Wow, thanks for all of the great suggestions, everyone! I asked, and I received! I'll try again with the markers and use the suggestion of heat setting with an iron before washing (such a smart idea!) and I'll play around with the bits of grey that I have left (the placket and the pockets) to see if I can add grey to the sleeves or neckline. If I make any improvements, I'll snap a photo and put it into a Community post to show you. Thanks again!!
I really appreciate how you just calmly chat through your thought processes as you're working on a change. Sometimes it's those little problems that pop up that can stymie an entire remake that had been going well! (And thanks for the nudge to slow down enough to iron and pick out a mistaken pucker. I can be impatient. 😅) I absolutely love both of these pieces because living in the southern USA, rayon is my favorite material to wear! It's so comfy and cool, and it suits these boho looks well.
I would like to see some of the gray at the neckline or sleeves edge. That would add to the intentionality of the 2 fabrics. Your ideas are always a great springboard for new ideas. Great job.
I agree, just a small repitition of the grey on the top of the dress, neckband, sleeves or even n fabric flower broch made from ofcutts would look more bslanced. I still the dress and the shirt is awesome. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us❤❤❤
I love that you are reworking thrift store findings! I like many of the review ideas of adding some more grey/silver to the outfit. They wouldn’t necessarily need to be on the garment though…try a grey belt, lightweight scarf, shoes, larger pendant grey/silver necklace, bracelet, or summery grey/silver tote.
I love them both! The shirt is spectacular. I do agree that the dress would look better incorporating red into the grey. You could hand embroider some of the designs in the grey, spacing them out so that you don't have as much to do by hand. If you don't hand embroider, there are wonderful tutorials on simple line embroidering here on TH-cam.
I think your dress turned out adorable. But I do have a suggestion. I know you have a machine that has a zillion different kinds of stitches, why not take some red thread and sew a cute little serpentine thread design on your gray. You could use the two needles, or just some real sweet little serpentine all the way around. Just a suggestion but that would be able to throw the red into your gray area. I’ve done that on a number of T-shirts just to add another color to it. Great job. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Catherine! I love how you try things even if not sure. That is when you discover something new. I would add some grey on the neckline or the sleeves, as a reminder of the lower part. Hey, if you can’t add red, might as well add some grey!
I enjoyed that Catherine. I was quite surprised that you were able to lower the back/front neckline by using the gathering. I didn't think there was enough binding. So I learned something new. Well done.
Excellent video work! Your instructions and guidance are super helpful. And of course, I love your values:sustainability, reuse, creative problem solving and using everything as an opportunity to learn.
You have such great ideas! Spur of the moment; “the neck band won’t stretch, I’ll just put in some gathers to make it fit!” Also, stitching down the middle of the twisted elastic! I stitched across the elastic at the sides and centers, but it still twisted. I’ll try your idea of stitching around the middle of the elastic! Someone else suggested using red thread on the grey to make it look more intentional. How about maybe a triple stitch (or decorative) in red on the seam line of the grey tucks? 🤷🏼♀️ Just a thought.
I always learn something from each video, don’t know that I’ll put many into practice, but you’re giving many of us confidence to look at things just a little differently
I love the dress! It's funny, when I saw that you were going to put that cuff on the bottom of the shirt, I thought, oh, I'm not going to like that. (I'm more of an A-Line or swingy hem kinda gal.) But wow, it turned out beautifully! Love that drape, as you say! Really nice upcycles. Thanks for another great video!
I love the gray top very pretty. I also love the red with the gray too but if you still want to add red in the pattern of the gray you may have to use paint pens. You may not get the sharpest pens as the sharpie pens. Anyway great job. You have become my new best tutorials in upgrading my clothes from my closet. I’m so broke I can’t afford to buy new clothes and I’m so tired of what I’m wearing all the time. You make it seem so simple. Thank you.
Most of all, you gave me courage to recreate something old to be a new stuff or just making something to be a better look & more confidence to wear it 👍😊 !! Thanks for sharing your experiment ❣
If you have red threads for your serger you do a small rolled ‘hem’ on the grey layers in the skirt. Think I saw a rolled hem on the dress itself as well. Can also be done on the sewing machine with a narrow zigzag in red. Most often this will pull things together without overdoing it on the amount of colour blocks. And perhaps a few tiny red buttons or beads or super simple embroidery to the side of the grey.
The top is perfect! It's good to see a self-binding neckline may have some room for adjustment. I agree with virtually everyone that a little gray at the sleeves, or some red stitching on the gray tiers, are great solutions for the dress. Awesome!
You are sooo talented. To think some of those techniques were being done to see how they worked out is amazing. Well done you. So clever. The grey top is fantastic. The dress is good as it is. But I’m sure you will find something else to improve it. Thank you, again!
You are just so talented and amazing. I do think a bit of grey piping on the neckline should tie the grey nicely in with the red. Just a narrow one will be very good. 👍
Love the top as well. I just put a top on today that I love the fabric of, but it is too big and I think putting a ribbed bottom on like you did might work! ? For the dress; some ideas.. a little something in the lighter material up top on neck or shoulder, like a Peter pan collar or a pin-on fabric flower? Any material left from the pockets? To even a thin ribbing along neckline? Love the “flowy-ness” of the skirt! Well done!
YOu are really inspiring. I have been passing on soe dresses with lovely fabrics because I would not wear them as-is and I did not know what to do to them. Thank you! I will give it a try.
Catherine, I am still just such a learner as far as sewing goes, but I love your videos (thanks for sharing!) And regarding this one, I think if you had a cute grey sash or grey belt, you would like this sundress even more. : )
Your skills are amazing and I learn so much from you! I suggest that you try again with the red markers: maybe the color will hold if you let it set a day or two before washing? Thanks for your teachings! Edit: and yes, like another commenter said, try heat setting too!
I think you should cut the top off the dress and sew the grey top to the skirt. Then the shirt and the skirt would become one lovely dress with the grey top layer and the red-grey-red layered skirt.
Wow, such creativity; thanks for sharing! I always learn so many techniques! I would like the red dress with a little of the grey trim along the neckline to tie in the look but don’t know if you have enough fabric. Blessings to all🤗💜🇨🇦
Thank you your creativity! I just love watching your ideas come to life. I don’t like applying bias binding but now I’m so excited to try it. Thank you for your instructions.
Now you did take the pockets out and I was thinking that you would have enough material there to run like a little ruffled down the sleeves from the neck to the end of the sleeve I don't know if that'll help
You really inspire me!! I am much more adventuresome in my up-cycles since watching your process. I love both the dress and the shirt, but do agree that the dress would look better with red in the grey. Heat setting the sharpie as others have suggested could work, or finding a fabric pen meant for this type of thing. Please keep the videos coming!
I have done Sharpie on fabric but I have always heat set it first. They make fabric paints that you could use, you can even transfer them to bottles with needle points. The key is heat setting, with with an iron or the dryer. You can always put parchment paper over the painted area as you press to protect your iron. I love the dress, it just needs some more unified elements.
I was thinking do red piping or rickrack at the edges of the gray ruffles. But, I love Carla B's idea to use red embroidery thread even better! How about maybe, for the neckline, do a peekaboo V under the finished edge and maybe use some gray binding on that V...?
Like what you did but I think I would have converted the gray dress to a longer top and found something else to use with the red dress. Not a fan of the gray knit waistband on the gray top.
I do believe that there are fabric paints. Perhaps try those. OR if you have embroidery stitches on your machine, you could add decorative red stitches at the edge of the grey pleats. Great job on both projects.
Mauna here. I too adore the top! Way to go. The addition for the bottom would have been better with a different color....as you acknowledged. Something that ties better would be better. Was the choice because of your "thrifting"?
I’m guessing that the tag was put on the wrong side originally. I’m enjoying your up cycles. I found your channel via a comment from a poster on the Minerva fabrics site.
If you are looking for more grey fabric to use in the bodice/sleeves to tie the top and bottom of the dress together, consider the amount of fabric you have in the tucks. I personally love the tiered effect of the layered fabrics and you can still keep that effect by opening up the horizontal pleats and taking what you need to use on the top. That along with the pocket fabric (as suggested by juandawnmoffitt7872) give you something to work with. Love this! Keep it up.
Shein is the worst indeed - I got sucked in because the pictures are so great!!! and the fashions are fresh - but the fabric is HORRIBLE no matter what the style and what they do to the Earth is beyond words - plus China is making a move to connect with Russia - and we just shouldn't be placing our dollars there for a while - sorry for the lecture - I LOVE what their cuts and styles look like and years ago got some - but yeah - the downside is Huge.
You might try a little red embroidery outlining the design. It would probably be much easier to match a red thread then a dye or ink. Good luck with what you might try. I love watching your videos! You come up with ideas I would not have ever thought of. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
That was my thought as well.... just pick out some of the design on the grey fabric, with a red thread/floss that matches the red part of the dress. It doesn't have to be a lot of embroidery, you could even just do 2 threads of floss or 3 threads of sewing thread to do the detailing. I would also be inclined to add some grey to the top. And I am not sure that I am happy with the neckline yet.... is it low enough? It still seems a bit chokey. I love doing this kind of upcycling!!
@@doriscassan6996 I was thinking more along the lines of a red thread using the straight stitch on a sewing machine. Making the process faster than by hand. I think any kind of upcycling is awesome. We live in such a throw away world anymore. Manufacturers that use cheap materials make it easier to do so. I'd rather find a good quality item at a second hand store and upcycle than buy new off the rack made of plastics.
Great job, combing the 2 garments to make a dress you will wear. How about making a peekabo opening below the front neckline, just a small triangle in the middle to complement the opening in the back? Great job, love it.
Both projects turned out nicely. I would add some of the grey fabric to the sleeves too. The top was my favorite of the two projects. Thanks for another fun flip video.
I like what you did to the dress but it needs grey on the bodice to look complete. it looks like an add-on now. If there is any grey left consider adding a bias strip below the neckline and topstitch in place. It all depends on if there is fabric available but I don't quite remember. Love your show!
The top is very pretty. I agree with Susan that some grey on the sleeves perhaps above the sleeve ruffle. The bias on the new front neckline was perfect. What a clever sewer you are.
Catherine- I love your thrift flip videos!! Every time I see one I mentally go through things I don’t wear & plot a flip of my own. I won’t add to the above ideas for your little red dress - you have enough to work from already. Good luck!
Tweek idea: perhaps on the hem of the red dress’ sleeves, make a narrow folded extension of the grey fabric; like a negative image of what you did with the red for the skirt hem on the bottom of the dress🤷🏼♀️?
Could you throw the grey top over the dress? That would give you 3 outfit options. I think that greay top is really cute and could work great over the dress. Also, have you tried a dye sublimation pen, like a Cricut pen? You could use it to free hand and then iron set it. That could be a great option for you.
I would skip the markers and get the fabric paints. It might take a little more time to do but the paints last a long while. When my kids were little we couldn’t afford designer clothes-so we got Goodwill and yard sale items and then panted designs on the legs of jeans. The pants were a hit for my kids as all the kids in school wanted painted jeans. I also agree with some other comments of adding a little gray to the top section to pull the colors up! Awesome gray top though-I would have never thought to do that…
I feel like the waist is still too high, even with the extra elastic. You could use some of your grey stretch fabric to add a band and lower the waist to your more natural level. You might even cut a V neckline in front and add a grey binding, or sacrifice the back ties and close the back with a button tab, and use the tie(s) to make bias binding for the new V front. If you use red embroidery thread in the grey skirt, you could use grey thread to outline some of the red in the neckline and/or sleeves. Love your content!
I think both are great n I do love the gray top... as for the dress I agree that a red highlight on the gray section would tie them better together... how about on each of the gray bands that you try the decorative stitches on your machine ??? In my mind I see a vine n flower n leaves trailing around... each band the same... but maybe more is more n multiple rows of different designs... 🤔... this is a great video... 2 garments became 2 better garments...🎉
I think the way you chose to insert the gray into the skirt is perfect. You're right...this one would be way more work than I, personally, would be willing to do...but I'm a little lazy. I've got a whole new way of shopping for clothes these days....I go straight to the clearance rack and find things I Iike the general look of...try them on...and if I can "very easily" modify to be "awesome", I'll buy it. and THEN....I go to the "extra large" section and find things that are huge enough, that I can just use the fabric for a pattern I already know fits me well. I had $25 of "Kohls cash" to use up yesterday...found a couple of items on the clearance rack that had already been marked down crazily....and the entire clearance rack had an additional 50% off the clearance prices....found two items I could use with minimal changes....and after my Kohls cash was applied, I ended up getting both items for $0 and still had $9 Kohls cash to spare! I don't even know what to call this kind of shopping...Maybe I can call it "rescuing" clothing from the landfill? Reminds me of a line I heard on that show Raising Hope (from a few years back)....where they were joking that they shop and "Bargain Barn Outlet Outlet" lolololol 😄
Try a Micron pen and heat set before washing. I use them for signing quilts. Love your re-make videos. You inspired me to take on a couple of projects.
Great video Catherine!! Loved the up cycle blouse and dress, particularly the blouse, I think is my style as well. Love the fitting and the color. About the dress maybe adding a little bit of the gray fabric at the waist line like a belt or some type a bias tape at the neck line or arm hole, not a lot just something to make more cohesive, but overall great job, in fact you gave a fantastic idea to fix on my favorite dresses that is strapless and I not longer like that pull down because of it, so thank you!!
Hi Catherine, I was just going to suggest the same ideas as in your pinned comment. Great minds think alike. I think bringing the grey up onto the neckline will make it seem intentional for sure. I love the blouse you upcycled.
Both turned out surprisingly good. I love how the gray top turned out! I’m not a dress-wearer, but it does look cute and you did a great job on the fixes. Maybe put a small binding in gray around the sleeves to tie it into the gray in the skirt if you have fabric left.
I like the Dress! Maybe? make a Long Grey Corded Necklace, with a Grey stone, (something a bit chunky) that would tie it in nicely. To me, it just seems the top needs something Grey to make it work? The Top is a Winner! Love it! Awesome techniques! Thanks for this video!!
I am so glad at I watched the entire video. You had some great ideas for upcycling the red dress. It looks really nice on you. The grey blouse is terrific. Just an idea. Maybe you could trim the sleeves with a narrow piece of the grey. I have learned a lot from or videos. Luv, luv, luv, upcycling!!! Thank you so much.🤗🤗🤗
I'm wondering if a V-neck with a facing would be more flattering, and tie in to the style of the back more. It is always more pleasing when design elements repeat. Agree about adding some gray at the top. Love following your thought process through these up-cycles!
I like the insertion of the gray ruffle area. I was wondering if you could do a decorative stitch along the edges of the gray ruffles using red thread to help tie it in better with the red fabric. What about adding some gray around the sleeve edges? Your creativity is amazing! I never would have thought to put those 2 fabrics together, but they do work well. That gray blouse is exceptionally pretty!!! I love it!
Could you use the part of the button placket you cut off from the skirt to make a button up neckline? That way the grey print would balance out a bit. Maybe add a bit of the grey ribbing to the sleeve hems and to replace the red bias tape of the rest of the neckline? Also test out the Sharpie again on the pockets but this time heat set the color, either by iron or dryer or both before washing it.
Fabulous job Catherine w/ the up-cycles. I would have to agree w/ the others as well about the gray fabric as accents somehow to make it more cohesive? What about permanent fabric paints to add some red to the gray? I love how you’re always all in w/ a project until the very end even when you’re not that sure of the actual turnout.
The top is amazing , I was really surprised at how well it turned out! Loved the up cycling. I’m old school and love using that yellow wax tailor ‘s chalk or my mother’s standby pencil for marking fabric. 😂 Greetings from New York City! 👍🏼👍🏼🇵🇷🗽❤️
That was a really cute dress! Before deciding to make the front the back, I think I would’ve started with wearing a lace cami …. You might’ve been happier with the neckline plunge and peekaboo elements 🤷🏼♀️. The dress did need to be longer.
Wow, thanks for all of the great suggestions, everyone! I asked, and I received! I'll try again with the markers and use the suggestion of heat setting with an iron before washing (such a smart idea!) and I'll play around with the bits of grey that I have left (the placket and the pockets) to see if I can add grey to the sleeves or neckline. If I make any improvements, I'll snap a photo and put it into a Community post to show you. Thanks again!!
You could make a grey belt or a little bow for the neckline. Red embroidery on the grey part might also work.
How about making the blouse into a jacket to go with the dress?
Make a flower applique out of the pocket and so it onto the front of the dress
A gray string belt would be nice around the waist
I agree that both are great. How about adding a ribbon with a little red and gray to the middle or bottom of the dress.
I really appreciate how you just calmly chat through your thought processes as you're working on a change. Sometimes it's those little problems that pop up that can stymie an entire remake that had been going well! (And thanks for the nudge to slow down enough to iron and pick out a mistaken pucker. I can be impatient. 😅)
I absolutely love both of these pieces because living in the southern USA, rayon is my favorite material to wear! It's so comfy and cool, and it suits these boho looks well.
I would like to see some of the gray at the neckline or sleeves edge. That would add to the intentionality of the 2 fabrics. Your ideas are always a great springboard for new ideas. Great job.
I agree!
Yes, even a small open placket of the grey would look awesome at the front neckline!
I agree, just a small repitition of the grey on the top of the dress, neckband, sleeves or even n fabric flower broch made from ofcutts would look more bslanced. I still the dress and the shirt is awesome. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us❤❤❤
So cute! The top could also be cute as a light jacket over the dress.
I love that you are reworking thrift store findings! I like many of the review ideas of adding some more grey/silver to the outfit. They wouldn’t necessarily need to be on the garment though…try a grey belt, lightweight scarf, shoes, larger pendant grey/silver necklace, bracelet, or summery grey/silver tote.
That is such a great idea! Because it's about the whole look.
I love them both! The shirt is spectacular. I do agree that the dress would look better incorporating red into the grey. You could hand embroider some of the designs in the grey, spacing them out so that you don't have as much to do by hand. If you don't hand embroider, there are wonderful tutorials on simple line embroidering here on TH-cam.
I think your dress turned out adorable. But I do have a suggestion. I know you have a machine that has a zillion different kinds of stitches, why not take some red thread and sew a cute little serpentine thread design on your gray. You could use the two needles, or just some real sweet little serpentine all the way around. Just a suggestion but that would be able to throw the red into your gray area. I’ve done that on a number of T-shirts just to add another color to it. Great job. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Catherine! I love how you try things even if not sure. That is when you discover something new. I would add some grey on the neckline or the sleeves, as a reminder of the lower part. Hey, if you can’t add red, might as well add some grey!
Hey Catherine! What if you heat set the color with your iron before washing it? That might keep it closer to the original Sharpie red.
I enjoyed that Catherine. I was quite surprised that you were able to lower the back/front neckline by using the gathering. I didn't think there was enough binding. So I learned something new. Well done.
Excellent video work! Your instructions and guidance are super helpful. And of course, I love your values:sustainability, reuse, creative problem solving and using everything as an opportunity to learn.
You have such great ideas! Spur of the moment; “the neck band won’t stretch, I’ll just put in some gathers to make it fit!” Also, stitching down the middle of the twisted elastic! I stitched across the elastic at the sides and centers, but it still twisted. I’ll try your idea of stitching around the middle of the elastic!
Someone else suggested using red thread on the grey to make it look more intentional. How about maybe a triple stitch (or decorative) in red on the seam line of the grey tucks? 🤷🏼♀️ Just a thought.
Two ideas: wear the top over the dress OR dye the dress red. I really learn alot in this video. Thanks!
I always learn something from each video, don’t know that I’ll put many into practice, but you’re giving many of us confidence to look at things just a little differently
So creative and clever! I love watching you think and work through the projects you tackle!
I love the dress! It's funny, when I saw that you were going to put that cuff on the bottom of the shirt, I thought, oh, I'm not going to like that. (I'm more of an A-Line or swingy hem kinda gal.) But wow, it turned out beautifully! Love that drape, as you say!
Really nice upcycles. Thanks for another great video!
That was a great flip! So cute on you.
I love the gray top very pretty. I also love the red with the gray too but if you still want to add red in the pattern of the gray you may have to use paint pens. You may not get the sharpest pens as the sharpie pens. Anyway great job. You have become my new best tutorials in upgrading my clothes from my closet. I’m so broke I can’t afford to buy new clothes and I’m so tired of what I’m wearing all the time. You make it seem so simple. Thank you.
Try heat setting the markers before washing. It might keep the color true.
Most of all, you gave me courage to recreate something old to be a new stuff or just making something to be a better look & more confidence to wear it 👍😊 !!
Thanks for sharing your experiment ❣
Acrylic paint can be made into fabric paint by adding medium. Get both at the craft store. That print on the red is pretty. Enjoyed the video.
If you have red threads for your serger you do a small rolled ‘hem’ on the grey layers in the skirt. Think I saw a rolled hem on the dress itself as well. Can also be done on the sewing machine with a narrow zigzag in red. Most often this will pull things together without overdoing it on the amount of colour blocks. And perhaps a few tiny red buttons or beads or super simple embroidery to the side of the grey.
The top is perfect! It's good to see a self-binding neckline may have some room for adjustment. I agree with virtually everyone that a little gray at the sleeves, or some red stitching on the gray tiers, are great solutions for the dress. Awesome!
You are sooo talented. To think some of those techniques were being done to see how they worked out is amazing. Well done you. So clever. The grey top is fantastic. The dress is good as it is. But I’m sure you will find something else to improve it. Thank you, again!
You are just so talented and amazing. I do think a bit of grey piping on the neckline should tie the grey nicely in with the red. Just a narrow one will be very good. 👍
Love the top as well. I just put a top on today that I love the fabric of, but it is too big and I think putting a ribbed bottom on like you did might work! ? For the dress; some ideas.. a little something in the lighter material up top on neck or shoulder, like a Peter pan collar or a pin-on fabric flower? Any material left from the pockets? To even a thin ribbing along neckline? Love the “flowy-ness” of the skirt! Well done!
YOu are really inspiring. I have been passing on soe dresses with lovely fabrics because I would not wear them as-is and I did not know what to do to them. Thank you! I will give it a try.
Catherine, I am still just such a learner as far as sewing goes, but I love your videos (thanks for sharing!) And regarding this one, I think if you had a cute grey sash or grey belt, you would like this sundress even more. : )
Your skills are amazing and I learn so much from you! I suggest that you try again with the red markers: maybe the color will hold if you let it set a day or two before washing? Thanks for your teachings!
Edit: and yes, like another commenter said, try heat setting too!
Lovely dress and top. I would use a red trim on top of the grey (across the ,iddle for instace). Perhaps a thin crocheted trim, or just cotton ribbon.
Oh my gracious! You are sooooo talented. I think both the top and the dress turned out fabulously! I wouldn't do anything further on either of them.
I love these ideas!
I think you done a fantastic job. I've never seen red and gray put together like that before but it's great.
Keep up the ideas
I think you should cut the top off the dress and sew the grey top to the skirt. Then the shirt and the skirt would become one lovely dress with the grey top layer and the red-grey-red layered skirt.
Wow, such creativity; thanks for sharing! I always learn so many techniques! I would like the red dress with a little of the grey trim along the neckline to tie in the look but don’t know if you have enough fabric. Blessings to all🤗💜🇨🇦
Thank you your creativity! I just love watching your ideas come to life. I don’t like applying bias binding but now I’m so excited to try it. Thank you for your instructions.
There's always something to learn on your videos!! An adventure in sewing! Love it! ❤
Add red beads as centers on the floral of the gray.
Now you did take the pockets out and I was thinking that you would have enough material there to run like a little ruffled down the sleeves from the neck to the end of the sleeve I don't know if that'll help
Ty for sharing. Love both!
You really inspire me!! I am much more adventuresome in my up-cycles since watching your process. I love both the dress and the shirt, but do agree that the dress would look better with red in the grey. Heat setting the sharpie as others have suggested could work, or finding a fabric pen meant for this type of thing. Please keep the videos coming!
I have done Sharpie on fabric but I have always heat set it first.
They make fabric paints that you could use, you can even transfer them to bottles with needle points. The key is heat setting, with with an iron or the dryer. You can always put parchment paper over the painted area as you press to protect your iron.
I love the dress, it just needs some more unified elements.
I was thinking do red piping or rickrack at the edges of the gray ruffles. But, I love Carla B's idea to use red embroidery thread even better! How about maybe, for the neckline, do a peekaboo V under the finished edge and maybe use some gray binding on that V...?
Like what you did but I think I would have converted the gray dress to a longer top and found something else to use with the red dress. Not a fan of the gray knit waistband on the gray top.
Excelente!
I do believe that there are fabric paints. Perhaps try those. OR if you have embroidery stitches on your machine, you could add decorative red stitches at the edge of the grey pleats. Great job on both projects.
Absolutely amazing tutorial! I love the grey top. I’m waiting to see your solution for the red dress. You’re very talented!
Mauna here. I too adore the top! Way to go. The addition for the bottom would have been better with a different color....as you acknowledged. Something that ties better would be better. Was the choice because of your "thrifting"?
You could also do little pops of red embroidery on the grey fabric 😀. I love watching your videos from Australia.
I’m guessing that the tag was put on the wrong side originally. I’m enjoying your up cycles. I found your channel via a comment from a poster on the Minerva fabrics site.
I would make the dress a skirt, And wear it with a red tank top. And make the grey blouse into a jacket.
I thought maybe if you ironed after you wrote on fabric to help set the colors would help.
Amei a transformação. Manda um halloween para mim no Brasil
If you are looking for more grey fabric to use in the bodice/sleeves to tie the top and bottom of the dress together, consider the amount of fabric you have in the tucks. I personally love the tiered effect of the layered fabrics and you can still keep that effect by opening up the horizontal pleats and taking what you need to use on the top. That along with the pocket fabric (as suggested by juandawnmoffitt7872) give you something to work with. Love this! Keep it up.
Shein is the worst indeed - I got sucked in because the pictures are so great!!! and the fashions are fresh - but the fabric is HORRIBLE no matter what the style and what they do to the Earth is beyond words - plus China is making a move to connect with Russia - and we just shouldn't be placing our dollars there for a while - sorry for the lecture - I LOVE what their cuts and styles look like and years ago got some - but yeah - the downside is Huge.
Hi just an idea. How about heat setting the pens with a dry iron. Might work, can't hurt.
You could add some outline in the red with embrodery thread around some of the flowers in the gray section.
Love this red dress. Yes, I love the bow at the back!!! Amazing job 🤩
A light gray belt would pull that together nicely.
BAM!
Awww, you got here first again! Thanks for your amazing support MC! And I hope your deep-dish pizza video hits that algorithm HARD!!
@@CatherineSews Always a pleasure to come and support your channel, homie!
The deep dish pizza vid: meh, it's fizzling already. LOL
You might try a little red embroidery outlining the design. It would probably be much easier to match a red thread then a dye or ink. Good luck with what you might try.
I love watching your videos! You come up with ideas I would not have ever thought of. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
That was my thought as well.... just pick out some of the design on the grey fabric, with a red thread/floss that matches the red part of the dress. It doesn't have to be a lot of embroidery, you could even just do 2 threads of floss or 3 threads of sewing thread to do the detailing. I would also be inclined to add some grey to the top. And I am not sure that I am happy with the neckline yet.... is it low enough? It still seems a bit chokey.
I love doing this kind of upcycling!!
@@doriscassan6996 I was thinking more along the lines of a red thread using the straight stitch on a sewing machine. Making the process faster than by hand.
I think any kind of upcycling is awesome. We live in such a throw away world anymore. Manufacturers that use cheap materials make it easier to do so. I'd rather find a good quality item at a second hand store and upcycle than buy new off the rack made of plastics.
Have you thought about using fabric paint?
Great job, combing the 2 garments to make a dress you will wear. How about making a peekabo opening below the front neckline, just a small triangle in the middle to complement the opening in the back? Great job, love it.
I love your little serger tips. And of course your eye for design. Thank you
Throw a skinny white belt on the red dress and see if it changes the look enough.
Both projects turned out nicely. I would add some of the grey fabric to the sleeves too. The top was my favorite of the two projects. Thanks for another fun flip video.
I like what you did to the dress but it needs grey on the bodice to look complete. it looks like an add-on now. If there is any grey left consider adding a bias strip below the neckline and topstitch in place. It all depends on if there is fabric available but I don't quite remember. Love your show!
The top is very pretty. I agree with Susan that some grey on the sleeves perhaps above the sleeve ruffle. The bias on the new front neckline was perfect. What a clever sewer you are.
Catherine- I love your thrift flip videos!! Every time I see one I mentally go through things I don’t wear & plot a flip of my own.
I won’t add to the above ideas for your little red dress - you have enough to work from already. Good luck!
Tweek idea: perhaps on the hem of the red dress’ sleeves, make a narrow folded extension of the grey fabric; like a negative image of what you did with the red for the skirt hem on the bottom of the dress🤷🏼♀️?
Could you throw the grey top over the dress? That would give you 3 outfit options. I think that greay top is really cute and could work great over the dress. Also, have you tried a dye sublimation pen, like a Cricut pen? You could use it to free hand and then iron set it. That could be a great option for you.
I would skip the markers and get the fabric paints. It might take a little more time to do but the paints last a long while. When my kids were little we couldn’t afford designer clothes-so we got Goodwill and yard sale items and then panted designs on the legs of jeans. The pants were a hit for my kids as all the kids in school wanted painted jeans.
I also agree with some other comments of adding a little gray to the top section to pull the colors up! Awesome gray top though-I would have never thought to do that…
I feel like the waist is still too high, even with the extra elastic. You could use some of your grey stretch fabric to add a band and lower the waist to your more natural level. You might even cut a V neckline in front and add a grey binding, or sacrifice the back ties and close the back with a button tab, and use the tie(s) to make bias binding for the new V front. If you use red embroidery thread in the grey skirt, you could use grey thread to outline some of the red in the neckline and/or sleeves. Love your content!
I think both are great n I do love the gray top... as for the dress I agree that a red highlight on the gray section would tie them better together... how about on each of the gray bands that you try the decorative stitches on your machine ??? In my mind I see a vine n flower n leaves trailing around... each band the same... but maybe more is more n multiple rows of different designs... 🤔... this is a great video... 2 garments became 2 better garments...🎉
You make upcycling look so easy. Dress and top are both beautiful.
I'd like to see a little of the gray accent in the bodice somehow. Maybe trim on the sleeves or center neckline. Ya done good, Catherine!
Loved your process! It gave me so many ideas.
Maybe try a decorative stitch in red thread on the grey fabric?
I really enjoyed this video! I just found you and this has inspired me to try to remake some of my clothes.
You could add some red binding to the bottom of the grey tiers. I loved this video.
I think the way you chose to insert the gray into the skirt is perfect. You're right...this one would be way more work than I, personally, would be willing to do...but I'm a little lazy. I've got a whole new way of shopping for clothes these days....I go straight to the clearance rack and find things I Iike the general look of...try them on...and if I can "very easily" modify to be "awesome", I'll buy it. and THEN....I go to the "extra large" section and find things that are huge enough, that I can just use the fabric for a pattern I already know fits me well.
I had $25 of "Kohls cash" to use up yesterday...found a couple of items on the clearance rack that had already been marked down crazily....and the entire clearance rack had an additional 50% off the clearance prices....found two items I could use with minimal changes....and after my Kohls cash was applied, I ended up getting both items for $0 and still had $9 Kohls cash to spare! I don't even know what to call this kind of shopping...Maybe I can call it "rescuing" clothing from the landfill? Reminds me of a line I heard on that show Raising Hope (from a few years back)....where they were joking that they shop and "Bargain Barn Outlet Outlet" lolololol 😄
Way to stretch a buck! Hope u love the outcome.
You are so creative! And fearless! I don't think that I would have thought to turn the dress around--smart move.
Try a Micron pen and heat set before washing. I use them for signing quilts.
Love your re-make videos. You inspired me to take on a couple of projects.
Ok! I'll definitely give that a try! Thanks for your nice comment!
Is the Micron pen an archival-type pen? I think scrapbookers use those...? Love the idea of signing your quilts.
Great video Catherine!! Loved the up cycle blouse and dress, particularly the blouse, I think is my style as well. Love the fitting and the color. About the dress maybe adding a little bit of the gray fabric at the waist line like a belt or some type a bias tape at the neck line or arm hole, not a lot just something to make more cohesive, but overall great job, in fact you gave a fantastic idea to fix on my favorite dresses that is strapless and I not longer like that pull down because of it, so thank you!!
Hi Catherine, I was just going to suggest the same ideas as in your pinned comment. Great minds think alike. I think bringing the grey up onto the neckline will make it seem intentional for sure. I love the blouse you upcycled.
Thanks so much, Mary-Lou! I love when you stop by!
You could add some red piping to the top of the folded seams on the gray part to tie it together.
I think the other person is right. It needs a little gray at top.
Can you take baggy dress pants and turn them into a long skirt?
Both turned out surprisingly good. I love how the gray top turned out! I’m not a dress-wearer, but it does look cute and you did a great job on the fixes. Maybe put a small binding in gray around the sleeves to tie it into the gray in the skirt if you have fabric left.
I like the Dress! Maybe? make a Long Grey Corded Necklace, with a Grey stone, (something a bit chunky) that would tie it in nicely. To me, it just seems the top needs something Grey to make it work?
The Top is a Winner! Love it! Awesome techniques! Thanks for this video!!
would you like the dress better if it was a maxi dress ?? I think I would like the dress long ! just an idea 😊
Yes, that might be a good way to go! Thank you!
I am so glad at I watched the entire video. You had some great ideas for upcycling the red dress. It looks really nice on you. The grey blouse is terrific. Just an idea. Maybe you could trim the sleeves with a narrow piece of the grey. I have learned a lot from or videos. Luv, luv, luv, upcycling!!! Thank you so much.🤗🤗🤗
I'm wondering if a V-neck with a facing would be more flattering, and tie in to the style of the back more. It is always more pleasing when design elements repeat. Agree about adding some gray at the top. Love following your thought process through these up-cycles!
I love the dress!!!! And the top is divine. Thanks for inspired me.
Hi, mrs catherine
Greetings from me, you are very creative
Thank you. Wow! You do some gorgeous bead work on your channel!
I like the insertion of the gray ruffle area. I was wondering if you could do a decorative stitch along the edges of the gray ruffles using red thread to help tie it in better with the red fabric. What about adding some gray around the sleeve edges? Your creativity is amazing! I never would have thought to put those 2 fabrics together, but they do work well. That gray blouse is exceptionally pretty!!! I love it!
Could you use the part of the button placket you cut off from the skirt to make a button up neckline? That way the grey print would balance out a bit. Maybe add a bit of the grey ribbing to the sleeve hems and to replace the red bias tape of the rest of the neckline? Also test out the Sharpie again on the pockets but this time heat set the color, either by iron or dryer or both before washing it.
Fabulous job Catherine w/ the up-cycles. I would have to agree w/ the others as well about the gray fabric as accents somehow to make it more cohesive? What about permanent fabric paints to add some red to the gray? I love how you’re always all in w/ a project until the very end even when you’re not that sure of the actual turnout.
Great job! You could also try a textile paint with a very fine brush. It shouldn't bleed at all and you'll heat set it too.
Love your channel ....could you please give your step sister's you tube name once again. APR. 26, 2023 THANKS
The top is amazing , I was really surprised at how well it turned out! Loved the up cycling.
I’m old school and love using that yellow wax tailor ‘s chalk or my mother’s standby pencil for marking fabric. 😂 Greetings from New York City! 👍🏼👍🏼🇵🇷🗽❤️
That was a really cute dress! Before deciding to make the front the back, I think I would’ve started with wearing a lace cami …. You might’ve been happier with the neckline plunge and peekaboo elements 🤷🏼♀️. The dress did need to be longer.