T Shirt Tuesday

Welcome back T Shirt Tuesday.  For today's post I though I would show some very talented blogger's T Shirt conversions or upcycles.

 My dear friend Jane from Lucky Sew and Sew posted this fantastic tutorial:

Great Job Jane - I want one!

This one from Kojodesigns is just too cute!  Makes me wish my kiddo was still that age.

I want one of each of these:



These all from Made it on Monday.  She is such a prolific designer and all of her projects are so cute and trendy.

I would be remiss if I left out Julie of from these hands.  Here is a fantastic tutorial detailing how to make these to-die-for roses.

Happy Sewing,
Michele P

Sister could you use a hand?

I don't know about you, but I love to shop on Etsy.  I find the most unusual and interesting handmade items made by gals like us.  I really try to support small businesses and according to Dr. P I am doing my part to save the economy!

I found these little hand soaps on Etsy and fell in LOVE with them:

I can't believe that someone made these!  They are goat's milk soap and smell divine.  I ordered them on a Monday and received them on Wednesday and they were packaged so beautifully.

Of course Murphy got me as I was making this post. Her Etsy shop has sold out of these - so here is her web site:
http://www.plasticfoliage.com/product/handsoap-set

If you have a chance, check out the shops on Etsy.

Happy Sewing,
Michele P



Tiffany Bed for VIVA

 I believe most gals recognize this iconic box and if you received a gift in one - shrieks of glee would be evoked!

Dr. P and I believe that all girls when they become teenagers need something from Tiffany's.  Well, Miss Viva turned 13 this year and I thought it was time for her Tiffany's gift.

Here it is:

I think she likes it!

Yup she does!

What a fun bed

I decided to put the bow on the side or top - depending on your perspective - hoping that Viva will not pull it off!  You never know with this dog.  Sometimes she will try to dig to China in her bed for no reason.  You dog lovers out there know what I am talking about!

I used teal and cream fleece to make the cover.  The base is a large piece of green foam from Jo-Ann fabrics.  I also added a zipper to the back to be able to remove the cover for washing.



 Up close of the zipper flap

Zipper

I have had this project on my to-do list for soooooooo long.  It was really fun to make.  I hope you like it.  Leave me a post or click a box to let me know what you think.

Happy Sewing,

Michele P



The morphing of Vogue 8552

I've had this Vogue pattern for quite a while.  I made the dress (as a top) and it turned out to be a wader!  It was just too full in the body for me.  Who knew?  I really don't think you would be able to determine that from just the picture.

I really like the look of the top and have seen it on so many designer dresses, so I decided to try it again. I used the pleat idea to drape the top for the dress and took most of the fullness out of it.  Here it is:

I had this wild navy Texas print silk charmeuse in the stash for years - so it is really free - and the black 'skirt' fabric is a bottom weight rayon knit.  Usually black and navy don't work together, but the navy is so dark that is worked when I added this yellow belt.  It seems to tie the two together and pulls out the yellow in the print.

Close up of the pleat detail

Close up of the 'belt'  - Petersham of course!

I added an exposed back zipper



Close up of the zipper

If you read my blog, you know how I feel about my arms.  Not a fan. So I made this little shrug out of black knit to cover them.

Close up of the shrug

I am really pleased how the dress turned out.  I will be looking for yellow knit to make another shrug and when I find it, I will post it also.

Please leave me a comment or click a box to let me know what you think.

Happy Sewing,

Michele P







 



Pattern Magic Design - Book 1

Dr. P gave me this book for Christmas last year and I have several of the designs on my very long to-do list. Given that Dr. P and I have become old folks and don't want to go out in the heat - I used that excuse over the 4th of July holiday and  made one! I am really pleased and quite surprised that I was able to figure out how to make the pattern. Even though my copy was translated into English, it is still very sketchy on instructions.

Tada:  My finished Top

With a little sweater that just happened to match! yeah

This is how the pattern looks after I made all the adjustments

I am sorry that this one is blurry - but I wanted to show you the technique I used to make the waist and center back darts.  This is one of my standard sewing machine designs.  I saw this used on several Tahari tops and loved how it added just that little extra something.

Size zipper on its side! 

Note the binding on the arm hole - I used Louise Cutting's technique to bind them.

The fabric for the top is 100% linen purchased from G-Street.  I added a side zipper so that I could make the waist more fitted. I really really like this top and I am planning on making it up in a silk charmeuse and a medium weight knit.

Please leave me a post or click a box to let me know what you think.

Happy Sewing,
Michele P 

Anthro - Leaf Filigree Top

I have been inspired yet again by an Anthropologie top.  This time it is the Leaf Filigree Top.  I was intrigued by the lace with embroidery overlay and decided to use it as a jumping off point for my next creation.
  

Anthropologie Leaf Filigree Tank

            Here is my rendition:

I struggled with the lace option.  Should I cut out the background fabric leaving it sheer or keep the fabric.  As you can see I choose to leave the background fabric.  I decided that it would be to much trouble to cover up the ole bra straps. 

The base fabric is a rayon knit and the flowers are a fine cotton print.

I have had the rayon knit forever and loved it so much that I was afraid to cut into it!  After all I only had 5 yards of it and what if I made a mistake?  I know you understand how I felt.

The cotton floral print is rather new.  The problem was that it did not completely match the knit.  What to do?  Then I remembered that I had won these Pentel Arts fabric markers at an ASG event.

I



This is a flower from the cotton print - you can see that it does not not have the purple and gold color of the knit so I used the crayons to fill in some of the white space of the print - now it coordinates with the knit.

Next issue, how to overlay and apply the lace?  I decided to use a piece of heavy silk organza under the lace and then overlay it on  the knit. This technique worked great - giving the lace the body it needed to support the applique.

Close up of the flower applique



Although it is difficult to see, I used two white threads in the needle when I appliqued the flowers on the bodice.

I plan to make a little shrug of the knit to cover up my granny bat wing arms.  I really don't like to expose the public to those things unless really provoked!

Please leave a comment or click a box to let me know you were here.

Happy Sewing,

Michele P