Think left and think right and think low and think high.
Oh! The thinks you can think up if only you try!
-Dr. Seuss
Welcome to Week One of Refashion Runway!
I promise you will not be disappointed. I even squealed a few times when I saw what these talented ladies had created.
Please remember to vote for your favorite at the bottom of this post. Voting will be open until Friday, June 14. Your public votes and the competitor’s score of each other will be combined to determine a winner. We will announce the winner of this week’s challenge next Saturday. Also, the two refashions with the lowest scores will be “going home”, but we won’t send them home without some great prizes, I promise! Remember, this is a “Friendly Sewing Competition”. 🙂
So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy the show!
Let’s start by going all the way across the pond and see what Sally from Charity Shop Chic has been up to.
Before…
…..and after:
“I bought this skirt because I absolutely loved the colour. Unfortunately, it was far
too short! Just 35 cm from waistband to hem, which on me was practically indecent!
Adding stripes in contrasting cotton sateen was more complex than it looked, given
the zip and pockets, but has extended the length to 50 cm. My new skirt is finally
wearable with its chic thick stripes!”-Sally
And now here’s Miche from Buttons and Birdcages and her interpretation of the stripes challenge.
Before…
…and after:
“I have been itching to refashion a men’s dress shirt for awhile, when I saw
this weeks challenge was stripes I knew it was time to try it out. As a
huge fan of pattern mixing, I originally went for a striped shirt and a
plaid shirt for this project, but I decided to stick with the theme and go
for two stripes shirts. This outfit is actually two pieces, a shirt, and an
a-line skirt. I used extra fabric from the arm of one of the shirts to make
a headband. Fitting everything correctly was difficult but this was also
one of the most fun projects I’ve worked on yet!” -Miche
Check out Zhenya’s striped refashion.
Before…
…and after:
Katrina from Offsquare was a busy seamstress this week:
Before…
…and after:
“I added width to the striped top by chopping off the hem and sewing it into the side seams. A much nicer fit. The pockets on the skirt are actually the armholes and sleeves from the shirt. I sewed the sleeves shut at the ends and tucked them back inside the skirt.”- Katrina
Here’s Jen from Diary of a MadMama.
Before…
…and after:
“So while I was peddling my wares during the garage sale I had last weekend,
I noticed a lot of the female customers were sporting cute maxi dresses (It
was hot and humid on Saturday).
I thought to myself, “I’d sure like to have a maxi dress right about now.”
Instead, I was sweatin’ my patootie off in jeans and a t-shirt.
Then all of a sudden the light bulb went off!
I decided to make a maxi dress from some of the t-shirts and tank-tops that
weren’t selling, and by incorporating strips cut from each of these shirts,
I’d be creating the stripes that would fit the theme!
I’m very happy with how it turned out! It’s THE most comfortable thing I’ve
ever made. I’m thinking about looking back through my garage for more
t-shirts in different colors/patterns to make a bunch more!”- Jen
Here’s Barbara from Zibergirl Sews.
Before…
…and after:
“I had one sleepless night coming up with all sorts of ideas for something
striped made from something else. I decided to make my own stripes, so next
I had to find something to use to do the stripes. My first idea was mustard
because it stains, right? Well, I tried it and it dried to a very dull,
unexciting color. I did some research and discovered the awesome qualities
of turmeric. There are tons of how-to’s on the internet and so after
learning about it, I started my refashion…… Read how I did it back on
my blog.”- Barbara
Now take a look at how Mary from Thrifty Chic interpreted the challenge:
Before…
…and after:
“Ready to take this dress out on the town. My students are my best critics.
I got a lot of ooohs! an aahs! over the frayed edge.”
“I like to take advantage of as much of the original details as possible.
This back placket was original to the t-shirt.”-Mary
And finally, take a look at how Elizabeth, from The Hungry Octopus refashioned her stripes:
Before…
…and after:
“When I heard that this week’s challenge was stripes, I knew just which dress I was
pulling out of my “ugly” stash. It was a pink and white striped seersucker sack of a
dress with an awkward zipper and lovely lattice detail around the neck.
To refashion this little beauty, I removed the front zipper, cut the dress in half,
used the giant pockets for the band around the waist, and reattached the top and
bottom of the dress.
Once the dress was mostly together, I added cap sleeves, a zipper, and a little
gather/tuck at the top of the bust to make it fit a little better.
For more about how I made the dress, check out my post at Refashion Co-op –
http://refashionco-op.blogspot.com/2013/06/think-pink-stripes.html .”-Elizabeth
Well, there you have it.
I told you you wouldn’t be disappointed! So much talent in this group of beautiful women!
So now it’s your turn. Please use the poll below and click to vote for your favorite. (I’ve left it secret so everyone will be surprised next Saturday.)
The winner of Week One will be announced next Saturday, June 15.
The competitors will be scoring each other on five areas: following the challenge, originality, craftsmanship, design, and presentation.
The challenge for Week Two: Denim
You might also enjoy:
The Renegade Seamstress 
It’s a tie for me. Jen and Elizabeth
Sent from my iPad
Hi Jacque! Were you able to vote using the poll at the bottom of the post?
Beth
Me too, but really they are all great.
Jen, loved her dress!
Hi Pat! Were you able to vote using the poll at the bottom of the post?
Beth
I loved Miche’s interpretation of the stripes. Casual, lovely, and oh so summer-like. All of the designers did an amazing job though. Beautiful work, what a fun contest
I agree, GREAT refashions, all of them!!!
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Seriously I have to choose one??? I love them all!
Me, too!
This was great! My granddaughter helped me vote because I narrowed it down to two and couldn’t decide!
No kidding!!!! Very difficult choice this week!!!!
It was a hard choice to decide between Sally, Jen, and Barb, but Barb is the hands down winner based on fit, personal flair, and creativity. The turmeric was genius, and she looks fabulous. You go, girl! What a fun competition, Beth. You rock!
I kinda thought you’d like Barb’s shirt! 🙂 Were you able to vote using the poll at the bottom of the post?
I was. Are you noticing problems?
No, I was just making sure it worked. Thanks!
Oh my goodness! I would have to say that Jen is my favorite! But it was way too hard to pick REALLY!!!
God Bless
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa!
Were you able to use the poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
Amazing creations . . . ALL of you! You make it SO hard to decide! Thank you for such a fun first show! 🙂
All these amazing women really rose to the occasion! I’m so impressed!
I am so impressed with Sally’s striped addition to the skirt and the idfficulty level of that. I adore Jen’s maxi and think it is someting many of us could use for inspiration. Katarina’s clever addition to the sides of the shirt and the pockets in the skirt made my heart swoon! Elizabeth’s rescue of a shapeless dress to the fabulous result is impressive… Great first week! Now the agony of choosing just one….
A seriously difficult choice, I know!!!!
Woah… Seriously? Just pick one? These were awesome refashions. Like another poster stated, I will have to get my daughter to help me decide once I’ve narrowed it down.
I KNOW!!! All these creative women really outdid themselves!!!
Beth what are you going to do if everyone picks the same 2 or 3 outfits. How are you going to eliminate the bottom 2? When I voted for Dancing With the Stars, you actually picked your favourite 4 out 5 and then 3 out 4 and so on until the final week. That way it was the couple with the least amount of votes that was eliminated. Hope your system works for you. I really would have liked to vote for more than one this week.
Well, looking at the results of the voting so far, all the contestants have received votes. I’m going to combine the public voting with the contestants scores of each other. Each will count for half of their total score. This is how I’ll determine who wins and who’s eliminated. (Notice how I kept the poll secret, just to add to the suspense…..hehehe) 🙂
Jen and the re fashioned striped tank top maxi gets my vote! I am amazed at the creativity of these re-fashionistas! Inspiration galore!
Hi Susan! Were you able to use the poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
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Jen’s maxi dress is my absolute favorite! The color of the dress is amazingly happy. Reminds me of paddlepop icecream i used to enjoy as a child. The rest were good too but Jen’s stands out for me. Great job, ladies!
I subconsciously sewed along with this week’s theme. Haha… Check out my project: http://sharoncreations.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/dress-refashion-threelooks/
CUTE!! Do you want me to include this in the Sew Along?
Oh, sure! Thank you 🙂
Great! I’ll probably be posting the sew along in the next couple of days. Right now, I’m off to a wedding….
Beth
I look forward to seeing all the projects. So much fun! Enjoy the wedding. 🙂
Sharon
Were you able to use the poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
Yes, it worked.
Oh good!!!
Very difficult to choose. Great jobs all around!!!
I totally agree!!!
Mary Mary Mary!!! Love 🙂
Were you able to use the poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
Jen, you did it again!! Love the maxi dress!
I hope you used the poll at the bottom of the post to vote. 🙂
These girls are inspirational, loved them all and so hard to vote for one only.
asaucystitch.blogspot.co.uk
I agree! I’m glad you guys are deciding a winner and I didn’t have to do that part. I loved them all!!!
they are all great!
I think so, too!!!!!
I vote for Barb and her turmeric tee. Love it!
Did you use the voting poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
Bravo!!!!! Each outfit is adorable!!!!! Every person out did themselves!!!!! What to do???? What to do???? What to do????
I know!!!! Hard decision!!!
All the refashions are SO good – it was very hard to choose. Ultimately I picked the one I felt I learned the most from in terms of creativity … not saying who … it was a close race this week! Great start, ladies – you’ve got so much talent, all of you!
Weren’t they all amazing!!!
Wow, so hard to pick. The ingenuity in all of them are wonderful. Sally what a great way to lengthen a skirt. Jen and Mary, both of your dresses look so comfortable. Miche what a great fit and great use of those hundreds of men’s shirts.
I agree, very creative women!!!!
Such creativity! I love them all, but my fav is Jen’s maxi dress. Kz
Hi Kay! Were you able to vote using the poll at the bottom of the post?
Beth
AHHH!!! AWESOME JOB LADIES!!!! I promised myself I wasn’t going to peek until I finished my own design……now I have to have a maxi dressssssssssssss!
Hi Heidi! Never too late to send in pictures of your stripes refashion. I’ll post it when ever you get it finished. Can’t wait to see it.
Beth
Thanks I will finish up hopefully shortly here…. I won’t start a dress until AFTER! Lol don’t wanna feel like a copycat. 🙂
Beth, where do we post pictures for the sew along? I hope I have time to upload them this morning. 🙂
You can send them to bhunting@eoni.com
I finally sent you that email with pics! And I also finished my blog post. 🙂
My goal today is to get the sew along posted, off I go….
🙂 yay! I will be emailing you new pics later!!
Miche I love the outfit you made from men’s shirts. stripes all the way through and still very girly. How creative !!!
oops i should have logged in
I loved the fountain photo, too.
They are all so good. I have to go with Miche from Buttons and Birdcages. All of these ladies were so creative.
I agree, a VERY tough choice!!!
Katrina from Offsquare gets my vote!
Did you use the poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
All are wonderful, but my vote went to Barb’s turmeric tee. Love it!
Hi Joyce, did you vote using the poll at the bottom of the post?
They all did such a great job!
Hard to pick only one.
Such a creative bunch of ladies.
Cheers,
Laura
I agree, a VERY difficult choice!!!
Very hard to decide, I voted two.
Thanks for voting!!!!
Love this challenge idea, so fun to watchthanks for hosting 🙂 My favorites are the first and Barbara’s but they’re all really creative!
Did you use the poll on the bottom of the post to vote?
I vote for Jen. Loved the maxi dress!
Did you use the poll to vote?
Oh. My. Goodness!!! I just thought I was clever! These gals are incredible…I was so torn. I loved so many of them for so many different reasons, but, I picked Elizabeth because she did an amazing job with that housedress sack she started with!
You are so right!!! Incredible refashions this week!
What a fun first show! Can’t wait to see next week’s and the week after and the week after! ~M.
Nothing like a good “before and after” I always say!!!
Loved Jen, Elizabeth and Sally. Am intrigued by turmeric colouring. Excellent start. Am playing along so my creation will hit your inbox soon 🙂 Hope my vote went through
Thanks for voting! I’m looking forward to seeing your creation! I’ll be posting the sew alongs this week sometime.
tried to email my before and after for the sew along but for some reason my email didn’t like yours 😦 Here’s my link instead http://makingtimetocreate.wordpress.com/
Looking forward to seeing them all!
I’ll check it out…thanks!
Wow! These refashions were fabulous! I’m a new follower now and would love to know how I can enter your next competition! I have a new seing blog, please pass by and support by following. Also enter my threads magazine giveaway!
http://mysewinghabit.blogspot.com/2013/06/threads-magazine-junjul-2013-giveaway.html
Reyna
Hi Reyna, Welcome to The Renegade Seamstress!!
I checked out your new blog, subscribed and signed up for your giveaway. Thanks!
I’m not sure when the next season of Refashion Runway will start, but stay tuned for the next Open Casting Call.
Enjoy your Sunday!
Beth
All of the striped projects looked super! It was tough to vote for just one.
Thanks for voting!!!
Love them all!! GREAT JOB LADIES!! 🙂
YES!!!
Lots of wonderful upcycles here!! Well done!
I agree!
I could decide between three of them and had to resort to eeny meeny miney mo!
I had a hard time time choosing, too.
I loved seeing all the different interpretations! So inspiring. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
This has been fun for me, too! They came up with some great designs.
Casting my vote for Zhenya’s
Did you use the poll at the bottom of the post to vote?
I like the construction of Mary’s work. The use of the floral print as a wide stripe was vey clever. The button down back brings another dimension to this already clever idea.
Did you have a chance to vote?
Elizabeth’s transformation of the completely awful day dress was completely inspired! The tailoring looks excellent and the retro vibe is super cute! Great job!
I hope you voted!!!!
Number 1 is such a simple idea, but makes this skirt amazing!!
I really enjoyed this, thankyou ,and as an avid upcycler would love to hear about your next challenge
Number 1 is such a simple idea, but makes this skirt amazing!!
I really enjoyed this, thankyou ,and as an avid upcycler would love to hear about your next challenge
Stay tuned for a second season Open Casting Call, I’d love to have you try out. Not sure exactly when it will be though….
Super difficult decision, but was able to bring myself to vote for just one….. LOVE the repurposing ideas !!! All of the entry’s were AMAZING !!!
So many possibilities!
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wish I could vote for more than one !
That would’ve been nice…
I picked Miche love the colours and styling, great fit and quirky. Thought all were great tho, fab competition!
I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!!!
All of these ladies are very talented. It was very difficult to choose one. Congratulations to them all.
I had a hard time choosing, too!
I so enjoy watching you all be creative. It really is fun to see what you come up with. I loved them all.
Me, too!
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I would say Diary of a Madmama’s outfit is one I would wear in a heartbeat. So that is my vote. But I loved all of them!! Being Zenya is a close second. This is hard.
Hope you were able to use the poll to vote…. Stay tuned for Saturday…..
It takes a particular kind of creative genious to look at an old t-shirt or blouse and see something new and wonderful in it. I’m in awe of this form of talent.
It’s so fun to see what they all came up with!!!
just logged in….if it matters, I liked Jen’s the most.
Thanks for voting!
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Voted! Worked just fine. So bummed not to get to vote for two of these amazing projects!!
Thanks for voting! Stay tuned for Saturday to see if your favorite won…..
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So Audrey Hepburn!
🙂
Oh man! That was hard! Choosing which one to click “vote” for was excruciating!! What a great group of entries! Congratulations to everyone on great work!
I had a hard time choosing just one, too!!! This is one group of talented ladies!!!
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I’m really impressed by this contest. However in the interest of fairness would it be appropriate to ask contestants not to keep promoting their entries on Facebook? One in particular is doing this that I’ve seen but not all are on Facebook so it doesn’t seem fair to me. Perhaps the garments should only be show cased on you blog and once on the contestants blog.
I hope all who come over to this contest will honestly vote for their favorite, no matter who sent them over.
One vote for Zhenya 🙂
I hope you used the poll….
Love Miche and Barbara! Hard to choose one, they are all so creative!
So many great refashions this week. I can’t wait to see what they do next week!!
All great, but loooove Jen’s!
Yes, everyone was so creative!!! I loved them all, too! So hard to choose…. Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this week!
The talent here is amazing! Makes me want to start sewing again.
Oh, Susan, I hope you ARE inspired to start sewing again!!!
All of these projects were impressive and inspiring!
I agree wholeheartedly! I hope you voted….
Nicely done ladies! I enjoyed seeing all the made-over goodies. Such great ideas! 🙂
Pretty impressive, all right!!!!
I voted for Jen, but wish I could have voted also for Katrina. So torn!! Love them all, really. Very talented ladies!
BTW, I think I’m a new follower!
Yay!!! Thanks for subscribing and voting!!! Stay tuned for some more impressive refashions from these talented women!
I am not sure how to vote because:
I think that Sally and Mary both made something that is really fashion forward and on the cutting edge of fashion today…
But Also
I think that both Zhenya and Barbra made something that make me feel confident that maybe I could refashion something beautiful – which is inspirational
And then
Miche and Katrina made dresses that are super wearable- and can go from picnic- to work-to night out with just a few accessories
and
Elizabeth and Jen both made something that I would wear over and over because its comfy and cute…
SO HARD TO CHOOSE!
I totally agree! Something wonderful about each of the refashions! Well done ladies!
They are all awesome!
I think so, too! SO. HARD. TO. CHOOSE!
Hello there! I haven’t been over here in a few weeks and see what happens? OMG! THis is just awesome! I love this competition!!! In my book everybody is a winner, but I liked the T-shirt dress and the Tie Dyed T shirt best of all! Way to go ladies! Good luck to all the contestants! And thanks for hosting this and all the hard work that goes with it! 🙂
You are so welcome. It’s been fun to be “behind the scenes”…. Stay tuned for some more incredible refashions by these talented ladies!!!
loved them all. Such a hard choice.
Something great about each and everyone of them…..
Maxi dress too cute, my vote
Sent from my iPad
Thanks for voting!!!!
I voted as well but I’m not telling for whom I voted. All the contestants did an awesome job and I am very surprised by the creative photos. Good luck to all competitors! I love Refashion Runway : )
Kendrasclothingcloset.wordpress.com
Hi Kendra! Thanks for voting, and I totally agree, they ALL did amazing refashions. Can’t wait to show you what’s in store for the next challenge…Denim.
Have a great Friday!
Beth
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Beth,
I’ve commented before, but I wanted to thank you again for coming up with such a great idea as Refashion Runway! I had fully intended to sew along with you each week, but life got busy, things came up and I just couldn’t do it. But I haven’t let that stop me from completing all of the Weekly Challenges! I am posting about them this week on blog. 🙂 Even a month after the fact, I’m still getting a lot of fun out of it. Thanks again!
Hey Desarae,
I’m so glad you enjoyed Refashion Runway. I had so much fun hosting it and I’m really looking forward to Season Two. As soon as I read your comment, I clicked on your name to see your blog, but it took me somewhere else. What’s your address? I’d love to see your creations!!
Beth
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