Think left and think right and think low and think high.

Oh! The thinks you can think up if only you try!

-Dr. Seuss

Welcome to Week One of Refashion Runway!

I promise you will not be disappointed. I even squealed a few times when I saw what these talented ladies had created.

Please remember to vote for your favorite at the bottom of this post. Voting will be open until Friday, June 14. Your public votes and the competitor’s score of each other will be combined to determine a winner. We will announce the winner of this week’s challenge next Saturday. Also, the two refashions with the lowest scores will be “going home”, but we won’t send them home without some great prizes, I promise! Remember, this is a “Friendly Sewing Competition”. 🙂

So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy the show!

Let’s start by going all the way across the pond and see what Sally from Charity Shop Chic has been up to.

Before…

…..and after:

“I bought this skirt because I absolutely loved the colour. Unfortunately, it was far

too short! Just 35 cm from waistband to hem, which on me was practically indecent!

Adding stripes in contrasting cotton sateen was more complex than it looked, given

the zip and pockets, but has extended the length to 50 cm. My new skirt is finally

wearable with its chic thick stripes!”-Sally

And now here’s Miche from Buttons and Birdcages and her interpretation of the stripes challenge.

Before…

…and after:

“I have been itching to refashion a men’s dress shirt for awhile, when I saw

this weeks challenge was stripes I knew it was time to try it out. As a

huge fan of pattern mixing, I originally went for a striped shirt and a

plaid shirt for this project, but I decided to stick with the theme and go

for two stripes shirts. This outfit is actually two pieces, a shirt, and an

a-line skirt. I used extra fabric from the arm of one of the shirts to make

a headband. Fitting everything correctly was difficult but this was also

one of the most fun projects I’ve worked on yet!” -Miche

Check out Zhenya’s striped refashion.

Before…

…and after:

Katrina from Offsquare was a busy seamstress this week:

Before…

…and after:

“I added width to the striped top by chopping off the hem and sewing it into the side seams. A much nicer fit. The pockets on the skirt are actually the armholes and sleeves from the shirt. I sewed the sleeves shut at the ends and tucked them back inside the skirt.”- Katrina

Here’s Jen from Diary of a MadMama.

Before…

…and after:

“So while I was peddling my wares during the garage sale I had last weekend,

I noticed a lot of the female customers were sporting cute maxi dresses (It

was hot and humid on Saturday).

I thought to myself, “I’d sure like to have a maxi dress right about now.”

Instead, I was sweatin’ my patootie off in jeans and a t-shirt.

Then all of a sudden the light bulb went off!

I decided to make a maxi dress from some of the t-shirts and tank-tops that

weren’t selling, and by incorporating strips cut from each of these shirts,

I’d be creating the stripes that would fit the theme!

I’m very happy with how it turned out! It’s THE most comfortable thing I’ve

ever made. I’m thinking about looking back through my garage for more

t-shirts in different colors/patterns to make a bunch more!”- Jen

Here’s Barbara from Zibergirl Sews.

Before…

…and after:

“I had one sleepless night coming up with all sorts of ideas for something

striped made from something else. I decided to make my own stripes, so next

I had to find something to use to do the stripes. My first idea was mustard

because it stains, right? Well, I tried it and it dried to a very dull,

unexciting color. I did some research and discovered the awesome qualities

of turmeric. There are tons of how-to’s on the internet and so after

learning about it, I started my refashion…… Read how I did it back on

my blog.”- Barbara

Now take a look at how Mary from Thrifty Chic interpreted the challenge:

Before…

…and after:

“Ready to take this dress out on the town. My students are my best critics.

I got a lot of ooohs! an aahs! over the frayed edge.”

“I like to take advantage of as much of the original details as possible.

This back placket was original to the t-shirt.”-Mary

And finally, take a look at how Elizabeth, from The Hungry Octopus refashioned her stripes:

Before…

…and after:

“When I heard that this week’s challenge was stripes, I knew just which dress I was

pulling out of my “ugly” stash. It was a pink and white striped seersucker sack of a

dress with an awkward zipper and lovely lattice detail around the neck.

To refashion this little beauty, I removed the front zipper, cut the dress in half,

used the giant pockets for the band around the waist, and reattached the top and

bottom of the dress.

Once the dress was mostly together, I added cap sleeves, a zipper, and a little

gather/tuck at the top of the bust to make it fit a little better.

For more about how I made the dress, check out my post at Refashion Co-op –

http://refashionco-op.blogspot.com/2013/06/think-pink-stripes.html .”-Elizabeth

Well, there you have it.

I told you you wouldn’t be disappointed! So much talent in this group of beautiful women!

So now it’s your turn. Please use the poll below and click to vote for your favorite. (I’ve left it secret so everyone will be surprised next Saturday.)

The winner of Week One will be announced next Saturday, June 15.

The competitors will be scoring each other on five areas: following the challenge, originality, craftsmanship, design, and presentation.

The challenge for Week Two: Denim

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