A dress for buttons

While reading all my favorite blogs this morning I skipped over to Frankie and read some old posts.

I now have to own my own house because I need, yes not want, really need this wallpaper! Its button wallpaper, how sweet!

Loving it.

Plus on the Frankie website there was a link to The Package Project. A very sweet idea to connect us craft-arty bloggers. You sign up to be partnered with another crafter somewhere else in the world and then send each other up to five items of loveliness in one ickle envelope. The sign up date is closed for this session. So I thought that I would use this as inspiration for my first ever give away.

It is a bit like lucky dip. I will make up two 5 item envelopes of crafty goodness to give away. Just leave a comment and then I will randomly select two people to send the goodies too :)

Well today I found a cute dress in an op-shop for $7. The shape was tent like but the fabric so bright and happy. The details of the shoulders reminded me of my Vogue 1940's costume too. So I decided to do a quick refashion using shirring. Yay!

Here is what it looked like before its morph via elastic...

I measured just under my bust and then just one inch on to my high hip (and just before the pockets on the dress, yes a dress with pockets, for mini Easter bunnies).

I then loaded my bobbin with shirring elastic and sewed in parallel lines half and inch apart from the line at the high hip to the line just under the bust. I also chopped of ten inches to make it a fun flirty length. Here she is...

Ahhh, so satisfying! Minimal work for a new dress. I got some other op-shop goodies but I will show you them soon! I still have a major amount of packging to do for our move and erm I am finding the most incredible bargains, plus, te he, hehe, te he... I got engaged!!! Whoooooooooooooooooooo!

xx

Baggy Lady

Hello. Looking through my posts it has been a looooooooooooooong time that I did a show and tell of something I have made. So ta da here is something that I have never made before, a bag.

I bought a lovely bag before I started my costume course and it was my faithful friend all through those two years. But alas it was looking a tad scruffy and the zips had broken and it made me sad. Yet I could not throw it out, instead I gave it a make over!

I downloaded the Anna Boho Bag pattern from Burdastyle and taped it all together. I had some fabric from a sale in a textile shop in Welly, called D Alexander (which is were I got my material for my major work corset, amazing textile shop!) and I thought they would work well together.

Close up of the old bag fabric, can you see why I did not want to put it in the landfill to un-perish, so pretty.

I cut out the largest section and found that it was too small for the base of the Anna Boho Bag pattern. I decided to just put a big ole box pleat in the middle of the floral material I was using as the bags main body.

I cut up my ole bag and was able to reuse the strap and 95% of the existing outer material, yay! I used an old plastic folder to reinforce the bag bottom and some waterproof material from my stash for the lining.

I then I sewed it all up, the instructions are ok and I found it that it went together really easily. Because I had my own strap I did not make the fabric one from the pattern and made loops instead.

I used extra strong thread that you use to sew jeans material with. I then made the draw string tops using thick chunky cord and toggles from my stash.

My old bag material is used on the base of the bag and the corners, I think it complements the material I used well. You can see my box pleat in the middle.

I love the pockets on this bag, very handy for mobile and keys without endless rummaging!

Here is the final result in all its glory!

I did add the tassels from the pattern but they just looked a bit naff as my ole bag material is plastic vinyl erm they looked cheap so I took them off. I love it! The inside does not have any pockets but the pockets on the outside are great for me as I tend to lose small things in bags no matter how good the pockets are inside the bag.

I rated this pattern and one of my friends already wants one!

xx

Summer shorts...

In between all the studying I did manage to make some shorts for summer! Yipeeee, I got to wear them on the weekend for some very stylish gardening. I bought the material ages ago as a remnant for $15 and I got the pattern in an opshop trip.

I made a tolie out of some flannel and made them into winter PJ's, you can read about that on Wardrobe Refashion. They brighten up my white and pastey legs, he he.

I was also lucky and won a giveaway. Emily from This Is Emily Kate was giving away a spare copy of Burda World Of Fashion and I won. The sun is shining. Thanks Emily :)
Check out her blog as she is always making wonderful garments and collecting very sweet ceramics. Plus her kitty cat Edie is very cute indeed and her Procrasintation Station is amazing.

xx

I will never lose you!

Since I have been knitting I have found that dogs think knitting needles are yummy or they get lost real quick. So I made a case using a pattern from Lupinbuuny's blog. I used recycled materials and you can read all about it on Wardrobe Refashion.


Now I am on to knitting my second hat... later!

xx

Wardrobe Refashion Runway

My first runway garment! You may remember that I sent over my Scrappy Reflapper dress to Nikki who runs the fabulous Wardrobe Refashion site to feature Wardrobe Refashion's runway show at Australia's The Stitches & Craft Show. Well here are some pictures from the Melbourne show of my dress, the model is a bit smaller than me so the dress is a tad to big for her but hey I am still as pleased as punch. Whoop whoop!

You can check out the other great garments sent in by other members too here One of my favorites was Veronica Darling's wiggle dress made from a tablecloth! If you live in Australia the last date for the show is from the 19th-23rd of August in Sydney. Nikki has a refashion zone there and is at the Burdastyle stall too, keep an eye on the Wardrobe Refashion site as she often is looking for helpers. I would totally help out if I lived in Sydney!

I have been slack as on my Wardrobe Refashions of late but I am still upholding my pledge.

xx

Return to the house of refashion

I want to look good when I am dreaming in my day bed... and this refashion may still be around when I actually have a day bed.

If the fabric looks familiar that's because I have already used it in one of my previous refashions, the Scrappy ReFlapper... but i still had some of the floral material left over. So with some fabric from my stash and an opshop pattern, TA DA a nightdress was created. You can read more about it on Wardrobe Refashion and see the comfy pants I made to go with it.

I am now going to wear my refashions and go to sleep and dream of day beds.

xx

Bad blogger...

My oh my, I have not made a blog entry for over a week. I am new to blogging but I would say that may be against the rules, or not quite cricket.

Below is the 1980's dress that I refashioned... I bought it in a store in Brisbane in 2006 when I was still a travelling bum and bit by bit it has been transformed. You can read more about it over on Wardrobe Refashion, lets just say it was not very flattering with its mono-boob boat neck and bloused elastic waist.


It kinda got me thinking about some of the things I wore in the 1980's and how much of that is in fashion right now. Like leggings or footless tights under skirts (keep them for the gym I say, however I did own a pair of pink legwarmers, so really I can't comment), plastic shoes (we called them jellies), huge t'shirts and neon!

Next I am expecting grunge to reappear, now that would make me feel old :)

xx

Scrappy Reflapper

Well holidays were great, I climbed a mountain, swam in the sea, did some cross stitch and relaxed... but after being deprived of my sewing machine I was delighted to spend today refashioning. For the short waisted of us (that includes me) it is empire line or dropped waists. I have so many empire line tops and to be honest its getting BORing!

So I decided to make a drop waisted frock. You can read all the 'I made this earlier' details, as always on the wonderful wardrobe refashion site.

My Mum bought me a wonderful skirt with really pretty material. But alas, too much material on a drawstring waist spelled disaster and instead of a complete body type replacement I thought refashioning was a more pain free option. With the addition of of secondhand material from my stash, here is what I came up with.

It looks like a Great Gatsby meets Doris Day , two of my favorite things x

*The skirt is just tacked to the bodice, I'll sew it on properly, honest!

Mr and Mrs Peg

On the Wardrobe Refashion site PumpkinNiki made a rather sweet bag with old rice bags and it got me thinking that we have a few lying around...

I decided to make a peg bag, not so glamorous but functional. I think it turned out ok.
You can read more about it on Wardrobe Refashion

It got me thinking about peg dolls, I used to make them when I was little. On the Red Current there is an old blog entry will heaps of links on how to make them. So sweet.

Drab to Fab

I am very much into my Refashioning challenge and its making me be tres creative! Yippeeee

You can read my post about the above jumper turns into cardi on Wardrobe Refashion and help me make up my mind if its buttons on or off... I can't decide.

I am researching folk/ethnic costume at the moment for a costume I am designing and making for a musician called Bachlorette, and I came across some really great books. Dress in Detail is a great series and for the costumer an absolute must! So I picked up the Dress in Detail: Around the World and it is stunning. One direction for the costume is to make it and Apron style so I picked up Aprons : Icons of the American Home



Now I want both books myself and to make a new apron! Watch this space

xx

Dirndl days and pearly confections

Its a mixed deluxe bunch today, recycling, refashioning and make new... a new Opshop has just opened up on my walk to my local library and on my first visit I found a black slinky dirndl and a shiny set of fake pearls.

I have had a wonderful enamelled pendent on a rather uncomfy suede thong for quite some time now and I never wear it, so I decided to do my first refashion. You can read about my refashion over on the Wardrobe Refashion blog but lets just say that the pearly confection is super sweet if I don't say so myself.

I have also just finished making a top from fabric found in the scrap bins in the costume workshop. Very nice white silk and lace no less. I made a light jacket as in the summer sun in NZ you need to slip, slop and wrap to keep you pale and interesting. Its a whole lot more fun if done in style!

Then just like a dream my leather obi belt by Ledthread that I had won on the BurdaStyle site arrived. Its so soft and pretty. So I put a few looks together with the Opshop black dirndl, new handmade jacket and my prize obi.

Dressing up is so much fun, even for grown up girls.

xx

I am a Wardrobe Refashionista!

I got an email from nikkishell from Wardrobe Refashion and I am all signed up for two months. Let the Refashioning begin. I am pretty excited.

I did a wardrobe clear out today and have a big pile of clothes that I can refashion, I am really hoping that my fabric stash will go down too in the next two months.

It comes as quite a shock to see how random my wardrobe is, no wonder I am always looking for something to wear,as I stare at heaps of clothes. Since one of my goals is to have a more streamline, quality wardrobe it looks to me that i will have to start making basic like white shirts... I don't even own one.

For some wardrobe rebuilding advice I have been reading up, surprisingly the LUCKY shopping manual: building and improving your wardrobe piece by piece did not advocate running out and buying everything, it was just full of good advice. It was more fun to read than others and more visual which I prefer than pages of text.

One other aspect of my refashioning is to get healthy so i can get back into some rather nice clothes that are a tad small. Its getting of to a good start with my friend and i... running! We are going to enter the Real Women's Duathlon and we have been out twice already. The big day is in April, so lots more training days to go...

Minnietheminks xx