Refashion Month with Michelle Schuh

Scroll down for english, please!

A Michelle é uma blogger nova para mim, bem, o seu blog também é recente, com menos de um ano, mas ela tem participado em testes de moldes há bem mais tempo que isso, e gostei muito de visitar o seu blog e ver as peças que tem feito, gabo-lhe o bom gosto na escolha de tecidos e combinações. Fiquei feliz por ver que também haviam por lá posts com roupa reciclada. Não deixem de a visitar e ver o que preparou para esta série. Aqui. 

Michelle is a new-to-me blogger, well actually her blog is still under one year old, but she's been pattern testing for a bit longer than that now and I really enjoyed going through her posts, checking out her items. She's got a great taste for fabric prints and combinations. I was pretty happy to see she does have some refashioned items too. Check out what she prepared for this series. Here.  

For the top I refashioned a ladies cotton nightie into a Patterns for Pirates Essential Tank. For the bottoms, I used a pair of hubby's poorly fitting pants to make myself a pair of woven brassie joggers from Greenstyle Creations.

Refashion Month with Meriel Aho

Scroll down for english, please!

A convidada de hoje é a Meriel, a ser sincera, temos-nos encontrado em várias tours e testes, mas até ela se inscrever nesta série, eu não conhecia particularmente o seu trabalho. Fui espreitar como faço sempre que tenho alguém "cá por casa" que ainda não conheço de um todo ou de quem conheço pouco, e gostei muito das peças que tem feito para as suas crianças. Hoje, ela partilha connosco um apanhado de algumas das reciclagens que já fez anteriormente. Não deixem de espreitar as suas dicas. 

Today's guest is Meriel, and being honest, unless for some tours and tests where we were both in, I didn't really know her work until she signed for the series. I went in to check it out as I always do when I have new guests that I haven't heard of before, or have but not much, and I particurly liked the things she's been doing for her kids. Today, she's sharing a wrap up from previous refashions from her own. Make sure to check out her tips. 

This is a brief look at some quick & easy refashions that anyone can do. I learned to sew 6 years ago, and making over thrifted items such as too-large clothes or even sheets has been one of the best ways for me to get some practice (and even a wearable garment!) without investing a lot of money into my learning process. Pop over to my blog (http://createthreepointfive.com) to read more about what you see here!

Refashion Month with Heather *Feather*

Scroll down for english, please!

Mais um dia a reciclar, desta vez com a fascinante Heather. Mãe de três crianças e imparável. Adoro a sua simplicidade e praticabilidade, e os looks que cria. Admiro o facto de publicar a vida como ela é sem floreados, sendo verdadeira. Se os filhos se sujam mesmo antes de tirar fotos a uma peça nova, ela simplesmente assume que com crianças é assim e publica-as assim mesmo. E isso a meu ver é bom, uma pessoa sente-se mais ligada a ela com a ideia de que afinal nem todos procuram a perfeição. 

Another day refashioning, this time with the fascinating Heather. Mom to three kids, and unstopable. I love her simple and practicale ways, and her casual looks. I admire the fact that she posts things as they are on real life, she's not fake. If her kids get dirty right before the photos of a new item are taken, she'll just assume that it is a fact from life with kids and post it like so. And that's a good thing to relate to her and see that not everyone is aiming to be perfect. 

º º º

  

I'm so excited to be here and share a refashion with you! I love reusing the best parts of clothing and making it into something new. Today I'm sharing a REALLY simple button down shirt upcycle to make a skirt. It's great because you can keep the button placket and the pocket or pockets on the front. Besides using the button down for a skirt, you can use the other half to make a baby romper and the sleeves to make pants! 

Supplies
Button Down Shirt
Sewing Supplies
3/8" elastic

Instructions
1. Get your shirt ready. I used a women's medium and unpicked all the darts. A men's shirt in any size would also work and you wouldn't have to unpick darts.

2. (The bottom half of the shirt, the collar, and the collar stand can be cut off for the baby romper.) Cut at an angle from the sides seams to the shoulders essentially cutting off the sleeves. I cut an extreme angle to get flared sides.
3. Cut straight across the top cutting off the shoulder seams. I cut the back higher than the front to give room for a baby diaper.
4. Remove the tags if needed.

This top picture is what my cut pieces looked like.
5. Sew the side seams right sides together at 1/4" and finish the edges.
6. Straighten the hem if uneven.

7. Sew a 1/2" casing at the top and insert elastic. I sewed the button placket together at the top to make this step easier.

8. Sew a small hem on the bottom. I kept the hem separated at the button placket to keep a real button down look.

It's simple but impactful! The placket and pockets make it looked like I worked really hard. And I love that I can find interesting and unique color schemes that I might not find in the toddler clothing section at the store!

Thanks for having me and letting me share! I can't wait to see everyone else's refashions!

Refashion Month with Diana Pais

Scroll down for english, please!

A Diana diz que a reciclagem de roupa está muito fora da sua zona de conforto, ainda assim, para mim, a Diana é uma grande inspiração e eu tinha de a desafiar outra vez. Ela inspira-me, não só na forma divertida como costura para os filhos e para ela, mas também pela sua personalidade, o seu empenho naquilo que quer e faz feliz. Para quem estava fora da sua zona de conforto, digam lá se ela não se saiu tão bem? 

Diana says she's way out of her comfort zone when it comes to refashioning, still, she is a great inspirations for me and I really needed to challenge her again. She inspires me, not only through her fun way to sew for her kids and herself, but also through her personality, and her efforts in whatever she wants and makes her happy. For someone who was feeling out of her comfort zone, she did pretty good, didn't she? 

º º º 

Hi everyone! I'm Diana from the blog Miss Castelinhos. I'm very happy to be a part of House of Estrela's Refashion Month for the second time. I always admire Magda's skills to transform old clothes into something new. Refashion is very much out of my confort zone. Last year I made a shirt for my son, so this year I wanted to try something for myself. I had an old dress from a fast fashion brand... not to name names... it starts with a Z, ends with an A and it has AR in the middle... but that's not important! ;D The dress didn't fit me around the hips anymore, so I thought it could work as a blouse.

 

The transformation was very easy! I simply cut the dress above the stripes and used the remaining fabric to make the sleeves.

 

The sleeves have quite a dramatic look to it. I gathered them a bit and attached to the armscye.

 

And that was it! Because the sleeves were made with the bottom of the dress I kept the original hemline. The only thing left to do was the hem around the waistline.

 

If you're anything like me and are not sure if you can transform a piece of clothing, this is an easy start. Just grab an old sleeveless dress, cut the bottom off and add some sleeves. You can't go wrong! :D Thank you so much for having me Magda!

Refashion Month with Irene (aka MammaNene)

Scroll down for english,please!

Creio que a Irene foi uma das primeiras bloggers refashionistas que eu comecei a seguir, ou pelo menos uma das primeiras com quem comecei a ter contacto. A reciclagem que fez numa edição anterior, de camisa de xadrez para vestido de menina, é para mim ainda, uma das mais originais que passaram aqui pelo blogue. Por isso, acho que fazia todo o sentido convidá-la a fazer parte de mais uma edição, e ei-la com a sua boa disposição contagiante. 

I believe Irene was one of the first refashionista bloggers I started following, or at least one of the first I started interacting with. Her plaid button up shirt to little girl's dress, is still in my opinion, one of the most original from all past seasons. That's why I believe it makes total sense to have her as a guest today, and here she is with her infectious good mood. 

º º º 

Hi there! It's Irene here, from Serger Pepper! I'm so happy to be here again for this Refashion Month (thanks Magda for inviting me!). After two refashions for my girl (the plaid & ruffles shirt to dress and the posh beach robe) I have decided it was time to sew something for me! I started browsing my refashion pile to find something that might suggest me an idea and I've found this huge man's T-shirt I have found on a thrifty barter/shop. I took it home without a precise plan for it, just knowing that:

• it was made in a nice fabric, soft and mostly cotton with a small percentage of polyester that will keep it almost wrinkle-free ;)
• it was in a basic color and pattern, easy to mix and match
• it was the right length to be worn on top of leggings and to eventually double as a swim cover

BUT

• it was too big to be worn as it was (look at the shoulders and the width at the bust height)

• it was too masculine
• its sleeves were way too long and wide

These days here in Italy, summer is hot and I needed more tanks to wear... so a refashion idea was blooming: a tank mini-dress to be worn on top of leggings, fitted at the bust and the shoulders and loose at the bottom, so it doesn't accentuate my back and thighs.  

 

How can you recreate the look? It's easy and fast to whip up, just a couple of hours and you have your new tank mini-dress! First, put the shirt on and mark with pins where you want the shoulders to sit. Mark it on both sides. Decide also the neckline depth but make sure you leave some room on top of a button/buttonholes so you can finish the raw edge with the bias tape without sewing onto the buttonhole! Go down to the bust height and pin on both sides so it's fitted on your bust: this won't make it look baggy anymore!

   

Once you take off the shirt, check that pins are mirrored on each side. If not, sum both sides measurements and split in two even measurements so they are perfectly the same! Using chalk, design the neckline curved shape and the new armhole. Try it on again, if you want, to be sure you like it! Cut out the exceeding fabric (don't forget seam allowances!). Cut out the sleeves (put them aside, along with the collar... you never know when you might need them!). Sew the new side seams (a 4-thread overlock stitch is perfect but you can do a straight stitch + zig-zag on seam allowances) right sides together, starting at the armhole and going down to nothing to the old side seams. You can pin this line so it will visually guide you when sewing.

 

To finish the neckline and the armholes, use some single fold bias tape (I had store-bought leftovers from my daughter's bibs). Start pinning it at the front opening, all around the neckline. 

  

Make sure the other end (the one that goes under) is not peeking out.

 

Sew in place, then press the seam open. Use a tailor's ham, if you have it, for a hassle-free steam pressing on curves (if you don't have one, let's DIY!). Tip: Don't skip this step for a professional-looking finish!

 

Turn the bias tape toward the wrong side, steam press again and pin in place, before you go to the sewing machine.

 

 While a regular presser foot will work just fine,a nice one to use is this "guide stitch foot" that has markings on the left that will help you topstitching at a consistent width from the folded edge. To decide the perfect width:

• slide the neckline under the foot on the bias tape side
• lower the foot and the needle so it goes into the fabric in the right spot
• mark the right groove to follow with a sharpie or something like that
• lift up the foot and place the neckline under it again, this time on the outside of the tank
• sew and admire!

Let's finish the armholes in the same way. The only difference is that you start with folding one end of the bias tape toward the wrong side so, when you reach that point with the other end of the bias tape no raw edges will show. Stitch, press, fold, press, pin, and topstitch, exactly as shown for the neckline. Repeat for the other armhole.

 

You are done! Here's your new flowy tank mini-dress, fitting your body as a forgiving glove, made by refashioning an old man's shirt. Look at these details: don't you like the subtle peeking of the contrasting bias tape? And how perfectly fits my shoulder bones, now?

 

Do you like how the front neckline opening came? I love it!

 

I hope this has inspired you to go and sew something from your refashion stash!

 

Refashion Month with Michelle White

Scroll down for english, please!

É impossível não gostar da Michelle. Ela é meiga, divertida, honesta e super criativa. Quando penso que não me consegue voltar a surpreender ela vem e bam, lá fico eu de queixo caído com a sua capacidade de reinventar e criar. Exemplo disso mesmo, são alguns dos looks que ela reciclou no último ano e que nos mostra hoje aqui no blog. Visitem mesmo todos os links para os mesmos, aposto que também vão ser apanhadas/os de surpresa com alguns dos materiais que ela usou. Agora, passo-lhe a palavra a ela mesma. 

It is impossible not to love Michelle. She's kind, funny, honest and so creative. When I think she cannot surprise me anymore, she comes and bam, there goes my jaw down again with her reinvent ing and creating skills. Good examples are the ones she's bringing us today, some of the looks she recycled/refashioned in the past year. Please visit all the links for each of them, I bet you too will be amazed when you find out how some of the supplies she used. I am letting her speak now. 

Hi House of Estrela Readers! I am Michelle and I blog over at Falafel and the Bee, as well as take care of things behind the scenes as one of the Virtual Assistants at Project Run and Play.

If you know me already, you will know how I absolutely love everything about refashioning and I do it as often as I can. Not only is it extremely cost effective and speaks to my frugal side, it saves existing garments (and sometimes even trash) from the landfill.

Today I am here to share a little round-up of some of the refashions I have done, since last July. Click on the link below the photo to take you to the individual posts.

Top Left: Top Right: Lower Left: Lower Right

Top Left: Top Right: Lower Left: Lower Right

Top Left: Top Right: Lower Left: Lower Left

I cannot believe how many I have done this past year! I hope you'll come over and check out some of these posts as well as explore the "Upcycle" category I have where you can find things other than garments. Thank you so much, Magda, for having me here. I look forward to this series every year.

Keep on reusing and refashioning, everyone!

Refashion Month with Elizabeth Elliot

Scroll down for english, please!

Sabem o molde M is for Motto Joggers, aquele sobre o qual estou sempre a falar? E os últimos moldes super para a frente que usei ultimamente para a G.? Bem, são todos desenhos da Liz. Adoro o seu estilo e aposto que vocês também. Esta é a sua estreia nesta série e eu estava muito curiosa para ver o que tinha feito. Aqui o temos, não está um espetáculo? Ela transformou um hoodie em macacão para criança. Têm o link mais abaixo. 

Do you know the M is for Motto Joggers pattern I am always talking about? And the coolest latest patterns I've used for my daughter lately? Well, they were all designed by Liz. I love her designs and I bet you do too. It is her first time as a guest and I was really curious to see what she'd come up for the series, and here we got it. How cool is that? She turned a hoodie into a kid's romper. Visit her here and check out her tutorial. 

Refashion Month with Stephanie Woodson

Scroll down for english, please!

Fiquei a conhecer a Stephanie há um par de anos, através desta minha série, tal como outras bloggers que adoro, e fiquei fã dela. Como é que ela consegue fazer tudo o que faz? Não sei, mas admiro. A Stephanie tem sempre coisas giras no seu blog, incluindo um desafio anual que consiste em experimentar uma nova técnica todos os meses, o qual eu comecei muito bem no início do ano mas que já falhei redondamente, entretanto. Hoje, ela tem uma reciclagem fácil e simples, perfeita para quem se está a iniciar nestas andança e com direito a passo a passo. Fica o link para a sua publicação abaixo. 

I got to know Stephanie a couple of years ago, through this series, as many other bloggers I love, and I became her fan. How can she make all she does? I don't have a clue, but I admire it. Stephanie always has the cutests things in her blog, and she also runs the year long Try Something New Every Month challenge, which I started good but failed badly to follow already. Today, she's got a simple and easy refashion for us, with a tutorial, perfect for the newbies in town. Here's where you find it. 

Refashion Month with Joelle Wacker

Scroll down for english, please!

A Joelle escreve no blog EYMM, e é a convidada de hoje. Ao contrário do que eu fui desta vez, ela é uma excelente anfitriã quando se refere a organizar pattern tours* por blogs. Hoje ela traz-nos o que eu chamo de um desafio divertido e consiste em transformar algo, que a maior parte das pessoas nunca pensaria em usar, numa nova peça maravilhosa. Leiam abaixo o que ela tem a dizer sobre o seu projecto e visitem o link abaixo. 

Joelle is today's guest. She writes over EYMM, and she is a great hostess when it comes to blog pattern tours (unlike me this time - so sorry everyone!). Today she brings what I can a fun challenge. It consists in turning something most people wouldn't even consider, into a new wonderful new garment. You should read what she has to say about it. 

Who can resist a great sale rack find? Not me, apparently even when it's boxer shorts ... especially when the 2-year-old falls in love with them and begs to take home the "superhero shorts." How could I tell him no when I know I can refashion them into something that he can wear and we'll both be happy. Me because he gets a new shirt for just $1 and him because he gets to wear his beloved Avengers! Come on over to EYMM and check out my results!

Click here for full post!

Refashion Month with Vicky Myers Creations

Scroll down for english, please!

A primeira convidada a participar da edição deste ano é a Vicky, fiquem a conhecê-la um pouco melhor ao mesmo tempo que descobrem o que ela fez, com a ajuda da sua filha, de uma saia comprida (último link abaixo). Vou-vos deixar com a apresentação, pela mão da própria. 

My first guest this year is Vicky, get to know her better if you don't yet, and check out what she did out of this maxi skirt with the help of her daughter. Here's what she had to tell us here. 

Hi, I’m Vicky from VickyMyersCreations. I blog in the main about things I’ve sewn and crafted but also like to share thrifty projects. I'm passionate about reusing items - we don't need to purchase items to be creative. Refashioning & upcycling are a big part of my life but occasionally items are hoarded! I'm grateful that Refashion July has prompted me to tackle my refashioning stash!

I was fortunate and learnt to sew at school, this was followed by three years at art college. As a mother I find sewing easy to pick up and put down around family life.

You can find me frittering time all over the Internet: Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram

Find out what I made out with this large woman's knit skirt here.

12 Days of 1h Gifts |Guest Post|

Scroll down for enlgish, please. 

A Melissa do blog Rebel & Malice, tem publicado nestes últimos dias, ideias de presentes feitos à mão que conseguimos executar numa hora ou menos. Pelo meio tem algumas bloggers convidadas a partilhar algumas também e eu tenho o prazer de ser uma delas. E cabe-me fazê-lo hoje, com um passo a passo, para os ganchos coroa de princesa, que podem encontrar aqui. Entretanto, mostro-vos outras duas que fiz, uma delas a pedido da minha princesinha. 

For the last couple of days, Melissa from Rebel & Malice, has been hosting a series of handmade gifts that can be put together in one hour or less over her blog. Between one thing and the other, she also has guest bloggers sharing their own ideas too, and I have the pleasure of being one of them. It is my turn to do so, with a tutorial on how to make this princess crown hairclip, which you can find here. While you're staying here, I am sharing two more versions of these, one of them being a request from my own little princess.  

Refashion Month with Sew Thrifty

So sorry for the late posting today, we have been having some technical problems to post this, but here it is, and quickly we  have reached the last day of the month, the last day of this year's series too. To finish this roll of great inspiration bloggers I have the perfect guest for the job, Dana, from Sew Thrifty. Just a few days ago, I had the pleasure to be part of her series on how to save while sewing and I loved that so much, because you know, that's what I am always trying to do. Check out her blog for a lot of upcycling ideas. 

***

Hello, my name is Dana, and I sew and save over at Sew Thrifty. I've just finished off a month of amazing thrifty sewing tips and refashioning is one of many routes I take to save money while sewing. Today I'm excited to share the first look at a wedding outfit I refashioned for my son!

My brother's wedding was just over 2 weeks ago and I knew for several months that I wanted to sew all the outfits for my family for the event. And, why not upcycle and use free patterns for everything too, right? Well, I was able to accomplish most of that. The pattern for my dress was free, the fabric for my daughter's dress and headband were free, and I found a dress that worked perfectly for my baby so I didn't have to sew anything for her. But today, I'm focusing on my boy. We don't get dressed up much at all, so this wedding was the perfect excuse for me to go crazy sewing something fancy for him. My son's outfit turned out to be the best use of free patterns and upcycled materials, so that's the one I wanted to showcase for you today.

   

The original shirt was my husband's favorite shirt, but the collar was coming apart and just wasn't ok for him to wear to work anymore. He hated to give it up, so I snuck it away years ago in hopes of using it for a refashion one day. And today is the day! For the vest, I thrifted a pair of dress pants. The original intent was to find a jacket, but the pattern I used didn't fit the jackets I found, so I decided on pants. And, I found these for 50% off - only $2! I tried to keep the original welted pockets, but they were slightly too big, so I had to sew my own. You can see here how the cuffs from the original shirt were used for my son's shirt. I loved that I didn't have to sew all that. And the buttons were reused as well! I did have to improvise on the collar, since I couldn't re-use that section and I was running out of fabric. Luckily I had some spare white cotton that I used to line the inside of the collar, since that section wouldn't really get seen anyway and the outside of the collar came from the back of the original shirt. 

{Do-da-doo! Here comes the bride!}

The vest came together nicely, even though I wasn't able to use any of the original pockets from the pants. I lined it with a khaki cotton someone had given me from their stash. Then I accented it with orange buttons. Yes, I went with orange. 

{ok, Mama, enough with all this wedding stuff, where's the cake?!}

The tie was made from a free pattern as well, along with scraps of fabric that was given to me. And his pants and shoes were given to me by a friend. His whole outfit came to a whopping $5, since I include the price of thread, buttons, and the clasp for the tie. Not too bad for a fancy wedding outfit. I might be able to afford to dress him up more often.

If you're interested in learning more about the rest of my thrifty wedding outfits, come on over to my blog next week. The last-minute flower girl dress has a story so great I can't wait to share it!

Thanks so much Magda for having me as a part of your amazing refashion month!

From a Box * Rebel and Malice * In a Manner of Sewing * Miss Castelinhos * Threading My Way * Fairies, Bubbles and Co. * Mabey She Made it * Conversas de Hermanas * Lulu and Celeste * Made by Sara * La Folie * Climbing the Willow * HattieLu Handmade * Swoodson Says * Knot so Normal* Friends Stitched Together * Just Another Project * Sew Thrifty