our wedding best

This fall we attended two weddings, both on my husband's side of the family. One was in Grand Rapids and one was in Detroit. As I reviewed our closets in preparation, I found that we were in need of some finer threads. So I scoped out vintage suits on etsy, and scored this sweet vintage number for my husband. It was the only one there, and somehow it was the right size. He was totally pleased not only with fact that he didn't have to go to the store and try something on, but the price was right too. Since he's totally into the Beatles, it wasn't hard to convince him to wear a 60's mod suit. I imagine it will double as his halloween costume in the future.

For my little boy, I made some elastic waist reversible pants using a pattern made from another pair of his pants. The indigo corduroy was in my stash. I used it to make a jacket too from a chicken hill pattern. More on that coming... His vest is made from a felted v-neck sweater found trifting. I just used a t-shirt to guide me on sizing and cut it out using the neck. Then all I did was sew up the sides and whip up a little tie from some scraps and elastic.

My dress is something I have had for  a very long time. It's a gorgeous black vintage lace number that needed a little love and repair. Before I had a baby and nursed him for two years it fit great and was even sexy at the neckline. This year, it needed some modification so I used nude colored t-shirt fabric to line it and added some elastic from the bra part of an old tank top. On the bottom, I cut off the torn lining and used a black t-shirt to extend the lining a bit. Since the lace floats in a overlayer, it worked great. What you can't see in the picture are the green Mizmooz wedges I scored at Zany, a consignment shop in Traverse City. Now I just need to figure out how to repair the lace which tore while I was holding a squirming three-year-old and a glass of champage at the same time!

This is my husband's cousin (I would just call her my sister), Lisa. She was one of the bridesmaids. The Lovett Hall was a gorgeous venue for this kind of event. The lighting was really nice too.

cool kid's clothes made from upcycled t-shirts and such

It was this jacket that first drew me to lilygiggle. I was searching for recycled boy clothes. Time passed and I found the site again, with a similar search. Destiny? Must be. Beth makes all kinds of great clothing patterns, and has the cutest little models! Want to stay in the loop? Check out lilygiggle's facebook page and a FREE pattern when you "like" her page.

And right now for you, my faithful blog readers, she is offering a 25% discount in her etsy shop, just use the code REVAMPED until August 13th.

Turns out that Beth is friends with Jay from chickenhill! Wouldn't be great to sew with these girls?

Thanks to Beth for taking time to answer a few of my questions.

How did you learn/who taught you to sew?
Originally I was a self-taught fashion design wanna-be teenager. I had grown up around very talented seamstresses, both grandmas were amazing at it as well as my own mama so there were always sewing machines around. My grandma would take my goofy 8 year old "fashion illustrations" and create the garment just by looking at a child's sketch. One day I just decided I was going to figure out how to sew and made myself pants that I wore all the time even though they were technically sewn completely incorrectly. Maybe that's why I don't mind sewing a bit "out of the box". It's great fun to experiment. Later I was taught to be a proper seamstress at Savannah College of Art & Design while I was completing my major in Fashion Design.

What was your first sewing machine?
An old Kenmore...good machine...wouldn't mind if I still had it.

How did you start upcycling/recycling?
I would love to say it was because I am so sensitive to the environment (which I do try to be) but, honestly, it was out of being desperately in need of a creative outlet after leaving my job and being home with my children. With one income there were just not enough funds to keep myself in lovely fabrics. The local "by the pound" thrift store became my fabric store of choice. I find that much of my creativity has been sparked first by necessity. I think that people who don't think they are creative probably just never really had to be.

Thank you so much, Beth, for sharing your thoughts with us!

Such sweet flowers and a gorgeous photos too.

This serendipity dress is so cool! It is named with one of my favorite words, so how could I resist? I really want it in my size, but maybe I'll have to settle for making one for my niece... The detail on the waistband is so nice and I love the bows, especially since they are purely decorative, so they can be sewn down once tied.

And this is the perfect gardening skirt! You might already know that I adore pockets. All shapes, sizes and in many places. The buttons on top are like the icing on the cake.

Hope you are inspired to do more sewing!

Gorgeous recycled bird wings and a giveaway!

Check out these great wings! After some conversations with my sewing friends, we determined that making wings was a big challenge. I ended up buying a pair from another crafty etsian for little f's dragon costume (he wore that vest for 2 years!). My friend, Colleen came up with an easier solution for her seagull made of recycled sweaters. But this design is brilliant! I want to make these! I can see a gorgeous butterfly using this same concept. What will little f want to be for halloween this year?

So I read her etsy profile and sent out a request to learn more about the domestic goddess behind these folksy upcycled pretties and patterns. Jay responded right away, and it turns out that she is smart, creative and quick with a background in fashion design. With three kids to homeschool, she still finds time to create these awesome patterns and take great photos! I bought the Every Which Way reversible coat pattern and have some ideas for making it more boyish. Wood grain fabric, maybe? This skirt is on my list too, but I think I want to make one for myself...

How did you learn to sew and what inspires you?
I come from several generations of Sewists. One of most treasured pieces is a hand-sewn quilt from my great-grandmother! To study the consistency of her stitches and detailed embroidery is absolutely amazing to me. 

I was initially given some sewing basics from my mother but then really developed my skills later as an adult. After purchasing a new home, I was suddenly inspired to create curtains and slipcovers to decorate until my heart's content. 

Then along came my peeps and I realized that I just couldn't find and/or shop for the type of clothes I desired for them to wear....soooooo, I broke out the ol' sewing machine and got crafty. (sound familiar?)

When wearing their one-of-a-kind outfits about, I got a tremendous amount of compliments and requests of where my kiddos got their clothing. This really transitioned me into the direction I'm into now with pattern making.

Creating clothes on my own and tweaking existing patterns, I began to study and polish my pattern making skills. After many experimental years of bloopers and happy accidents, I would say now, that I am a pleasantly confident Sewist. :)

I have a sweet little working set-up / studio of 3 sewing machines and 2 sergers. I'm in sewing heaven!



Oh, if only I could teleport. I would love to visit that studio! Since we can't all visit her studio, Jay is willing to offer a FREE pattern to one lucky reader and to offer 20% off any pattern in her shop for everyone! The code backtoschool will be valid through midnight on July 31. How cool is that?

Here are all the ways you can enter the giveaway, just leave a comment here for each one before midnight on July 31. Winners will be posted here the first week in August.
1. Visit Chickenhill on etsy and tell us your favorite pattern.
2. Become a follower of recycled+revamped
3. Be a fan of recycled+revamped on facebook
4. Tweet about it
5. Post on your blog about this giveaway
6. Invite your friends to comment and or follow!


Happy sewing!

telephone knitting pattern on etsy!

Now, I'm not a knitter, but I know a lot of them. And this is for all of you who have the patience to work with those fabulous fibers. Something about this phone from caffaknitted just cracks me up! Fyn would probably adore it, and it would be hilarious to see him using it! Or maybe it would a luxe wool phone, done in handspun or variegated Noro? Imagine the possiblities! Now, if only there was a little pocket for my cell phone inside and I could attach it to the front of my diaper bag, that would really be funny, at least for me!