I bought this cardigan in a local charity shop and the picture here is much more flattering than it looked first hand. I liked the shape more than anything else. It was a pale blue but very tired looking, from lots of washing I guess, and beginning to become more grey-blue.

After wearing it a few times I realised that the colour did nothing for me at all, plus I have far too many pale blue things in my wardrobe. So I thought it needed a sprucing up to a much warmer purple and the addition of these cute buttons from the fabulous Brinsley craft fair I’ve mentioned before.

Fabric dyeing tip: Wear gloves when handling dye, oh yes, and make sure they don’t have any holes in them! I did not take my advice and now I have one purple left thumb. It looks like something from an old Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Whilst I’m talking about charity shop finds, check out these two bags I found today. I just couldn’t resist them.

So, whilst in this lethargic state of mind I’ve mustered up the energy to have a think about some alterations I’m planning for a few items lurking in my craft room.

Although I haven’t jumped to the scissors and sewing machine today, sharing them on this blog with give me the momentum to start and finish the job.

Shiny shiny top
First up is this pretty vest top that I found in an inexpensive little boutique on Portobello Road a few years ago. Its always been a little on the small side and now it doesn’t really fit me at all. Plus when I bought it the main thing about it that I loved was the sequined neckline and straps. I wasn’t too fussed about the rest of it. The plan here is to remove the sequined neckline and  make a new top to attach it to. Ideally I’d like to use a dark fabric and instead of making another vest try creating a little short sleeved top.

The top skirt
I’ve already mentioned this one in an earlier post. I saw this size 14 halter neck top in a charity shop and mistook it for a skirt. At first I was disapointed because it would be too big for me as a top but then I thought maybe I could transform it. I think it would make a lovely skirt indeed.

1960′s shift dress
This was a bit of an impulse buy from e-bay. It reminded me of a lovely vintage dress I’d seen Roisin Murphy wearing. One of the downsides of e-bay though is that you don’t get the opportunity to try on clothes before you buy. Although I love this dress it is too wide for me and the neck is teeny tiny and too tight. I don’t want to do much to this dress other than make it fit me better. I love its sixties simplicity.

Flowy florals
Finally there’s this floral dress which lost out to a make-over to the pink print skirt I made at the alterations class. I still think it would benefit from cutting off the top and the bottom and making it a calf length, country style skirt.

Well, I think that’s enough to be getting on with for a while. I don’t necessarily know how I’m going to make these alterations but that’s all part of the learning process. I might do the floral skirt first as I can use the knowledge I gained from the class.

Before I go any further, here’s the link to Hannah’s workshop list. I had a great afternoon and learned so much. Hannah is a very patient teacher even when you manage to mess up a zip 3 times! Ahem, moving swiftly on.

So I decided to alter the pink psychedelic print dress as my project. The dress was very short, strapless and had a broken zip. I’d never worn it as a dress but bought and kept it because I thought it deserved a new lease of life, and now it has.

Before we started cutting and sewing Hannah fitted the skirt (still a dress) for me, marking where the waist should be and creating darts so that it fit me properly. I find it so motivating and inspiring to watch someone who really knows what they’re doing at work and Hannah knows dressmaking.

Most of my craft learning feels like a demystifying process and yesterday clarified not only techniques but reasons for doing things a certain way. Amongst many other things I learned how big a seam should be, what darts are for, when to use a concelaed zip and discovered the wonderful dressmakers ham! I’ve got to get me one of those.

Our bodies are not flat and two dimentional so we need to make our clothes fit a more rounded, person-shaped shape. This is obvious in hindsight but something I didn’t consider, being so hung up on sewing in straight lines!

My skirt is very nearly finished. I just need to complete the waistband and will show it when its done. How exciting!

I’m not going to give away too much because I would recommend sitting a class like Hannah’s first but I’ve added a few new things to the Resources page under ‘Dressmaking’.

The ‘Alterations Afternoon’ lesson is where I will learn how to fit, alter and mend. This is going to be a big milestone for me in terms of understanding some fundamental principles and so important when it comes to sustainability.

Learning these types of skills means I’ll be able to take existing pieces, whether vintage, from a charity shop, flea market, begged, stolen or borrowed and customise them just for me. How exciting is that?!

My project on the day is going to be altering one of these dresses into a skirt, I haven’t decided which yet.

I bought the blue floral one from the flea Market in Leeds last year. The flea market is in the outside part of Leeds famous Kirkgate Market, which includes the largest indoor market in Europe. Its an amazing place where I’m sure you can buy anything.  In fact I bought my first crochet hook from one of the many craft stalls in there.

I’m not really sure what possessed me to buy this Laura Ashley-esqe nightmare. I think it was the flowing maxi-length 70s vibe it gave off. The top part does not look good but I reckon it has potential as a skirt. I can imagine wearing it in the autumn with boots and in the summer with a pretty tank top.

The pink strapless dress wasn’t actually second hand

but it was in the sale because of a broken zip. I thought the psychedelic print was so pretty and striking, I bought it with the intention of mending and wearing it. That was over a year ago.

After Thursday I’ll let you know how my alterations learning went and hopefully will be able to show you my new skirt!