It’s that time of year again! Time to pull out a few thrift store finds from the bottom of the pile and create a fun costume for Halloween. My motto is quick and easy these days so I kept it pretty simple.
I started with a homemade fake suede skirt and a Roper dress that was a little too much of a good thing, but perfect for a sheriff costume.
First, I simply cut off the bottom of the dress to make it into a shirt.
Notice the horseshoe fabric and the fake leather trim? Perfectly cheesy!
I then used my rotary cutter to cut fringe around the bottom of the skirt.
Add a belt, bandana, badge, some boots and wha-la….. a sheriff costume is born.
Of course a sheriff costume wouldn’t be complete without a corny tin foil badge. 🙂
Whadda ya think- will I be able to keep those kindergarteners in line at our Halloween party now?
Thanks to my Ruggedly Handsome Husband for takin’ some time out outta his busy day to snap a few photos for me today.
Yeehaw, lookin’ good, honey!
PS. This is a rerun post, but I thought you might like to see it again for Costume Week.
Whether you’ve been invited to a costume party or you’re lucky enough to be able to dress up at work, it’s never too early to be thinking of this year’s Halloween costume. Here is a week’s worth of ideas to help get you in the mood and to hopefully inspire you to put together the best costume EVER.
Enjoy!
To start out this week, if you’re feeling a bit more bad witch than good witch this Halloween season, you can put together a Wicked Witch of the West-inspired costume faster than you can call out your army of flying monkeys.
And nothing says bad witch quite like a green face. You can purchase pre-made face paint or click here to find out how to make your own.
To find out how to put together this iconic witch costume, grab your broom, click here and fly on over to eHow for a wickedly good time.
See you over there, my pretty………
And if you feel yourself compelled to click the “Yes, I found this article helpful” button and leave a comment when you’re over there, don’t worry…. I might have or I might not have cast a spell on you….. who knows….. 🙂
You know summer’s officially over when all those back-to-school pictures start popping up all over your news feed. This year, don’t forget to pamper your child’s new teacher in the midst of all of the excitement. If you’ve been looking for the perfect do-it-yourself teacher gift, then look no further. This simple fabric key or badge lanyard will be the envy of all the other teachers. Believe me, they will all be clamoring to have your child in their class next year just so they can get one of your cute lanyards.
Here’s the Facebook video:
For those of you not on Facebook, you can watch the Youtube video here:
Thank you once again to everyone who filled out the survey. I’ve been busy compiling the information and I’ll be sharing it with you soon along with the name of The Refashion Handbook winner.
For more sewing an refashion inspiration and how-to’s, click here.
I don’t know about you, but I felt a bit of fall in the air yesterday. I’m not ready to give up my summer dresses quite yet so here’s a great way to be able to wear them a little longer.
I hope you find today’s “blast from the past” helpful. 🙂
All the pink tags were half price so of course, being the cheapster that I am, and being spoiled by my local thrift store prices, I only looked at pink tag items.
I found this cute dress for $2.00.
All I had to do was take it in under the sleeves a bit, otherwise it was a perfect fit. I loved the color, pattern and the fun lacy detail on the front.
But it IS fall and the days are getting cooler and I’m losing my nice summer tan, so I much prefer to wear sleeves to school.
I thought it would be fun to make a long sleeved shrug from this gray thrift store t-shirt that I’ve had in my stash for quite awhile.
First cut right up the middle of the shirt.
Then cut off the collar.
Fold under the raw edge and stitch to form a casing for the ribbon.
Cut a 55 inch piece of ribbon.
Thread it through the casing, using a safety pin.
Pull ribbon tight and tie to get this look:
I can’t wait to wear my new dress to school this week.
A big thank you to my good friend Kris!
Not only did she give me her “old” Rebel XT Canon camera, when I started blogging, but since my “fashion photographer” was turkey hunting today, Kris took the after pictures. Her generosity and genuine ways, never cease to amaze me. I love you, Kris!
You might also enjoy:
Happy Sewing!
Beth
PS. If you haven’t had a chance to answer the survey questions and enter your name to win a copy of my book, The Refashion Handbook, click here.
Here’s another refashion blast from the past that I think still holds up. So, if you’ve been thinking about giving this refashion thing a whirl, it’s the perfect beginning project. I promise you will be successful. 🙂
What should we do to liven up this plain old gray t shirt?
Perhaps some more ruffles would do the trick.
What do you think?
For more refashion and sewing tutorials and inspiration, click here.
Happy Sewing!
Beth
PS. If you’d like to help me make my site better by participating in my survey, click here and your name will be entered into the drawing to win a copy of my book, The Refashion Handbook.
Oh, the luxury of a good pocket–perfect for phones, lipstick, or loose change. Plus, you can plunge your hands into them to look effortlessly casual during social situations. But what to do if your favorite dress or skirt is pocketless? No need to stand around feeling awkward with your hands flapping about in the wind and no place to stash your phone. All it takes is a good seam ripper and a little fun fabric to add an in-seam pocket to any piece of clothing in your wardrobe.
Or scroll down to enjoy the one minute how-to video.
You can watch the Facebook video here:
You can watch the YouTube video here:
For more refashion and sewing inspiration click here.
PS. A big Thank You to everyone who has filled out the sewing survey. If you haven’t had a chance to fill it out, click here and enter to win a copy of my book, The Refashion Handbook.
Wow! It’s hard to believe that we’ve been doing this blogging thing together for 6 years now. From my very first tutorial to 5 fun seasons of Refashion Runway to publishing The Refashion Handbook to creating videos that have received millions of views. It’s been quite the adventure and I want to thank you for being by my side for it all.
I’m soon going to have more time to improve The Renegade Seamstress and since you are the reason I do what I do, I naturally want to know what you think would make this a better site.
If you take the survey before Saturday, August 25, your name will be entered into a drawing for a free copy of my book, The Refashion Handbook.
Be sure to click the VOTE button after each question so your response will be recorded.
What topics related to sewing do you feel are most needed in the marketplace right now? Is there anything you don’t see covered enough? Anything missing altogether? Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve my site? By answering these questions in the form below, your name will automatically be entered in the drawing for a free copy of my book, The Refashion Handbook.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me create a better website by answering these questions.
The new, plastic, flip-top gum holders help to keep gum from breaking into little tiny pieces and ending up at the bottom of your purse, full of dirt or stuck to all of your loose change. Ewwww, what a mess it used to be! Not anymore, though. But what to do with these great little containers when all the gum is gone? Instead of throwing your handy dandy little boxes out, cover them with some pretty fabric and fill them with travel items to keep yourself organized and prepared no matter where you plan on going.
Click here for the full step-by-step photo instructions.
Scroll down for the one minute how-to videos.
See the Facebook video here:
Or you can watch the Youtube version here:
Happy Recycling!
Beth
For more crafting, sewing or refashioning inspiration, click here.
Blue jeans aren’t just for cowboys anymore. Move on over you rugged men, we’ve got some fashion statements to make. We’re distressing them, cropping them, acid washing them and fraying them–anything to make our jeans cool and different. Now you can give your plain jeans some personality by using a stencil and bleach to add some modern tattoo-like designs. Cover them with patterns or just put a few strategically placed pictures to alter your jeans and make them your own. Once you give this DIY a try, none of your denim will be safe. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Scroll down to watch the videos.
Or click here to read the step-by-step photo instructions.
A fun summer makeover for you from a few years ago:
Seriously, who cares if I get freckles on my legs.
Sometimes you just need to go outside, relax and accept what the sun has to offer.
I know I’ve said it before, but it’s true. How lucky am I?
I love waking up to this each day. A small Eastern Oregon town where I’m graced with panoramic beauty, where deer hang out in my yard, and where summer has finally arrived. It usually takes me a few weeks to realize it. The first stretch of vacation is always filled with organization, cleaning, appointments, and getting caught up with life. And then it happens…..
that one extraordinary day when I wake up and realize the next twenty four hours are totally up to me. I can enjoy whatever comes my way. I can finally breathe and notice my life.
That day was today.
My eyes close, as my favorite stairwell rendition of Halleluia, by Skeye, cascades gently from my laptop. The wannabe musician inside me desperately wants to sing along. But all I can do is catch my breath, and let her beautiful voice go deep to lift me where freckles really don’t matter.
The horse slowly saunters over and stares at me. Maybe it’s Skeye’s hypnotic voice that lured him over or maybe it’s the bright colors of the adirondack chair that Penny made for me. Or maybe, like my friend Karin says, he was connecting with the joy I happen to be feeling at this moment. I look up from the computer and my heart swells yet again. I’m so fortunate to have a job that gives me time to heal in the sunshine each summer, to rejuvenate, and to take time just to notice my life.
Today, while “noticing my life”, I got inspired to make a summer dress to go with my newly acquired leg freckles. I head into my thrift stash which, thanks to my early summer bursts of energy, now sits neatly stacked and folded with a color coordinated organizational system. I stop, sigh, and gaze for awhile, just to admire the orderly beauty of it all. When I finally snap out of it, my eyes land on this pure silk Hawaiian dress that I scored last fall at the Goodwill for a whopping $2.99.
It’s made for a woman who is my complete opposite- a big busted, small hipped kind of gal. But you know, that blue and green silk was irresistible and ya gotta love those yellow parrots!
Somehow, I need to make the bottom of this dress larger and the top smaller. I’ve done this before with other dresses but this one was different. It had lining and a long zipper down the back. Hmmmm…..can’t just cut out the middle, gather the skirt and sew it back on this time. This dress presented a bit more of a challenge.
By the time it was all said and done, I actually refashioned this dress two ways.
This was the first rendition. My friend Kris said it was very Betty Draper.
I liked the first dress but when Kris said it needed to be more Joan Holloway than Betty Draper, I got right to work and this was the result.
What do you think?
If you like the Betty Draper dress, this is the tutorial for you:
I started by taking out the zipper with my seam ripper. I actually left the top of the zipper installed because you will reinstall the zipper later.
I then put it on, looked in the mirror, and using safety pins, marked where I’d like the new waistline to be. I also pulled it up and marked the new length with another pin.
Using a washable fabric marker and adding a half inch for a seam, mark the new waistline.
Using your rotary cutter, cut the new waistline.
Then cut the skirt (off the top) to desired length, leaving the hem intact.
Using the longest stitch on your machine, baste around the top of the skirt.
Right sides together match and pin the side seams and middle of the front and back. Pull gently on the basting stitches to ease in the rest of the skirt to fit the bodice. Pin and sew.
Leave the back seam open so you can reinstall the zipper.
Open up the back skirt seam to fit the zipper. Using the zipper foot, reinstall the zipper.
Now for the neckline. Cut a slit down the middle of the neckline to the depth you like. Fold over and press. Then cut on the pressed lines.
But, if you’re more of a Joan Holloway type of girl, then here’s the tutorial for you:
Do every step the same as the Betty Draper version above, but instead of basting around the top of the skirt, cut out your custom pencil skirt using your custom skirt pattern from here and attach to the bodice and reinsert the zipper. The neckline was also cut deeper so I could drop the neckline over the shoulders a bit.
Hope this will be helpful to you during your summer refashion adventures!!!
