Thrift it, Repurpose It, Remake it
and Wear it!
Also, check out another Sew Chic Upcycling creation on my co-host's blog: Sarah from This Crazy, Blessed Life
Today's guest poster is Carly from Chic Steals. When she sews, she knows what she's doing! She can take a look off the runway and transform it into something that she will wear every day, not just copy what she's seen in a magazine (because sometimes those things are gorgeous but not wearable on a day-to-day basis). Check out her Summer Lace Dress (which can be worn as a shirt, a dress or even a bathing suit cover-up) or when she made her Ruffled Dress from 2 men's shirts (which I think I'd wear as a nightgown, too). And lastly, check out HER OUTFITS! Carly can transform her look any way she wants and will tell you exactly where she got each piece, right down to the earrings!
Take it away, Carly...
Alexander Wang-Inspired Sporty Mesh Insert Sweater
Hi everyone! My name is Carly, and I've been writing my blog Chic Steals for over 3 and a half years now. My blog has gone from just a place for me to collect all my articles on affordable fashion roundups to where I share daily DIY inspiration, tutorials, and tips and tricks for making your own fashion - good enough to rival that seen on the runways. I'm always looking for ways to replicate that "designer look," using materials and techniques that anyone could do at home.
Alexander Wang is a favorite designer of mine, and I particularly love how he mixes materials and textures to create fresh, youthful pieces with a minimalist feel. Minimalism is hard to do well when you're designing from scratch - but when you're altering something that already exists, it's a piece of cake! I wanted a cut-out lightweight sweater for Fall that would easily transition from a late Summer piece to something for cooler temperatures (and we get a lot of that from about September through June here in the Pacific Northwest!!). So I added some pieces from an old football jersey (thrifted and falling apart - it was about 20 cents at the Goodwill Outlet Store), and I now have the perfect piece to add a little bit of sportiness to any outfit.
You Need:
*lightweight, tightly-woven knit sweater that fits you
*mesh football, basketball, or hockey jersey
And...
*fabric scissors
*marking chalk
*pins
*measuring tape
*matching thread
*hand-sewing needle or sewing machine w/ needle for wovens
HOW TO:
1. Mark your sweater where you want your mesh insert to go. For ease of movement, actually separating the sweater sleeves from the body slightly, and adding mesh into the shoulders is advisable. (It's helpful if you use a measuring tape so you mark both sides in the same way.)
2. Cut out the sweater about 1/4" to 3/8" inside the lines you drew .
3. Use the cut-cut piece to sketch on your mesh a piece of the same size, adding the same 1/4" to 3/8" all around. The addition/subtraction is merely to give you seam allowance to work with, without altering the actual shape of the sweater.
4. Pin the mesh inserts into the holes in your sweater, and stitch around the edges. You can hand-sew if you feel more comfortable, or machine-sew (using a short straight stitch all the way around, and then zigzagging over the edges in a second pass to prevent unraveling).
You're done! Pair with shorts or a chiffon skirt for now; jeans or a long wool skirt for later.
Chic Tip: You can add any different fabric to any parts of your sweaters or sweatshirts; try chiffon, flannel, or even leather. You can also go even more literal with the football theme and add more mesh or even suede scraps as "elbow patches" LOL!
Thanks so much to Jenny for having me and I'd love to see all of you pop on over and visit my blog to say hi sometime! Never forget that a good fashion steal is merely an exercise in creativity:-) Happy DIY'ing!
xoxox
Carly
Now it's YOUR TURN!
Link up your original upcycled or recycled fashions from August 1-12th for a chance to WIN PRIZES!
Winners will be announced August 12th. Check out our AMAZING SPONSORS below!
Also, check out another Sew Chic Upcycling creation on my co-host's blog: Sarah from This Crazy, Blessed Life
Today's guest poster is Carly from Chic Steals. When she sews, she knows what she's doing! She can take a look off the runway and transform it into something that she will wear every day, not just copy what she's seen in a magazine (because sometimes those things are gorgeous but not wearable on a day-to-day basis). Check out her Summer Lace Dress (which can be worn as a shirt, a dress or even a bathing suit cover-up) or when she made her Ruffled Dress from 2 men's shirts (which I think I'd wear as a nightgown, too). And lastly, check out HER OUTFITS! Carly can transform her look any way she wants and will tell you exactly where she got each piece, right down to the earrings!
Take it away, Carly...
Alexander Wang-Inspired Sporty Mesh Insert Sweater
Hi everyone! My name is Carly, and I've been writing my blog Chic Steals for over 3 and a half years now. My blog has gone from just a place for me to collect all my articles on affordable fashion roundups to where I share daily DIY inspiration, tutorials, and tips and tricks for making your own fashion - good enough to rival that seen on the runways. I'm always looking for ways to replicate that "designer look," using materials and techniques that anyone could do at home.
Alexander Wang is a favorite designer of mine, and I particularly love how he mixes materials and textures to create fresh, youthful pieces with a minimalist feel. Minimalism is hard to do well when you're designing from scratch - but when you're altering something that already exists, it's a piece of cake! I wanted a cut-out lightweight sweater for Fall that would easily transition from a late Summer piece to something for cooler temperatures (and we get a lot of that from about September through June here in the Pacific Northwest!!). So I added some pieces from an old football jersey (thrifted and falling apart - it was about 20 cents at the Goodwill Outlet Store), and I now have the perfect piece to add a little bit of sportiness to any outfit.
You Need:
*lightweight, tightly-woven knit sweater that fits you
*mesh football, basketball, or hockey jersey
And...
*fabric scissors
*marking chalk
*pins
*measuring tape
*matching thread
*hand-sewing needle or sewing machine w/ needle for wovens
HOW TO:
1. Mark your sweater where you want your mesh insert to go. For ease of movement, actually separating the sweater sleeves from the body slightly, and adding mesh into the shoulders is advisable. (It's helpful if you use a measuring tape so you mark both sides in the same way.)
2. Cut out the sweater about 1/4" to 3/8" inside the lines you drew .
3. Use the cut-cut piece to sketch on your mesh a piece of the same size, adding the same 1/4" to 3/8" all around. The addition/subtraction is merely to give you seam allowance to work with, without altering the actual shape of the sweater.
4. Pin the mesh inserts into the holes in your sweater, and stitch around the edges. You can hand-sew if you feel more comfortable, or machine-sew (using a short straight stitch all the way around, and then zigzagging over the edges in a second pass to prevent unraveling).
You're done! Pair with shorts or a chiffon skirt for now; jeans or a long wool skirt for later.
Chic Tip: You can add any different fabric to any parts of your sweaters or sweatshirts; try chiffon, flannel, or even leather. You can also go even more literal with the football theme and add more mesh or even suede scraps as "elbow patches" LOL!
Thanks so much to Jenny for having me and I'd love to see all of you pop on over and visit my blog to say hi sometime! Never forget that a good fashion steal is merely an exercise in creativity:-) Happy DIY'ing!
xoxox
Carly
Now it's YOUR TURN!
Link up your original upcycled or recycled fashions from August 1-12th for a chance to WIN PRIZES!
Winners will be announced August 12th. Check out our AMAZING SPONSORS below!
LINKY RULES:
1. Link a CLOTHING project you upcycled or recycled.
2. Add this button to your blog or post so more people can join the fun!
3. Follow Seamingly Smitten and This Crazy, Blessed Life
And add this button to your post!
<a href="http://thiscrazyblessedlife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n504/Rah1515/RefashionWeekcopy.jpg" /></a>
Go ahead, show us what ya got!
A HUGE Thank you to our SPONSORS:
Check back tomorrow for more upcycled projects!
Thanks for the lovely comment; love your blog.
ReplyDeleteI would like to invite you for the giveaway party at http://daffysdream.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-free-giveaway.html
daffy