Waist not, want not

Have been on a tear lately, what with altering seams, hems and such to personally tailor ill fitting garb. Chrysanthemum gave me a Burberry plaid skirt and the waist band either made me cry ~or~ I wouldn't button it. Even moving the button over wouldn't cure the problem but the skirt otherwise fit perfectly. Instead of blaming my own body, I deemed it to be a manufacturing misfit as the waistband was simply too small. But you know I loves me some plaid so out comes the seam ripper.

The waist band is gone, I tell ya.

Serged the lining and the skirt together.




Attached grosgrain ribbon from my stash.

Folded the ribbon to the interior of skirt.


Hand sewed the ribbon for hidden stitches.


Top stitched the skirt, following the tartan plaid for less obvious machine sewn lines.


WooHoo!
It's plaid!
It's a skirt with a no-cry waist band!

Girl, I like your skirt

While Crysanthemum and I "pirooted" through the goods at the salvage store, I picked up a cute and colorful skirt. Chrysanthemum kinda snorted and said, "I think the size 16 refers to a girl's size, not misses."


And while I've lost a few pounds, I am not so delusional to think myself to have a pre-pubescent waist. No, instead I already had in a revamp in mind.
Take a look.


Measure your non-size 16 waist and match it to a corresponding width of the skirt. Chop off the fabric above the measurement. OR~~~ forget the measuring part and guess like I did. See if you can shimmy the pre-junior skirt over your very womanly hips.
Check out my posts on foldover elastic. It is sewn with a stretch zigzag stitch on Angry Chicken's blog.


You can change it up by zigzagging only on the interior of the skirt waist and top stitching the outside for a neater appearance.

Get yourself to the girl's department and see what you can find.

Salvaged shirt

There's thrift stores and charity shops and outlet centers but you haven't "pirooted" for treasure until you've been to a "salvage" store with an eclectic array of liquidated or closeout merchandise AND every weirdo in the joint wants to chat with ya. (Shut up, freak, you're cutting into my shopping time.) Anywho, while visiting Chrysanthemum in Mississippi, we hit the local salvage store. Fancy schmancy decorative tile, oscillating fans galore, random bedding and a ton of Target clothing. Remember this blouse from Target's spring Liberty of London collection?

(yeah, that's not me)

Slap a $4 tag on it and watch it gain potential. The peacock feather print is cute so what's my hesitation/objection to a $4 blouse? Um, could it be the completely unnecessary and very stoopid gathered ruffle at the hem? Yes, dear one, ruffles at the widest point of the body are not figure flattering bu-uut . . . $4 is a throw-away price, why not try a revamp.

Firstly, the ruffle is cut off.
It's gone, I tell ya!
Hacked a few inches from
the sleeve length too.

Serge the cut edges on hem and sleeves.
Apply Wash Away Wonder Tape.
Remove tape backing.
You got yourself a
self sticking hem fold.
No pins!

Top stitch hem.
Spritz hem with water
to remove tape goo.

Covering my hole(s)!

Eons ago, my good buddy Ernest gave me some fabulous high-end fabric used for men's custom suits and jackets and last year, I finally cut it for a winter skirt during Chrysanthemum's and my skirt sewing marathon. After sewing the side seams, I realized there were a few holes in the fabric. The holes didn't look like moth holes but rather clips from careless scissor handling. Foo-ey! I loved the fabric, what to do?

Well, I said it before, I'll say it again, necessity is mother fucker of invention so I snipped some leaf shaped tweed scraps, ironed them on with that WonderUnder fusible web, did fast and sloppy applique stitch around the leaf and embroidered a meandering vine.
I used the same tweed fabric and iron-on petal idea on this little girl skirt.

For the price of FREE, what's not to like about this skirt?

Skirt from scraps

Last May, Chrysanthemum and I did another skirt marathon with summer fabrics. She graciously left behind her fabric scraps and I found there was juuuuuust enough of the sheer paisley print for a shorter skirt for sister RikkiTikkiTavi. Happily, Ernest sent me a box of varied fabrics last month and this cool purple is perfect for an under layer.

Over the weekend, I ignored overdue tasks in the house and used every shortcut I could think of to sew this skirt.

Shortcuts:

• Used RikkiTikkiTavi's favorite skirt as a pattern


• Serged the sheer fabric side seams


• Serged the purple underlay side seams and hem


• Joined sheer and purple layers at the top with foldover elastic


• Straight stitched the purple hem


• DID NOT hem the sheer layer but left the raw and cool looking selvage edge.

Complete and really cute! Another FREE skirt!

Hope to have a photo of Rik in skirt soon.

Chrysanthemum gives me stuff

My buddy Chrysanthemum doesn't bead anymore so

she gave me a fabulous cigar box full of beads ~~ fabulous beads!

Skirts for days and days

Chrysanthemum visited last week and we made 17 skirts by the time she left.
7 for her,

4 for me,

4 for sis RikkiTikkiTavi and

2 for Kay.
2 sewing machines,

1 serger and

2 visits to the fabric store.

Chrysanthemum was in charge of cutting and although she cut out 4 different sizes for 4 different chicks, she did each one perfectly. It's a gift, I tell ya!

Chrysanthemum is a big fan of using drapery and upholstery fabric for skirts. You like? Skirts above are hers, photographed before she packed and left. (More to come.)

See the purple paisley sheer? $1.50 a yard from WalMart with fold-over elastic waist.

She laughed at me because, after finishing each skirt, I would exclaim "this is my favorite!" Each and every one of 'em.

Fold over elastic

Found a cool skirt tutorial posted by Angry Chicken (don't you love that name?). She demonstrates how to attach fold over elastic for the waistband. I had never heard of such so went straight to my small town local fabric stores. Guess what? Neither had they. Next stop, eBay. Son of a gun if I didn't find a 50 yard roll for $5 in a gray color. Since I don't tuck in shirts or sweaters inside my skirts, gray would work just fine. I serged the waistline and then applied the fold over elastic with a zig zag stitch. When Angry Chicken tells ya the stretch the elastic, she means it. Stretch that mo' fo' as tightly as possible because if you don't, the elastic will just act as a nice binding but not have much stretch.


This skirt from the craft room hangover skirt assembly line with Chrysanthemum.

Monogrammed bag, gotta love it

My friend Chrysanthemum took her pretty quilted handbag to the local monogram shop and looka what she brought back!

As the Preppy Handbook states, "Why carry a bag with someone else's initials when you own will do?"

No sew tote bag

Through the miracle that is TiVo, Chrysanthemum and I watched Martha Stewart's guest demonstrate making a cute no sew tote bag. Never one to be a rigid direction follower, Chrysanthemum whipped up this tote bag with a leather thrift store belt cut down for the handles. The fabric is an embossed faux leather.
So, how is it a no sew bag? Staples and duct tape! You heard me. Use above link to find directions.

Special thanks to Jodi Kahn for sharing this wonderful craft. To learn more of Jodi's easy-to-do crafts, check out her book, "Simply Sublime Bags: 30 No-Sew, Low-Sew Projects".

The best straight pin holder ever

Complained to Chrysanthemum that I wanted a magnetic pin holder but not one of those gosh awful plastic things you see in a fabric store.

YUCK

Nope, instead I wanted something to coordinate with the SkitzoLeezraStudio - lime green, white, black or first preference of shiny silver. (Caw, caw!)

Imagine my surprise when she presented this to me the very next day.





She found it in the automotive section of WalMart. Mechanics use the trays to hold tools and bolts and such.

Surely the utilitarian appeal and magnetic feature was enough to satisfy my wants and needs but check this out, it sticks to my metal bookshelves, vertically!

Guess I won't have to call my brother to come over and rake his bare foot across the floor to pick up stray pins and needles anymore. Those tender feet of his are so good at finding every sharp point.

HE should write Chrysanthemum the thank you note!

Craft room hangover

My friend Chrysanthemum visited me last week and brought her sewing machine with her. She wanted to sew skirts so I was all up for it. I introduced her to the wonderful world of serger finishing and she cut out the skirts. When we finished there were 10 skirts for her, 2 skirts for little girl neighbors and 4 for me. That is not a mistake, 16 skirts in all.

Chrysanthemum complimented me by saying that the SkitzoLeezraStudio is like working in a factory; everything is there at your fingertips.

It was the first time that I had a little buddy sewing with me in the Studio and it was different - and fun. Makes me wish that she were back next week.

About the fabrics:

Chrysanthemum likes upholstery and drapery fabrics for skirts so you might recognize a few prints. My buddy Ernest gave me the most fabulous wool fabric samples several years ago. The wool is usually used for very high end men's sports coats and it drapes incredibly well. The Ernest wools are 3rd from the top and 2nd from the bottom.

About the pattern:

A bastardized version of easy sew a-line skirt. Some finished with drawstrings, some with elastic waists.

Tiffany & Co. giftbox cakes

My friend Chrysanthemum and her sis-in-law created these awesome cakes to simulate giftboxes from Tiffany & Co.

Chrysanthemum tells me that ordinary kitchen shears cut the fondant and an envelope aided her to attain straight edges. Imagine what they could do with REAL tools!

They are proud of their be-yoo-ti-ful achievement but are still nursing carpal tunnel aches and pains from constant fondant massaging.

Impressive!

Cat on your shirt

* Created some craft karma with a gift to Chrysanthemum and stitched this kitty cat on a knit t-shirt with an Aunt Martha iron-on transfer.
* Reinforced the knit with an interfacing product called Ultra Solvy to avoid stretching out while stitching in a hoop. The clear interfacing can be used in the hoop or applied to shirt. If applied, remove by dissolving in hot water.

* Grey outline stitches did not show up well on blue background so I filled stitches in with white floss.

* Petticoat effect created by interlaced backstitch. Also on bonnet.

* Lazy daisy stitch flowers on dress.

Super cheap organization

This is my favorite craft and sewing organizer. Flat cardboard boxes from canned drink cases.
I tote a stack of them from work when the Coca~Cola machine is refilled and use them for everything.

• Projects in progress can be tossed together and stashed away.
• Or sit the box on your lap while you watch television. Trim paper and let the scraps fall. Toss the whole thing when finished.
• If you stagger them in a Rubbermaid type storage box, you can keep your materials neat and separate.
• These boxes are great for painting small craft projects!
• Decoupage paper images are sorted by genre.
• A favorite for kitty lounging.
• Great transport for food.

Yeah, yeah, I know that the boxes aren't acid free but storage is not long term nor do I care. As my friend Chrysanthemum would say,

"If it is free, it's for me!"