Turn a Skirt into a Dress

 Or is it a pinafore?

repeat of an old photo in the old office from July 2020

Shelbee wanted me to post directions on how I did this transformation.
I looked through the skirts that need rehabbing. They require too much work! 

Here, instead, are close-up shots of the straps.

All hand stitched!

I used 1" width leopard print grosgrain ribbon. 

For the length, cut two longer than you think you'll need. Position with safety pins (inside or outside the waist of the skirt), put the skirt on, and fine tune the fit. Then, stitch!

Happy refashioning!

Linking up with 

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Obstacle Course Project

I started a fun online sewing workshop with Hadley Clark called Obstacle Course.
Little did I realize how prescient that title became!

Hadley gave us a list of 25 potential items or processes to use and we were supposed to use at least 6.

I decided to combine two Indian skirts and make a dress.

I think the fact that I was experimenting "beyond the rectangle" (not making a loose tunic) was one of my big hurdles.

My concept was to make a dress in the style of peasant blouses that I used to make in the '70s.

Hard to see it, I'm wearing one of my creations.

I was doing it from memory. Mistake #1!
Why didn't I Google one?

[source] This would have been helpful!

First fitting:

neckline too low! too wide!

Second fitting:

not yet sewn - totally held together with safety pins

Third fitting, after stitching:

way, way, WAY too tight!
I require a better gusset.

The seam ripper will become my BFF this month.
Yes, my August sewing challenge is to continue working on this.
I refuse to give up on it!

How did I do with the Purple/ Green sari upcycle that I was planning to complete for July?
Nothing. I did nothing.

Linking up with
Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal Linkup

Big Orange

I love orange!

I've drawn my orange tube of paint:

I chose orange for my Stitching the World path:

that's Australia, BTW

Why am I going on about orange?

It's this month's theme for Shelbee and Nancy's "Good Buy/Good-bye Book"

This one was a Good Buy, it's an Indian skirt that I turned into a pinafore:

This one not so much:

2013
See how it's sticking to me?
Therein lies the problem!

2012 - even then, it annoyed me

To Poshmark it goes!

It so happens, I bought these both at the same shop in Artesia, CA. 

The shop, Cottage Arts, has closed, the owners retired. 

Sad face, happy wallet. 

Linking up with

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

One Monthly Goal July

What is my sewing goal for July?

It's time to revisit (and hopefully complete) my very bright tie dye tunic that is fashioned from a secondhand sari. I became stalled on the removal of beads from the neckline. Or some sort of sewing mishap - sewing and trimming on the wrong side or some such.

Oh yes. It's all coming back to me. I found the photos. 

The moment I realized I trimmed the wrong section of seam allowance. 
I wanted to wrap the inner allowance over the layer underneath and stitch it down on the outside of the shoulders.

I gave up a year ago! There is one of those mirrored flowers at a shoulder seam.
The mirrors are glued on and I need to work around it somehow.

How things are looking now.

The white thread is temporary basting with silk thread - silk is easier to remove than cotton/poly.

Here's an old post showing the sari before I cut into it.

Linking up with
Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal Linkup

A Rug Weaving Adventure

Last Saturday, I took an online rug weaving workshop with Aneesa Shami.

[Aneesa's photo]

So. Much. Fun!

First I needed to clear some space in a location where I could prop up my iPad

I used 6/12 ply poly/cotton for my warp [which in retrospect, is too heavy] on the Purl & Loop loom that I got last year at a workshop with Brittany Wittman McLaughlin at Craft in America.

For my rug ties, I wanted to use fabric scraps. 

I cut an assortment, using Frau Fiber's yarn-from-teeshirt technique for the tie dye tee. 

I tore strips for the wovens.

Decidedupon an indigo + hot red combination

OK! I'm ready for class!

Starting with plain weave

then adding knots

Knotting is super relaxing

[apologies for the dirty thumbnail and ragged cuticles]

Finished piece!

I really enjoyed this workshop and Aneesa is a great instructor.
When she offers the class as a taped eCourse, I'll add the link.

Speaking of links, I'm linking with

Michelle's Creative Compulsions Linky Party

Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

Make It Yourself March, Week 2: Sustainable Making

This week's MIY March subjects are Sharing and Caring:
• Sustainable sewing tips
• Material sourcing
• Our most treasured textiles

I'm going to reminisce on some of my own workshop experiences that fall in the "sustainable" category. These also might give you some ideas for sourcing fabrics, fibers, and even art materials.
The boldface type will link to individual posts.

Slow Clothing and Mending at #CAFAM July 24, 2017
I mentioned Ruth Katzenstein Souza in the previous post. She is the goddess of sustainable practice and mending.
Read her "Original Call to Mending" from 2014!

Seeing these amulets, formed from saved bits of thread ends, fabric scraps, etc sparked my imagination.

[image source]

DIY Yarn from Old Tees with Frau Fiber April 21, 2018

That time I learned how to make "yarn" from teeshirts.

Which led to turning my old jeans into an art piece (still a WIP)

And my return to weaving.

Fiber Workshop with Carrie Burckle at Otis (no posts!) June, 2018

Experimented with various upcycling techniques, including

• Paper bags into yarn (difficult):

• Weaving warp ends that Carrie collected from Diedrek Bracken's projects that he worked on at Cal State Long Beach upcycled into my own off-loom weaving:

Original cotton, Diedrick dyed it pink.

Mock ikat with poured bits of red dye

Still sewing the squares together.

Note to self: I really need to write up a post or two about that workshop! Even if I have to predate it to get in onto the blog chronologically. 

Upcycling = lots of fun possibilities!