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SALT LAKE CITY — Do you have too many pins on Pinterest and not enough time to try them all? Don't worry — the Page Two editors of ksl.com will try them out and give you the low-down. This week on Pinterest: Instead of testing more pins, here's a list of 10 inspiring tutorials for mending, altering and refashioning your clothes.
Secure buttons with clear nail polish
This ingenious tip from realsimple.com is, well, really simple: “Apply a thin layer of polish to the center of a button to keep the thread from coming loose.” This will especially come in handy on less expensive items whose quality (or lack thereof) lends itself to button-related mishaps — especially if said item did not come with an extra button.
Shorten jeans using original hem
I’m 5-foot-2, so every single pair of pants I buy have to be shortened and hemmed — sadly, even petites. I’m lucky enough to have a seamstress in the family, but when I no longer have that option I’ll be turning to this method from the Do-It-Yourself Divas for shortening jeans using the original hem. A sewing machine is required, but the method is fast and easy for even non-expert sewers.
Turn jeans into skinny jeans
When I troll thrift stores for jeans, as I occasionally do, I look for three criteria: The right size, a dark wash and a flattering silhouette. With this easy tip for turning wide-leg, boot cut and flare jeans into skinny jeans from merricksart.blogspot.com, I can cross No. 3 off my list (unless of course the pants come with a 9-inch zipper, at which point I put them down and run in the opposite direction).
Turn an adult T-shirt into a baby romper
This tutorial from feathersflights.com is not for the inexperienced seamstress, but if you’re up to the challenge, it’s a worthy endeavor. Complete with a pattern, Heather Feather shows you how to turn an adult T-shirt into a baby romper — perfect for all those concert T-shirts I’m a little too “grown up” to wear but still can’t bear to part with.
Related:
Pinterest Review: 5 ways to get more from your makeup
This week on Pinterest: Four tips for getting more out of your makeup, from making it last longer to making it something else entirely — and one bonus tip for turning your broken blush compact into lip gloss.Make your T-shirts feel vintage softThere are few things better than a vintage-soft T-shirt, but to find one you either have to dig through dubious thrift store racks or pay up for new pre-treated threads. Not anymore. Octaneshop.com shares this incredibly simple way to give all your Tees that tissue-soft feel.
Close the above-the-butt gap
Isn’t it the worst when you have a pair of jeans that fits like a glove everywhere except for one crucial spot: the waistband above the butt, leaving you in danger of exposing your derriere or — worse — dropping your drawers. That’s why this tutorial from iammommahearmeroar.net is one of my favorites: a 5-minute method for getting rid of the above-the-butt gap. Genius.
Turn adult pants into kid pants
Here’s another method for making an adult favorite into a kid favorite: a method for refashioning a pair of adult pants into a pair of kid-sized pants. This isn’t for beginners, either, but the tutorial from thisismarzipan.blogspot.com breaks it down so clearly I think I just may be able to attempt it.
Turn a sweater into a cardiganHere’s a no-sew refashion I can get behind. All you need is a little bit of Stitch Witchery — also known as fusible webbing — and an iron and you’ve got yourself a cardigan out of what once was a sweater. I loved this tutorial from vanillajoy.com so much I dug up my old box of sweaters I never wore but couldn’t part from and gave them all new life. For extra credit, try adding buttons, trim or brooches for a custom look.
Make a shirt from silk scarves
One of the items in my closet I most adore is a square printed scarf I purchased nearly eight years ago . . . but have yet to wear more than once. I love the pattern and the texture, but the truth is, try as I might, I’m just not really a scarf person. But thanks to this tutorial from talk2thetrees.blogspot.com, that scarf has a new life as a shirt. It was so simple to make, and even though I only had one scarf (I told you — I'm not a scarf person), I simply cut some coordinating fabric to the same size and was able to carry on. This is a great project for beginner sewers, and can even be done by hand if you don’t have a machine.
Mend a hole in your jeans
When I find a pair of jeans that fit, I wear them into the ground. Or, more accurately, I wear them until they’re sporting an unavoidable hole or two. Thanks to this tip from domesticcents.com, I can now patch some of those holes and keep on wearing my favorite jeans. Jackpot.
BONUS: The ultimate refashion website
Want more inspiration for refashioning your wardrobe? Check out refashionfiles.com, an aggregator of sartorial craftsmanship.
Watch Lindsay test out the latest Pinterest finds on KSL-TV every Thursday at 12:45 p.m.
