March 21, 2011

• …loose leaves cover the ground…

  so, you guys know that i got a sewing machine for my birthday.  and since then?  well, i’ve been awkwardly playing at refashioning a few garments.  i have a whole drawer-full of things that i really want to work on…one day.  for now, i’m working on pieces that i manage to snag from local thrift stores, usually at around 50 cents a pop!  sorry for the lack of pictures on this project, i promise i’ll do better soon

  the first thing i decided to go for was this shirt:
  
  rorschach says, “mom.  change it.  seriously.”

  i wanted to keep the little netting sort of detail at the neck, but the shirt itself was waaay too big for me, and seemed a little short.  i used one of my favorite tank tops as a pattern, and took the sides in a few inches.  once i got the new seams securely in place, i tried the top on and was pleased to find that the knit material was clingy enough to make the top fit longer than it seemed originally.  yay!  i left the sleeve seams raw, because i liked the look…also because i am apparently pretty insane with scissors.  it definitely doesn’t make the garment seem finished, but if i put myself in the mindset of being comfy and casual, i think i’ll still be able to wear it with pride.

  i had also picked up this crazy blouse:
  
  the jury’s still out on a potential use for the rest of that striped/splattery pastel magic.

  i thought that the applique might be useful once deconstructed, so off it went, thanks to my trusty seam ripper.  (**sidenote:  my grandmother gave me this seam ripper probably more than a decade ago—far before i even thought about refashioning—and it was still in the original packaging.  it was labeled as a “surgical seam ripper” and has a large, sharp, scary-looking hooked blade.  is that normal?!)

  then i took the leaf parts from the applique design:
  
  ’schach seems pleased with this new direction

  i pinned the smaller leaves to the shoulders of the tank, making these fun, grecian sort of vertical epaulets.  then i took the larger leaf and placed it across the left hip.

  it’s pretty much a silly, silly piece of clothing, but i’m so proud of it that i could just squeal, i swear.  as soon as the weather has made up its mind to be completely warm around here, i’m probably going to wear it constantly. 

  
  finished product

        
  closer looks at the hip and shoulder embellishments

  
  thanks to my sweetie, lex, for taking the pictures!

  since i’m starting below the beginner level of sewing (i’d rank myself somewhere between totally clueless and mildly capable) i’m really excited about all the new things i’ll be learning!  thankfully, i feel like the learning process is pretty safe territory to admit areas where i’m lacking in sweet skills.  examining my process and gaining new insight can only help me grow!

  since part of my purpose in posting these ongoing romps through the world of refashioning is to record my pitfalls and triumphs, i think i’ll wrap up my posts with a pros & cons list.

  pros:

  it still looks like a piece of clothing! 
  i really like the way the shoulder leaves turned out.
  the tank top fits me a lot better than the shirt did.

  cons:
  i didn’t think the pin the front and back of the shirt together before cutting…and i’m kinda like a wild woman when it comes to scissors.
  i over-estimated the sleeve size, and therefore couldn’t hem the new sleeve holes without showing too much side-boob o.O
  i tried to sew the leaves in place around each leaf-tip, and quickly realized that it would make them pucker unpleasantly.  i’ll probably be stuck carefully protecting and ironing the leaves down after every wash.

  but overall?  i’ll still wear it!  and that’s all that counts!
  

  so, what’s next for me?
  
  next time in the world of refashioning, watch me turn this too-short kimono top into a cool little capelet…i hope.

  • 11:34 am
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