Degree in Refashioning
I think it’s funny that refashioning is a trend now. My mom used to do this when she was young. Why aren’t I refashioning more, when I have a degree in it?! No seriously, My undergrad degree is in costume design, some things were purchased or made, most things were refashioned. I worked in two costumes shops, it’s how we made new costumes, we’d plan, we’d shop our stock and refashion things into our ideas. However, I definitely don’t know everything, and my time and creativity have become a bit stifled. I was making everything from scratch or by using a pattern… I need to re-awake my inner refashionista (not the hardcore “let’s make the pledge”… I love the occasional sale hunting).
I stumbled across a really cute blog and decided to try her refashioned long sleeve shirt into a tank top. She even shows you how to make a cute matching headband, but I’ll leave that out since I’m not really the headband type.
I started out with a lavender fitted long-sleeve t-shirt I’ve had for many years. Due to deodorant stains on the shirt, it’s become just a PJ top buried at the back of a dresser drawer. So I decided it was time to breathe new life into my past loved shirt. I followed Jessica’s directions, except that I cut across slightly below the arm holes to get rid of the deodorant stains. The top started to stretch so much, but I decided to go with it. As I was finishing seams and sewing I knew mine was not turning out so well. The top continued to stretch and stretch (the fabric must’ve been more worn than I thought). The shirt was also a bit short to start and the bottom was up just a bit too much. It was a flop! So much for using my degree, my Profs. would be so disappointed.
My Analysis/Reflection:
If I thought about it ahead of time, I would have used the bottom (since it didn’t have that worn out stretch) of the shirt as the new top and hemmed the top to become the new bottom. Next time, I’ll definitely use a longer t-shirt. Instead of taking the time to redo this, I cut it into strips and place the in my box of rag strips for a project I have planned for the future.
Sorry it was a flop! Sometimes, though, failures lead to even more creative solutions in the future!