THE REFASHIONERS 2015
Hallo, hallo everyone. Men readers. Lock down your closets. I’m becoming a bit of a happy scissorhands these days. Yep, this awesomely fun project opened up a creative door…actually, not so much opened a door, as took a whole wall down. There’s something about working within specific parameters that not only pushes me out of my comfort zone, but gets my creative juice flowing…at least most of the time. You’d think it would be the other way around….limitless choices equals endless possibilities, yes? But for me, the wide open option usually leads to overwhelm and a not so pretty creative melt down.
The Refashioners 2015 – We Want You Too has been on my radar since mid July. The challenge? Refashion a Mens Button Down Shirt. Of course, in typical Sue form, I mentally filed the info away, knowing I had lots of time before the September 27 deadline rolled around. Fast forward, or just make your way lazily, to late-August. After several uninspired visits to fabric stores, I…only half-jokingly…declared I might as well go back to the thrill of the thrift store hunt….I just wasn’t finding the cool and colourful fabrics that my mind-movie plays. {You have a mind-movie too, right?} I didn’t have sewing fatigue…but I had a bad case of fabric frustration. Lucky for me, I had a light bulb moment…or more aptly…my duh looky dat moment. I mean, could there be a better time to begin my Refashioners 2015 Mens Button Down Shirt restyle? And sweet serendipity…it was end of season sale time at both of my local thrift stores. I snatched up not one, but three shirts for less than $8.00.
So, how did the game play out for me? Well…I began with the intention of remaking my shirts into a quilted jacket, but beyond that, I didn’t have any solid construction plans. My interest in quilting was re-ignited after a recent visit with a friend’s mother {recognizing me as a kindred spirit, she showed me some of her beautiful quilts}, and also after seeing SewManju’s recent post: A Quilted Cotton Boho Jacket. Years ago, I made a couple of machine sewn quilts, but my shirt refashion is my first attempt at quilted clothing. I started by removing the cuffs, shirt button placket, collar and collar band from the blue shirt. With those bits in hand, I began playing around with placement and silhouette. The sleeve cuffs were transformed into epaulets. The front pocket flaps are fashioned from the collar cut in half. The shirt button placket, both buttons and buttonholes, is now a design feature on the back waistline of the jacket. The light blue chambray shirt became the lining and the binding. The shirt pocket became a handy cell phone pocket…note to self, must buy cell phone. The red striped shirt was used for the large welt pockets, two narrow strips of lining, and the flange of the binding. I had to deconstruct the shirt side and sleeve seams in order to quilt the sleeves and the bottom third of the jacket fronts and back. I used inexpensive polyester batting for the quilting as I was treating this project as a bit of a test run. I have some, probably overly ambitious, plans to execute some more quilting projects this winter. And…bonus…my jacket is reversible. It’s fully finished on the inside. I used salvaged shirt buttons to back the main buttons, so I can even do it up inside out! My clothing label will show if I wear it inside-out…but hey….that might be to my advantage if I get the urge to promote my blog. You know..hey looky me, looky my blog, and all dat…
I’m really, really happy with how my finished garment looks and feels…it’s super cozy, but still light! I’m also a little giddy about how this project has opened my eyes to seeing the potential in…eep…everything. Yeah…so…a rather ginormous thank you to Portia of Makery, for masterminding The Refashioners 2015 Challenge. It’s been such great fun playing along. Here is the link to the official Refashioner Challengers. Please do check out the ingenuity of the participants.
Coming soon….a remake of a favourite pattern I originally sewed in the early 1980’s. I had hoped to sew this garment in the summer, but….well, please refer back to chapter one re: whining about not finding fabric. Fortunately, my pattern works for fall/winter wear.
Whew! Okay, I’m done now. Thanks for reading my ramble.
66 Comments
Wow!!!! That's amazing! I sew a bit but have nowhere near the level of skill it would take to pull such a cool piece off. It love how it's feminine without being overtly so thanks to the quilting touches and material. Great job!
I love it! you did a wonderful job and it looks so polished. Great talents, you.
You've farked these pieces handsomely indeed, cuffs, plackets, every piece has been reborn into a spectacular new whole. And reversible. And great for the weather now. Well, well, that seals the diagnosis: you're a genius!
It's so funny that you feel an energy rush when you have a specific challenge, but it makes sense. I must go see what everyone else did too. Love, love, love this.
Wow! Your talents amaze me. I kept looking at the 3 shirts and your finished project and find it impossible to see how on earth you managed to do it. I think there must have been some magic involved.
This had a nice Asian vibe to it. I love the details.
bisous
Suzanne
Clever girl! I've done a little refashioning but not so far away from the original. Your effort turned out really, really beautifully! Thought of you today when I was watching a daytime style show called FABlife. During a style segment (my major interest in the show) I saw Joe Zee borrow a button-down shirt from a man in the audience ( a pretty Big and Tall kind of guy.) He folded down the collar, wrapped the whole thing, back to front around pretty, tiny Crissy Teigen ( John Legand's wife), button it down “front” which was now the back of a sheath dress on her and tie the arms into a bow in the back, tucking in the cuffs. Sort of an emergency dress for a girl used to not wearing many clothes, anyway.
Your version of repurposed menswear came out SO much better!
P.S. Love your hair! When did you cut it?
This is the best mens fashion/ refashion I have seen, and reversible, no less. Gorgeous.
This is such a great jacket, that it's a refashion makes it more awesome. My refashion is almost done. Just have to finished hand sewing, and hope there's a small piece of warm sun in which to photograph it before the deadline!
Awesome, Fabulous & Cool refashion ! !
Awesome design and execution. Love your work!
Wow!! I would never have come up with that, that's brilliant 🙂 And it looks so awesome too!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh rats…lost my elaborate comment!!!
Greetje
Ok, again. Because it is you….
I said:
How on earth is this possible? Only about an hour after I sent you an email suggesting you alter men's shirts into someting feminine, I go to this post and wham: you have already done it! More over… you have improved it, taken it up a thousand notches. I love this jacket. I love how you used the cuffs and the collar. How you used the other two shirts for the lining. I love how you used the red, such fun details. I would buy this jacket immediately if it was to be in the shop. Don't know how it would suit me, but it suits YOU perfectly. (What do mean about the cell phone… You don't have one? My…my)
Now a special mention on your hair. What have you done with it? It looks so good. A curly fringe suits your face so well. Your hair looks modern and youthfull (and I mean this in the necest possible way). Please keep it like this?
Love
Greetje
Aaaaaargh! Yesssssss! That's all I have to say!!!
Oh Greetje! That is too funny! I thought your email to me was due to your having seen this post! Now, THAT is serendipity! Thanks for your compliments on my jacket…and no, NO cell phone…can you believe it?
I realized that the asymmetrical hair style wasn't totally working for me. It was actually my stylist that helped me to realize it. So, she chopped off the longer bits and gave me that curly fringe. Bangs, or a fringe, are a little iffy for curlyheads, but so far it's working out beautifully. I love the tousled look!!
Oh thank you!!! I hope you do give refashioning a go!
OH, thank you so much Jean!
Thank you Sheila! I appreciate the comment!
Thanks Kaitlyn. Squeeee…a kindred spirit that works to the deadline! I look forward to seeing your refashion too!
Aw…thank you Andrea! I admit that working with three shirts made the design process much easier. Those that have been working with a single shirt had to be pretty creative with their upcycles.
Thanks Jan! I think I'm finally *here*, at the point of short hair and loving it. Early in the summer, I went pretty short, although the cut was asymmetrical and longer on one side. That didn't really feel quite right. This most recent cut, late August is the most fun. It is a little tricky working with a curly fringe, but I've so wanted bangs for some time!
Thanks Jan. I've not seen or heard of FABlife. I'm going to do a little internet browsing and see if there is anything online available for the show. That shirt refashion demonstrated sounds really pretty cool. LOL, an emergency dress for a nearly nekkid lady.
Thanks Suzanne! Should I admit that I feel a bit of magic was involved too? Little ah ha moments constantly throughout the process. The lining was fitting a bit small, and adding the strip of red added a design feature as well as made it fit correctly!
Thanks Melanie. Yeah…I'm a genius farker!
And yup, I do benefit from parameters. Give me a blank piece of paper, every artists medium available, and complete freedom with subject matter? Nada…nothing…I freeze up completely.
Thank you Patti. You rock the menswear shirt without the need to tweak…that's tweak, not twerk.
Thank you so much Sonia! I am really excited about the quilting aspect. Let's just see if I can keep up with my mind movie, LOL.
Squeee….the lady that hath unleashed the dragon! {Me bowing with reverence} Thank you so much Portia!
Awesome work, Sue and I LOVE your hair|!!
This is really a cool idea, I love it!
This jacket is so awesome in it's own right, but then to find out you refashioned men's shirts to make it. Wow!! You are one amazing lady!
I think you should make a large label to wear on the outside of your garments that says: I made this. Isn't it awesome?? You consistently blow me away with your skills and your general adorableness!!!
Smart refashion! You did an awesome work as always 🙂 Love everything about it. xx
This might be my favorite refashion ever! I'd love for you to consider doing a more detailed tutorial. I just can't get over how cool this is, and I'm pretty sure I don't have the skills to execute it based on the instructions you've included here.
Thank you Jo-Anne! I LOVE my hair too!
Thanks Flo!
Thanks Heather. It was a fun project for sure!
LOL…I love that idea Connie! xo
Thanks so much Hana! xo
Thanks bunches Carla! I was pretty lame about taking photos as I worked on it, and I think they would help immensely for a tutorial blog post. Let me think it over though, and if I can think of a way to get some clear instructions without remaking another jacket {although that may not be such a bad idea either}, I'll certainly do it!
That's a really great refashion Sue! I love the way you can used all the different parts of the shirts, and effectively having 2 jackets in 1 makes it even better. I think yours is my favourite of the refashioners entries that I've seen so far!
Wowza!! This is so awesome Sue! I am really starting to dig the quilted clothing thing. Bravo lady! You are amazing!
Sue this is amazing! Or not really amazing in that I am not at all surprised you can do this and look awesome in this but I AM SO IMPRESSED. My secondary type 1 really wants to be gamine and you can imagine how poorly that works out. I get to enjoy some type 1 through you! Loving your hair too! xoxo
Oh my god! Overly ambitious is an understatement – you can do no wrong with needle and thread. I'm expecting you to sew a car next!
Aw…thanks so very much Ruth! I know you're no stranger to refashioning yourself. I was REALLY impressed with your shirt dress refashion. From frump to fabulous!!! Seriously! You had the vision to see your style in a dress we see a thousand times over at the thrift stores.
…and so it begins. 🙂 Maybe some quilting in your future Margo?
Thankee, thankee Shawna! My secondary type 4 often shakes her head in despair, LOL. Nice to see you're up for a visit to some of your blogs! xoxo back atcha!
LOLOLOLOLOL! Val. You. Make. Me. Laugh…OUT. LOUD.
Lovely Sue, what a great and playful transformation of a simple denim shirt into such a gorgeous jacket. It's unique!
Sabine xxx
Absolutely love this!
Oh my goodness, that's just fantabulous, Sue. Wow. I have to go back over it to see what you really did after I say something because I'm so amazed. Maybe I'll be asking how did you really do it in detail, etc. But for now I'll just glow about it.
Wow this is an amazing refashion. Reversible too?! Very creative and looks lovely.
Eu amei esta blusa ,ela é perfeita com qualquer modelito , suas fotos são maravilhosas …
http://jessicavenenoofficial.blogspot.com.br/
I could have never imagined using recycled shirts this way. You did not waste a bit and all the particular features became striking details. I love it. Now i want to make my own, too. Damn there is so little time in life.
Thank you Sabine. I think this style is similar to some of your jackets.
Thank YOU!
Thanks Pao! I'm toying with the idea of doing a tutorial if there's interest. Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos of this project so I'd have to improvise with drawings perhaps.
Thanks Manju. And thank you again for the inspiration! Your jacket really is gorgeous!
Obrigado Jessica!
OH…I so agree! So little time, so many creative projects to do! Thanks for stopping by and commenting Ozge!
You look younger and more modern with this hair style. My darling what more do you want?
A new challenge and another great result, Sue! Its reversibility makes it very versatile…beautiful buttons detail at the back!
A new hair style? Lovely! It suits you!!
A great refashion. Love the style and color too. thanks for sharing this post on how to design clothes online
Really i am impressed to see this many colorful and refashion images. Thank you for innovative work
Here is a no doubt about it that you are super talent. Where you found these creative idea…
Nice work! I'm really impressed that it's reversible–I have no idea how to even begin to construct reversible garments…
[…] Last year, the challenge was to refashion men’s shirts. You may remember my make…here. And this year? None other than jeans…and…only jeans. Denim jackets, dresses, skirts […]