Altering A Denim Jacket: Part 1!

Hey folks! I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend! I spent 97% of mine at work, of course. And I didn't get to see any fireworks! :( Hopefully you all caught some for me.

And today- a sewing post! Finally! I know, I was slackin'- don't hate me! Anywho, I told you guys about the denim jacket I got at Walmart a few years ago and it was WAY too big for me (curse you, inconsistent Walmart sizing!). Now resizing a garment is tricky (or so I've heard) so I figured I'd share some little things I did with you guys. First, pay attention to the original construction of the garment. Darts, seaming, etc. Anything you change is going to affect the look and shape of the piece.

See all those darts! Not to mention the seaming- I took in another 3 inches on each side (you can't really see that from the outside).

So much extra! I separated the waist band from the rest of the jacket because I wanted to shorten it a wee bit. After taking in all those inches on the body of the jacket the waist band was obviously too long, but I didn't want to cut the waist band sew it back together, sooo... I decided to snip it in the middle and let the excess overlap. I know, tell me again how lazy I am. Whatever. :)

Update finished for now! I have darts to put in a skirt, work pants to fix (hole in the inner thigh- the bane of my existence) and friends to meet for dinner! What have you guys been up to? Besides recovering from this past weekend. Any fun and exciting projects?


Much love always!

A Finished Product: Done With My Dress Refashion!

Hiya! Hopefully you all had a pretty spectacular Thursday. As for me, I got to work a whole bunch. You know, refilling drinks and running food and whatnot. Should I decide to write a book it would probably be titled 'The Exciting Life of a 22 Year Old Waitress'. Take note, folks. This is fascinating stuff. :)

So today's post is the final installment of my dress refashion! I'm crazy excited to share the finished product with you!

Okay, so when I left off the other day all that needed to be done was to finish sewing up the sleeves and to alter the neckline. I wanted to keep the scoop neck, but lower it a bit. So I used that nifty little tip I showed you the other day and cut some notches in the fabric to maintain that lovely rounded shape. ( I also forgot to take a picture of that process- my bad!)

And voila! So much more adorable than it was when I bought it- at least, I think so. To be honest, I was super worried about the neckline, but I really love how it turned out! The waist is a little higher than I would like and the front of the skirt hangs just a bit...weird. So I'm toying with the idea of making a sash with the trimmings. Let me know what you think! Otherwise I'm so so pleased with how it finished up! I don't do patterns and I don't really measure stuff so I'm always a wee bit terrified that my projects are going to turn out grotesque. But today is not that day! :)

Next up is that denim jacket I mentioned the other day. Stay tuned on that front. It should be interesting! What are you guys working on this weekend? Any special projects or crafts on the horizon? :)

Much love always!

A Dress Refashion? Don't Mind If I Do!

Hi guys! Here I am again!
It's been a bit of a lazy day. I just got back from vacation on Saturday! A little more tan, definitely tired, but sooo much fun. Now the unpacking... Gag me with a spoon!

So about the dress! I procrastinated working on it until mid-afternoon-ish (procrastination is probably one of my top ten talents). I started with cutting the bottom to bring the hem up about 4-5 inches.

A little tip- when sewing rounded edges like this, cutting little notches on the edge of the fabric every few inches really helps with keeping everything the right length and preventing the fabric from looking all... bunch-y. :)

My least favorite part- pinning the hem! Ugh! It takes me forever. (Help, anyone?)

Sleeves are cut off, everything is all pinned and ready to be sewn!

                                                          (Ignore my fat arms. *Sigh*)

So much better! The sleeves need to be finished and I haven't touched the neckline, but I'm already super excited to see the finished product! :)

I also started pinning up a denim jacket I got from Wal-mart a couple years ago- two projects at once! This will be a first, working on multiple items at the same time. I'll be sure to post about the jacket, too! Check back soon!


Much love always!

A Triumphant Return! Plus: A Dress Refashion Preview

Well hello! You thought I was dead, didn't you?
 Just kidding. You probably just thought that I had forsaken my dear little blog! Well, I did. But no more! Truth be told, I MISS blogging. I miss sending little tidbits of sweetness out into cyberspace and hoping it reaches someone's heart. So I'm back! To hopefully pick up where I left off and maybe move in a new direction. :)

 And on that note... Some sewing!

 

 I found this funky little dress at Goodwill and bought it on a whim, hoping to try my hand a little refashioning. I've been on a serious alterations kick for the last month or so here- darts, re-sizing, hemming, etc. I think I paid $4.50 for this dress, so IF it doesn't turn out there's no love lost. I liked the general shape of the dress (fit and flare + A-line?), the cutesy retro print and, of course, the pockets! I definitely want to change the neckline, the sleeves and the length. I'm thinking maybe lose the sleeves and make it a tank dress so it's easy to layer in the winter time, as well as enjoying it during these scalding summer months we have here in Wisconsin. ;)
 Work on the dress begins tomorrow! Stay tuned for what's sure to be a remarkable transformation... hopefully. :)
 p.s. A lot of my older blog posts are kind of all over the place, not really relevant or just plain silly. I thought about deleting them, but decided against it because they sort of document the progression of this blog. Let me know what you think!

For the Supreme lack of anything interesting or note-worthy

Wow, I hate it when nobody reads my blog!!

Just sad, thats all..... : )

So I suppose I should post something.....

Okay, well I'm going to sell my camera, because the one I currently have is not at all taking even semi-acceptable pictures, and then I'll be in the market for a Canon d50....

um... Recital is next Friday, which I'm not exceedingly nervous, just another thing to add to the list of "Music things that I have to perform/participate in over the next 2-3 weeks". ☺

I found two super-cool shirts (among other things) at the Lutheran church's rummage sale today (pictures to come -of the shirts and things-not the church) : ). They're both in the process of being altered. ☺

I have duets now, in piano, which is sort of a little terrifying, but at the same time it's just like"Whoa-I play well enough that Julie thinks I can handle duets!" ☺

Casey is home, which is beyond good--we went to see him last night and he was doing really well, so hopefully he stays that way ☺.

Haven't really done anything of note lately...... I'll be sure to post something interesting enough for you to take the time to read it real soon. ☺

Sewing: post1!!

SO

It was impossibly impossible, but i did it--- i hemmed my first pair of pants. And it wasn't as crazy-difficult as i though it would be... Then again, it wasn't perfect, either, but I did it --ME!

: D

I took pictures, too!

Normally the "taking pictures" thing is NOT my thing, but i was inspired by Melanie of Idee Geniale 's outfit posts, so i decided to go for it.

Good thing you can't see some of the stitching...some of the thicker parts of the jean might have been a little overwhelming for my sewing machine. But i talked her through and we did rather well. : )