Halloween Crafts: Thrifted Dress to Fluffy Fantasy Costume

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Halloween is less than a week away and I needed a costume. Time for a little thrift store magic. 

Or should I call it formal dress hacking? It's one of my favorite techniques, especially for those "I have no ideal what I was to be for Halloween" moments.

I take an old cast off dress, and with a little imagination and a bit of cutting and sewing turn it into something special. The best dresses to use are old bridesmaid and prom dresses. The pouf-ier the better, more fabric to work with and more inspiration.

So, I found this dress at Goodwill on sale for a whole $2. It has a lot going for it already.

It has a sparkly bodice made using a floral lace. It's pretty and stretchy.

I love the material for the skirt, and there's so much of it. It's ankle length on me.

It has adjustable straps with is great, because I find myself having to shorten straps on practically everything I wear regardless of occasion.

Now the interesting thing about this dress is the extra set of "straps" made from the same material as the skirt. It's hard to tell if they're meant to hang on or off the shoulders. When I tried it on they wouldn't stay up, and they looked super frumpy hanging down.

Well, I know exactly what I want to do with this dress.

First, I pinned the droopy outer strap to the adjustable one about halfway up the strap.

I handstitched it down while folding it slightly to make little pleats and sewing down faux pearls on each pleat.

I turned the dress inside out and folded the skirt lining, then pinned the hem to the waist seam. I proceeded to sew it in place using a blanket stitch to keep it stretchy.

After sewing the lining, I cut the skirt to match leaving it about an inch longer.

I thought the neckline of the dress was too low for me, so to fix this I took a small amount of the skirt material and folded it half before gathering it by hand.

Once gathered, I stitched it in place from the backside, then cut away the excess material.

Now it looks a little more modest and cuter. Just needs a little bow in the center.

And I still had a lot more skirt material left, so I took a large rectangle of it and gathered it at the top edge. I needed it to just wide enough to go around my waist.

I pinned it to some ribbon leaving enough ribbon on the ends to tie in a nice bow.

After sewing down the ribbon, I can wrap the new "overskirt" around the dress and tie it in a pretty bow.  It's great because I can remove it and use it for other costumes or outfits as I wish.

And here's the finished costume dress. Perfect to pair with some wings or ears for a cute fairy or elf costume.

The little bow on the bodice was a nice touch. If the bodice hadn't fit me as well as it did, I would have added some loops to thread ribbon for a lace up effect. Maybe an idea for my next costume.

I trimmed the edge of the overskirt in a curve as an extra touch. It's one of my favorite parts of this project, there was still plenty of scraps of material leftover after making it.

Enough to make some hair accessories.

First, I cut the leftover material in strips about 3 inches long. I also cut 2 strips from an old pair of tights.

I tied the knot in the tights to make a loop to form a "hair tie". I could have started with store bought hair elastics too. Anyway, I just needed to tie the strips of material to the hair ties as shown.

The more I tie the fluffier it looks. Perfect for a pair fancy hair scrunchies to pair with my costume. The same technique could be used to make wrist cuffs or even doll sized tutus.

And with that I am ready for Halloween, well mostly ready. I just need to get the treats ready and finish another sewing project. Look forward to it.

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Looking Back at Old Posts: My Crafting Space

While editing a recent post, I noticed the thumbnail of a much older post that really caught my eye.

It was for this post from 2012 about my New Year's resolutions.

This photo says so much.

It's a photo of my old craft and sewing space at it's absolute worse. Such chaos, but I absolutely love it.

Looking through it all, I can remember so much. For almost every item in this picture, I can remember exactly why it is there and what project it was for if any.

Examples:

The scraps of black and white striped knit fabric were leftover from the t-shirt to dress I made for my nephew's Cabbage Patch Kid doll when he was little (see T-Shirt Redo for a Doll, a Tutorial).

The porcelain doll in the up right corner wearing a blue dress was a doll I found at a thrift store. I gave it a makeover before this (see Prettied Up).

Next to the doll is a Bratz doll that also received a makeover (see Pretty in Pink).

On the desk is a purple pencil box I bought at a back to school sale from Office Max. I was using it for sewing supplies, I later switch to using if for actual pencils and erasers, and now I use it for small electronic items. That's right, I still have it over 13 years later. Those things are built to last.

The chair was given to me by a friend from church. She gave me a ride home and just happen to have it in the trunk of her car intending to drop it off at a thrift store, but offered it to me instead. The desk came from a neighbor, similar store.

Above the small white drawers, you can see a cat face. That's from cute paper book cover I got in high school for my textbooks. I kept it for years before using it to cover an aluminum can to make a pencil holder. 

Above the chair, you can see a basket covered with lace. It's a basket I save from being tossed. I decorated it with lace and used to store my lace and other trims (see Decorating and Launching).

And that's just a handful of memories.

Makes me want to go through all my old photos and posts, maybe there's a few more memories to share later.

Look forward to it.

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Another Late Post: Black Friday Thrifting

I meant to post this well over two months ago, but things tend to happen, like Christmas.  Oh well.

Epic Thrift had another bag sale on Black Friday that I just had to check out.  This makes for the third bag sale I’ve gone to of theirs (see It's in the Bag! and Bagging it on Black Friday).

Behold!  The contents of my bag.  Looks pretty good right?

Here are few of my favorite items.

On the top left is a tarnished silver tray of some sort, I’m sure it will look great cleaned up. 

The top right is a small glass box, possibly for jewelry or candy.  The other three items are another little box and a couple of tiny vases.  The blue one looks like a smaller version of one I got years ago at a yard sale.

It’s hard to go to a thrift store and not find decent dishware.  I found two different sets of plates, plain white and a set with simple blue flowers. 

I also found a bowl.  I like bowls like this.  Good size, simple and cute design, easy to wash, and microwave safe. 

And a I got this cute mug, perfect for my tea.  I prefer drinking from a mug instead of a tea cup since they hold more and are less fragile but still pretty.  At least the mugs I use are pretty.

Now for clothes.  I thought these two blouses would be perfect to go with all my the dresses and skirts I make.  The one on the right has embroidered eyelets all over it and the one on the left is covered with pretty lace and other details.

I know it’s wintery and cold out, but you have to ignore the season sometimes to get a good deal on clothes.   Especially when it comes to these two tanks tops. 

The black one will be great and super comfy for next summer but the blue is actually good now.  It has pretty lace and ruffles and it looks great worn over long sleeve tops.

Long sleeved such as these knits.  The white sweater on the left I actually have already worn with that blue top.  They are perfect together. 

The pink cardigan I am not sure about though.  It is cute and I love cable knit sweaters, but it’s made with rabbit hair.  Not sure how I feel about that.

So many cute tops and sweaters, just need a couple of cute skirts to go with them.  Both of them are black and ruffly, though the one on the left is super ruffly.

Here are some more casual looking clothes.  Just a few t-shirts, several pairs of shorts because I needed more, and a few tanks tops including some pink ones.  It’s a good idea to stock up on things like this at bag sales since they take very little space in the bag and you always seem to need more.

Now the last few pieces.  On the left is a cute night gown covered with bunnies and other little animals, also a pair of pink Mickey Mouse pajama pants.  Yay! Cute comfy sleepwear.

On the right is a Hello Kitty make up bag and a Sanrio pocket planner.  I actually didn’t know it was a planner when I found it.  I just thought it was cute and could slip easily in the side of my bag. 

On the top right is a lunch bag.  That’s right, it’s a lunch bag though it would make a cute purse.  It has polka dots and has a cupcake shaped pocket on the side.  The main reason I got it was to shove other stuff in it.  I thought that if I rolled up t-shirts and stuff really tightly and crammed them in it, then the lunch bag could help keep them squashed down and take up less space in my bag.  Makes sense right?

Some to tally it up:

• 4 pairs of shorts
• 3 t-shirts
• 2 blouses
• 3 tank tops
• 2 dressy tank tops
• 2 sweaters
• 1 pair pajama pants
• 1 night gown
• 1 mug
• 1 bowl
• 2 jewelry boxes
• 2 small vases
• 1 platter
• 2 cute bags
• 6 plates
• 7 knives
• 1 cute day planner
• 1 small blanket
• 1 sheet
• 1 framed art print

44 items total, valued at over $120 at thrift store prices, and again it only cost me $20.  Pretty good haul.

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Thrift Stores and Easy Reconstruction

The second project on my craft list isn’t exactly something that I’ve been putting off making, but something I’ve put off wearing.

Sorry about the pictures, I still haven’t figured out how to successfully photograph black colored clothes and such.  I got this vest thing at the Black Friday Bag Sale at Epic Thrift (see Bagging It on Black Friday).  Over nine months later and I still hadn’t worn it because it didn’t quite work for me as is.  Just needed a little work.

So here’s the before…

…and after.  Much better right?

First I chopped off the ruffles and the waist tie thing and then cut off a few inches.  I then carefully re-attached the tie along the new hem.  It hits me slightly below the bust which is much more flattering on me.   Then I cut two pieces from the ruffle and attached them to the arm holes to give them a slight flutter sleeve look. 

So much cuter this way and easier to wear.  I actually wore it yesterday over a black tank top with one of my plaid skirts (see Plaid and Crochet for Dummies). 

Here’s the updated list:

• Purse
• Bag
• Mini-bag
• Dress
• Vest
• Fleece

Two down, just four to go.  If things go well, I’ll have the next project up by Saturday.  I may need to make a few trips to some craft stores first, and I may show off some of the goodies either tomorrow or Friday.  Look forward to it.

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It’s In the Bag!

 

This past weekend I stopped by the last day of Epic Thrift’s Back to School Bag Sale.  I really didn’t want to miss it because of how great the last bag sale was (see Bagging It on Black Friday).  I wanted to show off share what I scored at the sale. I’m afraid the pictures were taken as soon as I got back from work that evening.  Bad lighting ahead.

I found a pair of Julius the monkey pajama pants as well as some nice pillowcases.  Perfect for bedtime, or possibly to cut up for sewing other things.  I saw a pair of Hello Kitty pajama pants too, but they were too big.  It’s hard to see at the bottom of the photo, but I also found a pair of long white gloves.  They were easy to fit in the bag and I thought they might come in handy.  I also got a white curtain that I thought was a sheet until I saw the loops for a rod.  It will still work, I can either use it for sewing or for taking pictures. 

The blue dress on the left is actually made of terry cloth, as in towels.  I thought it was really cute and comfy, plus it would be perfect after swimming.  The other blue dress I kind of took a chance on, it may or may not work for me.  That’s one of the good things about bag sales, you can squeeze in extra items you may not normally consider otherwise. 

And yes, that is a Barbie movie.  Barbie’s The Princess and The Pauper, I actually like it.  It’s really funny, especially the bloopers at the end.  Remember, all Barbie movies have bloopers you don’t want to miss.  Plus, remember to check out movies from the library for free before buying.  That way if you hate them you didn’t waste any money.

Three pink tops, can you tell I like pink?  Two of them are polo shirts, I guess there is something about a pink polo.  It just looks so cute, on men as well as women too.  Of course that a completely different topic. 

It’s hard to see the black skirt, but it’s a short A-line skirt and simple but super cute.  I’ve already worn it, it works with practically everything and is really comfortable.  Can you tell I really like this skirt?

The skirt on the right has pretty embroidery on the edge and looks like it’s hand made.  It does remind me of a white and brown skirt I got before at a bag sale.  Sad this about that one is that I haven’t worn it because it doesn’t match anything.

I also took a quick peek at housewares and found three really pretty saucers.  They have gold edging and two of them have English violets painted on them.  I sadly couldn’t find the matching tea cups.  Maybe another time.

Why in the world are black clothes so hard to photograph?  Anyway, from the left is a see through lace top, a sheer black blouse and a black vest with lace on the sides.  Basically three pieces that require me to wear another top underneath for the sake of modesty.  They are also all small things I took a chance on.

Here is a couple of basic tank tops and a really cute red violet sleeve less top.  It has lace, pin tucks and ruffles and it ties in back and on the front.  It look really pretty on me too.  I wore it the other day with the cute A-line black skirt.  Told you it works with everything.

Another black top that wouldn’t photograph well, it’s a nice button down that fits me well.  It actually has nice looking cuffs with cute buttons.  I also got a pair of embroidered napkins and a wallet that looks just like the one I currently have.  At least it has the same design for things like pockets and stuff.  It even has a built in keychain, just like my current wallet which is why I like it.  It’s really handy to have my keys attached to my wallet.

I know it’s still Summer, but I like to plan ahead so I got these pretty long sleeved tops.  They will come in handy when it finally cools down here.  I also got this short sleeved bolero, it’s perfect to use year round.

More trouble with black clothing.  The black velvety dress is so adorable, I would actually wear it now if it weren’t so warm outside.  I also found another pair of black pants for work and a special pair of jeans.  Special because they actually fit me.  I have the most trouble finding jeans that fit me.  They are either perfect everywhere but the waist, or fit the waist perfectly and are baggy everywhere else.

And the best piece.  A coat.  Yes more planning ahead for Winter.  I’ve always had trouble finding cute coats on sale, no matter what the season.  That’s another good thing about bag sales.  It doesn’t matter what the price tag says, it only matters that it fits in the bag.  Of course things fit better in the bag when you know how to roll it.  Rolled up clothing takes up much less space than folded, meaning you can fit more in the bag than usual.  That’s why I could get so much in the bag.

Speaking of which, here are the totals:

• 4 white pillow cases (1 with lace!)
• 2 floral print pillow cases
• 1 white “curtain”
• 1 pair cute pajama pants
• 1 pair long white gloves
• 3 dresses
• 2 skirts
• 3 pink short sleeve tops
• 2 long sleeve tops
• 3 black tops
• 1 vest
• 1 bolero
• 1 small piece wall art
• 1 Barbie DVD
• 2 pretty napkins
• 1 pink wallet
• 1 pair black pants
• 1 pair jeans that actually fit
• 3 sleeve-less tops
• 3 pretty saucers
• 1 cute coat

38 items total for $20 plus sales tax.  A pretty good haul.  Still can’t wait for the next sale.

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