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.