Altering A Nightdress Into New Clothes

I picked up this incredible night dress in Kolkata last year. It was clearly too big for me, but I couldn't ignore the gorgeous green script print fabric and bold colour combinations so I decided to buy it with plans to alter it into something more wearable.

When it comes to be being ruthless I'm very brave so I started by cutting it in half to create a top and bottom section.

Originally I was thinking of changing the shape of the collar but when I tried it on it didn't need anything so I just brought it in at the sides to make it fit better by trimming off the edges with an overlocker before hemming the ends. 

The skirt was more complicated. I held it against me to choose the kind of length I liked and then decided to create a waistband which was cut separately. The waistband was going to be made from the excess green fabric but in the end I settled on a wide band of red cotton which was folded over and padded with interfacing. I also used a gathering foot to pull in the fabric to create a more wearable shape.

The most exciting part of this project was that it was the first time I used a button hole foot to affix buttons and make button holes. 

And here are the two finished garments just in time to wear for the summer! I love the flare the skirt has and the ''50s diner theme' of the top.

To be honest I feel like this blog post makes it look really simple but it did require patience, especially for the skirt which has a zip and buttons and there was quite a bit on unpicking but I got there in the end. It's definately given me the confidence to have a go at altering more garments - especially charity shop finds that don't fit! 

How to get a new skirt: the cheat's way!

It was love at first sight the I moment I spied this gorgeous floral print cotton fabric in my local haberdashery Roll & Rems. I knew it had to be worn to be celebrated properly, but at the moment I don't have time to make new clothes from scratch. Customising on the other hand is the perfect alternative...

I found a black mini skirt lurking at the back of my wardrobe. I had originally purchased it in a charity shop but have never worn it. I rarely wear black, but I bought it as it was cheap and just incase I ever need a black skirt...(yes that old chestnut!)

I laid the skirt on to the fabric, unzipped the back and tucked the edge over the top hems.

Once this was pinned in place, I folded the fabric in at each side and lined the edges up at either side of the zip so that they would't get caught allowing the zip to still work. 

TOP TIP: Don't pull the fabric across the back too tightly, otherwise you may prevent some of the natural movement of the garment, making it a tighter fit. It's worth trying it on at this stage to check.

I also trimmed off the excess that I didn't need.

Finally, I stitched the fabric in place on my sewing machine. Firstly across the top hem, removing the pins as I went. Then one side of the zip, and then the second, overlapping where both sides met at the bottom, under the zip, so that there was complete coverage  and no black skirt peeping through.

Voila! A completely new skirt in less than 30 minutes. So now I have a gorgeous floral skirt and I still have lots of lovely fabric left...question is, what do I do with the rest of it? Hmmmmm...

Officially too busy to blog : (

With my winter wonderland wedding mere days away I have finally found a couple of spare minutes to say I can't believe I'm actually too busy to blog : (
Yet while juggling a full time job, freelancing, and the immense tower of wedding planning, rest assured I have not stopped crafting, quite the opposite! I'm busy making a ring cushion, button holes, flower girl baskets....even my own bridal fascinator but it wouldn't be a surprise if I revealed it all before the wedding. So images to come in 2011!! I'm just going to leave you with a quick snap of some non wedding crafting, I did a couple of weeks ago. I helped my friend Laura sew her first blanket, it's for her brother who has a ginger beard and recently became a dad!

(Btw, the only wedding part of my wedding planning I am revealing is that as part of my 'winter wonderland' theme, I have indeed dyed my hair blue!)

Community crafting

It's strange to think that when blogs were invented they were about writing and now the emphasis is on how visual they are. For this reason I've not been able to blog for sometime and don't know when I can blog again as I don't have a camera! It's really frustrating as over the last couple of weeks I've been involved in lots of inspiring crafty projects and of course have been making plenty of my own crafty things.

Luckily I'm able to do this entry as someone else is letting me use their photos.

So these images are all taken from a workshop I ran for Northwood Community Arts Group last Saturday. Three artists including myself did a short presentation about our practice and then had two sessions to work with participants.

It was an over 50's group. To date I've only worked with women (apart from when I've taught children) so it was a really nice surprise to see such a high turn out of male crafters who all got stuck into sewing felt brooches.

For some of them like this gentleman above, sewing skills came flooding back to them as soon as they had the needle and thread in hand - you can just about see the lovely sparkly blue flower sequins he used to create a brooch for himself.

This man was younger than 50 and made a floral brooch as a valentines present. Another participant made one to take to his wife's grave.

I felt really proud to be able to get these men sewing again, even though some of them found it quite tough because they had eye sight trouble and less nimble fingers. There were no complaints, just quiet and creative working. I wish all my students were like this!

Getting thrifty in a nifty

Last night I started on my quest to make stuff with materials I already have lying around at home. First stop was my overflowing fabric stash. It seemed obvious to get back onto my sewing machine so I whipped up some iPhone sleeves which are now on sale priced £4 in my Folksy store.

It only made a dent in my stash, I still have lots more fabric - shiny, floral, animal print, netting, fleece, felt, denim......this is going to a fun task finding as many uses as I can for them.

In the meantime though maybe I should buy an iphone just to I can use one of my new sleeves!