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.

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

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.