Cool apparel stuff around the web.

I love it when I find great articles about clothes, or sewing, or anything relating to the apparel industry. And hey, a few of these are kind of science-y, too, for all you folks who like that kind of thing :) Hope you find these as interesting as I do!

Source.

This article about bio-textiles is amazing; this woman is trying to figure out how to create fabric that's grown from tea solutions! And her creations are beautiful, in my opinion.

Adorable/inspiring article about an 8-year-old who wears a different historical costume every day. I wish I had been this cool as an 8-year-old!

My personal favorite; textiles that dissolve in water. Apparel design students at this university in London collaborated with engineering students to develop a water-soluble fabric, and they created a stunning wedding dress out of it. The cool part's that the dress can break down into 5 different looks, finally leaving a corset-like piece that will never dissolve. It's beautiful.

Hope everyone's having a great week! If you have any awesome apparel/sewing/clothes links I'd love to see them!

You Know You're a Design Student When.....

Whenever I talk to someone who doesn't know anything about my school's Apparel Design program, they sometimes get the impression that us design students don't really do anything; that we spend our time slacking off and drawing pretty pictures while the engineering/science students do the real work (aka complex math problems and the like). 

Not true at all. Okay, a little true: I do sometimes draw pretty pictures. But seriously, us Apparel Design majors (and most other artistic majors) have a unique set of problems that most math-y students will never have: we have to produce stuff. Like, real garments, on machines. That's a whole lot different than working out problems with pencil and paper.

You know you're an Apparel Design student when: 

• You run out of pins on your sewing table, so you check the ground.
• Your pain tolerance towards pin/needle stabs is so high, you can make yourself bleed without even noticing.
• You have almost burnt down your dorm room by leaving your iron plugged in for hours at a time.
• Your floor is so littered with muslin yarns that no vacuum could possibly clean it all.
• Your textbooks have more illustrations than real text.
• You have a specific pair of scissors for any given material (fabric, paper, threads, plastic) and if someone tries to cut the wrong thing with the wrong scissors, you will give them a lecture on the importance of scissor sharpness.
• You spend more hours in the sewing lab than you'd care to admit, and when it closes, you go back to your room and keep sewing.
• You've been in danger of burns, stabs, or sewn-over fingers at least 10 times over the course of any given project.
• You have to bring approximately a hundred different sewing tools to class, and you need about three square feet of space to spread it all out in. Or else you just. Can't. Work.
• Your professors are utterly eccentric, and several have thick foreign accents.
• While everyone else is studying in the library, you're still slaving away at the sewing machine; you have no idea what traditional studying's like.

My Fashionary Arrived!

I don't know if you've heard of Fashionary before, but if not, get yourself over to their site and check it out. Because I just got mine in the mail, and as a design student, I'm pretty sure it's the best thing I've ever spent money on (outside of my sewing machine, I mean!).

Some of the technical drawing reference pages. Handy dandy.

It's basically just a sketchbook, but instead of having perfectly blank pages, it has three croquis (women's figures) per page. They're ultra-faint, so you could just draw right over them if you wanted to- but if, like me, you're awful at drawing proportionate bodies, you have a guide to work from!

Experimenting with Sharpie. I'm gonna sew up the dress on the far left for a denim design competition next semester.

So naturally, since my Fashionary arrived, I've been wasting too much time drawing clothes. I'm justifying it to myself since I am currently working on my first-ever self designed project (!!!!!!) and I needed inspiration, but still. 

P.s..... One of these drawings will appear on the blog soon, in completed garment form :) I'm keeping the chosen design to myself right now, though. You know, gotta have that element of surprise. 

Even if design's not really your thing, this is still a fun sketchbook to have around. I'm seriously in love with mine- I can hardly wait to fill it up with all my dream clothes! Thanks for looking at all these sketches!

Cynthia Rowley Ain't Got Nothin' on Me.

Our first major project in draping was to choose a designer garment, then recreate it. I chose this awesome asymmetrical dress from Cynthia Rowley's Spring/Summer 2013 line; isn't it cute? 

I think it's funny how often I'm talking about her on this blog; she's not my favorite designer by a long shot, but I love her pattern collaboration with Simplicity, and I love how easy and wearable her pieces are. That's what I normal go for in my designs as well, I suppose. 

Anyway, my flare didn't turn out in the exact same placement as the original (which I'll probably be counted off for). And this isn't the mannequin the dress is fitted to; my professional mannequin is smaller, which changes the fit. I'm still happy with this project, though. I'd really like to re-drape it in my size and sew it up in a fashion fabric, maybe with the flare cut from chiffon and the shift from cotton sateen. When will I have time to do this? Who knows!

But watch out, designers. I know how to replicate your works now. Draping is the absolute best. 

Homecoming '12

Here it is! The homecoming dress on a real, live person! My stylish little sis :)

Everything turned out fitting well. I added a slit to the underskirt at the last second, and I'm glad I did; I wanted the dress to be as comfy as possible.

How cute is this kid?!

Oh, look at how great she is at accessorizing.

I was also going to the dance (I know I'm a college student, but what can I say, these high school kids love me!). I wore a dress I made three years ago; I actually wore it to homecoming then, too! I'm so glad this dress still fits; it makes me feel like maybe I haven't gained tooo much college weight. Also, the fabric I used for it is so lovely; if I could go back in time, I would buy twenty more yards of this stuff for future projects.

Both of us in me-made dresses.

My date made the goofiest faces.

I definitely had the sweetest date ever; no close-ups of my corsage, but it was so pretty! And he was good at making goofy faces, which makes all the photos even better. 

Fun fact: I don't know the man in the background. Seriously... I'm kind of creeped out!

There you have it. Becky loved her dress, so this whole project was a success! Plus the dance was really fun (we had a party bus.....). So that's everything for now; onto the next project. Thanks for looking at this pic-heavy post :)

I make Girl Scout Projects.

I love my major, you guys. Because a few days in textile lab, we got to weave on our own little personal looms. I know, I know, a ton of you did this when you were 8 and in Girl Scouts. But I didn't! And weaving is awesome!

(This is a twill weave, for anyone who's interested. Stronger than a basic weave; your jeans are made out of twill-woven denim.)

So after that class I promptly went back to my dorm and wove a couple of potholders, like the cool kid I am. I'm not ashamed to admit that I like my dinky little plastic loom.

Yep- that's about it. I'm a nerd for random apparel design stuff. What else is new?

A Homecoming Dress.

As hard as I try, I just can't get away from high school dances. Last year I went to prom with my boyfriend (even though we were both in college... don't tell!), and this year I'm going to homecoming. Not only that, though, but I'm making a dress for my little sister to wear to the dance. She asked me if I'd make it for her about two weeks ago.

So let's just say it's been a crazy two weeks. I was really torn about wether or not to agree, since homecoming is next weekend. The rational part of me was saying "this is the last thing you need to add to your already-long list of responsibilities." But the side of me that really, really loves making formal dresses told me to go for it; plus, I could hardly disappoint my little sister.

Becky wanted a floor length dress, so I knew I needed to go with a simple pattern if I had any hope of getting it done on time. We chose Simplicity 2178, a Cynthia Rowley pattern, which I then made a ton of alterations to.

Unfortunately, this is the first Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity pattern I've used that hasn't worked out too well for me. I can almost never go wrong with Cynthia Rowley; I've sewn up 6 or 7 of her patterns and they've all turned out pretty great. Hey, I'm even wearing a sweatshirt I made from this pattern right now. But 2178 gave me a ton of problems; for some reason, several pieces just didn't fit together. The waistband was far too large for the bodice, even though I triple-checked that the correct sizes were cut out. And the facings also ended up being over an inch too large. I would normally attribute this to some mistake that I made during cutting, but just to double check, I pinned the actual pattern pieces together and they still didn't match. Hmmm. 

To solve the problem I just gathered the bodice into the waistband (which looks fine, it's just not what the instructions call for) and I tried my best to ease the top of the bodice into the facings. That's the part that doesn't look ideal, but I honestly didn't have a great alternative, especially with my time crunch.

The alterations I made to the pattern were to create my own braided straps, instead of using the pattern's way-too-thick ones; to draft my own skirt pieces (a shorter underskirt with a long chiffon overskirt, gathered a bunch); and to shorten the bodice a bit, making it slightly more empire-waisted. I also added decorative braided trim around the waistband, which took a ton of effort to create, but which really ties the dress together (at least in my eyes). 

Cutting the dress was my biggest challenge to overcome, since the main pieces are chiffon; but after that, construction was fairly simple. So far this semester I've been having to work on speeding up my sewing (if I wanna get my homework done on time, that is...), so knocking this dress out was a great exercise in fast-paced sewing. I sewed about 75% of this dress in one manic 6-hour stretch, fueled by copious amounts of iced coffee.

I'll post real pictures of my model in the dress after next weekend, but for now I'm really happy with how it's looking. I'm going to wear an old dress that I made to homecoming as well; maybe I can convince someone to do a sisters-in-handmade-formals photo shoot :) 

Thanks for reading this huge post! Have a great day, you guys :)

Flower Hair Bobby Pins: Or Why I Wanna Dress Like a Fairy Princess

Is there anything wrong with wanting to dress like I'm straight out of a fantasy novel? Because some days, I try and do just that. I wish I had more sheer, flowing, romantic clothes in my closet for those days. And, of course, accessories covered in flowers.

Luckily, that last wish was easy to accomplish. I had a big strand of fake flowers in my room that I'd been meaning to use for a while; I just didn't know what for. After buying a new package of bobby pins, they finally had a purpose.

This was so easy to do; I just hotglued the flower to the top of the pin and waited for it to dry. The one thing I wish I could change is how much glue it took to adhere the flowers; I feel like it's kind of noticeable when I'm wearing them. They kept falling off if I used less, though, so I guess I'll live with it.

I've mostly been using these to secure up a simple bun- my go-to hair style when I'm working or just need my hair out of my face. I'd like to pin them throughout a braid, but I'm a little worried they'd fall out throughout the day. Overall, I love how they turned out, and how easy and quick it was to put them together. And I like how they've been making my outfits just a tad more fairy princess-y :)

Sorry for the blatant laptop photo.... Getting real photos in a dorm room can be a challenge.

How I feel about alterations, plus some random finance stuff.

You guys, I've only been working at Formal Fantasy for two weeks, but I'm already enjoying it there a lot. Mainly because I'm getting to learn so much new stuff about alterations/repairs; it's practically like I'm getting paid to take an extra sewing class!

Okay, okay, that description may be pushing it a bit. But seriously, I feel so lucky to have a job where I get to sew for money. I love seam-ripping open fancy prom dresses and figuring out how to change them and put them back together so they look like nothing ever happened. It's challenging but fascinating. The only downside (and this is a small one) is that I have to stop and work with real people occasionally; I guess that's just my secret introverted nature coming through, though.

Picture from here.

Besides gushing about my new job, though, I had another topic to bring up. Do any of you guys have student loans taken out, or have you had to pay off student loans in the past? How long did it take you to pay them off? Any feelings/tips/tricks about making financial ends meet in college? It hadn't occurred to me until fairly recently how serious loans really are. I guess I  never really thought too much about finances, or how to earn more money, because until going to college I didn't have a reason to. I've been reading up on a ton of financial blogs lately to try and get inspiration about saving, budgeting, and paying off loans, and I guess at the end of the day it just comes down to discipline. College is expensive.

An Apology!

Oh my gosh, it has been so long since I posted here, and for that I apologize! I definitely let life get in the way of keeping up a blog, which was exactly what I was trying NOT to do. In the past several weeks (months?) a lot of exciting stuff's been going on for me, which is really encouraging me to start blogging again. I really don't wanna give up on a project before it's even gotten started, you know?

So, since I last posted, I have:

• Finished two summer classes --including, ewwww, chemistry-- and got A's in both. 
• Worked more than ever before (30+ hours a week), which was a definite change of pace from my old, lazy summer days in years past. 
• Started my sophomore year of college! 
• Purchased a $700 dressmaker's mannequin for my sewing classes. Yes, it was required. And yes, I am in love with it. More on that later.
• Gotten a second job as a tailor (!!!) at a dress store called Formal Fantasy. In order to be more responsible and actually earn a decent amount of money, I'm also staying on at American Eagle. Lots of hours plus lots of homework? Bring it on.
• Started learning how to drape, and I am in love. My draping class is intense; we have to drape, create the pattern, transfer, cut and sew a bodice and skirt in muslin. Every. Week. I am absolutely loving it, though, and there's pretty much no kind of homework I enjoy more than the sewing kind.

Okay, I think that's everything. With all the exciting things I have happening, I have more content to blog about than ever. So it's my goal to start up again, and this time, stick with it for good- no more month- long breaks from posting! 

To wrap it up, here's a quick picture of me and the boyfriend over the summer. We're both wearing something I made: for me it's the patterned shorts, and for him it's the button down. Have a great week, you guys :)

Good News

So I got my letter in the mail a few days ago saying that I passed my college's Apparel Design Review! At the end of last year (my freshman year), we had to submit a ton of stuff, including garments we'd made, sewing samples, essays, and a photoshop presentation board for our professors to review. Passing this means that I can go on to higher-level classes and that I'm now an official Apparel Design major.

I'm so excited because next semester I'll be taking draping, and I'll finally learn how to make my own patterns. I have wanted to know how to create patterns for so long now, and while I can draft simple, straightforward things on my own (like this top), I can hardly wait to expand my skills. It will be awesome to no longer be limited by my inability to create patterns.

So since I know I've passed, I need to order my professional dressmaker's mannequin. It's a big investment (a little over $400!) but I need it for my college classes, and I know I'll continue to use it later in life. I can hardly wait to receive a life-sized mannequin from the UPS guy, haha.

That's about it: I've been really busy lately doing summer-y activities like going tubing at the lake and staying up really late watching movies. Here's to a great week :)

Pajama Pants: DONE!

Sometimes, a garment that should be the easiest thing to make ends up being crazy difficult for no real reason. That was kinda my experience with these pajama pants. 

I think the main reason for the unexpected difficulty was because of all the alterations I ended up making to the pattern. I used Butterick 3698, a unisex pajama pattern, because it looked like exactly what I wanted (and I liked that it had a fly). Cutting the pants out was pretty annoying, since I kind of hate matching plaids, but over all I'd say that part turned out pretty well.

I think he likes them! Also, isn't he a good model?

That's when things got interesting. In the pattern, each pant leg is just one piece with an inseam; there are no outer side seams on these guys. However, as I had planned on adding pockets, this was a problem. So I just cut a side seam in anyway, and sewed in the in-seam pockets with a very small seam allowance. 

But then I sewed the inseam as well, and looked at the legs. They were huge. Like, I had even cut out a size smaller than he normally wears, and the legs were still so baggy they looked like clown pants. I know pjs need to be baggy, but really? This was insanity. So I went back and took and extra inch off each leg, which helped quite a bit. They're still quite loose, but at least they look like normal pajama pants now.

I also didn't like how the pattern gave the fly instructions. There was a lot of excess fabric, which I trimmed back. The pattern also didn't call for any sort of closure, but the fly was gaping so dramatically that he couldn't have worn them anywhere if I didn't add something. Two buttons did the trick nicely, though.

Finally, I did the waist band a little differently; after sewing the elastic in, I did three rows of topstitching over it for a more professional look. This is really easy to do, and will make any elastic waistband look a ton better; just stretch the waistband out till the elastic is taut and sew over it. After you're done, it will probably have stretched out a bit, but that's okay. Just hold an iron over the waistband and steam the heck out of it; you can actually watch the waistband shrink back to the right size! Cooooooool.

I'm really happy with how they turned out, but more importantly, so is Andy! I don't think I'd use this pattern again, because of the few odd little things I mentioned. However, I did enjoy how quickly these pants came together. Now I'm gonna make something else for myself; I'm currently starting on a clutch that's gonna be super lacy and girly. I hope you guys had an awesome weekend! :)

Quick Update

So in the past few days, I've been really, really productive. I've had to work a lot (haven't had a day free off from work or school in.... Umm... I think two weeks). However, I still managed to cut out Andy's pajama pants (with the plaid perfectly matched!) and sew them in two days.

I think that's the quickest I've finished a project in a long time. And guys? It felt awesome. I know that pajama pants aren't exactly the trickiest thing to make, but still. I loved going straight from cutting the pieces out to constructing; normally I take a few day's downtime in between these steps, for some reason. I loved watching them come together and being able to give him the finished product within the same week.

Then, a few days ago, I went to a garage sale and scored a garbage bag full of fabric- probably around 20 yards total- for $5. Some of it's hideous, but the majority is actually really great; several vintage floral bedsheets, and yards and yards of lace (including a huge piece of crazy violet lace that MUST be made into a party dress). All this new fabric seriously got my creative juices flowing; I'm so excited to start new projects from it!

Expect to see more soon. I'm gonna force the boyfriend to do a photo shoot in his pj pants. Hope you guys have a great week!

A Ravenclaw Scarf.

How are you guys? Today I had to deliver my first speech in Speech class. That was rather nerve-wracking. I've also been working a lot and my last few shifts have been what can only be described at retail hell. Here's hoping next week brings less stress!

I really love making Harry Potter scarves. I think this is around the 8th one I've made (but only the second Ravenclaw! Normally people want Gryffindor). After making a set of all four for one of my good guy friends, a lot more people I knew started wanting them. They're the perfect nerdy winter accessory, really. And guys, I don't care that the series has concluded, I'll never lose my Harry Potter fan pride.

Knitting in the summer has always been kind of weird to me. It's so hot outside that working on anything wintery seems just wrong. But  thinking about it logically, it's a pretty good idea: if I can get a few projects under my belt now, they'll be ready as soon as it starts to get chilly again! And knitted stuff makes awesome presents (I'm thinking of Mrs. Weasley and her gorgeously ugly homemade sweaters), so I could get some of my Christmas gift list knocked out several months in advance.

 

Anyway, back to this particular Ravenclaw scarf. Super easy to do; it's just a 1x1 rib knit. I worked on it mainly while watching episodes of The Bachelorette (judge if you will, but it's quite addicting). The finishing touch was fringe, and lots of it; I don't think a Harry Potter scarf is complete without it. I can never get tired of making these.

Wearing What I Sew 6/20

So I didn't technically make this whole skirt; I just altered it quite a bit. When I found it at a thrift store it  was floor length and very blah. I chopped off almost two feet and used the excess fabric to make a peplum on the front of the skirt. Super simple, and even though this was several years ago, I still wear it pretty frequently! 

Oh, and how dreamy is this flowy cardigan? I wish I could claim making it, because it's so dang perfect. I actually found it on clearance at Target for FIVE DOLLARS. I have worn it at least 3 times a week ever since. I would venture to say this has been my best clothing purchase of the year. 

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't have the best day in this outfit (not that it was the clothing's fault or anything). Work was a total fiasco; I'm a little sick right now, and my voice is really hoarse and scratchy. I had to be a cashier and it just got worse and worse as the night wore on. Then I had to stay several hours late, which is generally never very fun. Luckily, my boyfriend came to the mall during my break and got me tea with lots of honey, which helped quite a bit. So I guess I had one bright spot :)

What I've Been Up To

So I bought probably the most appropriate cookbook for a college student EVER. Ramen to the Rescue. There's tons of stuff in there that looks absolutely delicious (and easy to make!), but the first recipe that caught my eye was ramen-crusted chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce. You pretty much just crunch up a bag of ramen (flavor packet included), dip the chicken pieces in egg, then roll them in the mashed up noodle mixture and bake. 

And can I just say? They were delicious. The chicken flavor from the ramen packet wasn't overwhelming, but it definitely added a tasty boost from normal breaded chicken. We served them with steamed asparagus and rice (some part of the meal had to be healthy, after all).

I can hardly wait to try more from this cookbook. I love making time to try new recipes; I feel like most of the time, the things I eat are just quickly thrown together (or else prepared by my parents... Which I can hardly complain about!). Anyway, today's homemade dinner was a nice change of pace.

This is my boyfriend. And this is what we look like cooking.

I feel like I haven't posted in forever, even though it's only been a couple of days. I'm just not used to having a blog, I suppose: on one hand, I really like to devote energy to posting, but on the other I don't want it to take over my life. I never want to be that person who spends more time online than doing real, in-the-moment activities. That said, I'd like to have a blog that's the same quality of the ones I love reading the most, and that kind of thing takes work. 

So what have I been up to? In the past few days I've been finishing up the Ravenclaw scarf I'm making for a friend, working a lot, having an awesome father's day lunch, and watching an embarrassing amount of The Bachelorette. I'm procrastinating on starting my boyfriend's pajamas pants because I just don't want to cut them out: I'll have to match plaid! The last time I did that was for another garment for him, a plaid button-down, and it took FOREVER. The cutting is always my least favorite part of any project; once I get that out of the way, though, the rest should come together in no time. 

That's all for now. I do have one small new project to share in the next few days (and I'm almost done with a scarf!) Until then, have a great week, you guys :)

How do you find time to sew?

As unfortunate as it is, when my schedule starts to fill up, sewing is often the first thing that gets dropped. Even though it's one of my favorite activities, I have a hard time balancing it with non-negotiable responsibilities like work and classes (at least during the school year, I have sewing for homework!). A lot of the time, when I get home from a busy day of whatever, I just don't feel like setting up my sewing machine, plugging in the iron, and resuming progress on my current project. I just want to lay on my couch, and maybe knit or crochet something.... But certainly not sew.

I'm trying to find ways to add more sewing into my schedule, without feeling completely overwhelmed. I have to remind myself that, as much as I'd like to produce tons of garments per month, it IS summer: if I can't relax a bit now, I definitely won't have the time to later. I think I set goals for myself that are just too lofty: for example, last month I wanted to make five garments. Obviously that didn't happen, but I did sew two, make a blanket, and do tons of other small DIYs. I think learning to be happy with all the things I DO produce is important; I'm only human, after all. 

Still, though, I need to set aside a certain number of hours per week for sewing. The only way I can have more handmade pieces in my wardrobe is if I actively sit down and create them. How do you guys fit sewing in to your schedules? Does anyone else encounter the problem I have? Do you have any productivity tips?

Floral Applique Top: FINISHED!

It's finally done! I've been working on this top for FOREVER; it feels so good to finally be able to move onto something new. And wear the finished product, of course :)

I got the main floral fabric at a flea market; I randomly found it stashed in a huge chest of drawers, and it only cost $2, so of course I had to have it. The two back panels are made from fabric from a thrifted nightgown (I hemmed about a foot and a half off of it, which left me with this extra fabric). All in all, I spent less than $5 to make this! I also love projects where I can repurpose old materials in some way. The last few garments I've made have used old fabrics; I'd like to keep that up.

I used Vogue 1170 by Rachel Comey for this top. I only made a few alterations to the pattern; I omitted the buttons and buttonholes on the back, and instead I just sewed the plackets together. I added a snap at the top so the top can be taken on and off easily, though. I liked the look of buttons, but with the applique going on on the back, I figured it would be best to leave them off so it didn't look too busy. The pattern also calls for gathering in the armholes, which I didn't do. I thought the gathering would make the armholes slightly too tight, and I'd always rather have something more loose and comfortable. 

The most challenging part was making this knot symmetrical (which honestly, I don't think I ever quite accomplished). It's hard to get precision with that kind of thing!

This top is finished with all French seams, which was a touch I really appreciated about the pattern. I'd never sewn with a Vogue pattern before, but I could definitely tell a difference in the quality of instructions- Vogue doesn't baby you. They expect you to know your sewing terms, and be comfortable with more challenging techniques. I liked it, and I liked that I didn't have to finish any edges with a serger. 

I'm finally ready to move on to a new sewing project! Up next: pajama pants for my boyfriend. I've had the fabric for quite a while; it's only fair. I'd also like to make myself a clutch; I've been wanting one for while, and it can't be difficult to do. Here's hoping I have time to sew between homework assignments.....

Glittered Ballet Flats!

This is a DIY I've been wanting to try for a while. I got the idea from this blog post a few months ago, and it slipped my mind for a long time. But when I moved out of my dorm room I found this pair of basic ballet flats (Target brand!) that I hadn't worn in forever, and suddenly I had a purpose for them!

It was super simple to do; I used tacky glue which I painted on with a foam brush, and then I just dumped glitter on over the glue-y areas. In hindsight, I could have picked a stronger glue; that's what I'd do differently next time. Even though I laid newspaper down, glitter still, inevitably, got everywhere. It's the price you pay to make sparkly things. I let them dry overnight. 

Of course, I just had to wear the shoes today, so they got shown off for the first time to the customers of American Eagle. I actually got several compliments over the course of my shift!

 The one downside to this project is its durability. The shoes looked absolutely gorgeous for most of the day, but glitter has already come off in several chunks (mostly on the heel and toe). To be fair, I did wear them for a fairly long work shift; I should probably save them for special occasions. It's easy enough to fix the patches that de-glittered during my day; it's more a matter of wether I want to have to re-touch the shoes every time I wear them.

I think it could be worth it, though. Next, I'd really like to glitter a plain pair of canvas sneakers; the only reason I didn't do that first was because I'm trying not to spend so much money at the moment. 

Wearing What I Sew: 6/6/12

So I just started summer classes, which means my days of nothing but work and relaxing are over; I actually have academic responsibilities again. Normally I'm that really dorky person who loves anything school-related; I guess the reason I'm not so excited about summer school is because neither of the classes I'm taking are particularly interesting to me. Chemistry and speech. I'm hoping it won't be so bad to balance my homework with all the sewing/DIY stuff I'd like to do... We'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile, here's what I wore to my first day of class. I made this top a long time (maybe 2 years) ago, and I haven't worn it for at least several months. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised it still fits! I made this from a vintage (1970's) pattern. It's chiffon underlined with cotton sateen; if I remember correctly, I actually bought really expensive fabric for this project. At the time, sewing with chiffon was quite ambitious for me.

It's definitely far from perfect; in fact, the top ruffle is not at all symmetrical on the back. One side hangs two or three inches lower than the other; it was definitely an error I made while cutting the slippery chiffon. Honestly, though, this top is so cute I'm willing to put up with it. I just have to figure that no one but me notices/cares.