2013 Refashion #1

I've shared my sewing goals for this new year with you guys, and if you recall, one of those goals was to do more refashioning. I'm hoping to get the instant gratification of a quick sewing project, without sewing something from scratch and rushing through the steps because I want it to be done already. You know? I'm always on the lookout for pieces with potential when I'm at the thrift store, and am planning to also do a bit of refashioning of pieces I've sewn but don't seem to wear.

Up first is this spotted silk blouse from Goodwill (and the 1980s) that started out looking like this:

spotted silk, long sleeved, '80s blouse (after I'd already removed a sleeve)

The armholes and baggy sleeves were huge, but the fabric was nice and it was a well-constructed blouse, with french seams and bias-faced neckline and hem. I cut the sleeves off and made the armholes smaller. I should have added some bust darts, but I couldn't quite set them up the way I wanted them to look, so I just skipped 'em. There's some bagginess above the bust now, so I might revisit that later... or just continue to style the shirt with a cardigan.

I also took the sides in a lot, and could have done a little better with the shaping on the sides. Oh well. I'd planned to add some collar/neckline embellishment with black ribbon, or maybe even buy a peter pan collar necklace, as I mentioned in my earlier post, but am going to hold off for now. Here's what the top looks like for now.

I do like the way it turned out - it has a cheerful look and it's pretty comfortable! I styled it with a black necklace and cardigan, which helped tame the brightness of that gold/mustard shade. I'm still considering buying or making some kind of collar, probably black, since that'll look nicer next to my face than more of the mustard. We'll see what I come up with...


Here's to more refashions in 2013!