Time to Vote! Refashion Runway: Boho Chic Challenge

To me, nothing says carefree, summer and relaxed better than a little fringe, lace and leather. I love the Boho Chic look and these talented Refashion Runway women took this look to a whole new level this week.

Enjoy! And be sure to vote for your favorite at the bottom of this post.

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Let’s take a look at what Gema from Sequins and Slippers has been up to this week:

“Hi Everyone!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week! I’ve been on tenterhooks, waiting
to see everyone’s Boho Chic creations… can’t wait!

So… here’s mine… Bearing in mind I started with the idea of a fringed
waistcoat, everything else had to fit around that. SO! As there are three
pieces to this, I’ll make it a short explanation (with an indepth rundown
on my own blog) – otherwise you’ll fall asleep by the end of it!

To start? A leather coat, a white cotton dress, and a pair of seventies
paisley print trousers!

I started with the leather coat, removing the button placket, collar, and
sleeves – before realising it was actually a (usable) beautifully soft
suede on the inside. SO! I made fringing from the arms, fitted the body to
fit me, and ended up with the waistcoat. (as I said before, you’re getting
the abridged version! Haha!)

With the white dress I created a panelled white off-the-shoulder top (like
a corset, but no boning) – and added a neckband to strengthen the top (so
it wouldn’t slip off!).

Finally, I cut the paisley pants round the inside leg, and pinned them to
my body to create a maxi skirt. I fully sewed up the back seam, and left
the front seam open half-way to create a front slit.

I then went down to the river with Roddie to take some photos, but with all
the drizzle it was pretty dark – hope you can see!

Here’s one of the front of the skirt!

And here’s a close-up on Dolly, for a better look at the waistcoat!

Have a wonderful week…

Until then, Happy Refashioning!

Gema x”

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Now, let’s check in on Kara from While Camden Sleeps:

“Every item of clothing has a story to tell. This is especially true for
thrifted finds. As I approached the theme for this week, I wanted to do
something different and find a way to add symbolism to my refashion. So I
set off to find the pieces to refashion and I ended up at a swap meet
where I found, oddly enough, a bathrobe.

I know that a used bathrobe isn’t something most people are looking for,
and I ask you to wait before you write this off. You see, the fabric of
the robe has a beautiful texture. It wasn’t towel-like or absorbent, just
a normal woven cotton with an exceptional pattern. (Because of the
intimate nature of robes, I did wash it carefully before wearing it. I
also realized I’d have to work around a few stains.)

The second thing I noticed after the texture was the logo that read, ” Crozer Cancer Center.” That’s when I realized that this robe had a story to tell too. A story of hardship and illness. And that’s when I got my idea: I wanted to give this robe a second chance. Instead of representing a devastating illness, it would represent a second chance.

I knew that the robe would need something to embellish it in order to truly
be Boho Chic. That’s why I decided the beautiful dress below would make a
great donor.

I LOVED this dress. However, when I tried it on, it got stuck. Real
stuck. Like, should-I-ask-a-stranger-for-help stuck. It was way too small
and I heard seams ripping as I finally managed to dance it’s way over my
head. The damage was done and the dress needed some serious TLC. Luckily,
so did the robe. So it was a match made in heaven.

**I spent a while researching Indian clothing to be sure I wasn’t altering
something sacred or deeply symbolic. I learned that this dress is actually
a tunic called a “kurti” and they can be worn for casual and formal
occasions. Anyone can buy them on Amazon.
<http://www.amazon.com/Printed-Multi-Long-Tunics-Kurti/dp/B012H1F4ZU/ref=sr_1_10?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1440200260&sr=1-10&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=kurti&gt;
And the wiki page even told me they were worn regularly in the 60s and 70s
as an “element of hippie fashion.” Score!**

The final piece I worked with was this vest. I was over ambitious and
wanted to find a leather jacket to refashion into a vest. However, all the
leather jackets at the thrift store were at least $20, and I found the one
below for $3! Plus it’s leather and by the looks of it, authentically
vintage. I decided to add one the the embellishments from the kurti to
make it feel more Bohemian.

Finally, I added a gold waistband to the bottom of the original kurti, and
used the fabric leftover from the top to make a headband.

And then, I was done! I’m so happy with it! I loved that I was able to
take the robe from representing one of life’s challenges, to symbolizing a
new and beautiful beginning. I also adore that it gives me two new outfits.”

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Laura from Accidental Seamstress has been busy stitching up a storm for us:

“To turn this sheer night gown into a fun Boho Chic tunic, I utilized some super fun
decorative stitches. My full time job is at a specialty sewing shop. I teach sewing
lessons on the machines we sell and I, obviously, sell them too. As such, I have
access to our entire inventory of machines. I do ALL my sewing at work
(#BestBossEver), using different floor models for different types of sewing. To help
me with my boho top, I used our Janome 15000 because it’s got 525 decorative sewing
stitches on it and I intended to use a LOT for this top 🙂

I started by covering up some existing embroidery that was on the back yoke of the
nightgown. After hours (no joke!) of seam ripping, I figured covering it would be
easier! So, I found some blue scrap crochet material and sewed it over the back yoke. It was pure luck that the crochet matched one of the embroidery colors!

I thought the green, yellow, and turquoise were pretty together so that was my inspiration for the colors of my decorative stitching. Starting with turquoise thread, I began by sewing around the neckline and arm holes. I chose a different stitch and sewed a line next to it with yellow thread, and then green.

I kept repeating this until the entire front yoke was stitched. At the bottom hem of the shirt, I stuck with with blue thread only as I thought it would translate better in photos. Then, I decided to go for broke, and sew some of the decorative stitching down the front of my shirt. I measured and marked and went for it… and I loved it!

To give the shirt a little more whimsy, I stole the bottom ruffle from the nightgown
and sewed it into the armholes for a breezy short sleeve. I added decorative
stitching to the sleeve as well.

This refashion took me quite a while to finish and I went through at least 6
bobbins… but I really like how it turned out. It was fun to try out all those
decorative stitches. I was able to change the entire look of this shirt by having
fun with thread colors!”

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And now let’s see what Sarah from Life is Beautiful has in store for us:

“I found this gorgeous wedding dress at a thrift store. Sure, it’s outdated and not within the time of what’s in style right now, but I can see why a certain lovely bride fell in love with this dress and wore it to her wedding! I am sure she looked absolutely stunning in this dress and I felt a little bad(?) as I cut into this dress and made it into something different.

As I was cutting the endless about of tulle, shoulder pads, giant bow, lace trimmings, lace, and more tulle, I thought of the lady that wore this dress to her wedding. I wish I could meet her so I could see pictures of her in this dress on her wedding day! This is the kind of dress I would have fell in love with back in the day, it’s so fancy and elegant and princess-y. What girl doesn’t want to feel like a true Princess on her wedding day? I wondered why she didn’t keep this dress and what made her donate it, maybe she has passed on to the next life and her children donated it, or she was just de-cluttering. Either way, I hope she would be happy with what I did with the dress and wouldn’t be too sad. I honestly felt like I should have a moment of silence to pay respect to the dress and the lady that wore it, So I did. For real. I am such a dork.

The lining underneath the lace bodice is cream while the lace is white so I dyed the whole dress to a cream color to match the bodice.

Then while the lace dyed to a beautiful cream color, the tulle got more yellow than I had wanted so I just ended up cutting off the tulle.

*Dyeing tips: Some of you readers have asked for tips on dyeing evenly. I get hot water in a bowl and pour the dye in and mix it well. Then I submerge the clothing item and constantly stir it around for about 20 mins. Like literally constantly without stopping. I like using the pink rubber gloves I get from an Asian market. Then I let it sit for 10 more minutes, constantly checking every couple of minutes to stir it around. Put it in a washer in cold water with a tiny bit of detergent, then dry on delicate. Hope that helps! 🙂

I don”t like any fabric go to waste, especially lace! I knew I wanted to do something with the leftover lace I cut off and after looking at the lace designs, these two designs caught my attention and I instantly thought of a headband to make.

AFTER:

It’s hard to catch the true color of light colored lace, but the lace color turned out to be a gorgeous cream, ivory color. I did A LOT to this dress, I dyed it to cream so the whole dress would be the same color, I raised the waist line so it wouldn’t be like a v-shape waist-line, cut off all the tulle, cut the length of the dress to right below the knee-length, took off the lace collar, lace-bib, cut off the lace cuffs and cut off the sleeves and made it smaller and shorter length, took in an inch from each side of the dress, cut off the train and the giant bow in the back and gathered the extra lace from the sides to add to the back.

I hope you liked my boho-chic refashion and I will hopefully see you next week, the very last challenge!”

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Ok, now it’s your turn to vote for your favorite Boho Chic Refashion.

After you click on your favorite, be sure to go to the bottom of the poll and click vote, so your vote will be counted. Have fun!

The winner will be announced next Saturday morning.