The Refashioners 2016: Marie

First things first. I’m a nincompoop! When Portia invited me to take part in the Refashioners again, I jumped in without hesitation. The only problem was that being distracted by work and life I totally missed her very clear memo that this year’s challenge is all about jeans.

Somehow, and I genuinely don’t know how it was possible, I managed to convince myself from the very start that it was about denim in general. Despite her follow-up emails, related blog posts and blindingly obvious blog button, I didn’t twig until it was far too late.

With my head high up in the denim clouds, I sought inspiration on Pinterest and fell hard for the patchwork look. I’d also been dying to make Seamwork’s woven tee, Hayden, which seemed to lend itself perfectly to my vision.

At this point, I need to thank Portia for being SUCH a gracious host. Not only did I completely misinterpret the theme, I also didn’t refashion in the true sense of the word, opting as always to use a pattern. Yet she still humoured me with a guest blog and that’s just one of the many reasons she’s a beautiful human being.

Anyway, I digress. For my cropped tee I picked up a denim skirt and two denim chambray shirts from a local charity shop. This may seem a little wasteful, but I was desperate to get a good contrast in my patchwork. In the spirit of the challenge though, I shall use the leftover scraps as pocket facings and so on. 

    My charity shop finds were all large sizes so pattern placement was a breeze and I got everything cut out quickly. In fact, the whole make was pretty fast, which is exactly what Seamwork patterns promise.

The only slightly tricky thing were the sleeves. Even though they are sewn on flat, like you do for knits, there’s something a little off with the drafting so it’s not the smoothest process. Other than that though, it’s a satisfyingly speedy make. 

Although I think the patchwork look has tuned out really nicely and the top is pretty cute, I don’t like it on me. It’s a lot boxier than I first realised and combined with my large bust it makes me look even bigger than I am. 

I even paired it with my faux-quilted pleather skirt in an attempt to look ‘cool’, but I just don’t think this look works for me. It’s a shame, because a longer, leaner person would totally rock it.

      I may not have fully fulfilled Portia’s brief, but I had fun nonetheless and it’s always rewarding to push myself out of my comfort zone.

I cannot tell you the hand wringing poor Marie went through over the misunderstanding regarding the brief. But here’s the thing. The point of these blogger posts is to provide inspiration. (they’re not entering the competition. You are. So as long as YOU use jeans, it’s all good!) And as far as I’m concerned Marie has done that in spades, as you COULD totally adapt this to be made from old jeans. It’s the panelling and  blocking of the different shades of blue that is the takeaway here, as far as jeans refashioning is concerned. Take a closer look at the pattern pieces that this top is comprised of. Widen those darker coloured side panels slightly, which will enable you to narrow the front pattern piece. Back has a CB seam anyway so hey presto….all those pattern pieces are  then narrow enough to be cut from jeans. Job done I’d say Marie!! And for the record, whether you use a pattern or free wheel it….it still totally counts as a refashion! (IMHO)

You can find  Marie here or here. And if you’re inspired to get your refashion on and enter the Community Challenge and be in with a chance of winning some epic prizes…DO IT! Deadline for entries is 30th Sept. Midnight GMT.

….I think you’ve got the idea now right? Essentially we want you to refashion some jeans! (You can find the full details/small print of the brief here). BUT, if you want to be in with a chance of winning one of these amazing prize packages you need to SHARE that refashion with us in one of the following ways:

• On Instagram: Share a pic using the hashtags #therefashioners2016  and #jeanius
• On Pinterest: There is a community board here where you can pin your makes. (You will need to request an invite to join)
• On Facebook: There is a community board here where you can post your makes (You will need to request an invite to join)

Only entries shared via the above 3 methods will be entered into the competition. Closing date for entries is 30th September 2016 Midnight GMT. Good luck!!