You may remember the jeans wall hanging I made of our cat Max earlier this year. I really had fun making it so I was keen on trying it again. And when saw this drawing of a blue titmouse, made by Dutch artist Katja Dupont, I could imagine it being transformed in jeans. 

Katja makes beautiful drawings of animals with a fineliner, so if you like the blue titmouse, you should definitely take a look at her website Ijzerhart.net. 

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great summer! (And if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, summer is coming:)). This time I'm sharing 2 quick fixes. The neckline of one of my older tops was rather low and a bit overstretched. It looks a bit sloppy and at a certain age, too much cleavage is overrated:). But I'm also not a big fan of high necklines, which is the issue of the second top. I definitely need more air in that area. So I'm tackling 2 tops, with different neckline issues.

If you have been following my posts, you may have noticed that I love quick fixes. I've had sewing lessons for years and years, but it doesn't seem to have changed my approach (limited effort, optimal effect). And yes, I've had the occasional frowns from the teachers. So maybe this post is for the like-minded creatives among you:).

To tackle the issue with the low stretched neckline, I stitched along the lower half of the neckline with elastic thread on the bobbin.

No, not this one. I found this kitschy sewing machine on a vide grenier at the Opal coast in France this summer. You probably love it or hate it:)?

No whirrrrrs...

As you can see on the 'after' photos, the new neckline on the left is a bit smaller, due to the elastic. And on the right you can see the created v-neck on the purple shirt. Both jobs took me less than an hour and it was worth the effort!

If you're interested in more details (Dutch and English) and/or a small recap of my cycling holiday in France, you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com!

The weather has been really good here for weeks now. It's only may but it's like summer started early this year. But with the weather in the Netherlands you just never know, it may very wel rain throughout june and july. However the past sunny days inspired me for a (early) summer refashion: an asymetric top. I promise it's an easy one, if you're thinking of trying it yourself, it wil take you around 2 hours!

So here it goes...

Choose a t-shirt with enough stretch in the neckline elastic, because the first step is to pull the neckline over the shoulder, under the armpit. Then pin all the way down until from the neckline. Try to pin a straight line en let it blend fluently into the side seam. If you don't have a dress form you can place a few pins while wearing the shirt and finish pinning after you've taken it off (well, you cán try pinning it all if you want, but ouch....:))

You need a small open space in or under the necklline elastic to pull the scarf through. You can cut a hole if you want a easy solution, but I chose to open the seam between the neckline elastic and the shirt en made an 'eye' opening. To decide the exact spot, I recommend wearing the shirt and then pin where the bra comes out. 

A few weeks ago I found these dark grey jeans in the clothing loop I'm part of. It was a great fit, but unfortunately the fabric was torn near the pockets. On both sides actually, would you believe that? 

I started with fortifying the tears

I used interfacing to fortify the fabric around the tears and made some zigzag stitches on the outside. Then I unstitched 2 pocket flaps from an old pair of jeans. I thought it would be nice to also add a flap on the back pocket. 

Sparkling front and back pockets

Last, but not least, I went on a weekend trip to Metz (France) last week and found the perfect jumper to combine the jeans with!  I visited a small friperie (second hand store) in the city centre (love the word 'friperie') and found this colourful jumper. And look and the brand name, Sucre Neige, so cute! 

What's the common English translation, powdered sugar, icing sugar?

🎄Happy holidays to you all!🎄

And if you're interested in more details, you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com! 

Hi everyone, we've had some pretty hot days here this summer! And I remembered from last year the elastic at the bottom of these pants deprived my legs of any breath of fresh air. So, in preparation of our vacation in France, I decided to cut off the elastic and pimp the legs with a dip dye! 

We had our own Tour the France this year: we traveled from Normandy through the Loire valley to the Ardèche and then back home (the Netherlands) again. My mother in law used to live in the Ardèche but we hadn't been there since we sold the house after she died 5 years ago. We were eager to visit the area again and maybe see the changes the new owner had done to the house. Unfortunately, on the day we left for the Ardèche, we had car trouble somewhere near Tours and were therefore obliged to stay for a few extra more days. Just when the temperature there was getting over 35 degrees.... phew... (I hereby want to thank the friendly owners of the bar at the Leclerc Hypermarché in Loches where I spent hours reading and cooling down, it was heavenly!). 

To be honest, even my new airy dip died pants didn't help me then... but I've worn my new pants with great pleasure in Normandy and the Ardèche!

Now, let's stop talking and show you some photographs of the proces...

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I totally forgot to make pictures of my new pants on vacation (pants by the sea, pants on top of the hill etc.). But... I visited some vide-greniers (yard sale?) and I'm sharing some of my found treasures on my blog. So if you're interested in embroidery and lace cloths... you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com! 

Hi everyone! A few months ago I visited a nice second hand store and fell for the dark blue, almost purple, colour of the print. I didn't like the length though. It gave me 'housekeeping' vibes and, in combination with the print, reminded me of the blouses and aprons housewives wore in the 60s and 70s to keep their clothes clean. But since I liked the colour, I decided to buy it to turn it into something more modern and more 'me'. 

When I started this refashion the thought of a blouse jacked immediately came to me. It would be fun to wear and layers are always practical in summer, especially when you easily get cold or warm, like me. 

The blouse came with an extra perk: it had pockets! And fortunately, I could keep the pockets (yay) and still cut of enough of the length. 

Oops....

As you can see, the new fastening with tunnel and cord made it impossible for the button band to close how it was supposed to! It felt like such a beginner's mistake! Well, I definitely had to fix that...

I cut just before the button band, folded back the edges with some glue and gave it a few stitches, just to be sure. Then I folded back the end of the button band and stitched. It was the easy way out, I admit, but it worked:).

Interested in more details or want to find out why I felt the need to mention Trinny (What not to wear) Woodall in my blog:)? You're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com, as always! 

On 20 april I posted a review about 5 refashion/upcycling books (hope you enjoyed it!) and promised to give away one of the books: Fashion Hacks. 

And the winner is.... 

And the winner is: Nancy! Congratulations Nancy, Fashion Hacks is coming your way! Let me know in the comments how to contact you.

If you want to you can read back the book review I posted here on 20 april. Or if you're interested in a gentle rating on the books and more details, you're welcome to visit my blog vermaakster.blogspot.com!

Due to a shoulder impingement my sewing activities are at low level at the moment. The impingement causes loss of shoulder motion and discomfort in my left arm, not a great combination with sewing. The upside of it all however, was that I time to browse my refashion/upcycle books, I've collected quite a few over the years. These days, you can find lots of ideas online of course, but if you're like me and love browsing books, feeling the paper etc. well, please read on.

1. DIY Fashionista - Geneva Vanderzeil

This was actually one of my first purchases on refashion/upcycling and I was pleasantly surprised by the original projects, varying from upcycling clothes to making fun accessories. The idea: make your own unique fashion items for the perfect wardrobe without a the need of a great bank balance.

Even though some projects seem to assume a slender figure (tight fitted mini skirts, sexy tops etc.) most of them are inspiring nevertheless: a feather-hem skirt, a Jackson Pollock-style splatter clutch and fringed anklets. I personally draw the line at heels and headbands with spikes:). 

2. The Refashion Handbook - Beth Huntington

You can still find Beth, aka The Renegade Seamtress, and her book on her blog by the same name. She is self-taught and doesn't 'profess to know all the correct methods of sewing...' Her projects reflect exactly that, 'straightforward fashion' as she calls it, and they may not be mindblowing, but do-able and often practical.

The book starts with some basic techniques (making darts, a french seam, installing a zipper) and then continues with 19 transformation projects with instructions and photos. The bow sleeve shirt and the the embroidered back of a denim jacket are my personal favorites.

Not long after I'd purchased this cardigan (fell in love with the color, but that wasn't enough...) I knew it wasn't the garment I would enjoy for years to come. It didn't suit me after all, it made me look a bit older, and that's never a good sign. I felt it deserved a rejuvenation, which I hope succeeded by shorten the length and adding details in jeans. 

I started with cutting off the sleeves and the bottom ribbing (or border? just spent 10 minutes trying to find the correct English word, so correct me if I'm wrong:)). 

Sorry, you have to go, you're making it too old....

Then I covered some really ugly buttons with jeans fabric to replace the fussy pearly buttons. 

In the end I still wasn't quite satisfied with the jeans band at the bottom. So I opened the seams and pulled some elastic through the tunnel for some extra gathering. 

I really liked how the buttons turned out!

I had fun with this upcycle, but to be honest, I have been having difficulties lately to find inspiration for new ideas to show you. I've finished at least 63 projects in the last couple of years (you can find some of them here and all projects can be found on my blog), and I had fun with all of them, but sometimes I feel I'm repeating myself. Don't get me wrong, I will never stop refasioning or upcycling my clothes, I'm just not sure if I have new ideas to inspire you guys with. 

So what do you think?
So, I have a question for you, dear co-refashionista's: are there ideas or projects you would like to share yourself on this blog? Or are there any ideas you would like to see worked out on Refashion Co-op? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments (also if you agree I'm repeating myself:)). If you're interested in contributing yourself and shake things up a bit with us, please contact refashionsbychickiewu@gmail.com.  

If you're interested in more details, (or the other 62 projects:)), feel free to visit my blog vermaakster.blogspot.com!