No knit knit bag (upcycling)

I saw some knitted bags on etsy....they are soooooooo pretty but costly....and unfortunately, after a 2-decade hiatus, I've totally forgotten how to knit :P

So I thought....hey, I can sew right?! How about if I make use of old knit sweaters and convert them into purses?

I found a natural color cable sweater at Salvation Army for $3 and I set about to create my first ever no-knit knit bag.

The original bag design was a little more ambitious....but once I started cutting up the sweater...I was horrified to see the knit fabric "disintegrating" right in front of my eyes.

Having had no prior experience sewing knit fabrics...I soon realised that I had bitten off more than I could chew.

Anyway, to keep long story short...I learned that I need to stablise the knit fabric first before I cut. I did that by using a zigzag stitch to sew along the entire length of where I wished to cut. And I also had to prevent fraying of the knit fabric by running the zigzag stitch again around all the edges. And 'cos of the "technical difficulties" involved, I decided to keep the bag design simple...at least for my virgin attempt.

Well...TA-DA!

The fabric flower was made out of an old sheer curtain.

I have to admit that I'm a little intimidated by knit fabrics now after my virgin experience....but I have promised myself to attempt a couple more such no-knit knit bags and not admit defeat so soon....especially when I still have another 3 knitted sweaters from Salvation Army for this purpose....yikes! :P

Refashioning - The 10-minute neck warmer

My friend JA showed me some lovely neck warmers online. Call me a moutain tortoise when it comes to winter fashion but I haven't really thought of using anything else apart from a regular scarf to keep my neck warm. JA has opened my eyes to many fashionable possibilities! And I do like the idea of a wearable neck warmer instead of having to twirl the long scarf round and round my neck which could get a little uncomfortable sometimes and not to mention irritating too when the hanging ends end up in all the wrong places like in my hot soup or worse - between the elevator doors!

So today, having a little time to spare, I set out to make myself a new neck warmer - using my old $2 fleece scarf. Nothing elaborate I told myself....I want something that's easy and fast to make and pretty too! 

This tutorial is gonna be so easy and quick I promise.

Step 1 - Fold the scarf lengthwise in 2 (right side facing) and pin the 2 edges together.

Step 2 - Machine stitch the 2 edges and remove pins.

Step 3 - Stick your hand into the scarf from the opening (where the frillies are).

Step 4 - Flip the scarf to the right side.  

Step 5 - Wrap the sewn scarf around your neck and determine where to place the button and then sew the button in place.

Step 6 - Where the scarf end is supposed to meet at the button, make a knot using the frillies and remember to leave enough space for the button to get through.

Step 7 - Wear and flaunt your new neck warmer that you've completed in less than 10 minutes!

Raincoat turned document bag

I had promised RG that I'll sew him a document bag awhile ago.......and it had been long overdue! Feeling really bad about the fact that he had to remind me. about it....I spent the last couple of days trying to get it done. It took much longer than I expected due to some "technical difficulties" :P But it's finally finished.

I wanted to use a water-resistant fabric for the bag due to the very snowy/rainy weather in New England.....which I didn't have of course. So I decided to "sacrifice" my USD4 raincoat that I had bought from Sears during a sale which I hadn't been wearing 'cos it didn't have a hood.

And here's what is left of the raincoat........haha. I had used most of the fabric including the raincoat lining. The sleeves were used to make the bag straps.

Well.....here's the final product! *phew* It sure was hell trying to sew through layers of the raincoat fabric+lining. The raincoat fabric (whatever it is!!??) was slippery and tricky to handle. I also had some trouble with the bag closure. There was a lot of sewing, ripping & resewing. The reclaimed raincoat fabric had stitch holes in some parts after I had unpicked it apart.....so I used a grey suit fabric to "strategically" cover the damaged parts. I thought the grey suit fabric is a nice addition as it makes the bag look a little less casual. I had also reclaimed the raincoat pockets for use as pockets for RG to store his little stuffs like namecards, thumb drive, cellphone, lozenges etc.

It's not a huge document bag but it should be able to fit at least 3 ring binders as well as some books.

I had conveniently used the raincoat lining as the bag lining. The stitches are visible on the inside but I kind of like the "raw" feel.

Ok, now that I look at the bag again.....I realise I've made something that I'd totally carry......but not sure if it's to RG's taste too?? :P

Oh well.....too late now....I hope he likes it....or I'd have to make another one *gasp*

Refashioning idea: Old tank top to neckwarmer in less than a minute

Did I tell you that I love "quick fixes".

This project is definitely an ultra quick and easy fix.

Using an old tank top (thin jersey tshirt material)......I eyeballed a segment of the top that I wanted to keep and then took my scissors and trimmed off the top and bottom hem.

And......that's it.....yup, project completed! Told you it'd only take less than a minute.

Take the middle portion......make a double loop.........

.....put it over your head and wear it around your neck!

Not only does it accessorise your outfit.....it can also keep your neck warm.

Jacket to vest transformation

I dragged this out from the bottom of my clothes box. It's an old blazer that I used to wear for work. It's still in very good condition....just a little creased! However, I have no need for work clothes now so it's pretty redundant. I have been wanting to buy one of those edgy fitted vest to wear over my tops.......so I thought why not convert this jacket into a vest??!!

First, I took out the sleeves. I wanted a "halter" look (kind of like the pink vest in the below photo) so I cut the new armholes slanting inwards towards the collar.

Here's how it looked....after I had cut off the sleeves.

It was quite tricky to sew around the new armholes so I ironed and tacked before using the sewing machine to run a straight stitch all around.

I also decided to change the neckline into something simpler. I cut off the whole collar and resew the neckline a little lower by removing the topmost button. As it was looking a tad boring being all black.....I added pokka dotted ruffles to the pockets. I might make a ruffle flower from the same pokka dot fabric to pin on the vest later on (or that might be too cheesy?). I had to do numerous fittings for this vest as I needed to take in some fabrics at various parts of the vest to make it a better fit.

It's more wearable now after the alterations and I'll probably pair it with some bright cheery color tops! If I'm not too lazy, I might continue to work on the bottom hem of the vest to give it more "curves" as the hem is currently straight and doesn't look as flattering.

Took me several hours over the past couple of days to do the alterations. Not the easiest refashioning project but it ain't rocket science either.....just required some patience, lots of pins and good'o tacking!!! I'm quite happy with my new vest....hope to wear it soon.

Scarf reconstruction.....

I have been doing a lot of clothing reconstructions lately.....mainly because I'm sorting and clearing my wardrobe....trying to decide what to throw, what to give away and what can be salvaged by some creative reconstructions.

Realised I've got too many black scarves (well....too MANY scarves period!) in my closet. I decided to convert this kinda worn out sad looking piece into a shrug that I can wear and cover my shoulders and arms properly. Scarves tend to fall all over the place.

This is gonna be another easy refashioning that requires very little effort and braincells. First, I trimmed off the tassles.

And then just fold the scarf breadth-wise in half and sew along the edges, leaving a gap in the middle for you to "wear" it. I just held the scarf up at arm's length to roughly estimate how much to sew. The key is not to over sew....if you've sewed too little, you can always sew some more. But if you've over sewed...then you'd have to unpick which is a darn chore and might cause puncture holes in your fabric!

Depending on the width of your scarf.....you might need to trim the fabric a little before sewing so as to taper the "sleeves". But if you like wide flowing sleeves.....then just leave it the way it is. I tapered mine a little 'cos the width of the sleeve was too big. Keep trying it on to see how it fits while you are sewing.....then you can alter the measurements along the way to achieve something that fits you perfectly.

Here's how it'd look......

Good for pairing with my sleeveless tops/dresses. I'm thinking of making a light-color one to slip on whenever I'm driving to protect my arms from the UV rays.

Refashion an old cardigan in 5 minutes....

I love this old cardigan that I bought in Tokyo many years ago. It's quite long (hip length) and the lower back part is getting worn out as I always sat on it and friction had caused fabric pilling.

Reluctant to just throw it away (& too worn out to donate to a charitable organisation)....I decided to turn it into a shorter shrug by trimming off the worn out part.

I removed the buttons and kept them for a later project. The way the cardigan was originally sewn gave it a natural tubing which I used to thread a ribbon through. The pink dotted lines in the second photo below show how the ribbon was threaded.I didn't bother to hem the cut part for an unconstructed look (ok, I'm lying, I'm just too laaaaazzzy!). But because it's a stretchy t-shirt material....the ends tend to curl up which looks kinda nice too and the fabric doesn't fray....so not hemming is totally acceptable :P

So here's how the refashioned cardigan looks on me. I'm not crazy about the pink pokka dot ribbon but it's the only thing I've got at home......might swop it for a thicker black satin ribbon later.

Yeay......a new shrug for spring!

Recycling old clothes

Spring is just round the corner.....it's time for a wardrobe change.....from thick fluffy fleece to lightweight cottons.

Rather than spend $$$ on new clothes, I've decided to refashion some of our old clothings.

Here's one of RG's shirts that doesn't fit him anymore....I took my scissors and went *snip*snip*snip*

I added a cute pokka dot fabric that I had rescued from my old blouse to RG's shirt fabric.....sewed the 2 together to make into a skirt with an elastic band. It's so light & airy.....wonderful for those hot, humid spring/summer days!

I even have a "split" at the back to facilitate my chor-lor movements! :P

I have got this shirtdress in my wardrobe that I haven't worn since I bought it last year in London. I don't really like the combi-one-piece type of clothings 'cos I always look so ridiculous in them.....the reason why I bought this was 'cos it was on sale for GBP2. I mean....how can you say "no" to a piece of clothing for GBP2???!!!!! I like the nerdy look of the fabric and I had bought it with the intention to alter it into a shirt. I finally got down to doing it today.
There was a lot of seam to pick as I didn't want to just cut the shirtdress into 2 in case the shirt part ends up being too short. Every inch of fabric counts! After a good 15-20min of seam ripping, cursing and swearing....I finally separated the pieces.
So the top part....becomes a normal shirt. Suaku looking huh? I like!!! :P It's not that obvious....but I also added some gathers to the sleeves to shorten them by about 4-5inches so that the sleeve cuffs end above my elbows.
As for the lower part of the shirtdress......I haven't really thought about what to do with it. It looks like it could be another skirt.....or apron.....or scarf.....or just snip it into strips to make into ruffles or fabric flowers. We'll see.....