Monday, April 21, 2014

Marimekko Refashion










It was a beautiful Spring weekend, complete with rainbows, sunsets, and a trip to the zoo.  My son dressed himself, including the jewelry.  I love his quirky style.  We dyed Easter eggs and made this yummy kiwi ice cream.  Amidst all of the Easter buzz, I was able to refashion this dress...

Note:  I have no idea what is going on with my photos.  They keep disappearing, and I don't know how to get them to stay on the page.  I apologize for these technical difficulties. 


I picked it up for free at a clothing swap.  The Marimekko fabric entranced me.  Unfortunately, it was a bit too small, and the straps around the chest area were a little awkward.

There were also these two obvious stains.




For a quick fix, I used a sharpie and a piece of card stock (so that the Sharpie wouldn't bleed through), and drew a little design over the stains.




Can you tell which ones I drew?  Did you guess the slightly off-centered triangles? You're right!


Notice the overly chunky bird foot prints?  Those are mine as well.  They seem to do the trick.

My next step was to use a pencil skirt pattern and cut out the pieces from the bottom half of the dress.




Before sewing up the left side, I attached the sashes, pinning them below where the bias tape would go. On the left side, I sewed the sash up with the seam of the skirt.  On the right side, I only sewed one side so that I could attach the zipper.



I then sewed completely up the left side and up to the zipper mark on the right.


Next, I attached the bias tap around the top of the skirt. I pinned the right side edge of the bias tape to the right side edge of the skirt.

  



I then stitched right onto the top unfolded crease.


Once this was sewn into place, I ironed the inside seam.


Next, I folded the bias tape over to the inside of the skirt, and ironed it down.


I folded over the raw edges on the ends.


After the tape was nicely ironed down, I stitched very close to the outside edge of the bias tape. When I came to the ends, I sewed the folded edges down so that the raw edges would be on the inside.


Luckily, I was able to salvage the original zipper from the dress.  I sewed it in the seam, over the right sash.




And... here you have it.  A Marimekko sash pencil skirt.  I am so in love with this print.





I almost forgot!  I wanted to share the homemade kiwi ice cream recipe with you.  I got it out of a Rachael Ray magazine.  It's super easy and delicious.  My kid loves it.

One 7 oz container of marshmallow cream
One cup of heavy whipping cream
Four kiwis (peeled and sliced)

Puree in blender.  Put in a dish. Freeze for four or so hours.  Enjoy!!

15 comments:

  1. I love love love this skirt! When you get tired of it, I would be happy to take it off your hands :) It looks great on you. Can't wait to try the ice cream too.

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    1. I'd have to make it smaller for you, but I'll definitely send it your way when in sick of it. Try the ice cream- you'll love it.

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  2. I love to be surprised with what you create with your lovely finds. I also really enjoy your Hawaii snapshots!! Thanks for sharing :) Suzanne from Tucson, Arizona.

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    1. Thank you, Suzanne. I'm so glad that you've stopped by to read my posts. Although I've never been there, I imagine Tucson is a gorgeous place.

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  3. You had me at Marimekko! I'm a sucker for their prints. Your version is much more modern and flattering. Fun that you kept the sash, seems perfect for Hawaii for some reason.

    I have a funny story for you. My friend (who also loves thrift shopping) was visiting Hawaii and decided to shop at one of your local thrift stores. She found a beautiful floral tight fitting dress (which looked amazing on her 6' tall gorgeous body) which would be perfect for dinner out with her husband. But much to her dismay, when she walked into the restaurant, all the waitresses were wearing THAT same dress! OMG, so funny!!! Good thing Susan has a sense of humor!!!

    Happy sewing!
    Beth

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    1. This story made my day, Beth. I laughed all the way to work this morning. What a great story for your friend to tell. Some of the restaurants have beautiful clothing for their staff- I can see how she would snag one up at a thrift shop.

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  4. Such a nice natural design!
    I am Marimekko design fan.
    My website http://marimekko-ko.com

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    1. I love all of the Marimekko designs as well. I hadn't even heard of it until I inherited this skirt. Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. I love all the photos of your amazing scenery, your little guy, eggs, ice cream ... beautiful images. Love the skirt. It looks so... Hawaiian :) Great idea for covering up stains, too. Can you tell us what kind of marker you used?

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    1. Hah! Never mind :) Lorien (below) gave me the answer (and when I looked at the pictures again, it was right there!) Thanks, Lorien!

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    2. Thank you so much for your sweet comments, Jenny. We were blessed with a great weekend. As for the Sharpie design, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't run when I wash the skirt. From everything I've read, it shouldn't. But I've never used Sharpie on fabric before.

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  6. Love, love, love! I have about two yards of a marimekko print that I haven't figured out what to do with...but this skirt would be perfect. Thanks for the sharpie tip too!

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    1. I'm so glad that you stopped by, Lorien! I would LOVE to see photos of what you end up doing with your Marimekko fabric. They are all so unique.

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  7. Love this! How did you find a clothing swap?

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    1. Thank you, Marissa! My friend hosts a clothing swap every year. There's about 20 of us who get together, drink wine, and swap clothes. It's so much fun.

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts!