Hello Cheap Chicks! I'm back after a week of vacation and a fight between me, my fabric, and my sewing machine!
Project 10: Recycled Shirt

These are two of my old shirts! I purchased the striped shirt a while ago, but since then my style and size have changed. I felt like it was a bit too bland. They turquoise shirt was a shirt I made my freshman year. Since then, I have grown a lot and so it no longer will fit over my body. But I LOVE the fabric and it just so happened to match my striped shirt in a not too matchy fashion!

Step 1: Unpick the Side Seams on the Striped Shirt (My dog Murphy decided to pose in this picture)

Step 2: Cut 2 Strips of Fabric from the Turquoise Shirt

Step 3: Hem the top and bottom of the 2 strips

Step 4: Sew the strips to the shirt

The Finished Product: I took this normal but boring shirt and gave it a fun and exciting splash of color!

Part 2 of the No-Sew T-Shirts

Before, I showed the links on how to refashion a normal t-shirt without adding a stitch! Today, I will show you how I tie-dyed the various projects and show you what my finished product looked like.

I purchased a tie-dye kit from Wal-Mart for $15, but the kit dyes up to 20 shirts! Remember you need to let the dye sit for 24 hours! Once 24 hours has passed rinse as much dye out as you can in a sink, and then put through a wash cycle on cold to make sure that none of the dye gets on any clothes you wear the shirts with.

The Workout Tank Top:
On this piece, I decided to go for the bullseye!
Here is a site that illustrates the steps
http://www.favecrafts.com/Tie-Dye/Bullseye-Tie-Dye-Technique-from-Tulip#

The Vest:
I wanted this to be something that I could throw on with a variety of outfits, so I did a fold tie-dye
This technique is really simple. All you need to do is create thick pleats (like you are making a fan) and put rubber bands around it. I dyed mine with blue so it goes with a lot.

The Halter Top:
I created the classic swirl on my halter.
This guy does a really good explanation on how to tie the spiral, but for the actual dying process, I just randomly squirted the dye from the bottles in my kit and got a great result!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PJnM6MK30U

Since there were 6 shirts for $10, and a pack of tie-dye split between 2 people for $15, each t-shirt refashion ended up being only around $4!

Project 9 : Green Flower Skirt

When I was at Saver's, i fell in love with this! The fabric was fun, the material was nice.

It looked like all I would have to do to fix this project would be to ditch the belt and belt loops (I seriously don't understand why the makers of these clothes ever thought it was stylish to add in a belt that's made of matching fabric!) and possibly shorten it!... but then I discovered that it wasn't a skirt, it was shorts! In order to make this piece not only teacher appropriate for my sister, but also presentable to public again, I was going to have to de-shortify it!


Step 1: Ditch the belt and belt loops!

Step 2: Seam rip the inseam

Step 3: Continue the line from the front and back seams to get rid of the part that makes this piece shorts

The Finished Product:
Now this is a fun and teacher appropriate skirt!

Hello Fellow Cheap Chicks! I decided to try out a few fun t-shirt alterations that I found on Pinterest! Kalina and I made a Wal-Mart run and purchased a 6 pack of plain white men's crew neck shirts for a total of $10. We then looked up our Pinterest finds and started cutting!

These are the sights for the 3 different shirts we made. They are all no-sew projects and take a matter of minutes to complete!

The fun racerback shirt for gym workouts or wear with a bandeau for a casual summer outing!
http://blogilates.com/printables-2/diy-racerback-workout-shirt-tutorial

The comfy vest to spice up a plain t-shirt.
http://wobisobi.blogspot.ca/2012/02/grey-no-sew-vest.html

The fun halter top! On the sight listed, they took a larger t-shirt than the ones we purchased, so we decided instead of making halter dresses, to create halter tops! It requires the same basic steps, but in the end, it may need to be taken in on the sides for a proper fit.
http://wobisobi.blogspot.com/2012/07/no-sew-tee-shirt-tied-halter-diy.html

After we cut up the shirts into their refashioned state, we added some color by tie dying them! I am currently waiting on the 3 projects to come out of the wash, but expect picture updates tomorrow along with instructions on the different tie dying techniques!

Project 8: No Sew Bandeau!

Yesterday my sister and I went shopping. We LOVE everything about bandeaus, but  that is a lot of money for a tiny strip of fabric! So we decided to make one!

This is a very short cami that is unwearable... But it has the potential to become a fun bandeau.

Step 1: Cut off a strip from the bottom of the cami

We ended up making 2 bandeaus from one tank top. We will have to hem the top on the second for a professional look, but since the fabric in knit, it is okay to leave a raw edge. 

Step 2: WEAR!

The Finished Product:

 A quick and easy project, and a lot of money saved!

You can also run a gather stitch down the middle for a different, more store-bought look.

Project 8: Hawaiian Shirt Dress
This was a FIND! I bought this shirt at Saver's for $3.50. The size: 4XL Tall

LOVE the print... but as you can tell, it was a little big...

Step 1: Take in the shirt on each side

Step 2: Fold up the sleeves twice and stitch closed

The finished product:
I wore this dress to the 3rd of July concert at the Canyons. This dress was fun to dance in and comfortable enough to sit on the ground in!

Project 7: Teacher Dress
This dress is for my sister. She is going to be a teacher, but she is in desperate need of some cute, cheap, teacher appropriate clothes! A piece like this requires a high neckline and modestly placed hem line, but it is hard to find something that modest and still be stylish. So we went to the one and only Savers!

This dress has a fun print and a high neckline. And for just $3.50 we were sold!

Step 1: Chop some fabric off the bottom of the skirt

Step 2: Hem the bottom

Step 3: Fit the dress to my sister and take it in

Step 4: Remove the random buttons on the back.... I have no idea why they were there

*CAUTION: remember to take ALL the pins out of the dress before you put it on either you or the person you are fitting

The first sewing injury on this blog.... That is a scrap in her armpit. She is recovering well and she will be okay!

The Finished Product:
She paired this lovely dress with a skinny brown belt around the waist and a bright colored cardigan.