New Look Black Dress

Can you believe that I had gone 21 years without ever learning how to properly read a sewing pattern? I know, I am just as appalled. But it was always my logic of  "ain't nobody got time for that" that kept me from learning...

... until winter break. Guys. Guys hey. Look. I'm a sewing adult now.

[PS-- Hardcore rocking the Jaqen H'ghar hair and I regret nothing]
Awww yeaaah. I finally sat down and, with the help of my mother and some mad texts directed at Carolyn, I manned-up and learned how to actually read a proper pattern.
I mean I freaking love sewing, but I've always just done derpy things that don't require attention, or did refashions that don't run by prescription. But while I was at Joann's over break, I found THE MOST MAJESTIC fabric [which I will share with you soonly!] and knew that I had to learn how to make a dress out of it.

In comes the New Look Dress. I saw this pattern in the wall of patterns that Joann's always has and thought "Oh hey, I could probably hopefully make that," So I decided to give it a go. And I adore the results!

The pattern is Simplicity New Look pattern 6223 [which you can find here], but when I found it, it had 0909 printed on the envelope. I thought that it had a nice vintage-y-ish feel to it [I made option c], and let me tell you-- it was actually pretty easy to make!

For this one, I just used a simple black broadcloth, but I did vary from the pattern in that I lined the skirt and the bodice, rather than just the bodice.

So if you're ever in the neighborhood for a new pattern to check out, I definitely suggest this one! If I can handle it [you know, the kid who doesn't like to conform to directions] then anyone can do it! Now excuse me while I make about 80 more of these [totally not weird, right?]. I mean, I DO think that I saw some nice cat-patterned fabric on sale the other day...


Linkin' up!
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Teal Flowered Dress Refashion

Hey hey~

I have a little refashion to share with y'all that I finally managed to photograph last week:

I got this dress at Goodwill over the summer for only a dollar, but I didn't get around to fixing it up until over winter break. And now it's gone from "buuh" to "eeeeh, she still probably needs help learning how to dress herself" haha.

The first thing I did was chop out the shoulder pads, which Kitty one hundred percent approved of. Seriously, I wouldn't know how to fashion if it wasn't for him.

Then I chopped about four or five inches off of the bottom. Because while I enjoy frumpy, this was just a little too frumpy.

And of course put in a new hem!

I wasn't really feelin' the sleeves either, so I chopped most of them off.

Then before I hemmed off the sleeves, I decided to take in the sides a little, just because the top was a little bit too big on me still.

Finally, I hemmed up the sleeves and all was right in the world! Awww yeah.

[I clearly know how to take pictures] And booyahmozzarellasticks, another refashion in the bag. I really don't know why I always gravitate towards crazy prints, but you have to admit-- at least they're interesting haha.

But hey, weirdly enough, my pile of "to be refashioned" items is almost depleted, which mean OH DARN I'll have to go thrifting soon. I'm sure my roommate Krispy won't mind being dragged either... [which reminds me sidenote Becca/Krispy decorating tip number one: if you don't have at least three American flags in your apartment, you might be doing it wrong.]

That's it for now!


Linkin' up:
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DIY Spectator Shoes

Can we just take a moment to talk about how dang fancy spectator shoes are? Because let's be real-- they're pretty darn swanky. There's just something about the crisp black and white of these bad boys that screams shut up, I'm classy, and who wouldn't love that?

Does anyone remember when I refinished these cowboy boots? Well, they got me excited and thinking of other things that I could make using that technique. So last time I went to Goodwill, I picked up some shoes and set out on another experiment. And the results speak for themselves [aka, you is fine].
Care to make some for yourselves? Well here is what I did:

Much like in Cowboy Boot Refash, first I gathered my materials. This time I did it a little different, so I ended up needing some old leather castoff shoes, paper towels, acetone, white leather paint, and some brushes.

Next, I removed the laces and went straight to work with the acetone. I wanted to remove the finish from the leather in the areas that I planned to paint white, so working a small section at a time, I would pour a little acetone on a paper towel and rub the leather until the black finish stopped coming off of the shoe. Then I took a fine grained sandpaper and roughed up the surface to be painted.

Once I had removed all of the finish from the leather, I began to paint it with some white acrylic paint. Edit: after wearing these shoes for a while I noticed that the paint was getting little cracks in some areas so I decided to go a different route. I ordered some Angelus brand Leather Paint [which you can find here], which I just found out is specifically for leather. So I will keep you posted on how this type of paint holds up!

With the help of my trusty sidekick, I let the shoes dry and then put the laces back in.

And just like that, you have [almost] instant fancy!
I swear, every time I go to Goodwill, I see about a dozen pairs of plain ol' shoes like these. THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES, GUYS. And they weren't even expensive to make! These only cost me five dollars to make, mostly because I already had all of the other materials.

Plus, wouldn't it be fun to make a bunch of these in obnoxious different colors? I think that the next pair I make are begging to be Tardis blue and white... Oh I like this idea...

And all I have to say is-- Dapper. As. Heck.


Linkin' up:
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DIY Pallet Shelf

Greetings lovelies!
So remember when I said that I had other Christmas gifts to share with you all? Well here I have another one, and I'm kind of smitten with the way that it turned out:

I made this sweet little [actually, it's not so little] pallet shelf for my sister because she kept on bothering me to make her something like this. And it was actually pretty easy to make!

All I did was cut off about 8 inches on each side [I basically just cut off the last long boards on each side]. I then broke those long boards down again and nailed them to the freshly cut sides of the pallet.

Then I sanded the whole thing down, threw on a coat or two of some old wood stain I found in my basement, and finished the whole thing off with three coats of satin polyurethane. [If you don't think that satin polyurethane is a gift from the heavens, then ohmygosh I do not understand you. I could drink that stuff, it's so perfect. Well... maybe not drink it, but you get my point. IT'S WONDERFUL.]

Unfortunately [for her, not my mother] my sister could not take the shelf back home with her in her tiny anti-car, so my mother is taking good care of it for her. I love old bottles soso much, so I decked it out for her with these jars I found in my house.

Now I think that it looks pretty cute in my mother's dining room :]
I have one more pallet left from when I went university-dumpster-diving earlier this semester; originally I was going to make something different with it, but now I might have to make one of these for myself... so long as I don't anger any more grad students in the woodshop while making it again [but that's a whole 'nother story haha.]

Anyway, I'm super happy with the way that this turned out, so I totes encourage anyone else to try making one for themselves too! It was seriously so easy, and if you can get a pallet fo' free? Even better, yo.


Linkin' up:
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Free Chevron Scarf Pattern

Fact: I never called chevrons "chevrons" until the internet informed me sometime last year that I was doing it wrong. So I still will forever mentally refer to them as "zig-zags."

But that's beside the point-- I have something exciting to share! Behold:

I made a thing. A nice, stripey, zig-zaggy thing. [and sorry for the blurry photo!]

I made this scarf for my sister-in-law for Christmas this year because she lives in the mountains and that means that scarves are ALWAYS relevant. I had originally searched Pinterest for some sort of pattern, but did not really fall in love with any of the patterns that I came across, so I decided to create my own--

Look at those ripples, man. Mmmhmm.
I'm not the most expert at creating my own patterns since I have not been crocheting for that long, but I mentally adapted a pattern that I use all the time to make afghans, and voila! We have achieved scarf!

Though to be perfectly honest, I'm kind of wishing that I had made one for myself right about now. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE -50 degree windchills as much as the next person... but.. yeah. A cozy scarf could really hit the spot right now.

Care to make one for yourself? AWESOME. Because I've got the pattern right here! Fo free, yo!
Now, I've never written a pattern before, so I hope this make sense:

Chevron Scarf

I used two skeins to Caron Simply Soft yarn and a size I hook.


Ch 57

Row 1: 1sc in 2nd chain from hook, 1sc in next ch, skip 1 ch. *1sc in next 5 chs, 3sc in next ch, 1sc in next 5 ch, skip 2ch. Repeat from * 3 times until there are 3 ch left. Skip 1 ch, 1sc in last 2 ch, ch1 and turn.

Row 2: Through both loops, 1sc in 2nd st from hook, 1sc in next st, skip 1 st. *Working in front loops, 1sc in next 5 sts, 3sc in next st, 1 sc in next 5 sts, skip 2 sts. Repeat from * 3 times. Skip 1 ch, 1sc through both loops of last 2 sts. ch1 and turn.

Repeat row 2 until scarf reaches desired length, switching colors as needed. Then fit chevrons together and sew or crochet together to make a closed loop (you'll have to turn one half of the scarf over to match up the zig-zags correctly).



And that's it! Again, I hope that it makes sense, but if you encounter any problems, please let me know! I'm a total novice at pattern writing, so I wouldn't be surprised if it has a few snags haha. Also, I'd love to see pictures if anyone decides to make one for themselves!


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Queen Anne's Lace Scarf

Evening!

So now that we are officially into the new year and definitely past Christmas, I thought that I would share some of the things that I made for people for gifties and such this year. One thing I managed to whip up was this scarf for my grandma:

I saw the pattern one day as I was perusing the Pinterest-machine, and thought "oh hey dere, I could do that."

I mean for real: LOOK at dat motif! The pattern is called "Queen Anne's Lace" and I found the pattern over here on Ravelry by Joyce Lewis. The directions were pretty straight forward, and I super love the results!

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in off white and some sort of sea foam-y color, because thanks to Carolyn I'm freaking in love with that yarn.

So if you're looking for a fun, pretty scarf to whip up, I'd definitely suggest checking out the pattern! My grandma loves her new scarf, and I'm just super happy that she likes it.


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