Today's piece comes from the lovely Lainie! Lainie sent me two batches of pictures - one set includes the project that you'll see below and the second set are pics of the Tassimo she won from the pre-holiday giveaway! I was thrilled to hear all about the goodies she received in the mail from the Tassimo itself and the batches of discs...
...to the hospitality station she set up in her entryway with her new machine! I want to come and hang at your house, Lainie! Your entryway looks like the cutest bed and breakfast :)
What a fun way to stay warm during the Pacific Northwest "Snowpocalypse 2014" as she described it!
Now onto the project...
I wanted to thank you for helping me be brave. I had this huge plaid wrap thing that was barely more than hemmed fabric and I made a hat using a pattern in a book. It was all fine and well but really, so much fabric was not used and the original item wasn't exactly re-invented. Why? Because I was chicken!! My mom brought this dress home that she picked up on clearance at Marshall's and I decided to go for it.
Even though it was hideous on, I had a very hard time cutting into something that was already, you know, "something." But I did it...
How will Lainie rework this clearance rack piece?
I started by cutting the top part off very carefully, trying to avoid the lining underneath. I was left with this...
It's amazing how ideas change along the way because once it was cut, I realized that the widest part of the fabric was at the waist! How strange that I didn't see this until now!
And I also noticed the huge slit on the side! I removed the stitches in the slit so I could sew it completely closed and was now left with top and a huge tube of fabric that was wider on the top than the bottom.
I "Marisafied" it! I turned the tube upside down and pinned it to the once bottom hem/new cut top and sewed it together.
I hemmed the bottom to the correct length and threw on a sweater I already had and ta-dah!! New outfit.
It would never have happened if I didn't overcome my fear to make the first cut. Thanks for encouraging us to be brave!
And thanks again for the Tassimo - I shall have my first cup while reading NDAD :D
Lainie, I couldn't be happier with your new outfit! I also couldn't be happier that you won the Tassimo as well. It makes me so happy to hear that you were able to overcome that very large step of cutting into a perfectly "good" piece. It's really one of the biggest hurdles to get over when you begin upcycling, but after that first snip with the scissors, it gets easier and easier as you go further along. You look gorgeous and I know this is only the beginning... xo
