Where it all started from...

In this world full of blogs, Pinterest, and the fan favorite, Google, I was flabbergasted this afternoon to find that no where could I find a DIY for revamping a sweatshirt. At least not in the way I wanted. After going through some clothing yesterday I dug out and old jacket and it occurred to me that it SHOULD not see another season in its current state. Thus the search for ideas or at least pictures of other beloved sweatshirts getting new life. I saw lots of jean jackets, plenty of men's sweatshirts getting sized down (my next project), and even turning sweatshirts into skirts, but nothing along the lines of what I was wanting.
Luckily, I work with a pretty awesome seamstress who was more than happy to bounce some ideas off. With the tips from her, a little inspiration, and two quarts of iced tea - I set off.
It's not as though I hate sewing, but it has never been a strong suit of mine. I was a little intimidated but because I was determined to make this work, I took my time. Which apparently is the key.

This is the poor sweatshirt prior to deconstruction. Notice the buttons worn through the fabric and below, the sleeves having been loved clear to their bones. 

I started by taking the sleeves off. Pretty straight forward and luckily by the nature of the jacket, the seams remained intact even after having the sleeves taken off. Whew! Saves me a step...

Little vest had to go into the bleach bath. Took a little time to figure out how I wanted to do it, but after about an hour and a fair amount of babysitting it turned out. I loved the color immediately! I had wanted to do a burnt orange or spicy pumpkin color and was thrilled to see the color come out uniform (one baby bleach spot aside).

And for the first time in years: Buttons! I kept the original buttons that were on the jacket when I bought it back in 2008 and kept them all this time. Totally worth carrying around that box of mismatched buttons! I also really liked the contrasting detail on the seams and hems. I half expected the bleach to get them as well, but I like this more. The "Element" symbol looked good as well and helped tie the bright buttons into the theme. 

I was torn between utter madness and shear genius when I was digging through my scraps and found an Old Navy skirt in a rather ugly brown plaid and thought.... "I wonder if I could cover those unsightly buttons with a panel of this..." Sure as the snow flies in our mountains, it works! Still have a little more to go, but this is a decent start for a girl who hasn't sewn in a long, long time. Yeh!!