Wednesday, April 22, 2015

BELLE IN BLEU - BEAUTIFUL IN BLUE

My friend called me the night before a birthday party she had to attend and asked me if I could make her a dress. Although I've never made any clothes for someone other than myself, I said yes, of course.

To make the dress, I did the same process as making a skater skirt, however, I'm going to attached the top to the waistband on the skirt. Since this was a stretchy fabric, a zipper wasn't needed.








I used my friend's shirt as the pattern for the top half of the dress.
She asked for a V-neck and sleeves, so I obliged.


VOILA!

 Belle of the Ball


Dress:  Thrifted fabric Unique $2.33
Purse: Vintage Chanel
Shoes:  Nine West
Belt:  Her own

Monday, April 13, 2015

ALL CREAM EVERYTHING

Recently I read an article about how to look like money. 

1. Look neat and clean. Messy never equals money.

2. Look ladylike, wear a pearl necklace or a simple stud earring.

3. Wear a nice perfume. Your scent will linger as you walk by.

4. Wear a statement necklace. It'll take jeans and a T-shirt to the next level.

5. Never wear fake fur. You're not fooling anyone.

6. Wear a monochrome color. All black, all grey and especially all white/cream.


Guess which one stood out to me? Number 6! Which prompted me to make this skirt.

The skater skirt process is always the same. Mark your hem line, cut out the waist line and cut a separate piece of fabric for the waistband. Not shown, but I added a lining, it was too see through.







Cream always rises to the top!


Skirt: thrifted fabric Unique $3.99
Shirt: Kate Hill - thrifted Unique $4.99
Shoes: BCBG Girls - thrifted Unique $2.99












Saturday, April 11, 2015

I'M SO BLUE....

 
Okay, it looks like skater skirts are my specialty.  They are so easy to make.  Another good thing about skater skirts is, if you are lacking in the "booty" area, these skirt make you look like
"Baby Got Back!!"

Once again I folded the fabric two times with the folds on the left and top. Used my twine and chalk to make the rounded edge.  
 
 

I had about 6 yards of green plaid fabric that looks like material for bed sheets. I used this material to practice on. And before ruining good fabric, I made a practice skater skirt with it. The waistline was too small, so I cut this fabric using the cut piece as a guide, but cut it a little wider.  If you're guessing and not using a real pattern, ALWAYS,  I repeat, ALWAYS, cut small, try it on and then cut again if it doesn't fit.
 



Not shown, but I cut another piece of fabric to make the waistband. Here's the finished product.
 


So.....how did I do?


Guess what? The waistband was too big. So I cut it straight down the back and put in a zipper.
 
 
 

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

WAISTCOAT

A waistcoat is defined as a sleeveless upper body garment, commonly known as a vest.
I, however, like to refer to my vests as waistcoats when I'm feeling especially British, because I love to speak the Queen's English whenever possible.

I spotted this black fabric at Unique for $3.99 and when I got it home, the moment I draped it over my mannequin, Siobhan, (that's her name), I envisioned a coat of some sort. Notice how it folds over mimicking a collar and lapels.


 

I used a vest, oops, I mean a waistcoat, that I already had as my pattern and just extended it to fall past my knees. 

I would suggest that whenever you sew, use clothes that already fit as your patterns.
Just turn the piece of clothing inside out and lay it on your fabric, but make sure you cut an extra inch wider for the seam. This is called seam allowance. 

Before I sewed the side seams, I sewed the shoulders together. But, when I did that I noticed it was too small and didn't close in the front.



So I added about a 3 inch width of fabric to each side. Remember this tip, it will come in handy for future projects. I've also learned that mistakes make for innovative designs. I hemmed the bottom and sewed the armholes.




This is me proudly wearing my waistcoat along with this feather bib that I made in this post.



I swear the bathroom on the second floor at my job has the best lighting.


Sunday, April 5, 2015

HOUNDSTOOTH

Being an amateur seamstress, I rely heavily on sewing tutorials on YouTube. I wanted to make a skater skirt, so I followed the instructions of smarmyclothes. I picked up this houndstooth fabric from Unique for $3.99 for 2 yards.

I skipped a couple of her steps, but I did fold the material twice with the folded edges at the top and on the left.


I took a piece of twine and chalk and used it like a protractor to make my rounded hem.
I held the fabric up to my waist to see how long it fell and then cut on a curve for the waistline. I will save that cut piece as a guide for future skirts.



This is what the skirt looks like when you open it. There are no seams. It is one continuous circle.
I measured my waist and cut another piece of fabric for the waistband.

I pinned the waistband around the open circle of the skirt and sewed it together.
I decided later to add a zipper. Zippers are a little trickier. I will do a tutorial in another post.

Here's the finished product.

I decided to make a matching shirt. Doesn't it look like dress? I could attach the top to the bottom, but I want to have the option of wearing the skirt with something else.

#bathroomselfie

Saturday, April 4, 2015

WELCOME...

Hi, my name is Karen Jefferson. I am a mother of two, home chef, thrifter, sports enthusiast, designer and seamstress.

My previous blog was www.theydonemessedupnow.blogspot.com. That blog showcased my thrifting, jewelry making, deconstructing and reconstructing clothes.  It lead me to discovering my new craft/talent, which is sewing.

My blog/future clothing line are named after my maternal grandfather, Edward Caleb Morris, who was an incredibly talented tailor. My "Flop Flop" is no longer with us, so this is dedicated to him. Enjoy...