Refashion/Upcycling: when should one say stop?

I have been wearing these black leather driving mocs for a good 8 years. They served me well when I had to run to the train station from the office, when I feet were very bloated during the 2 pregnancies, and when I need to run after 2 active kids. In fact, I think the cost per wear must be about $0.06. So when this pair of well worn, well loved loafers fell apart, I tried to glue the split leather back together. Then I filled in the scuffed area with black marker and polished them with shoe polish.

My husband saw all the effort I put into restoring the shoes and he asked me why I did all that considering that they still looked pretty worn out and mishapened. He actually said, 'why don't you be a woman and buy a new pair of shoes?'

I don't know the answer to that question. But it got me thinking: when should one stop rescuing old well worn items that might have passed their due dates, when one is able to buy new ones that can serve a long time in the future? Can one go too far with this refashioning thing?

I look forward to your comments!

Pattern Review: Simplicity 4877 Dress

Simplicity 4877 has to be my all time favourite, tried and true special occasion dress pattern. It's a stretch knit pattern and includes different sleeves options, different hem options, different length options. It has a gentle A-line and a ruched front neckline. It fits my body and my body shape so well. I have made a few dresses with this pattern already and had worn them on different special occasions. I always got compliments on them (more so than any other special occasion dresses that I have made).

The pattern is extremely simple to sew and one can just whip up a special occasion dress in less than 2 hours! Gotta love that! I made the usual short waist adjustment. For 2 of the dresses, I gathered the ruched front with a rhinestone brooch instead of sewing it down. This way I could adjust how lowI wanted the front to be depending on the stretchiness of the knit.

This is a brown poly matte jersey knee length dress with flutter sleeves. I basically made view C but in a shorter length. I wore it for a family wedding in the summer and it was super comfortable (can eat a full meal easily) and I didn't sweat much.

This dress is made with a red crinkle poly knit with a slight shimmer. I got it in the cheapy bin so I'm not entirely sure of the content. I basically made view C but omitted the sleeves. I went to a couple of X'mas parties in it. Again, super comfortable and I ate a full meal in it. I wore stiletto boots with them and made the dress a bit more rock and roll! LOL!

This next one was also in view C without the sleeves. I actually sewed down the ruched front this time and added a tab to it. You may not be able to tell because of the print of the fabric. The dress is made with a slinky sparkle knit I got from the cheapy bin again. This knit is a lot more stretchy than the other 2. I wore this to a company X'mas party. This was also super comfortable and I ate a big meal with it too!

View B has long sleeves that has a slit from the elbow down. If made in a black velvet can really look like Elvira's dress! Wouldn't that be great for a Halloween dress?? LOL!

Pattern Review: Mccall's 4593 Long skirt

It's time for Fall/Winter clothing again! This time I chose a stash pattern and a stash wool mini houndstooth fabric. Long skirts aren't terribly practical for a mom with 2 young kids but I like the look of the skirt on the pattern envelope. I thought the asymmetric hem would be flattering for my inverted triangle body shape. I chose view A in a size 12.

The skirt was very easy to put together. I even added a lining to it by drafting my own A-line lining. I think it looks sufficiently like the one on the pattern envelope and it seems to look okay on me. I'm short so I will definitely need to wear heeled boots with this skirt.

As much as I like this pattern, it is a very distinct look so I'm not sure I would sew a 2nd skirt like this. All in all, no dislike. I would highly recommend this for someone who wants an easy to sew but slightly different looking skirt pattern.

Thank you shellybean for the Versatile Blogger Award!

Thank you Shellybean @ Follow me Home for passing on the Versatile Blogger award! This is my first Blogger award too! Thanks Thanks!

 Here are the Rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Add the award to your blog. 

2. Thank the person who presented it to you. 

3. List seven random facts about yourself. 

4. List the rules. 

5. Pass the award onto seven other bloggers. 

6. Inform each blogger they have won by posting a comment on their blog

Seven Random Facts about Myself:

1. Interior Decoration was my first love. I spent all my pocket money since age 6 to buy Interior Decorating Magazines and books. I was actually studying for an Interior Decorating certificate part time until the Programme Director told me that the graduates earn $8 an hour at the Sears Home Store (and those were the lucky ones apparently).

2. I have had my hair in the same style for almost a quarter of a century. I can't do anything with it and I'm too lazy to try to style it. So it remains the same natural way.

3.I once trained 8 hours a day for Kayaking competitions when I was young. Definitely no too healthy for my body.

4. I have been refashioning/upcycling/repurposing for years before I had heard those terms. My friends/family just thought I was being cheap.

5. I have loved Artistic Gymnastics since I was a wee child. I am glued to the TV/Computer during every Olympics Gymnastics competition. I would record it and watch it over and over again.

6. I love sewing now. But I detested it and did horribly during Home Economics classes in my teens.

7. I have way too many hobbies and interests than I have time to do them. Unfortunately I also need more sleep than an average adult. This is not a good combination! 

I follow many blogs and am constantly amazed and inspired by the creativity I find in the blogsphere. Here is just a small list of the ones I read often (in no particular order). Check them out!

1. Charity Shop Chic

2. The Vivienne Files

3. Miss P

4. So...Zo what do you know

5. Eric B's DIY style

6. A Femme d'un Certain Age

7. LittleCleo at Home

Pattern Review: New Look 6774 dress

This is the first time I use one of these 'design your look' patterns. I tried the combo E+J+L without the frills on the shoulder nor the pockets. I used fabrics I had in my stash: a blue lace pattern quilted cotton for the dress and poly cotton broadcloth for the straps and the waistband. I sewed a size 14 based on the bust measurements at the back of the envelope. The pattern instructions seemed straight forward enough. I read it once and didn't look at it again. It took me a while to fit the straps on properly. I guess I was too much in a hurry and made some errors. Otherwise, the dress came together without major issues.

The waistband is very tight at my ribcage and looks a bit stretched. Perhaps I have a larger than average ribcage? I don't know. I used a good weight quilting cotton so the gathers in the front also pooches out a little too much for me. I look a bit pregnant.  If I had used a lighter weight fabric with more drape may be that wouldn't be a problem. Also, there was a gape in the chest area so I improvised and added an additional tuck in the middle:

Overall, I think it was an okay pattern but I will need to tweak it to work for my body. I might wear this out once and see how comfortable it is. I have lots of other dress patterns in my stash  so I'm not going to 'play' with this pattern for a while
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The attempt in making a Wedding Dress....

I have been married for a LONG time. The first year I started to learn to sew as an adult, I made a wedding dress. I was engaged at the time and I was stupid/bold enough to try to make my own wedding dress. I went through the pattern books at the fabric store and chose this one:

I thought it looked elegant and sexy with the open back. I bought some cheap polyester white satin and made a muslin. Of course as a beginner sewer, I struggled with the cheap slippery satin and the open back was a bit wonky. I was very fit then so I managed to slip it on without it falling off. I wished I had taken some pictures then because now I don't actually know where that dress is and I'm sure I won't fit into after so many years and 2 kids. Sigh! All that beginner's effort......

But the dream of making a proper wedding dress still creeps into my head from time to time. I mentioned that to my hubby and the first thing he said was there was no way we would have another wedding again. He was scared that if I actually manage to make another wedding dress that I would demand to have another wedding ceremony! LOL!

I have been collecting wedding dress sewing patterns over the years and I'm still hoping one day I would have the time to sew a wedding dress. May be when the kids are in university? But right now they are only 3.5 years old and 16 months old! Perhaps I can use the patterns for my daughter's first prom dress (if she would let me make her prom dress)?

Grey cashmere sweater dress refashion

This is a super simple refashion! I thrifted this very long grey cashmere cable knit sweater dress for a few dollars a couple of years ago. The dress was in perfect condition. It was way too long for my short frame and the neckline was unflattering for my stumpy neck.

First a quick cut and hem at the knee. Then use the cut off material to make a circle and attach it to the neckline. Voila! A much better sweater dress for me. The cashmere is soft and warm and I can flip up the folded cowl neck for the bitter Canadian winter. I can't wait to wear it this Fall/Winter season! Let's just hope that my 2 active kids don't ruin a nice cashmere dress on the first outing.....:-)

ECing a 16 month old girl

The ECing has been on and off the last few months. Some days she would tell me in no uncertain terms that she needed to poop. Other days, she would just poop while standing up! It's worse when her brother is home because she loves following her brother around and is so distracted by him. I try to remember to keep an eye on her for about 20 min after each meal to see if she looks strained (trying to push the poop out). I also try to remember to put her on the potty right after we come home from an outing. If she had been eating/drinking a little, she would actually wait till she gets home to poop. She doesn't like sitting in her poop in the carseat.

School is starting soon so I hope that I will be able to keep her in underwear more often while her brother is at school. Hopefully that will put us back on track for the ECing. I really hope that I will get her fully trained while she is awake before next April, her 2nd birthday!

Preparing for a Self-Stitched Sept 2012 challenge!

Last September I entered 'So, Zo...'s Self-stitched Sept 2011 challenge. It was the first time in a long time that I had really thought about what I was going to wear each day. Usually I just go to the stack of folded clean clothes in the corner of the bedroom and grab the things on top. It was actually fun to plan and coordinate each outfit for the week. I haven't really looked to see if another blogger is having a Self-stitched Sept 2012 challenge so I'm going to just do it myself for fun. If you would like to join me, please drop me a line!

This Fall is probably going to be a season of sweater dresses. I refashioned 5 sweater dresses when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. I tried them on last night and some require some adjustment. I would like to refashion 2 more so that I would have a different one for each day of the week. I also need to make some more leggings to wear with these sweater dresses. I need to search through my fabric stash to see what stretchy fabrics I have. I am trying to not buy new materials and just use whatever is in my fabric/refashion stash to make new clothes. So I'm going to be busy with making leggings and sweater dresses for the next few weeks.

Again, if you would like to join me for a Self-stitched Sept 2012 challenge please let me know!

Gold Brocade dress - New Look 6752

I have had this antique gold polyester brocade fabric for a long time. I made a trumpet skirt with it 5 years ago and wore it to death: to the office, on date night, to the theatre, etc. And then I made simple A-line dress with it using New Look 6752 which also has been in my stash for a while.

The dress is a pull-over style with no zippers. It has a few pleats in the front neckline. I made View A in size 12 with no sleeves. It is super easy and fast to make. That's the kind of perfect sewing project for a busy mom with 2 young kids! I didn't look at the instructions because the pattern pieces spoke for themselves.

I'm pleased with how it turned out. The brocade is probably stiffer than the recommended fabrics but I like that it holds its A-line shape well. It seems like a very versatile dress that can be dressed up or down. I have worn this dress out with a little black cardi and heels for a night out. It has a shape but not too fitted so one can eat a full meal plus dessert  in this dress. And best of all, because it's polyester brocade, it doesn't wrinkle and doesn't require ironing. Perfect!

Blue Boucle Cardigan Refashion

The summer is almost over! :-( But Fall/Autumn is coming soon - I love sewing Fall/Autumn clothes!! :-) So it's time to look at building my Fall/Winter 2012 wardrobe.

I made this comfy single layer boucle cardi when I was pregnant with my first child (see this post). It had been well used throughout 2 pregnancies. I even received a number of compliments for this jacket while pregnant.

But now it just looks sad and shapeless on me:

Using a well fitting sweater jacket as a pattern, I cut out the excess material on the side, slimmed and shortened the sleeves and serged it all back together. 

And now it fits much better! A quick and easy refashion on a self-stitched garment. 

Beige loafer shoe Refashion

I have always admired bloggers who are brave enough to dye their shoes or add all sorts of embellishments on them. Since I'm new to shoe refashioning, I thought I would just try a very simple one for now.

I thrifted these almost new beige loafers for a great price. They are very comfortable but just really boring looking:

I also thrifted these medallions from the thrift store. They are quite heavy and seemed to have been components of a bracelet but someone has taken them apart already:

I just glued them onto the loafers with 'No More Nails' adhesive. I hope they will stay because the medallions are heavy and they can be flung off if I run in these shoes.

My first shoe refashion! Yay! So, what do you think? Is the embellishment too ornate for such a casual shoe?