ReFashionista

Dress to Top and Fun Life Things!

Posted on November 5, 2013 by ReFashionista

Hello! Welcome to November!

I’m happy to start this new month with some pretty big news! :) As most of you know, I don’t just get to hang out at home refashioning all day. I, like many of you, have a full-time day job. I’ve been working at the South Carolina Arts Commission for seven years as their Grants Manager. It’s been real.

But sometimes you just need a change. I’m very excited to announce I’ve accepted a position with the United Way of the Midlands! :)

I’ll be working as the Program Assistant for the Health Council and the Financial Stability Council in UWM’s community work. This will include organization of community impact work, grant management & development, and program research. I’m greatly looking forward to helping the underserved through my work with this terrific organization!

But this doesn’t mean the refashioning can stop! Heck no! I needed to make something fast for a relaxing movie night with friends. I thought this lovely black dress would work nicely.

Did I say work nicely? I meant twerk nicely! ;)

I’m about to make yet another top (don’t worry, I’ll get back to dresses again soon!). All I really needed was a big chop.

Thanks for the help, Douglas!

I could’ve taken it in, but I was in a loose & flowy mood! :) I couldn’t just leave that raw edge fraying away, so I gave it a hem.

Whirrrrrr!

I used the bottom scrap as a sash to give my new flowy top a bit of shape, and ran out the door…but I didn’t go it alone!

Every outfit pairs well with a dachshund! ;)

Bandito!

Yep, I still have my sweet little foster kid, Bandit. He’s doing great, and he really enjoyed the movie too! :) If you think you’d be a good furever (see what I did there?) home for him, you can check out his profile on Little Paws Dachshund Rescue’s website.

2013 has been an awesome year full of new things, hasn’t it? :)

Cheers!

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Posted in All | Tagged dress to top refashion, Little Paws Dachshund Rescue, Year 3 | 19 Comments

A Trace & Stitch Dress!

Posted on October 31, 2013 by ReFashionista

Happy Halloween Everyone! :) Ghouls might prowling about during their one day vacay from the netherworld, but this dress would probably scare them off! :)

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

It gets better! This one’s a two-piecer!

Double the horror!

It gets even BETTER! This dress is a bizarre combination of velvet and thermal fabric!

What the What?!?

I didn’t even want to think of what the heck I was going to do with that jacket part yet! Ugh!

Soooo…I started working on the dress.

First, I separated the velvet top from the thermal skirt. Ne’er the two shall meet again (at least not under my watch!)!

Gotta keep ‘em separated!

Then, I pulled out a dress I own that fits me really well, and a bit of chalk. Next, I traced the dress onto the skirt and drew on some sleeves as well!

Prepare your mind to be blown!

When I removed the dress, it looked like this:

Hmmmmnn…Okay!

I pinned along the chalked line…

Pin it right there on the floor! :)

Then, I cut off all that extra fabric to make my dress easier to work with! I also went ahead and cut open my sleeve holes.

Snip!

I stitched my new seams down, then stitched down that top part that was still open. I made sure to leave a nice neck hole. Since I was using the original hem, I didn’t need to worry about finishing the edge.

Hello Future Sleeve!

I did have to add a hem to the bottom of my new dress though!

A brand new hem!

And here’s what that once-scary dress looks like now!

BOO! ;)

Okay…here’s a better look!

Not too shabs!

My new dress was perfect for a tour of the French Broad Chocolate Factory!

If you can ever take this tour, you should!

I was deeply impressed with the effort the owners make to create their chocolate masterpieces ethically & organically. :) If you’re ever in the Asheville area, you should definitely swing by for a tour!

Totally hyped up on chocolate!!!

Erin is not impressed my my vogueing. :/

Erin is not impressed by my vogueing. :/

After nibbling all sorts of marvelous chocolate, I developed a headache, and needed a painkiller.

I’m not talking aspirin, folks. I’m talking theeeese:

Yes. That sugar cube is on fire!

This delightful cocktail cured all ills! ;)

Our pains are gone!

Later that night, we caught Nine Inch Nails in concert! :)

Layered up outside! :)

Don’t worry. Trent is just as angry as he ever was!

Cheers!

Posted in All | Tagged Mountain Oasis, Year 3 | 50 Comments

Midnight at the Mountain Oasis: A Dress to Top ReFashion!

Posted on October 30, 2013 by ReFashionista

Don’t you just love when you make plans months ahead for something really exciting? There’s always something to look forward to on the distant horizon! Well, Dan bought tickets for the Mountain Oasis music festival in Asheville the first day they went on sale. I loooove Asheville and I’m fond of electronic music, so I’d been eagerly awaiting the trip!

The first day of the festival finally arrived, but I didn’t have anything to wear for the chilly temps of the mountains! This is where all of you “Why don’t you make something with sleeves???” people can say, “Toldja so!”. :)

Luckily, I did have this long-sleeved number:

Wait…Did Douglas get bigger?

Wait a second! Is that Douglas down there? Nope! I’m fostering a sweet little Dachshund named Bandit! He’s a rescue from a high-kill shelter here in SC. You can read more about my adventures in first-time fostering in my MidlandsLife column. :) He’s happy and safe with me and Douglas now, and will hopefully have wonderful forever home soon! :)

Back to that dress! The color is awesome, but it’s super-dated. :/

Oh…and there were these:

Teeny Tiny Pads!

This dress is also lined, which I usually don’t like, but in this case that extra layer was going to help keep me warm.

I wasn’t in the mood for a dress, so I chopped off the bottom to make myself a new top!

OooooOOOOoooh…the haunted dress is cutting itself! OoooooOOOOoooh!

This left me with two raw edges to deal with – the outer layer and the lining. I needed to hem them separately. I started with the lining. When adding this hem, I made sure to make the rolled edge face the outside, so only the smooth part would be against my skin. I also hemmed it about 1″ more than I planned on hemming the outer layer so it wouldn’t stick out.