Sweater Refashion Extravaganza #4

Ok, as promised, the last re-fashion was a bit more complicated, now comes the simplest one I have ever made. It almost feels silly....

Do you like this cozy wool thing? Well, it was a cozy wool thing before, I've owned it for years, and I wore it a few times every winter. It just was way too wide in the bodice. This is part of what made it cozy, but it was really difficult to put on coats over it, because there was way too much material to be stuffed into it.... So I finally took my courage and cut it up. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture before, so this one will have to do:

It was just a normal sweater, wiiiiiiide in the torso, and I couldn't just have cut off and taken in the sides, because the sleeves would have ended up being too short.

T-Shirt Refashion-Extravaganza! Project 3

Well, after my 3- and 4-shirt re-fashions, what can follow? Sure, the 5-shirts would be obvious, but no, I am following up with a simple t-shirt from a t-shirt. But:

It's a refashioned refashion!

I am totally in love with it now, which is why I find it worth reporting even though it is such a small little project.
The first time I made this, it started from a thrifted knit tank:

T-Shirt Refashion-Extravaganza! Project 1

Is there anything better to wear in summer than a one-piece-jersey dress? No double layers and bulking at the waist, and you can just throw it in the washing machine like a regular t-shirt and don't even have to iron it afterwards. Well, it was time I made myself some of these!

I had cleaned out my closet a while ago, and - being a Re-fashionista - it took care of the problem in the closet, but made the one in the sewing room much worse... The ever growing pile of fabrics and clothes-to-be-refashioned...!

Look at the huge pile of T-shirts I had sorted out - some because of the wrong fit, some because of stains, some from my husband, and well, many because I just actually don't really wear t-shirts at all:

Much better than the sales bin at a fabric store, right? :-)

Simple T-Shirt Refashion gone difficult

Well didn't I feel all smart when I realized how I could simply pull one strap of a way-too-big shirt down over the shoulder and come up with a fancy one-shoulder top?

I sure did! In the photo below, nothing is cut or sewn yet , I just pulled the neck down and it already looked good. So I thought "Easy, this will be done in 15 minutes!" ....

My "Pillow Cape"!

Nope, it is not a misprint, I really mean Pillow CaPe. Because well, it used to be a Pillow Case, and it is now a Cape. *Grin*

 This is my contribution to the refashion co-op, a bit late, I apologize. Not only have things been crazy in my "real life", I have also been away from the sewing machine AND from any decent internet connection. So the few things I DID make, I haven't posted about. Sometime later this month everything should calm down.

Embroidered Cuffs!

Welcome to a new category on my blog: The no-sewing-machine projects!
I am away from home for a few weeks and don't have a sewing machine at hands. While I try to improve my drawing skills, I still can't quite survive completely without some kind of fabric or yarn between my fingers... :-)
So I made this cuff:

The base is a kind of wire mesh I got at the DIY store, I don't know what it is really called in English, nor what it is originally meant for...  You will need metal shears to cut it in shape:

Broken Zipper Solution: From "Oh-No!" To "Oh-Yes!"

Broken Zippers are the worst. Even more so if they break on a piece of clothing you love, and double that if you made it yourself and just finished it... It so happened on my beloved Panda-Hug-Cape posted HERE
With the facing and bias-tape binding it would have been such a pain to take the zipper out and put a new one in, so I was in need of a clever plan B. It came to me, and it's one of those super easy solutions that one fails to see sometimes. At least I think so. I simply attached the new one to the old one, adding a bit of zipper coolness...:

Slashing that Stash...: Envelope Cushions How-To

Welcome to my new Guest-Bed/Sofa:

Well, the actual guest-bed isn't new, but I finally got around to making pillow-covers for it. I decided I needed to do some drastic diminishing of my fabric stash, and that is the first of a few projects that I came up with for that purpose.

Quick Beauties - Perfect Gifts! Full Tutorial

Have you seen the cool new button in my side bar? Yes, I will hopefully be contributing a couple ideas to the Crafty Christmas Club next week! I'm also posting my projects here, but you really should go check it out for all the other great ideas. It is not too late to hand-make some really special gifts.

My first contribution are these fabric necklaces. Yes I know, they aren't exactly a new idea... I made my first one of these about two years ago, and almost simultaneously similar ones kept popping up everywhere, so I didn't feel like sharing my obviously not very unique idea - yes, I was sulking! ;-)

However, I decided to show you my version anyway, since it is really quick and even has an upcycling factor to it.

Winter Accessory Extravaganza! Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my extravaganza!

Without much further ado, I will move on to the how-to of the remaining three accessories. First up:

THE GLAM-ME-UP WRIST WARMERS:

Winter Accessory Extravaganza! Part 1

As promised: A collection of winter accessories I made this year - ideas, how-to, inspiration....

Years ago I knitted accessories like wrist and leg warmers for myself and as gifts for my girlfriends. However, I got tired of it fast and never really considered making them again. As much as knit is hip at the moment, I somehow don't see knitted wrist and leg warmers as a fashion statement right now :-)  So I jumped on the wagon of leather bracelets, wrapped around the wrist several times, added some fabric and faux fur, and voilà, up-to-date winter accessories that are made within no time! These are super quick projects to glam up an outfit, to make a personal gift for a dear friend or just to give you a reason to like winter....

Read on for the making-of pictures and explanations!

Pet Purses! Recycling How-To

As promised, here is a super quick project you can make for almost no money. And aren't these Pet Purses and Top Boxes just super cute?

I can think of a million different uses for them.

• office supplies like rubber bands, an eraser, even a mini stapler for your day bag (paper clips in the top box!)
• a creative package option for wrapped chocolates and the like
• sanitary napkins and other ladies things
• sewing supplies for on the go... (top boxes for buttons and little hooks)
• small toiletries and make-up
• even a fresh pair of undies...?

This is a super quick project, 30min. to an hour.

I found this idea in the same little book as the home-made cookie cutters:

It comes in English and Spanish and you can order it HERE. There are also lots of upcycling videos on that site, so go have a look!

HOW-TO: 

Passport/Credit Card Wallet for Guys - Tutorial

Isn't it always so much harder to find presents for guys than for women? And if you want to hand-make something, it gets even more difficult, right?
Well, this one was a real winner - I made it for my husbands birthday a while ago and he loves it.

I had sewn him one out of fabric before, which was in constant use, and I decided it is time to make him one out of leather now. It was also a good project for me to gather more experience with leather, as I am still into my shoe-adventure and need to learn some basics with this material...

You can easily translate it to fabric, you will use bias tape at the edges, but otherwise it isn't really much different.

This project is definitely one of my longer "quick projects". I didn't time it, but I guess it was around 3 hours.

TUTORIAL / HOW-TO:

How-To: From Bland to Bling in one Hour!

A Shoe-Make-over Tutorial

Sewing a garment can be a lengthy process sometimes. Yet I am up for instant gratification very often, so a quick project it has to be...

I love shoes, and I would like to wear amazing high heels on a daily basis, yet I move around a lot and I like to walk fast, so all too often I grab this pair of dull, dreary, bland boots...
But wait! Do they have to be bland? No!

I turned them into "Bling" within one little hour. 

Look, it even has a little gemstone in the heel!

Here's how I did it:

Cookie Cutters - Tutorial!

Here comes one of my few non-sewing/non-illustration posts!

Especially around the holidays I start taking out my crafting supplies and tools, be it for presents or decorations. Yesterday, I made these cookie cutters:

Being able to make your own cookie cutters could be so cool - even if it's just numbers and letters, maybe for somebody's birthday, or an anniversary. But I'm sure you will come up with all kinds of ideas - instruments, logos, animals. All kinds of stuff that maybe you won't find in the store, or you just don't have the time to go looking for it.

I have recently become somewhat obsessed with recycling instead of always buying and buying and throwing things away... and I was thrilled to find this book a while ago:

It comes in English and Spanish and you can order it HERE. There are also lots of upcycling videos on that site, so go have a look!

I will try out some of their projects and post them here, but that will only scratch the surface. It's definitely an inspiring book and worth the money. I paid only 5 Euros and was told that the money goes towards making this a bigger, nicer book, maybe with better pictures... (hint***hint***).

So anyway, it's not my own idea, but it is a "creative commons" project, which I am allowed to share as long as I mention the source.

Panda Bear Hug Cape

We all know how clothes can be used to express personality, right? But they can really set the mood for a whole day, too.

While in this picture I am trying to present this cape all cool, edgy and hip, I have to admit it makes me feel really warm, soft and lovable. Not only does it feel as if a Panda bear is giving me a hug all day long but I also want to give hugs to everybody. I work in the theater, and we are all pretty touchy-feely there, so I actually did hug a couple people and I definitely felt that they didn't want to let me go anymore. There were strokes over my back, hands lingering on my upper arm, cuddly leanings on my shoulder. What a day! And all caused by a simple cape.

The pattern is actually really cool, practically only one piece, except for the facing. And the best part is: it's free! It's called Elena and you can get it HERE. I'm not sure it comes in English, but if you have the paper pattern, it's really simple to sew together. I used Fleece instead of Jersey, which explains the Panda bear effect a little... It also goes extremely well with the tulip skirt called Minu from the same site. Not for free, but 3,90 Euros for the download really isn't very much. You can find that one HERE. It's a VERY quick project to sew!

This is the skirt minu from the same site as the cape elena...

It goes just as well with more elegant things as with casual, sportive outfits, and works zipped, half-zipped or even unzipped. I got lots of compliments for this piece, which further improved my days. If you make it out of fleece like me, it is super cozy and warm.

Tutorial: Melting & Making New Lipsticks

Be my guest: learn from my mistakes! I had the clumsiest morning when I did this little project, and I regret not having taken pictures of all my bloopers! But I promise I will tell you about all of them, so you don't have to make them yourself!

There are many other people who have written tutorials about making lipstick - in fact, I never even thought of doing this until I read this post from Vixen Vintage. The only problem is that most people use lipstick palettes or little jars, and I really wanted to make lipsticks again. Also, I wanted to use what I had in the house and not have to go shopping for this little experiment. As you see in the picture above, in spite of all the bloopers, it worked out just fine in the end.

Finally: Fabric Weights!

Look at that! It makes me feel like such a grown-up seamstress.

To tell you the truth, I never thought fabric cutting weights were really necessary. But like I said, I didn't "think"they were necessary. Because when you just think about it, you believe that you can put any old heavy thing on your fabric when you're cutting.