Refashion using the Scout Tee

I have made another Grainline Studio Scout Tee, this time with a difference. This fabric had a life as a completely different garment before it came into my possession.

My very generous friend gave me a bag of clothing to go through before sending it to the goodwill. I found this tunic/dress made from a beautiful silky viscose with a lovely drape.

Original rtw garment

The armscyes were huge and not bra friendly.

The fabric felt lovely so I decided to make a top out of it. Using the Grainline Studio Scout Tee pattern as a base, I managed to refashion this tunic into a much more wearable garment.

Front and back cut on fold. I reshaped the neckline.

I eeked enough fabric from the black shoulder straps for the neck line binding, but I didn't have enough fabric for the sleeves. Luckily there was another plain black T-Shirt in the bag that provided the perfect fabric for the sleeves.

Unfortunately, there was not enough fabric to pattern match the side seams. I did make sure to centre the black spots on both the centre front and centre back.

I opted to keep the black band around the bottom of the top, as it was in the tunic. This created a neat fit at the hips, allowing the fabric to drape loosely around the body.

This has been a useful addition to my wardrobe and it feels good to breathe new life into an otherwise unwearable garment.


Happy Sewing

Kielo Wrap Dress Refashion

A few months ago you may remember that I made the Kielo Wrap Dress by Named patterns, in a winter version using a charcoal grey ponte. See blog post here. Although I was happy with the dress, I just didn't love it on me. I have a rectangular shaped figure and I felt this dress made me look like a brick. All those ties wrapping around my waist just added bulk. It has been languishing in my wardrobe taking up valuable space, so I decided to make it more wearable for me.

Kielo Wrap Dress refashioned

My refashion was very simple. I unpicked the side seams and removed the waist ties. Then I used my trusty shift dress pattern piece, to recut the side seams and hemline. (This is a frankenpattern of the Tilly and the Buttons "Coco dress" and the Style Arc "Kristen dress")

Pattern laid out to recut side seams

The neckline and armholes remain unchanged. I also left the armhole darts in place.

My new shift dress

The back darts remain unchanged.

Worn with a belt in an attempt to create some waist definition.

I must be happy with my new dress as I have worn it to work several times already. Much better than languishing unworn in the wardrobe. It's great to layer with a bright cardigan (Style Arc Nina made pre blog) and easy to dress up with a simple scarf. This is how I have worn it to work:

I really must attempt this refashion thing more often. I have some near new men's tees that could be made into something else if I put some thought into it. There is so much inspiration out there in blog land.

Happy Sewing