Topsy Turvey Tunic

I've had this skirt in my stash for a while now.  I love the colour, but the style of the skirt wasn't that interesting.

The back of the skirt had a split in it... and some holes.  I did some mending on these as this split is going to become the back neckline of my new tunic/dress.

After the repairs were complete, I cut along the side seams of the skirt (about a hand length) to create arm holes.  Then I pinned and sewed the back hem to the front hem of the skirt to create the neckline.  I also hemmed up the arm holes - sorry I didn't take enough photos of the steps here, but hopefully it will make sense at the end.

The final step of this refashion was to chop off the elastic waist band, and hem the cut edge as this is to become the hem of my new dress.   And this was this skirt to dress refashion is complete.

I really like this dress worn loose like this, its great for hot days.

It can also be worn with the old waist band used as a belt.

The skirts back split creates a nice low back detail for the dress.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this dress.  I like how it can be dressed up or down, and I think if the weather ever starts to cool down it will layer nicely with winter items.

Dress: $0, hand-me-down.  Accessories: vintage scarf once belonged to my mum, my trusty Pirates Dreaming spoon necklace, and against the advice of my Physio I am back into my Duckfeet sandals.  

Maxi Dress to Jumpsuit

I had this idea a while ago to make a jumpsuit (or romper if you prefer) out of a maxi dress.  I had no idea if this would work, or even if I could pull off wearing one of these kooky items.  But one thing I love about refashioning unwanted clothes is that you can have a bit of fun with it, and if it doesn't pan out its no big deal.

After keeping an eye out for a suitable maxi dress for about the past month or so, I came across this.  It was an XL, so I figured it would give me enough fabric to create the 70's wide leg look I envisaged.

The first thing I did was cut out the majority of the lining, for no other reason than it was an unbearably hot polyester material.

I wanted the bodice to fit better, so I pinned each side like this and sewed new side seams.

Then I measured the width of the 'skirt' to find the centre point, and then cut up the middle like this.  After cutting, I sewed the new inner leg seam and this refashion was complete.  

This was actually a pretty straight forward project, however I'm not so sure I like the way this jumpsuit sits.  If I decide its not for me I'll just chop off the top of the 'jumpsuit' and create a really comfy pair of pyjama pants.

Sorry I'm a bit low on the number of after photos on this one, I wasn't really in the mood for photos that day.

Jumpsuit/Romper: $4 thrifted maxi dress, Belt: Thrifted - $2, Jewelery: personal collection

Easy Peasy Kids Jumpsuit

I picked up this floral number for my younger daughter for $1.50 in the kids section of my local opshop.  

A strapless jumpsuit which I'm guessing was really intended for teens. 

It came with a sash for around the waist, which was to become the straps.

I decided this would be a halter neck, so I folded the sash in half to find the centre of it and then pinned it front and centre on the jumpsuit.

Then sewed it in place.  

I left the sash long as I liked the way it looked tied up at the back.

This really does seem a bit too easy to be classed as a 'refashion'... but what can I say, sometimes they are super easy.

Oh how I wish I could pull off wearing a jumpsuit the way my daughter does - this is a hint at my next post... womens jumpsuit urggggg....