Tag Archives: reconstructed

Black & White Peter Pan Collar Dress

May 16, 2013

IMG_7159I have yet another finished project from my unfinished object pile to share with you. I’m sure you’re getting tired of hearing that, but you know it’s only because you’re jealous of my discipline. ;) Anyway, this is the dress that I referred to a few days ago in the post about my tie neck dress.

I started this dress during my trip to California at the end of last summer. While there, I went to the thrift store with my sister and found this argyle dress. I brought it home, not knowing what I’d do with it. I really thought the argyle part of the dress was ugly, but I liked the bottom half. So, I ended up cutting the skirt off and using it to make a new dress. Continue reading →

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A Swirl of Sunshine Dress

April 14, 2013

IMG_6392This dress has been in my UFO pile since before Thanksgiving. I pulled it out a couple of months ago and finished everything except stitching the buttons on the front. I finally added the buttons last week.

I made the bodice from a shirt that I thrifted several years ago. In the fall of last year I was really into grey and yellow, so I paired the bodice with a grey knit skirt. I lined the bodice with the same grey knit and made a collar. Continue reading →

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Reconstructed Lace Insert Shirt Tutorial

December 11, 2012

laceinserttutorialThis is the second of the three tutorials I mentioned in this post. The tutorial below explains how to make a top with lace yokes and sleeve inserts, using a large recycled turtleneck and some stretchy lace. The lace I used was in the remnant pile at Hancock, but you could probably find a lace top to recycle if you want you’re top to be made entirely from recycled materials.

It wasn’t necessary to take a picture of the shirt before because it was just a big turtleneck. So, I’ll start with an explanation of how I cut it up. Continue reading →

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Turquoise Leopake Tie-Back Dress

September 24, 2012

I finished this reconstruction project more than a month ago, but I’d still like to show it to you….

I’ve tried to imagine what this print is actually supposed to be, but it boggles my mind.

It does seem like some sort of abstract mystery animal print. Is it supposed to be a drug-induced vision of a leopard? Or maybe a psychedelic snake? Or perhaps some sort of prehistoric bug? Maybe I’m completely off-base here, and its supposed to be interpreted as cracked dirt, or sections of cooled rock floating in molten lava….

Below are the steps in the reconstruction process. You can skip to the end if you’re only interested in the final product…. Continue reading →

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Polka dots for spring

March 26, 2012

I found this vintage polka dot dress at the thrift store for $5. That’s more than I am usually willing to pay, but I tried it on at the store and I envisioned what it could be, so I decided $5 wasn’t so bad…In general, it was a bit too small. It had boning which was poking into me and sticking out in places…The boning also made the dress look a bit to snug at the waist, and the skirt was a bit tighter than what I consider comfortable at the hips. Continue reading →

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Reconstructed floral cowl dress

March 17, 2012

This dress was a project that had been in the works for almost a year. I cut the material out and planned everything months and months ago. Since I’ve been pushing myself to work through my Unfinished project pile, I decided to finish it…I made this dress using a large thrifted mock-turtleneck shirt. Unfortunately, I don’t have a before picture, but it was big and it had long sleeves and a mock-turtleneck…So I hacked away at the top to create the bodice of this dress. I just kept cutting away material until I had pieces that would give me a nice fit. Then I sewed all of the pieces together. Continue reading →

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Flowers and Polka Dots Dress

June 21, 2011

This dress is a reconstruction, sort of.

I purchased the fabric pictured below during my visit to G-Street Fabrics. Continue reading →

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Red Polka Dot Dress

June 8, 2011

I made this dress a while back, but somehow never got around to sharing it. I made it using a thrifted vintage dress, which I picked up for about $1. Continue reading →

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Summer Reverie Blouse and Shorts

March 26, 2011

I’m sorry that I neglected to post earlier this week. My husband is gone for the week, and I’ve discovered that I’m not as productive when he’s gone. I start to miss him too much, and I have difficulty staying … Continue reading →

Posted in blouse, clothing, diy, dress, fashion, Reconstructing & Thrifting, recycled, redo, repurposed, retro, sewing, shirt, thrifted, upcycled, vintage Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | |26 Comments

Japan Quake Appeal Raffle- Closed

March 17, 2011

Japan has been in my thoughts and prayers over this past week, and I wanted to help in some way, even if small. So, I’m offering a choice of either a dress and matching pouch or a giant beach bag … Continue reading →

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