Little fixes make all the difference

So, I have this purse. Its a large silver purse with feathers on it and it is gorgeous. It was given to me by my boyfriend for Valentine's Day.

The only problem is, is that it has a chain strap that always either digs into my shoulder or it slides off of whatever shirt I'm wearing and hits my hand. And when you carry that much stuff, it hurts.
So today I took that strap off, and sewed on an old skinny (1/2" wide) black glittery I had.
Silver would have been better but it was all I had. It is so much more comfy and its possible to wear it cross body or one shoulder, without fear of falling. I love being able to sew.

Also, I kept the chain intact and it is now a super cute chain waist belt.

Also made a simple summery anklet out of some light pink chain I had lying around.

Pics of these things later.

Super cute pink ruffly tank from yoga pants

Made this cute tank top just now. Cut the legs off of a pair of pants I had stains on from spilling paint (the stains were above where I cut). I turned the pants inside out and sewed them together. Then I used the extra fabric from the pants to put a line of ruffling down the front. Then I took thin strips of the fabric and braided them together to make the straps. Then I sewed them to the top and crossed them over in back so that they form an x. Whole shirt took me less than a half hour. Pants were originally purchased at the Salvation Army for about $3 several months ago.

<3 Liz

Floral dress from baggy maxi skirt

This was a huge skirt I used to wear a lot when I was 50 pounds heavier. It was a size 20 with a drawstring band and the brand name was White Stag, and I had gotten it from the Salvation Army for about $2.50 or $3.00 a couple years ago.

I made it into this cute twirly dress while watching Coco Before Chanel but I didn't start making it till halfway through. Pinning, cutting, machine stitching, and several fittings took about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
With the exception of cutting the waistband off (to utilize the drawstrings, cut out the tag, and construct a bust for the dress), I did not cut any other fabric on the dress. Its all taken in using the center column and using my wide whipstitch.
This middle raised part is hand stitched all the way down the center of the bust and abdomen area.
The straps are made from the draw strings, have 3 little beads on front, and I crossed them over in back so that they form an x on my back.

In addition, I added cups in the bust so that o didn't have to wear a bra with this in summer. When its hot I like as little fabric touching my body as possible.  The cups are from an old bra I never wore.

The only thing I have left to do is put in a hidden zipper on the side because its a bit hard to get on and off, do to the fact that its not stretchy in the least.

Oh well, I am in love with it. Sorry for the shoddy pic

Once again, my obsession with sewing robs me of sleep.

Goodnight :)

<3 Liz

Rose petal shirt

I altered this long sleeve grey shirt tonight. Used to be a v-neck so I made it off the shoulder, and sewed oj these fabric rose petals using some decorative white stitching. Still deciding whether or not to color the stitching red with a fabric marker.
Anyway. My phone is being weird as usual so sorry if the photo is upside down or sideways.

Sequin star applique.

<p>I am on a sequin kick lately. found a tote bag at goodwill today for a dollar. It was purple and had a star applique on the front. So I cut it out and so did on the plain grey t shirt that I had. For reference, I also resized the shirt. It was too big .</p>
The brighter pick shows the color better and the darker pic shows the shape better.

Crafty Sunday!

Starting to get into appliques again. Sorry for poor quality pics

I made/altered: 1 bracelet, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 pair earrings, 1 tank top, and 2 pairs of shoes :D Info: Earrings: they're silver and glittery, not glow in the dark. Cut out from an old tupperwear container and painted Bracelet: pink and glittery-used to be a skinny belt but never wore it. Think I will wear it like this. All I did was shorten it and punch a few new holes in it Coral/pink leopard shirt-appliqued the word live and added leopard cuffs. Sorry if the pic is upside down, I rotated it and it shows up fine in my phone but it still is finicky. Swirly shoes-altered vans knockoffs. They were black and red plaid. Never wore them really. Painted plain black, then the designs white, then went over it with pale metallic pink. Glued a few rhinestones at the bottom. Sparkle silver shoes-attached this sequin fabric all over the shoes. Those straps used to be tan so I painted them black Sparkle/pink tank top - same sequin fabric-cut a heart and appliqued it on. <3 Liz

Stitchy Saturday --EDIT

Hand stitching buttonholes has occupied the past two hours and I am not even half done.

Tedious stitch-work is good for me, right? Well... this dress is going to be amazing... ... It is amazing. I look fantastic in it. Pictures of it on me have proved a little too racy for the internet. I am not comfortable with that. But I look hot in it. It camouflages my worst features (huge stomach, huge butt...well that's impossible but it does draw attention away from my butt which is a start) and highlights my best features (chest, neck, and the smallest part of my waist)... I looove the neckline. It does show a substantial amount of my bra, but I have a red lace bra that looks good with it and this is not an everyday dress. In fact I think the only places it would be ok to wear this dress are concerts and parties. I also love that the way I sewed it, with the black back piece is slightly bigger than the red front piece, so when its on me, you can see the black outlining me on the front of the dress, and it makes me look smaller. It falls about mid thigh and fits me like a glove. The black part is plain stretchy thin jersey fabric. The red part used to be a huge (3x) men's shirt from the thrift stores. I know it looks like an Ed Hardy design but its not... I forget the brand. This dress was a pain in the ass for getting it to fit. Shirring the back top helped. Onto pics! Btw the white piece of paper behind the bust in one pic is to show you the detail. I know it looks like the ribbon is all wonky--it isn't when its on me. Its just not stretched out when its not on my chest lol

Belt

So I was about to fall asleep and I had an idea for waist/midriff belt. Instead of writing it down like a normal person, I had to make it.

There was a reason I was thinking about waist/midriff belts; the idea didnt just come out the blue. My solo art show opening is on friday night and I was thinking of what to wear the other day and found a cute high waisted skirt to wear with a long sleeve top tucked into it, but it needed something to tie the bottom and top elements together. The colors are various shades of turquoise with a bit of purple at the bottomand so when I took a black belt that I have and tried it on, it didn't look right. So I have been thinking of how to get around that. And it came to me whilst trying to sleep. I took apart the waistband of a pair of gray trousers, like the type business people wear. I had them lying around. They were a size 22 from the Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker line and since I lost weight I have been meaning to take them in but haven't gotten around to it in almost a year. And taking in a pair of size 22 pants to a size 13 is not the easiest feat in the world, because of oversize pockets, pleating, and ridiculously high rises. Anyway, I fit the waistband to my midriff, just under my bust, and then cut long strips from one of the pant legs and sewed them in tight ruffles along the length of the belt. it currently closes with the pants original hidden hook closure. I added a fake flower for focal point. If you're interested, the belt took me about 25 minutes and I used what I had on hand. <3 Liz