Tag Archives: recycled

2

CORDUROY RUFFLE SKIRT

by

I have a really strange habit: the night before leaving for a trip, I get the urge to make a new piece of clothing to take with me. And so I usually spend the last few hours at home sewing!

ruffle skirt

These pictures were taken by my husband in the Painted Desert National Park as Jason and I drove to our New Orleans wedding reception.

ruffle skirt

I feel a little guilty about completely ripping off fellow Etsy seller Loni Gaghan‘s design. But that’s what making is all about, right? Anyway I’m not about to spend $60 on something I could make myself (although I would advise anyone else to, because it did take a few hours and seems totally a fair price), I certainly wouldn’t make this skirt for anyone else, and it was in the noble goal of de-cluttering my stash.

All of the materials for this skirt were overflowing from my fabric cabinet. The corduroy (left over from pants I made for Jason last year) was particularly bulky, and I never actually thought I would use it. I bought the coral cotton jersey for a dress I’ve never made, although I still have enough fabric to make that happen. The lining is a poly-satin that was completely consumed in this project.

ruffle skirt ruffle skirt ruffle skirt

I really love the tulip hem, and had been thinking of making a skirt in that style for weeks (and filling up my sewing board on Pinterest with ideas). When I decided on this design, I planned on adding the vintage wooden buttons to the front of the skirt. I didn’t even realize that they have tulips on them! Which makes them even more perfect.

I used a hook and eye on the tab of the waistband, but it is way bulky. I think I’ll switch to just a snap.

ruffle skirt

This skirt isn’t my normal style, but I really like the petticoat can-can dancer feel of it. And I think it will be really nice for winter layering. Also the tan corduroy feels like a neutral, without being bland, and the coral gives it the pop of color I need to feel like myself.

ruffle skirt

Because I do not even wear or have an interest in ruffles, I don’t own a ruffle foot for my machine. I just gathered the jersey stripes manually, and it was fine. I used about 200″ of fabric to make the ruffles. Probably will not feel the need to add ruffles to anything for another 3 years.

I forgot to incorporate pockets, although I’m not sure where I would have put them. Maybe I could still add slash or patch pockets to the back? Opinions on that?

15

RAINBOW RIBBON BOOTS

by

Well, time to being showing off the wedding clothes! The boots seem an appropriate place to start, seeing as I’ve posted about them a few times already (and half the comments on my Animal Collective tee were asking about the boots!).

rainbow ribbon boots at burning man

Black Rock City in the background! I totally love this picture Jason took.

rainbow ribbon boots

As soon as we got engaged, I planned on wearing some handmade Thai boots from Siamese Dream Design. And while I love my boots to death, they weren’t completely comfortable. I was fine wearing them all day, but so happy to take them off at night. I wanted something better, and might as well make it myself!

rainbow ribbon boots

I had made the base of the boot in 2011, the night before we left for Burning Man. And they rocked! I loved the gold, which wasn’t too shiny. I used a zip-top sneaker from Kmart at the base and glued the gold cover on with E6000. It’s held up with no problem, making that stuff the greatest glue ever. As I was making these boots at midnight the night before we left for Burning Man, there are no pictures!

This year I replaced the old, slightly too tight zipper with a fabulous teal and gold zipper. I used red upholstery thread (from my Grandma’s sewing room) and sewed it by hand. And then came the trim… I spent $50 at Lincoln Fabrics on all these beautiful ribbons and trims, and picked up a few other pieces at Fabric Planet. The fabrics and zippers were in my stash, but pretty much none of the trims.

rainbow ribbon boots rainbow ribbon boots rainbow ribbon boots rainbow ribbon boots

Most of it is sewn by machine, which made the decorating a breeze! Some of it is glued on. This time around, I switched to Beacon fabric glue. I’ve had great results on other projects, but it wasn’t tough enough to hold all the trim in place on the boots. Which isn’t to say that it’s a bad glue (it was much easier to work with and smell than E6000). I’ll be picking off the old glue and re-attaching the trim at the bottom of the boot, and hand-sewing the rest.

I lined the shaft of the boot with some cotton jersey I had left over from leggings, so they are comfortable to wear with short socks.

I wore the boots throughout the week. They were eye-catching and much remarked upon, but most importantly: they were always comfortable! And perfect for the wedding.

facing the future

Yes, this picture again! It’s one of my favorites! In fact, Blake transferred it onto a wooden board and it’s hanging up in our living room.

4

ANIMAL COLLECTION TEE

by

This is the first project I’ve been really excited to share since Burning Man. I’ve been working the whole time, but on little things that aren’t necessarily that interesting to others. So finally, a new post!

Animal Collection teeI made this shirt for the Animal Collective show at Hollywood Bowl. I can’t even tell y’all how excited I was to finally see them! We took our friends (and PNF campmates) Matt and Marisha out for an evening of adventures and delicious beverages.

Animal Collection tee

The original idea of the shirt was much more simpler than the final product, and based on this gorgeous embroidered and beaded Hmong shirt I found on Etsy:

hmong shirt Animal Collection tee

When browsing through my Pins last week, I saw this shirt again and realized that I had recently picked up 5yd of a cotton jersey with a similar print and color scheme. (I’ve already made leggings and hotpants from the fabric too!)

The striped yolk seemed like an obvious choice, and then I noticed the orange pompom trim collecting dust on the corner of my desk, and from there it snowballed. Gold neck binding–definitely! Faux-epaulettes out of blue lace–of course! Teal and gold sleeves, left over from a dress–sew them on!

Animal Collection tee detail Animal Collection tee detail Animal Collection tee back detail

Jason was egging me on the whole time, and when I thought I had finished he suggested a little bling for the front. We sorted through every appliqué and finally landed on the gold studs for the front and silver vinyl shield for the back. He said they make the shirt difficult to describe, which is just what I was going for.

Animal Collection tee

Added bonus for all the materials coming from my supply stash. The shirt was perfect for the show and I got lots of compliments, but mostly I just felt good.

You can see more about the rainbow boots here.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7