Tag Archives: sewing

Paper bag pleats

When I was little I was fantastic at getting ready for trips. I would be so excited about impending vacations that I would be all packed and ready to go a week in advance and then spend that week living out of my tiny pink Sanrio suitcase. (Yes, I was adorable.)

Now, though, I suck. Now that my clothes are no longer tiny and I have to budget the number of outfits I bring places, it’s become a dilemma I avoid. And by dilemma I mean #firstworldproblems.

The point is, I’ve been a busy bee today scrambling to do all of the things I’ve put off the past few days in preparation for my trip home tomorrow morning at the glorious (*gag*) hour of 6am. And that’s just when our flight leaves, we’re getting up at 4am. I am soooo excited. (Not.)

On a less grumpy note, here’s a skirt I made a few weeks ago!

Paper bag skirt
top: H&M, skirt: self-made (using this pattern), tights: F21, shoes: Seychelles Ampersand

I used linen because I wanted something drapier than denim, but in retrospect I probably should have gone with a lighter denim because the linen not only wrinkles like hell but is also a wee bit saggy.

I vaguely went with the pattern but branched off a bit because I got confused. I also widened my belt loops a fair bit.

Paper bag skirt

I do love how it turned out though. Especially the bow. :]

And that it goes with my favorite shoes. Which I’m currently trying to justify bringing home even though I probably won’t have a chance to wear them. Details.

Seychelles - Ampersand

PS OMG I’m pretty sure this is the exact suitcase I used to have!!

Chambray&Lace

Lace & Chambray shirt diy

Last week I saw this Denim + Lace tutorial over at A Beautiful Mess and immediately decided I had to try it.

I finally made it out to the thrift store yesterday and after twenty minutes of panicked perusing (during which I went from “Of course they’ll have a million chambray shirts” to “Omg they won’t have any at all and I won’t be able to do this project”), found a chambray button up shirt that 1) fit me, and 2) didn’t have gross embroidering.

(No seriously, there were a few with American flags and even one with Christmas elves and holly all across the chest. -shudder-)

Lace & Chambray shirt diy

Anyhoo, after the thrift store I popped over to the fabric store for some lace. I loved the striped lace Elsie and Emma used but I wanted something a little more floral for mine. Luckily I found just what I was looking for! -squee-

Once I got home, it took about five full minutes to convince myself to cut into a perfectly good shirt, and I had to double check about six times that I was cutting in the right place. I even had to take a picture of the first slice to document it.

Lace & Chambray shirt diy
Disclaimer: This is NOT a difficult project. In fact, this is an incredibly easy and fun project. I’m just a paranoid idiot. :]

Anyway, once I got going it was easy breezy. I even decided to sew a little bit of scrap lace onto the tiny pocket on the front!

Lace & Chambray shirt diy

Anyways, this was a totally easy and awesome project. And it was so fun I sprouted a mustache!

Lace & Chambray shirt diy

(Nerdiness, I has it.)

Darling Ranges #3

In case anyone was doubting my sentiments toward Megan Nielsen’s Darling Ranges pattern.. here’s yet another one!

Darling Ranges #3
dress: self-made (Darling Ranges by Megan Nielsen), shoes: Modcloth

I saw some really gorgeous sleeveless ones so I decided to make this one sans sleeves. I almost like it better than the ones with sleeves! Definitely a different look. I also decided to add a faux-collary thing to this one. Totally experimental but I think it turned out really cute. This collar’s pointy but I think I’ll have to experiment with a Peter Pan collar next.

Here’s a fun instagrammed close up of the collar detail.

This is definitely one of my favorite things I’ve ever sewn because it fits me PERFECTLY. No joke. By some miracle every bit of it fits like a glove. I added back darts to this one and eliminated the back ties and I love it!

Darling Ranges #3

It’s been chilly lately so I’ve been pairing this with a long cardigan and some tights. Can’t wait to wear it out as a summer dress!

PS If you’re looking for ideas on variations of this pattern, check out Megan Nielsen’s Darling Ranges board on Pinterest!

Floral pretties

I’m not sure why or when this started but I’ve been obsessed with florals lately. Obsessed.

I’m also slightly obsessed with this pattern! I love the cap sleeves and the amount of gathering in the skirt is perfect for surreptitious twirls.

DSC_0711
dress: self-made (02/2011 #101 by Burda Style Magazine), belt & headband: F21, shoes: Modcloth

Edit: Here’s a photo of the back!

DSC_0708

PS lookit my new sandals! I bought them as a yay-you’re-done-with-year-one-of-grad-school gift to myself. Sadly, I think they might be going back because my feet are super wide and they just don’t look that great on me. Boo.

Look, unflattering feet!

DSC_0700

It’s ok though, it’s possible that I have a pair of sandals from Lotta from Stockholm on their way to me..

Darling Ranges #1

Nothing like posting sewing projects completely out of order..

Here’s my first Darling Ranges dress!

Darling Ranges #1
dress: self-made (Darling Ranges by Megan Nielsen), headband: F21, shoes: Seychelles Ampersand

This is probably the least well put-together version of this dress that I’ve made but it’s one of my favorites. The chiffon was an absolute nightmare to work with but I like the end effect. Plus I was figuring out the pattern as I went along so there’s small iffy bits, especially along the placket and neckline.

Darling Ranges #1

I went entirely according to the pattern on this one but the waistline is a touch too high for my freakishly long torso so I lowered it by two inches on all of the other ones. It kind of works with the chiffon though, kind of a babydoll dress effect.

Plus now I have something to wear with my Seychelles. 🙂