DIY Tulle Skirt

Greetings kids!

So, I've been doing a lot of sewing lately because when the urge to sew hits me, it hits hard. Like a semi truck. Or my dog running a thousand miles per hour because she is a dog and has nothing better to do with her time.

But because of this urge, I've been making a lot of skirts lately. One of the more ridiculous ones I've made has been this monstrosity [as featured in an obligatory mirror selfie because why not]--

Care to make one for yourself? [Because you should. Everyone should dress like a princess at least daily]. Then follow along!

This one started out with me scrounging through my basement and stumbling across five yards of white tulle. Where did it come from? Eh, no one knows. Which automatically makes it mine. For the lining, I also used about 2 yards of white broadcloth, plus another 1/4 yard of broadcloth to make a waistband. Oh yeah, and don't forget a zipper and matching thread and a sewing machine and all that nonsense.

After gathering my materials, I summoned my trusty Kitty helper and began cutting the fabric. All I did was cut the broadcloth in half lengthwise, and did the same thing with the tulle.

With the extra scrap of broadcloth, I cut out a rectangle that was 3" x 29" [or your waist measurement plus 2 inches for wiggle room].

Also, [very important step] with my extra tulle that I ended up with, I tied it to my helper's collar because he is a beautiful fairy princess.

Next, I gathered my layers of tulle and broadcloth, which I did separately and then attached together. Using the longest stitch length available, I ran two rows of straight stitches close together along the entire length of the broadcloth, making sure not to backstitch and  to leave pretty long threads after running the rows. Then, pulling on just the top threads [or bottom, doesn't matter], I gathered the broadcloth so that it was the same length as my waistband. I then did the same exact process with the tulle.

Then I attended to my waistband itself. To make life easier, I pressed it in half lengthwise, then pressed  the sides up again about 3/4"

Here's what I mean by pressing the sides up, if that makes more sense. Also, I forgot to photograph this part, but I also sewed the tulle and the broadcloth together after gathering them to the same length.

The last thing to do was attach the waistband to the skirt. How I did this was I basically encased the skirt part with the waistband. So instead of having all the raw edges poking out, I hid them inside of the waistband by attaching it thus--

Hopefully the pictures make more sense than I do because words and I aren't cooperating right now haha.

Finally, I just ran two rows of straight stitches along the waistband to attach everything together, making sure to backstitch at the ends. After everything was put together, I inserted a zipper and sewed down the back seam to make it a complete skirt!

Aaaaand booyah. Tulle majesty. I thought about trimming the tulle to make it the same length as the broadcloth, but a) that would take effort, and b) more tulle = more princess.

Now excuse me while I go frolic in the woods and speak to woodland creatures...

Linkin' up:
x x

DIY Pleated Skirt

What up, homedogs?

So I recently just rediscovered some pictures I took of a project that I did back in the spring, back when I was first trying my hand at this whole "sewing thing."

Now, as it should be abundantly clear by now, I'm not the best seamstress. I'm more the "oh my gosh let's pretend we're on Project Runway-just start making things up-SEWING MACHINE GO" kind of seamstress. So needless to say, there are plenty of ways to improve on this project. But I thought I would share anyway in case you were interested in what I did :] All you need is 2 yards of cotton fabric and then BOOM. Skirt.

Step One: First things first, I measured my hip/waist region, since I wanted the top of the skirt to sit somewhere in that general vicinity. Depending on where you want your skirt to rest, this would determine the exact measurement you use. I ended up selecting 30 inches as my magic number, then added another inch for seam allowance. But that measurement will come in handy in just a sec-- FIRST first, I should mention that I threw my fabric on the floor like a real sewing champ and cut the whole piece in half lengthwise, which determined the overall length of my skirt.

Step Two: Going back to my magic number of 31 inches, I began pleating my skirt back and forth in one inch pleats... kind of like making little Z's with the fabric, lining the edge of one pleat up with the next. I'm sure y'all already know much more about pleating than me though :]

Step Three: THEN CAME THE NON-OPTIONAL PART. I had Kitty assist me in pleating because cats know hella-lot about that kind of thing.

Step Four: I kept on pleating until I got to my magic number of 31 inches.

Step Five: Then, to keep everything in place, I did a quick basting stitch across the top of the pleats.

Step Six: Next, I cut out a piece of fabric that was 4 inches by 31 inches. After folding the right sides together, I sewed down the bottom long edge, then turned it back right-side out.

Step Seven: Finally, I tacked the waistband to the top of the pleats, then stitched it down for good. In retrospect, I would have done this differently, like instead of just sewing it down, I would have sewn the tops of the pleats inside of the waistband [but I can't words right now so that probably doesn't make sense]. But mostly I would have finished my edges first. FINISH THOSE EDGES, YO. For real. Because that looks like a hot mess right now, I realize.

Then as the final finishing step[which I forgot to photograph], I sewed the the skirt together into a proper skirty-circle and put a zipper in the back.

And just like that, we have skirty-goodness. Because who uses a pattern anyway? Oh yeah, normal people... oops.


Ah well, have a pleasant Thursday!
Linkin' up hurr and hurr.

Painted Geometric Flower Pots

Greetings little fellas :]

How is everyone enjoying this Tuesday?
I know my cacti are enjoying today because, LOOK.

Cacti need a little love too, right? Just because they have a spiny exterior doesn't mean they don't yearn for companionship and attention just like anyone else...

[I have a problem with cacti actually. I've managed to kill about three or four cacti since freshman year, but it's because I LOVED THEM TOO MUCH. They always looked so thirsty, how was I supposed to know not to water them so much?]

Care to see how I did mine?
Here we go then!

Step One: First I gathered all my items: Pots [and their accompanying dishes], a palette [or other item resembling that purpose], acrylic paint, and a myriad of brushes.

Step Two: Next I painted just the rim of the pot. Pretty simple right? You can tape it off to get straight lines if you so please, but I like living on the edge sometimes [tip of advice: don't hold your breath while painting straight lines. I subconsciously tell myself to hold my breath whenever I paint or draw straight lines... force of habit... and I really don't suggest it haha].

Step Three: Plug and chug some geometric designs on there! Think straight lines and it's bound to be interesting! For example, with this one, I just painted the straight up-and-down lines, then added zig-zags between them.

Or maybe start with a zig-zag, and then go for some straight lines.

And there you essentially have it! To finish mine off, I painted the insides of the pots black, and then did a band of both white and then black on their little dish/coaster/holder things.

In the end, I'm sure the kids will love their new pots! These are my two newest babies by the way. In the back is Lucy [nice girl, diabetic], and in front is the newest acquisition from New Mexico, Flannigan [his species is Red-Headed Irishman. For real.]. I'm still working on pots for Scooter and Prickly Pete, so I'll be sure to post those as well!

Enjoy yer Tuesday!


Linkin' up to HEEERE and HERE!

Men's Shirt to Women's Blouse

'Sup Bro-skis!

Look who's back: THIS KID.
This week y'all get to experience a little bit more of my amateur sewing skills. I keep thinking to myself lately "Man Becca, you really should have taken a sewing class in high school or something. Fo real." But since I decided to take 8 billion art classes instead, now I just kind of wing every sewing project haha.

Take a gander at what I've been up to though:

Whaaaaaaat.
I saw something kind of like this on Pinterest, but didn't quite think that it would look good on me. So I decided to just make one that suited my own tastes.
So here we go, yo:

Step One: First things first- you're going to need to get yourself a shirt [Shocker, I know]. I don't exactly know what size shirt I used, but it said "16-20" on the inside... whatever that means in real life [men's sizes whaaaat]. Then I went ahead and chopped the sleeves off since I would have needed to be jacked as hell for my arms to fill those bad boys out...

Step Two: Next I tried the shirt on and made a mark where I wanted the waistline of my blouse to be. Then made a straight chop across [using a ruler to keep my marking and chopping straight] [also, using a cat to... I don't know, be a cat].

Step Three: Trying the shirt on inside out, I pinned in the sides to get a more fitted... fit. Let me tell you... trying to pin things on yourself is just all kinds of awkward. I think there's some sort of disconnect between my brain and my arms being able to bend that way haha. But CONVENTIENT RED LINES TO SHOW WHAT'S UP YO. Then I sewed the pin lines up to the the arm pits and cut off the excess.

Step Four: Next I took in my shoulders, kind of like a normal tank top [rather than huge man shoulder style].

Step Five: Hem those bad boys off like a boss.

Step Six: With wrong sides up, I measured the top of my blouse against the bottom of the blouse. As you can see, the top is now much smaller than the bottom of the original shirt, which is important when we start to gather the bottom of the blouse.

Step Seven: I gathered the bottom of the shirt by running a long straight stitch all the way across its width, then pulling on one end of the stitch so that the fabric began to bunch. I don't have a sewing machine [because, well... I'm a poor college student], but if you do have a machine, here is a great and more thorough tutorial.

Step Eight: Gather the fabric so that it is the same length as the top of the blouse.

Step Nine: Pin the the top section to the bottom section, right rides together, and then sew the pieces together. And essentially, there you have it!

Just slap on a belt and you're good to go! Or not... Looks fine either way in my opinion, but who doesn't love a good cinched waist?

I'm still quite the novice with sewing, but dang, doesn't it feel great to wear something you know you altered yourself? It's the little things in life man, the little things haha.

Whelp, happy Tuesday y'all :]


And linkin' up to THESE and DIS par-tays!

Scrapbook Paper Envelopes

I don't know if anyone fully understands how much I love getting mail. I check my mailbox constantly and obsessively, even when I know that I'm not expecting anything. I JUST CAN'T HELP IT.
But that's also why I love sending mail, in the hopes that my lucky recipients enjoy mail as much as I do :]

So I decided to send some more letters yesterday [I acquired some new people to mail junk to, including a US Marine!] and instead of sending boring envelopes, I decided to bust out the scrapbook paper to make life a little more exciting:

I feel like if you get a letter with an exciting envelope, then the letter inside is bound to be exciting too :'D
I learned how to make envelopes ages ago, and this way is super easy! Here's how you do it:

Step one: Get your materials. Literally all you need is some glue and square paper. That's why scrapbooking paper works do well- it's already square so you don't have to cut it, and it makes the perfect size envelope.

Step two: Lay your paper pattern side down. Then proceed to fold it "hamburger style" and "hotdog style," for lack of better terms. Bringing it back elementary school style, yo. This creates a center point so it is easier to find the middle in the next step.

Step three: Fold two opposite corners in so that they join in the middle.

Step four: Fold the bottom point up, but not so high up that it touches the center point. It only has to reach about an inch below where the other two corners meet.

Step five: Fold the whole bottom portion up so that the flat part of the point you just folded in makes the top  part of the envelope. Man, I'm really bad at explaining things in writing. It's so much easier to just show people, which is why I included the pictures haha. But once you have it folded so that it actually resembles an envelope, you can glue the bottom flap so that the envelope holds together. Make sure not to glue the whole thing down though, otherwise you won't be able to put anything in it!!

 Step six: Fold the top point down, and then there you have it! Pretty, fun envelopes!

Just for funzies, I made a couple more envelopes to put inside the scrapbook paper ones. For those, all I did was cut out a square of paper from an old book and did the exact same thing :]
Have a happy Tuesday!


PS: I've never tried linking up before, but this time I linked to Lines Across. Maybe I'll try linking up with others too!

Natural Upcycled Jars

Good morning sunshines :]
So I was playing around in the woods again and decided to collect some materials to make some upcycled jars. Here is what I came up with!

Want to make your own? It was super simple!
Let's get started:

First you'll need:

     -A jar. I used an old pasta jar, but anything with flat sides will do.
     -Twine.
     -Some gardening clippers or anything that cuts twigs nicely.
     -Glue. This was the tricky part. I thought I could use tacky glue, but that dried too slowly. Then I tried hot glue, which worked, but I don't know how permanent it will be. so if anyone has a better alternative of glue, I'd love to know!
     -Finally, some twigs. A variety of sizes works best for visual interest!

Once you have all of your materials gathered, the assembly of this jar is really quite simple! First, make sure that your jar is clean and dry. Then, use the clippers to cut the twigs to the height of the jar. For mine, I did not make all of the twigs the same exact height. Some were shorter than the jar and others were taller, just to make it more interesting. Once the twigs are cut, you can start gluing them to the outside of the jar.

Continue gluing the twigs around the jar until the entire thing is covered. Then, take the twine and wrap it in different directions around the bottom of the jar. This serves as both extra support for the twigs AND as a little added flair!

And voila! A nice, natural upcycled jar!