It’s finally here, the moment you’ve been waiting for since my last blog post. It’s the first of the Value Village refashions! And lucky for me there’s no snow (yet) so I can still enjoy wearing this poncho without freezing my tush off.
Don’t you hate it when things start to wear out prematurely? Despite my best efforts I was having no luck repairing this grey purse. First the lining started to separate at the bottom seam. I stitched it up, no problem, but then it started coming apart on the side seams! Grrr. Then the zipper broke. After trying a couple quick fixes that didn’t last (I really didn’t want to replace the zipper) enough was enough and I was ready to toss it.
My sister, Halie, is currently part of an exhibition at Untitled Art Society called A Space Ship is Just a Time Machine. The reception was this weekend and she wanted to have an amazing outfit. The pants were already decided on but she wasn’t sure about the top.
Sewing Sister to the rescue! I had seen a photo that week on pinterest I thought would work perfectly with the pants. This pattern drafting was very simple and consists of two squares (for the back and front) and two rectangles (for the sleeves). Happily the muslin looked great.
Does anyone else find the boys/men in their family are the hardest to buy presents for? I think I’m a pretty awesome present picker-outer but when it came to deciding what to get for my little bro last Christmas I was stumped. I didn’t want to give him a gift card again or money. Was there anything I could make that he would actually use? My sister and I put our heads together and came up with a useful and warm idea!
My sister, Halie, and I are similar in many ways. We are both creative, share the same birthday, and adore a great thrift store find. When we spotted this coat on a recent Goodwill trip Halie fell in love instantly. I wasn’t equally as smitten. While I did like the shape, color, and fuzziness of the fabric, it had major problems. It was badly worn on one shoulder, my guess is from a purse strap, and on the elbows. The lining under the armpits was also torn on both sides. Halle couldn’t let the coat go, it really was a steal, and since I knew I could mend it easily I agreed to help.
Summer is here and hoo boy is it hot! Well at least in Calgary it is. Even though I feel like I’m melting, being over exposed in public is not for me. I may be cooler but I’m not comfortable. Halie, my sister, feels the same way. The solution is a light and breezy kimono! She asked me to make her one and since her birthday was coming up how could I say no?
The fabric Halie picked out is a vintage Japanese silk which I’ve had in my fabric stash for awhile. It was perfect for this project and I think it turned out great! I tried a different method then my previous kimono tutorial and pretty much just winged it. Luckily it worked out on the first try. I’ve found a tutorial similar to what I did on Babble by Merrick White. The only difference is since the kimono I made is longer I didn’t sew the side seams all the way down, only to about mid-thigh. Even with hemming the edges this kimono is still a quick and easy sew! If your wondering how I made my first kimono check out my Cozy Kimono Cardigan tutorial.
Thanks to Julianne Gutowski for taking these pretty photos of Halie modeling her kimono. Isn’t Lesser Slave Lake a beautiful location!
Even in hot weather you can still be cool and comfortable without resorting to short shorts and crop tops! (although if that’s your style I’m sure you rock it!)
Well last I checked it’s still winter. Yes, really! I’m not kidding you! I’m shocked too. It feels like its got to be at least March, but no, February just started. This DIY is pretty simple and you can do some of it, like sewing on the sequins, while sitting in front of a toasty fire with some hot cocoa!
My sister Halie, who is also modeling the sweatshirts, and I were out shopping one day and admiring all the tops with animals on them. We’re both a fan of pretty much anything with a animal on it. This gave me the inspiration for a DIY we could do together, so off we went to H&M to buy some cheap sweatshirts. These oversized ones cost $19.95.
SUPPLIES:
Plain sweatshirt, felt, sequins, nylon thread, thread the same color as felt, scissors and needle, sewing machine (optional)
First you need to pick an animal. Halie chose a fish and I picked a bear. Look up the silhouette of your animal of choice online and either use it as a reference to draw a pattern or increase the size and print it out. Just make sure it’s big enough but not bigger then your piece of felt.
After cutting out your felt in the animal shape use the nylon thread to sew sequins all around the edge of the felt. Stitch about a 1 cm from the edge so you have enough room to sew the felt to the sweatshirt.
Once your done sewing the sequins on, pin your animal to the sweatshirt. I put the sweatshirt on a dress form to make sure I had it positioned properly. If you don’t have a dress form you might want to (carefully!) try on the sweatshirt to ensure it’s not crooked and adjust if needed.
The last step is to take the thread that matches the felt and use the sewing machine to stitch between the sequins and edge of the felt. You could also do this by hand. I’ve washed and dried my shirt in the machine and it came out perfectly fine! If your not into animals a large letter, varsity style, would also look snazzy on a sweatshirt! The sky’s the limit!
RAWR!!!!!!
victoria day to day 