Reversible Novelty Vest!

Here, is the finest example, yet, of my tailoring skills!

I'm actually so proud of this vest! I made is for a teacher friend of my mom's, who wears fun, kitschy vests when teaching his kindergarten class.  But the lady who used to make his vests for him retired. So he figured he'd ask me if I'd mind making this one. Of course, I said I would love to!

I had to draft the pattern from a vest he already had, which was a long process of tracing, and measuring, and marking. And taping together sheets of printer paper.

Then, when I cut out the pieces of green fabric,

I noticed that the colours on both right and wrong sides were equally as intense. So it was hard to tell the difference. Because of that, I accidentally sewed the back piece on backwards. The letters were backwards!  We can't have children learning backwards letters!  So I patched on new letters, the right way around.  I actually like the effect. Not all the letters have been patched over, and so it creates some really interesting, and subtle dimension.

Then I cut out the air plane fabric. The teacher originally gave me a lighter blue fabric with larger, more realistic planes on it. But, once again, I wasn't paying attention, and I cut out the front panels, with the planes upside down.  

So we bought new air plane fabric.

The planes go in all directions. So I can't mess it up. 

I sewed the two sides together, inside out, turned it right-way out, and then folded under the seam allowance at the opening, and top stitched it shut. I did the same to finish the arm holes. 

I even top stitched along the seams, to keep the allowances facing the right direction!

Again, like I said, REALLY proud of myself!

Brand New Bows!

A couple of years ago, for Christmas, I received a cute pair of black, satin slippers, with little bows on them.

A few months ago, on of those bows fell off, and I lost it.

So, I made new bows for my slippers.

I used scissors, a needle and thread, and 2 equal lengths of black satin ribbon.

The one slipper had already lost it's bow, but I had to take the bow off of the other.  

I tied ribbons into bows, and adjusted them until they looked the way I wanted them to; nice and full, and even.

Then, I sewed from the inside of the slipper, out,

I stuck the needle through the centre of the bow,

And I sewed the bow down with about 3 or 4 stitches, until I was satisfied that it was secure.

Then I did the same with the second slipper.

And VOILA!  I actually like these bows much better than the bows that the slippers came with.  These are much bigger and more feminine.

Beautifying Blemishes

A stain is to a garment as a really bad pimple is to a face.  It's obvious, distracting, and sometimes just gross.

But, unlike pimples, not all stains go away.

Such was the case with one of my favourite summer dresses.

You can't really tell from this photo, but this dress has (had?) a few fairly visible ink stains on the skirt and the bodice.

Stains 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

I tried every different tip I could find on how to remove ink from fabric but the stains had dried and weren't going to budge. 

Then, I came across a tip, in a magazine at school, that suggested fixing holes and rips by covering them with embroidery.  I though that would work perfectly to cover up stains, as well!

So, sketched out some floral motifs; 

And finally decided on two that I liked.

Keep in mind, as I tell you about my project; 

So, I spread part of the skirt over my embroidery hoop, with the stain sitting dead in the centre.  I drew one of the motifs over top, and I began.

First, the stems and leaves, in a dark, olive green.

Then, some princess-pink blossoms.

And a white french knot in the centre.

I also started putting flowers elsewhere on the skirt.

For the bodice I decided I'd use multiple, tiny french knots.  So far, I've done three.

But the entire bodice WILL be covered in little dots. It WILL be!

This is how the dress looks now.

Not a HUGE difference, I know. I only added three tiny dots and a few small  flowers. And one of those flowers is hidden behind a pleat. But this is a work in progress. I plan on doing about an hour of embroidery each night and I should have it all ready in time for when the warm weather returns. 

Starting Another Sampler

I'm seriously loving embroidery right now. I find it so relaxing, and at the same time I'm creating something. something pretty!  I finished my first sampler already, as you saw, and now I'm already experimenting. This next sampler with be one really big spiral. I'm going to use all different stitches, in different shades of blue on light blue cotton.

I started with a backstitch

Then I did a running stitch, then a long backstitch

Unfortunately, with exams coming up I haven't been able to work on it much, because the majority of my time is spent studying and finishing assignments. 

I can't wait for exams to be through so I can get back to my sewing.

Such A Snazzy Sampler!

I finished my sampler guys!! I'm really proud of it!

I think it's quite pretty.

Learning To Embroider!

I've always wanted to learn how to embroider. And now I am learning.

So I've learned 3 stitches so far; the running stitch, the backstitch, and the split stitch.

1- running stitch  2- backstitch  3- split stitch  

It's Christmas Morning!

It's early Christmas morning, and I'm so proud that I managed to finish all the gifts in time.

Dad's scarf is a bit worse for wear, as I had begun to run out of white yarn, so I had to use a lot more black, and as I  was close to finishing I realised I didn't know how to properly cast off. So I improvised a crocheted casting off. It looks.... asymmetrical...

Tie-Dye T-Shirts Are Now a Dress!

This dress is so super cute! And it's so comfortable to wear! Maybe that's because it's made out of t-shirts.  T-shirts that I tie-dyed myself. I'm very proud of these t-shirts.  I dyed them in a crinkle pattern. That's exactly what it sounds like. I crinkled up the t-shirts and applied the dye in a random pattern. 

But then I realized, when am I going to wear these? The shirts I had were too big for me, and tie-dye t-shirts really aren't my style. 

But maybe a tie-dye dress would be.

Here's how I made it.

It's A Panda Dress!

I just love -love, love, love, love, love, LOVE - recyclying and "upcycling" old clothes.  I think it's the best way to keep my wardrobe up to date while being kind to the earth and my wallet.

I still get hand-me-downs from cousins and friends, and a lot of the time I'll receive clothes that are nice but don't quite fit.  Or, equally as common, I'll get pieces that are almost in style but just need to have features either added or removed.  This is the case with a white blouse I got from my friend, about a year ago.

Fall Coloured Mini Skirt

I don't remember what pattern I used to make this skirt.  *Calls over shoulder* Cain! What pattern did I use to make this skirt?

 He doesn't know. He wasn't there.

Rosie and Retro

So, a couple of summers ago, I learned to crochet. After making a baby blanket for a friend, I was looking for something more interesting to make.  I was looking through a crochet pattern book that my grandma gave  me.  This book is from the 1960's and there were a lot of cute, mod patterns.

A pattern I especially liked was one called "Chic Little Bolero", which is odd because it doesn't look at all like the modern definition of a "bolero".

What a Wonderful Waistcoat

Sorry. I kind of have a thing for alliteration.

But it is a wonderful waistcoat!

Another project from a couple years ago: I had finished everything else I was working on, and I was bored. 

White Eyelet Sundress

Another project from my 11th grade fashion class: an eyelet lace day dress. 

Inevitable

Am I the only one who finds this hilarious??  Like what is it that is “Inevitable”?

Is the idea “Mid-life crisis is inevitable”  Or “This is what inevitably happens to people who spend too much  time with Angelina Jolie (referring to the sad, scared, confused look on his face.”  Or “If you wear Chanel No 5, You will inevitably have sex with and/or become Brad Pitt”?  That last one sounds especially horrid, considering his recent mid-life crises that does not seem to be ending any time soon.

Upcycled T-Shirt Dress

The Insomniac Skirt

So, this is a skirt I made about a year ago, at 2:00 in the morning, after having too much coffee after dinner.

I just used scrap fabric, cut into strips ( each set longer than the next) and gathered slightly, with an elastic waistband.