Four-minute, no-sew modesty skirt

Spandex may be a privilege but everyone has the right to be comfortable.

So, some of you know that I quit my "day job" back in November and have started my own business promoting sustainable consumption. Some of you also know that I've been working a part time job to help make ends meet in the mean time. That position consists of organizing and running clothing collection events. What's appropriate attire for this position? I should probably wear jeans, but then I have to unload the clothing (sometimes 10,000+ lbs!) later that day. My compromise has been to wear spandex/yoga pants but then also wear one of my 2 Sweet Spot Skirts over the top. It makes me more comfortable (and probably everyone else at the event) while still giving me enough flexibility for the unloading workout that is entailed at the end of the event.

Fast forward to last Friday when I hadn't done my laundry in awhile. What to do? I had a somewhat brilliant (if I do say so myself...) idea. I cut the bottom of a too-big t-shirt off, flipped it upside down and added some elastic. Voila!

While it's true this wasn't nearly as cute or well made as a Sweet Spot Skirt, it served the purpose well and was super quick/easy. I might even make a few more.

It's easy to reuse the original hem by
slicing a small hole and threading
the elastic through there. The new "bottom"
 of the skirt will roll and doesn't need hemming.

After I wore it for the event, I went ahead and replaced the safety pin that was holding the elastic with actual sewing (this could be done by hand, but of course my sewing machine was much faster.)

Here's the original T.
I simply cut it off under the armpits,
flipped it over, and threaded some elastic
 through the original hem.

Artist/Vendor Profile: Little Did You Know

Andrea of
Little Did You Know

This is the first in a series of vendor/artist profiles that I plan to do. Many of the artists that will be featured in the next few months will also be vendors at Check 'Em Off, Green. Unfortunately, our first artist will not be vending, as she lives on the other side of the continent, but I'm super excited to bring you her story.

I kept linking to Andrea's posts on my Facebook page and I finally realized last weekend that I should probably just reach out to her and say hi, at least. (To be honest, I was getting a little creepy...) I asked her if she'd be interested in being featured on my blog and she said yes! I'm so pleased for you to read a little more about her and what makes her tick.

Name: Andrea Torres-Cooper
Company/persona name: LittleDidYouKnow Facebook
Location: New Jersey, USA

Your products/projects:

The girl really likes her silk!

I mostly refashion thrift store clothing into modern items that fit my style and my body to a T. I'd love for this hobby to turn into a job, but for now it provides me the chance to learn and grow as a sewist. I find my materials at thrift stores, yard sales, consignment shops, and other people's trash...and the bigger the item the better, as they afford the most yardage. My favorite material to find and refashion is silk: I love the luxury of the fabric and the drape is everything, and this way I can afford it! 

I started out on very simple changes (cutting off the top of a dress to make it a skirt and simply hemming the raw edge) and have slowly graduated up to making things from scratch from thrifted fabrics as well. I made my nephew a Halloween costume of the Flash (including muscles) for his birthday last year and that was, for me, a big undertaking as it was from scratch.

Versatile and feminine!

One of my favorite "from scratch" projects is a lace mini skirt that zips up the back and can be worn over different colored opaque slips or minis to change up the look. I have definitely had my share of failures where something doesn't quite come out how I'd pictured it, but these are rarely complete failures. They simply go back into the pile until I come up with a way to rework them into something that I love! One such failure turned out to be really pretty and feminine...but it doesn't fit and making it fit would change the look of the piece completely. So, I admire it as it hangs on my wall waiting for the moment when I work up the courage to "fix" it.

Green "Cred"
Creative reuse, Handmade, Recycled content product, Refashioned, Reused materials, Locally sourced materials

Why is "green" important to you?

Sustainability is more important than most realize. I think many people have

the idea that they should recycle their papers, plastics, glass and metals, but is that really enough? Not really. I think that everyone has the ability to make changes towards sustainability that are just as effortless as recycling is, but once added up are infinitely more impactful. Within my home we take it a step at a time. I am a great advocate for implementing one change at a time into one's lifestyle to ensure that new habits are formed and cemented into everyday life. Sustainability is also super thrifty (in my own experience), which is an amazing bonus! 
Some of our changes came into place when we moved to the east coast: we sold our cars and have lived without them for 5 years, we bike and walk wherever we need to go and my husband commutes by bus to the city, in all of our apartments offering outdoor space we grew our own herbs and vegetables, most of our smaller furniture and appliances and clothes are second hand. This is just a handful of the changes we've made and the list for what we can do just goes on and on. So, take it slow, but make the changes that you can!

Your origin story?

Update some wedges with a little paint!

I have been an avid thrifter for several years, but was always limited to what was in style and that fit and was in reasonably good shape. I started seeing blogs a couple of years back that joined the love of thrifting with the ability to sew and change up an item of clothing into something completely new! I spent days just pouring over the befores and afters and was completely hooked. I had started sewing a year prior and had made some cushion covers, stockings, etc, and thought that I could absolutely try my hand at refashioning some of my old clothing that was sitting around waiting to be donated. So, I took the plunge and haven't looked back!

I love this one. From "meh" to chic-just remove the collar!

Your inspiration?

Pinterest idea: Pool noodles to keep
leather boots from slouching.

I would say that my biggest source of inspiration has been all of the contributors over at Refashion Co-op. I am constantly surprised by the visions that these creative people have for an item of clothing that was on its way to a landfill. They are so talented!
I also draw inspiration from Pinterest :) Whether it be items of clothing that are brand new/retail or other's refashions that they've posted, I have several boards just for refashion ideas, things to try, style inspirations and specific items to look for at the thrift store. I rarely have a vision of what I'd like to do that doesn't borrow from one or many other ideas that I've seen while surfing the web.

Your heroes?

My husband is someone I look up to for his work ethic. He comes from even humbler beginnings than my own and has worked incredibly hard to get his PhD and become a professor. He is incredibly encouraging as well, which makes the transformations of my thrifted finds a little more exciting to show him as he is always surprised that I was able to transform what he saw as "ugly" into something he likes. :) 

grandma's thread spools

My grandmother is another person who I see as a hero. She introduced me to a broader world view which helped to feed my desire to learn: I was inspired to travel and see the other peoples and cultures that she introduced me to and she sewed and knitted as well, a hobby she passed on to me.

Favorite celebrities?

I would say that I generally would love to have the refashioning/reusing community at large be a party to my creations. I have found that my inspiration comes from them and I'd love for "them" to see what they've inspired. Jillian, the Refashionista, was the first refashioner I was introduced to (through her blog, not in person), and Miranda from NewDressADay is another that have been major influences, so specifically it'd be cool to have them as fans as well ;)

Anything else?

Sharpie can be chic? Yep!

Just want to say thanks. Simply put, I appreciate the chance to share a small part of my story and to contribute in some way to introducing people to sustainable ideas that are more a hobby than a chore. 
Peace,
Andrea

When I started to write up this profile, I began to wonder about "Little Did You Know," so I asked Andrea and this was her reply:

I am and always have been an avid reader (hence "bookworm" in my email). Since I can remember I've been reading the classics and mysteries; they are my two literary genre loves. It has always fascinated me how drawn in I can become by the arrangement of words to produce fantastical, funny, harrowing, twisted, and just plain good stories. When I was trying to come up with a "title" or "name" for my page I wanted to marry my love of literature with my new love of refashioning. My husband and I threw a few ideas back and forth until eventually we came up with "little did you know". Little did you know...it can change the entire outcome of a book! Four words of foreshadowing that can turn your world upside down and leave you with the most unexpected outcome. This is how I felt as I'd perused the blogs full of before and after shots of amazing transformations...little did I know that someone could do that with that hideous garment :-0 As I started my own transformations, I had the same reaction when previously "unwearable" items became "fashionable" again. For me, it just made sense...and hopefully it does to you!

I'm glad to know the back story. I think I will find myself thinking "Little did you know..." when looking at various refashions, now. I think Jillian was one of my first Refashionistas, too. Refashion Co-op is incredibly inspiring and I can't believe I wasn't following Andrea on Pinterest, yet (remedied that about 10 minutes ago...)

I hope you enjoyed this first artist profile. More to come! 
-The Reuser

Green gifts-what my family got this year

First of all, yes, I know this post is ridiculously late. I hope to some day write for a living (and thus, you can expect regular content updates) but that day is not today. If you think this post is late, you should know I've been sitting on a post since August of this year and I'm thoroughly embarrassed by it, because it's a virtual home tour and the lovely people that let me in to their home were so excited about it. But...I'll get to all of these things eventually!!!

I blog fairly frequently about lessening your environmental impact around the holidays. I wanted to share with you the gifts that my family got this holiday. Everyone got at least one gift from me that had some kind of green "cred." It might have been handmade by me or by someone else or it might have been reused-come from a thrift store. Here they are:

Mom: My mom loves blue. She loves lapis, so gifts for her often are pieces of lapis jewelry. This year, when I was in Spokane on business, I stayed an extra day (had a fabulous day!) and found an artist's cooperative shop. I bought handmade lapis earrings and a blue glass pendant for Mom.

Not-husband: NH and I invested in a new bed this year as our Xmas present to each other. So, we didn't do much else in the way of gifts. I did, however, make him some handwarmers (he's always too cold and me too warm.) out of some of the fleece left over from the scarf I made (see below.)

Brother 1: I found these nerd propaganda posters from a local artist for NH and decided to get my bro one, too. He also works on cars fairly frequently, so I made him a citrus scrub as well.

The carriage that transported us around the
Wade House-a living history site in Wisconsin.

SIL 1: I found green beaded earrings that made me think of L when I was on vacation in August, in Wisconsin at a little local handmade vendor fair. She also got a scented candle that she admired while we were shopping at Check 'Em Off, Green

Brother 2: J got a handmade wooden bottle opener, purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green and some handmade seasoning blends (made by a colleague and I-we made enough for secret santa gifts and some for my bro, too.)

SIL 2: V loves foxes and I often find things for her that are fox themed. (a handmade custom hat from Etsy one year, framed fox prints the next.) Earlier this year, in one of my favorite local thrift shops, I found a fox T-shirt that I thought she might like but it was not her size. I went ahead and bought it anyway and then used a fleece sweatshirt that I gathered at the clothing swap to make the pictured scarf.

cut t-shirt panels. Was trying to decide
white vs. brown fleece.

went with the white fleece in the end.
Finished scarf

Nephew 1: C often asks for video games, so I helped buy a game but also found one of Matt Groening's books for him at a local book shop.

I decided to give the potions some names.

Nephew 2: Since my youngest nephew and niece are a bit younger, I was able to create some things for them. J got a handmade Harry Potter wand (inspired by this, but I decided to use large gauge knitting needles instead of chopsticks-bought them from aforementioned thrift shop) and also made him some "potions" in reused bottles. (I glued the lids shut, so J&L wouldn't have to worry about the bottles ever spilling.) These potions are much more interesting in real life and I was pleasantly surprised by how much J seemed to enjoy them.

J loved this hat when he saw
it at Check 'Em Off, Green

J also got a handmade alien hat made from old sweaters, purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green and some honey sticks from a local beekeeper (he loves those-also purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green.)

The wig in-process

Niece: Earlier in the year, J had received a handmade Rapunzel wig from me (for her birthday) and I also made her a tutu in pink and purple. I also had an extra "potion" on hand for her in pink and it was a good idea, since J&J are thick as thieves and when he was "mixing potions" and "saying spells" on them, she wanted in on the action.














Cousin's kid: I also made hair bows for all the little girls in my life. They were inspired by this post. R got some of these, as did 4 other little girls.

some of my first hair bows (and some
rosettes I made out of scraps)

more hair clips-the pic on the right shows them all ready to go. I used some vellum map material
to cut out tag shapes and then wrote on them with Sharpie.

So, there you have it. I bought some of these items as early as this time last year. I use an iPhone application to keep track of my Xmas list and this helps me save money by not only buying things when I see them but also by buying me time to prepare thrifted items for gift-giving.

I'm very lucky to have a family that not only accepts reused/thrifted gifts, but who also buys them for me. We also use fabric bags in our family to cut down on wrapping paper waste and it's become somewhat of a "thing" to have the bags reused year after year.

Here's hoping you had a fantastic holiday season and you got some fun gifts this year. Anything you're particularly excited about? Leave a little note in the comments-I'd love to hear what you and your family do to save money or reduce waste in the holiday season.

Refashioning: XS skirt to XL

There are 3 blogs that I follow that aim to take old, ripped, torn, stained, unfashionable and/or thrifted clothes and "refashion" them into new wardrobe pieces. I've been creating a number of headbands for myself (another post...I'll get to it...eventually...) but this skirt project was one of my first forays into refashioning an actual item of clothing.

Most of the headbands I've been creating are made from t-shirts. I stopped at a rummage sale a few months ago and the clothes were a buck a bag. (My favorite find was a vintage apron. I LOVE aprons, but I digress...) They didn't have a ton of fun t-shirts, but I found enough shirts to make a dollar bag of clothes totally worth it. A lot of the other items I picked were much too small for me. I picked up 2-3 shirts that I loved the fabric and figured if they didn't fit my colleague, I would make headbands out of them. (They fit Melissa, so she kept them-yay!) This skirt was originally an Extra Small. There's no way it was ever going to fit me, but it was a little long and I hoped that I would be able to chop off the top panel and make it fit. After some false starts, I'm happy to say I have successfully refashioned my first garment.

Enjoy the progression:

To see if this project might work and to gauge where to cut the small skirt, I used a skirt that currently fit and laid them together. After much fretting, I basically decided to just cut off the entire top panel.

The blue skirt is the one that fits.

You can see the size labels in this photo.
I'm not making this up! ;)

Checking the size/length

Removing the lining.
I had originally planned to try to replace
the lining, but it proved too difficult
for my amateur sewing skills.
Instead, I just wear bloomers with the skirt
as it is quite transparent.

Making the chop!

checking color of jersey material to mend lining
(didn't end up using) This T was too white!

Here, you can see the jersey that I ended up
using. It's a much nicer color match.
The piece that was cut from the top of the skirt
is shown here. That section was eventually made
into a headband. 

repairing the lining (where I had to cut around the zipper)

Too bad I didn't actually end up using the lining...

After I cut the top section off, I tried the skirt on
to check it would go around me and to check the length.

repairing a side rip. (The skirt
was fine, but I was a little rough
on it and accidentally ripped near the side seam.)

inside view of the repair

Here's where the process kinda jumps ahead. I'm not sure why I have a serious lack of photos here. It's probably because I took the project to work with me for a few days. I tried to do way too much at once and ended up badly mis-sewing it. I got LOTS of seam ripping practice on this project. I decided to add a panel of jersey and then used elastic from a pair of not-hubby's old boxers for the waist band. I have to say, up until the point of threading the elastic, I was really dubious about how this would turn out.

Once I threaded the elastic, this project really looked promising.  

Sewed up the elastic and then hand-sewed the casing.

Finally, here's a pic of me wearing the skirt and headband, from earlier today.

I can't believe I changed the size of a skirt from an XS to an XL!!!