Linen and Lace

 This outfit was a combination of an old linen vest I've had for years and a tiered skirt that I picked up in a resale shop. The reason this works is that the fabrics are worn, soft, and in complementary colors. Scraps from my lace bin finished it off. This is a bit short for me to wear "as is" so I will probably wear with linen pants.

Linen and Lace

And yes, that's a little antique crocheted handbag added for my cell phone.

Tiered skirt, before.

I keep my eyes open for these types of skirts because the layers can be cut up and are already gathered. This one I used inside out because I liked the raw edges with a bit of fraying to them to give the feeling of age.

Side View

April is almost here and I will enjoy wearing this for Spring.

Can't wait for those flea markets and auctions to start!

Morning Glories and Lilacs, Men's Shirt Refashion

Check out those Morning glories in the background

 This week I pulled another men's shirt from that "fill a bag for $5" stash that I'd scored several months ago at the local thrift store. I also had picked up a batik style beach wrap for $1.00 at a garage sale. It was in the same color family as the shirt and I liked the combo.

First I cut the sleeves and collar from the shirt.  The sleeves were sewn to the front, cuffs up, below the bust line. The beach wrap was cut to fit and sewn to the back along with a pretty embroidered piece cut from a damaged table runner.

Are these lilacs?

I used a tight zigzag to applique the embroidered piece to the shirt.

Finally hemming the bottom of the sleeves and adding some lace trim to finish off the raw edges in front.

I wore this top this weekend to an auction (one of my favorite summer activities!) and managed to spill coffee down the front. So now it's totally broken in!

Happy Sewing!  --The Elevated Bag Lady

Upcycled Farm Cart

Summertime, and the living is easy . . .

It's been a glorious summer in Southern Wisconsin and all that hard work planting the garden is paying off.

My beautiful veggies, more than I can eat! So why not fix up a little cart to give away the excess?

SW and I put our brains and talent together to turn a garage sale find into our very own farm cart. 

Combining an old lawn cart, salvaged wood, and corrugated metal (for roof), along with a little paint and some stencils, we had fun making this cart uniquely ours. A rotating turnstile of trays on the left and a box off to the right for storing bags or other items, and we're all set!

Before

Ok, back to the garden! Stay cool! See you later--Elevated Bag Lady

Upcycled Men's Shirts, and an Auction Adventure

There is almost nothing more fun than an auction in the summer. I had a blast this last weekend attending one. The weather was just perfect for a June day in Wisconsin, and I ended up bringing home boxes and boxes of books which I am having fun sorting through. I wish I had completed this men's shirt upcycle before the auction so I could wear it there,  but it's done now!

I've combined three men's shirts in the same color family, along with an old T-shirt from my own closet. I did NOT cut up all of SW's shirts for this (!) but I was lucky enough to hit the thrift shop on a day when they had "fill a bag for $5". So I loaded up on men's shirts in various sizes with colors that pleased me. It was a terrific bargain. The back of this top is made from sleeves of the shirts, something I borrowed from a post on Pinterest. The front is a layered look which includes buttons and pieces from the shirts. There is a surprising amount of fabric in a men's shirt, especially the XXL ones, so there is plenty of fabric to use in other projects if I choose.

To make the top super fun I added a shirt pocket and this vintage clothing label which I picked up along with a box of others at an antique store about ten years ago. Rescuing them from obscurity, is how I think about it (although sitting in my supply bin for ten years did not bring them out of their exile very quickly, haha).

Suzy Perette was not a real person. This is a 1950's clothing label from a manufacturer that copied Parisian designs for cocktail dresses. I do not cut labels from vintage clothing, but since someone else did, I thought I'd use it. Now if anyone asks about Suzy Perette I can tell them all about it.

Here's one of the books I got at auction.

Guess I should start reading up on this. Haha.

Stay cool out there, and try shaking things up with an upcycled fashion of your own. It's fun and easy! --The Elevated Bag Lady

Guest Refashions Dress into Sassy one-of-a-kind Top!

Happy Memorial Day to Everyone

Special thanks to those who have served and continue to serve in the Armed Forces. 

You are appreciated.

I was excited to have a visit from my sister over the weekend, and what a surprise when I saw her first refashion which was inspired, of course, by Elevated Bag Lady creations which she is subjected to every time she sees me. (haha)  My Sister has only rudimentary sewing skills, so if she can do this . . . so can you! She said I could say that.

Jode, Sister of the Elevated Bag Lady

I think this one-of-a-kind creation looks GREAT on her, don't you? She bought this first as a dress, $1.50 from a thrift store. She cut off the length on the bottom and on the sleeves and sewed lace that she had crocheted herself some time ago.

Back

Lace edging

I am totally impressed with her first clothing upcycle/refashion and can't wait to see what she does next!

Thanks Sis!

Apple Cardigan

It's a rainy day on the farm, a perfect day to make something in my closet more exciting. This thrift store white cardigan was a little boring.  On the positive side, it had flared 3/4 length sleeves and a nice cut. It cost me $1.50.

I pawed through my scraps and added ruffles from some garage sale curtains (bottom back) and an old skirt (front). Some less than perfect lace pieces dressed up the sleeves (not matching!) and the top back.

My last decision was to add the bright apple square on the back, which I picked up at a flea market--old drapery fabric. It's Spring in Wisconsin and all my apple trees are blossoming. I planted an orchard last year and am excited to see what I get this year. The apples on this sweater make me smile. 

 Back of  Sweater

Front of Sweater

Cutting off the buttons on the front allowed me to custom shape and round the edges.

Mismatched sleeves keep it fun.

Looking forward to wearing this sweater with jeans before the weather heats up. 

Country Rose Dress from Duvet Cover

What do you do with a worn out duvet,

What do you do with a worn out duvet,

What do you do with a worn out duvet early in the morning?

(sung to: What do you do with a drunken sailor)

YOU MAKE IT INTO A DRESS, OF COURSE

Country Rose Dress 

After about 15 years, my favorite duvet was finally wearing out.  The fabric had worn thin on the edges but it had a wonderful washed and worn feel to it.  I was just too much in love with it to toss it out...and just look at all that fabric! In addition to the pretty roses on the front, the back was lined with a pink plaid.  

My plan of attack was to take another jumper/dress that I really liked, and use that as a pattern.

Since I was using the pink plaid as a lining for this dress I just placed the jumper on the duvet cover, lining the seams up in the middle of the pattern (the duvet cover had two vertical seams to make it wide enough for a bed.) I put one seam in the middle of the dress front, one seam in the middle of the dress back. I did need to flip the dress over, as the pattern was slightly different (higher) in the back.

After sewing the pieces together I trimmed with old tablecloths and lace, damaged pieces that I've been collecting for years.

Favorite worn out bed duvet 

This was a before shot of the duvet cover.  Now when my mom says, "It looks like you slept in that dress", (thanks Mom, for always noticing my ironing skills) I can say, "Yes actually, I DID!"  

More good news:  I have enough leftover fabric to make a dress for my brand new granddaughter.  My project list is getting longer!

Upcycled T-Shirt Dress Top

 

 

Hello Friends! 

 

Summer is almost here so I decided to get into my scrap bag and fashion some new tops.  This old T-shirt already had this fun decoration at the neckline, but as a whole it had lost it's excitement for me.  I've been collecting men's shirts in my scrap cupboard for awhile now and pulled out a few that had the color tones I wanted.  This went together quickly on a lazy Saturday. 

 

This is an easy and fun project.  Give it a shot! 



 

 

Upcycled Denim Shoulder Bag

Have you seen all the cool upcycled denim bags on Pinterest?  So many choices, so many ideas.  With these bags in mind I quickly snapped up a ginormous pair of men's jeans on a 25 cent pile at a garage sale.  This bag is made from one of the legs.  I could probably make 4 more bags of different designs from that one pair of jeans, that's how big they were!  Thank you BIG MAN, wherever you are!!  

The strap on this bag is made from the waistband of a jeans jacket I no longer wore,  The pocket was lifted from there, also, and the strip down the right hand side is the cuff of the arm.  Just cut it off and stitch it on.  Easy.

This is the back of the bag.  The pocket is from the giant pair of jeans, and nicely holds a cell phone.  This bag should be perfect for those flea markets I like to attend all summer.  Can't wait!

If you are going to try making this bag you might want to get denim weight sewing machine needles.  Mine did not break for this entire project.  Also, I used gold thread, which I found both denim clothing items used and my stitching just blended right in with theirs.

See you at the Fleas!  --The Elevated Bag Lady

#upcycleddenim  #denimbag  #sewing  #recycling  #upcycled

Pallet Benches

AFTER

DURING

BEFORE

 

With a family reunion pending, and the inspiration of Pinterest, SW and I embarked on our first DIY furniture project. Pallet furniture seems all the rage, and why not?  Pallets are inexpensive and easy to work with. 

 

SW and I found our stack of pallets (all of them!) for $2 at an Estate sale.  Granted, they had been out in the elements for a long time, so the wood was a little rickety.  If you were planning to make pallet furniture and take apart pieces to reconstruct you would want newer pallets.  But we did not need new pallets! 

 

After carting the pallets home I printed out several photos from Pinterest to see which ones we might have the limited skill to reproduce.  This is the style that won!  We used a paint sprayer for the final paint job and we were done in time for the family reunion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting ready for the farm, Country Girl Plaids

I keep thinking of all the clothing I've gotten rid of over the years, and all the ways I could have re-worked those clothes to be more fun and interesting.  This outfit started with a tan skirt and denim vest that, in my opinion, lacked excitement.  So much so, that they had been relegated to the "give-away" pile.  But since purchasing my farm in Wisconsin I've decided I need more "country clothes" and both of these items were good candidates for a make-over.

So this outfit is a combo of:

• one boring tan skirt
• one boring denim vest
• two boring men's shirts (plaid)

The vest can also be worn with knee-knocker denims or jeans. 

Ecru Jacket Lacy Make-Over

Some day I'm going to do and say everything I want to do and say, and if people don't like it I don't care."  --Scarlett O'Hara, from Gone with the Wind

I thought of Scarlett today as I was fashioning this lacy jacket from scraps in my lace bin.  Scarlett probably wasn't the first woman to turn a trying situation into a triumph through altered couture.  Her green velvet dress made from her plantation home curtains saved the day!  Sure, Scarlett was a little sassy, too.  Sometimes it takes some spunk to take a chance and come up with something original and one of a kind. 

Today's project was taking a simple Ecru jacket that I've had in my second closet for a long time and haven't worn.  Sure, it was nice.  Too nice to throw out, but also a little boring.  So I gave it some length and laced it up! 

After: 

 Before

Don't forget the back!