70's denim to cowgirl outfit

Luckily I hit the thrift stores when I have extra cash because  I was told one evening that my niece needed something cowgirlish for the next day. Don't you just love that? Luckily I had picked up some denim dresses and skirts that were so seventies. This one had short puff sleeves with some lovely embroidery and a straight A-line skirt.

Very easy to deconstruct first I snipped out the sleeves then carefully cut straight across about 10 inches below the armpit. The split the top up the middle along one of the pintucks.

To clean up the armholes by taking out the top stitching and cutting the remains close to the seam. A quick hem to the front and the vest was done.

For the skirt I took the length off the bottom so I could use the bottom hem  as a waist casing.

After I cut it off I then cut it again 1/2 inch from the seam then added it to the top of the skirt cutting off the excess. A quick hem on the bottom and a very nice denim skirt.

Not bad for a 1 hour remake.

Sheets to the rescue

Well thank goodness Halloween is over and I only had to do one costume with notice and one last minute costume. I love sheets they come in so handy for one time use items or one season items.
I had a light gold sheet that turned a lovely shade of brown with a quick bath in dye and my brother-in-law picked up a a black queen sized flat sheet for 6.99.

You can see a simple drawing that I used for measurements. Luckily they were both capes with hoods one for a Jedi and one for a ghoul. Luckily I had several days to figure out the jedi since I was up late doing the ghoul the night before. Anyway back to the drawing. I measured down from the neck to the floor. then from center neck to wrist, from top of shoulder to two inches below armpit. and with the arms down a measurement around the body loosely.

 I folded the sheet in 1/2 length wise and then again so it would fit on my  cutting board I rolled up the material along with the measuring tape to make it easier to handle. One thing to remember with this is that nothing has to be exact. Honestly even if I was working with richer materials I still would not worry about the measurement this is a very forgiving pattern.

 Now it gets tricky I refolded one side back around so that I could cut the openings for the arms without spreading it out. (Which you could do.) so on one side you have two folds on the other side you have one fold in between two sheet ends.

I measured down 12 1/2 (to include seam allowance) from the top and cut along the fold.

Now remember we are working with a queen size sheet a size that will fit anyone from a slight teenager to an adult. Lay it out flat and find the center of the back and start folding and pinning. Remember with I measured around my ghoul I take that numer and divided in half. that is the general size I need for the front and back. once the back is that size I sew the folds.

The front is the same way only start the same distance from the sleeve end that the back had and fold until the front is a 1/4 of the size. remember both front pieces will equal half.

Next to cut was the sleeve. I needed the measurement from the center of the back to wrist. so whatever is left after removing the back in this case 15" by 25"

Open up the armhole and finding the middle of the 25" inch start to pin in place then sew.

With both sleeves in close up the top and begin to sew in from the end of the sleeve. I measured appr. 7" from the beginning of the sleeve up the shoulder to stop. This is adjustable so don't worry about it. You want it loose enough to overlap a little in front but not so tight that you are choking the person.

 Next is the hood I used the end of the sheet with the wide hem for the face because it's heavier and drapes better. I cut a large rectangle by measuring from my eyebrows to the back of my neck then from shoulder to shoulder. So long as it is bit size is not that important. Then I used the Ruffler foot on 6 on the other three sides. If you are doing for a teen or child I would use a 12 on the Ruffler. You can also just baste and pull the thread to gather.

Pin the corners where the shoulder seam is, the end matching up to the front edge, the middle to the middle of the back, then fit the rest of the material. 

 You might have to gather it some more to fit. That is why I said this is a very forgiving pattern. Just adjust to fit the size of the person.

So here you have Yoda and a Ghoul and the outfits can double as house robes.