Rip that shirt up!

Hi there!
Well, its been a few verrrry busy days, whipping myself into a flurry of new creations! This is but the first, and I’ll admit rather untimely, installation.

A while back I went to the local goodwill outlet and loaded up on all sorts of cool and interesting things (including a blue sequined jacket that I bought, threw around my room for a while, and subsequently abandoned). So I had a lot of not so cool items just begging to be made wearable! Who am I to resist that?

This is an old shirt, straight outta the 70’s! I don’t know if you can tell from the photos too well, but it has shiny gold pinstripes, and multi colored polka dots! I love it! I added some puff sleeves, and sewed on a complimentary piece on the front with a decorative stitch. Yay for new sewing machine! Hehe, my glasses match the shirt.

And here is a closeup of some of the details. I pleated the sleeves for the puff. I have since started using gathering instead of pleating, but they give such different looks I’m having a hard time deciding which I like better. Oh, and you can really see the detailed stitching here. I like it, the thread matches the shirt perfectly!

This one is similar to the turquoise one, in design. I applied the same kind of appliques on the front, but left off any detailed stitching. And I added puffed sleeves, finished with the same tshirt material. The shirt itself is rather curious. At first the pattern appears to be peacock feathers, but upon closer inspection it looks more like tulips. I don’t know…

And a closeup of the detailing. So on this one I gathered the sleeves instead of pleating, what do you think? Also, I was thinking of adding a stitch of embroidery around the border of the appliques, to match the detailing on the sleeves. I’m a little worried it would be too much, though.

Whew! I’m tired of typing! Let me know what you think!

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Wiping the slate…

I went to Goodwill on Sunday (gosh, surprise!) hunting for fabric and notions. I’ve been to this particular Goodwill several dozen times over the past six months, and while it is pretty big, I was sure I had at least browsed every section of the store.

I was wrong.

There was still one, lone exception, lying in wait immediately after entering the front door: collectibles. Its very exclusive, they even have their own cash register! Now, I must admit, I was pretty unenthused with the whole bit- old bags, old plates, old shoes, blah blah blah.

My discovery waited for me at the jewelry counter, secure behind a sheet of dirty glass. Cufflinks. Honest to jeebs cufflinks. And an adorable picture to boot.

Crappy crappy picture! Taken on an old camera. I am so used to my HTB’s sexy, super expensive one that this little 3 meg just makes me sad.

I made a couple new pairs of bloomers, but haven’t gotten pictures of them yet. Oi, scheduling. They are fantastic, though, coming soon. They are doubly precious, as they broke a two day creating funk that had begun to get me pretty pissy. After Sunday’s careless hijinks left me with a pair of bloomers with the ruffle sewn on the hip (instead of the leg), Monday gave me huge, puffy, striped bloomers, that are just that side of ridiculous. They look like balloons!

I love sewing. I love making clothes. And the worst thing in the world is failing at a project, wasting a whole days worth of work time when I have such precious little time as it is. But my Tuesday bloomers have wiped the slate clean, and I am eagerly looking forward to an entire day off tomorrow to work for myself, instead of my boss.

Oh, and today I put in the paperwork to open my first retirement fund! Hooray, I’m all responsible and whatnot!

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Driving me Batty!

Hiya

Today was pretty much a bust in the sewing department. Every have one of those days where nothing every really turns out right? Yeah, thats my day. So I spent a few hours hanging out with this would-be awesome pair of bloomers: brown cotton and a lime green lace ruffle. When I reached the waistband, which is the last thing I do, I realized that I had sewn the lace ruffly bit to the HIP, instead of the calf. ARGH!!! Okay, enough of that, they are totally unsalvageable due to the finishing I had already done to the rest of the seams.

So then I tried my hand at turning an awesome pair of stretchy gray pinstripe pants, replete with vinyl buckles, into a pair of shorts. I ended up cutting off about three inches too much, so they are tight, and short, and show off my knees too much for comfort. Maybe I can do something with the waistband later…geez. So that was my whole day, apart from having a fantastic breakfast at The Dish in Ballard, our new regular restaurant for morning much time. They serve you coffee while you are waiting for your seat (a wait that can be considerable), how can you go wrong with that? Decent coffee, even, no Folgers here. And after that a quick stop at the thrift store, and the fabric store, but then thats it. Really really.

Anyway, here are a few things I finished BEFORE today. They are a set, and look best when worn together. 🙂

The overskirt is made of flat cotton, with a pattern of bats, cats, stars and moons, and a mottled brown/orange background. My DH took a scan of one of the bats and printed me an bigger copy of it, and I used that to do the embroidery on the waistband. The buttons came off of the music appreciation jacket.

I also used the bat pattern to make these bat appliques for the net underskirt.

Here is the net skirt, sans overskirt. I put the appliques on so that you can wear it with just a pair of leggings, for a different look.

I put wide cotton knit waistbands on both, because I think they are super comfy and look better on than a gathered waistband. I really enjoyed the embroidery process. I did a lot of the bat appliques at this months SPON meeting. I also got to fly a plane that day!

The delightful Don the Pilot flew down from Everett and gave a bunch of us rides, and even let each of us steer the aircraft for a time during the flight. It was one at a time, so he must have given between eight and ten rides I think. Holy awesomeness! Thanks again Don!

PS- He said I was the best at flying. Nerves of steel, thats me! Haha…

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A passionate affair- with my thrift store.

Wow, it’s a little hard to believe this day is over. It has certainly been a busy one, once I managed to roll out of bed, anyway. I came out to the living room, to be greeted with an email letting me know that I had an order to get ready. ‘What? Already?’ I asked myself incredulously. And yes, it was true, so I got to work making a couple of tags. An hour and a half later I finished that, and have decided that I need to rethink the idea of hand embroidered tags- time consuming much? But they are so cute. Next time I make one I’ll take a picture to show it off.

Then there were seams to be double checked, threads to be snipped, and wrapping to be done. I decided it would be a good idea to walk the two and a half miles to the post office, which would knock out an errand and my exercise in a fell swoop. Plus fresh air and good sunshine, it was great! I listened to Gogol Bordello the whole way there and back, which is perfect traveling music for me. Whether by foot, plane or train. They were with me for much if my time in England.

While I was out, I stopped at Goodwill, and found a few choice goodies.

This lace is amazing! I have to figure out some great ideas to use it to its full potential.

And this little grab bag of vintage supplies- for a buck! I love it.  Not sure what I’m going to do with those repair needles though.

I finished an adorable skirt combo today, after I got home, took a shower and a nap that is. I will have pictures on Saturday, so stay tuned!

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Red, white and…brown? Yeah!!!

Today’s theme colors are red, white and brown. You know, like vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and a cherry on top? I find this combination to be just as comforting as a big bowl of sweet, with a little dash of weird thrown on top. Even my bedroom is decorated in these colors. But I don’t see it around nearly as often as I’d like- so I decided to remedy that!

These are my pride and joy, and are on their way to a cyclist in Australia. So cute! They were a lot of fun to make, and will be a lot of fun to wear.

My favorite part- this big red ribbon isn’t just for show. The bottoms here are drawstringed, instead of being elasticized. That means that you could wear them with or without all that poofy.

And this guy is a superstrong, reusable grocery bag. The pics aren’t the greatest, which I ought to address, but the bag is great. It is fully lined, and doublestitched, and topstitched.

Plus it has the inner pocket to stick your grocery list, cash, cards, chapstick, cell phone, etc. And a little button closer so nobody steals your green beans!

Everything shown today has been crafted out of either recycled or remnant fabrics. Let me know what you think!

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In the afterglow…

This was the best Independence Day I have ever had.  Throughout the day I was planning on just staying home and working on some projects, like a new shirt design I’m perfecting. (to be unveiled soon)  It was a nice day all day, and with the windows open, and my HTB playing video games within touching distance, I was happy.  We got some Mike’s hard lemonade, made some French bread pizzas, and decided not to battle with traffic for a few sparly lights.

Until about 8.30, when we began to hear pops in the distance.  Soon, the four of us (me, HTB, SIL and her husband) were gathered on our deck, peering through the crack between apartment buildings at the lake, and the tiny bursts of beauty in the hills beyond.  It was time to head for the roof.

Armed with a beer, and a short sleeved shirt I ventured out, comrades close behind, and rand across the open rooftop to get a better, closer view of the lake.  It was pretty for a while, with over a dozen different shows going on in the hillside on the other side of the lake.  Tiny, but pretty.  Then some neighbors started setting off a few.  Then some guy in a boat started lighting sporadic bits of sparkle.  Then behind us a couple of shows started, slowly at first, but with increasing frequency.  Two of our neighbors joined us about halfway through, but other than that the roof was deserted.

Finally, competely unexpectedly, fireworks started blooming right in front of us.  So close we coulde see the trails of smoke let off by each fresh explosion.  It was one after another after another, as the show behind us started picking up, and another to our right, and yet another to the left!  Our heads whipped around at every pop to catch each new display.  Meanwhile HTB was busy taking time lapse photos, which I now share for your viewing pleasure.

 

And, on another topic, I have some fun lounging/pyjama pants, made out of an old Mickey Mouse sheet.  So comfy!  I made them with a wide waistband, fashioned from a super soft old tshirt, and lingerie elastic inside.

Have a happy Sunday!

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Happy Independence Day!!!

It is the fourth of July. Some of us are stacking hot dogs, some of us are slathering on sunscreen, some of us are pulling up boat anchors. I am staring out the window at a sky of heavy grey clouds, feeling a teeny tiny chill breeze on my bare arms. Its lovely.

But regardless of our choice of entertainment for today I urge each of you to take a moment, and remember what this holiday means: Independence. This commemorates our freedom from the religious oppression of Britain, and oppression that seems almost childish compared to the oppressions overseas, and here, in this great country. Here, where too many of us are afraid to say what we think, or afraid to begin to think. Where religious intolerance hangs out with eco-intolerance and special rights intolerance. Where our government pines, not to take a step back and let you make your own, informed decisions, but to step even closer to your life, to assume another responsibility. That isn’t independence.

In other news- I made my first Etsy sale! Less than twentyfour hours after setting up my shop I made a sale. Now I am playing the waiting game for the next one, sitting with baited breath in front of this screen, hoping.

Here is the coveted article, refashioned from an already cool, but hard to wear 70’s polyester shirt.  You’ve seen it once- here a few more shots.

Being modeled by me.

This is a hand embroidered felt applique. The black and white material on the sleeves has musical notes and instruments.

And a couple of new things I listed recently. This vest is so freaking beautiful! I love it. It has a great flowery/vine stitching detail on the collars, and the ‘pocket’ flaps, and is very fitted, giving you a great, clean, sex-ay shape. Modeled by my SIL. So pretty.

And some of the detailing:

And lastly this cool, comfy shortsleeved shirt.  This used to be a dress, kind of shapeless, made entirely out of this fabric- dollar bills and roses on a black background.  I loved it, but it was really too much.  So I made a skirt (which I kept) and this top.  Yummy puff sleeves made of black knit, and a waistband from the same knit.

Well, there you have it. I hope everyone has a great fourth of July!

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I fought the skirt…and I won

Today has been slowslowslow…a pretty relaxing day if it weren’t for the niggling sunburn on my shoulders and the wacky stinging back ache. Ah well, nothing some aloe vera and a trip to the chiropractor won’t cure, eh?

We had banana pancakes for breakfast (our new favorites and quickly becoming a breakfast staple), with some True North coffee. For any of you in Seattle, looking for a great cup, you can pick this local roast up at Central Market. So yummy! Better than…well, lets not go there.

A little while back I attacked my stash of goodies- jersey, lace, and buttons, oh my! It began with a great idea, a simple-ish three layer ruffle skirt with a gentle cotton waistband. After arguing with the various fabrics for about three days, and daydreaming of the skirt while I was at work, this is what I ended up with.

A detail of the buttons, sewn onto a length of fabric designed to give the skirt more room for my hips.

And my flouncy, poofy butt.

A great learning experience, and a terrific skirt, now. But during the process I just wanted to light it on fire!

I’m so glad my fiancée doesn’t let me play with matches.

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Greetings World!

Hello! And welcome to the first installation in the Brown Button Blog! I started sewing again, after a six year hiatus, about two months ago. I find that I have discovered a new passion, an activity rich in creativity and tangibly rewarding (new clothes!).

I have also recently discovered a particular style of clothing that intrigues and fascinates me: Steampunk! Kind of a neo-Victorian, sci-fi feel, replete with ray guns, corsets, and brass goggles.
How can you go wrong with that? So in this blog I will catalogue my sewing/crafty endeavors, my Steampunk education, and, to top it all off, occasional reviews and features on exemplary Etsy sellers. (For those who don’t know, scoot on over to www.Etsy.com and check out the best handmade wares site ever!) I hope you enjoy, and come back for more beauty and creation.

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