Three Ways Top (Or, "A Closet Crisis Averted")

My closet has been in a sad state of late! Since Rosa's birth last fall, I've been giving my wardrobe a makeover. Perhaps it's due to my new status as mom of two littles, or perhaps it was just time for a change. Either way, I've been doing really well at "out with old" -- but not so well at "in with the new." Yes, I could spend a fortune and buy exactly what I want right now. But sadly, I haven't found any fortunes lying around lately. I've also been trying to minimalize my closet, and only buy/make garments that fit my needs and my lifestyle. 

In the meantime, my summer "closet crisis" has become acute. When I say "I have nothing to wear," it's almost true -- about seven skirts, a pretty good collection of sleeveless tops and tanks sans necessary layering shirts/shrugs/cardigans, and a few sleeveless and short-sleeve tops I can actually wear by themselves (that don't really go with my current skirt selection). Hmm.

I'm now very interested in sewing my own knits. I've finally gotten over my terror of stretchy fabrics, to the point that I'm ready to tackle simple projects like tops, shrugs, and cardis. However, I'm nervous about experimenting when it's difficult to find nice knits inexpensively. I also love the idea of refashioning women's knit t-shirts, but don't love that most of the tutorials I see involve buying two brand-new shirts (so that you have extra fabric for embellishment). 

With that in mind, I decided to shop the XL women's section at my favorite local thrift shop.

Score!

I found three identical sleeveless tops in teal, chocolate, and fuchsia. The knit is super nice, and they looked easy to modify. And they were a dollar each. 

Here's one of the original tops on "Yvonne," along with the line I marked after pinning the top on myself "inside out." By the way, it's extremely painful to remove a fitted top when you've lined the edges in pins. In case you were wondering.

 

After sewing along my line, I fine-tuned the fit and also took about an inch off the shoulders. I removed the excess side fabric with my serger (though finishing the edges isn't really necessary with knit). Excess fabric? Sounds like an excuse for some embellishment! Besides, three of the same top is kind of boring, right?

So here's the new version of my top, three ways:


1. Teal banded shoulder top 

The shoulders are quite wide, and for some reason this top seemed more "binding" than the others. Problem solved by two self-fabric tubes and some gathering stitched on the shirt.

 

     

2. Fuchsia Shirred Top

This one is pretty simple. Four 1-inch bands cut from my excess fabric, ruffled with elastic thread in the bobbin (I find this faster and easier than regular gathering). They're topstiched on with a medium zig-zag -- medium width, medium length.  

3. Chocolate Ruffles and Roses

Perhaps my favorite (and currently being worn), I used my elastic bobbin thread again to gather the top edges of the ruffles and the roses. I got the techniques from this wonderful tutorial: Tea Rose Home -- Ruffle Shirt Tutorial.

I found a few other re-fashion candidates at the thrift store, so now to figure out how to create more functional pieces for my wardrobe! With a handful of new tops and some skirt fabric on the way, my closet situation is finally looking up. 

We are Not Our Own

We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, 

therefore, sway our plans and deeds.

We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to 

seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh.

We are not our own: in so far as we can, 

let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours.

Conversely, 

We are God's: let us therefore live for Him and die for Him

We are God's: let His wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions.

We are God's: let all the parts of our life accordingly
strive toward Him as our only lawful goal.

~ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion ~

Key Lime Bars

Lime is one of my new loves -- citrusy, summery, and a tad sweeter than lemon. 

A leftover lime from a homemade sugar scrub inspired me to try a lime bar recipe from my recipe binder. It was a Land o' Lakes recipe snipped from a flyer or magazine ages ago. But after trying the recipe, it's been transcribed and printed in a more readable, permanent format. Because these are keepers:

Fresh, sweet, and deliciously chilled. A perfect summer dessert!

These babies are NOT gluten free, Paleo friendly, low in sugar, or remotely healthy. Which is probably why they taste so good. *wink* Actually, I don't think it would be too difficult to make them gluten free, and if you substituted something healthy for the refined sugar, you could probably come up with something that won't double your blood sugar levels in one bite. But I'll leave that to your discretion, because I like these sugary little confections just the way they are.

Key Lime Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 ¼ C all-purpose flour 
• ½ C Butter, softened 
• ¼ C sugar 
• ¼ C chopped pecans 

Filling: 

• ¾ C sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 2 TBSP all-purpose flour 
• 3 TBSP key lime juice (I used regular lime)
• ¼ tsp baking powder

Frosting:

• 1 ½ C powdered sugar 
• 1 TBSP butter, softened 
• 1 to 2 TBSP key lime juice 
• Freshly grated key lime peel 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ 
2. Combine all crust ingredients except pecans in small bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I used my food processor). Stir in pecans. Press onto bottom of ungreased 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 
3. Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Pour filling over hot, partially baked crust. Continue baking for 18 to 20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely. 
4. Combine all frosting ingredients except lime peel in small bowl. Spread over cooled bars. Garnish with grated lime peel. Store refrigerated.