves were just about a half inch too short & the length about 8 inches too long. It took me a long while to figure out how I would adjust this coat & thought I would share with you my thought process & how I came up with the final refashion.

1. Originally I thought I would lengthen the sleeves by adding the equivalent to a sleeve dickie, but as the sleeves had button enclosures, I didn’t really see how that would work in my favor.
2. Then Liz gave me the brilliant idea to add fur cuffs to the coat. I found some inspiration & I even bought some killer zebra fur, but it quickly became a giant hot mess as I got to sewing. Real fur is a giant mess to work with. Yuck.
3. After seeing a giant hot mess of my awesome coat I really wanted to give up, but I still had 6 inches of wool that I cut off the bottom left to use as scrap. I used every last bit of those scraps to make new cuffs and sewed some linear details on the cuffs to match the collar.

So, once I finally figured out the vision, the coat didn’t take a whole lot to revamp. Here’s the list of final alterations:

• shortened hem by 8 inches
• hemmed the silk lining, didn’t need to hem the wool part, though (YAY!)
• removed old cuff & used as a pattern template for longer sleeves
• bought brass buttons for a double button closure on the sleeves

While talking to her about the patterns & Megan’s vision for her brand, it seemed that the simpler the better. I went for a very simple, almost retro feel. I was heavily inspired by Collette & Oliver + S pattern branding. They both don’t use actual photos in their product illustrations. I loved the 50′s & graphic feel of Collette patterns & the paper doll idea from Oliver + S. I thought it’d be great to keep things simple & stick with a black, white & pink color scheme.

I designed the elements & gave Megan a style guide & she did the rest. I love her packaging choices with her patterns! The patterns are neatly & beautifully packaged in an off-white envelope with a sticker/velcro closure for safe keeping. Instead of having a confusing map for her pattern instructions, she has a beautifully stitched booklet equipped with step-by-step instructions, a shopping list & plenty of space for notes & a little sewing log. Brilliantly done, Megan.

I’m just thrilled to have all of these patterns in my hands right now! I can’t wait to get to sewing some of her patterns! Visit Megannielsen.com to view her patterns & fashion(the Dunes top kills me it’s so gorgeous).

It’s not that I don’t want her to dress up as spiderman, I just already bought the stuff for her costume by the time she changed her mind! Typical, right? I keep telling myself that if she absolutely hates her costume I’ll gladly go to Target & pick up a spiderman outfit for her. So far she hasn’t been hesitant to put on her witch costume in the least. She looks super adorable, I might add!

Here’s the breakdown for her outfit:

• tights & turtleneck – I found them at Walmart; since it’s practically impossible to find green things for girls, I dyed them. I added the stripes with black paint.
• tutu – I made this from 6 yards of tulle, elastic & some felt. I’ve considered cutting it down but that’s not likely to happen. It’s one of those things that she can grow into.
• broom – I spray painted a dowel black, cut about 14 inches of leather fringe & wrapped the dowel with the leather, securing it with an upholstery tack.
• hat – I bought this as-is at Walmart, which just so happened to be the fourth store I went to for a hat! How come plain kid’s witches hats are nearly impossible to find? I don’t want pink sparkles or nasty faux hair sticking out of it.

Overall this costume took WAAAY too many hours to make. The broom was fast, the dyeing was relatively fast, as were the stripes, but the tutu took forever. A lot of it had to be hand-sewn. Not sure I’ll put in this amount of time on a costume ever again.

Immediately she put the broom between her legs & the biggest look of disappointment flooded over her face! She looked at me & with a sad little voice said, “Mommy, the broom doesn’t work. I’m not flying!” Oooohh, my sweet Penelope. You are too much.

I’m going as Dorothy for Halloween this year. Turns out I’ve had the perfect Dorothy costume in my closet for some time. I bought the perfect blue dress eons ago & what girl doesn’t have red heels? What are you going as?

• I love working with Jersey
• Jersey & the catch stitch = best friends for hemlines
• I’ve fallen head-over-heels in love with Swedish Tracing Paper*
• I’m totally sold on making cheap mock-ups when working on a pattern
• I need to store my scissors WAAAAY higher than I have them currently

The plan was to make a knee-length knit jersey dress with dolman sleeves, the bodice on the bias, an elastic waistline (using method from P’s most recent refashion) with mid-length sleeves. My plan was hugely thwarted when Penelope found access (who knows how) to my scissors & massacred a good portion of my fabric. I knew the bias was completely out, but hopeful that I had enough room for a regular top. BARELY! I had to adjust the neckline & couldn’t get as long a sleeve all due to some poorly placed gashes. Now I know I need to store my scissors on a stand-alone shelf at least 7 feet off the ground. Currently they’re only 5 feet off the ground.

Also, I need to order more than one yard of fabric if I’m planning on making a dress. I’m sure I would have had I had the above vision when I bought the fabric.

With the restrictions I already had, I decided that I needed to be meticulous in my planning. Using my refashioned dolman top as a starting point, I traced the outline onto the Swedish Tracing Paper that Pamela gave me* at Sewing Summit. She told me that this stuff was awesome. It really is. I’ve used Glassine in the past, but this stuff is WAY better.

Once I got a pattern that I was pretty happy with, I was tempted to just get going on my dress, but I was smart & held back. I got out a similar jersey from my stash – I found this at JoAnn’s in their scraps pile for like $2 – and whipped up a top. Thank goodness I did! I found the sleeves were too tight for the look I wanted & the body was much too loose, too. I made the adjustments on the top (besides the arms) and then translated it onto a new pattern piece. Click here to see more of the above outfit.

From there I cut out my skirt & bodice pieces & sewed them together. I used the same technique for gathering & attaching the gathered skirt as I did with Penelope’s granny polo dress. It was perfect. Again! The waist is a bit loose for wearing without a belt, but I’m really happy with how it turned out. If you look closely you can tell that I hadn’t hemmed the sleeves or the bottom of the dress when I took this picture. Daylight was running out yesterday, so I thought I’d grab a quick pic. I spent last night vegging & hemming. I’m wearing this outfit today, so check out the fashion blog for the rest of the outfit details.

My new dress turned out fantastic! It’s definitely bright & cheery enough for Spring & Summer, but I think it’s also easily styled into a fall ensemble. Just add more browns & neutrals to the dress. It’s light & airy so I know this will become a staple in my wardrobe during those hot summer months!

*Swedish Tracing Paper was given to me as a gift from NearSea Naturals at Sewing Summit. I just so happened to love it!

I liked the color, but not necessarily the style. I liked the dolman sleeve, but it was SO wide that you could practically see my belly button if I lifted up my arms. I really don’t want to wear extra layers to cover up if I don’t have to, so that HAD to change. Also, what’s up with the muffin-top hider waist band thing? It looked a little late ’90s & not in a good way. The band was wide & low enough that it just hugged my bum. Not my style.

I chopped off the ribbing, took in the sides, took in the arms & added a vintage floral cuff to the sleeves. I had a fabric swatch from my mom (literally from the ’80s) that matched the top perfectly, but I like the dimension that this not-so-matchy floral fabric adds to the top. I did a blind stitch for the hem & part of the sleeve. Can you tell I’m falling in love with the hand-stitched blind hem? It really adds a lot of polish to the finishing of the garment that my sewing machine can’t. It looks a lot less like a Home Ec project. This top is asymmetrical with the front & back & just long enough for me to wear without an undershirt, but short enough that it gives the appearance of a crop. I like.

What do you think? I think it looks great for being a hand-me-down. CLICK HERE for the full outfit & details.

This was meant to be a little girl’s dress. A few nights ago I was a bit bored & craving a little sewing project so I got it out & started looking at it. Originally I thought about doing a little scoop neck sheath for Penelope, but thought the finishing might look a bit shoddy if I try to take off the polo collar. Penelope was in the room, so I had her try on the untailored shirt & discovered that the neck was perfect as-is. If I buttoned it all the way to the top, it looked like a normal, meant-to-be-worn-by-a-toddler neckline. I used the same process as Penelope’s little black dress from two years ago, but made a few minor changes that ended up making a huge difference.

Here’s how I did it:

• cut off the arms
• cut off the skirt (the trunk, just below the arm pits)
• laid one of Penelope’s shirts (that still fits) and cut out the silhouette of the arms & bodice, leaving about an inch of seam allowance all the way around
• turned the bodice inside out & sewed up the sides
• fitted the bodice to Penelope & made markings for the sleeves (you want them at a slight angle)
• sewed a baste stitch with elastic thread in the bobbin at the loosest tension all the way around the skirt for the skirt to gather. *
• turned skirt inside-out & bodice right-side-in
• pinned the skirt to the bodice, lining up the side seams then finding centers all the way around
• sewed a zig-zag stitch (3mm wide 3mm long) with the elastic bobbin with the original skirt baste stitch in the middle of either side of the zag
• turned right side out
• hemmed the sleeves using a slip stitch (or blind hem)

*I can’t remember where I saw this little tip for gathering, so if you know it, please send the link to me! This tip was SO incredibly helpful! I’ll never gather without an elastic thread ever again.

It was sort of a happy accident that I sewed the two pieces together with the elastic bobbin. I usually just do zig zag stitch (my machine doesn’t have a stretch stitch), but it’s never as stretchy as I want it & often times looks pretty wonky. Using the elastic thread in the bobbin not only gave me more stretch, but it also pulled the stitches straighter, so when I turned the garment right side out, it looked nicely finished. I’m DEFINITELY going to use this technique in the future. Maybe for a project for me?

I’m so proud of this project. It’s such a sweet little girl’s dress! Penelope has refused to take it off since I finished it = job well done!

It’s getting harder & harder to get her to sit still these days. I wish I could steal all of her energy & use it as my own.

This first method is for keeping your tails in place when you’re hand sewing with one thread. I’m not entirely sure what to call it, so for lack of a better phrase, it’s the stay-put tail. It keeps the thread from slipping out the eye of the needle! I don’t bother to do this if I’m doubling up the thread.

This second technique is about adding thread if you run out. I like it because it’s low profile (doesn’t create giant bumps or lumps), incredibly fast and sturdy. It also allows me to sew with smaller lengths of thread to avoid tangles. Do you hear Felix’s cooing?

Hope these video tutorials are helpful! I hope to make more video tutorials in the future. Is there anything you’d like to see specifically? Feel free to leave it in the comments or email me.

I didn’t like the shape, red details or the fit. I did like the circle skirt & checked pattern, but that was about it. When I looked at it I knew I wanted to refashion it, but I originally thought that I needed to just update the sleeves, fit & neckline to something a little more modern. Last week it hit like a ton of bricks: it needs to be a midi skirt instead. Once I decided on that my work refashioning this little number took about 30 minutes. Lickety split, eh?

I just cut out the skirt just below the waistline and attached elastic to the waist, using leftover elastic from my leather belt project*. Just to break it down, here’s what I did:

• measured my waist with the elastic
• cut out elastic & sewed ends together
• divided elastic & skirt waist into fourths & pinned together
• pinned elastic wrong side out to outside of the skirt which was right side out
• evenly pinned gaps of skirt every 2-3 inches along elastic
• stretched elastic to match up with skirt waist as I sewed my longest straight stitch
• ironed & wore

I think it’s a big improvement on the original & I love that I now own a midi-length skirt! I’m just over the moon that they’re super hot this fall. The above outfit is what I wore during my Refashioning class at Sewing Summit. The class went really well, too! We had a great time making fun of the gross things you can find at thrift stores. See outfit details here.

*Elastic provided by rufflefabric.com

This shirt was getting sort of ragged. The white wasn’t as white as it could be – I’m totally clueless when it comes to keeping whites white. I try, but after about a year my whites start to look dingy. Any advice would be awesome.

I decided that it was time I either chuck the shirt or give it new life. I cut off the neckline detailing, dyed it & trimmed up the sides a bit for a more fitted look. Of course, upon cutting the neckline (which I don’t regret one bit) I realized the neck was much too gaping for my taste. I had a couple of options, but being very inspired by This ILK’s harness jewelry (you don’t google that, btw) I thought it’d be pretty sweet to incorporate that idea into my refashion.

I used a combination of teal, turquoise & apple green Rit dye to get this color. I kept thinking of the fall brights that are so popular right now.

I used the chain to create a draped effect in the back. It brings the neckline up in the front & adds more visual interest in the back. I’ll definitely be doing this on any other gaping tees I own. It took very little time & I really like the result. Here’s a quick, no-photo step-by-step on how to do it:

• try your shirt on & place your gaping tee seams where you want them to lie
• measure the distance between the two seams
• cut two chains, one just slightly longer than the above measurement
• attach both chains with a jump ring on both ends
• secure jump ring onto your shirt by doing a satin zig-zag stitch or hand stitch
• wear

I really do love the new look of this top. Can you tell that I’m getting excited to talk about refashioning clothing at Sewing Summit next week? I truly can’t wait. Click here to view outfit details.

Not even a week after I spied that top, I found this baby at a thrift store close by my house. Love. Now this might not be that noticeable to some, but totally by me, I was totally put off by the super high neckline & the keyhole below. I still had dreams of the V tie neck like that Anthro one. With some unpicking here & some stitching there, I was able to make the neck tie much more modern. I also tailored the sleeves by 2 inches on each side. It’s subtle, but I feel like it’s in the 21st century now.

So what do you think? Was it worth the whopping $4? I think so. To see more details of this outfit, check out the fashion blog. 

A few of you were asking how I did it, I’m terrible at explaining, but here’s an illustration to show basically what I did:

Hope that helps!!