tutorial - maverick zipper repair

This little jacket was a thrift find. It became clear why someone had passed it on, when little f wore it a few times, as the zipper kept separating. I measured the front from top to bottom and bought a separating zipper in the same size. So many people have asked me about replacing zippers, and I had never tried until now. This maverick technique makes it really easy.

Here's the tutorial:

Carefully cut off the old zipper as close to the jacket as possible.

Find a separating zipper that is the same size as the old one or a bit longer if that's all you can find.

Repair any areas where your scissor cut the jacket by stitching over it with a zig zag stitch.

Your zipper will cover this (hopefully!) so it doesn't have to be perfect.

Lay the zipper over the place where you cut off the original zipper and zig zag to the top. Repeat on other side. If your zipper is long, fold it over at the top and stitch it down.

The finished zipper! Maybe not so pretty, but certainly more functional than the old one!

Want to see more maverick repairs?
Let me know what you think!

In the news!

This summer I received a call from a reporter doing an article on recycling clothes. We talked for a long time and here is what she wrote!

and now, the recycled+revamped 2011 purses and bags!

Without further ado, I give you the latest collection of recycled+revamped purses and bags! Inspired by an earlier design for blue star bags, a long adjustable strap was added along with a zippered pocket inside. Some of the bags have recycled jean or pants pockets on the front. All have a vintage button/elastic loop closure.There is a range of sizes, based on the size of the fabrics. At the show, these bags were priced at $40, and I'd love to extend that price to you this week! Just let me know which one you like and I will ship it to you (+shipping).

Thank you to those who already chose their new bags!

sage swirl with jean pocket

pinky patchwork tote

orange sprinkles blue star bag

honeycomb brown and gold with jean pocket

earthy stripes with cord front pocket

indigo blue star bag

herringbone aqua, green and orange

loopy orange and tweed blue star bag

recycled+revamped boy clothes - car jacket

The fabric on this jacket used to be a romper. Since my little guy is totally into cars, I used the fabric to cover over the giant logo on the back yoke of the jacket. There's a patch on the arm that says "road crew" so it works well as a car jacket! It's also fun to look at his 9 month old picture with the romper and compare it to this three year old photos!

recycled+revamped little girls party dress to elastic waist party skirt!

This sweet little dress belongs to my niece, but she outgrew it and we wanted to use the fabric to make something that she could still wear. It was a 4. My sister and I measured one of her skirts and then I decided to cut it off below the zipper and add an elastic waist to make it more of a 6/7.

The waistband is a piece of an old t-shirt, about 3" wide and about 25" long. Again, this measurement was figured based on measuring an existing skirt. Using 1/2" elastic, I measured out at a piece that is about 3/4 as long as the waistband, overlapped the ends and stitched them together. Then I folded the waistband, right sides together and stitched the two ends together.

First, I folded the waistband and inserted the elastic. Using binder clips, I clipped the seams first and then clipped it again about halfway between the seams.

Then I used a stitch length of 4 to make a long basting stitch in both the lining and outer layers of the skirt, stitching the front and then stopping and starting again to stitch the back. Then I gently pulled one of the threads on the front to gather the skirt, and repeated on the back.

Then I attached the waistband to the skirt using the clips, starting at the seams and adjusting the gathers to fit.

And then I stitched the waistband and skirt together. It was a quick little project and turned out great!

Now it has a soft stretchy waistband that should fit for quite a while. It will be so cute with leggings and a t-shirt or a little sweater with tights and maryjanes!

hooded sweatshirt to hoodie revamp!

As I work my way through the ever growing to-do stack in my studio, I discovered this hooded sweatshirt that I got a few years ago at hoxeyville. While nursing, it was a challenge and I came up with the idea of adding a zipper. I tried it on another sweatshirt, adding a 7" zipper at the top, which was not quite enough. So, when I came up on a fleece vest with just the right size zipper, I cut it off and sewed it onto this!

Cutting a straight line up the middle of the sweatshirt was the challenging first step, but I was feeling gutsy and I really wanted a hoodie, so I started with cutting the ribbing from the sleeves and then went for it. Sewing it on was a little tricky and you can see that it bunched a little where the printing stuck to my presser foot. I lined the hood by tracing it out onto the cotton fabric, cutting it out and sewing the pieces together. Then I ironed the edges under 1/2", matched up the seams and sewed the lining to the hood.

Of course, the sleeves were too short, so I added the sleeves from another shirt to make arm warmers. It's super cozy, my favorite "old" sweatshirt now!

What are you revamping?

onesie and skirt to dress

One of my first "mama" friends came over with her little ones a while back. We are both artists, and can hardly resist the opportunity to customize something to our own tastes. She brought the brown onesie and the pink skirt and we scouted my t-shirt scraps for the green waistband and some pink striped ruffles. They are easy to make with a basting stitch (long stitch length - 4) because all you do then is pull the ends to even out the gathers and stitch them in place (after turning stitch length back to 3, of course). Confession time - this is always the hardest part of this incredibly simple process for me to remember!
More girl clothes to come...

tablecloth to wrap skirt with pockets!

This pink fabric was from a tablecloth I found in my thrifting adventures. It was in nearly pristine condition, and since I love hot pink, I snatched it up! The red fabric is left from some wedding purses I made for my cousin a few years ago. It was reversible, so I decided to use each side for one pocket. Now when I put on my skirt, I figure out where the pockets will go on the front and wrap accordingly. Works great with leggings or a jersey skirt underneath for warmth! 

recycled+revamped boy clothes

Found this while going through some photos and wanted to share some more ideas for revamping boy clothes. The pants are the same concept as the patch pants tutorial, but instead of patches, I just used a strip of vintage fabric on the sides - tuxedo style.  For the sweatshirt, I lined the hood with a nice striped fabric. All you do is trace the hood, using it as a pattern to make two identical pieces on your fabric. Sew them together and sew them to the hood, folding the edge over a bit so the raw ends are tucked in. To cover the words on the sweatshirt, use a wide strip of fabric, again folding the edges, and stitching. The buffalo was cut out of a recycled wool sweater.

Hope you are inspired to revamp some hand-me-downs now!

formal dress revamp with tank top and ruffle detail, Tickled Pink for From Women's Hands

My sister just gave me a black strapless dress that she had worn as a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding, and it was hanging in my closet while I decided what to do with it. And then I had the invitation for the opening reception of the art show/fundraiser for breast cancer research. Think Pink was the theme, so I determined that a pink tank top was what I needed. A trip to the thrift shop resulted in these great finds. The pink one had a hole so they gave it to me FREE! I love the stripes and originally thought I would use it for a shirt for little f, but it seemed perfect for this project.

I cut off the black dress just below the zipper and kept the lining matched up with the skirt. After trying on the tank top, I decided where I wanted that seam, and just below the spot I wanted to give myself some seam allowance. It was right above the hole! Must have been meant to be.

Then it needed a little something else. I had a mesh pink shirt in the scrap box, so I just placed it on the tank, scrunched a bit and then stitched, adding new pieces as needed. One was wider than the other, so I worked it out to my advantage. A little flourish of color from the scrap box again and on to the belt. I cut four 3" wide strips from the striped shirt and sewed them together for a wraparound or obi style belt. With the stripes already around the waist, it looked good with the added cinch and width that the belt added.

And the shirt had a printed label, so I put a piece of fabric on the front and back and stitched it up. It needed a tag, but mine are designed for purses, so I broke out the free motion foot and did my best with some grey thread, so it would stand out, but just a little. Not bad for a beginning project in the free motion department! I was so pleased! Best of all, it was super comfortable!

I love it when things turn out just as you intended! And that you can wear them the very next night!

revamped wrap skirt with pockets

Here it is, in action. I love having pockets for my camera, phone and handkerchief. And I LOVE my new boots! They were a christmas present, and I've been waiting for the snow to melt so I can wear them.
The river was gorgeous, not as high as it was yesterday. The road was graded yesterday, and that was quite exciting for little f. A dump truck and a grader working on the road. We spent a long time just watching them work. Today, it's a tray of flour in the kitchen with some matchbox trucks. It's been good for hours of play!

This is one of my favorite jackets, and it had a rip on the hood, so I made a little wool bunny patch for it. Our snacks are tucked away in a mesh drawstring bag with a fabric top and cordlock.

revamped jeans to skirt

Here's a tiny version of my favorite jean skirt. It's comfy with plenty of pockets (of course, I love them so, you know!). It's especially fun over a pair of leggings with some groovy boots. On Sunday, I'll be teaching a class at our Community Sewing Center - the dream has become a reality! We have two new sewing machines so far, and are raising $$$ for four more! Back to the class, which is at 1pm. Bring your own pants or choose from the stash we have collected. Better yet, join us tonight, Friday from 7-9pm for a clothing swap!

This one is serged on the hem, but it can be left raw, and just stitched with a straight seam so it won't unravel.

baby sundress from a women's shirt

A little something for friends of ours with a new baby girl - a sweet dress made from an off-the-shoulder shirt. It had a nice smocked top so I cut off the sides and serged it up to make a smaller size, using a small onesie from my stash for sizing. The sleeves were smocked too, so I cut them off and made straps. It was still a little long, so I cut it off, folded the edge over twice and sewed a little hem. Turned out great, don't you think?

It's so good when your ideas turn out to be good gifts! What have you been making lately?

a little creative dress revamp tutorial - sweater and dress to sundress!

It was a lucky day of thrifting. First the sweater caught my eye, with it's metallic thread. Then I saw the dress and had to double back to scoop up the sweater. Here they are after a run through the washer and dryer.

After trying the sweater on, to see where I wanted it to fall, I added 1/2" and cut it off. The dress had some darts, so I just cut it off below those.

In order to get an even seam, you divide each piece into four parts and pin. Then pin them with right sides together and stretch as you sew, so that the stretchy sweater is the same length as the not-so-stretchy skirt. Here's what it looks like:

So I did all this and tried it on. Not right. The sweater wasn't quite snug enough around my rib cage, so I cut it off and cut another piece of sweater, about 4" wide, and made a loop that fit just under my bust, and could still go on over my head.

Max came to check it out and thought it look like it would work. I redid the pinning in four parts on both sides of the loop, attaching it first to the sweater top and then to the skirt bottom, matching seams at the sides. My serger made fast work of the whole project! Still it needed something else, so I found a belt I had started last summer but never finished and serged some t-shirt strips onto the sides and it was good!

And then I added a little pocket for my phone, handkerchief or snacks!