two recent restyles

I just wanted to share two mini projects I've completed recently. One was a little while ago and the photo has been up on flickr for a while but I've been a terrible blogger. The other I just did today as I'm home and feeling rather productive!

Number one was this funny floral sailor dress. When I found it it was especially long, with pouffy sleeves and a strange chest covering thingy. All I did was shorten it a tad, remove the sleeves and chop out the weird bit and voila! Of course anything that Kerry models ends up looking like pure gold.

The second is this laptop sleeve I cobbled together out of a flannel pillowcase (thrifted) and some aqua seam binding. There are some absolutely beautiful sleeves and cases available on Etsy but all the good ones seem to be around $70 and up, so I figured I'd spend $2 on a pillowcase and make my own. I've been meaning to hop to it  since I got this computer in November but the needle on my serger was broken and, since I wanted to make the sleeve pretty thick, I decided to wait until I replaced it rather than use my domestic machine. Of course, after ordering the serger needles, waiting for them to come and finally sitting down to make this thing I realized I'd somehow misplaced the little screw that holds the needle in place! I'm super bummed because I don't know how easy it's going to be to find a replacement. In the end, since I really wanted to get this sleeve done, I just used my regular sewing machine. It was awfully easy especially because I chose a plaid fabric (the lines are already drawn on for you)! It took me about 15 minutes to whip up and I think my laptop is very cozy now.

You can check out bigger photos and snaps of my past restyles over on my flickr and while you're there, check out some of the other awesome things people are doing as part of project restyle!

modcloth feature!

I just wanted to post a quick note about a few bits, but I promise I'll have some more substantial posts in the upcoming days. For right now I wanted to say HI! & thanks so much to the followers who have come to my blog over the last few days. I think a lot of you came through Project Restyle, which I am psyched to be a part of. I'm going to try really hard to stay motivated and get some new projects up in here ASAP :)

I also thought I would let you know, dear readers and casual lurkers, that the second version of my peter pan collars is now available on Modcloth! This one is made of a jet black cotton twill. The folks over there have been completely amazing and supportive - today the awesome Erin (of Calivintage fame!) posted a piece on their blog about my something from nothing project as well as the collars. She even dug up a photo I'd posted here of myself sewing away! Serious blushing ensued. You can check out the way too flattering blog entry here and shop the new black collars right here. xo

project restyle!

I was really excited to read about Project Restyle which was put in motion by the fantastic fashion/handmade blog a beautiful mess. i've had the blog in my bloglovin' feed forever now and have totally fawned over Elsie's DIY skills and amazing brick and mortar vintage shop. When she posted about this project I couldn't wait to join in.

Project Restyle is about reclaiming vintage/unused objects or garments which is something I've been doing by myself for quite some time. I've got a big basket of "to sew" dresses that's been piling up for months and I'm hoping this project finally motivates me to attack it! There are some future gems in there, I'm sure. I also received a whole stack of sewing books for Christmas this year that I desperately need to start reading! In the mean time, I thought I'd repost some photos of past "restyles" I've done. Mostly they just involve hemming but it's crazy what a little snip and stitch can do to a dress.

This was a long and pretty dowdy nightie (I think?) that became a cute nautical minidress. All I did was hem it and shorten the sleeves but it went from unwearable to adorable (if I may say so myself)!

This dress was almost comically hideous when I bought it. That ruffle thing reminded me of the spitting dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. I snipped it off along with the sleeves and shortened the dress into something pretty awesome - the fact that it was made of sweet plaid with the best collar ever didn't hurt.

I hope posting stuff from months ago doesn't come off as too lazy! I do plan on digging into my project pile in the near future and I'll be sure to share any future results.