Changing Your Clothes

Shopping, Sewing, Upcycling, Repairing: Make the most of your clothes!

Tag Archives: tutorial


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Makeover Monday: Cardi-Wrap to Cocoon

Ever since I made my first 3D scarf for last week’s Makeover Monday, I’ve been wearing it almost every day. It’s the perfect light-yet-warm layer that goes on easily over everything. (I’m wearing it even as I type right now!) In fact, this surprisingly versatile piece has gotten so much use already that it inspired me to root through more than my scarf collection for makeover candidates. And lo! Lurking deep in a stack of seldom-worn hand-knitted sweaters, I found this:

Cardi-wrap, pre-makeover

Cardi-Wrap, pre-makeover. This is literally just a long, wide scarf with sleeves set into the rectangle.

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Makeover Monday: 2 Steps to a 3D Scarf

On this new Makeover Monday, I present my Ode to a Scarf. I wear one scarf or another almost daily, almost year-round, so I have a lot of them: silk, wool, pashmina, mohair, cashmere, cotton, rayon; striped, solid, printed, jacquard; scarves I designed and hand-knitted for myself, gift scarves, thrift-store and hand-me-down scarves, even one upcycled from a skirt into a scarf.

Out of this motley but well-loved collection, there’s one scarf I love best: my hand-knitted brushed-wool entrelac scarf, in the most luscious combination of deep, dark brown and rosy, pink-y reds.

My favorite scarf ever!

My favorite scarf ever, pre-makeover. All it needs is to be wearable.

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Makeover Monday: Painting on my Dancing Shoes (Preamble)

I know, I know, it’s Makeover Monday already again! And I do have a fantastic makeover for you, but… today is my daughter’s birthday, and the whole weekend has been one long celebration*, so I’m afraid I only have a few minutes today. I’m just going to give you a quick overview, plus a little photo preview.

The project: I have a pair of dance shoes in classic ballroom-gold satin, still in good condition, but somehow just too… ballroomy. I’ve been wanting a pair of dance shoes that are in the brown-to-bronze range; this would be a versatile color, considering my dance wardrobe. (I’m really trying to get away from all black, all the time, which in my wardrobe, only happens with dance clothes.) But considering the original cost of these shoes (and more to replace them), I thought maybe there was another way to get what I wanted. So I thought about dyeing them (yes, I’ve had dyeing on the brain for the last several Mondays!); I looked into that, and it seems that fabric paints would be more appropriate, as well as easier to DIY (DIM? Do It Myself?).

The preview: Here are my shoes, before and after a fresh coat of fabric paint!

Dance shoes, before and after!

Dance shoes, before and after. A lot more photos and project details are coming tomorrow!

That’s all for now— I’m sorry for the delay, but I promise, first thing tomorrow, I’ll fill in all the details of this project!

*It was on this day, my daughter’s birthday one year ago, that she was rushed to the hospital, extremely close to death from a sudden and complete liver failure. Today, she is not only alive, but doing amazingly well. Hence the non-stop celebrating— including lots of dancing!


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Makeover Monday: Another Spa Visit for my Jeans

Wouldn’t you know it: just when my jeans are getting used to seeing themselves in their new custom color after their first visit to the Changing Your Clothes Day Spa, today they’re back for Phase 2: a little trim! They’ve let me know they’re not ready for a drastic change, so I’ve promised not to cut more than an inch… from each side. Yes, that’s right, they’re going to go from a classic boot cut to straight legs!

The first step in this seemingly simple process is to analyze the current conditions, in order to make a plan; I’ve learned (the hard way) that having a strategy before making that first crucial snip is the key to a successful outcome.

Tip: I realized, only after my jeans’ dye job last week, that it would have been better to do the leg alterations before dyeing the jeans, because guess what? That antique-gold-colored thread used for the topstitching on the inseam and hem got dyed along with the jeans! So the topstitching thread that I bought for this specific purpose won’t match. However, since I’m planning to overdye the jeans with black, I’m hoping the difference in thread color will not be so noticeable by the time this makeover is complete.

Looking at the jeans, I notice that the inseam is topstitched, but the outseam is not.

Original seams

Original seams: the inseam is topstitched, but the outseam is not.

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Cutting a New Hem: The Tango Skirt

The Tango Skirt. I spotted it languishing on an overcrowded rack in a consignment shop. It flirted shamelessly with me on the hanger, looking all cute and mysterious, and I just knew we would be going home together. I admit, I didn’t know anything about it, really, just that it was the dark, rich brown of the best espresso, in a soft, slinky fabric that was ruched and gathered at the back in an utterly beguiling manner. I didn’t even try it on, just handed over $18.00, and dashed out, clutching it to my heart. It was a magic moment.

Alas, poor Tango Skirt! The magic died when I pulled the skirt on at home. Yes, the ruched-and-fishtailed back was nearly as flattering as it had promised on the hanger, and I loved the way it swished around the backs of my calves. But the front! The front of the skirt, so plain, cut straight and drooping sadly below my knees, was not flattering at all. It was as if I had brought home two different skirts instead of one. Brokenhearted and embarrassed, I hung The Tango Skirt in a dark corner of my closet, where it stayed, unloved, for several months.

The Tango Skirt The Tango Skirt, pre-alteration. Looking at the plain-Jane front, you’d never guess such fabulousness could be lurking in back! (The pin in the front of the skirt marks the length of the lining, something that’s important to know before you start cutting anything! (Trust me.) Continue reading →


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Pillow Talk: Adding a Fab Ruffled Trim!

All right, I know it’s a pillow, not a garment, but after this brief digression, I promise I will show you how to apply this technique to clothing items too, including ready-to-wear fabric clothes, not just knits!

It all started with this pillow, hand-knitted (by me) with Knittique’s Scraplet Skeins. (Click here to go to Knittique’s Etsy shop; the link will go straight to the color shown here. The Entrelac Pillow pattern is also available in this shop.)

Fade to Black Pillow front

The front of the Fade to Black Entrelac Pillow, looking fine, but somehow not quite all there. So to speak.

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