Making Bathing Suit Bottoms

 Hello Readers. I have been wanting to try to make myself some bathing suit bottoms for a long time. My daughter gave me this avocado swimwear fabric a few years ago. I made a rash guard (Because I burn easily.) and wanted matching bottoms. 

 

Avocado swimming!

 

I loved the rash guard, I made it with the Chelsea pattern from FabricsStore.com But I want a matching set. 

I did some practice with the Megan Neilson Acacia pattern but it wasn't the cut I wanted for my swim bottoms. 

I did make some underwear though. I experimented with the waist and made it higher.

My lingerie skills are weak but this was good practice because I was about to do the same thing with my bathing suit.

 

I decided to make a pattern. I like these swim bottoms but the waist was too low so I did not like to wear them very much. I traced the edges as carefully as I could.

 

I tried to allow for the seams.

 

I cut out my pieces. I cut one backwards and it really went downhill from there. I had to put 2 scraps together to get a back piece facing the right way.

 

I serged it together. The lining was beige and cut/put together in the same way. I did not take pictures because the slippery swim fabric was killing me! I almost gave up. Bad words were said. 

Then,  I serged the lining to the swim bottoms. It looked thick and lumpy I was not happy.

I added this elastic around the leg openings. It should be folded in half around the edge of the bathing suit but it wasn't wide enough to cover the serger threads. I just sewed it on top of the edge to cover the serged edges. And said some more not nice things about bathing suits. I was about to throw the whole thing away.

I added a waistband.

 

  I folded a long strip in half and used the serger to sew it to the swim bottoms. That made them more high waisted and it let me skip using the elastic that was now my enemy. I didn't think it would look good. I was out of fabric. It felt like a mess. 

 

You can see (On my hip.) where I had to sew a small piece of fabric in to make the back piece the right shape. It is what it is. But it fit OK. I was in shock. How did it work out? I don't know. I almost didn't even try it on. 

When I raised my arms, the higher waist was covering my stomach! It fit like I had wanted. I was in complete disbelief. I think the material and lining was pretty thick but I am going to live with it. And be grateful that it worked out.

Lesson- Keep going, keep trying, it might work out. 

Happy summer everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Pencil Skirt Adjustments

 Hello Readers. I started sewing about 25 years ago because everything always seemed too long on me. I am short y'all. Like real short. I am 5 feet tall. Not 5 and some inches, Just 5 feet. They don't usually make clothes for my height. Not off-the-rack, and not in my budget anyway. So, I started sewing to hem my own clothes. I sewed more and more over the years because it was so worth it. Alterations are expensive but they can make a huge difference in how clothes look.

What are we hemming today? Skirts.

This skirt was a fun summer print that I loved but was a bit big at the waist and of course, too long.

I made new side seams and took about an inch from each side. I shortened it and I was done. 

 

My new shorter skirt fits so much better. But wait there is more. 

 

I had a second skirt that needed the same treatment. It was too big around the waist and just a little too long.

 

 This skirt had Dachshunds all over it. I really can't resist wild, unique or colorful fabrics and I loved this skirt because of these little guys. 

 

It reminded me of my most loyal staff member, Assistant Creative Director Gordon. He can't sew but he's cute.

 

I cut it shorter and hemmed it and I took the waist in just a bit. 

 

I was so much happier with the fit of this skirt now. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

 

Dress to Shirt & Shorts

 Hello Readers. I saw this shirt dress and loved the stripes. I thought they looked a little like pajamas. I wanted a shirt from this dress. And could I make shorts? Was there enough fabric? Could it be done? Let's see.

Before and after. 

Love the stripes, don't love the length of the skirt. Let's make some shorts.

I cut the top of the dress off. I made my cut right under the waist tie. I left a little extra to make a new hem at the bottom. 

 

I hemmed the bottom of the shirt. And that was it. My new shirt was done, but what about the shorts?
 

I used a pattern to make the shorts. I thought if I positioned the pattern just right, I could keep the pockets. 

I cut the pieces out and it was looking good so far. 

I put the shorts pieces together. 

They looked like shorts! Yay! I needed to hem the legs and add a waistband.

I added some really ugly elastic but...

I turned it under so no one will really see it.

My new combo makes me think "pajama chic" loungewear. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Coolest Purse (Repair) Ever

 Hello Readers. I went to a clothes swap and found this wild and wonderful bag. It was a Betsey Johnson purse. Betsey Johnson is famously wild and wonderful as well. This bag was a little beat up. Could I repair it and clean it up? I wanted to try. 

Am I repair expert? No. 

She is cute but she has been through some things. 

The black parts of the bag are literally falling apart. The vinyl is peeling off the bag and it looks bad. 

The piping is in the same condition. The bag is sturdy and the seams are strong but the outer layer of the bag is looking rough. 

I don't have any specialty tools. I thought I could peel the vinyl off with tweezers. 

The tweezers worked really well. I picked and peeled all the loose vinyl off. It took a little while but it was not difficult. 

I also used my little sewing snips to trim the loose edges 

These were great for the piping around the bag. 

The little bits of vinyl started to pile up. 

I used some glossy black acrylic paint. This was thick paint and it was great for this project. Watery and runny paint would be too messy. 

 

The areas that I peeled off revealed a gray-ish color. I started painting with the black paint and tried to cover the gray color. I wanted the black to look like it did before I peeled it all off.

I painted everything that I had peeled off. 

After 1 coat of the paint it looked like this. I touched up a few spots to make sure it was as dark and glossy as possible. 

I thought it looked good when it was all finished. But I wasn't quite done. This bag came with a short black nylon handle.

I found this bag at a thrift store months ago. I bought it because it was a bargain jut for the strap. 

I thought it went really well with this bag. 

I love these kind of adjustable straps. They just clip on and now this can be a shoulder bag or a cross body bag. 

This was a fun project. I was happy with the way the bag looked when I was done. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.