Skirt Reduction

Last August I used my favorite Route 66 skirt pattern to upcycle six pair of my husband's jeans into this 12 gore skirt. Other than the skirt being heavy - that denim weighs a lot! - I have really liked it.

Fast forward to January, and I'm happy to say I've lost 16 pounds. I did so intentionally, pretty much by removing carbohydrates from my diet. No-nos include bread, muffins, pasta, rice, cookies, bars, and popcorn. This regimen worked well enough that two weeks ago, when I had my annual check-up, I learned I'd shaved 31 points off my overall cholesterol total. I'd previously been told to "watch it," and this report was "excellent." What an unexpected health bonus!

On the down side, a weight loss means my clothes don't fit as well. and "alterations" is an eleven-letter word I detest! But refitting this skirt was easier than I expected. A 12 gore skirt can be made into an 11 gore skirt!

Unstitch the seam with the invisible zipper, and the next seam over. Remove the gore. Then resew the seam and one side of the zipper. A few inches of the facing had to be unstitched, cut away, and resewn too, but the whole thing took much less time than I expected.

I'm sure a fashionista would say an 11 gore skirt is a bit odd, but I think this one's gonna work for me.

As for several other Route 66 skirts that have gores with different fabric prints... well, those will need a little more attention because each gore will need trimming. I dare not climb up from this weight. This is the year for my 40th high school reunion!

Australian Homespun - See page 7!

An unexpected, but very happy surprise came in the mail. It's the latest issue of Australian Homespun magazine sent directly from the publisher. I received it because they printed a bit about me in their "Reader's Showcase."

 See page seven!

I'm so tickled to have my slippers - AKA "Sassy Slip-ons" -  included, let alone find myself mentioned in the company of two very good friends who are both as talented as can be, Di Jobbins and Jenny Reynolds! Wow!

Back in June, I blogged about these slippers. Since then, besides making occasional appearances on my feet, these slippers were also shown at the 2010 Iowa State Fair (alas, no ribbon was won). Now Australian Homespun. My goodness.

Who woulda thunk it!?

Those Ruby Slippers... Not!

Ruby slippers? Like Dorothy's shimmery heels that took her back to Kansas? Well, not quite.

When Jenny's blog post suggested a June challenge using denim jeans, I let her know to count me in. I could accomplish two things at once: 1) Make something I intended to make anyway, and, 2) "upcycle" (the correct "green" term) something already worn out.

The something I intended to make is slippers.

The something to upcycle that was already worn out was denim jeans.

In the current issue of Australian Homespun magazine (No. 83) is a pattern for "Ricrac Rose Slippers." To make a customed-size pair of slippers for myself, I began by placing my foot on the sole pattern provided and re-drawing the shape to fit my foot. Then I made plastic templates and cut out two slipper shapes: the sole and the upper. The outside of the slippers are the denim; the inside is the floral print.

Using a size #80 denim needle in my Bernina, I sewed through multiple layers of fabric and Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting. After they were sewn, I had difficulties turning each slipper right side out. So much batting and denim together are bulky, and took a bit of wrestling!

But the effort was worth it. After hand-sewing the instep opening closed, and adding a ricrac and button flower I took these pictures. The top two photos are those of the slippers that appear in the magazine. Photos at the bottom are ones I took of my denim slippers.
While mine aren't nearly as femininely pretty and delicate-looking, and are certainly not presentable for public viewing, I'm pleased with them for wearing around the house. They'll be perfect footware in my basement sewing room where it can be on the cool side, even on a hot, sunny day. The denim should also hold up well to occasional machine-washing.
Now that I have a good fit on the pattern, it will be relatively easy to make another pair. Or maybe next time I'll make these cute denim slippers.

Satchel It

This is the third time, I've made this "Satchel It" purse pattern by Nancy Ota. I always get compliments on mine when I carry it, so I thought it would be a nice gift for someone special.

The only thing missing yet is a pull for the zipper tab. That will be a colorful piece of ultrasuede.

I like to make the purse with old jeans. When you use the jean pockets on the exterior, you get two extra pockets for a total of eight pockets! And jean pockets are the perfect size for a cell phone.

I like that the pattern has lots of inside pockets too - you can create as many as six of them. It's great to make them with clear vinyl, so you can see what's inside.

Here I'm sewing pre-made double wide binding to the edges of the vinyl.

With a little home-made cording (I use Susan Cleveland's Piping Hot Binding tool), you can really spiff-up the look of the purse. This binding is a bias cut rainbow stripe.

The Satchel It pattern calls for petscreen. I most often use black petscreen purchased from the local Lowes home improvement store.

Take a look inside the purse. See all the pockets? There's also a nice firm bottom (don't we wish we all had one?) made from a piece of foam core covered with fabric.
Five hours of sewing time, but I'm really not counting. The recipient is worth every second.