To-Be Embroidered

 

I think I've found my wool for the background of the Toned-Down Circle Sampler. I snapped this up at the local Goodwill shop.

 A very nice quality but small-ish ladies wool coat. Perfect size for my uses.  The front was a bit worn but the back which I'll be using is in perfect shape. It's a good weight, heavy enough but still flexible enough.

I think it looks pretty good with the circles and threads. Now to get cutting to size and get down to start some stitching. And now I'm think how cool this project could be on a coat that someone would wear. I'd love to see that in real life.

Stylin' Recyclin'

 No I didn't make this myself, I actually bought it recently in San Francisco at the St.Patrick's Day parade art/craft booths.  From a company that is set up to produce recycled purses and other things that they design here, using young adults in a rehab center in Mexico City, Eco Fashions.  

I was really taken with the effective use of the UPC codes as an overall design.

Plus it had one of my favorite greens on the inside.  Most of their products are made out of candy wrappers or magazines.
It is very well made and it looks like it will last for quite a while.

Random Recycling or Refashioning

What do you do with a perfectly good, but old and kinda yucky looking bulletin board? The silver framing was still in good shape so I decided I didn't want to cover it up, but the cork part was chewed up and written on and needed to be rehabbed somehow. I already have a bulletin board in my work space, but it is completely filled up and I really like the way it looks and don't want to take anything down off of it just yet. So instead of throwing this old bulletin board away I'm decided to recycle and repurpose it just for me.

In my stash I found a good olivey mottled olive green with an interesting black print, this reminds me of those pretty iron fences you see in European gardens. I chose this fabric because I thought the color of it would look good with my orange wall where the bulletin board will be going when it is all done. I carefully ironed a hem on all four sides, continually checking that it was going to fit to cover the cork as close to exactly as I could manage. I actually ironed on the bulletin board, which worked out with no singeing of cork. I also tried to keep the linear design of the fabric straight, on the off chance that it being slightly askew would actually end up bothering me.I was going to glue down the fabric to the bulletin board surface around the edge, but I decided to forgo the glue and go straight to thumbtacks. Impatient much? Um, yes! I wanted to attach some black satin ribbon in angles across the surface so I used the ladybug thumbtacks I'd been saving "for something". Instead of measuring or figuring out ahead of time a sensible pattern, I just kind of went for it until I ran out of black ribbon. I found that I had to keep pulling and smoothing the fabric as I went to keep it taut and flat enough, but it worked out pretty well in the end.And here it is all done. Pretty random, but I like it. Reminds me of those spiderwebs that the spiders given various hallucinogenic drugs make.

And no, I haven't put anything up on it yet, so I don't actually know that it works to hold anything at all besides black ribbon...

Button Weirdness

The other day when searching for buttons for my recently refashioned shirt, I went through my button drawer and found these. Aren't they the weirdest buttons you've ever seen? I just love the detail and their expressions. They are from my grandma's stash. She had a lot of buttons and I inherited most of them.
I believe these are from when she lived in Japan during the post WWII reconstruction with my Army colonel grandfather.
I don't know if they are irreplaceable or not, so I'm debating whether they can be used in something I'd actually wear. Guess I'll have to do some research on that particular subject. Anyone know any good button valuation websites?

Wardrobe Refashion Re-pledging

I am officially re-pledging myself to the Wardrobe Refashion (this time for a period of 4 months). I think it begins in June, but I'm practicing already, so it'll be 6 months by the time I'm through.

So, why pledge to not buy new clothing for a period of time? To use my time and creative energy in this way?

I think the idea of refashioning the stuff I have already into something I'll actually wear and enjoy wearing is a good way to practice what I preach. You know, the whole reuse,recycle mantra.

What better way to celebrate Earth Day?!?! Think of how much energy it takes to get that new shirt to you, to grow the cotton, to power the factories, not to think of the pesticides,etc...So since the stuff is already made, bought and in my hot little hands, I'm using it.

Here is what I made on Friday afternoon/eve (woohoo, how fun am I?). ahem. Well, I was also hosting a sleepover at the time. And we had pizza instead of me actually cooking. The funny thing was all the menfolk in the house at the time actually noticed the shirt when I appeared wearing it instead of the usual t-shirt. And they complimented me (smart move on their part!).
I started with a really nice shirt of my husband's. He recently tore out the elbow (never got the story on exactly how that happened, hmmm....). I'd always liked this shirt, it is a nice light grey, and the fabric has a beautiful sheen. It is a Kenneth Cole Reaction brand. So first off I chopped off the sleeves with my trusty pinking shears.


Then I thought of what a good spring fabric that I have, I knew that it had to have grey in it somewhere, and probably something floral. Came up with this gazania print out of my box of florals. My first stopper was how to figure out how big to make the new cuff additions. So I measured the sleeves I'd just lopped off. Here you can see the rip that got me this shirt to work with.

I decided to have smallish "cuffs" on the sleeves and cut a strip 5" wide and about 2"longer than the needed length to make it around the sleeve. Ironed it in half lengthwise. Sewed right sides together. An action shot:

Pressed open the seams, turned the cuff right side out, and folded in the ends. I also turned under the raw edges of the existing sleeve and sewed a small hem.

Next, I pinned the cuff-to-be on and sewed it on just on the edge of the sleeve end. It overlapped very nicely and I did a little decorative stitch (flowers!) to tack it down on the overlap.


So here is how it looks with the sleeves done. But bleah, I don't like wearing a structured collar, too scratchy and binding.


Cut off that collar! It was worn out anyways. And waaay too pointy for me.

The collar was replaced with the same floral fabric used on the cuffs, and in pretty much the same fashion as described above.


Here are the former sleeves and collar. Don't they look funny without the shirt?

No, I haven't yet thrown them away. Look for them appearing later in a project coming to a blog near you!

Here I am wearing the finished product. A very comfy shirt, that looks nice too.

I'm thinking of replacing the original dark grey buttons with either fabric covered ones (out of the same floral, how matchy-matchy!). Or maybe these hand-dyed ones that are a nice lilac color that goes with the flower petals.