#RefashionFriday Blouse to Peplum Tank
Now that we've been in the new house a few weeks and have started settling in, I can get back to my sewing and sharing refashions! I'm so happy to have another Refashion Friday to share with you!
I have a confession to make. I LOVE shopping. When I was younger, shopping was a major bonding experience between my grandparent's, sister and I. We would go on shopping trips all the time. My grandpa would drive the three of us girls to the mall, and sit and wait for us in the parking lot. He would wash his car, or stroll around the mall looking for other guys to talk to. My grandma, sister and I would go through all the sections of the department store, and grandma would let us buy 1-2 pieces of clothing each. My grandma was also the queen of discounts. She never believed in paying full price and even now, I cringe when I don't see a sale, and get a slight high when I find a great bargain.
The older we got, the less frequent we went, and the more frustrated I would get shopping because clothes just didn't fit. When my sister and I started high school, we rarely went shopping with our grandparents- and I went even less when I started making my clothes in college. Since I make so much of my wardrobe now, I go shopping even less, but the urge from my childhood is still there.
Since I've become more aware of shopping habits and the fast fashion industry, I've still wanted to get my shopping "fix" but without the impact. That's where thrift shopping came in. I get my shopping desires satisfied, along with my bargain hunting AND I'm not shopping fast fashion.
When I go thrifting, I find all different pieces. A lot of times, I buy items to refashion, but I also buy used items to wear "as is" and (as I previously mentioned) buy items to sell online. I haven't been thrifting in a really long time, and earlier this week I decided to hit up my favorite spot. I didn't find too much to wear, but I did find this blouse to refashion!
I see outdated blouses like this all the time, but most of them don't have this great of detail and I had to snatch it up. As soon as I saw it, I knew what I wanted to make, and started on the journey to this top!
Something about summer screams for a cute white tank. It's like a summer staple and I decided that this would be the top to make my summer dreams come true.
I started doing some pattern research for a woven tank pattern, and came across Megan Nielsen's Eucalypt Tank, and thought it would be a good pattern for this top and for future tanks/dresses. It's a relaxed tank, with a ton of opportunities to alter.
I found the waist line on the pattern and added a bit extra to the length to account for adding the peplum. This blouse was very easy to rip apart, and by ripping the front, back and sleeves, I was able to make the pieces flat for the pattern to sit on. I do wish I took a few more progress shots but it came together so quick, I completely forgot!
I decided to leave the button placket (which wasn't in my original plan) but by stitching the placket shut, I was able to save some of the embroidery without needing to re-position it on the tank.
With the extra fabric I was able to create the bottom peplum. I wanted to keep the front clean, and add some fun detail to the back- which is why I transferred the rest of the pleats to the back. The peplum measurement came to 7" total in height, and I franken-pieced together some more fabric to get enough material to gather.
I tried to remove the embroidery from the sleeves and collar to use as the neck and sleeve binding on the tank, but after sewing it on and taking a step back, it wasn't sitting right so I had to rip it all out. Unfortunately I wasn't able to use all the details, but I was able to keep a majority of the shirt.
This tank took a few hours to make, but doing this from scratch would have taken over double the time with all that detail. Refashioning isn't always about using fun and funky fabrics (which I am trying to tell myself), so next time you are in the thrift store, look for something with detail!
For today's inspiration, I decided to share some other blouse refashions! {If you want to see even more inspiration, take a look at this previous refashion post! I swear, my next refashion WON'T be a peplum hah!}
Resizing a garment is always a solid choice, but if you do want to take your refashioning a step further:
Bring that 90's style into modern times with shoulder cut outs!
Read about a bunch of 90s DIY's here.
Use the details that come with the shirt!
(I cannot find the original post for this top- if you know, let me know!)
Top from Pearls & Scissors
Happy Refashioning!