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I have been inspired by Needles, Hooks & Books, so I though another guest blog was in order. It was a snowy winter day in New England and all my boys were outside playing.
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| Blissful Peace Inside for Mommy! |
A couple of months ago I was out shopping trying to spruce up my wardrobe a bit. I found this shirt that I mostly liked but the fit was a little off. It was on the sale rack for $2!
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| Front = Ok |
Normally, I would have put it back but I thought of all the advice I
read here and figured, "Hey, why not give it a shot?" The worst that
would happen is that I would be out of a couple of bucks.
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| Back = Hmmm, How To Fix? |
I liked that the shirt could be worn with the sleeves down or buttoned up along the arm (shown in above pic). I decided to add some ribbons to the back to try to pull it in a bit. I poured through a rat's nest of ribbons in a craft drawer that I've scrapped and saved for such an occasion.
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| No Rats - Just Ribbons |
Let me disclose that I am not the sewing goddess that your usual host it. In fact, I am a novice at best. So, my first dilemma was where to attach the ribbons (side seam or pleat). The second choice was to rip open a bit of seam, feed the ribbon in a sew it closed (the hard way) or just place the ribbon and sew it down so it folds over (the easy way).
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| Planning With a Little Pink Tomato |
My darling husband set me up a lovely space in the basement for my sewing. I think on this particular day, it must've been about 20 degrees down there. Is it a wonder I am not too motivated to do more sewing? But I sucked it up, found some slippers and went to my dungeon. I felt a little bit like Harry Potter under the stairs.
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| No One Will Find Me Here |
At this point, I realized that I needed some help. I couldn't see where the ribbons should be placed and although I am a flexible individual, I sure couldn't manage pinning behind my back. The boys were already in from snow play and once the babies were napping, I dared ask my darling hubby for help. With absolutely no grumbling at all...ah hem...he agreed to help me.
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| Pinned & Ready for Business |
For some reason, I always end up with messy stitches. So, I broke out my owner's manual and found all the appropriate settings. The shirt was fairly thin and the ribbon was very fine. I did have to rip out my disaster once before getting the tension right, but after that, I just sewed back and forth a bunch of times, making sure to go over the edge of the ribbon a small bit on each side.
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| Don't Scoff At My Stitches, Please! |
As you can see in the above pic, the ends of the ribbon were fraying. I used the ole' burn-the-edges trick that was previously described in the Lace-up Fingerless Gloves post, and that was pretty much it. I tied a pretty bow to cinch the back and modeled it for my ever-so-helpful hubby. Truth be told, he hated the shirt. Fortunately, I liked it and think that it will look cute with a pair of gray leggings and some gray pom-pom Uggs that I have.
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| Done! |
Admittedly, the front of the shirt was a bit poufy/baggy. It almost looked like a maternity shirt. I went online to investigate the brand Lilly Lou, but it did not appear to be maternity. I read the label a little closer and I noticed that the style number was M1338. I found the "M" to be a little suspicious, but I will stand by my craft and my decision to like and wear this shirt.
While I was banished to the basement, I attacked my sewing pile: two cashmere sweaters, a tissue t-shirt (my favorite), and a turtleneck. They all had minor boo-boos and have been sitting in a heap on my closet floor for about a year. Caught up in a whirlwind of thread and needles, I made the minor repair (all holes in seams) and beefed up my wardrobe a bit more...for free!
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| Heap of "New" Clothes |
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Thanks, Crystal! I'm always happy to know that my readers are trying some of their own Fit It's. I would love to see the leggings and Ugg boots together with this shirt. I've recently bought a few pairs of leggings for weekend wear. They are so comfy.
Working Alone Tip: Usually when I am fixing an article of clothing, I have to put it on and take it off a half a dozen times until the placement is just right. I often get pricked with pins and work up a sweat doing this, but I hate having the limited factor of "no one to help me." But, if your friend/hubby/boyfriend/whatever is willing to assist, then save yourself the contortionist's act and get them pinning and snipping!
What do you have in your closet that could use a good Fix It? Go on, have fun with it!
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