Arm Knit Fall Scarf

I made this scarf at the end of last school year, but since it was nearing summer I wasn't able to wear it too much. I saw a pin on Pinterest to this awesome arm knitting tutorial from Simply Maggie and fell in love with scarf. After watching her video tutorial a few times, the technique for it was surprisingly easy to learn and it took me just about half an hour like she said!

Close-up detail shot of the yarn from Joann's website

 I couldn't help but go off to find a very similar color of yarn at Joann's (they always have such great coupons-I never shop there without one). The color I got I believe was the Lion Brand Thick and Quick Yarn in Oatmeal which is a nice neutral color with strands of black and brown in it (it almost looks like rope from a distance as a friend once commented). The yarn is super warm and comfy to wear and I love it for cold days. I bought two skeins of yarn as suggested by the tutorial to double up on the strands and had enough yarn to make two scarves, although one I accidentally made larger than the other. 

Here's the video for the tutorial by Simply Maggie!

Inspiration Board

Image credits go to Forever 21, The Pineneedle Collective, and Trash to Couture

In short, this is simply a collection of images and screenshots taken from the internet (I do not claim any of them to be my own), primarily Forever 21's website and from the blogs Trash to Couture and The Pineneedle Collective, that have caught my attention and/or inspired me to sew or create something. In general it's just clothes that I like, would like to have, or would like to make.

I love interesting backs on shirts and dresses, cool cutouts, and refashioning. I've been wanting to make some kind of a pinafore or remake some overalls, but unfortunately I won't be having much time to do that for quite a while. I think for my summer as a whole though, I was actually able to put many of these ideas into action with all the sewing I did.

Flowery Eighties Dress Makeover

The first dress in what may or may not become a series of eighties clothes refashions is boldly patterned, loose-fitting, floral dress. I figured I'd start out pretty simple, and since I'd never wear that dress in its entirety, I went for a shirt and skirt refashioning combo.

Close ups of the dress.

The crop top was pretty simple to make. I simply cut the skirt from the bodice (no hemming necessary since the bottom edge was already finished) and took the sides in a bit for a more fitted look. I would've made it a little tighter, but since the material isn't stretchy and I didn't want to bother with adding a zipper or buttons, I kept it loose fitting.

The skirt on the other hand took a bit more effort. I wanted to keep the original pockets, so instead of cutting the side seams to make the skirt smaller, I cut down the middle instead. I also used a skirt I got from Target that I like the fit of for reference during the process.

I cut fabric from the top and bottom to get the length I wanted, hemmed the bottom edge, and used the leftover fabric to create the waistband. I went with a partial elastic waistband in the back so I wouldn't have to use as much.

DIY Fringe Tank

Here's a quick t-shirt upcycle I made the other day. This tie dyed shirt has been sitting in the back of my dresser for years (I tie dyed it in elementary school Girl Scouts), so I figured I'd turn it into something I'd wear again.

Before and After

To make the tank, I cut the sleeves off and cut a lower neckline. For the fringe, I cut the bottom into about half inch strips and tugged on them to finish them off.

Later I decided to sew the sides in for a more fitted look, although this DIY could easily be no-sew.

Final product