Thrift Store Treasures #1

My second favourite shop in Sogndal? A tiny thrift store! It's the kind of store you would expect in a village like this: run by a couple of elder ladies, filled with embroidered table runners, ugly candle holders and hand knitted mittens. The ladies are frequently visited by elder men who stop by and drink coffee. They even seem to have a few 'behind the counter sofa's' especially for this purpose. The choice of clothing is ofcourse very limited, so it's even more of a challenge to find something to work with.

What I found so far, is an asymmetric teal shrug, and a pink top. The shrug was ready to wear, so I left it as it was. A week later, I found the pink top which definitely needed altering. Way too many gathers and ruffles at the neckline for my taste, and it was size a L. But I liked the buttons and the shiny fabric (rayon/viscose).


I started with taking the top apart at the shoulders and the sleeves. I took out the gathers, but left some at the neckline and at the back. I then turned the hem over and topstitched it to get rid of the ruffles.The result is a much smoother neckline, and a less poofy back. To create a silhouette, I took the side seams in, and made two sashes with the excess fabric. Sewed them in the side seams, and tied them at the back.

I tried to sew in the sleeves without gathers, but that was a bit tricky. They look a bit strange now, but i think I've figured out what to do about it. At least now I know it's not possible to keep the gathers at the arm seam and get rid of the gathers at the shoulder seam at the same time. I like how it turned out, it's a bit slouchy but the shiny fabric makes it less casual. And I can wear it with my thrifted shrug!

So not only did I manage to acquire two new garments that can be combined, I also stuck to my new colour scheme, using pink and blue! I'm getting there, people.