Time to see what all of these talented ladies have been working on this week and be sure to vote for your favorite at the bottom of this post.

Have fun!

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Gema from Sequins and Slippers

“After last week’s metallic round, I was feeling a little anxious about what buttons could offer me, in the way of inspiration. As the first thing that popped into my head was ‘Pearly Kings and Queens’, I did a bit of research on the London tradition…

I was a LONG time pondering whether or not it would be a good idea to replicate something so iconic; and in the end I made my mind up, purely if only for the sake of wearability… At the start of this Runway I promised myself I would only make things I’d wear, and I couldn’t honestly say I’d be wearing a ‘Pearly Queen’ outfit more than once in my life! So here we are, with a toned-down ‘pearly-inspired’ dress, made from a handmade dress I found in a local charity shop…

The main danger with this dress is that I have to avoid standing too close to a naked flame… it’s made from a man-made fibre, and rather shiny in certain light… but hey, it doesn’t fray – and it sews like a dream, so it became my canvas.

I started by removing the sleeves, taking the dress in, a little at a time, applying darts through the front and back, and also taking in the side seams. But I didn’t want to lose any of the length, so I took down the hem, added a scalloped edge, and then sewed buttons strategically all over the dress…

I think what I like most about this dress is the fact it was handmade originally, and now it’s gone through further handmade ‘treatments’ to make it wearable once again, for little old me. 🙂

I’m pleased with how the buttons create weight, and add movement, to the scalloped hem of the dress – and also how they create an accent of ‘light’ when the sun hits them…

As ever, I can’t wait for this to be posted, so I can admire all the other ladies’ outfits… whatever happens, whoever makes it through, I know I’ll continue to be inspired by what is created – by both contestants, and people sewing along – right through to the climax of this season’s Refashion Runway!!

Thanks All x

Gema”

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Marissa from The Refash Stash

“When I heard that the 3rd challenge was buttons I thought to myself BUTTONS!!?!? I
LOVE buttons! I have always admired my mom’s extensive button collection! So, when I
took an interest in sewing I was ecstatic to start collecting my own buttons! So
there I was at every fabric store sale and thrift store buying buttons….

Got buttons?

I found this dress with buttons down the back which inspired me for this challenge.

I made the neckline in the back into a v-neck. I hemmed bottom by 4 inches.
I made a sash out of the scrap I cut from the bottom of my dress.
My idea for buttons was to sew buttons into a nice floral pattern. I printed out an
ivy pattern and traced it on my dress.

Next Up: Accessories!

I started with a white t-shirt to make a bag. I cut off the sleeves and neckline. I
sewed the t-shirt at the bottom and cut the access into fringe.
To top off my new bag I sewed on the biggest buttons I had. Then I sewed stings of
buttons amongst the fringe.
To top my outfit off I hot glued buttons onto earring posts! I also made my very own
button bracelet! I have always admired a button bracelet that my mom bought at a
garage sale, so I made my own!

Happy Refashioning!!!!

Marisa”

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Jen from Diary of a Madmama

“For this week’s button-themed challenge, I knew I wanted to make an entire ensemble
out of several components.

I started out with a plain black t-shirt and a plethora of buttons. After printing
out an Eiffel Tower-shaped image I found online, I traced the image onto a piece of
iron-on adhesive and ironed it to the front of my shirt. With that as a guide, I
spent the next several hours sewing buttons onto the shirt to match the shape of the
Eiffel Tower image.

I then wanted to make a fluffy tulle skirt to wear with the t-shirt, so I found an
old slip I never wear, and a curtain to use as the lining, and about 10 yards of
tulle. Using a circle skirt tutorial I found online (I’d never made a circle skirt
before), I cut out 6 layers of tulle and then used the same method to cut out the
curtain-lining. Once all my pieces were laid out, I measured a piece of elastic to
fit my waist, sewed it together and attached the slip, curtain and tulle pieces to
the waistband to create my new skirt.

I wasn’t liking the way the white waistband looked, so I decided to make a belt to
wear over it. I had some leftover leather from a previous refashion, so I cut a
piece from that out , attached fasteners and spent the next several hours sewing
black buttons all over it.

Of course I needed a purse to go with my new outfit, so I grabbed a burlap table
runner my friend gave me and cut the ruffled ends off and sewed the pieces together
to create a purse. I then added some handles.

I wanted to add a bunch of flowers to my purse, so I grabbed some black and white
cashmere sweater pieces (from previous refashions) and cut a bunch of strips out of
them. I sewed basting stitches along the sides of each strip and gathered them up to
form flowers and then attached them to the purse with ivory and black buttons.

Now I just needed a pair of shoes to complete my look! I recently found these
open-toed shoes at my local Goodwill for $2.25 but they needed a little jazzing up,
so into the button stash I went, and several hours and lots of hand sewing later,
they were all done.

You can see the step-by-step tutorial on my blog, Diary of a MadMama. (link:
http://diaryofamadmama.wordpress.com/refashion-runway-season-four-all-stars-week-three-buttons-challenge
)
~Jen “

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Susan from Second Chances by Susan

“When Beth sent us the list of challenges, I looked at buttons and thought, huh?
What would I do with buttons? To be honest, I have quite a button stash, including
some fun vintage buttons. You would think I would try to use some of those fun
buttons, but in the end I used plain white buttons! But, used in the right way,
plain white buttons can have just the right impact.

I started with a men’s polo shirt, and a large pair of elastic waist polyester
pants. The pants had a nice pocket detail that was going to be perfect for what I
wanted to do.

I also wanted to make a tote bag, so I gathered together a heavyweight pillowcase, a
striped belt, some jute rope, large eyelets, leftover scraps from last weeks studded
blouse, and some thrifted fabric I had in my stash.

I used the pants to make a nautical style skirt. The pockets were fashioned into a
functioning button closure so no zipper was necessary. I also placed a kick pleat
in the back hem of the skirt for ease of movement.

I removed the elastic and replaced it with a regular waistband.

The men’s polo shirt was cut down to size using a well-fitting t-shirt as a guide.
I used the ribbing trim that was originally on the sleeves to make my new v-shaped
neckline.

I added a piece of the striped belt and few white buttons to trim it out. You can’t
see in the photos, but I also added faux button holes across from the buttons.

I drafted my own pattern to make the tote. It has pockets inside and out. I
trimmed the outside pockets with the striped belt and fabric scraps from the last
week’s blouse.

I added large eyelets so I could attach my jute rope handles. Who would have
thought that I would use square knots in back to back outfits during this
competition?

I lined the tote with some thrifted polka dot fabric.

My photo shoot at the marina was not without its share of mishaps. First, the dock
was locked! But that was resolved by some nice people with a key. Second, I forgot
the memory card for the camera. That was resolved the only way possible, and that
was to take pictures with the ipad. Do you know how hard it is to take pictures
with an ipad on a floating dock? And lastly, my heels kept getting stuck in the
grates. Fun times!

I think I am most excited about this outfit so far since I have always liked a
nautical look. Now if I just knew someone that owned a yacht!

For a details on how I created this look, you can visit my blog, Second Chances by
Susan.
Good luck to all the ladies and happy sewing!”

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Miche from Buttons and Birdcages

“This weeks challenge was surprisingly (and frustratingly) hard for me.
Maybe it’s that the thought of hand sewing a bunch of buttons to something
terrifies me, or maybe it;s all the extra pressure I put on myself because
buttons are literally in my blog name..

Anyway, after many a headache and thought of dropping out of the contest I
came up with this outfit, which I actually completely adore.I have a ton of
buttons that people have given me over the years, I use them for projects
here and there but honestly I’m usually making jewelry or glueing them to
things.

I jumped around with a ton of ideas, but landed on that the buttons should
add a little flair to my outfit and not be an intense part of my outfit
just because of the challenge. Keeping with my festival style, I cut the
dress into a fringe vest and used excess fabric to add a little flare to
the leg warmers. I’m so in love with the button head wrap and belt that I
literally can’t wait to wear them out <3″

—

*—–*Miche
*Buttons and Birdcages*
http://www.buttonsandbirdcages.com

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Carissa from Carissa Knits

“My first thought when I heard the theme for this week was a basic button-up
shirt dress. I just love their casual simplicity – so comfortable and easy
to wear, yet so versatile in styling possibilities. To create my version, I
started with this way-too-large faux wrap dress I thrifted for $2. I first
removed the ties and zipper and then separated the skirt, bodice, and
sleeves from one another so I could re-fit each individually. I took in the
bodice along each of the four princess seams, as well as the sides. Next, I
took in all the skirt seams in the same manner as for the bodice, cut it
open up the front center panel, and brought the hem up by about 6 inches.
Once the skirt and bodice were re-attached, I trimmed the points of the
criss-cross bodice panels to align with the front edges of the skirt. I
used the old ties to create button bands along each front edge and then
made *all the buttonholes ever *along one side. I re-worked the original
doubled-up cuffs so as to lengthen the sleeves a bit. The remnants of the
original ties became little button straps to hold the cuffs up. Finally, I
reattached the sleeves to the dress, taking them in at the same time.

Of course, no button-up dress is complete without buttons though! The
inspiration for these actually came while the dog and I were out walking
one morning. A neighbor had trimmed some dead branches from their tree and
left them at the curb for pick-up. So I picked them up! I dragged them
home, sawed off little slices, and drilled two tiny holes in each disc. A
light sanding and lemon oil to bring out the wood grain, and they were
ready to be stitched onto my dress.

Since I had used something unconventional to make my buttons, I thought I’d
use some actual buttons to make something unconventional. Along with an old
belt, part of a necklace, and a broken zipper, I turned several gold
buttons into two new pieces of arm candy!”

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Wow! Everyone worked so hard this week!

Now it’s your turn to vote:

Click on your favorite and then be sure to click the vote button at the bottom so your vote will be counted. Then stay tuned next Saturday morning to see who won.