Mary Lea's Suitcase

Hello Readers. I hope you are happy and well today. I am going to share another project by my daughter. She is very crafty and always up to something. Today it is a suitcase that belonged to Mary Lea. We don't know who Mary Lea is but we found her suitcase at an antique fair recently. My daughter has been wanting an old suitcase for a while and it was plain and ordinary when we found it. The only decoration was the "Mary Lea" on the front. Sorry, we didn't get a picture.

My wanderlust daughter printed these pretend vintage travel stickers from the internet. She did a google search and found plenty of printable images. She cut them out and got to work.

She used a mixture of half water and half school glue. She applied it to the suitcase and then applied the paper image. She then applied the glue mixture heavily on the stickers and let them dry.

She found these legs at Home Depot. They came in two sizes. They have a screw attachment already at the top. It will be easy to attach them to the bottom of the suitcase.

She gave them a quick coat of paint. We had this black chalkboard paint on hand so she used it. It gives a flat look that would go nicely with the old suitcase. And if you have it on hand, I say use it.

She used a power drill to make small holes in the four corners. The screws fit through the holes and a small metal nut holds the leg in place.

Here it is in front of her ladder book shelf. We made that a few years ago. It's still a favorite project.

So thanks to Mary Lea for the suitcase and thanks to you for reading this blog post. Now go make something fun for yourself.

The Combo Leftovers

Hello Readers. Today's project is the second part of this dress refashion. It was a little too stark and severe for me. In my last post I used the top of this dress. Today I am going to used the bottom of the dress that was leftover. I don't like to waste good fabric. Or anything else for that matter.

This is the dress cut in two pieces. I had the bottom skirt piece but I didn't want a skirt. I wanted a little black top. The material was really nice and soft. It needed to be used for something comfy and casual.

I cut this half circle piece from the side of the skirt. I also cut a small half circle in the center where the neck hole would go. If I had a larger skirt I could have made a longer shirt or tunic.

The easiest way to make sure it was even when I did all the cutting from the above picture was to fold it in half and cut all the layers together. I also cut the neck at an angle. I thought a V neck would be more flattering and comfortable.

If you look really closely you can see the chalk mark on the side where I sewed the side together. I marked both sides while they were folded together so I could be sure they would be even when I stitched the sides together. As you can see each side will have a short seam to hold it together.

I planned to wear a tank under it because it is cropped and on the short side. 

 This is also great for nursing moms. You could have a small slit on each side of the tank up under the black shirt. Then you could lift the black shirt when it was time to feed the baby. Super easy and cheaper than buying nursing tops as they can be pretty pricey.

I wore it to go out and play PokemonGo with my teen. There was a lot of activity on my street that day. I am not a big gamer but I like to keep an eye what my kids are into. So, now I am chasing Pokemon.

Thanks for reading, Now go make something fun for yourself.

The Two Dress Combo

Hello Readers. My project today is a combination of two dresses. One was too plain and one was too small. The dress on the top-left was so cute and colorful but it was so small through the top, I couldn't even zip it up the back.  The dress on the bottom-left is from L.L. Bean. It was a soft and cozy knit dress and just so blah! I love black but it was so stern and severe. It was a little depressing.

Perhaps together they could help each other.

I cut the knit dress off between the bodice and the skirt. It had a seam there so I just used it as a guide for my cutting. I cut the colored dress off where the bottom of the zipper ended in the back. That left me a good size skirt shaped piece to use in my new dress.

You can probably guess my big plan already. I am just going to put them together. Easily, I hope. If you look closely you can see the chalk lines on the skirt. I took it in a little to match the size of the top. This will be a full cut A-line dress. It will be loose and comfortable for the warm summer days.

I quickly attached the two parts (It was easy!) and had a new dress to kick around in. I was glad I found a way to save those colorful bands around the bottom. They were unique and cute. I guess I could belt it and define the waist but it is nice when left loose and relaxed too.

Thanks for reading, next time I will show you what I did with the bottom of the black knit dress.

The Seersucker Shirt

Hello Readers. My husband put this in the give away pile and once it's there, it's all mine. It's hard to tell from these pictures but it is a light blue and white striped seersucker fabric that is great for summer. It will be cool in the heat.

I considered making it into a skirt but thought the light colors might look like an old school tennis skirt. I haven't played tennis since junior high and I wasn't any good at it. So, I made a top. I cut off the yolk and the sleeves to start with.

I folded the top edge under twice and stitched it in place. I put the front pieces in place, one behind the other and sewed them together. I also put a few stitches between each button all the way down the shirt to keep the front flat when its worn. I can pull it on over my head.

I also removed the pocket. It wasn't in the right place anymore and I liked the top without it. It was more streamlined with no extra details like the pocket.

I cut the ends of the sleeves off and used them as ties for the front of my new top. I cut very close to the seam that was already there so it will control any fraying. If I see any loose threads after washing I can just trim them off.

I pinned then sewed the ties on the front of the shirt where the bra straps were and tied them around the back of my neck.

Here is a picture of all the fabric I cut away. It looks like a science class dissection. I haven't done that since junior high either. Eww! (I wasn't very good in science class either.) 

I wore it tucked in and pulled out so you can see the difference. I like it tucked in best I think. But a belt around the untucked shirt might be nice too. It's nice to have options.

I wore this when I was touring the historic town of Harper's Ferry in West Virginia. It is a National Park and an active town. It is on a small peninsula with the Potomac River on one side and the Shanandoah River on the other. It was beautiful.

***BONUS TRACK***

When I got the idea to make a halter neck top with straps I almost didn't do it because I didn't have a bra with those style straps. Then I decided to alter a bra I already had. If you don't have it, make it.

The gray fabric is to make it easier to see.

I started by simply cutting the straps off in the back at an angle.

Then I put them together so they would sit behind my neck. I was careful to get the measurement correct so it would fit my neck comfortably. I cut off the excess. It worked great with the new top. I think this will be a very useful item.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Difficult Skirt to Shirt

Hello Readers. I had this great patterned skirt. It is too big and too long for me so I had to do something.  You can't see it from the pictures but it is super sheer and delicate cotton fabric. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to work with it. What I thought would be easy was in reality, a mess to sew.

This skirt had some torn spots at the bottom that needed attention. I could have just made this skirt my size by taking it in. I could have sewn new seams that removed the damage and made it smaller, but in my mind I could see a loose summer top. So that is what I started making.

I cut off the waistband. That part was easy. It was very wrinkled so I ironed it just enough to make the fabric easier to spread out. This is when I realized it was so thin it wouldn't be easy to deal with. 

I flipped it upside down and pinned it on my dress form. I wanted a wide neckline. That was the last real decision I made. After this point it was a fight to get this fabric to do anything I wanted. It didn't drape very well because it a little stiff in spite of being so sheer. 

I connected the front and back together at the shoulders with 1 inch seams and sewed straight down the sides. Then I cut away some of the excess so I could work with it more easily. It was pretty shapeless at this point.

The dog is not impressed.

I used the dress form and made armholes. I just rolled the fabric under and stitched it down. It was so thin and delicate it got caught in my machine. Over and over and over. I was getting really frustrated by now. (*Note-I should have used something to stabilize the seam like hem tape.) 

I decided to used the original waistband and attached it to the bottom. I thought it would finish the bottom and cinch in the waist a little. It needed some shape. It also pulled all the fabric together and that hid some of the spots where the fabric got caught in the machine and caused the fabric to pucker.

Front view.                                                 Front view.

It was nice over a tank top and I do like the earth tones. It was a pain in the neck and honestly, I would do something else with this skirt if I had it to do all over again.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

The Floor Length Floral

Hello Readers. How are you today? I hope you are well and safe and happy where ever you are. My project today is a very long floral dress. It is probably not as long as it looks, I am very short. This dress caught my eye last winter at a clothes swap and it has been waiting for a hot summer day. Now is the time for sure, it is roasting out there. This dress is a nice light weight silk and it will do nicely in the heat. Silk breathes really well so it won't make me overheat. 

I spread the dress out and cut off the bottom 18" or so. I got next to the dress and tried to cut it off so it would be at my knee when I was finished making a new hem. Sorry, no picture of my highly technical way of measuring. Just picture a short woman next to this dress using her knee as a guide for where to cut.

I removed these shoulder pads. I don't want them anymore. My shoulders aren't very muscular, but I am OK with that. I think these are a little silly and I always remove them when I find them in a garment.

I stitched a new hem on my machine in just a few minutes. I used this flat iron to press the new hem. It was silk so I used the low setting. It worked very well. (I hate to iron so I avoid it when I can.)

That's my foot!

I wore this dress to an outdoor antique market called Chartreuse & Company in Frederick, MD. It was great!

***BONUS TRACK***

I still had a big silk circle from the bottom of this dress. It was fairly large and very nice silk. I couldn't throw it away!

I tucked the raw edge under the hemmed edge and stitched it down. It only took a few minutes to sew all the way around the circle. 

I had a new silk infinity scarf. It helped dress up a plain casual outfit.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.