Butterfly on Bone Vest - Final

 The vest is done, and turned out very nice! Although I have to admit, were it not for my rubber nosed pliers, I could never have gotten a needle through that heavy denim. 

I did not try free sewing on this project. Just didn't feel comfortable with it, and after playing around on small sample pieces, it became obvious that this was going to be a learning experience. So, all the stitching on the vest I did by hand.

The bones are outlined in black thread, as are the butterflies. I put Fray Check around the edges of the butterflies, even though they were ironed on with Heat and Bond. The fabric was thin, and was going to fray pretty easily. Also, I put Fray Check at the ends of the braid trim to keep it from unraveling. The trim and buttons came from my stash. 

I have worn the vest once, and the only feature that bugs me is the collar. It rubs on my neck, so I may end up cutting it off. 

 

Recycled Style 5

It has been quite a while since I posted anything here. Been working on other projects not related to clothing or beading. But now I am caught up, and can post three projects that were all finished up within the last month. Being in Covid-19 self-isolation for almost two months gave me plenty of time to finish these projects - and I admit, it helped that for two of them I was on a deadline. LOL

All material in these clothing items were T-shirts bought at the Goodwill unless otherwise noted. Beads and embroidery thread from my stash. 

Crafters/artists/jewelry makers/sewers, etc. sometimes get teased about all the supplies we stash away for "someday." But with all the stores closed due the pandemic, having a supply of things on hand to tide me over worked out really well. 

First item is a light jacket I made for a very good friend who shares the same birthday date as mine.  The necklaces were made to wear as a pair. 

The jacket was a woman's size M T-shirt that I cut up the middle, and also took about four inches off the sleeves to make them 3/4 length instead of full. The banding is sewn on with embroidery thread in a feather stitch, then beaded using regular sewing thread. The tank top under the jacket is an old one of mine, and used to show how the jacket could be worn. I like these light jackets for summer, so when I go into a restaurant where the air-conditioning is on full blast and set at arctic temperatures I won't freeze to death. 

The second project that I finished is this beaded and stitched mandala shirt. The stencil was done on a sleeve cut from another shirt (I have dozens of these sleeves, cut from XXL mens shirts when I use the body of the shirt as flat fabric). The paint color is Coastal Waters by Americana. The beads were ones from my stash. The stenciled sleeve was backed by another cut off sleeve, then pinned to the front of the shirt. Here is the sequence.

I like the design of this mandala very much, but in retrospect think it would have been better on the back of a jacket, or on a sweatshirt, as its size seems to overwhelm the T-shirt. 

Lastly is a necklace I made as a birthday gift. 

All this productivity has left me with just one old project to finish that has been sitting sidelined for months. With things still pretty much in lockdown, although some restrictions are lifting, I have plenty of time to catch up on things and then start new projects. That's always exciting. 

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy. 

Recycled Style 2

Number 2 in my ongoing attempt to get people inspired by using recycled clothes, whether you wear them "as is" or play around with modifying them, as I do. The garment industry is one of the top five sources of pollution in the world, so buying used clothing is just one little way you can help the environment. 

For this project I used one man's XXL T-shirt and one size large woman's shirt bought from the Goodwill. For the binding around the neck and armholes I cut strips from an old tank top of mine. Then I went through my stash of Goodwill kimonos to see if I had anything that would match. Bingo. Then I topped it off with a necklace I made years ago. All-in-all, it makes for a pretty nice outfit. 

Here are the details.

Simplicity pattern 1463 (view D modified by me), stencil, Tulip Soft Cover fabric paint in Dusty Rose, pink bugle beads and purple seed beads, J & P Coats embroidery thread in a dusky rose (it was an old skein I'd had for years, with no color numbers on the sleeve) 

Beads are sewn on with a back stitch using regular sewing thread doubled. These beads all had holes large enough that I could use a regular sewing needle instead of a beading needle. This made me VERY happy, as beading needles are a pain in the rear to thread. Well...for me, anyway.

The binding was hand sewn on with embroidery thread using a fly stitch. I cut strips 1 1/4" wide with a rotary cutter, then fold the strips in half the long way and iron them. This gives me the equivalent of bias tape, and I use the strips in exactly the same way.

 One of the places I modify the pattern is to round off the neckline instead of leaving it a V. This makes it easier to sew the binding on.

Normally I avoid buying shirts with pockets, as it cuts down the amount of fabric I can use, but I liked the color of this shirt, and it was an XXL, so I had plenty to work with. 

The back is also where I do a bit of altering from the pattern. When laying out the pieces, I add width to the center back (About two-three inches). I can get more gathers that way, which makes the lower part of the shirt hang a little nicer. 

Next I added the Liz Claiborne kimono I had found last summer in the pajama section at the Goodwill. It is a great example of the kinds of things you can find that don't need any customizing or sewing...just a good wash.  

The necklace was made from vintage navettes (the diamond shaped dangles) I bought years ago on Ebay, pieces of a vintage chain necklace that had belonged to my husband's grandmother, but was broken, and some beads from my stash. The center "jewel" is an old chandelier crystal.

A few notes. 

The yoke on this shirt was made from a woman's large top and was not pure cotton. It was also thinner material than I like. However, despite those two drawbacks, I really liked the colors and the pattern, so I went ahead and bought it. The cotton binding around the neckline and armholes help stabilize it, but in all honesty, it would probably have been better if I had reversed the colors and used the patterned piece on the bottom and the heavier cotton T-shirt material for the yoke. I just didn't have enough of the patterned piece to do that. 

I hope these posts about recycling clothing inspires you do give it a try, with the understanding that not everyone wants to bother with beading and stenciling, or may not know how to sew. But trust me, there are tons of garments out there that need nothing more that a really good cleaning (I run my finds through the wash twice). As an example, the patterned shirt I used for the yoke could have been worn "as is" with the kimono and it would have looked fantastic...all for less than $10. And remember, check out the pajama section at any used clothing store or the Goodwill. I have found some really nice kimono-type coverups there for around $4.99 or less. 

Recycled Style

In an effort to promote recycling, periodically I am going to post photos of how I put together clothes picked up mainly at the Goodwill, but also at secondhand clothing shops, and antique/junk shops. I hope this will inspire others to try doing the same, since the garment industry is one of the top ten polluters in the world. There are literally millions of garments and accessories out there waiting to be reused. Most take nothing more than a good wash, or minimal mending. Following the photos are some tips on what to look for and what to avoid, and some of the mistakes I have made.

If you are creative, like me, the possibilities are endless. Here is an example. 

The shirt was made from two mens XXXL T-shirts, using Simplicity pattern #1463 that I slightly modified. The neck and armhole bindings are strips of T-shirt sewn on with embroidery thread using a fly stitch. The front of the shirt was stenciled and beaded (beaded backstitch) before the shirt was sewn up. I added the beads to the neckline months later. 

The necklace is one I made from a broken vintage bracelet found for about $5 at an antique mall. 

Months later I was trolling through the pajama and nightgown section of our local Goodwill and found this kimono. It was a perfect match and all I had to do was wash it.

This is just one example of how I put things together. Recycling is fun, even if all you do is wash the garment and wear it. I have found lovely linen jackets, silk shirts, denim jackets, and I even found a beautiful, butter-soft black leather jacket for only $24.00. 

Here are some tips, and some of the mistakes I've made. Keep in mind, some trips to the Goodwill or secondhand shops I have come out with nothing. Other times I score big time...like the leather jacket.  

Read the labels, if they are still attached. It will tell you the fabric content, size, and the washing instructions. Some garments have had the labels cut out, which I find frustrating.  I stick with natural fabrics, mostly cotton and linen. 

On size. I wear shirts medium to large, depending on the style (I have wide shoulders). Be careful! Some places, including our local Goodwill store, do not separate junior sizes from adult sizes. I tend to eyeball a shirt by holding it up to me and seeing if the shoulder seams are in the right place. This has tricked me a few times. When I get the shirt home and try it on, the underarms are way too tight, and the shirt fits too snug. Junior medium. Lesson learned.  

Look for holes in the fabric. Some can be really tiny. Look for stains and pass these garments by, unless you can cut them up and use the fabric on something else (I do this every now and then), as most of the time the stains will not come out. 

Try to get a feel for natural fabrics, which will help when the labels are missing from the garment. Just this week I came home with what I thought was a thin cotton, but no label. Washed it and the top shrunk up to doll clothes size. With this particular top, I won't even use it for appliqués, as I have no idea how much further it will shrink. The top already had a couple of tiny holes along the bottom front, and the sales lady just gave me the shirt since she couldn't sell it once she realized it had holes in it, so at least I wasn't out any money on that one. Too bad, 'cause the shirt was really pretty. 

This may sound gross, but sniff the shirt, especially the underarms. Some odors never wash out. If you smell anything, pass it by. 

If you know how to sew, you can use mens XXXL T-shirts as flat fabric (which is what I did with the shirt in the photos). Cut the sleeves off, but save them if you do appliqués. Cut along ONE side seam and both shoulder seams. After you do that, you can lay the fabric out flat and lay on your patterns. Here is a photo taken out in my garage where my big work table is. As you can see, you end up with a pretty good hunk of fabric. I try to buy shirts with no front pockets, no logos or designs, and all pure cotton. 

So there you have it, for this time. Recycling is fun, a good way to save a lot of money on clothes, and a wonderful way to stem the tide of pollution. For creative types, there is even more fun with stitching, beading, stenciling, appliqués, reverse appliqués, embroidery, and customizing patterns. For more examples of stenciled, beaded, and appliquéd shirts, see my previous post. 

Enjoy! You can save a ton of money and still be styling it!

Sleeveless T-Shirt Tunic

For some #$^%$ reason, Blogger won't let me move this margin to the left, so has decided that I must 

keep it centered. This after having a $%^&#$ing nightmare getting photos to upload. I am not happy

will Blogger, or my computer right now. But, I battle on.

A while back I bought two enormous man's T-shirts. These babies were XXXXXL. I stashed them, not sure at the time what I would do with them. Recently I decided I wanted to make a sleeveless tunic, and that one of these giant shirts would work. I dug through my stash of old, old patterns and found one I thought would also work. It has sleeves, but I just left them off. Also, the shoulders are dropped, and I thought that might give the tunic a cap-sleeved look. Worth a try, anyway. 

I decided to use this dark gray one, so if I screwed things up, I wouldn't have used up the dark blue one, which I like better. This little project is a total experiment.

Oh, so down here, it's going back to a left-hand margin. **sigh** 

As you can see, the shirt really is huge. Here is how it looked after I cut off the sleeves, cut up the side, and across the shoulder seams, so it would lay flat. 

This is the pattern I am using.

I like V-necked shirts, so I am doing that version, which may mean I have to futz with the binding at the V part, but, I'll figure it out. 

This is the pattern laid out, and then cut out. 

Lastly, are photos of the tunic sewn up with matching grey embroidery thread, and next to it the shirt that I will cut up for the edge binding. When the tunic is done, and if I like it, and it feels good on, I will add some kind of decoration/applique to the front, and bead the binding. 

And to entertain myself while I sew the binding on, I bought a new book-on-CD to listen to. Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Basically, the animals of the world start to fight back.

I have another major project that I have taken on, but I am writing about that in my horse blog. I have adopted a two year old Andalusian filly from a kill yard in Washington. It's going to be a long, fun process of getting to know her, and getting her healthy...she was 100 lbs underweight, and has a bacterial infection known as strangles. Very nasty. So if you are interested, head over to www.equine_madness.blogspot.com.

Dragonfly T-Shirt

While my computer was down this is the project I was working on, and just finished yesterday. It is another project involving stencils, which I love. The shirt is from the Goodwill (big surprise) and the blue bit is from the sleeve of an old T-shirt of mine, and the purple bit is from a piece left over from a bolero I made quite a while back. The beads are from my stash.


The stencil if from Martha Stewart, bought at Michaels craft store. The paint is DecoArt in Glamour Dust Purple Passion. It is a glitter paint, but not bright, cheesy glitter. It is very fine, like fairy dust.

This photo makes the material look green. It isn't, but you can see how fine the glitter is.

The dragonfly appliqué is stitched onto the shirt with a beaded backstitch, using doubled regular sewing thread. The stitching around the dragonfly is a single thread, while the swirls with pearls (he, he), are again doubled threads. I figure since all of the clothes I have made over the years have held together just fine using regular sewing thread, using it for this should be no problem. Embroidery thread would have been too thick.

When I had finished doing the dragonfly appliqué, I decided the design looked a bit skimpy, so I added the lettering piece. It is sewn on with a doubled thread, with beads at each corner. The letters were a stamp, and it didn't come out as bright as I thought it would, so I did tiny, single thread stitches within the stamped letters, to get them to show up better. The paint was more of the DecoArt,  satin finish (no glitter), in a color called Coastal Waters. This is the first experiments I have done with the DecoArt paints, which are supposed to be multi-surface, with fabric being one of those. I saw them at Michaels craft store, and really hoped they would work out, since there are a bazillion colors to choose from, including metallics, and more colors with fine glitter. I have a metallic copper I am going to try next. So far, I like them, but they do make the fabric a bit stiff.

I think the lettering piece would be a lot better if the paint had been brighter, but, oh well. I still like the way the shirt  came out. I wanted to keep it all pretty simple, so this one is done.  I will not be adding beads or stitching to the neckline and sleeves of the T-shirt, like I have done on other projects.

Now it's on to the next sewing project, which will be an SCA riding tunic for Robert. We have an event coming up in May, and all of his other costumes are 30+ years old, so I think he deserves something new. All I have to do is clear off my work table in the garage, which since the last time I used it has collected a bunch of clutter that needs to be put away.

I also have another drawing in the gypsy series I want to start...maybe today.
And the garden is in and the new veggies need watering.
And the horse stalls need cleaning.

Always something...