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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easy square top with stamped polka dots

My summer wardrobe used to be primarily made up of stretchy fitted tees. Super comfy, easy to wash and wear, available in any color you could wish for, and cheap. But have you noticed that all the fitted t-shirts seem to be made out of tissue-thin material lately? Tissue thin fitted tees are not a good look for me. I would blame that on the five babies I've had, but it's not their fault. It's entirely Cold Stone's. But I digress... I've come to the conclusion that I need a different type of top, and so I've been looking for blouses in roomy styles that still drape nicely enough to look ok. Enter the square top. It's the most ridiculously simple shirt to make ever, and it hides what it needs to hide. And it even looks cute on people who have nothing to hide. Want to make one?

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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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sun&surf pattern tour {the sunshine dress}

I spent a few happy hours Monday sewing up this Sunshine Dress. The pattern is by Schwin Designs and is part of a cool new pattern anthology that's just been released this week: The Sun & Surf Collection, which is a joint effort from See Kate Sew Patterns, Shwin Designs, Go To Patterns, and Blank Slate Patterns. This pattern collection is pretty fantastic: fun, modern, and easy to wear spring looks for both boys and girls. When the creators of this pattern anthology contacted me about joining the blog tour to introduce the patterns and reviewing one of them I was pretty excited. I haven't been using patterns much lately, preferring to muddle through on my own, so I was more than ready to use a great pattern that would tell me exactly what to do to get the perfect finished product. And the Sunshine Dress pattern delivered! (Keep reading for more info on the pattern anthology and more photos of the Sunshine Dress.)

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