Latest Projects- Home Decor

I'm pretty proud of this one! Found a way to disguise my bookshelf! I used lace curtains for the first layer so I can still get  into the book shelf part. The top layer is an old sheet that I draped over it and then cut straight up the center. I made some bows out of scrap fabric and lace then used them to secure the slit open, sewing them in place where I wanted the parting.

Found this tray at a garage sale. Thought I'd freshen it up with some paint.

I think I will use some stamps to put a pattern on it. Or I could decoupage it...Or it does look nice like this too..
Decisions, Decisions!

Wildly 80s T-Shirt Refashion on Whip It Up Wednesday!

Here's my fabulous T shirt's before picture. Gotta love that color!

The first cut is made. Cut off the top to make a sccop neck.

Cut the bottom hem of the shirt off and use to make straps. Just cut the straps 2 inches longer than you need them to  be.

Pin them on in place and try it on to make sure you like the length and placement of the straps.
I made one shorter than the other so it would hang at an angle.
Last step is to sew the straps in place using the extra inch  on each end of the strap as the part you sew.

Enjoy!

Vintage Dress Restoration Project-Success!

The much anticipated pictures of my dress project have arrived!
I wanted to wear this to a dance later this week so I had a motivation to get to work on it and not let it languish in my sewing to do box..
The pictures of the finished dress and story of how I found it are below too!

The supports through the bodice were poking through their casings and the fabric was shredded in places.

I found some scrap fabric that was tough and canvas like -may have been the seat of an old folding chair. This was what I used to make a new casing for the supports. It was slow going and all done by hand, being careful not to go through to the front of the dress and avoiding the fraying areas.

There were also several seams where the mesh/lace like fabric on the outside was coming out of the seam and fraying.

I was able to fold them under and sew them back into the seams with the help of my bottle of permanent fabric glue to keep the fabric from fraying/disintegrating in my hands while I sewed it in.

Here it is!

and you probably want to know the story of this beauty.

Well, I found it on Craigslist believe it or not. A lady was having a yardsale for her stockpile of vintage treasures she had accumulated over the years from estate sales. I asked if I could come take a look at the clothes and, among other things, came out with this authentic vintage 1950s/60s dress!

What a find!

DIY Sewing: Convertible dress from skirt

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet! Yesterday I was thinking about what to post today and saw that I still had these pics on my computer. lol.

Above is basically how I did it in a quick little diagram.
Please excuse the rough illustration..

I started with this long, straight skirt that I was going to send off to the thrift store until I realized it was missing buttons..

Well, if I have to do some work on it anyways, why not turn it into something I will use?

and besides, it's such a pretty fabric..
So I cut a strip off the bottom (approx.4 inches?)
and hemmed the raw edge of the new bottom of the skirt.

Already the skirt had a lot more swing and movement to it- I almost just quit there!

Then, I cut the 4inch wide strip in half but at an angle so they would be longer. At this point, I hemmed all raw edges I had cut.

I only had to cut the strip once because my skirt had buttons down the front so I just had to open it up on the other end to get 2 strips of the same length.

If you're using a skirt without a button down front, you would need to cut twice- once angled like this and the other a cut straight up and down.

Next step is to sew each strip onto the waist band of the skirt.

Take the straight edge of one strip and pin it in place on the front of the waist band.
Repeat with the other strip then try it on to make sure you get the coverage you want before sewing it in place.

Now it's time to sew the top on! I stitched mine in place behind the waistband.

This is my favorite way to wear it.

I bring the strips up the front and cross them in the back then bring the ends around to the front and tie them in the middle!

Side view!

but it can also be worn as a halter or just as a skirt with the strips wrapped around the waist, or whichever way you can make it work!

Little Gaston is not much help to mommy with the sewing. If anything he's a pest and you just don't get between me and my sewing machine!

So he was put out and the door shut behind him but not to be deterred..
Reminds me of Jack Nicholson in the Jacob's Ladder posters!LOL

So? Whatcha doin'?

Sewing project- Adding a bra top to my dress

This is what I was up to last night: I wanted to add some support/ coverage to the top of this dress but rogue bra straps are not a good accessory



It just worked out that I had an old bra (with padding, yay!) that had worn out straps.

Instead of throwing it away, I cut all the straps and band pieces off. The cups and the little piece that connected them to each other was left.

Then I pinned it in place on the dress. Try it on to make sure it's where it should be (without stabbing self with pins).

All that was left was to sew it in place.

 The dress has a lining behind the chest area so I stitched carefully not going through both layers. This kept the stitching from showing on the front :)

Looking good!

and feeling crafty!

Detergent Dressed up- Sew cute!

I've been slack about posting lately- so sorry friends! I've been crafting up a storm, though, don't you worry! Here is a perfect way to use up some of those fabric scraps.

This post is just in time for the gift giving season! and, hey, don't have enough time or patience to make one yourself? Guess what? I sell them, email me: conniw_98@yahoo.com "LadyofWhimsy" in the subject line for more info.

I made this for my mother's birthday this year and she loves it!

 It was super easy- I cut out two pieces of fabric in the shape of a light bulb, sew them together (right sides facing) leaving an opening at the top to turn it right side out, bind the open end with a piece of ribbon folded over, then use fabric glue to put the neck and waist ribbon on.

easy right?

The neck slips on over the top of the detergent bottle and then tie the waist in the back.

Or, if you have enough ribbon, you could wrap it around to the front and tie it in a cute bow!

You could even put lace around the edges or buttons/flowers/ ric rac on the bib. Play with it and have fun!

So cute! An easy way to add a touch of whimsy to an otherwise boring area!
Stocking stuffer??

Easy Wrap Shirt

I made this shirt all by myself with no pattern or directions!
It is basically just a big rectangle, hemmed on all sides with a circle and a slit cut out of the middle plus a long strip sewn along the bottom of the back end to tie around the front.

I saw a vintage picture of a woman tying her shirt on and thought, I have to attempt this it looks so easy to make! and it was..

It even went dancing with me last weekend!

Hemming too long jeans for Rosie the Riveter costume

I decided to be Rosie the Riveter for the Halloween dance and found these awesome sailor cut jeans while thrifting but they were waaaaaay too long! Oh no! says I, what shall I do? Take the hem up, of course.

This is what they looked like when I was done with them. Ahhhh.. much better! No tripping on myself while dancing! um, well no tripping on my pants anyway..

It was so easy! I have to admit, I was nervous never having done this before and all. But really, all I did was fold the cuff up and pin it. Then sew just beneath the original hem stitches (about where the pin is in the pic).

All that's left is to fold the original hem back down over the part that I stitched and iron it! Easy right?

There's Rosie on the left- but you knew that ;)

All the costumes were pretty fantastic but the Queen of Hearts was by far my favorite!
Have a safe Halloween weekend and be watching for my next post (trust me, it will be delicious, wink, wink).

DIY T-Shirt Refashion

I started with a too big T-shirt that had a collar right up to my neck! Wait til you see what I did with it..

To start, take off the collar and cut the neckline in the shape you want (but about a half inch above where you want it to lay). Then, fold the fabric over 1/4 inch all around the neckline. Fold over again 1/4 inch and sew.

Gaston LeChat wants to help..
Be sure to do the same thing to the back side of the neckline that you did with the front. Fold over twice and sew. I just sewed the back straight across.

Next step is to take out the stitches in the sides all the way up to the sleeves. Turn the shirt inside out and restitch the sides so it fits you. I put the shirt on and pinned it where I wanted to sew.

I used the fabric that I cut out of the collar to make a ruffle. Ruffles are easy to make and dress everything up a little!
To make one, run a row of stitches through one long end of the fabric then hold one end of the thread and push the fabric down so it bunches up. Easy right?

 

After making the ruffle, I pinned it where I wanted it on the shirt and sewed it on.

And here it is! So pretty. I might even put some ruffles around the edges of the sleeves too..