How to Upcycle A Zooey Deschanel Dress

What is it about the cute vintage dresses Zooey Deschanel wears on and off screen that makes everyone go gaga? 

Zooey’s dresses are pretty, but they’re made for modern life.  How to re-create this look without spending a fortune?  Starting at your local thrift store or vintage shop, it’s possible to upcycle a completely one of a kind dress a la Zooey.   

Here are a few tips to start with.

 

 

1.  The Pretty Factor.  Zooey’s look is feminine without being overtly sexy.  Look for second hand dresses with retro-style details like gathered or pleated skirts, peter pan collars, small florals or other subtle patterns, lace, pintucks, etc.  In general, these are dresses that hug the body only at the waist.     

2.   Quality and Condition.  Be sure everything’s in good condition.  You don’t want to get home and find the zipper is broken or the armpits are stained!   

If you buy from a vintage clothes shop online, the seller should describe the item’s condition in detail.  Don’t buy from a seller who only says “good condition.”  You need all the facts.   

Some problems are relatively easy to fix if you want to take the time.  For tips on getting stains and smells out of second-hand clothes, look here.  And here’s a tutorial on replacing a button. 

3.  Making it Modern!  Looking at the examples of Zooey’s dresses above, they all have this in common:  They hit above the knee—farther above than most dresses were worn in the past. 

Now, a lot of thrift-store dresses aren’t short.  Those from the 1980s and 1990s hit about mid-calf (which, incidentally, is generally very unflattering).  But lots of these dresses are still great candidates for upcycling a la Zooey because of other details.

Sometimes all you need to create a cute modern vintage look is to shorten a dress above the knee.   You can get a seamstress at the dry cleaners to do it—generally about $15. Or you can do it yourself.  I recommend this tutorial.

The second change you might make to a thrifted dress is to take out those big ol’ shoulder pads.  These are usually very easy to remove; but if you’re nervous, here’s an article with instructions.

Unless the pads are reeeeally huge, taking them out won’t change the way the dress hangs.

Here are a few dresses in my my online vintage shop that have gotten the complete Zooey-fying treatment.  At less than $40 each, they’re still a bargain for a cute, well-made dress that’s one of a kind. 

 

Peter Pan collar dress, size 6, $35. 

Indie Secretary Dress, M-L, $30. 

Yellow Floral Dress, M, $38. 

love,

sallymandy

Technorati Tags: vintage clothes,cute vintage clothes,vintage dresses,zooey deschanel style,upcycling,thrifted clothes

DIY Cardigan from Crewneck Sweater!

    
Do you love the idea of DIY projects but are afraid to start?  Here’s a super-fast, no-sew project for the nervous refashionista.  We’ll create a customized cardi from a second hand pullover, incorporating flattering design elements. 

If you’re in need of the tools for the craft I have some promotional codes for Target here. 

Materials

• felted crewneck or collared pullover sweater
• sharp scissors
• pins
• measuring tape   
• Kilt pin, available at fabric stores

The sweater must be tightly “fulled” (also called felted) so the cut edges won’t ravel.  If your sweater isn’t felted, here’s how to do it. 
Start with a wool sweater that’s at least two sizes too big.   
One-hundred percent wool is best, but blends with at least 80-90% wool are also good.  Pure cashmere does not felt well.  Pure merino can shrink up to 50%.  A lovely blend is merino/cashmere/angora 60/20/20. 

Machine-wash sweater in hot water/cold rinse.  Check halfway through for size and felting.  The fabric is felted enough when a tiny scissors-cut on a hidden seam leaves an edge that doesn’t ravel—scratch with your fingernail to test.  If the fabric isn’t felted enough, wash it again or dry it on high.  (This process is inexact, and you may end up with a sweater that’s too small.  If so, think “hotpads” or “dog bed.”) 

Also, if you’re going to be felting very many sweaters, get a filter for the end of your washing machine hose to capture lint.
Dry the sweater flat.  When it’s dry, put it on a person or lay flat on a large surface.  Midge the Mannequin is standing in for me.

 Step 1: Cut Front

My sweater has a clear central pattern to follow, but you can also find the center with a measuring tape:  measure across the front, underarm to underarm, and mark the center with a pin.  Do the same on the bottom hem. 

Following your central pattern (as I did), or using your pins as guides, carefully cut straight up the middle front.  If your cut edges are ragged, you can neaten them up later.  

The sweater will now look like this (put a cami on, Midge!): 
 
Step 2: Cut Neckline

This step makes the finished piece look neater.  If you’re using a collared sweater, this step will remove the collar. 

Trim away neckband, staying close to the seam that attaches the neckband to the sweater.  If you want a wider neck opening, trim away more, being careful to be even all the way around.

Here’s the finished neckline:

You could also cut a wide v-neck, like this: 

 Step 3: Cut Hemline

This process is similar to shaping the neckline.  You’re going to remove any banding or ribbing at the bottom, and shorten the sweater if you want.  You can even take off several inches and make this into a cropped look. 

Just make sure you cut evenly all around.  Either carefully freehand it as I did, or use your measuring tape and pins to measure up 1”, 2”, 3” or whatever amount you’d like to remove.  I recommend shortening a little at first and increasing it as you go, trying on the sweater after each increment.   

Design note:  Hems that end three inches above or below the widest point of the hips are generally the most flattering. 

Next, trim the corners of the front opening to make a rounded edge.  You can freehand this, or cut around a teacup or other small circular item.

I removed the hem binding, and about 1” more all around. 

Step 4: Trim Cuffs

I like sleeves that are the same length as, or shorter than, the sweater’s hem.  I took off about an inch of the cuffs here. 

Removing the cuffs also makes the entire design consistent, since now all the ribbing has been removed from the sweater. 

Design note:  Three-quarter length sleeves are flattering because they elongate the line of the arm.
 
Step 5: Get Closure!

I love that the easiest way to close this sweater is also the most versatile.  Using an oversized safety pin called a kilt pin, you can close the sweater at the neck, bust, under-bust, or lower, depending on what you’re wearing under it.  You can find kilt pins at fabric stores.  Walmart has some very inexpensive ones. 

This way of pinning is my favorite:   

Design note:  by nipping under the bust, you can create emphasis where the torso is slimmest on many women.  This would also be cute belted. 

Enjoy…!

sallymandy……….

Technorati Tags: target coupons,frugaldad

photos by B.Behan, all rights reserved.  If you like cute vintage clothes and altered vintage clothing, please check out my collection at Chronologie Vintage

Technorati Tags: DIY,craft tutorials,felted sweater,DIY clothes,refashion,Chronologie Vintage

. 
Thanks to Imogen at Inside Out Style for sharing many of these design elements.

Recycled Tee Shirt Skirt, Custom Made for a Blue Kimono Reader!

I made this skirt for one of my lovely Canadian readers.  It’s a custom knee skirt made from my original design.  Thank you, dear bloggie friend!

I used pieces from nine or ten different cotton knit garments for this original design.  The waistband is made from a pair of Tommy Hilfiger sweat pants. 

Everything is post-consumer, recycled material that I’ve cleaned to within an inch of its life and put together carefully on my thirty-year-old sewing machine. 

 

I made another skirt very much like this—same colors and styling—for a second customer who liked it and ordered on it her size. 

My online shop is here:  www.bluekimonostudio.etsy.com

Happy Week! 

sallymandy

 

The Finished Refashion from Sunday

Needlework is so therapeutic.  I put some swirly embroidery around the edges and cuffs of the sweater I refashioned earlier this week.  It was more for my benefit than for the sweater’s.  But I think the sweater’s better, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, Midge gets to stop being a hussy and wear a few more clothes.   

It turns out that the sweater’s made of acrylic, not wool as I originally thought.  I normally don’t buy synthetics.  Still, as the sweater doesn’t fit me, I like how it turned out well enough to put it up for sale in my Etsy shop.  

I’m driving over the Rocky Mountains into Idaho tomorrow for a weekend-long, middle-school soccer tournament.  May not be posting for a few days, as I’ll probably play dead for a while upon returning. 

Have a lovely weekend! 

sallymandy

photos by B. Behan.  All rights reserved.