Upcycled halter top

 I found this beautiful knit Peruvian Connection halter top for a steal at a resale shop.  This company is known for their amazingly beautiful knit garments.  Since wearing this size small garment was out of the question, I decided to upcycle it into a tote bag.  I was able to keep the entire garment intact by seaming the bottom and boxing the corners.  Then I made a bag lining of black denim and extended pieces at the front and back of the garment to back the upper parts of the halter, stitching the garment to these pieces.  I added some 1” black cotton webbing for handles.  The halter ties are a perfect compliment at the top of the handles.

Log Cabin Jacket

This jacket was another project for Lorraine Torrence’s Creative Clothing Class. The assignment was to create an upcycled garment. I had a strip of vintage wool fabric that had been hand pieced into the log cabin pattern.  It contained a variety of fabrics, wool, velveteen, cottons, etc.  I purchased it from St. Vincent’s for under $5 and mended some seams which were coming apart.  I loved the geometric look of this pattern and also the red strips which I wanted to highlight and make the piece look more modern.  I was going to incorporate this piece into a garment and then decided to see if I had a ready made garment that I could use this on.  I found a black wool jacket a friend had given me and it turned out the strip fit nicely on the right front.  I laid the piece on the garment and turned the edges under to fit.  Then I hand stitched the piece onto the garment.  I had a small piece that I cut out around the armhole and I stitched this piece on the back neckline to continue the pattern onto the back, as Lorraine always suggests.

 

Pockets

 

 

  

 

  

 
One of the assignments for my Creative Clothing class with Lorraine Torrence was pockets.   I wanted to use some linen damask shibori dyed napkins I had done in various patterns. I copied a pattern from a simple Mexican embroidered blouse that I had. There were 4 - 24” square napkins and I used 2 of them for the front and back of the garment.  I wanted to lengthen the top so I cut a 15” piece from 2 other napkins and sewed one onto the front and back pieces and then turned them up and sewed them down to create 3 pockets both front and back.  I accented the tops of the pockets with square mother-of-Pearl buttons and a line of hand stitching and used a self-binding at the neckline.  The sleeve opening and side seams were all finished edges so I didn’t need to finish them off.  I used French seams on the shoulders.   I left an opening at the bottom on either side for more ease and topstiched around the openings and hem.  

 

Fabric Beads

I always like to take a sewing project along with me when I travel, something small and portable.  This trip I spent some time before I left cutting fabric for beads and fusing interfacing onto the strips. I was inspired by a tutorial I bought from Victoria Gertenbach of the Silly Bodilly blog on her Etsy shop - www.victoriagertenbach.etsy.com 

The beads and necklace above are made from silk dupioni fabric.  And then it started to mushroom, what can I use for a fabric bead next?  These beautiful beads were cut from some fabric I used to make a tunic.

Then my collection of labels came in

And why not some denim beads?

Another ring bearer pillow

This ring bearer pillow was made for my nephew’s beautiful bride.  She picked the dragon fabric and I added a piece of denim on the back as a handle from my nephew’s beloved Grandma’s favorite dress.  Using my trusty Bernina I was able to add their names and wedding date.  I also made the wired ribbon flowers.

The best part was the handsome ring bearer with his engaging smile!

Tie Necklace

So many beautiful and interesting tie fabrics!  I sewed together some lengths of tie fabric and then stitched a tube wide enough to fit these plastic Madrid Gras beads inside.  After inserting a bead I tied a knot and just kept going.  Large and lightweight jewelry, my motto!

Denim Kimono

I’m taking a Creative Clothing class (again) with Lorraine Torrence, always a fun experience.  The assignment was to recycle or reuse a garment or fabric into something new.  I was interested in trying out Sandra Betzina’s new kimono pattern, Vogue1610, so I decided to use it for my project.  The base fabric for the kimono was a denim curtain that I bought at the Stoughton St. Vincent store known for their amazing textile sale in the spring.  I embellished it with various textiles I have collected along the way, Ikat runners from Art Gheko on Monroe Street and some hand-woven indigo hill tribe batik fabric from Ginger Blossom in Richmond Illinois.  

I made this kimono as a 60th birthday gift for my amazing sister who can still stand on her head, among other things.  Our equally amazing Mother passed away recently so I wanted to include a small embroidery detail from one of her favorite dresses in the front band.