Golden Apple Bangles by Eristic Patterns

I just won this really cute Golden Apple Bangles set from Eristic Patterns.  I think I'm in love.  The bangles are handmade with braided fabric and finished with a golden apple and a bunch of golden rings.   Check out her other handmade products.  She has the bangles in other colors and also make other Discordian themed things like rosaries and earrings. 

Before and After: Botched Pencil Dress to Gorgeous Wiggle Dress

Something must have "clicked" over the last few months when I started sewing clothes again.  This is the second dress I've made within a 7 day period from start to finish with little mistakes.  The latest finished dress is a rockabilly style wiggle dress.  I attempted to make one last year but didn't exactly follow directions and tried to wing it and it came out bad.  Like really bad.  So I put it away and out of sight, out of mind.  I decided to pull it back out a few days ago and try to salvage it.  There's nothing worse than wasting large amounts of fabric on something not finished.  So, armed with patience and a whole lot more knowledge, I have a gorgeous wiggle dress that I can't wait to wear out!

The original disaster dress that didn't fit right because I tried to wing it.

 I didn't like how I made the bodice on the original dress so I used the skirt part to make a new one.  I originally intended for the bodice to look more like the one I made on this dress last week but I ended up changing it into a boatneck.  The scoop neck wasn't working for this dress.  I knew I wanted a wiggle dress of some sort so I did a lot of research on Modcloth and Pin Up Girl Clothing to find as inspiration.  In the end, I used black twill fabric to make the skirt portion.

The gorgeous redo.

I'm so happy with how this turned out.  It's definitely a confidence booster knowing that I can make garments that fit well. 

Mod Circles Dress

This dress started out as a sheath dress and I just didn't like it how it turned out.  Since I had a little bit of fabric left over, I decided to transform it into a 1/2 circle dress.   I found the fabric a few months ago at Joann's in the their Calico cotton section.  It's a dark brown background with circles in various shades of blues.

I pretty much winged it and didn't use a pattern although I did draft my own for the skirt portion.  For the top, I cut out the fabric in a "T" shape, added a couple of panels in the front bodice and added a zipper in the back. Adding darts in the front and back helped to make it more fitted. 

For the first time since I started sewing, I made a full dress with very little mistakes and an incredible amount of patience that I have no idea where it came it from.  It's still a little shorter than I like but I worked with what I had left and I absolutely love how this came out!

DIY Tunic Top

During my sewing spree the other day, I whipped up this shirt in about an hour with this fantastic shiny, fancy fabric I found for $5 at Michael Levine.  I love that I can wear this two different ways:  belted or loose.  It looks great either way.

 

New Tshirt Refashions

I figured out how to set up an in-home photography studio in the tiny apartment I call home.  I now no longer have to wait for a friend to take my picture nor will I need to lay down my latest creation flat to show it off.  It's amazing what white fabric hung up, a step stool, a tabletop tripod and the timer on my camera can do.  Add in Photoshop to clean up the pictures and voila!  I have some very professional looking photos.  Well, as professional as it is to me since I'm just mostly a point and shoot picture taker.  With all that being said...here are some of the t-shirts I remade recently.  These are all made from either a Mens L or XL shirt. 

Rock Steady Tee I found in Phoenix

The XX

Chris Isaak tour shirt with 3/4 length sleeves. 

Same shirt as above but I decided to cut off the sleeves.  I like this version much better.