Raspberry Refashion

Right now I'm all about using whatever fabric and notions I already have on hand to try to thin out my massive stock of STUFF.  Part of this movement includes refashioning a few things I have instead of throwing it all in the donate bag.

Like this cute little peasant dress.

Ahhh the sun!  I vaguely remember
what that feels like~

I made it a few years ago for my now non-existent Etsy shop.  It never sold and I've never worn it.

So I made it into an adorable sundress for my niece!

She hates it when she has to tie things around her tummy area so the belt isn't attached and it still looks cute enough without it.

I was going to try the rouleau method of making straps but it just wasn't working for me so I went into my stash and found some pretty seam binding and finished the top edge off with a scrap of crocheted lace.

Even if she only wears it once, she'll still have gotten more use out of it than I did.

Have you started making summer fashions yet?  It's still cold and rainy/snowy (yes, SNOW!!!) here but I'm hopefully that someday the sun will come out again and I can leave the house without a sweater on.  Leave a comment below so that I can live vicariously through you~

FREE Underwear Patterns

There's nothing that bugs me more than clicking on a link that is supposed to take you to a DIY sewing tutorial and the post starts with "Trace a piece of clothing you already have".

You know how much I like to make my own underwear so I scoured the net to find a collection of free patterns....that are actual patterns, no tracing old underwear involved at all.

1. Sweet Cotton Panties from GoMakeMe

I'm not sure how practical these would be under a pair of snug fitting jeans, but they sure are cute and would be great paired with a pretty camisole.

2. Rosy Lady Short from Clothhabit

The older I get, the more I appreciate underwear that covers your entire bottom.

3. Rosy Lady Short from Clothhabit in lace

Even prettier in lace.

4. T-Shirt Undies from Indigorchid

My all time favourite way to recycle old T-shirts is by making them into undies!

5. Hipster Undies from HappySeamstress

These look stylish and comfortable!

6. Lowrise Undies from Hanty

You'll find more than one pattern for undies when you visit this site~

7. VeryPurplePerson gives you the low down on how to achieve different looks with different kinds of elastic along with her pattern.

There you go!  Make a different style for each day of the week.  You can check out my own homemade undies here, here, here, and here.  I've always used my favorite Kwik Sew pattern but next time I need to use up some scraps or an old T-shirt I'm definitely going to give one of these patterns a go.

Movie Monday: Emma Stone Rocks!

I don't normally share trending videos on Monday's but I'm making an exception for the lovely Ms. Emma Stone....because this video is so awesome.

            

I've always liked Emma Stone but I have a newfound respect for her after watching this clip from The Tonight Show.  Britney Spears and the entire cast of Glee could take a lesson from her on the proper way to lipsync, she's that good~

Sunday Inspiration

Flashback Friday - T-Shirt Tote Bag

With 3 craft fails behind me this week I think it's time to put my scissors down and gracefully offer you a Flashback Friday.  Hopefully I'll get my mojo back next week :)

T-Shirt Tote Bag

812

Here are the supplies you'll need:

Steps:
1) I'm using one of my lovely '80s looking T-knit turtleneck tops that I picked up for two whole buckaroos.  Lay out your T-Shirt and make marks similar to what I have below:



It's actually a very nice teal colour.
The exposure on my camera was a little off for this shot~

3) Cut along your lines.  You should end up with something that looks like this:

4) Turn your top inside out, pin along the bottom and stitch closed.

5)  Turn back to right sides out.  Now, you could just leave it at that and have a cute little tote bag, but as most of you know, raw edges drive me crazy.  So I have to finish mine off.  Plus, by adding some bias tape to your edges you'll reinforce everything and the straps won't stretch out to Timbuktu.

So, lay your bias tape down, right sides together, along the edge and pin.  I started with the "armhole" edges first and did the big one last.  (This took up almost an entire package of bias tape.  If you're making a bigger bag make sure to get enough tape to do all of your edges.)

Note:  Normally you want your bias tape to match your fabric and blend in.  My fabric store didn't have dark teal blue tape though so I got a contrasting colour that will match something fun I'm going to add after.

6) Stitch right in the little ditch of the bias tape, making sure to overlap your ends.

7) Repeat this step on all of your raw edges.

8) This is what your edge will look like with the bias tape on it.

Now just fold it to the inside.  It should just naturally roll nicely.  Give it a good pressing.  Pin it down if you have to, and then stitch about a 3/8" hem to secure the tape down.

So, now again, you could call it a day and be done, but I think it's a little boring so far.

8) So, I got adventurous with my silhouette machine and made this cute little iron on transfer.

And now...TAH DAH, now you are done~ (Although you could still add buttons or fringe or something else to totally personalize it.)

I love how it turned out!  I think it'll be great for picking up groceries or taking to the beach.  If you have some cool T-shirts with great designs already on them you could make some awesome looking bags.  What do you think?  How would you personalize it?

Hopefully next week I'll have a fun new project, that actually works out, to show you.  Stay tuned and have a crafty week~

Tell a Tale: Summer School

Lose yourself in Italy with this wonderful book...

Summary (from Goodreads.com): Love, rivalry, and writing in a Tuscan paradise.
Patricia Wilson's carefully composed ads for the writers' retreat she runs at her thirteenth-century Italian castle promise so much. But while the splendour of their surroundings and chef Aldo's melanzane never fail to wow the guests, huge maintenance bills and bad news from the bank threaten to close Patricia down. It's make or break time for the Castello.

Each of her seven aspiring authors arrives with the inevitable baggage alongside their unpublished manuscripts. But this August something is different, and soon lifelong spinster Mary is riding on the back of Aldo's vespa, and smouldering odd-job man Fabio has set more than one heart racing.

As temperatures rise, the writers gossip, flirt and gently polish their prose by the pool. But with ghosts, scorpions, and some unexpected visitors to contend with, one thing's for sure: neither the Castello, nor Patricia, has ever seen a summer like this.

Can you imagine spending 2 weeks here
learning how to become an author????

Review: This is one of those really lovely books that whisks you away to a gorgeous setting in the Tuscan countryside. By midway through chapter 2 I was already Googling holiday apartment rentals in San Gigminano.

I listed to the audio version which may be why I lost track of a couple of the characters and got a couple of them mixed up. There are quite a few personalities to remember, covering most of the stereotypes that you'll find in any holiday tour package. 

By the end though I found them all again and got them unmixed. There are few main characters you won't lose and you will fall in love with and root for throughout. Mary in particular gives me hope, that maybe even I, someday, will find that special someone. It just might be another 30 years from now. That's alright, patience is a virtue~

De Rosa has a couple of other books that look to be in a similar setting that I think I'll try to find.  I've been to Tuscany a couple of times and it really is a nice place to return to, even if it is only in my imagination.

Have you read any books from this author?  I think she also writes crime novels under the name Elly Griffiths.  Do you have any suggestions for other books that help you escape?  Leave a comment below~

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