Rss Feed

‘Tutorials’ Category

  1. Re -fashion- ating

    November 29, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    The original creator of this top clearly knew that women LOVE their arms and shoulders to look 5-10times larger than their actual size. I mean who doesn’t like to look like they could smuggle a cat in their sleeves? (actually I would love that, can you imagine how cute it would be if you trained the cat to pop it’s head out every now and then?)

    Regardless of the storage possibilities, I chose to remove the sleeves in order to actually wear this top. I got it from an Op shop, un-worn with the tags still attached (apparently the original owner felt similarly about looking like their shoulders had wings attached). I also only had to pay $2 for it, which already makes me extremely happy with myself. I removed the sleeves and shoulder pads, and simply turned the sleeve over twice (to enclose the raw edge) and sewed it with my sewing machine. I also took the sides in about 2cms on either side, as it was a bit gapey.

    This project took a total of 10 minutes, the majority of that spent unpicked the mass amount of fabric on the sleeve seam. The top is a bit sheer, and in polyester, what feels like lining fabric, but as it was so cheap I’m not complaining. Plus the collar is amazing so hopefully that will distract from the loud ‘swishy swish’ sound that accompanies any movement. This is such an easy project, and a wonderful way to make use of the pile of 80s shirts people seem to accumulate for ‘all those costume parties I go to’. Go forth, hack into your clothes!

    The title of this post is a bit misleading, it should instead maybe be called ‘making things re-wearable’. I’ve decided to tackle the massive amount of thrifted clothing in my ‘to edit’ pile and hope to capture this here for you. Oh also- I can attach bows to the centre of this top, which, regardless of what my face is doing in this photo, makes me very happy.

    Have a good day, happy sewing. Bry xo

    Category Sewing, Tutorials | Tags: ,,, | 3 Comments

  2. Cupcakes, Masks, Dancing, Oh My

    June 9, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    My friend had a Saints ‘n’ Sinners masquerade birthday party last night (very Gossip Girl- velvet drapes, lots of cushions, dimmed lighting, places to canoodle, someone actually dressed as Chuck Bass with the creepy patchwork scarf…).  To celebrate the occasion I made myself a Kitty Cat Mask –part of my ongoing denial about not having a cat is dressing and acting like a Cat Lady. My friend was woefully out of a mask, and refused to wear a Venetian one from the local 2 dollar shop as they “aren’t manly enough”, So I made him a ‘Zorro’ one (Note boys: Real Men Accessorize).

     

     

    Making these masks taught me one thing. I love ‘Stiffy’. A craft product for the whole family *wink wink*. You can use this sucker on the lightest of fabrics and it will stiffen right up, allowing masks of your wildest fantasy to become a possibility. What, you don’t dream of lace masks? Fool.

     

     

    The process is quite simple.

    1. Cut out a vaguely mask shape from your fabric (Hint it should be able to fit over some of your face).
    2. Slap some Stiffy on it (outside unless you wish for your house to smell like a Preschool) and leave it to dry, hanging over a plastic wrap-covered mask shape that of course you have *lying* around.
    3. Trim, cut eyes if you can’t see (if the material is not lace, tulle or chiffon you probably wont be able to see and in order to limit the amount of chairs/people/glassware you knock over, you might want to cut peppin’ holes)
    4. Attach ribbon/elastic to attach to face. Or a stick so you can hold it next to your face without smearing your gorgeous makeup darrrrling
    5. Decorate (optional). I attached ribbon for whiskers, felt for a nose/middle ear bits and drew eye shapes with my gold eyeliner (resourceful, no?)
    6. Use mask (preferably at a party and not in a criminal way)

     

     

    For my friends birthday I made her a Hedgehog plushie, which she has named Hershey (Erm she likes chocolate. I don’t see the connection either), and a bow headband.

     

     

    Her party was lovely, I ate far too many cupcakes and my feet got sore from dancing all night. That really is the sign of a good party to me, music, and enough food to make your guests feel sick from overeating!

     

    Have a lovely day, thankyou for reading :)

    Bry x

    Category Crafts, Sewing, Tutorials | Tags: ,,, | 2 Comments