New Life For Old Threads: Seeing Double...Collars?

At first glance this peach button down doesn’t seem so bad…You’re not looking hard enough. First off all, I have no idea what is going on with this double collar, which has some sort of floral patterned embroidery, reminiscent of a cheap oriental design. Add shoulder pads to that and it just isn’t cutting it. But I think the ugliest thing about this shirt is actually the thing that makes it an easy fix, the double collar.

 First, I cut off the ugly and unnecessary double collar, only leaving enough to double over the edge.

Next, I doubled over the edge and pinned down

 

I then finished the pinned down edge by sewing it.

As much as I yearn to look like a line backer, the shoulder pads had to go. Snip, Snip!

It’s not a crazy difference, but that is what I liked about this project. It wasn’t difficult, but it made the shirt wearable again. I’ll find a 70 year old to give the leftover embroidered collar to… no just kidding; it should really just be burned.

 

Thrifted Peach Shirt: $2.99

Thrifted White Jeans- $1.00

Thrifted Guess Heels- $12.99

Thrifty Outfit Tuesday

  I would say that 90% of my wardrobe is thrifted, which makes me proud. So, to keep me inspired and to share my finds I’ll be posting a mostly thrifty outfit every Tuesday. Plus… its funJ

 I wore this outfit to work last week and just had to take a picture to share because I personally enjoyed it so much. Everything is thrifted except for the shoes. This color combination just makes me happy!

 

Thrifted Vintage Wool Shirt: $3.00

Thrifted vintage Mint Polka Dot Long sleeve- $1.29

Payless Nude Heels- $29.99

New Life for Old Threads- Upcycled Thrifted Find

 

 

I know… it is just so awful. But when I saw it at the Salvation Army two weeks ago, I just couldn’t put it down. I was drawn by the retro collar and bow and sold by the awesome color and print. My sister, Emily, admits she just couldn’t see the potential, but somewhere, behind all that fabric, I did.  When my husband, Andrew, saw it hanging in the bedroom, he had shear horror in his eyes, with a look that said, “Oh God, please no.” I assured him it would look better in the end.

 

… And then the work started, and I began to doubt I could fix this one.. I had to do a lot on this dress, way more than I had anticipated. The dress was meant to be pulled over the head and I hadn’t even started when I realized if I was going to bring the dress in, I would need to put a zipper in (insert horrific scream)…...ok, so maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic… I don’t know why I thought of zippers as such daunting task. The zipper was so easy to put in and I must say I was feeling quite proud. The following is what I had to do the dress:

-Inserted zipper in back

-Removed sleeves

-Brought in waist

-Darted bust

-Hemmed new armholes

-Brought the Hem up and hemmed

And….Voilà!

 

Next time I’ll be sure to take photos.