Tunics for a Friend

I have an adorable young friend who inherited a bunch of XL shirts from her father.  She asked for my help in refashioning some of them before winter break was over and she heads back to school to finish the last few busy months of her dental hygiene program.

We only finished two that day, so the rest will have to wait for after graduation!

The first one was a combination of two shirts.  The solid gray one had a stain on the pocket, so we just used the lower half and attached it to the top half of a super soft plaid cotton.

It's tunic time....part six!

This tunic started out as a slim fitting men's shirt.  I loved the color and small checks.  If you notice in the before picture that the shirt is hanging from tree branches, it's because we were camping when I did this refashion.  Yes, I brought my sewing machine camping!  I have to admit, though, after years of tent camping, we now enjoy "glamping" in a travel trailer.

Refashion Runway: The Tunic Challenge

Once again, thank you to everyone following along, sewing along, and voting in this fun competition.  It's been a challenge, but a lot of fun this season!

This week, on Refashion Runway the theme is tunic.  I actually made two tunics this week.  The first one started with a XL men's dress shirt.  After passing it by because of the price, I was fortunate to go back a week later and pick it up for half price.  I love a good deal! 

Inspiration from the Runway!

Several months ago I found this image of a coat that I found very intriguing.  I loved the positioning of the stripes and the leather trim.  I saved the image so that someday I could create something similar.

That day finally came when I came across a free pair of men's shorts at a clothing exchange while camping last summer.  Now, you may wonder what a pair of men's shorts have to do with the striped coat, but it does fit into the story.  The pinstriped shorts just happened to be the same color of blue as a couple of men's shirts that I had.  I figured I could make the shorts into a skirt, and the shirts into the coat.  And, that's what I did!

Now I know that my creation is not an exact replica of the original, it was never meant to be, especially since we're refashioning here.  But it does have a similar feel.

Besides the two shirts, I used some faux suede that I picked up a while back at a thrift store.

I opted for buttons (from my stash) instead of snaps.

I kept the original sleeve detail and added a couple of buttons for fun.

I wanted a little more length than the two shirts allowed, so I added a band of the faux suede to the hemline, unlike the original.

After the collar and pocket were removed, and the shirt body was cut in half, the top of the shirt became the top of the coat, and the bottom half of the shirt became the bottom of the coat.  A section was cut from the second shirt and added to the middle.

The shorts were too large to take in from the sides if I wanted to keep the front and back pockets in intact.  Instead, I took them in from the front and back, which worked out well since I was eliminating the crotch seam anyway to make the skirt.  However, this adjustment made it necessary to reinsert the front zipper, but also allowed me to put a kick pleat in the back of the skirt.  If you're unfamiliar with sewing a kick pleat, Threads Magazine has a great how-to.  You can click on the image below to see the tutorial.

A close-up of the kick pleat.

  

Although I originally planned for this skirt and coat to be worn together, I think my favorite look is the coat with skinny jeans. 

I almost forgot...I also lined the coat.

What do you think...better with the skirt or the jeans?

I like to link to these great parties!