Here are Erin’s instructions for her dress.  She does not want a bow in front. ;)

She sent me a couple yards of textured green fabric, a black tulle skirt, some black satin, and a lighter green ribbon.

So far, I’ve made the bodice, trimmed it with a tulle ruffle, lined it, and put in boning.  The boning is not particularly comfortable.  I rounded the ends, but I guess I didn’t round them enough.  And they are stuck in there (They’re melted slightly to the fabric.  Oops.).  Any suggestions? :D

A pressing deadline, a PGM dress form, a challenge with a limited budget (I assume) and limited materials… Do you see the PR connection?

P.S. I think I love my dress form.  I’ll have to build up the waist and hips for her to match my measurements.  But still.

It is so liberating to have the right tools.

[This is the second time I’ve cropped a pair of J. Crew pants this year: I made shorts back in April (which I later dyed gray but never blogged about it).]

Did you know that you can make a skirt out of a pair of pants?

I wasn’t sure if the skirt would be too narrow, but I gave it a shot.  This skirt was made by cutting apart the inseam and sewing the two front and back panels together.  It’s key to keep things nice and straight.  And to try it on.  I kept taking more and more off the backside, until I had a nice, neat shape.

The waist is kind of low, which makes up for the short length.

If I’d made the skirt any longer, I would have needed a vent in the back.

And the before…

I should have modeled them, but I’m sure you can imagine how squat these pants made me look.  I’m 5′3″ on a good day.  And my legs are particularly short. :)

Made (almost) entirely from the skirt of the dress.  I reused the pockets, and I used muslin for the inside of the waistband.  For added flourish, it has several rows of stitching near the hemline.

ME [holding up skirt to show Evan]: It’s not ugly anymore, is it?

EVAN [smiling uncomfortably]: Not as ugly.

I then punch him lightly in the arm as he grimaces and flinches a bit.  Then we laugh, and I tell him how he doesn’t know what’s in style. :)

And here I am sporting my dyed jacket with it.  Collar popped and all.  I’m so freakin’ cool.  I look like I’m pretending to model it on a runway, but really I’m just running away from my camera, trying to get a clear shot in my allotted 2 seconds.  And nearly falling over in my wedges.

I wish I’d made it a smidge shorter (same way I felt about this skirt).  But what if someone tall wanted to buy it?  Then it would be perfect, right?

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. :)

This dress is arguably worse than this one was.  It’s not really the appropriate season for more sundresses or boldly floral skirts, but I think I’ll make one anyway.  What would you do with this one?

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. ;)