goodwill, rocky balboa, and a propensity for getting terribly lost

So you already know I moved and my house is pretty much fantastic because it's adorable, vintage-y, closer to work, and has a huge backyard. What you don't know is how much I hate moving because I have an extreme talent for getting incredibly lost for no apparent reason and I have to find all new everything in my new area which means a million more ways to get lost than before. Also I hate packing. And I hate unpacking even more than I hate packing. Which is very, very, very much.

Common areas look like this..so pretty.

Guest room and office look disturbingly similar to this. {img source}

Thankfully I married a human compass. He's in charge of navigation and driving when we go anywhere together.We're scouting out new gyms, and yesterday while making the final rounds to the final 2 gyms left in the decision making bracket, I found my Goodwill.

I hate hate hate gyms so I was not excited about this voyage at all. A small quiet yoga studio is a bazillion percent more my comfort level. But Husband is a gym nerd. He loves it. He's been on the hunt for a gym like Rocky Balboa trained in--sweaty, gross, not well kept, and downright nasty--because "that's what a man's workout should look like" which made me dread the gym hunt even more because I don't do sweaty, gross, not well kept, and downright nasty.

But there was one gym that I didn't hate and he liked a whole lot that has a downright nasty section but also has a yoga studio which we may be joining--I tried an actual yoga studio last night and loved it but it would be a little more fiscally responsible to work out at the same place. So on the way home while Husband was quoting Rocky and calling me Adrian, I was staring out the window trying to find landmarks to remind myself where I am if I get lost on this road. Lo and behold, I found the best landmark of all...

A big fat giant Goodwill! Which I didn't take a picture of because my phone was MIA (also known as in my purse where all good things go to get lost forever). But here's Mackelmore to tell you for the millionth time about how great it is to buy your grandpa's clothes and look fabulous while only using $20 in your pocket.

So today after work I'm stopping at Goodwill and finding stuff to build up my refashionables closet. And then I'm going home to unpack whilst angrily sobbing because unpacking is just the worst.

fabu-less friday: goodwill maxi turned ruche midi

I love Modcloth, Ruche, and Shabby Apple. I do not love the prices. Ruche is more affordable, but I have issues with spending money on clothes. I hate spending more than $20 on pretty much anything. However, I've been obsessing over plaid midi skirts for months, and I've been trying to convince myself to buy one.

"Ayrshire Plaid Midi Skirt" at ShopRuche.com

Luna Skirt from Shabby Apple

Office Envy skirt from Modcloth

However, none of these are even close to my $20 panic point. SO I decided to venture out into my new town and find our Goodwill. Best discovery: it's like a mile and a half away. I found a less than fabulously cut skirt that was quite a bit too large for me, but had a beautiful purple plaid for $3. I also found a great checkered pencil skirt to wear as-is.

Before and After--excuse the greasy hair in before, focus on the fab hair in after

The best thing ever happened this week...IT SNOWED! Snow is literally my favorite thing that exists on earth so when we had a two day snow day this week, I was SO happy. I took the opportunity to sew like mad on Tuesday and watch Harry Potter all day with the husband Wednesday. Being married is great for blogging, by the way. I have someone to take my pictures for me again! Thanks Drew!

This refashion wasn't very conducive to a tutorial, but I'll show you some of the steps. It was a long process and took me a day and a half to finish once I realized the original side zipper of the skirt had been damaged and was un-reusable, and my zipper foot for my sewing machine had disappeared. So after the South re-opened after Snowmaggedon yesterday I went over to Hancock, grabbed a few zippers to keep on hand plus the one I needed, and a new Coats Invisible Zipper Foot (I highly recommend this, by the way. It guides the zipper teeth through for you, saving time and frustration).

She got a donk...should've shown this from the back so you could see what a pear shape looks like!

The first thing I do with any garment is determine what fit I'm looking for. I placed this skirt on my adjustable dress form that is set to my measurements to start pinning and marking what I was going to do. After examining the skirt, I decided that the best way to takle it was by cutting every seam entirely off except the hem. I kept the original hem because I knew that cutting from the top instead of the bottom would give me the gather I needed to get a fuller skirt like those I was getting inspiration from.

Cut ALL the seams!

After I had done that, I took the two halves of the skirt and laid them side by side. I measured about 3 inches from the top to get my next cut, and then sewed those two strips together to make what became the new waistband.

Daisy stayed like this the ENTIRE day Tuesday while I sewed. Snoring on the daybed, occasionally looking up to check out what I was up to.

Two skirt halves ready to be chopped up!

Stitching those two strips from the tops of skirt halves together to make one long strip.

Fusible interfacing is your friend!

To add stability to my waistband since this fabric has a slight stretch to it, I added fusible interfacing and then ironed the waistband almost as though I was making bias tape. I was going to attach the skirt by sandwiching it between the two sides of the waistband and sewing along the bottom edge to create a barely-there seam.

Gathering is easy--sew two lines using a long or basting stitch and then tug on the ends until you get the right amount of gather.

There is the sandwich technique!

After this, I sewed up one side seam, leaving the other open for zipper installation. I had to go purchase a new zipper and an invisible zipper foot, but then was able to install it with relative ease. I forgot to take pictures of this step, but invisible zippers are wonderful because it truly can't be seen without searching for the zipper pull. It gives homemade clothing the same feel you get from storebought, when installed correctly. This tutorial from Sew Serendipity is the best and easiest to follow invisible zipper guide I've ever consulted.

The Coats & Clark invisible zipper foot is great because it can be made to fit any machine.

Midi-skirts are great for work--not too long to be casual, and not too short to be inappropriate.

After all of the deconstruction and essentially making an entirely new skirt, I got my copycat look for a grand total of $5.99 including the new zipper. I didn't factor the foot into the total price because it was a replacement for a staple part of my sewing life. That means I saved almost 90% by doing a DIY version instead of buying the skirt retail!

Part of the reason I chose the midi length skirt was for work. Being a young female in a male dominated workforce, with somewhat of a "good ol' boy" culture, I have to work harder to be taken seriously. I never mention my age unless I have to, and am very very selective with my work clothes. If the hem is above my knee at all, I don't wear it. I rarely wear pencil skirts because when you have the kind of butt Sir Mixalot writes songs about, pencil skirts will always ride up in the back and look more sexy than savvy, which is not the professional persona I want to give off. This skirt meets my need for style and fun, which I can get away with more being in the arts, while also being a serious enough wardrobe piece to become a work wear staple.

What have you done as a woman or young professional to help your image? Have you been up to any DIY lately?

Goodwill explosions!

Monday I had to go to Greenville for most of the day for a few appointments, and I found SO many thrift stores. My mom was with me and every time we passed one I would stop talking mid sentence and look out the window really quickly like a dog watching cars pass. She made so much fun of me.

But I can't help it! Sew My Soul has been so much fun, and now everywhere I go, I see opportunities for it.

For example.

Did you know that Goodwill actually has a clearance store? How much more discounted and thrifty can you possibly get than a Goodwill Clearance Store? According to my mom, "it's really really gross...like take four showers when you leave gross..." which to me translates to "perfect place for a broke twenty something who likes to sew to shop."

And there are approximately seven zillion independently owned thrift stores scattered all over town. We got kind of lost a few times because neither of us is very good at listening to the GPS while the radio is on, so we saw way more parts of town than we'd planned. And in every random area we were in, I found at least four thrift stores.

Back home in Anderson, I found a brand new little one in the middle of nowhere on my way home. Yes, the way home does involve being in the middle of nowhere. I was late to class Friday morning because I got stuck behind a tractor. For about a mile and a half. Yep, I'm from the South.

In seeing all of these thrift stores, I realized something. Donating is super, super important for these businesses.

But I have a confession.

There are two enormous bags of donations in my trunk for Goodwill.

They've been there since September.

Oops.

~Kaitlin

How to get the REAL deals this holiday season

If I am known for anything, it's my ability to bargain shop. Once I walked out of Kohl's with a ten dollar gift card they had to give me because I had used so many coupons my total price was -$10. I got a seventy dollar pair of boots, two shirts, and a pair of sweatpants, for literally nothing. And the store gave me money.

Not a lie, guys. I'm really, really good at finding the best deals.

And here's one of my trade secrets. Black Friday? It's actually one of the worst days of the holiday season to find deals. Earlier in the Thanksgiving week, the markdowns are actually lower and unadvertised, and then marked up a little more with tons of press coverage so that the stores can make people think they're getting an awesome deal while still making tons of cash from all the crowds.

The best day to shop in November is really the day before Thanksgiving. The prices haven't been advertised so the stores can afford to do a bigger cut then, since they know there won't be a huge crowd. Bonus? The stores are practically empty, and you're almost guaranteed to find your size because everything is overstocked in preparation for Black Friday. So next year, save yourself a ton of cash and shop before Thanksgiving. Trust me, you'll be even happier about the deals.

Christmas time is even better for the deals. Two weeks before Christmas and the week after Christmas, the markdowns are at a really high percentage because the stores are trying to get rid of their old merchandise to make room for the shipments they'll be getting in January and February. January and February are awful months to shop. The prices are actually marked up from where they will be in March. When companies introduce new products, the price is higher than when the product has spent a little time on the market. NEVER buy something when it is first introduced. You will be guaranteed to lose money on it.

If you live in a college town where people tend to go away for spring break, stay in town! The stores know the schedule for all of the local schools' major breaks, and will mark down most heavily when they know a significant amount of their population will be out of town. They don't want the massive crowds to know about their markdown schedule, so they will arrange it in a way that saves them the most money. Shop during school breaks. You'll get really good prices.

Also, use coupons. Yes, even at clothing stores. Haven't you heard of retailmenot.com? Sometimes the coupons won't actually work (some of them are user created) but most of the time they work. And it's always worth a try. If the coupon doesn't work, don't act embarrassed. Act mad at the store. Usually, this approach can get you some type of discount. Hey, ten percent off is ten percent off.

Final tip of the day: This is the best time of year to go thrifting and find really good stuff, even current things you don't need to refashion. People are feeling giving because of the mood of the season, and also trying to make room for the presents they're sure to receive, so closet cleanouts and donations are happening left and right. Hit up Goodwill. Like, now. Trust me.

If you're still in doubt, try some of my tricks. Everyone who knows me knows I really am good at this. You can be too. Just try it!

~Kaitlin

Halloween: Thrift Your Costume!

In our last Halloween post, we talked about ideas for making your own costume for Halloween. But what if you don't have time to make your own? Then, just run to your local thrift store. Many will have a special section this time of year especially for costumes. But, if you want a costume that is unique or difficult to find, get a little creative and search the racks for different pieces that could work together for your costume.

However, before you go to the thrift store, look around your house and see if there is anything that you can use. Two years ago, I went to a bowling Halloween party and about three hours before had nothing to wear. So, I went to Party City and got a kit that had black cat ears and a tail. Then, I grabbed a black dress, stocking, and shoes I had at home, drew on some whiskers with eyeliner and Voila! I had a cute costume and barely had to spend anything.

If you need a little inspiration, this website has 9 great thrift store costumes and some of the stuff you may be able to find around your house. 

So, remember to get creative this Halloween and let us know what you're dressing up as! Happy Halloween!

~Elizabeth

6 Tips for Thrifting

This weekend we went thrifting and decided to share our top 6 thrifting tips with you. 

1. Think about the fabric
2. Don't focus on the shape of the clothing
3. Buy a size or two up 
4. Some things aren't worth saving
5. Check the sales rack first
6. Don't be overwhelmed

Don't forget to leave us a comment with YOUR thrifting tips and your ideas for repurposing the men's shirt.

It's been a crazy week...

I have had a migraine that has lasted for three days now. Not fun. So I haven't exactly had posting something new in the front of my brain :( my apologies.

However, we have lots and lots of great things in store for you...

Friday we're going THRIFTING! And from the ever wonderful Goodwill, we will be producing our first video to teach you what great thrifting really looks like.

We'll also be coming up with our next tutorial (YAY--my favorite part) which means something new for your closet and something new for mine!

Also, I have this really great but two sizes too big navy blue dress I want to upcycle a little...what do you think I should do with it?

What to do when there is NOTHING to wear!

Today I have a little tip for you. Nothing is worse than staring at a closet full of nothing to wear. Seriously. I hate having to stand in front of my closet for ages trying to find something respectable to put on my body in the morning. It starts the day off on a totally terrible note, and puts me in a funk for the rest of the day.

I don't know any girls who don't have this problem!

To try to combat the morning wardrobe blues, I developed a system for keeping my closet clutter free. Every three months, I go through my clothes. Anything I haven't worn in three months can either be donated to a thrift store that supports a good cause, or can be made into something new that I will feel better about myself in.

This is a great way to go thrifting for free. They're already your clothes, so you don't have to buy them, and you can turn them into exactly the piece your wardrobe really needs! Another great way to find new things to refashion is to go through your friends. Have a swap party! Everyone brings in the clothes they haven't worn in forever, and takes home some great pieces they can either wear as is or make totally new.

The second way I organize my closet is by color. Everything is arranged according to the color wheel: Neutrals first, then black, then blue, green, yellow, orange, reds and pinks, and purple. It helps me to see what I already have plenty of (black, beige, and blue are ninety percent of what I like to wear) and what I don't have enough of. That way, when I do decide to make something out of thrift store finds, I know what I should be looking for to go with my current wardrobe, instead of making something cute that I will never, ever wear. Put your money and your skills where they really need to go!

Thank you, Pinterest, for the massive closet envy.

We already know I am all about bargain hunting and saving a dime wherever I can, but I also want to keep up a halfway decent appearance! I was browsing around a little today and I found a great blog that is written by a model living in New York who is all about saving money. Apparently, modeling is not the most lucrative industry by far. She has some really great ideas about saving money and looking good throughout her entire website. I spent probably forty five minutes just looking around. She has some great tips!

Go through your closet soon and bring your old stuff to your local charity thrift store. They help people in need, and most often are nonprofits, which means every cent of their income goes straight into supporting their cause. While you're there, dig around for yourself a little too! Someone might have cast of the perfect LBD for you, and with a few modifications it could turn out to be the best piece in your closet!

Happy Thursday!
-Kaitlin

Why Repurpose?

Repurposing has so many benefits. One of my favorites is the fact that you can save so much money by doing it, and in this economy, almost everyone tries to save as much as they can. A study found that Americans spend an average of $1,700 a year on clothing and accessories. So instead of going to a department store and spending $20 on a skirt, you could get a “granny dress” from a thrift store and transform it into a cute and fashionable skirt and spend about $3 instead. Little things like this can ultimately save a lot of money every year.

Another thing that is awesome about repurposing is the fact that, as Kaitlin has said, you get to decide how the project turns out and get to be creative in doing it. When we were doing our From Granny Dress to SweetSkirt tutorial, my skirt didn’t fit right at first, but after some quick alterations it fit my waist perfectly. You can also design it to fit your personal style as well.

If you aren’t very creative or aren’t sure how to sew, it’s great to be able to find tutorials online to help you. A great place to find tutorials and ideas for repurposing is Pinterest, which is a virtual pinboard where you can organize different thing found on the web.

I am definitely most excited to work on some t-shirt repurposing because I think that it is amazing the different things that can be done with a simple t-shirt.

~Elizabeth