pretty print blouse & puff pocket shorts {a refashioned wardrobe}

This is the last outfit in my little girl's refashioned wardrobe, and it's definitely my favorite. Her top is made from a blouse I bought for myself at the thrift store - I absolutely loved the print and the fact that it was so light and flowy. But I got home and realized a large portion of the neckline had frayed away from the seam and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. And so it went into the pile to refashion, along with a tan twill skirt that fit fine a few summers ago but is (alas) too tight now. (Keep reading for more photos and tutorial)

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summer shortie and simple shrug {refashioned wardrobe}

I just have two more outfits to show you in my daughter's refasioned wardrobe, and this summer shortie is one of them. This outfit started with a gray blouse that I really loved because of the cute pleat details down the front, but that was just too short for me. It would have been simplest to turn the blouse into a dress for my little girl, but she has lots of dresses so I wanted something a little more practical for spring/summer playtime. (Keep reading for tutorial and more photos.)

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how to take in a pencil skirt

Thrift stores: some people love them, others hate them. I quite like them, myself. I've always loved a bargain (found two pairs of jeans that actually fit for $9 yesterday!), and I like the crazy variety of clothes to look through. However, lots of people hate them because it can seem nearly impossible to find something cute that actually fits. That's where this post comes in. If you are able to do some basic altering to make things smaller, you widen the range of clothes from the thrift store that will work for you. I found this adorable houndstooth pencil skirt but it was a little large - luckily, taking in a pencil skirt is one of the simplest alterations, and I'll show you how to do it today.

But before I get to that I wanted to talk for just a moment about why I post photos of myself on the blog. I wonder sometimes if people think I put pictures of myself up here because I think I'm pretty hot stuff or something like that. The truth is that having someone take photos of me and then sorting through them to find a somewhat flattering on isn't always a pleasant proposition. So why do I do it? Two reasons: 

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this way & that stripes dress {a refashioned wardrobe}

One of the things I like about buying clothes at the thrift store is that they've generally already been washed about a hundred times, so they aren't going to shrink the first time you wash them, turning them into muffin top magnifiers. So when I found a cute bathrobe in a soft, stretchy pinstripe (with polka dots on the inside) that fit perfectly, I was pretty excited. Yes, it said it was a size small (my first clue), and no, I don't normally wear size small, but who knows? maybe the sizing was just off. It fit - and it looked like it had never even been worn (my second clue). It also had apparently never been washed, because when I brought it home and threw it in the washer and dryer it came out unbelievably shrunken. Definitely a size small. Definitely not for me anymore.

Well, there's five dollars down the drain, I thought, and I stuffed it in my pile of clothes to go back to donate back to the thrift store...but you already know how the story ends. The shrunken bathrobe became the third outfit in my daughter's refashioned wardrobe. I turned it into a cute (and ridiculously simple) little dress. Here's how: 

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the "I thought it would look better than it does" shirt

I have a cautionary tale for you today, my friends. It starts with a fantatic idea for a thrifted clothes transformation: take a men's polo and a women's stretch lace tank top and use them to concoct a lovely knit top with pretty lace detail across the shoulders. A genius of an idea, actually. That's why I love sewing so much: constructing something cool out of castoffs really does make me feel like a genius. Occasionally. And I did manage to make a pretty top. Which will look very good. On someone else. (And this is why I occasionally hate sewing.)

We'll get back to that in just a moment - up first is the winner of the year's subscription to Creating Keepsakes Magazine. The winner (chosen via random.org) is Kasey Boggs, who said: Thank you for the great giveaway! Kasey, please use the contact button in the top right to send me your full mailing address and let me know if you'd like a traditional magazine in the mail subscription or a digital subscription. Thanks for entering!

One more thing before we get to the actual point of today's post: thank you to all of your who commented on my laundry rant! I loved all your ideas and suggestions (and I'm sure none of you were trying to hint that I'd hate laundry less if I were just a bit more organized...right? ;) AND I just really love getting comments. Now back to today's tale of woe:

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polka dot swing top and corduroys {refashioned wardrobe}

Howdy folks. It's the next installment of Lily's refashioned wardrobe - seven outfits I made for her out of my "to donate" pile. Today's top is one of my favorite pieces from the wardrobe. It's cute and comfy for a little girl, and it was so easy to make! I think I'll be making more soon.

Before we get into the outfit details (and tutorial) I just want to remind you there are two giveaways going on right now. You have until tomorrow, Wed Apr 3rd to win a one year subscription to Creating Keepsakes Magazine, and until Sunday night Apr 7th to enter the Kitchenaid Mixer giveaway. Click over and get yourself entered, them come back for more info on today's outfit. 

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add-a-shoulder-zip sweater refashion

Hello. My name is Autumn and I'm addicting to thrifting. True story. I try really hard to only come home from the thrift store with things that look good on me as-is, but I'm also slightly addicted to refashioning, so sometimes I come home with things like this men's sweater that was boxy and boring but also terribly soft. I figured I'd do something or other with it. And then it sat in my closet for six months until it ended up in the pile heading back to the thrift store.

Then I saw an episode of Elementary (love it!) where Watson, the gorgeous Lucy Liu, had a cute sweater on that had a cute zipper going from the neckline across one shoulder where the sleeve was attached. I dug into my donation bag and rescued this sweater.

The short story | I cut off the sleeves and existing neckline, then reattached the sleeves in baseball tee style, adding in a hot pink zipper and matching knit binding around the neck. (Keep reading for photos/instructions)

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add a sparkly collar to a plain sweater

It seems like everything is covered in sparkles these days - shoes, shirts, jeans, everything! It's a fun trend, but sometimes I think I'd feel a little silly hanging out at the park or running to the grocery store in a sweater completely covered in bling. So I decided to add just a little sparkle to a plain black sweater. I purchased an eighth of a yard of sheer black organza with tiny sparkly gems on it and used it to create a peter pan collar on the front of my sweater. Next I added a few buttons, and $3 dollars later I have a sweater that's a little bit special but still casual enough for daily wear.

***Keep reading for the full tutorial!***

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