Project Run & Play Week 3 - The Repurposing Challenge

Wow - it's week 3 already!!

I missed week 2 which was the "Let's Go To The Movies" week. There was just too much other sewing to be done - birthdays and baby showers, so rather than halfa$$ an outfit, I decided to sit it out.

Anywho, I'm a huge fan of repurposing/upcycling so this is one of my favorite challenges to sew along with.

So here's what I came up with.

I wore this shirt allll summer when pregnant with Pooka. And actually, I wore it plenty the following summer too! So it has been thoroughly exhausted as a shirt - the shirring at the neck has gotten super loose so it wasn't even wearable anymore. What a perfect candidate for a refashion!

Things I love about the shirt;

- the vibrant colour

- it's 100% cotton and very, very lightweight

- the openwork on the sleeves

OK, so I wanted to incorporate the sleeve edging for sure, and I had a theory (untested until last night!) that the shape of these sleeves - it's basically a peasant style - would be the right shape for shorts legs. I'm sure I'm not the first (could be the last) to discover this, but I was so thrilled when I cut the sleeves off right at the seams and, sure enough, the shaping was PERFECT! They even have a higher rise at the back! Happy dance!

I felt that the detail now on the shorts was enough so kept the top simple. I actually used the Popover Sundress free pattern from Oliver + S, cutting it a little below Pooka's waist, gathered it slightly to fit the shorts waist and attached them.

The last thing I did was to zig zag some quarter inch elastic onto the inside seam at the waist. 

The polka dot fabric was a small scrap from my stash - because everything's better with polka dots! 

We had a fast and fun photoshoot - and got lots of silly pics! Here are a couple.

So, if you haven't voted for the contestants, head over there  now and see the beautiful work!