Remake: Yellow Embroidered Skirt

This skirt made me do a double take when I first saw it.

I mean, look at the amazing detail!!

It fit a little big because the elastic in the waist was worn out...

...but that's not something that's going to deter me from making this work!!

I began by taking out a few stitches at the seam...

...to be able to access and remove the elastic that was inside.  For some reason I opted to just remove the stitches keeping the elastic together when it would have been easier to just cut it.  Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind!

I pulled out the old elastic...

...and grabbed some new elastic to use as a replacement!

I added a safety pin to the end of the new elastic...

...and pulled it through and around the circumference of the skirt.

Once the elastic came out the other end and was measured to fit my waist, I stitched the ends together and paired it with a few basics from my closet!

The more I spent time working on this, the more I thought that this was a pillowcase that someone repurposed into a skirt!

I went matchy-matchy with the yellow kicks...

...and brought in a navy belt and a tan vintage purse for some neutral accessorizing!

Pattern action, much??  I'm all over it!!

Hope everyone had a most wonderful weekend!  Happy Columbus Day!

Remake: Rainbow Brite Dress

So, this "Rainbow Brite" nightgown-y/dress just had to come home with me.

I had absolutely no idea what to do with it, so I took a dance break...

...and then put on my thinking cap.

I saw this piece as a challenge, which is usually why I grab anything in the first place!  Time to get cutting!

I started off cutting off a chunk of the bottom portion of the dress, just because it was going to be easier to work with the piece once a foot of fabric was removed.

I was playing around with this remnant piece and turned it into something right away which will get posted shortly!  Now that I was left with the top portion of the piece, I grabbed my rotary cutter and mat and began to plot out how this was going to take shape.

I wanted to make this a shrug of sorts that was a little longer in the back, so I folded the piece in half tacking down the center front spot as one point and center back spot as my other point.  (Basically I had the shirt folded with the shoulder in the center.)  This is going to allow for cutting both layers at once to create a matching shape.

I started cutting below the buttons, creating a round shape that went all the way to the back of the piece.

After my cuts, I unfolded the piece to see how it turned out, and then snipped a line from the center of trimmed area all the way up to the bottom of the buttoned area to open it up completely.

I didn't do any sort of hemming as this piece is a lovely varietal of polyester, so pulls, scmulls :)  With some Gap jeans, vintage boots, and a white H&M tank, my outfit was complete!!

I also created a version for when it cooled down later in the evening as well...

So, the sleeves stayed striped!!  I was definitely on the fence about removing a portion of them, but when I started to see what the piece was looking like while I was working, I thought they needed to stay.  With a bit of other colors coming into the situation, they just didn't feel too overwhelming anymore.

I love the neck and by buttoning only the top button, it really made this area pop.  The neck feels way more pronounced now!

I kept thinking how this was my much smaller version of Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!!

Oh, and one of the best parts was matching the plateware (and the pasta) at dinner.  Now I know to always wear this piece when I'm dinnering at M & T's place!

What started off as super horrendous...

...turned into something that I'm obsessed with.  I also couldn't wait to get out my sweater coat that had been holed up in my closet for the past six months!  It's so interesting to see this piece with the striped sleeves covered up because I'm sure nobody would ever think about all the crazy business underneath!

I'm totally into that crazy business :)

Happy Weekend, friends!!

Remake: Salmon Carnation Dress

The color of this dress and the amazing floral print sold me right off the bat!  It's salmon!!  I love to eat salmon, I love the book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and I love the Crayola crayon shade, salmon.  We're just in salmon heaven over here!

Sure there was some weird layering...

...and a bit too much elastic for me...

...but the potential of this piece was shining through.  I just loved how drapey the material gathered at the waist looked.  Time to get crackin!

I began by cutting off the top of the dress, starting right at the armpit!!  No more sleeves.

Post-trim, I put the dress on and measured how much I needed to take in.  I pinned the new measurements...

...and stitched it in place.

I had to tweak the top of the dress next.  I folded under the raw edging and pinned this area in place to prep for sewing.

It's new seam time!!  I ran the top of the dress under my machine and was ready to go.

Paired with a woven/elastic-y belt and some wedges, my dress was ready for a charitable afternoon at the vineyards.

An event with the amazing organization Chrysalis (they provide resources and support to low-income and homeless individuals who are in need of employment, helping them down a path to self-sufficiency) was held at Cielo Farms in Malibu and before I even walked inside, my klutzy self managed to do some damage.  Honestly, I was trying to fix the wobbly sign...

It was truly a magnificent Southern California day, as it still felt like summer outside.

We were able to taste a little bit of everything, but my favorite was their Woodstock Honey Pie varietal - a mix of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat - which was the perfect mix of smooth, sweet, and not too dry.  Totally perfect for a warm afternoon.

I always get comments about strapless dresses and how they stay up - really, all I had to do for this was take in the dress so it was tight enough in the bust, add a padded strapless bra underneath, toss some Topstick in my purse for good measure, and it fit to a tee.  (PS, Topstick is one of my FAVORITE tools...super-strength, double stick tape, that really works for everything!)  I was on the fence about adding straps, just for additional color and texture, however I decided to keep the collarbone area open.  (Add whatever kinds of straps, drawstrings, elastic, you'd like to make this style of dress work for you!)

After a few hours in the 'bu, our group headed back down PCH for a fish taco stop.  We had a bit of a wait, and because we were right on the water and had some time to kill before our table was ready, we got some fruity beverages.

When this is your view...

...you just have to go with the fruity beverages, amirite?!

I hope everyone had a most wonderful weekend!  Let's get those Monday smiles on our faces and take on this week like champions! (I'm in personal pep talk mode at the moment, so some of my "yay, team" energy is flowing right into this post.  I also saw Gravity this weekend and feel like anything is possible when you can actually feel and physically touch the ground :)) xo Marisa