Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Satisfying refashion moment


See that there outfit - the fingerless gloves and vest? They used to be a horrid men's turtleneck jumper. Some maltreatment in the washing machine, and a bit of impromptu slashing, sewing and tweaking later, and we now have a quirky little ensemble.

OK, before I go any further, I must acknowledge that this refashion was greatly inspired by the (far funkier) work of Mim, a talented and original textile artist who is part of the Olive Grove Studios retail co-op in Brunswick, VIC. Check out THIS gorgeous piece. Miriam, I do hope you're flattered by my 'MIMic'.

So anyway, back to the turtleneck. It was a thrifted top, and I'd bought it to experiment with 'fulling' and refashioning. After putting it through the wash a few times, I realised it had shrunk beyond usefulness for a person of my voluptuousness. So I hauled in my teeny, tiny friend and neighbour Sonia (I call her 'pocket Sonia') to be a part of my refashioning experiment.

Here's a short description of what went on:
Arms hacked off, taken in and converted to fingerless gloves (complete with the 'L' and 'R' scrabble tile brooches for the directionally challenged):

Body converted into a collared vest by making an off-centre cut from top to bottom. Front completed with a spare piece of felt concealing a hook-and-eye closure.


The back needed to be narrowed and shaped a fair bit, so during the ad-breaks of Masterchef on Sunday night I sewed a series of reverse darts/tucks (no idea of technical name here!) at random. I liked the asymmetrical vibe (and the lack of measuring and precision required). I just kept going, fitting to Sonia occasionally, until it narrowed enough and draped nicely. It still needed a bit of shape so another piece of spare felt was attached to cinch in the waist.



I'm really happy. It's all new territory. I'd love to be wearing it myself... but I'm happy that a good friend can enjoy it for me.

41 comments:

  1. Gina - it kicks butt! I am so in love with it. It's absolutely gorgeous!! The pleats down the back look amazing and so cool. The hook and eye closure, the scrabble piece, every thing. well done!

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  2. Ummmm... anytime you're looking for more pocket-sized recipients of refashioned masterpieces, I'll happily oblige!!

    Love ya work!

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  3. Oh my goodness! Look at those back tuck thingummies! Well done!

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  4. WOW WOW WOW.... I keep looking at it and I don't know how to put into words how AMAZING you are. Gina - this is AWESOME. WOW... I want one!

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  5. That is fabulous. So inspired and arty. I tried something like that once (or twice)... I clearly don't have your knack!

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  6. oooh that is GORGEOUS!! I love all the little details you've put into it. I especially love the reverse darts you put in there!! How cool!

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  7. Oh WOW! Gina, that is superb. The reverse darts are sublime, and the tab details look fantastic. Oh how I wish I could come up with something like that! Love it!

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  8. I LOVE it! Can't wait for fall to pull out my bag of thrifted sweaters and get started!!

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  9. Mate. Maaaaate. (got that Aussie accent going?). I, like everyone else, am beside myself with Pocket Sonia jealousy. It is GORGEOUS, especially the back. Don't you DARE stop there.

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  10. Gina, I love the things you are doing. You are so creative, this is wonderful! I haven't tried the refashioning clothing yet, but I'm definately inspired now..

    x

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  11. Refashioned clothing!
    Love it.
    The ensemble looks terrific!
    Thanks for sharing

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  12. This is great! I thought it looked good from the front, and then pocket Sonia turned around. Great pleaty darty things!

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  13. Love the 'MIMic' and yes am flattered! it is absolutely gorgeous !!!!! I want one! xx

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  14. Hi Gina, it looks wonderful. You have inspired me to get on with my refashioning projects!

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  15. gina, its amazing and the back darts are fab

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  16. Wow that is amazing! It's so much nicer to have a one-off recycled fashion piece than something just off the rack.

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  17. It's fabulous Gina! Love the back especially, you clever thing you!

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  18. I love it! Brilliant, the back is stunning!

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  19. OMG OMG this is just fabulous!! I love it you must be so proud of yourself, it's awesome it really is

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  20. Oh wow!!! You are amazing!!! This is just so fantastic - well done! Loving the gathered part at the back especially. :))) K

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  21. pocket Sonia is feeling pretty lucky...awesome work!

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  22. Gorgeous! You are so very very clever!

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  23. SO Love it all, so much detail, espesh the back! Im hanging to get some of those fingerless gloves, I want to try and convert a pair of socks.

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  24. yay! that is so fabulous. well done you. i too saw mim's fab re-fashioning work, but i would never have been brave enough to give it a try.

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  25. I, like the others before it, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! You have totally inspired me - although I'm not sure that my 'creations' will look as good as this one. I'm over to Mim's to have a look now. Can't wait to see more. x

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  26. wow that is the co0olest thing i have seen in ages, can't believe you made it nice work! I am loving the whole upcycling thing too at the moment! Thanks for being such a great supporter of my blog by the way :-)

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  27. Hi, this is awesome. What a cracking idea. I have often bought wool jumpers and felted them for other projects but this..... AWESOME, I will be heading to my local "oppy" or Savers very soon.. Thanks. Petaxo

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  28. What an awesome re-frashion! I've never been bold enough to do something like that, but you may have just inspired me (It will still take a lot more thought though! I have a wool top that's shrunk in the wash that I've been eyeing up). Wow.

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  29. far out this is just beautiful as well as completely genius! Have found you via Tania (Myrtle and Eunice) and boy, am I glad I have! Really REALLY clever and just plain excellent :)

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  30. The back. The back!! I LOVE the back. Oh and I also love the front. Wow. I'll never look at an ugly oppy jumper the same every again.

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  31. Gina, Just catching up on some blog reading.....this is amazing, very inspiring. Looking forward to your next re-fashion!

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  32. It is fabulous! I'm off to put a sweater in the hot wash right NOW! I'm also going to mention this on Wardrobe Refashion :)

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  33. This is very cute, especially the back. Great job.

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  34. WOW!!! I absolutely love it. I've got a burnt orange wool sweater to felt and now I know what I'm going to do with it. GOOD JOB!!

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  35. Great project! Inspiring work- thanks for sharing. I have a few lightweight knit sweaters I'm planning on recycling at the moment, but mostly because they have already been shrunk too small for me, so I'll have to remember this for future reference!

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  36. Love this. I'm adding it to my list to try. If only there were more hours in the day!

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  37. Better late than never... That is absolutely SENSATIONAL Gina. Very professional and stylish.

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  38. Amazing !!!! You truly are creative and a fashionista !!!!! You have inspired me !!

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“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
~Albert Einstein