Refashioning: How to Make Sequin Leg Warmers from Skirts

I like to read fashion magazines to get ideas when I'm bored of my clothes. I must say I haven't been too inspired by anything I've seen lately, except for what you see below: sequin socks!

I mean, they are just the weirdest thing, aren't they? Who would even think to make them? But they look so cute and unusual. . .so my mind started spinning.

I like the look of them, but. . .I wasn't too thrilled with the sock idea. I mean, socks can only be worn once and then they need to be washed, so I had an alternative idea that would still keep the sequins around the ankles, but not be so scratchy around the foot: leg warmers!

I found this mini skirt on the dollar rack at Goodwill.

And this velveteen skirt as well.

First, I measured around my calf and I cut the skirt you see below to that measurement plus one inch (for seam allowance). I also cut it as tall as I could get it with the fabric I had. Cutting through the skirt like this gave me two panels.

I used those same measurements to cut out two panels of velveteen.

Since the bottom edge of the skirts were both finished, I decided to use that as the bottom of the leg warmers (the pieces are upside-down in this picture). I pinned the adjacent edges of one piece of sequin with one piece of velveteen with right sides together.

I sewed them with the sequins on bottom. (Note: velveteen is tricky because it slides around, so. . .watch out for that!)

So once those seams were created, I unfolded both pieces and pinned the long edges with right sides together.

After sewing those seams, I turned each tube inside out.

The finished leg warmer. This project took about fifteen minutes.

And! They are reversible!

The End!

Colorblocking - When Shirts are Too Small

When I was in Korea, I used to go shopping in the underground with my friend Holly. She was always on the look out for a black dress with one big peacock feather across the front of it. When I found this sequined shirt on the dollar rack at Goodwill, I bought it because it reminded me of her, even though it's about forty sizes too small. Okay, so I can manage to squeeze it on, but. . .it ain't pretty!

I keep just about all my salvageable scraps from other projects, and below are some sleeves that I cut off another dress in order to make it sleeveless. I decided these would help me to fix my shirt by the method of color blocking. I thought about using another color, but because the peacock feather is such a feature, I decided a monotone blocking would be best.

I laid them on top. You can start to see how I would use them to fill out the sides of my shirt.

I put them behind the shirt to give you a better idea.

First, I cut the side seams almost all the way to the armpits.

Then, I cut the sleeves till they were the right size to sew into the sides of the shirt.

I pinned them all together and sewed them up.

This is the finished shirt.

Well, really this is the finished shirt. I tried on the one above and the hips were way too roomy, so I took them in about an inch.

It's a little dark, but you get the idea. Never let size be an obstacle to buying a shirt you like! You can always color block it!

The End!