I love thrift shopping. I love running my hand over the racks, stopping when I feel silk or cashmere. The thrill of finding something I’ve been looking for, or something I can instantly picture in my closet. These days I often wear my son on my back in a Toddler Tula carrier while I shop, and it’s fun to watch him mimic me touching the fabric.
I couldn’t pass up this long silk maxi skirt but decided it wasn’t particularly practical for my day-to-day wear, so I chopped it up and turned it into three shirts! There are a few pictures of each top, and then the steps I took to refashion each style below. I’d love to hear which is your favorite! Mine is the black t-shirt!
Now that I’m relatively confident in my (intermediate) sewing skills, thrifting is even more fun because I can look beyond things that are my size and style! I shared a bunch of tips for shopping with the intent of refashioning and upcycling in this post. If you already have a shirt, read my tips for actually sewing refashions here!
Pin this round up for later, here:
Links to each refashion tutorial:
See how to sew a vintage blouse refashion here.
See how to make a geometric t-shirt refashion here!
See the skirt to shirt refashion, here!
Lisa @ PiePie Designs says
These are great! The thrift store is one of my favorite sources for fabric. Thanks for linking up with Tuesday Sews at PiePie Designs.
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Lisa – happy to link up!
Mary Grace says
Hi! I found your blog post through Sewing/Craft/Creative Blogger Group on FB. Nice work on these!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Mary!
Kathy says
Great post! What an awesome idea to search thrift shops specifically for cool fabric to refashion. Love it.
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
One of my favorite things to do – I will be sad once my son gets tall enough that it’s tricky to get enough fabric out of an upcycle!
Amy says
I think the triangle top is my favorite – the scale looks really good on you!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
That’s Tyler’s fav too!
Sierra says
Very cool!! Love it.
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Sierra!
Amy mayen says
Great refashions! Wow, a triple whammy:) I think my fave is the triangle top:)
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Amy! That is my husband’s favorite too π
Shawnta says
Those are awesome! I especially love the triangle top.
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Shawnta!
Deanna {sewmccool} says
Love the refashions – the triangle top is my favorite. And your new theme is great as well!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Deanna! That’s my hubby’s fav too. I basically never want to choose a theme again – definitely a case where too many choices paralyzed me. It’s nice to have it done and finalized – I’m way too cheap to ‘waste’ the money and keep looking after I’ve paid for one π
Theresa says
These refashions are freaking fantastic! I’m not sure that I would have worn the skirt as is, but each of the three tops are awesome. The triangle one is favorite.
Thanks for inspiring!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Theresa!!
Julie says
I love me a good refashion. Yours are amazing! I love them all, can’t choose a favourite!
I need to give reverse appliquΓ© a go, I keep seeing lovely things done using it but I’ve never tried. I am a member of a pinterest group refashioning board and was going to pin this there, now I see another member has beaten me to it!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Julie, thanks so much! I really like reverse applique – it seems to pop up more on kids’ clothes but I’m trying to bring it in for the adults π
Daniela says
Great work! I love what you did with the pink top π
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Daniela!
Melissa says
I love the refashions, but that may be because I have had an obsession with animal print since the 80s.
I love the black and leopard one. Great job!!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks Melissa! I also love leopard print – I have a few #leopardonleopard tags on Instagram where I realized I had more than one animal print on at one time, haha!
Ren says
These are all fabulous– that pink komono is my fav though. Thanks for linking up to Inspire Us Thursdays on The Inspired Wren.
Cucicucicoo says
Great ideas! I particularly like the yoke top! I was surprised to see that you left the bottom of the original t-shirt underneath the silk. I was expecting to see that cut off. I love the look! π Lisa
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Thanks for stopping by Lisa, I know I’ve admired your blog’s refashions before π And yes… I had planned on cutting it off too but realized I liked being able to tuck it in. My pre-baby low rise jeans fit a little differently post-baby – this shirt helps bridge that gap without looking frumpy, ha!!
cucicucicoo says
Oh, thank you, that’s sweet of you to say!
Ok, I *totally* get the bridging-the-post-baby-gap thing! Excellent idea to keep it whole! π
Ellen says
Your ideas are so great! Thanks for sharing this with us! Try to copy someone .
Ellen
Stephanie - Swoodson Says says
Hey Ellen! You are so kind, thanks for reading π