made by Julianne

10

GEO-DELIC CONTRAST TANK

6 February 2013 by Julianne

Early February in Los Angeles means that I’m planning my summer wardrobe. I’m only half kidding.

Not only were all the fabrics used for this tank scraps, but they were scraps from projects that I sold. That is stash-busting with a vengeance! Also, it took about 20 minutes.

The yoke fabric is a cotton-lycra blend, and the awesome geo-delic print at the bottom is pure synthetic. I feel like I need a red bra to wear with this.

BTW, I totally just wore this outfit to my doctor’s office. I tried to put on regular pants, but just couldn’t do it, and every single person who I encountered did a head-to-toe double take. Also, all you ladies get your HPV vaccines ASAP.

You may recognize the leggings from my Animal Collective tee–this is my spirit fabric!

Even I’m only just able to go out bare-legged, tanks are always great for layering. Huzzah!

2

REMAINS OF THE OUTFIT

2 February 2013 by Julianne

I made this whole outfit in the last week, and all of the fabrics were remnants! Even the cardigan was thrifted from Out of the Closet, bringing the total price of this outfit to $9. I didn’t intentionally wear all my new clothes together, but that just shows how satisfied I am with the recent sewing.

I made this skirt as an alternative to my purple skirt, which I’ve been wearing about 5 times a week all winter. I love that I can be working in our apartment in my leggings, and then just throw on either of these skirts and drive to dinner or do errands on my bike.

I used the wrong side of a denim remnant (about 1/2 yd, $.50) with a tiny bit of stretch. The waistband was pieced together from denim scraps. The silver linen waistband was a long, narrow strip left over from a friend’s painting. And the back pockets are from my husband’s button-up shirt. The zipper and button were also from my stash.

The tank top also came from Fabric Planet’s remnant bin (1/2 yd, $.50!), and is copied from a tank that my mom sent a few years ago. It’s a slinky cotton jersey, and seems to go with everything I own. The striped straps are scraps from leggings. I also made a pair of panties using the leftover fabric and some elastic from my sewing cabinet.

I made the leggings using two remnants of medium-weight lycra ($1). They’re stretchy, neutral, and have been keeping me warmer than I expected. I’ve been very discriminating against synthetics, but now I’m trying to expand my mind.

It’s a completely new outfit, and while I certainly didn’t need more clothes, each piece is very versatile. Although I bought new fabrics, I also used up a few pieces in my stash. I think this outfit was $9 well spent!

2

BEEHIVE TURBAN

28 January 2013 by Julianne

As soon as I started knitting, I was most excited about knitting things to wear at Burning Man. I love showcasing my sewing projects on the playa, and it’s great to have a new medium to get creative with. Of course I’m wearing this turban off the playa too!

I’m so pleased and proud of how this hat turned out. It’s actually my fifth hat, and used the smallest needles yet (and therefore had more stitches than any other project).

The Striped Beehive Turban was designed by Christine Grant. I’m still new to reading knitting patterns, but hers was easy to follow. I knit the ribbing with 72 stitches, then increased to 84 for the orange and blue bands, and it fits me perfectly. I chose to gather from the radius and covered my awful seaming, and wrapped those stitches in yarn (from the side, it reminds me of an angler fish).

I picked Sheep-ish yarn for its bright colors and soft feel, plus it was on sale at Joann. The yarn is pretty loosely twisted, so I’d be afraid of pilling if I were to use this yarn for a garment. Also, I kept getting my wonderfully pointy new needles stuck in the yarn. So while I might not buy this yarn again, I think it was a great choice for this project.

My friend Shing made this clay button as a wedding gift (she also made the rocket pendants on our chandelier). It perfectly matches all the colors, although it didn’t occur to me to pair it with my turban until it was complete.

I have enough of these yarns to make a second turban, switching the colors around, and I’m thinking about making it inside out, with 4 purled rows and 10 knit rows (the reverse of the pattern). I’ll also modify the pattern to knit in the round, because I kind of like the jogged stripes, in a brushstrokes way [it reveals the technique and the hand of the artist– so glad I have a degree in art history!].