Posts Tagged ‘H&M’

Refashioned: Floral Liesl Dress

January 10th, 2013
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My sister-in-law gave me this dress over the break and I just finished refashioning it. It was just a bit too short for her and she wouldn’t be taking it with her to Chicago anyway. I happily obliged. The fit wasn’t fantastic and the sleeves were about a mile high. BUT THE PRINT!! Oh that print.

The poor fit and the puffy sleeves combined made me look like I was about to break into song, “I am 16, going on 17. . .” Yikes! I’m not particularly awesome with sleeves, but I thought I would give it a shot. The puffy sleeves provided more than enough fabric for the sleeves I reconstructed. And if I failed, I could at least finish the arm holes nicely and wear it with cardigans.

And the sleeves worked! I’m so excited with how it turned out. It looks and feels so much better. Here’s how I did it:

  • I unpicked the armhole seams and the side seams all the way
  • I laid out the arm hole flat on the ground and traced the hill shape on some swedish tracing paper
  • I cut that out and pinned it to the arm hole seam and adjusted the pattern from there
  • I pinned and sewed carefully
The sleeves have a little bit of gathering at the top, but just enough to coordinate with the hem below and the straight hem of the actual sleeve make it look more grown up. Much better.

It doesn’t look like much of a change, but it took forever and feels completely different! Another piece crossed off my list for my Alt Summit wardrobe.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: Forever 21
  • dress: handmade, thrifted and refashioned
  • Bracelet: c/o Apricot Lane
  • tights: H&M
  • shoes: H&M

Handmade: Floral Top

June 28th, 2012
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I was planning on making this top before heading to the beach last month, but that never happened. The fabric has been taunting me to make it into something for months. I originally got the fabric for Project Run & Play, but that never happened. I still have a load of fabric and projects in my head inspired by that series. I should work on getting through that list. I think it would be swell if I could make Penelope’s back-to-school wardrobe. I need to take advantage of that before she starts getting picky about her clothes and realizes I’m the antithesis of cool. Time is ticking away!

 

I used the pattern I created for last year’s summer dress for drafting the top. It’s really helpful to keep paper drafts of projects you’ve previously made. It made sewing up this top a real breeze. Because of the grain, I didn’t have enough continuous fabric for the back piece, so I pieced the back together, with a yoke. I think I might experiment a bit more with this in the future with sheers or pleats. It’s got a lot of potential.

I did a high-low hemline for the top. It may seem that’s all I’m doing these days, but I’ve really always been obsessed with them. I remember in 9th grade wishing the backs of my shirts were longer than the fronts. I may have made the back a little too long for this top, so when I get a bit of time, I’ll unpick and rework the hem. For now, it works just fine if I belt the top or tuck the top in.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: i heart a million little things, etsy
  • top: handmade
  • belt: handmade (with tutorial)
  • jeggings: H&M
  • shoes: Forever 21

Fabric supplied by Fashion Fabrics Club. Connect with FFC on Facebook and Pinterest

Thrifty: Felix’s Striped Romper

June 5th, 2012
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Here’s another thrift store find I picked up for a couple bucks way back when Felix was a wee one. He still looks like a wee one to me, even though he’s nearing 16 months.

The green stripes just scream summer. I’m really loving this particular shade of green. I’m thinking of incorporating it in my home decor.

Penelope looks so grown up in this picture. Completely annoyed at Felix and his hair-pulling antics. 

She still loves him, though.

Outfit Details:

Felix

  • romper: thrifted

Penelope

Style: Button-Up Refashion Result

May 24th, 2012
11 Comments

Kate from See Kate Sew made a yellow striped jumper for me. Interestingly enough, she was in Utah last month to hand it to me in person. It was so great to meet her in person! I’ve loved this refashion swap, but the thing that would make it infinitely better is if we were able to make these clothes and swap them all in-person. Project Runway style.

Kate knew how much I love yellow, she did a fantastic job of scoring this light yellow stripe for me. It’s such a fun color!

I don’t wear jumpers, at least I haven’t in a very long time, so it’s fun to have gotten something that pushes me out of my normal comfort zone.

I used to be far more adventurous with my wardrobe than I am now. I was the first in my high school to wear stilettos. I’ll never forget sporting my camel stiletto booties; feeling super self conscious as I clicked and clacked my way down the hall turning heads and I’m sure getting plenty of disgusted looks. I was no popular girl. It’d be safe to say that I was more of a “popular loser”. Most people knew who I was. Probably because I always lugged around my 30 lb portfolio the size of a small bilboard like a security blanket. But I never quite felt like I fit in. My ridiculous pairings of hot-pink golashes with 3-piece suits was my way of keeping the tame people away I guess. Oh what I would give to see snapshots of those outfits I wore back then.

Kate reminded me that I need to be more adventurous with my clothing. So for the next half of the year, that’s going to be my goal.

Outfit details:

 

Read how to make your own jumper out of a large mens button-up shirt here.

Refashioned: High-Low Floral Skirt

May 8th, 2012
11 Comments

Last Thursday, it was high-time I head over to the thrift store to see if there was anything inspiring there. I didn’t find what I was looking for (naturally), but I came across this lovely floral skirt.

The floral pattern and the fabric are fantastic. The length, however, is a bit on the matronly side. That or I wasn’t styling it well enough when I brought it home with me.

I’ve been thinking of trying a high-low hemline for a skirt for some time, and thought this would fit the bill for a refashion. I pulled out my rolled hem foot, some starch and made quick work of the whole thing.

In all the refashion took about an hour. I was sure to go slowly as I rolled the hem. The hem is a 2mm rolled hem, so I had to be extra careful that it wouldn’t go nuts on me. I’m getting pretty good at it, too. Since this was a curved hem, I sprayed and ironed the skirt with heavy starch before hemming. I found this video to be most helpful. I was hoping that I would find a larger rolled hem foot for my sewing machine, but alas, the 5 stores I went to didn’t have anything bigger.

I would be thrilled if any of you had suggestions for where I could find a larger rolled hem foot (5mm or 10mm) for a Babylock.

I don’t own any skirts that have a high-low hemline, but now I’m convinced I need more. I love the extra coverage in the back. I don’t have to worry about baring it all if I’m bending over to pick up Felix. The rolled hem (shoulda posted a detail shot) makes the skirt look like it was bought this way. It looks so professional, in my opinion. I love it!

Outfit Details:

  • top: Ruche
  • belt: thrifted
  • pink bracelet: H&M
  • brown bracelet: handmade
  • skirt: thrifted + refashioned
  • shoes: Payless
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