Old Made New: A Repurposed Shirt

It's hard to believe, but not that long ago, this lazy little girl used to be our wild child.

We had many nicknames for Jemma, most of them unflattering. My husband called her the Yeti. My son, John, called her the many toothed demon.

She was wild, and she loved to bite. It was a hard habit to break in her puppy years, and it led to a lot of time outs.

But now, she's mellowing out into a really sweet family dog. We can forgive her past sins.

Like this shirt, for example! I had a favorite shirt from Target...it was just the right blue, and just the right weight of Oxford cloth cotton. It was perfect. And then wild child tore one of the sleeves in her puppy phase. I couldn't get rid of it, but I also wasn't wearing it. What to do?

I decided to alter it! I cut off the sleeves just above the tear. Then, I ironed a quarter inch fold on each sleeve, and attached a length of lacy cotton eyelet fabric to the end of each sleeve. And with a little extra left over, I also attached it to the edge of the pocket.

Ta da! This is now an elbow-length sleeve, which is very flattering on middle aged women with flabby upper arms. Raise your hand if that's you! ( I would raise my hand, but it would just make my flabby upper arms flap in the breeze!)

Now, what to do with those sleeves.

I had just the use for them.

I had this hair band that I bought from Duluth Trading Company (Pistil brand), and I love the fabric and pattern, but not the elastic band. It just didn't fit my head well. So I cut the elastic band off. First, I took a length of lacy cotton, and I attached it along one side. Then, using the leftover sleeves, I cut out two straps, pressing with the iron, and then sewing along the seams. (Don't check for evenness of stitching! I'm not that good at it!). I attached each new strap to both sides of the head band, and now I have a perfect hair covering that I can adjust.

And here it is:

I've been growing my hair out recently, just for simplicity's sake. I really don't like to fuss with it. Most of the time, I put on a headband, or some wrap or hair covering, and I call it a day. It's so much easier in the summertime. A little vintage and slightly shabby...like me.

I think this will be a cute combo in the days ahead.

If re-purposing is not your thing, I have good news! Target has a few really decent shirts in their new Universal Threads line, and I found an Oxford cloth shirt in white and light blue. LOVE them! I also bought a few of their bandannas for hair wraps.

If you are interested in hair wraps, I have a few sources.

The Sassy Sparrow makes really cute head wraps, and I have multiples in many patterns and colors! You can find them here:

https://www.thesassysparrow.com/

I also love my flowery, girly head wraps from The Vintage Rose!

http://vintagerosewraps.com/

Recently, I found another source for hair wraps from Garlands of Grace. Oh, how I love them all and want one of each!

https://garlandsofgrace.com/

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!