Refashionista: Adding a zipper embellishment to a low back dress

I'm a sucker for low back dresses. I just love them! Which is one of the reasons I reached for this comfy knit dress at the thrift store. It didn't hurt that it only cost me 1,5€ either. But, after a couple of wears it started to bother me that the shoulders kept sliding down. So, I figured I needed to figure out how to fix that, because I know I won't wear it when it's uncomfortable.
Then after considering different options, the zipper solution just came to my mind and I knew it was just what I was looking for.

 Here's the back before I altered it. I knew I didn't want to just cover it up, but add something that would add to the awesomeness of the original dress.

 Here's what I did:

First, I measured the distance across the back opening diagonally, because that's how I wanted the zippers to be placed. This gave me an idea how long my zippers needed to be.

I used two 16cm long zippers, although the measurement from the first step was 18cm. I just couldn't find a zipper in the right color in the correct length. But I worked out ok.
I placed the zippers diagonally unzipped and in a criss-cross to each other. I think the picture explains it best.

 Then I placed the ends of the zipper under the edge to the wrong side of the dress and pinned.

Finally, I sewed the zippers to the dress from the right side sewing right on top of the existing seam to make it less noticeable.

Love the outcome! It's just what I needed and the zippers add a little bit of edginess to the dress as well.

Thanks for letting me share!
xo. Hanna

Super simple dotted t-shirt DIY

Hi, guys! You can barely call this a tutorial, but since I've been on a fabric paint crush lately, I thought I'd share this t-shirt experiment with you. It's one of those I-have-10-minutes-to-make-something kind of things. It's super simple and very fast, so if you have a t-shirt you'd like to update, give it a try.

I found this t-shirt at home and wasn't too excited about it. I knew it needed a little face-lift. I did this makeover in July on a day I really needed a change from cutting out and clueing together wedding decor. But, I didn't want to spare too much precious time doing something non-wedding-related, so I thought I'd play around with my new love of fabric paint for 15 minutes. This is what I did:

All you need is some fabric paint in your color of choice and an old wine cork as a stamp for the dots. The process itself was super simple. Simply lay out your t-shirt and place a plastic bag inside, so that the paint won't run through to the backside. And, dot away! I did my dots in a completely random pattern, but you could use a ruler to mark the place of the dots with small dots first to space them evenly.

Although I wouldn't call this my favorite t-shirt, I do like it a lot more now. I'm thinking about covering the whole t-shirt in dots. What do you think? Cover it in dots, or leave as is? Let me know in the comments!

xo Hanna

Credits // Author: Hanna Saar // Photography: Hanna Saar and Rein Saar

Refashionista: Men's turtleneck into a Henley-style shirt

Today is a new day and I'm back with another men's refashion. This was actually the very first refashion I did for Rein, but it took us months to finally get some photos of it.

This refashion started with a men's turtleneck long-sleeved t-shirt I found at the locals thrift shop. I wasn't crazy about the fabric, but I loved the color and it was in an almost-new condition. Oh, and the price of the day was only 2€. Couldn't resist, now could I?

The first and most important thing to go was the turtleneck. It was hideous. I mean, I don't have anything against turtlenecks in general, but it's not Rein's thing, so it had to go. I decided on a Henley-type neckline. But, as you can see, I deterred from the definition of a Henley neckline a bit. First, the neckline isn't round, and second, the placket is not 10cm long. In fact, there is no placket, it's only the binding overlapping. I love it though, and it's way easier to construct than an actual Henley.

The t-shirt needed shortening as well, but we got the measurements a bit wrong, so finally it came out a bit too short. Oh well, I was wiser the second time around. I used the left-over fabric from the turtleneck to cut a binding for the new neckline. That's the bonus of a turtleneck. Lots of extra fabric to use.

All in all, I'm pretty content with how this refashion turned out. It has it's faults, like every "first" has, but I learned a lot and that's also a big win in my book. I think it's time to go thrifting for men's wear again...

What do you think of this refashion? 

Refashionista: Women's into men's long-sleeved t-shirt

Can you believe it's May already? It's getting hectic at school, which means it's going to get slow around the blog. But, before I bury myself into music history books, I've got some refashions and tutorials to share.

Today's refashion is one of the very few refashions I've done for men. It's not that I don't like sewing for men. I love men's fashion, sometimes even more than women's. The problem is finding the material for the refashions. As you probably all know, most men wear their clothing to rags, so thrifting refashionable men's wear in good condition is a rare occasion. Then, one day I had an idea. Why not use women's clothing as the basis for refashioned men's wear? It seemed like the perfect solution. So, I headed out to our local thrift stores, and found this XL women's long-sleeved tee, which translated into a well-fitting men's M. Yes, I do pat myself on the back for this one (lol).

As you can see, I changed quite a few things. The first things I needed to figure out was the neckline. The original neckline was way too wide for a man, so I had to make it narrower somehow. Since there was no excess fabric to work with, I opted for a deep brown jersey to compliment the original turquoise. To alter the neckline, I removed the existing neckband and cut the neckline into a round V-neck. The much wider neckband helped to make the neckline narrower and more men-appropriate.

The contrasting neckband needed some additions to create a cohesive look, so I added a small chest pocket, added some brown to the sleeve hems and also added elbow patches. Those suckers were difficult to sew on, as you can see from the photo below. Lets just say, that if you ever consider adding elbow patches to an already sewn sleeve, patience and basting are your best friends.

I'm totally smitten with the way this refashion turned out. I think Rein looks so handsome in it -turquoise is the perfect color for him. Maybe I'm a bit biased here, but I love this tee on him! I looking forward to transforming more women's wear into men's wear.

Refashionista: Knit skirt into dress

I'm very excited about today's refashion. Why? Well, I've done my share of refashions over the years, and I feel like I tend to repeat myself all too often. I mean, yes, every project is a bit different, but sometimes I just think to myself "Adding lace, again, are you? How original!" I love lace, by the way, and it certainly sneaks it's way into a lot of projects, but it's a great feeling when you think of a solution you haven't done before. And this dress is it. For months I just looked at it and my mind went blank. I thought about leaving it as is and wearing it as a strapless dress, but those just don't want to stay up if you're as flat chested as I am, and I knew I wouldn't be wearing it much.

Then, one day, as I was going through my to-refashion pile, an idea came to me. I picked up this skirt and suddenly I knew what it wanted to be!

As you can see, I drafted a top bodice for it using a delicate mesh fabric. It was rather flimsy to work with, but I love the contrast between the knit and the mesh. Since the skirt is knit in a lace pattern, the whole dress has a sort of airy feeling which I love.

Construction details: I used an old Burda pattern I'd used before as my guideline for cutting the mesh. The one construction detail you might not notice is that I cut the front lower edge of the mesh (aka the seam-line connecting with the skirt) with an inward curve. If I'd cut it straight, the seam would have sat right in the middle of my boobs (yes, I said boobs), and that's not very flattering. I wanted it to be just above the bust, just like the skirt worn as a dress would look. This alteration also creates the slight high-low effect at the hem.
I used the original waistband of the skirt to bind the neckline, and pre-made bias tape to bind the armholes.

I'm totally loving this dress. It's very comfortable to wear (I mean, it's a knit), yet it's so pretty (like wanna-go-to-a-party pretty). What do you think? Are you as psyched about this refashion as I am?

P.S. You can find the tutorial for the necklace here.

Refashionista: Blouse turned into a zippered jacket

Happy Monday, my friends! It's time to dive into another refashion. But first, I'd like you to meet my flatmate Mari Krõõt, the girl in this post's pictures. She's usually the one behind the camera, but today she's doing a little modeling. This was my first time sewing something for her, so I was a little nervous about whether it would turn out the way she likes it. It's so much harder to refashion for someone else since you don't know their style or taste as well as you know your own. And what seems like a fabulous idea to you might result in blank stares by them. So, I tried to consult with her as much as possible on this project.

This started as a cute blouse. The blouse was ok to begin with, but it didn't fit her and wasn't really her taste either. But, we both loved the color, so I knew it had potential. She didn't like any of the ruffled parts, but I convinced her to leave the sleeve heads as is, since they would need a complete reconstruction otherwise. We decided on a front zippered jacket-like look and I set to work.

As you can see, I made a lot of alterations. First, I deconstructed the front bodice, detached it from the back, and removed the hem elastic. Next, I took in the sleeves from the underarm seam, and added darts to the back bodice. Then it was on to the front bodice. I added shoulder darts to take in the extra fabric from the gathering, and to add some shape. I still had to alter the neckline - take off a couple of centimeters from the shoulders and lower it in the center. Finally, I added the zipper and re-hemmed the bodice.

This one was a lot of work, and we had to do a million fittings to get it to look good. I must say, it's still not my best work, but I think it turned out pretty great. This project taught me a lot. I'm so used to sewing for myself that making something for someone else with a different body type is really difficult. I know what looks good and work on my body, but with different proportions, these things don't apply anymore. I've already promised to sew her an evening gown this summer, so I'll get more practice then.

I think the jacket/blouse suits her, and I'm still in love with the color. I also love the new, more modern look that the zipper adds. Also, the puffy sleeves add a touch of femininity. So, it's balanced and pretty.

Refashionista: Black long evening gown

Refashionista is finally back! It's been too long since my last refashionista post. Not that I haven't made anything, but it's taken me awhile to get things photographed, and I've also been sewing from scratch more these days (those posts are coming as well).

Now, on to this beauty I made several months ago, actually. One of my goals for this school year was to add to my performance wear. I desperately needed a simple, yet dressy concert gown. I made myself a gorgeous, but super fancy concert gown last spring, but I needed something more subtle. What would be better than a classic and elegant long black evening gown.

For this dress I used two old garments from my refashion pile (pictured above). The first a simple black velvet dress that was a couple of sizes too big and an odd length. The second my Mom's old lace blouse she wasn't wearing anymore. The best thing about these two garments was that they were both stretchy, which meant no zippers and an ultra comfy dress. It's like performing in your pj's!

The velvet dress was exactly wide enough to become the skirt part of the new dress. I cut the upper part of the velvet dress off, just below the armholes and attached it to the underlining of the lace blouse.

Then I used the pattern on the lace to cut out a new uneven hem for the blouse. I attached the blouse hem to the velvet skirt with pins and sewed it on by hand adding small seed beads along the way as embellishment. I did the same cut out hem with the sleeves of the dress. I think it gives it so much more sophistication, although it's a very simple modification.

This could be the easiest evening gown ever made. It turned out exactly as I hoped and I've been getting a lot of wear out of it already. A very successful make in my book!