Tour de Fat!

   If you know anything about Tour de Fat, you know how fun it is! This year my boytoy and I sorted through old prom dresses at the thrift store to find one that I could butcher and alter to make a fun and flashy costume with that would match my boytoy's no-shirt blue tux outfit. 

   Unfortunately I totally spaced on taking before pictures of the dress. I know, I know, but you'll just have to use your imagination to picture the original dress, which extended to the floor and had no flashy sequin belt or large ruffle. 

I cut the dress at knee-length, and then used the fabric from the very bottom of the dress to create a large ruffle. Having a serger saved loads of time, as I simply just serged along the edge of the pre-cut ruffle, and ta-da!

Using the overlock machine on the ruffle. I pinned small pleats to create a puffy effect.

I had to sew the sequin belt (which I also found at the thrift store) just below a large opening in the back of the dress where the zipper was. The dress was a tad tight, and depending on the day it was a challenge to zip it all the way to the top. I decided to extend the belt just a tad and add a button with elastic under it, this way the dress would be held together with the button closure at the top of the zipper, yet be covered by this added belt.

Oh, and I also used some of the scrap tulle from the bottom of the dress to cut into strips and tie onto my pigtails, somewhat noticeable in the pics. And we used some of the sequin belt to attach to my boytoy's top hat to match our outfits. What a fun costume, and what a fun day!

Bag Holder

  Just for fun I made my boytoy this plastic bag holder. I love the vintage Snoopy scraps I was able to use on it!

Quilted Serger Cover

  I finally made a beautiful quilted cover for my serger! I love everything about it: the red corduroy, the Japanese heart with typewriter fabric, and the small strips of linen.

Caterpillar Costume

  It has been way too long since I've posted! After taking a break over the summer I've been very busy designing and prepping many new clutches and other items to list on my Etsy page before the holidays are upon us. But before I list those I have two adorable Halloween costumes to share!

  I was asked to create a caterpillar costume based on Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. After looking at many ideas I decided to use felt for mine with a bodysuit for the body and a hat for the caterpillar's head. The original costume was made with a red infant cap that the parents purchased for me, and I added the antenna, eyes and nose. I then purchased extra red felt to create two small felt caps for the two costumes that I've listed for sale on Etsy. 

  I absolutely love this costume! It's sure to be a hit on Halloween. It'd look even cuter as a group costume with a butterfly and some of the caterpillar's favorite foods nearby. 

Get one before they are gone!

The Lazy Girl's Way to Upcycling Old Jeans into Shorts

   I basically live in jeans, but I also have a pile that I never seem to wear. I decided to go through them and find ones that had a great fit at the waist and butt, but that I avoided wearing due to the leg cut or length. I found two pairs that seemed perfect for my go at upcycling my own jean shorts.

 Step One: Decide on the length you want, measure, cut and then serge along the hem (this is the lazy part- if you don't have a serger you'll have to do the good old double-fold and iron for your conventional machine).

    I decided that I wanted these shorts to be about mid-thigh, coming about 6 inches above the knee. The lighter colored pair I cut and serged at an 8" inseam, and the dark wash jeans I cut and serged at a 7" inseam. Adjust to make yours shorter if desired.

  Step Two: Turn jeans inside out, and iron a 1" hem.

Step Three: Stich decorative hem. I decided to do a double stitch using my double needle for the thinner, light colored jeans, and a single stitch for the heavy, dark wash pair, both sewn with my conventional machine. I used Jeans Topstitching thread to compliment the threads used in the original manufacturing.

Use the lines on your needle plate as a guide for a straight hem (I did 1" on both pairs). 

What the stitching looks like on the inside.

Voila! The perfect casual jean shorts that aren't showing off my butt cheeks and don't have the folded over edge like every pair made in stores nowadays! Next: Upcycling khakis and making some super cute short shorts :)

Octonaut Rescue Capes

   Every minute used and every dime spent on these rescue capes were more than worth it after watching my nephew and his little friends run around excitedly at his birthday party! I may not be able to design a scuba suit for little ones, but they were more than happy with the 'rescue capes', and hopefully they'll be able to play with these well into the future. 

*Currently I do not have any more of these for sale, however, 

if your little one absolutely needs one send me a message and we'll see what I can do :)

"Girly" Superhero Capes

 Special request!

Bubble Dresses in Action!

     At the last minute I was able to book a trip back to my home state of Maine and attend my friends wedding, who also recruited me to sew  dresses for two little ladies in her wedding. As per State Park regulations the girls were not allowed to throw flower petals, so instead they blew bubbles! The dresses fit them perfectly, and they looked awfully cute if I don't say so myself :)

     It was a long project for me as it was something I haven't done before (sewing silk dresses based on measurements only), but I couldn't be happier with the outcome! Who knows, maybe I'll sew more dresses in the future...

Tailoring for the Groom

Another project to add to the books: tailoring a jacket and vest for a groom. The sleeves needed to be shortened about an inch; a simple eye hook was requested so that the front of the jacket would stay closed when desired; and the vest needed to be taken in about an inch (too wide). Simple project consisting mainly of pressing and hand stitching. All stitching was done in a way so that it can be removed and the items returned to original size if desired. 

Dresses for the Bubbles, Pt. 2

  The dresses are complete! What a challenging, yet fun project this was. I haven't sewn bodices since I was learning to sew with my Grandmother guiding from behind many years ago. However, even though I spent a lot of extra time on each step 'just to be sure', I am absolutely satisfied with the outcome and can't wait to see the girls wear them! The scariest part is that the recipient's of the dresses live in Maine, so they have not yet tried them on and I had to sew based upon someone else's measurements only- eek! They're going to be just fine, though, I can feel it. I'll be sure to share pictures of the them on the wedding day at the end of September. 

The Project: Two dresses for girls ages 5 and 8 for a fall wedding in Maine. The bride chose a commercial dress sewing pattern yet wanted to incorporate the top part of one dress pattern for the skirt of another. She wanted the dresses to be twirly and fun, and bode well with the bridesmaids dresses that are Katharine Hepburn-esque. She chose a beautiful black silk fabric with coordinating black lining, red tulle with glittery spots for a petticoat (unlike the pattern, she would like the tulle to be a removable skirt versus just a ruffle hem). She also wanted the shiny, sheer red ribbon for a belt/mid-section decoration as well as the heart buttons.  

Red. Glitter. Everywhere!

Dresses for the Bubbles (Part 1)

  They're not being called flower-girls because technically they'll be dispersing bubbles down the aisle, so my girlfriend just calls them "the bubbles" for now. I think its kind of cute, plus I also like when people stray away from the typical wedding regimen that has come about over hundreds of years (boring and so not personal). I also felt honored when she asked me to make these two dresses for her beautiful nieces as they walk the aisle just ahead of her in September in my home state of Maine. 

  Today we spent several hours scoping out just the right pattern- well, piecing together two separate designs to get what will compliment her own dress and those of her bridesmaids- and finding just the right fabrics and notions. After we walked away from the checkout I said to her "you know,  neither of us ever looked at the costs of any of the fabrics, we chose purely on exactly what we wanted." What an amazing feeling it is. I cannot wait to create these amazing dresses that will add shine to the celebration of the true love between two wonderful people. 

Birthday Party Request!

Apparently my Etsy shop is getting some views, which is very exciting to me! I was just asked if I could create a sort of party package special pricing for a particular item, can you guess what it is? I had fun picking out these roar-tastic prints for it! More to come...

Veggie Aprons

Made these for some RAWesome  ladies!