Julia's NDAD Creation

It's a little San Fran weekend with readers from Northern California getting DIY love!  Yesterday we saw Linda's skirts that she tweaked after bringing them to my book signing at RGB Shop + Gallery and today we're seeing Julia in the dress she upcycled to wear to the event!  There was a little sneak peek yesterday...

...and today you get the full rundown!

I found this Krist Gudnason housecoat/muumuu at a local thrift store for $6.  Pretty sure it's from the '70s - what a great print!  It fit great but I didn't like the neckline and the length was weird.

It had these cool decorative frog closures at the neck and at the top of the side slit.

Let's see how Julia tweaks this puppy into something super fabulous!

I started by removing the frogs and cutting off the mandarin collar.

I first cut a V neck but that looked wrong, so I used chalk to mark a scoop neckline that suited me better. 

I used some black bias tape I had in my stash to finish the neckline.

I shortened the length and even had a misadventure with a puckering hem-stitch, so I decided to just leave the hem as a raw edge.

I created 6" slits on both sides of the skirt and positioned the frogs at the top of each slit.  Yay!  Finished dress ready to go meet Marisa!

(How fab does Julia look???)

We had fun at our little signing party enjoying citrus sips by Strip And Go Bare...

...and amazing art on RGB's fabulously striped walls.

The lovely Faithy who owns RGB was so gracious to host our little party and do a fun little intro before I jumped into the DIY project!

We had fun consulting...

...going over ensemble ideas...

...and checking out the book.

I even had fun taking some solo shots before everyone arrived!

I'm setting up a few more events over the next few months, so stay tuned!!  Julia, thank you SO much for sharing your gorgeous dress with us.  If I lived in SF, I'd be borrowing this from you often!

Linda's NDAD Creations

Today's pieces come in from my new friend Linda in San Francisco.  See, Linda came to my book signing at RGB Shop + Gallery in December with a few pieces she wanted some advice on.  Well, she took that advice and made some fab new pieces.  Here's her story...

I have been following your blog for over a year now. I especially love the fantastic redos the NDAD family has created!  My daughter, Joelle, and I were fortunate to have met you at the RGB Shop in San Francisco in early December.  You encouraged me to do my own pieces and here's what I came up with.  I love treasure hunting at the thrift stores and found these two maxi skirts.  One had beautiful colors with a chevron design and the other was a classic gray tweed.

My intention was to make pillows out of them, but...

Will Linda still make pillows out of these guys??

 I tried them on at home and they fit (well, one did) and the best part was that they were both lined,  about $3...

...and made of good quality fabric!  I thought to myself, so why not wear them!  I decided to shorten both as per your suggestion - I used another skirt as a guide and was able to stretch out the waistband on the smaller one to make it fit.

Voila! 

I am also sending you two pictures from the SF event. I really love the restyle of the Mandarin collared dress that lovely lady did...

I give credit to Joelle for taking these photos.  Thank you so very much for your wonderfully inspiring blog!  And it was so nice to have met you! 

Lots of Love, Linda  P.S. I plan to make boot stands with the excess material from the skirts.

Thank you SO much for sharing Linda.  The length changes everything and you styled both skirts SO well!!  I love that you're still going to work with the excess material left over.  Boot stands are going to be a perfect way to repurpose!

Sidenote, that lovely dress that Linda pointed out crafted by Julia will be featured tomorrow with more photos from the SF signing!

My Mother's Attic: February

So My Mother's Attic usually runs the last Friday of the month, however with February being short and fickle, it's technically falling on March 1st.  However, fear not...this just means there will be two this month.  Enjoy this Valentine's amazingness from Ash!

Much like last month's post, I was very much inspired by the monthly holiday for my remake. This muumuu-esque red sweatshirt dress was a cozy piece my mother rocked in the early 80s.

Given its roomy girth, it was the perfect post-partum wardrobe item - and apparently was very on trend for its time. My mother relayed that she used to pair it with leggings and a baby stroller (I was born in '83 - and now as a mom myself, I totally see the appeal of an ensemble like this. Oversized + forgiving = A new mama's dream). But there were some holes in the hem, the collar was absurdly large...

...and I found that it was just too dang wide (even for my taste). But I loved that it was sweatshirt material (ideal for these freezing Vermont winters!) and the red was perfect for Valentine's Day.

My youngest insisted in helping with the before photos.

 I started by removing the collar and resewing the hem of the neckline.

I then pinned the dress at a smaller width (which conveniently removed the holey hem). I sewed the new side seams, and opted to wear the dress in reverse (with the buttons down the back).

To add an extra touch of holiday-flair, I followed this tutorial with a little white wool roving (to match the white buttons)...

...and a heart cookie cutter.

I finished the piece and wore it just in time for Valentine's Day!

I paired it with some opaque black tights, black boots and my favorite belt.

I was warm, festive and far more current than I would have been had I kept the floppy collar. I HEART this dress!

I HEART this dress too, Ash!!  Can't wait for next month!

To keep up with Ash online, find her over at Blog a la Cart and here on Twitter, Instagram, & FB!