My cutting mat, rotary cutter and ruler arrived on Friday, along with some gorgeous fabric, from The Cotton Patch. So finally I felt ready to take on my new sewing machine properly, and actually make a real, live project for the first time.
There's so much to make, so many fabrics and ideas available, that deciding was really hard, so started with a kit - Amy Butler's Sew-It Kit. Along with loads of other patterns and instructions, this had the fabric and thread to make a cute tissue-box cover. Was a bit worried, but followed the instructions, (made a couple of blunders but just unpicked when necessary) and here's the result. A bit wobbly and not as clean fitting as the picture of the project, but I felt pretty pleased, and will definitely try some of the other projects.
Felt really inspired after this, so had a look at what fabric I had, and decided to make a small bag (or big makeup purse!). I'd had a bag fastening for ages that was a cover mount on Simply Knitting magazine, so thought I'd start with that. Had bought a sample pack of Fig Tree's Moda All Spice Tapestry fabric and was itching to use it; plus some offcuts left from the tissue box. Found a lovely and really robust pink dotty napkin around the house for the lining.
Drew up a rough pattern myself, decided which fabrics to use, and started sewing. Made a corsage with the last of the Amy Butler fabric for the front of the bag. Will have a look through my latest favourite sewing book Sew Many Bags Sew Little Time for a bigger bag project next - Sally's taste in fabric is brilliant.
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I love dresses. You wouldn’t know that by what I wear everyday. But, secretly, I hoard dresses. Primarily fancy dresses. Gowns and the like. From thrift stores. And whenever I go over to my sister Jenny’s house, we have to play dress-up with her latest batch of vintage/ thrift-store dress finds. I guess it runs in the family.
I was, therefore, thrilled to find this sewing blog, called A Dress A Day. Lovely!
The author of the blog is a fan of vintage clothing (hooray!) and sewing (double hooray!), and she provides all kinds of fun links for anyone who enjoys either one of those things. I think I might just spend some time linking around this weekend.
Inspired by Christine, had a shot at altering my own CHA t-shirt, and here are the results. Wasn't quite sure where to start, so had a look at tops I already had for inspiration, and here's my 'creative process' (!?)
1. Cut out scoop neck right round neckline and ran stitch along raw edge. Cut off bottom couple of inches to shorten overall length.
2. Cut off sleeves just below shoulder seam, unpicked sleeve seams, sewed pleat into cuff-ends and attached this end back onto shoulders.
3. Tried t-shirt on and realised that combo of wide scoop and heavy sleeves created off-the-shoulder Flashdance effect (now I'm all for retro looks, but firmly believe that if you did it the first time round, you probably shouldn't go back there).
4. Felt dejected, ate some chocolate and asked the cats for advice - they looked concerned but were ultimately not much help.
5. Neatened strip of fabric I'd cut from hem and used this to make a halter neck to keep sleeves up.
6. Cut out slogan that had come away when I'd cut the scoop and stitched onto bottom of shirt with a funky zig-zag stitch.
7. Put t-shirt on and spend a frustrating 5 minutes trying to photograph self.
8. Tidied sewing area, picked up husband from a work's night out. Husband suggested I make t-shirts for the cats. Cats looked horrified. I think he'd had one or two beers . . .
So that's my first brush with altered clothing, and I'm sure won't be my last. Looking forward to seeing more altered creativity from other members!
One of my new favorite magazines, Blueprint (a Martha Stewart magazine), is ceasing publication with its March 2008 issue. It has all sorts of fun home decor ideas, life ideas, craft ideas--all that you'd expect from Martha Stewart. Anyway, I picked up the January/February issue at the bookstore last weekend, just to soak in the last bits of goodness before it goes away, and I found a terrific article on re-inventing your clothing.
In it, they show different ways to alter clothing to give it a new look. Everything from pants (making them into capris) and winter coats (shortening the sleeves and removing the collar) to shoes (embellishing and even changing out the heel!).
Check it out while you can. And if you end up loving the magazine as much as I do, we can be sad together.
I'm off to see the Editor of Sewing World magazine, Wendy Gardiner, tomorrow. It'll be great to have the chance to sit down with one of the UK's top experts and find out all about what's hot and what's not from her perspective. I'm keen to find out what the latest techniques are in home and fashion sewing, and ways we can start integrating all these great sewing trends onto our projects and books. Get a link to the mag at www.mycraftivity/jennyfoxpro.
