The Sweater Project

I'm into big, overarching projects. However, the ones that actually work are the inadvertent ones. I didn't even realize \ I had a ton of recon'ed sweaters until I just started pulling them out of my closet! If you want any advice or how-to's for any of these, leave a holla in the comments :)

Tied duster-style cardigan a la Grosgrain Fabulous. If you want to recreate, her tutorial is great, but I recommend stay-taping the edges before sewing any trim on. While mine stretched out to form a lovely soft collar, that was pure luck. 

detail of the edging.

A copped cardigan from a crew neck sweater! Keep checking for info on how I used the rest of the sweater ;)

Yes indeed, it's polka dots. And my first attempt at adding on a peter pan collar (which needs to be ironed). 

Make a sweatshirt into a cardigan! It's super cozy.

And missing a few buttons -- when I dig them up, I'll add them. But I rather like the little "v" formed without them...

Large sweater = sweater tunic dress. I took it in, and replaced some weird rainbow stuff in the channels with cream ribbon

And bows :)

Embellished blazer (I love cream and black!)

I found this puffball piping. And love it. I made the brooch out of leftover lace and button. 

Pocket detail.

Cardigan A

Cardigan B

I love Target's cardigans, but they usually need something like grosgrain ribbon to reinforce the fabric behind the buttons or they pull. Fine by me if that means I get a bit of color. 

All sweaters were thrifted, except the sweatshirt (Wal-Mart) and two cardigans at the end (Target)

Gold Star to those who love realizing they've been far more productive than they thought.

Oh, Beauty

If you just looked at the pictures, you'd think this is a really vain title. But the beauty is the pictures! I'm so in love with my new camera, and I don't yet know a third of what it can do. If I know that.

 In fact, it's so wonderful, I was a little intimidated to take pictures of myself -- with that kind of resolution, surely it would pick up my obnoxious band-aids, slightly stubbly legs, and bumpy, dry skin (an allergic reaction to winter, no doubt). But the pictures are lovely.

Of course, I needed a retro do and accessories to complement. 

It even captures my special faces! 

But I'll spare you the odes and sonnets and talk about the subject -- the blue dress. Entirely out-of-season here in Michigan, but unfortunately inspiration doesn't necessarily follow the calendar. I've actually had it done for a while (it only took me about two days of concentrated effort), but I needed to reset the zipper -- never a task I rush to do.

from (the McCall's site)

It is made from McCall's pattern M6331 but with a skirt I drafted myself -- meaning I traced a skirt with the silhouette I wanted and the proper waist measurement. What makes this pattern nice (in addition to being adorable) is that you can tailor it to your cup size. So it sews up with a pretty good fit before fittings.

I like the skirt included, but a.) I wanted something more akin to a wiggle dress, and b.) I didn't have near enough fabric to do a full skirt. Old poor college student habit -- I buy the minimum fabric I can get away with. Or I buy a bit off the end of a bolt for the discount and try to apply it to a fabric-intensive project...

But nonetheless, I like the result, especially belted. Don't tell anyone, but there was a teensy rumple in the waist seam hidden under there -- some intensive ironing and a few hand stitches will take care of that.

And yes, my sweater clips are actually pokemon. I'll get some real ones someday.

Gold star to those who happen to have pokemon accessories...

More fun with chiffon!

Finally...

Cut approximately a 2-in strip (to create a rose about 4 inches in diameter) about a yard long. Use a quilter's rule and rotary cutter for precision, and, frankly, ease. 

Finish the outside edge. (the cleanest edge you cut). I used a contrasting zig-zag stitch and a pinking shear. Set your machine 4 for length, and 5 for zig-zag width to match a set of standard pinking shears. Or, you could sew a straight stitch and pink or scallop. Or for simplicity you could either fray-check the edges or just leave it. I kind of like the frayed look (see my 1/4 yard of chiffon example below). 

Then, run a basting stitch along the other edge and gather for all its worth. A basting stitch is the biggest straight stitch your machine can do. It's meant to be loose and easy to pick out -- it's often used to hild things like pleats in place until the final seams of a garment are sewn. It is also used to gather ruffles. To gather, leave long tails of thread after you've run the stitch. Then pull one of them gently - being very careful not to break the thread, until ruffles form. Then gently push these ruffles down the seam until you reach the end, and continue until the whole strip is ruffled.

It'll start twisting, and end up looking like this fluffy little worm. Use the twist to form layered circles, and hot glue in place. Then use the hot glue to attach a barrette, or a flat pin back to the back. Or glue to a headband, stitch to a scarf or cardigan -- use your imagination. 

Voila!

For extra fun, create the center of the flower from a button or fancy bead (made with the infamous floral chiffon). 

For a more Rosette-type shape, taper one edge down to about a half an inch. I accomplished this with the blue one by tucking while I glued, but a more of a spiral would happen if you actually changed the shape of the initial strip.

Gold star to the flower children.

THAT project

So, its a proven fact that every major social group has a "THAT guy." Since the library has very short lending times on TV series, forcing me to watch vast amounts of "How I Met Your Mother" in a few days, let's use Barney as an example of "THAT guy." He's rude, crude, and generally obnoxious, probably lovable, and the type of person that makes you go "really? those people really exist?" Well, yes they do, and you meet a ton of them in college. So, along with my lovely piece of paper that proclaims I'm a professional (literally, my degree is professional writing), I graduated with some experience with the "THAT guys."

And, unfortunately, that phenomena also occurs in the crafting world. Meet my "THAT project."

Yes, its lovely now, but throughout its creation it was incredibly rude, crude, and generally obnoxious. It started out lovely. I found this lovely embroidered linen lying on a table at a favorite quilting store's sidewalk sale. It was cheap, unique, and I knew it would be a lovely skirt. Then, a month later, I picked up a pattern (McCall's M5631)for a lovely, full skirt with cute contrast waistband and sash at a dollar pattern sale (never pay full price for a pattern, they go on sale at least monthly).

Then I discovered the project's true nature. First off, the fabric wasn't wide enough to cut the pieces on the fold (making a one piece front and back). No big deal, I'll cut four pieces slightly bigger and seam them -- its black fabric, no one will know the difference. So I cut everything out and started pinning the pleats. And then it got buried.

At least a year passed, and I rediscovered the skirt. I was in college at this point so I thought "oh, its already pinned, so it will be a quick project that won't take up so much time its an inefficient procrastination method."

Oh how wrong I was. For you see, I either lost the two back pieces, or never cut them. Well, I couldn't be sewing all night, I had a paper to do. So it went back into the pile, and proceded to weigh down my sewing to-do lists.

Finally, about a week ago, I girded my loins and pulled the skirt pieces, now several years old, out of the pile. I cut the missing pieces, pinned the missing pleats, and proceeded to make the skirt. Then I found out the lining for the waistband was gone, and the lovely contrast red linen was nowhere to be found. So I forced the remaining black fabric to make new facing pieces. No sooner had I done that then I discovered the missing facings, leaving me with two fairly useless pieces of black embroidered linen. However, I persevered, finished the skirt, hemmed what seemed to be miles of black linen, and put in the zipper ironically easily.

And I have a new skirt and a burden off my to-do lists.

 (obligatory spinning shot)

Gold Star to those who know the joy of finally tackling "THAT project."

Finished!

Yay! I love finishing projects. Being able to place them on their own hanger in my closet is such a wonderful feeling. Like letting free my hand-raised baby bird... except its not free literally, its just free to be style. I shouldn't be required to make up brilliant metaphors at midnight.

Anyway, project one: a dress. This has actually been done for a long while, but I forgot about it. It's been buried in my to-do pile because I need to reset the panel in the front (so excuse any puckering -- it is currently fixed with safety pins.)

 I revamped this dress from a Volunteer's of America find. I forgot to take a "before" picture, it was originally white with blue and yellow checks. I over-dyed it Kelly green, made and added the trims, cut a new neckline, and set a zipper in the back (the waist was narrow -- it fit my waist, but not the curves surrounding.)

The trim at the waist and hem is made from two ribbons found in my mom's stash with some double-sided iron-on tape, and a lot of small-width zig-zag stitches. Then I used the thinner ribbon at the neck, stabilized on the back with bias tape and zig-zagged over the top.

(the aforementioned trim in close-up)

(and a really awkward-angle close-up of the trimming at the front.)

Project two: a skirt made from scratch. For some reason, a tan button-front skirt has been on my list. I've never been a tan or beige person, but neutrals have been really attractive lately. I guess I'm growing up?

(with my sweater temporarily crop-topped to show off the waist. I don't actually own anything cropped, due to a lifetime of suffering tops being short on my abnormally long torso)

(yay successful spin picture!)

(and the best feature of this skirt is, adjustable decoration! I sewed this button to a snap, so I could wear it under close fitting tops without awkward bulges, but then I can also have this feature...)

(you can switch it out for a bow!)

(I'm wearing leggings, my legs don't just disappear after the skirt, in case you were wondering.)

(excuse the blurriness. But this is my little hidey-hole for the button so I don't lose it, made with an extra snap)

Gold Star to all the Peter Pans who will never grow up, neutrals or no neutrals.