Going 'round in circles

I've been wanting to make a circle skirt for sometime now, so I figured why not give it a go today. After quickly browsing the circle skirt tutorial on whatthecraft I set to work. I had the striped jersey laying around (purchased at the local fabric store) and used the sleeves from one of the donated t-shirts I have laying around to make the waistband. I added elastic to the waist and presto, I have this wonderful floaty fun circle skirt.

Showing off the fabric

... And because no post of a circle skirt is complete without a super-twirling action shot... (did I mention how dizzy I got during this shoot?)

I love the way the stripes fall on this skirt, I've been walking around the apartment all day and watching how it swishes back and forth. All thats left to do is hem it I suppose, back to work!

Lime green and appliqued

I couldn't help myself. I loved the t-shirt to lounge pant project so much that I had to give it another go. As I had mentioned in a previous post I had recently been given a bunch of huge t-shirts from the bf. No pictures of the shirt beforehand, just think huge lime green t-shirt with some text on the chest. Again, I used the t-shirt to lounge pant tutorial from the live journal t-shirt surgery community. This time around I added elastic at the waist, and made a fold over waistband.

I managed to cover up the plain lettering by adding a pocket made from scraps of the t-shirt (it's kind of hard to see due to the glare.

I wanted to do something fun with this pair so I pulled out the bed sheet I got from the salvy and cut out one of the picture panels. I added interfacing to the panel then ironed and sewed it on.



The bf couldn't believe how fast the entire project came together while I intermittently worked and watched the simpsons last night. It could be possible that I spent more time answering questions about the project than actually at my work station. Now what to do with the other shirts...

I walk the line

So a while back I got this shirt from work(with sleeves intact), someone had carelessly left it behind and had not called to claim it for at least 2 months. That meant it was up for grabs and it was all mine. I had originally intended for the shirt to be turned into a short sleeved hoodie, I honestly don't know how it turned into this off the shoulder number.

From the front:The sleeves can be worn either on top on or off of the shoulder.

From the side: I added gray and black striped jersey panels to both sides for visual interest

Sleeve detail: Three rows of zig zag stitching (2 black, 1 pink) were added to the edge of the sleeve to create a decorative ruffle.

Well, there it is in a nutshell. The tank top underneath the shirt is to preserve my internet modesty, but now that I see it I'm thinking I may add some kind of half tank in the gray and black fabric. For now I'm happy with how it is.

Unfinished business and new arrival

A couple months back I had posted pictures of fabric which I reclaimed from a HUGE casual business blazer. I also promised to give an update...so here it is, a much delayed update on a long forgotten project. Perhaps it's because it was the first skirt I ever attempted to make, or the fact that I don't normally wear skirts and dresses, (although with some tutorials and patterns I've found, I'm a little more open to the idea), but something doesn't seem quite right about it. It looks a little triangle-y. I wasn't quite sure how to tackle fixing it, so I put it away and forgot about it until now. Now that my bf and I are getting ready to move in the next 2 and a half months I need to start finishing some of my semi-completed projects so I don't end up having to pack up clothing with pins sticking out everywhere.

Now for a quick peek at one of my newest salvation army finds. I LOVE this bed sheet, I wish I bought the other pieces now that I think of it. So many ideas are going around in my mind as to what to make with this sweet printed bed sheet. Only time will tell...

Comfiest lounge pants ever

Recently I've been seeing a lot of posts using this tutorial on the t-shirt surgery live journal community, so I figured why not jump on the band wagon. It was just luck that my bf happened to be getting rid of some HUGE t-shirts he has received from work and school over the past year.

Here's my first attempt, not too shabby. The only thing I did differently was cut the shirt in half from front to back, rather than right up the middle (and through the design).

The whole project took about 3 hours with multiple 15 minute breaks, but not counting the time I spent the night before ripping out the sleeves while watching the Simpsons.

These shorts/gauchos turned out to be incredibly comfortable, absolutely perfect for summer days spent around the apartment. So thats one shirt down, four more to go.

long time no post

So I've been working a bunch, and switching back and forth between working days and nights which has led to my lack of posting (insert sad emoticon). I have been getting things done though.
I made my first bag ever which I'm pretty excited about. Its going to be an overnight bag pretty much. I based the bag on a smaller messenger bag that I've been using for years and made a few changes to suit my needs. I added on an elastic cup holder for my coffee mug (works with water bottles as well. The bag that I based my pattern on had no inside pockets which I've always hated due to the constant shifting of things during my commute. I added in a zippered pouch/divider pocket so I can keep my electronics separated from my keys, wallet, and reading materials among other things.

Next up is a fairly quick clothing recon (majority of it done in less than 5 hours-that's good for me). I bought the shirt at target a few years back, wore it a few times, but as always I hated the t-shirt neck line. The green fabric was a fat quarter I picked up at Michael's a few weeks back. For this recon I "drafted" a pattern piece for the green fabric I used due to the fact that I didn't have much room for error. After showing it off to the bf he suggested adding some of the green fabric elsewhere on the shirt to give the shirt a "more unified" look. Not a bad idea, I'm just too lazy to do it right now. No action shots yet, maybe once its fully completed

Fit to be Dyed

For a while now I've been wanting to try out the whole skinny pant leg trend thats been so popular. I've tried on pairs in stores and I could never find a pair that looked right, it would be loose at the waist, fit at the thigh, and bunch up like crazy at the knees. I figured why not give it a go myself. I had seen a bunch of tutorials on craftster and similar sites, but they all started out with jeans that fit properly through the waist and thighs. The particular pair of jeans I had in mind were about four sizes too big.

After a trip to the library I came home and began looking over the readers digest complete guide to sewing to see how to go about reconstructing these or if it was even possible. I began by removing the waist band and back pockets, then tried them on. Holding the excess fabric in the back I pinned it into a large dart. Then after carefully removing the pants I measured the pinned fabric, divided the number in half and made two darts going through the middle of each pocket...is that clear?

After getting the waist to fit I tried the pants on inside out and marked where I wanted the pant legs taken in. Then after taking off the pants I basted the new inseam and tried on the jeans to see if they needed any more adjustments. Once I was happy with the new inseam I sewed the new inseam using a straight stitch and then reinforced the new seam with a zig zag stitch.

I was overall happy with the end result, but light denim skinny jeans aren't the most flattering thing on earth, I knew what had to be done, it was time to dye.

Mens shirt to summer shirt

It all started out with a striped mens shirt from H&M, I spotted it the second I walked into the salvation army a few months ago. Originally I thought about turning it into a simple racer back tank top and doing some free hand embroidery. However, after beginning the project I started to not like the horizontal stripes as much as I originally thought I would (Please excuse the mess in the pictures).

After a bit of playing around with it I cut off the torso of the shirt and made an empire waist by adding a band of vertical stripes. I cut the remaining torso fabric in half and added extra fabric from the sleeves to give the bottom part of the shirt more swing. I also added a scalloped/ruffled edge on the bottom of the extra fabric and on the edge of the sleeves.



The finished product:

Quick update

Not much of an update, but it will have to do. Here is a quick look at the lightweight blazer I picked up from salvation army that is now in pieces on my chair.












I have a few ideas floating around in my head as to what I want to do with the fabric, and there is quite a bit of it. I was thinking perhaps a skirt (but I don't really wear skirts), or using some for a Johnny Cash t-shirt recon. I figure tonight I'll sketch up the ideas, it would be nice to have something planned out more than 15 minutes prior to sewing.

Goodnight for now :)

At least I paid my taxes on time

Well its been a few weeks since I last posted, but I assure you I have been doing some work. To start things off I have finally finished my sewing desk. I had either had my sewing machine on the kitchen table or on an old wooden filing cabinet that was going to be thrown out until I thought up this project. At home depot I was able to pick up some knotty pine and have it cut to size, I then took it home a varnished the heck out it.


Here's a picture of my original filing cabinet set up; good lighting, horrible ergonomics.






Over here is my semi-completed project, you can kind of of see the interior of the filing cabinet. The bottom draw still slides in and out, I just removed the from of the drawer so I could easily see whats in it just by looking down. I removed the top drawer and I am currently thinking of making a shelf. The front of the bottom drawer was used as an expandable work space/cabinet door-unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of that in action. I'll take more pictures once the whole interior of the cabinet is finished. The important thing is that I now have my very own crafting corner.

In celebration of my new desk I was able to start and complete a quick clothing recon that I've been thinking of for a while now.


I bought these pants at Marshall's few years ago for about 10 dollars (my mom said I overpaid-notice how the pattern doesn't match up on the sides). I think I maybe wore them once, it was just too much plaid. I tried the pants on and marked them about two inches below the knee, and cut. I tucked and folded the edges and hemmed them (while at my new desk)




The result is a little something I would like to call plaid perfection.

trip to the salvy part I

On my last day off I took a trip to the three story salvation army near my apartment, I came home with 4 new pieces of inspiration.
I'm currently working with the blue scrub shirt, but I don't have any pictures of it as of yet. Maybe tomorrow.

t-shirt recon rescue

So I decided to take my new dress form out for a trial run and see if I could resurrect an old t-shirt. I've had this Circle Jerks t-shirt since high school (8 years), it was a men's large and at the time it was pretty fitted on me.


It went to college with me, where one Halloween morning I hastily cut the neck in order to make an 80's costume, if I had planned it better, maybe it wouldn't have been so revealing. So for 3 years it was used as a night shirt.
I started the whole project by pinning the neck line to make a boat neck collar, then I removed the sleeves and set them aside. I took it off the form and sewed it, the put it back on for the next part.






I determined how far up on the shoulder I wanted my sleeves to start, pinned the arm holes and sewed. After putting it back on the mannequin I worked taking in the sides. Working with the dress form made me feel freer. I played around with the side seams and made it so the begin curving towards the front which I found to be very flattering. I picked up the sleeves and cut them in half, attached some ties, and again, pinned and sewed.





Here are some detail shots:
Left:Reinforced side seam ----- Right: Top of shoulder (still needs to be cleaned up)

Left:On the dress form ----- Right:Curved side seam


I am really happy about how this turned out, I wasn't frustrated at all while making this, and I took my time while planning the whole thing out. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can wear it outside again.