T-Shirt Skirts

SIMPLE T-SHIRT SKIRTS
 
One day soon I will post pictures of the process of making these. It's pretty easy and fast. It helps if you use can use a serger because it finishes the seams and leaves a decorative edge that does not get all wavy looking or wonky out of shape.

This was made from two t-shirts serged together at the sides to add some color

A great use for old concert t-shirts!!

Another thrift store find.  I printed up an image of a pair of dressmaker sheers and transferred it onto clear contact paper. I carefully cut it out and stuck it onto my shirt.

I painted my image using fabric paint and let it dry overnight.

This is the back of the skirt. I slit the skirt and added some patchwork that was also made from old t-shirts and sewn using my serger .

The finished product.

My sister is a hair stylist so I made one for her with an image of hairdresser sheers

More thrift store finds

I eventually added and waistband with a drawstring tie to this one.

Alright, this one was made from fabric that I had laying around, not from a thrift store but worthy of popping into the skirt section here.

Close up of cute birdie trim :)

Aprons

APRONS

Earlier this year I was given a lovely toile shower curtain from a neighbor. Having no need for it in my bathroom, I made an apron for a friend. The weight of the fabric was perfect being a heavier canvas like material. It's durable and completely washable. It's hard to see from the picture but I used black vintage buttons on the straps for a little added bling.  It was a fast and easy project, perfect for beginners. It appears as if I did some piecing at the bottom with the checkered trim. I did not, it was all one piece and I just added a black ribbon trim to break up the design.

 If you are in the market for a new apron for yourself or as a gift, I would highly recommend first checking out your local Thrift shops before going to the fabric store. Most often they will carry fabric shower curtains. 

You will save money doing this!! 

   

 

 This lovely little waist apron was made for another friend of mine. I was given a bag of fabric and inside I found 2 pillow shams. I love this print but not for my bedroom! They were just the right size to make into aprons.
The fabric was a soft cotton and already doubled because it was a pillow sham. So there was no need to line it or use any stabilizers inside. I just cut out the desired shape, added some red flannel, slightly gathered trim along the bottom edge, some vintage red buttons and ta-da!! A word on the slightly gathered red flannel trim, it came from the edge of a bed sheet that was also in the bag these pillow shams came in, FANTASTIC!!! I love free materials!!

Fitz Cycle Vest

Recently I had a request from a friend to take a suit coat that he found at the dig n save and create a copy of a vest he owned. Of course I was up for the challenge so here is what I did. I made a pattern from the original vest, it was pretty straight forward,only 4 pieces and a simple patch pocket. From this I created a muslin copy and was ready to do a first fitting. 

 

I ripped open and gutted the suit coat, removed the sleeves, collar pieces, flap pockets, and opened up the facing.

Here I reinforced the original seams by serging them, then I top stitched on the front side to make sure the seams stayed flat.

You can see the slip opening on the right side where I removed the pocket, it needed to be closed. You can't just sew it shut because it will create a weird pucker on the front where the seam starts and stops, it just doesn't look right.

My solution was to completely cut the piece in half through the pocket opening and resew it together creating a nice, clean seam.

Ta Da!! Though I did have to rip it out once and realign the chevron pattern. 

 

 

 

 

These are the back pockets and new flaps, lined in red flannel that was once a bed sheet. The pockets and flaps were cut from the leftover sleeve pieces from the suit.

I serged around the edges to join the lining, turned under the edge and stitched. 

 

                                I stitched together the shoulder and side seams, I also took and extra step and serged all the edges of the vest, the arm holes, bottom hem edge, front facing edges to help the vest not stretch out of shape. Then I added the pockets.

I used the red flannel throughout the vest as the lining. The lining was constructed like the vest, stitched the shoulders and side seams then it was placed into the vest, wrong sides together so there were no exposed seams.  Now I didn't take a picture of the facing when it was put on, but I used a lightweight grey wool that was sewn onto the left side of this front piece and it went all the way around to the other front vest piece, it created and inner back neck facing as well. Once the grey facing was added, I used a black binding to cover the seams, it added a nice decorative touch.

I used the same black binding to finish the arm holes and bottom hem edge on the inside, of course I didn't get a photo of that either. For the arm hole openings I stitched on the binding covering the serged edge then pressed it to the inside and stitched it down so the binding does not show on the outside of the vest. 

Here is the finished product. My friend who now owns this is big into cycling so the pockets on the back were ideal for his needs. I enjoyed the challenge of making this and really like how it turned out. I love taking old garments and giving them face lifts, bringing dead fashions to life!!

 

Latest Creations

 These are my clutches, they look kind of small here but are about twice the size of the wallets below.

The inside of the off white/floral clutch has two sipper pouches inside for storing make-up, art supplies or whatever else fits.

I originally used Hefty freezer bags as pockets which were cheap but also made the bags look cheap too! So I decided to not use them after this. But I liked the idea so I found pencil bags as a replacement and they are more durable and attractive now.

These are the wallets, no two will ever be the same and all have a large snap closure on the back side. They are good for holding check books, eyeglasses, pens and pencils.

These wallets have matching coin purses.

More coin purses, I liked these ones because they all have fun appliqued colored circles and  re-purposed-vintage buttons from my Grandma in Laws collection, RIP Grandma Tootsie!!

Then of course, more tote bags!!