Tunic Upcycle

A beige linen was so dull and boring I dyed it a rich dark brown. But... it never did fit properly thanks to  generously endowed, um, assets. Love the color, but I'd never wear the darned thing.

Remembering the two-tone skirt made mid-April, I dug out the bottom chopped hem of the blue knit. Then I chopped, pinned, and sewed a new tunic for myself! Woo-hoo! What's so great about it is that I can wear it any season, with or without a shirt underneath.

As a show of mercy, I promise to always wear it with shorts, leggings, or sweater tights because no woman my age should wear anything that short!

Upcycled maxi to top

You know, I cannot seem to break my depression. The Abilify fattens me - so far I've gained a whopping ten pounds and I'm up to 150 from LAST WEEK. This is NOT acceptable. It's bad for my blood pressure, which goes up with weight gain (not rocket science). Time to quit Abilify because I won't be able to fit into my clothes if I keep taking it. Damn it all, the Abilify works but there is this trade-off, which just isn't worth it. Maybe with the Springtime sunshine the depression will lighten on its own. We shall see...

This was a VERY quick and easy 'upcycle'. The word works better than "refashion" because the maxi-dress was truly trailer-trash tent-like. So it classes it up a bit, chopping it at the waist and hemming the top. The bottom part I've set aside for another skirt, which I'll write about at a later date.

What I'm Wearing Today

Earlier in the month I posted about this two-colored skirt.

A windy day, I want to dye my hair red, red, & more red!!

• Granny boots: Thrifted
• "Lagenlook" skirt I made 
• Thrifted knit black top
• My daughter beaded the necklace

Making A Two-Tone Prairie Skirt

A friend known since second grade is like my sister: "Miss Jenny" lives in a huge country house in the Heldebergs and I'm just starting to recuperate from the weekend. No booze - I don't drink, never have - instead, we spent the time cooking and eating. Have you ever tried reading a book with lots of tiny print and multi-syllabic words? Never mind the book I was catching up on had one page of footnotes for every page of text: I was reading the excellent and worth-the-time book The Open Society and Its Enemies by Sir Karl Popper. Do you have a list of books you "mean to" read but never do? I finally pushed myself...
And now, on to the Two-Tone Prairie Skirt project:

What I'm Wearing Today

The $5 Macy's Clearance skirt used to be a bright powder blue with bright green palm tree design on linen... I used RIT Black & RIT Brown dyes mixed together and transformed the linen to a more subtle design. Easy!

Adding length to a short skirt

I adore this Ann Taylor cotton skirt because it fits beautifully at the waist and hips BUT it is too damned short! It is inappropriate to wear above-knee skirts with naked legs in the summer at my dignified age. Other women might be able to carry it off - and well, too. But I am no Barbara Eden or Joan Collins...

The Beast & I at play!

The Yellow Maxi-Skirt

In an earlier post, I put up photos and wrote about dying old blue jeans to yellow, using RIT Lemon Yellow.

What I'm Wearing Today

Wearing my yellow maxi with

• Thrift store white knit top
• Sanita yellow clogs with wood heels

Adding length to an above-knee skirt

• My kid's X-Small Charlotte Russe top 
• $1.00 Goodwill black above-the-knee skirt, size 10 (my size)

Easy and cute "Upcycle" for this Mom whose knees are the
National Treasure hee he

Prairie Skirt, Pt. II

Wearing my new Prairie Skirt with my floral Doc's!!

TIP:
I hand-stiteched my ribbon+fabrics through the Rear pockets,
by sticking one hand inside the pocket so
I didn't stitch all the way through it,  

Prairie Skirt, Pt. 1: "My Bad" In the Middle of the Prairie

I started taking Abilify again after ceasing the second week in. But the depression came back full force so it seemed wise to either take Abilify (which does pull me out of the Darkness), or just succumb to suicidal ideation.

Oh, Hell, one of Abilify's side effects is that it increases production of prolactin (aka the breastmilk hormone). Yes, my 40D's are larger and I got my period for the second time in a week. Good thing my OB/GYN appointment is Wednesday: Hello, checking estrogen levels! So here I am, peri-menopausal, drugged up on psychiatric meds, and scarfing down chocolates to satisfy cravings. Oy vey is right!!

On to the Prairie Skirt Process... The final photograph shows "My Bad" - where I will have to go back and re-baste the black cloths to the ribbon, and then pin the ribbon to the denim all over again. BUT at least it's easy to do, just time-consuming.

Rachel Recommends...

The supply of denim in my home seems to breed. The piles of clothes left behind by my two beautiful daughters (college-ages 19 & 22), combine with baskets of jeans my husband wore throughout the course of his adult life - a male Pack-Rat. My husband's jeans' inseams runs between 34" - 36" longs and that means lots and lots of denim fabric for me to play with! Jim is 6'5", a former basketball player for Siena College in the 1970's. We are that old... 

Here are links to two recommended refashionistas:

Yellow denim fabric for a 'Maxi-Skirt'

Oh, for a lemony yellow maxi from old, oversized ManJeans!!  The Little Giggler's "Bleaching 101: Dark Jeans to Pastel Shorts" is a well-written and detailed tutorial — I followed her guidelines and started the bleaching process on 3/29...

Photo 1. What I started with:

"At the starting gate"

Upcycled cuteness

A white cotton Gap shirt transformed to a bright lemony yellow: RIT dye, I love you.

April 2nd and it's snowing... I needed some lemony cheer!

Embarrassing and Disgraceful Refashion: Pt. III

I've been in bed with bronchitis or something like it, and my dining room needs a proper cleaning. There's no table space for the sewing machine yet. I did this skirt entirely by hand:

Front of skirt - I am so pleased!

Drats! Woke up congested and coughing...

Oh, fercryingouttears... I have a viral infection according to the doctor, so all I can do is the Matzoh Ball Soup cure. Today I am staying mostly in bed, except for my bleaching & dying project. I found well-written instructions on how to bleach and dye jeans properly, via "The Little Giggler." "Before" and "after" photos from her "Bleaching 101" Tutorial inspired me to follow her guidelines.

Embarrassing and Disgraceful REFASHION, Pt. II

Yesterday I posted photos of my crazed frenzy with scissors and old pairs of jeans. Today I pieced together a jeans skirt (photos below) using two of my 'victims'. Such rough edges with both photography and sewing/refashioning! Posting these decidedly amateurish spectacles with pride...

Embarrassing and disgraceful REFASHION, Pt. I

After last week's stint in the hospital, this week's bank account plummets. Time to break out the scissors and slice up old clothes to soothe my furtive brow... Indeed, cutting up my old jeans feels so cathartic. This evening I took photos to show you what sort of trouble I'm making for myself this week. 

I enjoy playing with scissors. (3/26/2013)