Refashioning

Since I got my sew machine (yeah that is a “sewing” machine for the rest of you. My husband thinks I’m crazy for calling it that, but this weekend I heard my mom refer to her sew machine)…So, since I got my sew machine, I’ve been gearing up to attempt sewing clothes, for myself. That intimidates me. But sewing your own clothes seems like a great way to be frugal- and get the fit and style just the way you like it.

Anyway, I went to the fabric store and I was surprised that 1 yard of fabric costs as much as a store bought shirt. Hummphff. It didn’t used to be that way. I always thought my mom sewed for us because she was being thrifty. I asked my mom and she said that these days almost all fabric is made cheaper in other countries and then imported here to the states. So, prices have gone up and up. But you can still find good fabric deals though.

I don’t want to by expensive fabric just to mess it up on my first attempts at clothing construction. I’m not a pro. Its just a hobby, and not one I want to sink tons of money into all the time.

So my solution? Refashioning. There are some great blogs about refashioning, some listed to the right. Anyway, I’m inspired by other bloggers who shop at thrift stores, mend, tweak, and embellish, making wonderful things out of their super inexpensive finds.

So I looked at a few stores and didn’t find anything promising. Then I stopped in at Old Navy. Checked out their clearance, they have great clearance. But never the right sizes, either xxxlarge or xxxsmall. I figured I could take in a few things if I got them big enough. So I had tons of selections of XXL shirts perfect for some cutting and resewing projects.

And It just so happened that Old Navy was having an extra 50% off all clearance. Awesome for me, since clearance was all I was interested in.

I got 8 shirts for $13.42, Original price= $114.00.

I’ve only had time to refashion one, but I’ve got a lot of ideas for the rest.