The one that didn't make it to the competition

For the project that didn't make it to the competition, I used these:

both from the hubby

While competing in the Refashion Runway, I had a rough week with the peplum theme, as you can read here. Not only were we sick, I didn't like the theme - and still don't -, my camera wasn't working (hence this cell phone pictures inside the house) and I couldn't be less pleased with what I created. 

I overcame all these though, and started from 0 in order to feel satisfied about what I was doing. I then did the peplum shorts and felt so much better about it. I wasn't confident enough though and just like I thought, I didn't make it through that week. 

I still sewed for the leather refashion themed week, but it didn't even make it to the competition. That's ok though. I wanted to sew along the Halloween theme, but I've been going round and round with some witch costumes ideas for the little miss... the problem, I want something different, and can't decide on what to do. I'm glad I wasn't competing anymore, those ladies blew me away with their costumes!!! and gave me so great ideas too

So, today I just wanted to share the master fail, the one I didn't like, didn't want to use in the competition. 

Besides, hubby's shirts were all that big and this was far from modest for me, a mom of a two year old that often has to bend to pick her up... there's no way I am wearing it out any time soon (or ever!).

And how did I mke it? Well, that's the easy part...

I've started with the black t-shirt. I've cut it about half and used the top to create the bust from my new dress. To cut and shape it I used a corset I found on a thrift market a few months ago, and then I cut the back on-the-eye!

Then I cut the other shirt about half way too, and used the bottom part to make the skirt of the dress. For that eefect I just had to slightly round the top of the rectangle. I've sewn front and back from the top together, then front and back from the skirt together. With the remaining piece (bottom) from the black t-shirt, I created the peplum. I've folded it in half and cutting like on the first picture in the second raw. I wanted to create an assimetrical look for the peplum (one of the things I've regreted after). I then pinned the peplum to the skirt and stitch really close to the edge. Finally I pinned top and skirt together. With the pieces of the shirt I still had leaft, I created tops (using the original neckline) and attached to the bust and back. Sewed on shoulders and that it. I left the arm holes unfinished, it doesn't fray and I kinda like the look. 

And that's it! The one that didn't make it and why!

Refashion Runway Week 4: Leather

It looks like I didn't get to this week's competition. I was voted out with the peplum challenge. I still don't regret that I made it for my daughter, and I am happy for the challenges I faced until here. I have really enjoyed my time competing, I am so glad it allowed me to "meet" new refashionists I didn't before and see how great and inspiring their work has been. I will try to sew along the two remaining themes which are Halloween and Winter White.

By now, I will leave you with what I had made to enter the leather challenge if I had passed last's weeks. Enjoy! And, by the way, please go there and vote for your favorite...

Contrary to last week, I was excited for the leather challenge. Working with this material wasn't new to me. I have actually done a few things in the past, with leather and vinyl... My only problem was not having any leather piece to refashion! I asked my friends in facebook if anyone could donate anything to me, nobody answered. 

My sister, actually found a faux leather brown jacket she didn't want. I was cutting into it but in the last minute, a costumer from hubby's told him she had seen my fb message and told him she had something she was willing to give me. I was  s o  h a p p y  when I saw it. But I was also kinda sorry to cut into it. 

Anyway... I knew exactly what I wanted to do from the start. I am mad about corsets. I wanted a new one for such a long time. So I did one.

this one needed a pose, right?!

I drafted a pattern. This video helped me to draw the corset pieces. I didn't make mine exactly like the one from the tutorial, but it was very helpful with the measurements, and I was able to adjust them to the design I had in my mind. Since the jacket was big, I had plenty of fabric to work with, I used basicly from the bottom and am hoping to use the rest for something in the future. 

I didn't take much pictures from the process this time. I have a serious problem with process pictures. I usually sew at night, after baby is sleeping, and then, when I'm really absorted in what I am making, I tend to forget the pictures details. Been trying to work on that, but it's hard... 

The ones I got for you, were taken the next morning, when all 10 pieces from the corset were sewn together. Instead of adding a zipper to the back I wanted it to look as a waist cincher, so I actually folded the center back pieces in half and kept in place with tape (which I removed once it was all done). I then marked my eyelets holes with the right punch and inserted them. I didn't even waste too many of them. My punch and eyelets weren't exactly the same size which is a problem, but a I said I didn't waste too many of them. 

Of course I was very pleased with what I did. I thought about lining and bonning the corset, but then I just dropped the idea. It was so much easier to add some bias to finish the piece. Besides, the purple looks so great and adds a final special touch to it. it wasn't really bias tape you know, it was a scrap left over from a shirt. I cut two striped from it (on the before picture above), sewn them together and attach it to corset as being bias tape. It worked. I am happy. We're done. 

This week we had a small family trip to the "sand city". It's an exhibition, that takes place for like 6 months every year, of sand sculptures. The theme for 2013 has been music. I had only been there once, even though I don't live that far, and the theme back then was mythology. I loved it! Every year since then I would say I'd go back... well, I finally did this year. 

I enjoyed it so much!!! I was even happier than the kids. I love music... I kept jumping and pointing out... 

look, The Rolling Stones... 

look, Jimmy Morrison... 

Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd... look it's Pink Floyd... 

look, minnie & mickey mouse... 

OMG Chanel... 

ahahah, is that Beyoncé? Jesusss!!

Is that Freddie Mercury? Cuz I'm not sure, doesn't look like him... 

OH gosh, Bono looks so much like Bono!

I gotta take a picture next to J. Galliano! Really! (I got two actually)

And that's it! My leather challenge. 

|Refashion Runway| Week 3: Peplum

So, this is the third week of Refashion Runway and I can say it has been my personal little hell week. I've been thinking what would I make with the peplum theme since I knew I was a contestant. I knew this wouldn't be an easy one for me, but I wasn't counting with a sick kid, and being sick myself too, while trying to come up with a design that would please me. The hardest part? I'm not very fond of peplums. 

source

I tried. I grabbed a t-shirt and a sweat shirt from hubby I was saving for so long... and just let me tell you... now I feel sorry I used them. I had in mind a comment from someone else, who said she didn't care for the children refashions because she had no children and it wasn't inspiring for her. I don't know why, but that got to me, I kept thinking about it, so I tried and did a dress for myself. The only problem is that I hated it. I finished the thing and took a few photos, though I didn't like a single one of them. I had given up already, I was using that as it was. 

But then, suddenly, on wednesday morning I woke up better. I knew I wasn't ready to just give up. I knew that dress wasn't the best I could get and I wasn't going to just be ok with it. I had something else in mind. And it would be for my daughter. I mean, it may not be inspiring for some, but I'm sure that there will be a few moms appreciating. And besides, I had to stay true to my heart. And oh, am I so happy with the results?! The argument that refashioning grown up's clothes to kids clothes is just resizing them doesn't seem right to me, because that's the same thing you do when turning men's clothes to women's clothes, right?!

And I did the shorts peplum! And it looks so very cute on my little miss. Not to mention how much she loved it! So much she didn't want to take it off after the photoshoot. That made me a winner. I don't care if my refashion will be the least voted, I made something that my kid loves and that is payless.

Oh, I also refashioned a top to go with the shorts. Wanna see how I made them? Here we go. Let's start by the shorts:

I've cut the long bottom stripe into two. One for each side of the shorts. 

And the top was pretty easy, I didn't focus in doing something too elaborated. First, because I was short on time, and then because I just wanted to match my shorts. 

And I just couldn't finish this, without showing you how much fun my crazy 2 year old had later, jumping and rolling and dancing in her new peplum. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to enjoy my peplum as much as she enjoyed hers. Now please, click HERE and vote for your favorite. 

|Refashion Runway| Week 2: Emerald

Warning: long post, heavy on photos!

For this week's challenge I was a bit lost. I love emerald, but I had refashioned my emerald pieces already (if you're new here, you might want to know I made a challenge of not buying anymore fabric or clothes for this year; - for those who follow for a while, sorry I am mentioning it again). I made a pair of pants for my kid out of a women's pants first, and then I turned a very old and dated dress/skirt/whatever that was, into a lovely mini dress I'm terrible in love with. 

So, I turned into my own wardrobe, hoping to find something with that color. I found the dress I mentioned before, a tank top and a dress I made from scratch a few years ago. It's this one:

The refashioned dress was out of the list. I loved it too much to just refashion it again. This one was an option. I mean, I love it, but I haven't been using it much lately... And that fabric? I love that fabric... I even thought about cheating! AH! I still have lots of that fabric left... but, nope, no way! I couldn't do that even if I wanted! lol

So, I was left with the knit tank top. Now, I have to confess, even though I seldomly sew knits, I fear them. Really! So, I felt dissapointed that it was my only option for the emerald challenge... UNTIL it came to my mind that I still had a box somewhere which held a few more treasures meant for refashioning. YAY! And guess what? I found an emerald and white striped button up shirt! How lucky?!

It was a women uniform's shirt. I believe it came from my sister's in laws, from the time they had a restaurant many years ago (even though this is that old, the fabric is as new, perfect!). Apparently, I had done a few cuts to it already. It was missing a sleeve, all buttons and a scrap was cut on the back. Pffff... what on earth will I be able to do with this?! -  I thought!

I tried to get inspired by playing with the shirt on my dress form. I had fun, and I finally got to somewhere. I wanted a corset looking top, BUT I wanted to save the collar and re-use it too. I then put the shirt around (back to front and front to back), used the collar as a turtle neck and pinned the front, side and back darts. Since my dress form is a bit bigger than I am, I had to do it again with the shirt on me. I even played around with the tank top, I envisioned a dress, using it as the skirt. Then I realised the BIG stain on it and rested the top... not for too long though. 

I'm pretty happy with what I made. I don't sew for myself as often as I did before I became a mom, but everytime I do, I get oh so happy, that there is a little something new, for me, by me. 

I used the striped shirt for most of the piece but I also used a band from the bottom of the tank top to create a band on the waist, that is slightly tighter than the top. I love this effect. Then I cut two smaller stripes and used them as bias tape to finish my arm seams. I added green flower buttons to this that were already in my stash too. I thought about adding a 4th button down the back, but I actually liked the open effect it created without it. 

People, it was my first time using a twin needle. I wasn't quite sure if I should share it but I have to. I felt so stupid and just wondered Why, o WHY, did I wait so long?! I have my twin needle wraped in its original paper since I got my machine (it came with it), and that's well over 10 years ago. I took it out like three times, just to look at it... Who would have thought? Sometimes we're so scared to try something, and then we do, and we just feel stupid that we didn't before. 

I love the details on my new top. I love how the collar looks backwards, with the flower button in the middle. I love the bias tape creating a visual contrast, and I even love my scrappy flower added to the front. This, people, was a happy disaster. 

Well, I might have accidentily cut more than I should while constructing, and I did something really nasty to my top. I felt I had lost it! I cut it right on the front! How would I make up for that annoying mistake? Well, if you can turn something awful into something wearable, you must be able to cover up your mess. And that's what I did, of course! So, I just closed the hole with a few stitches, I didn't even bother to make them all pretty, I was going to cover them anyway. I used very small scraps to made a fabric braid, and from there I made a flower. Stitched it on top of the mess and my top became even cuter!

It was a fun sew for me. Then hubby and I had a lot of fun getting those photos taken. It was something we used to do a lot together before any babies arrived, and we felt old and untrained for this right now, but in the end, I think we got a few good ones. 

Oh, and did you recognise the pants I paired it with?! Yes, they are the no sew refashioned pants I showed you back in July!

Now, go to the Refashion Runway page, check what my fellow contestants did with the emerald theme, enjoy and vote for your favorite, please. 

|Refashion Runway| Week One: Plaid

It is here. The second season of Refashion Runway is on going, I am a contestant and today I am sharing my first entry (let's hope it's not the one and only... hehehe).

This week's theme is Plaid, when I knew about it I was pretty happy, that meant I could sew one outfit only and enter two of the challenges in line, since it also fits perfectly the 3rd week theme of Project Run and Play. 

Let's talk about what I did though... Obviously, it is a refashioned outfit. I started with this:

I had these pants saved for a while, they were mine and I had bought them when I was still studying. We had to use a grey uniform and they suited the task perfectly. They were comfy and warm, since it's made of a soft wool. I had this saved with a note attached to it (turn it into pants for the little miss - it said). Mmmm... turns out I didn't want to make just another pair of pants for her. I saw potencial for more, and I came up with the shorts suit idea:

I started by cutting the shorts pieces. I used a self drafted pattern. I've been using this a lot, it is officially my most used pattern ever, it is the fifth time I use it and all those shorts look quite different.

For this I only used the bottom of the pants, I still had quite enough left to make the vest. Let's focus on the shorts first though.

Contrary to the 4 others I made before, this one has a waist band with a fly at the front. It closes up with a (showing) big black button (which matches the big buttons from the vest, though it is a bit smaller than the other 3), and two little snaps that are hidden when it's closed. 

I also added an adjustable waist elastic because my daughter is getting tall but skinny, so most of the other shorts she got for her birthday would not stay in her waist. This solves that issue. I used the pants original waistband for the shorts. I only had to cut a bit of this out, and adjust the side loops. 

For the side pockets and decoratice cuffs, I used a small scrap from a fabric I had for years. I actually would have loved to use it to line the vest too, but it wasn't nearly enough. 

So, I was happy adding a little detail to it using a tiny bit of that fabric that I still had left, and using leftovers from a white sheet for the linning instead. 

I traced the vest from an exisiting one and I really thought this would be too big for my G. and I was happy making something that would fit next year. After trying it on her, I wasn't so sure. It fits perfectly already. I believe she'll be able to wear the shorts next year, because of the adjustable waist, but I can't be sure about the vest. 

On with the vest... I added a front pocketwith the scraps. I was going to make it plain but it was a bit yeloow(ish) and as to cover it, I chose to add a bow to the pocket. I used 3 big black buttons on the front, that match the shorts button as mention above, and at the back I used a buckle that I had saved from an old bag I dismissed long ago. It allows me to adjust the vest fit too. 

Here's a few more shoots of the whole thing put together. G. was picking grapes at her grandparents and having a lot of fun. For the photoshoot she's also wearing a refashion shirt I made her for the Candy theme week over Project Run & Play. HERE

And that's it! Don't forget to check out my fellow competitors over Refashion Runway and vote for your favorite. 

Refashion Runway and the reason why I am freaking out

Oh yes! I am totally freaking out. If you read this post then you know I'm having a long list of sew alongs and other sewing events happening these weeks. 

What I didn't tell you is that Beth from The Renegade Seamstress, is hosting her second Refashion Runway competition, and she contacted me a couple of weeks ago. I had submited a project for the first challenge but I didn't make it to participate. 

This time, I had seen the submissions were open again but since I wasn't quite sure, I hadn't submit anything until I got Beth's e-mail. She was wondering if I'd like to submit again... and I thought why not?!, but honestly, I wasn't hoping to be selected so I kinda forgot about it until a couple of hours ago. 

I was selected. 

I am competing in Refashion Runway and the first project must be up by Saturday. So, yes: I am freaking out pretty much. 

Here's the themes in case you want to sew along:

week 1: Plaid

week 2: Pantone 2013 Color Emerald green

week 3: Peplum

week 4: Leather

week 5: Halloween

week 6: Winter White