Last summer, before we left Abilene, I went through my friend Grace’s closet. That is, I went through several bags full of clothes she’d purged from her closet, and took what I wanted before she sent the rest to Goodwill. One of the pieces I chose was an adorable striped maxidress from Gap. I loved the cheery colors and thought it would be perfect for long walks on the beach in my new Boston life. I sort of forgot that I’m 5’4″ and have a few curves – which means the maxidress look is, well, rather unfortunate on me. So the dress has been sitting in my closet for a year.
Inspired by Marisa of New Dress a Day, and by my favorite comfy brown jersey skirt, I decided to remake the maxi into a skirt I’d actually wear. I cut off the top part (too small anyway) and the straps, then tried on the long tube of fabric and trimmed it to hit just below the knee. I don’t have a sewing machine, so I confess it was sort of a pain to hand-stitch the waistband, and I left the hem edge raw for now (it rolls naturally). Here’s the finished product:
I also didn’t want to throw away the 20″ tube of fabric I trimmed from the bottom. So I took a cue from a recent fashion trend, and looped the tube around my neck twice. Et voila! Infinity scarf/cowl!
Fall has arrived here in the Northeast, which means I may not wear the skirt much until next summer – but the cowl will be a great addition to my fall scarf collection. (Which is already huge, but hey, you can never have too many cute scarves.)
I love the satisfaction I get from projects like this – remaking something I already own into something useful and beautiful. (No wonder Marisa enjoys it so much.)
Do you remake/repurpose clothing (or other stuff) like this? I’d love to see your projects.
cakes, tea and dreams 