Category: Thrifty

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Frumpy Knit Tube Dress to Cute T-Shirt Refashion

I’ve had two striped knit dresses in my refashion pile for about six months now. One black and white and one navy blue and white. The knit is soft, and I like the tie dye stripe, but the shape is basically a tube with a ruffle on the bottom. They are so unflattering, I don’t even want to wear them around the house. There’s a good amount of fabric in them, though, so I decided to try turn one of the knit tube dresses into a t-shirt.

Knit Tube Dress
Here’s the original shapeless dress. Excuse the background, please.

Knit tube dress to T-Shirt Refashion T shirt Process

I wasn’t sure what I would do at first, but I knew whatever it was wouldn’t need the straps, so I cut them off. I briefly considered leaving it close to as-is at that point and turning it into a skirt. It still wouldn’t have been very flattering, and I really don’t need any more casual skirts, so I moved on to other ideas.

T-shirts are always something I need, so that was my next direction. I didn’t take any process photos, so I’ll do my best to describe it. Refashioning always requires a little improvising based on what you have to work with, so consider this more as a guide than a complete how-to.

Turn the dress into fabric

I find it’s easiest to see what I have to work with when I’m looking at deconstructed pieces of fabric. Unless I think I’m going to use an element intact, I cut or rip out all seams and remove elements like buttons so that I can see how much fabric I have to use.

For this project, I cut off the black cotton eyelet band at the top and cut off the ruffle from the bottom before cutting off the side seams. I left the ruffle intact by cutting just above the seam that connected it to the dress because I thought it might come in handy. I chose to cut, rather than rip the seams, because the seams were narrow, so I wasn’t losing much fabric.

The Base Pattern

I thought about using a t-shirt as a pattern, but that doesn’t always work out as well. In my pattern files, I have a copy of the breezy tee from it’s always autumn, so I used that. I didn’t have enough fabric to make it exactly like the pattern, but it was a good starting point.

Laying it out

I squared up the main pieces of fabric and cut out the pattern. The fabric was too short for the pattern’s length, so I just focused on fitting in the top portion. I had to shorten the sleeves slightly because there wasn’t enough width.

Constructing the T-shirt

I serged (overlocked) the neckline folded it over and hemmed. I will probably regret not doing a banded neckline, because I’ve had hemmed necklines get wonky with wear. I can change it later if needed, though.

I serged the shoulder seams and then started thinking about the sleeves. The original pattern has pieces to create wide bands on the sleeves. I didn’t have enough scraps from the sides to create those bands. Instead, I decided to use the eyelet from the top of the dress. Honestly, I really wanted to use some of the ruffle to make flutter sleeves, but I figured that would be needed to add length.

Knit tube dress to T Shirt Refashion T shirt Eyelet Sleeve Band Closeup.
I’m still not sure about this. I may remove it after wearing it a few times.

After attaching the eyelet, I serged the underarm and side seams, then straight stitched just inside the serged seam to reinforce.

The shirt was more of a crop top at that point, so I attached the ruffle to the bottom by serging and then straight stitching like I did on the side seams. Here’s the final result.

Knit tube dress to T Shirt Refashion T shirt Finished Product.
Finished, other than steaming the ruffle.

I like it, other than the eyelet on the sleeves. I’m not sure about that. It’s not tight, but it makes the sleeves snug. I’ll probably wear it a few times and decide if I just want to take it off altogether. Overall, though, it’s a cute t-shirt and definitely something more wearable than the original.

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Grocery Staples for Easy Last Minute Meals

Even the best meal planners have days where things don’t go according to plan. Fast food is convenient, but usually more expensive and less healthy than what you can make at home. If you have any dietary restrictions, eating out safely can be extra challenging. For those nights, I like to keep a few staples on hand that make it easy to make a last minute meal that’s healthy and frugal.

Here’s my list of grocery staples I like to keep on hand for last minute meals, along with ideas for how to use them. Depending on your tastes, you may not find everything I use helpful. Since we eat gluten and dairy free, my list doesn’t include common staples like bread or cheese.

Grocery Staples for Last Minute Meals

Proteins

  • Flash Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken – I always have one or two bags of frozen chicken. Because they are individually frozen, it’s easy to separate out just what I need. The pieces don’t have to be thawed before cooking, so it’s perfect for a quick meal. I alternate between breasts, thighs and tenderloins.
  • Eggs – Eggs cook in minutes for when time is short.
  • Ground Beef – It’s easier to cook ground beef if it’s thawed, but it’s not impossible to cook it from frozen. I like using my electric pressure cooker if I need to cook it from frozen. Place it on a trivet, add about half of a cup of water to the pot and cook under high pressure for about 20 minutes. When it’s done, drain the water, remove the trivet and cook with the saute function with seasonings to remove excess moisture and finish it if it’s still a little pink in the middle.
  • Canned Beans – Dried beans are cheaper and don’t take that long with a pressure cooker, but sometimes you need something fast. Canned beans are a great plant-based protein for quick meals or for stretching left over meat in stews and chili.
  • Lentils – Dry lentils don’t have to be soaked and cook in about 20 minutes. I love this Coconut Lentil Curry from A Couple Cooks for a fast meal.

Vegetables

  • Frozen mixed vegetables – Perfect on their own as a side, or add to soups, rice dishes, scrambled eggs, curries, etc.
  • Onion – Sauteed onion adds lots of flavor to just about any meal.
  • Potatoes – Potatoes are great as an ingredient, a side or bake them and add toppings for a meal on their own.
  • Frozen greens – I like freezing chopped kale to add to soups and curries because it’s hardy and freezes well. Spinach or other greens work, too.

Grains

  • Rice – Nice to have as a side, with curry or stir-fry or to make a quick jambalaya or similar dish.
  • Quinoa – Cooks quickly in the pressure cooker and high in protein. Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa is a quick quinoa based meal that is easy to customize and a great way to use up leftover meats and vegetables. You can also make it with rice with adjustments to the cooking time.
  • Pasta (I buy Aldi’s gluten free or Skinner brand gf at Kroger. ) – Cooks quickly and can be topped with a variety of sauces, tossed with sauteed vegetables and drizzled with olive oil or added to soups.
  • Tortillas or Taco Shells – These are especially handy because my kids love tacos. Putting anything in a taco shell increases the chances that they’ll eat it. Corn tortillas are also a cheap gluten free bread substitute.

Sauces and Seasonings

  • Simmer Sauces – These are the closest thing I use to hamburger helper. All you need is the sauce, a protein, a vegetable and rice for delicious last minute meals. Find a variety you like and turn it into an all in one meal if you have an electric pressure cooker if you’re super busy. This is one of my favorite places to use the frozen chicken. I cook it all together and cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces before serving. While it’s cooking in the pressure cooker, I’m free to catch up on housework or whatever else needs done.
  • Curry Paste – I love the flavor of curry, and adding curry paste to a dish is a way to add a ton of flavor.
  • Bouillon – Bouillon is another way to add flavor with little effort, or use it to make broth in a pinch.
  • Canned Coconut Milk – I can usually work around this ingredient with whatever milk or broth I have on hand, but I prefer it for curry.
  • Tomato Sauce and/or paste – Add to soup, stew or chili, or make a marinara sauce for pasta.
  • Salsa – serve as a condiment or add to chicken, ground beef or beans during cooking for flavor.
  • Commonly Used Herbs and Spices – My staples are salt, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning. There’s plenty of others I keep around as well, but those are the ones that I use almost daily.

Last Minute Meal Ideas

I’ve provided a few specific recipes above. Really, though, as long as I have one or two things from each category handy, I can combine them to come up with delicious last minute meals. Here’s a few more of my go-to combinations:

  • Season and oven bake the chicken. Serve with vegetables and rice.
  • Saute onion using whatever oil or butter I have available until translucent, then add chicken and a little broth. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Cut into bite sized pieces and add a spoonful of curry paste, vegetables and a can of coconut milk. Heat until the vegetables are done, being careful not to boil. Serve over rice.
  • Saute onion in a skillet and toss in a handful of frozen greens. Once the greens are thawed, add whisked eggs and scramble.
  • Brown ground beef (or pressure cook) add onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Add tomato sauce, basil, oregano, garlic and a little salt. If you like your sauce thicker, add some tomato paste. To cut the acidity, add a spoonful of brown sugar. Serve over pasta. You can also make it with chicken, canned white beans, or skip it and just have the sauce and pasta.
  • Pressure cook ground beef and season with salt, garlic powder, chili, cumin and cayenne. Make Mexican rice ( I use this recipe). Serve with canned black beans or refried beans and salsa. You can make tacos with the meat if you have tortillas or taco shells, or just have the meat on the side or atop the rice. Shredded lettuce, shredded cheese and diced onion all make it even yummier, but if you’re limited to what’s on hand, it’s still yummy without.

What are some of your favorite last minute meals? I’d love for you to share them in the comments.

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Simple Striped Sundress Refashion

If you search for refashioning ideas online, you’ll find tons of amazing examples of outdated styles being turned into trendy pieces that bear little resemblance to the original. (https://refashionista.net/ is one of my favorite refashion blogs to browse for inspiration.) It’s easy to get overwhelmed with ideas, especially if you’re new to sewing. The main goal of refashioning is to take a piece that is unflattering or unwearable and turning it into something that will be worn again. Sometimes a few simple tweaks are all that is needed to accomplish that goal.

The Dress

Before

This sundress is a perfect example. In it’s original form, it was breezy and comfortable for summer, except that it required a strapless bra to be flattering. Strapless bras tend to be uncomfortable in general. When it’s August in Texas hot, they’re almost unbearable. Having to wear one took away from the comfort of this dress, leaving it regulated to the back of my closet most of the time.

The refashion Fix

In order to fix the problem, I needed to add coverage and a little support to keep the cups in place.

First, I sewed elastic into the seams under the bust. I sewed it onto the seam allowance to keep my stitches invisible from the outside.

I cut the elastic a little shorter than the length of the seam and stretched it to gather it slightly. When worn, it doesn’t look gathered, but it keeps the cups in place.

For coverage, I took the cup inserts from a soft seamless bra and hand stitched them in place. I never use them in the bras, so I have several sets sitting around. By hand stitching, I was able to keep my stitches from showing on the right side of the fabric. Rather than sew all around the cups, I strategically tacked them to keep them secure but invisible from the front.

The result

After

Those two simple tweaks only took about twenty minutes. The final result is a smoother, more flattering fit that doesn’t sacrifice comfort.

What simple refashions have you done that made a huge impact on wear-ability? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

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Want to be Featured?

Want to be featured

Want to be featured?

In the past, I often featured handmade or vintage shops on Fridays. Over the years, the world of crafting and blogging has changed dramatically. I would love to resume Feature Fridays, but with a broader scope.

Handmade shop and websites are still welcome. I also want to feature guest writers sharing tutorials, tips, advice, recipes, etc. Categories that I feel are a good fit for this blog are crafting, sewing, sustainability, refashioning, healthy living, parenting, hair and beauty tips for busy moms, homeschooling and homesteading. I am open to other topics as well, so if you are interested but don’t quite fit into one of the above categories, please contact me anyway with your idea.

Guest posts will be promoted across my social media sites frequently throughout the week they are published and then periodically after.

Handmade shop/website features

For handmade shop/website features, answer the questions in the following list and email them to csloan@subearthancottage.com. I will contact you before your shop is featured and if any clarification is needed. You can give as much or a little info for each section as you are comfortable with sharing. Be sure to include links to your shop, web page and blog, if you have them. If you sell your products in a brick and mortar store and would like to include that info, you may include that as well.

I also choose a favorite item from your shop on the week that you’re featured and briefly tell why I like it. The first image from your shop for both your favorite item and my favorite item will be included in the blog.

  • Name and Business Name
  • Tell us a little about yourself and your business.
  • What made you get started in your business?
  • Anything else you’d like to share?
  • Tell us about your favorite item listed in your shop.
  • Links to your shop, website, blog, etc.
  • Email address (This will NOT be published)

Guest posts, tutorials and everything else

Please contact me at csloan@subearthancottage.com with your idea. If you already blog, a link to your blog or site where your writings are published is also helpful. Newbies are welcome, too. I’m also not opposed to reposts if they are a good fit and your own work.

If I think your idea is a good fit for SubEarthan Cottage, I will let you know and we will work out the details from there.

Matisse Creativity Mug Mugs featured
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Refashion a Camisole into a Tunic Tank Top

I have tons of clothes waiting for me to refashion them into something more wearable, but haven’t had much inspiration. Recently, though, I came across CreoleSha on Etsy. I love her flowy designs. Luckily, she offers classes on Teachable, so I took her free course on upcycling a sweatshirt or t-shirt into a tunic.

Refashion Camisole Tunic Tank 1
Almost forgot to take a before photo.

My refashion notes

It’s summer, so rather than use a sweatshirt, I started with a camisole tank that I didn’t wear much. I liked the color, but the fit was too loose to use for layering, and the skinny straps made it difficult to wear with a bra. By adapting the techniques in CreoleSha’s class, I turned it into a longer, flowing tank and then added a bit of cotton lace salvaged from an older refashion project to widen the straps.

The added material came from a t-shirt with a large logo on the front. I liked the color, but not the logo, so it was perfect and added some nice contrast.

Of course, pockets are always handy, so I added some patch pockets on the front.

Final result

It’s not perfect, but it’s something I’m more comfortable wearing now. The shirts were wrinkled from storage to the point that the wrinkles came back even after ironing. Luckily they smoothed out with laundering, so I don’t look like I just rolled out of bed when I wear it. More importantly, trying something a little on the artsy side and just jumping in has me ready to tackle more refashions.

A note on my dress form

Before working on this, I took the time to add some batting to my dressform, Athena. She’s a little less padded in some areas than I am, so the batting makes it easier to use her as a fit guide when I don’t want to try things on over and over. The brown t-shirt helps hold it all together and provides something to pin into.

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Easy Leggings Hack for Summer

If you or your kiddos wear leggings, you’ll love this easy leggings hack for summer. While you can use any leggings, it’s perfect for turning leggings that have worn out at the knees or ended up being a little too see-through into something usable, especially when the weather turns hot. This hack is so simple, I feel a bit silly making a post about it. It’s really one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” things.

How to do it.

All you need is a pair of leggings you want to make shorter and some good scissors. Fold them in half so that the legs lay on top of each other. Make sure the fabric is smooth and the legs match up at the hem. Decide how much shorter you want them and cut them at that length, keeping the line parallel to the hem. My scissors cut through both legs easily, but you can always cut one and use it as a guide to cut the other.

Here’s what I cut off. I like leaving mine either just above or just below the knee.

Because knit doesn’t fray, you don’t have to hem the raw edge. When stretched, the edge will roll a tiny bit and hide the edge. You may want to seal the seam that you cut through with a little fabric glue or a few stitches. I have some I cut last summer without doing anything to the seams and they’ve held up through many wearings and washings without coming apart.

How I like to wear my shortened leggings

I like wearing dresses or skirts in the summer because Texas is hot, lol. With little kids, though, I’m constantly up and down or bending to pick things up off the floor. Cropped leggings underneath give me enough coverage to make dresses practical for everyday. Leggings under my dresses also prevents uncomfortable chafing from being a bit, um, curvy in the thighs. For this purpose, I really like using this hack for leggings that I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing without a long tunic or dress. Instead of taking up space at the back of my closet, they get used and make my other clothes more wearable.

Ways to repurpose the cut off section

The cut off sections can be repurposed, too. A really simple thing to do is make hair bands by cutting them in one inch strips parallel to the hem. Be sure to keep the seam intact so they’re a circle.

You can also make a pocket for your leggings out of the cut off section. Decide how big you want your pocket to be and add a half inch or so seam allowance to each side and the bottom. Use the existing hem as the top of your pocket to save time. Fold the seam allowance under and stitch in place on your leggings where you want the pocket. You’ll want to use a narrow zig-zag or stretch stitch to prevent the thread from breaking. A ball point needle is ideal for sewing knits, so if you have one, use it.

Leggings hack pocket
Here’s one pocket I’ve added.

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Flavoring Your Kombucha Tea

When you get your homebrew timing right, kombucha is pretty yummy on it’s own. Sometimes you want something a little different, though. Or maybe straight kombucha just isn’t your thing but you still want the probiotic benefits. Luckily you can easily change the taste of your kombucha to make it more palatable or fix a soda craving. Here’s my tips for flavoring your Kombucha tea.


Mixing with juice


The simplest way to flavor kombucha is to mix it with juice or another beverage. This is a great way to get started drinking kombucha. To start, add 1-2 ounces of kombucha to a glass of your favorite juice. As your body and tastes adjust to drinking kombucha you can increase the kombucha to juice ratio.


I like to dilute 3-4 ounces kombucha with sparkling or still water, add a splash of lemon or lime juice and a bit of stevia. This makes a refreshing summer drink when served over ice.

Kombucha is also nice as an add in for smoothies. It can be fizzy on it’s own, though, so make sure to account for that when adding it to blended drinks. Leaving a little extra headspace in the blender is a good idea. Or, stir it in after everything else is blended.

Flavoring your Kombucha Tea
Flavored with peach and cherry teas in a second ferment.

Flavoring your Kombucha with a second ferment

You can also add flavoring in a second, shorter ferment. Basically you’ll put your flavorings in a bottle or jar (I like canning jars), fill almost to the top with your brewed kombucha and cap the jar. Leave at room temperature for 2-4 days and then refrigerate or drink.


The second ferment can increase the carbonation in your kombucha, so it’s a good idea to be cautious when opening and storing the jars. I’ve never had a jar break from the pressure, but I have had the metal disks on canning jar lids pop up in the middle. If I think too much pressure is building up, I “burp” the jars by opening them just enough to release some of the pressure and recap.

There’s a variety of things you can add for the second ferment. Really, any herbs, spices or fruits can be added. If you want to increase the carbonation, add a little bit of sugar, honey, raisins or a sweet fruit. My favorite thing to do is put enough orange peel to fill the jar halfway, add a teaspoon of sugar or honey, top with kombucha and let it sit for two days. It makes a kind of healthier orange soda and uses something that would normally have been tossed.

Flavoring your Kombucha orange and honey
Orange peel and honey Kombucha

Other flavorings I’ve tried:

  • Lemons and limes cut into wedges, sliced or just the peels. You can also use a lemon or lime half after juicing it for another recipe.
  • Fresh sliced ginger, plain or with a dash of chai spice and squirt of honey.
  • Fruit flavored herbal teas, one bag per quart jar.
  • Blueberries.

If you brew your own Kombucha tea, I would love to hear your tips for flavoring your Kombucha. Please share them in the comments below.

Next week I plan to do a FAQ/kombucha myths post. If you have any questions please share them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

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