Here are a couple ideas:

[From Mod Cloth.]

[From French Connection.]

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?

This pattern:

And on the brain, this dress from Forever 21:

Okay, so this sounds frou-frou, but it’s not!  I promised Evan that I wouldn’t put lace or ruffles or flowers on his beloved XBox.  Just a plain and simple dust jacket, if you will.

There you have it.  So simple that you hardly even see it.  (It’s on the left, in case you’re wondering.) ;)

I refashioned this slipcover from linen pants that my friend Heather gave me when she found out I liked to do this cut-up-old-stuff-and-breathe-new-life-into-it deal.  Thanks, Heather!  Love you, girl.

I kept it simple because… I know Evan will never take the time to tie pretty little ribbons in the back.  If you were a boy, would you?  So it just sits over the front, top, and sides.  Nice and neat. :D

Planning to make something like these tonight…

1) So I found a jumper at the thrift store (actually, I spotted several that had potential, but settled on this one because it was about $1.25 and needed minimal sewing).

2)  I removed the metal buttons (Is that what you call them?) with plyers.  This left several holes.

3) I dyed the jumper in a stockpot on the stove using Rit’s Denim Blue dye.  I used about half the bottle, and I let it soak for about 2 hours.  This might not be necessary, but that’s what I did.

4) Then I washed and dryed it, of course.

5) At this point, I decided to try it on & decide what next.  In order to not look completely frumpy, I decided it would need shape.  But I had to fix the holes & whatnot first…

6) I patched the holes on the straps (but not the sides of the jumper) by setting my sewing machine to zigzag and using the widest possible stitch.  I went across each hole in two directions, as you can see here:

This might look a little sloppy, but my mending will easily be covered by the buttons:

7) For the sides of the jumper, I decided to sew up the unnecessary opening with matching navy blue thread.  I sewed 2 rows right beside the tan stitching, and you can hardly see it.

8) Then I trimmed some of the excess bulk from inside the garment (where the buttons used to be).

9) To add shape to the jumper, I decided to add elastic to the waistline.  I took 1/4″ elastic and wrapped it around my waist to determine how much I needed.  Then I pinned it to the jumper where I wanted the waist to fit.  As you can see, I overlapped the elastic in the back of the garment.  Then I stretched the elastic and pinned it at regular intervals, being certain that the jumper would gather evenly.  (Does this make sense?  I think it should be a separate tutorial…) I used a special zigzag stitch on my machine that is for sewing elastic onto garments, and I sewed the elastic directly to the waistline.

10) I closed the buttonholes on the sides of the jumper by using the zigzag stitch.  You know, since they were no longer necessary.

11) Then I sewed on buttons.  I decided to go with classic, inexpensive, gray buttons and used heavy-duty, tan thread to sew them on.

12) I put on my dress, got some Starbuck’s, and asked my husband to take my picture! :)

Featuring su-weeeet red buttons. :)

For this shirt, I used Simplicity 2922, although I altered it tons.  This red seersucker fabric came from Joann’s, and I agree with Jen (who posted an adorable seersucker dress today) that you have to finish your raw edges so the fabric doesn’t fray too much inside the garment.  It’s probably not the finest seersucker in the world, BUT… who cares?  I love this top.

I left off the pockets from the pattern because I wanted to tuck it into shorts and skirts, although I think the pockets are pretty grand.  Maybe if I make a dress version…

I think this is my new favorite.

So I’m embracing it.

It was hard to get a well-lit picture.  This is a bit yellowy.

There.  That’s it.  Drab, but honest.

I dyed 4 shirts in a bath of black Rit last night.  What does that say about my mood?

Here’s the before on this one:

And here’s me huddled by the window, searching for sunlight:

It’s been raining for about 10 days.

I will be drinking a mojito with my fish tacos when the Mr. gets home from work.  How are you celebrating?

Hope you have a safe & happy holiday!

I really, really, really wanted to finish this in time to submit it to Rae’s Spring Top Week.  But I lost track of the time last week and, come Thursday evening, I realized that I was already an hour too late for the final submission.  Alack.

There are a lot of great tops in the running though.  You should definitely check ‘em out and vote!

So, here’s the top I made from a shirt my friend Mindy gave me.  Man, she sure has dressed me this season.

And here’s the before, circa 1999:

Not a bad shirt.  It is actually from Limited and pretty high-quality.  But a bit low in the front for me.  I added a buttonhole and changed the buttons (although I used similar ones because I liked the look).  I (obviously) removed the sleeves, and I used the cuffs to make puffs.  :)  Then I took in the sides a bit to neaten things up.  I removed the collar and made the neckline just a tad lower in the front.  Using one of the sleeves, I made bias tape to finish the neckline and make a bow.

And I sewed a metal snap at the top to keep things nice and modest.

The bow is not permanent yet.  I like it, but I’m not sure about it.   Should it be moved to the side a couple inches?  Whaddya think?

Did you know that Simplicity patterns were .99 at Joann’s this past weekend?  It’s true.  You should never ever buy patterns at full price.  Please don’t.  Unless of course you’re supporting an indie designer.

When I came home Friday and showed Evan my $4 worth of plunder, he laughed at me.  I had somehow managed to get a Lizzie McGuire pattern and 3 Project Runway patterns.   And Evan was quite certain this was related to my obsession with Project Runway.

Nevermind that the patterns have nothing to do with the show.  But he got a good laugh, and he needed that.  His back has been hurting him for several days now (hence our “missing” Easter).

Well anyway… yesterday I needed some stress-relief…

So I made Emily a shirt.  This is Simplicity 3513 (the Lizzie McGuire-themed pattern… published in 2008.  Is that show even on anymore?), minus all elastic bits.

She was so kind as to model it for me today.  Isn’t she the sweetest?

It doesn’t get much simpler than this.

I made these shorts:

from these pants:

I bought these pants about 4 years ago, and they’re petite trousers.  Trousers just aren’t as flattering on me as I used to think.  Let’s face it:

I’m short.

White, baggy pants don’t help.

So here’s what I did… I cut them off about halfway up the leg.  Straight across.  Then I tried folding them under and hemming them, but that didn’t work.  The outside bunched, and things started to look sloppy.  So then I cut them again where I had attempted to sew them (because it was impossible to ignore the perforation after I ripped my stitches out).  Then I made 1 1/2 inch bias tape out of the leftover pieces and finished the edges with it.  Worked like a charm.

Although I will point out that I literally kissed my sewing machine for working so hard.  She made it through something like 9 layers of heavy chino material!  I’m so proud.