Embroidered Top

Oh look, an embroidered shirt!  Perfect for making a cute top for the princess.

First I cut out the dickey that is sewn in.  Sometime I use a stitch picker to remove things so I maintain a nice clean finish on the inside of the garment, but I know that this collar part will be chopped off anyway so I just whack it right out.

 It was sewn in at the sides too.  I took more care in cutting it out there, cutting a little closer to the stitch.

Out it comes, and of course I'll save it since it has that little embroidery detail.  Maybe I'll add it to a pair of jeans later.

Sometimes I eyeball things but I happen to know that I have a pattern that will give the shape I want.

So I use the bodice piece of it to trace out my basic neckline shape.

I use the back pattern piece face down since my shirt is not turned inside out.  The back piece rises a little higher than the front.  Notice that neither piece reaches the true middle of the shirt as it should.  It's not a big deal, it just means that my shirt will be a little fuller than the pattern.

Then I cut along the line being careful to not cut the back since I know it is not a mirror image of the front.  Notice that price tag from the thrift store.  I might have paid even less if it was bought on a 50% off day!

Then I serged the edge of the neckline using the serger.

I decided to top-stitch down both sides of the button placard so that she will not be able to unbutton the top, since there will be no need once the top elastic is in.

Then I flip and sew the serged edge down to create the channel for the elastic.  I just left a little space open to insert the elastic and stitched it closed afterward.

And here it is.  

The sleeves ARE the same size, it's something about the way it is hanging.  I didn't even touch those anyway, so they better be the same!   My thought on this final product is to maybe add an elastic to the sleeve too, to give it a little puff sleeve, closer to the look of the pattern.  I'll see what she thinks.

Artsy vests transformed

I find some of the most beautiful and artful fabrics usually in vests.  My first thought is always "Really?  Is that all you could come up with to showcase this fabric?  A VEST?"  So I collect these.....no one appreciates them anyway if they are taking them to the thrift store in such great condition, right?  This one had no tags inside and appears to be handmade.

And I de-construct them to save as much of the fabric pattern as possible.....

And then I think, WHAT the heck CAN I make with this?  I love the fabrics I find in these vests but it really is hard to transform it because it is a limiting shape. And I don't want to cut into the detail work.

I was thinking of a purse for this so I can save that edge detail.  The front of the vest is a basic purse shape.....I'll provide the big reveal  later.

Here is an example of what I did with another vest like this one.  I didn't take a pre-de-construction picture of the vest but it was a lot like this one but with a solid linen back, so I really only had a front to work with.

It was used to embellish a pair of the daughter's jeans.

I just un-stitched the leg seams, inner and outer, so that I was working with a flat piece of fabric. A little rick-rack to carry the look around to the back and it was done.  I did have to use a needle for jeans in the sewing machine.  I re-serged the seams too for added strength.  I didn't bother to add the typical jeans topstitch detail back, who would notice it anyway with all this raz-a-taz?

Remember when I said that the shape was limiting?  I didn't even have the right size piece left to fully cover the pocket.....rick-rack to the rescue.

The base fabric on the vest is a thin linen so I know that unfinished edge will ravel, buts its on jeans so I don't think it is a big deal.  I like to finish my edges, but I didn't have the room.


Notice that green embroidered shirt in the background....another future project.

Isn't that a pretty fabric?

I have plenty more artsy vests saved up....you'll see more soon.

Decoupage

I only found one decent picture of this past project but wanted to share it for those who can't (or won't) afford new kitchen cabinets and want something different (anything!).  We bought the town house with cheapo cabinets and the previous owners has left them with a coat of primer on them.  I had no choice but to paint them.  So I went with this chocolate brown and new handles.  Eventually I got tired of that and decided to try a little decoupage trick.  What you see below is fancy paper dinner napkins, glued to the cabinet fronts with a watered down mixture of Elmer's glue and then polyurethane'd over a couple of coats.  I'm sure it is not to everyone's taste but it certainly made me happier for a while.  I've changed it since....more on that in another post....but it was a quick and easier way to save my sanity.   Definitely not the most permanent and durable solution but fun and whimsical if you know that you'll change it later anyway.

Now you'll also notice the back splash if you zoom in.  Sorry! this was the only picture I had!  That back splash was a bad idea.  I wanted it tiled, and being impatient (and whimsical) decided to just decoupage some tissue paper up there.  Yes, Dollar Tree tissue paper from the gift wrap isle.  It actually was fine as a temporary solution and lasted for several years.  But when I decided to take it down to actually tile it with glass mosaic tiles later, which would have shown the pattern through had I not removed it, it was a beast.  It would have been fine had I not polyurethane'd it....but it also would have been un-wipeable and not have lasted as long.  I had to scrape it, steam it, pick at it, steam it some more, curse at my myself, and swear I'd never do that again.  No, it would have been fine if I had chosen a regular tile to cover it with.  I would definitely do it again...in a pinch.

Six way tablecloth

If you read the last post, you know that this one is basically the same except that it is less versatile.  This project uses skirts and scraps from the thrift store too, but in this one everything is attached.  I'll show it in backward order from the last post, building up as I go.  

The base tablecloths are attached so that you just flip it to have the other look.  They share the same blue seersucker square on top and are attached by it, not at the bottom of the skirts.  It was a scrap of fabric, as were the yellow panels....hey, the green skirt was a fitted waist so it wouldn't fit all the way around the table!  I had to make do.

Since they are not attached at the bottom of the skirts, you could pin up the skirt, petticoat style, and let the other side peek out.

And there is my serger edging with a decorative variegated thread.

The toppers are also sewn together, so a quick flip gives two separate looks for each side of the base.  They are joined at the edge of the skirt.

 

Here you can see the way I joined the waist top of the red skirt in an "over and under" way, sort of the way you  criss-cross box flaps when you don't have tape.  And used the same yellow scrap for joining the waist of the other skirt.  The two skirts are attached to each other on the edge with the decorative serged variegated thread.

  I love it but it doesn't match my current decor.  Can you tell I love color?

Skirting the issue

If you couldn't tell from the previous posts, I love skirts.  I buy them from the thrift store to reuse for all sorts of projects.  I really love the long flowy ones and the bigger the better.  I sometimes feel guilty for taking  the larger women's skirts since I know that larger women often have trouble finding clothes.  If I see a really nice one, I usually leave it...honestly.  

Here are a few other projects where I've used skirts in home decor.  All pictures were pre- blog decision so please forgive.

On a bookcase to cover the clutter of bedside reading material.  This is a dark brown velvet tier, in case you can't tell.

In the bathroom, to cover the cheapo vanity.  This one was lined and once I slit it open down one side, the rod pocket was already there for the tension rod.

This shower curtain is three skirts combined.  The two sides are joined right in the middle and are two skirts that are almost exactly the same (bought on different thrift store trips and the only difference is a slight color variation).  How lucky was that!  They are a very filmsy fabric so the difference is hard to tell and they are so busy, I can say it was purposeful.

And this last one may be hard to see, but it is a skirt as the accent fabric hanging from the elephant head ...

...on each side of the loft opening.  Just a little splash of color for the room.

Oh believe me, I can rock a skirt!  And I haven't even shown you how many I've converted into dresses and girl skirts for my daughter.  That will be a later post.

Curtain toppers

First, apologies for the quality of these pictures, they were pre- the blogging decision.  These are the curtains in my master bedroom.  I am already tired of them but thought I would show them now and hopefully later, the new decor for a before and after.

The panels are regular curtains, Pottery Barn actually, but I got them at the thrift store.  The topper was an oval tablecloth.  I chopped the curved ends off, sewed a curtain rod channel in and voila!

Then I took the remaining rectangle,  cut it in two pieces and used it to swag off the closet doors.  Those panels are regular curtains on tension rods (Sears and JCPenny brand), but of course thrift store for me.  

And yes, they are two different colors.  Hey, I made do!

Easy bedspread

This was another one of those times when I made do with what I had.  I found both of these pieces of fabric at the thrift store.  The top is a stretchy velvet and the bottom is a silky paisley.  I initially wanted the top in the paisley and the bottom as a very full ruffle of the pink velvet trimmed in a black serged edge......just like a punk rock princess bed.  Not for me, oh no!  I measured it  and saw that I didn't have enough fabric and  it wouldn't work.  Oh yes you will!  So here you have it.  A very simple (even though it screams at you like a punk rocker) bedspread, tailored to the bed without a single ruffle (but you can't deny it's princess).