Toms Rescue

A couple weeks ago I staged an intervention for my old pair of black Toms.  My toes had worn through at least 2 places on each shoe, and I really wasn't digging that homeless look.  Luckily, I had seen a great tutorial on covering up those holes and giving the shoes a new look.

First I took needle and thread and sewed together the holes.  I figure that will reinforce those spots well enough to wear the shoes at least another summer, if not another year.  Then I covered the front with Aleene's double sided fabric tape and stuck on some funky fabric.  The tape is durable, permanent, and doesn't need to be ironed or sewn, so I was basically done.

Some fabric trimming and a couple pieces of decorative trim later, and I was done!  Look at my pretty new Toms.  I've gotten several compliments on them while out and about.  And I LOVE when people ask "Did you make those?"

Sweater Refashion

A couple weeks ago my neighbor dropped of a bag of clothes for me to look through that she is getting rid of.  There was a loose sweater poncho in one of the bags.  I liked the idea of the sweater, and items with loose, bat-wing sleeves are really popular right now...  But this sweater was just a little too big with not enough shape.

My solution was to bring in the sides and make the poncho have actual sleeves instead of just arm holes.  To do this I sewed a line of straight stitching where the new seam would be.  Then I sewed a line of zig-zag stitch next to the straight seam.  Once the zig-zag was in place I could cut the extra fabric away without unraveling anything.

 I have worn it several times already, usually with a bright colored long sleeve shirt and jeans.  This is becoming one of my new favorite sweaters!