You guys rock!  You gave me so many great ideas yesterday that I don’t know what to do.  I love that you all see the potential that I see in that flower garden of a dress.

I’m still considering all the possibilities, but I did another makeover yesterday that I think you’ll appreciate.

Ninety-nine cent black linen dress + thread from Sarah’s sewing box + seersucker scraps from this shirt = My favorite before & after ever.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

For this project, I removed the bodice, narrowed it, and made it a trapezoid (using bias tape along the armholes).  I then cut off the slitted part of the skirt, gathered the waist a little, sewed on the top part, and hemmed up the bottom.  I made 2″ bias tape from black and white seersucker and sewed it together for the tie at the top.

Easy-ish! :)

Thank you, husband, for taking the “after” pictures. :)

I just can’t say no to crafting, no matter what state my home is in (And today it happens to be up for sale.  Did I mention that?).  In fact, it seems to ease the stress.  I made these simple skirts this afternoon from two corduroy prints I couldn’t pass up at Joann’s.  I used half a yard of fabric for each, using this tutorial as a guide, and then finished the bottom hem.  The brown skirt has a zig-zag stitch, and I used the scallop function on my sewing machine for the gray skirt.  (That was way easier than I thought it would be.)  So in about 2 hours, I made 2 skirts for the little girl that will be perfect for Autumn.

Can you believe it’s September already?

I found the shirt at the thrift store for $1 and embellished it with one of Martha’s templates.

Thanks, everyone, for encouraging me about the move!  Keeping the house spotless for potential buyers is stressful (and so is packing), so I decided to unwind a little bit today by making over Emily’s shirt:

While visiting the library recently (and wearing the aforementioned shirt), Emily was mistakenly called a “he” by 2 different people.  To be fair, she was wearing boy’s shorts, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.  But still.  The incident made me rethink stripes on girls.

Or maybe it just gave me an excuse to applique.

For this project, I was inspired by a hot-air balloon zippered pouch in Zakka Sewing.  (And you might recognize the bird from here.)

I think I feel better already.

EDIT: And here’s the Emily looking very much like a girl in her freshly decorated shirt.  She was tickled pink by it.  We even watched hot-air balloon videos on Flickr. :)

Today I made a collage.

Well…

A mood board.

Clothing design is on my mind a lot these days.

Which reminds me…

Do any of you have experience with dress forms?  I’m looking for a good (but inexpensive) one.  I tried the duct tape dress form, and, well, DIY doesn’t always work…

[Mood board clippings taken from Domino Magazine (R.I.P.) and an Anthropologie catalog.  And that’s Jenny Gordy from Wikstenmade front and center.]

It’s finished.  It has pockets and a slight tulip shape.  This was fashioned almost entirely from the bottom ruffle of the dress.

To cinch the waist but leave a little wiggle room, I made it so that the waistband wraps around from the back and ties in the front.  Does that even make sense?  Anyway, I can tie it in a bow or twist it (as it is in the picture) or whatever.  Maybe even a brooch could hold it together on the side.

I think it could be 2 inches shorter.  Because less is more. ;)

Here are a couple ideas:

[From Mod Cloth.]

[From French Connection.]

So I told you last week that I had a shirt to finish before I would allow myself to cut into this dress.  Here’s the shirt, for which I used Simplicity 2863 as a starting point, and made it up from there.  Not that it looks all that different, but I stopped following the directions when I realized that the pattern is intended for knits.  The material I used was, I think, acetate.  I don’t know for sure because I found it at an antique store last year.  And I honestly thought it was cotton until I got it home.  How does a somewhat-seasoned sewist make a mistake like that?

Anyway.

So I was showing my friend, Heather, the unfinished garment on Friday night, and somehow I found myself, well… you’ll see.

Do you have a friend who brings out your inner crazies?

Heather is that kind of awesome friend.  (So is Jacquie.)

WARNING: You’re about to see my home in disarray, unflattering use of the flash, and me, looking like an idiot.  Or a Floral Ninja.  Enjoy!

I saw this idea several places, and I don’t know where it originated.  I just know that days after I saw one, I scribbled the bullet point embroider love note on a to-do list.  I couldn’t get away from the idea.  If you know who started this, please tell me! :)  EDIT: Katie.cupcake did it before me, and I’m pretty sure that’s where I got the idea. ;) Thanks, ladies, for reminding me!  EDIT AGAIN: Wait.  I saw it on Twig & Thistle a while ago too… So I’m still not sure who started it.

So I haven’t refashioned the dress yet.  I have another shirt to finish first.  But it’s hanging on the back of my chair with all of its awesome potential looming over the Craft Room.  I did manage to read this book though.  Good read.  And not at all what you think it will be.

EDIT: Now feels like a good time for me to share this other crafty thing I did for Evan back in January of 2008.  He was out of town for 2 weeks, so to keep my mind on him each night, I worked on this cross stitch:

I found the pattern on Sprite Stitch.

What would you do with this?  I couldn’t pass it up.  Afterall, it recalls the most awkward years of my life, and it partially explains why they were so excrutiating.  I did not belong in ruffly drapes.  What were designers thinking selling so much poof and brightness to the masses?  Brooke Shields is the only person I can think of who could have pulled this off and still been glamorous and beautiful.  Even then…

But that asymmetric hemline… The clashing pink & red… The chintz… Something about it calls to me.  And that’s why I rescued it from the thrift store.  Am I nuts?