The Insanity Continues

I wasn't lying earlier. I really am on a skirt binge. Exhibit C.

Before: Church Lady Frumptastic


After: One word - Sassy

Skirt via Goodwill $3.99

Skirting the Issue

I suppose I've been on a skirt binge lately. I see so many tutorial online and skirts seem like one of the easiest things to make for yourself. You don't have to worry about sleeves and shoulders and busts like you would with a dress.

The first skirt is a project that I've been intending to do for quite some time. It's a tutorial on the ReadyMade website on how to turn a men's shirt into a skirt. I found a shirt I liked for $2.oo at my LTS. I think that the directions on the website are missing some words. It was a bit hard to follow, but I used what was there and filled in the blanks on my own. Overall, I think it turned out pretty well. Now to style it I think I need an old band t-shirt and some beat up cowboy boots.

The second skirt was also a tutorial I found online. I used some vintage fabric I found at my LTS (a different one than above). This time 2 yards of fabric for $1.00. The elastic in the waist actually cost more than the fabric. A quick and easy tutorial I'd recommend anytime you want to spice up your wardrobe on the cheap.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Okay, so my mom's birthday was actually Wednesday, but I'm never able to plan ahead for these things, so the last couple of days, I've spent making her gifts. I've ended up with two in hopes that it will make up for the lateness. First off Gathered Clutch.

This gathered clutch was not actually part of my Home Ec class. Tutorial found here. It was a slightly more complicated project than I usually attempt, but hey, it's my mom's birthday. Why not go all out? This project calls for fussible interfacing, which I had never worked with before. There's really nothing to it and I like the structure it gave the clutch. I followed the tutorial directions exactly, but should have made the lining a bit smaller so the interior divider would lay flat and not be wavy. It took me the best part of one evening, but now that I've done it once, I think I could replicate it in less time.

Extreme close up of the lining and divider. All fabrics are thrifted.

The second present that was cut out yesterday and assembled this morning is the "All-Day Tote" out of the book Lotta Jansdotter Simple Sewing. I've had this book for a couple years, but have only attempted a tote bag. I have grand plans to complete projects seen in this book, but never seem to get around to it. In fact, I've had the denim used to make this bag for a couple years as well. Me and my great follow through. I did emulate the bag in the book to some extent, but went with floral rather than herringbone for the handles.

My bag does seem floppy compared to the picture in the book. Either Lotta used interfacing or the bag is packed in such a way that it has a better shape. The denim exterior, as mentioned earlier, was purchased a couple of years ago. The interior was a thrifted sheet and the handles and interior pocket are from my trusty vintage fabric samples as seen here and here.

New Friend

My online Home Ec has a tutorial on how to make stuffed animals out kid's clothing. Since I have neither kids, nor kid's clothing, I had to rely on a slightly different procurement method, the thrift store. It just so happened that my LTS (local thrift store) had children's clothing on sale buy one, get one free. I picked up a few t-shirts in coordinating prints and a few hours later a new friend emerged.

The little bear here is destined for my boyfriend's nephew, the only baby in my life at the moment. I used the stripe t-shirt for the body and the polka dots for the details. I tried to cut the polka dot t-shirt in such a way that I could use the dots as eyes and nose. Overall, it was a quick and easy project.

Oh Baby

This is a baby quilt I made for a friend back in the spring. It is made of eight different fabrics all thrifted. The fabric is mostly vintage linens with some vintage fabric thrown in for good measure. I cut six block of each of the fabrics and then pieced it together on my sewing machine. My grandmother then attached the chenille back for me.

Hot Stuff

Today, I made a potholder using a tutorial from my online sewing class. The fabric is from the same vintage sheet that I used for the single sided napkins seen here. The fabric for the potholder is actually the sheet's upper hem which was very wide (9 inches). I simply removed a portion of the hem and then followed the directions from there. It was fairly easy, but my quilting turned out a bit wonky (hidden by the carafe). I will definitely try this one again.

Another Day, Another Pouch

I made two more pouches today. These were based of a tutorial found here. It was a pretty easy project (there is a printable pattern included). I did have a bit of a learning curve, because this was the first time that I had used my zipper foot. All in all, I think that they turned out well.

The first pouch has an vintage floral exterior (curtains at one time) and the interior is a thrifted polka dot fabric.

The exterior of the second pouch is a pink toile. I picked up a whole roll of this fabric (several yards) at a garage sale for a couple dollars.

The interior of this pouch is a pink stripe. I can't remember exactly where I got this, but I know it was thrifted.

Another Day, Another Project

A quick and easy project. Pencil case using the tutorial from my online Home Ec Class. I used one of the vintage fabric samples blogged here. The interior was formerly a vintage curtain. I had a little trouble with this project. For one, I couldn't figure out how to adjust the needle alignment on my sewing machine. I needed it to be on the far right. This wouldn't be a problem if I had a zipper foot, but if one came with the machine, it's probably somewhere at my parents' house. Despite the problems I had, I would like to try it again, this time with a thinner fabric.