Saturday, March 7, 2015

Three Winter RTW Hacks

Spring is just around the corner, so I felt like I better get this post about winter RTW hacks written now.

Here's a few RTW garments that needed some tweaking....

RTW Hack #1: Target Sweater

This sweater fits great from all angles (Front, Back, and even fits my side view sway back perfectly).
But, the placement of that closure is tragic (connect the dots?).
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I got out my seam ripper and removed the front closure, but that meant the sweater had no way to stay closed.
Then I added a square snap (from Botani during PR Day 2014), which wound up being a bit heavy so I added a lightweight supporting snap too.

RTW Hack:  The Target Sweater After
Now it is perfect! I even had a coworker, who rarely comments on my clothing, stop and say that it is a great sweater.
RTW Hack:  The Target Sweater After

RTW Hack #2:  Consignment Shop sweater
The front is ok (though I'm not sure a boxy shape is good for me, but it is good for layering)

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What I was more concerned about was the bow on the back. A little too girlish for the office. (Though, if I'm wearing it under a blazer, who is going to see??  Oh, right, when it gets too warm in the office and I have to take off my jacket.)
Hollister sweater:  Back Bow Before
So I got out my seam ripper and de-bowed:

Hollister Sweater After:  De-bowed
Sure, now it's plain but it's no longer cutesy.

RTW Hack #3: The super soft but oddly shaped sweater.
I think you can see what the problem with this one was.
Fuzzy sweater before
I thought, "Oh, I'll just hack it off and hem it".

Who knew this fabric enjoys growing and growing and growing?
I had to add darts to reign in the growth.
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It was also impossible to hem by machine without looking terrible, so I wound up hemming by hand
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For something that I thought would take under 60 minutes, it took hours.
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And I haven't been able to wear it yet because of the cold.  But it will enjoy wearing it later this spring!

This is what was left over from Hacks #1 and #2:
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The label was from the white sweater.    Did you know, there's a short story on that label.

Time elapsed:
RTW Hack #1:  20 minutes
RTW Hack #2;  5 minutes
RTW Hack #3:  Hours and hours.........

Conclusion
I did all those hacks back in January.
I have worn the gray sweater MANY times since then (definite winner).
I wore the white sweater maybe 2 or 3 times.
Have not worn the last hack, yet.

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The last snowfall for this winter fell on Thursday (I'm sure of it!!).
  Friday morning looked like the above winter wonderland.  That's where I take my outdoor pix in summer.
 20150307_092407
The scene this morning.  The squirrel says "be well!"

So, have you hacked any of your RTW pieces lately?

9 comments:

  1. WHO would have thought a bow on the back of a sweater would be a good idea.
    I thought the grey sweater was fine before, but you are right - your hack takes it to the better level.

    Monday will be h--- at the post office because the backlog of packages/mail held up by the Memphis, TN ice-up are breaking free.
    Still down to freezing at night here in Oregon but warming up to 64' today.

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  2. Love the squirrel photo. Funny to think all that snow will melt away soon. You will be wearing #3 soon. I hope it doesn't continue to grow because it is really pretty.

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  3. You have a good eye for what is worth hacking.

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  4. Nice saves on these lovely sweaters! Stay warm.

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  5. I had to laugh when I saw that black bow! Never seen one quite like that before. Your revision is just what it needed--no black bow! Love the gray one. It is so cute! All three were great saves--way to go!

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  6. That black bow was hilarious. Same with "connect the dots". You have so much more patience than I do. I LOATH any alterations no matter how small (though I think I could have handled removing the black bow). Great fixes!! Enjoy spring fever!

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  7. Good job on your hacks! I think it takes such patience to actually sit down and do this, but I am often glad I did! I have a dress that I bought at Ross that was too large, but I liked the skirt portion, so I cut it off and am adding an elastic waist this weekend so I can wear it this week! Take care!

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  8. Great refashions. Last week, I shortened a dress. This week, cutting long sleeves from a dress I made a few years ago for sleeveless.

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  9. I don't know if adding sleeve length to a sweater I knit is a hack. I also darned a hole in a RTW sweater.
    http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2015/03/sweater-maintenance.html

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