Thriftin' Thursday ~ Edition 3: A Sleeveless Renfrew
Thursday, February 07, 2013Well let's all take a little gander at this beauty...
At first glance, beautiful is probably not the first thing that comes to ya'lls mind I bet. I only picked this shirt off the Goodwill rack cuz I was like, What the hell is going on here? But when I looked closer a thing of beauty it quickly became...it was homemade!! Someone made this shirt and wore it proudly. And proud they should be because they did a mighty fine job! The inside was so neatly stitched and serged. And just look at those gathers...perfection!
I examined the inside of this garment from head to toe for what felt like hours trying to find any imperfections to make me feel better about my own shoddy workmanship. I could find none. Lady, I'm impressed! I know practice makes perfect and this person probably has years of experience on me (and a serger) but I hope to one day be proud of what my shirt looks like on the inside as well as the out.
I really hated ripping this shirt apart but I'm sure whoever made it would be glad that I was trying to breathe new life into it. I ended up making another Renfrew with it...a sleeveless Renfrew. I had every intention of putting the sleeves back in and I tried and tried but they looked pretty ridiculous. Because they were originally gathered sleeves they just didn't look right with the style of the Renfrew and I was too lazy to start from scratch. After chucking the sleeves across the room I finished the armholes with bias tape.
I 
Any ideas on how old you think this shirt is? The fabric reminds me of something my Granny would of wore in the 80's. It's really a soft, cozy fabric and I will probably use this as a lounge/sleep shirt. I really hope to find more handmade garments at the thrift shop. It was fun remaking it and thinking about the person who made it. What kind of person was she? How long had she been sewing? Where did she wear this shirt? Was she as proud of her workmanship as I was for her? Does she still sew her own clothes today? I hope one day a piece from my homemade wardrobe will find it's way into the hands of a young girl and she will look at it as I did this piece and be inspired.
12 comments
What a lovely redo! I always have mixed feelings about donating things I have made. I suppose I shouldn't and just hope they find their way to someone who sews and can appreciate the homemade.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I really hope to find more handmade items!
ReplyDeleteYou saved it! The fabric is way rad!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I love that you found something handmade!
ReplyDeleteWow, whoever the sewist was, s/he did a fabulous job! I have a question about your Judy. Did you make that yourself? Is it duct tape or paper tape or something else? I am in the market for one, and am looking up tutorials of how to make one myself, just not convinced it will work out.
ReplyDeleteYes I made it using duct tape. Here is my blog post about it...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shanniloves.blogspot.com/2012/03/duct-tape-dressform.html
I also list some helpful youtube videos showing how it's done. I really like it. Haven't had any problems with it. The tape does tend to get sticky after a while so I have a set box of pins I use specifically for the form.
I love this! I love the fabric! I love the reuse! Does this count as a Sewlution? I think so...
ReplyDeleteIt's great to rescue a handmade item & you've made such a great top from it. I think you are right that the fabric is 1980s.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, lovely blog, super cute sewlution - bravo!
ReplyDeleteIt looks a million times better! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm just visiting for the first time. What a great find that shirt was. I'd agree the fabric looks 1980s, probably the design of the top, too; but how fresh and up-to-date it looks in its Renfrew iteration. Lovely work.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, I shall check out your post. I have heard that about getting the pins sticky and was wondering if it would be a problem. I saw a link about making one with paper tape (don't know the link offhand, but it is pinned onto my pinterest page under sewing tutorials, if you are interested), and it is supposed to eliminate this 'stickiness on your pins' issue. Don't know how effective the Judy is though.
ReplyDelete