little red fox

(sorta) before and after: the ottoman project

Here she is. Lady Labor of Love. 

The problem is that I forgot to take a picture of the before... but I want to tell you that it was hideous. This thing is about 2 feet across and it was covered all around in a dirty, apple-green/pucey velveteen. There was a lot of wrong that happened in the 70s but these strange velveteen colors are tough to take. 

You can see a glimpse of it here:

A terrifying piece of furniture. And it was but one small equation of what was a big ol' sectional. However...it was free. Like the iron chairs from the last post--it was also a cast-off from a movie set that needed a home, so I brought it here to a home that needed an ottoman!

Pros: $0! It's on wheels! Seemed to be a fairly straighforward upholstery project. 

Cons: Puce. The cost of fabric. Turns out it was NOT a straightforward upholstery project. {Though I think I am realizing that 1) there are no straightforward upholstery projects (except *maybe* slip seats); and 2) all good upholsterers are American Heroes.} 

My first step was finding a way to deal with the fabric issue. So far the project had cost me $0 so it would be ideal to keep it that way. I thought about doing some sort of sophisticated patchwork from my fabric stash; somewhat in this vein. But I didn't have enough fabrics that looked to be in the same world to make it look anything less than chaotic once they were all together. Sure, I could have thrifted some but aside from denim (which I don't love on furniture in general) or suiting wools (which I didn't want to pay to dry clean), I felt like it was a potential waste of time looking for approximately 2 1/2 yards (I was guessing) of similar-enough fabrics.

I also felt like I needed something kind of bold and graphic to off-set the traditional rugs, and pull in the navy I had both in the dining room and on the living room wall. On hand, I had some off-white cotton duck and some left-over paint from painting the dining room set and there it was: I'll just paint the dang fabric myself.  

With no other real plan than watching the William Powell marathon on TCM, off I went. I disassembled the rather upsetting puce velveteen to make a pattern and got just enough to get the thing covered.

The fit was really challenging. Which is code for it looked horrible and I had to re-do it 83 times, almost quit altogether a few times, cussed a ton including yelling at the ceiling, hurt two fingers, and cried once.

But here she is.

I've had thoughts of going back and painting a little more to adjust the colors somewhat but it'll do for now! The good thing about it is that though it was covered in a criminal fabric, it was built really well so you can sit on it, kick it around, put your feet up on it but also set drinks and food on it--everything I wanted it to be.

Including being $0 :)

 

little red sailor

 

The Project: 

Well this one started out as a casual, everyday jacket, and I guess it still is, but with a 30s-sailor-blouse-vibe. Just the usual :)

The Process:

This is another made from a thrifted garment. In a thrift store, my eyes are always peeled for anything red. It's hard to pick my favorite color, but it is certainly one of my favorite colors and it is also certainly part of this seasonal color scheme :)

So I spied this dress (that of course I forgot to photograph beforehand but looked a little something like this):

 

It's hard to draw, but the bottom 12" is a matching red chiffon, which I hoped I could use to my advantage.

I thought a good starting point would be this pattern:

 

The one on the far right,"E" specifically. The dress was a lighter rayon, so I was just hoping the drapey effect would work with this pattern since I didn't want to deal with making a lining. 

I cut out the front and back pieces first and then used the chiffon part to make the ends of the sleeves.

Aaaaand the remainder of the chiffon seemed perfectly sized to make a little impromptu sailor collar! 

Aaaaand then--the remaining fabric became the little ties/plackets/sashes in the front for the buttons! Vintage buttons, found here in NYC...

Well-used and well-loved that shapeless, thrifted, red dress :) 

 

 

a polka dot story, pt. 2

A few months back during one of my thrifting trips, I purchased 3 different pieces of clothing that were all black with ivory polka dots. One was the pair of pants made into the shorts I showed you yesterday, and in addition to the pants I also picked up 2 dresses in similar fabrics. Of course I neglected to get pictures of the dresses before I cut them up, but basically they were rayon dresses from the 80s and looked something like this: 

 

 

 

The Project(s):

A long skirt with a contrasting waistband; a bathing suit strap; a hat; a top; aaaand a 'necklace'... 

The Process: 

1) The Skirt

I detached the top from the bottom of the second dress and knew immediately I wanted to keep it a long skirt. I used this pattern (another one from the 80s!) for the hip area, the pleats, waistband and closure (the one on the far right, specifically):

 

The pattern pictures are almost the best part. You gotta give me credit for the vision :) I've used it before (which I'll show you at a later date) and I was really happy with the fit. I didn't have enough of the original fabric from the dress, but as it often happens--necessity being the mother of invention, etc--having to find another fabric ended up kind of making it for me. I cut up a section of the first dress (which had been sewn in panels), used some interfacing, a button I had on hand and a waistband was made for a very basic maxi-skirt!

 

Which brings me to the next project out of that first dress...

2) The Bathing Suit Strap

But to show this one, I have to start with this first...

The Inspiration:

Have you seen the swimsuits at Anthropologie?? They're a little bit heartbreaking. Especially this one which I'd wear as a top basically every day. And I can only imagine what they look like in person. I had to get a new bathing suit for our upcoming vacation (and wanted a one-piece for the first time in my life!) but also knew I couldn't afford $200. Once again, I had to get creative. Luckily, I found this one at Target.com. It was similar enough...and for the price, it kinda had to be right.

When it arrived, there were two problems. One--it was black and white. I don't like black and white. I like black and ivory. It might seem small but to me--literally night and day. 

The other problem was the strap which you can kinda see on the third little tiny picture. The line was flattering, but it being so thin was too different from what I originally wanted. 

So. I took the suit and soaked it in a tea bath (which I learned from my days of working in the costume shop in college). A tea bath is basically what it sounds like--a giant pot of tea in which the garment soaks and becomes "antiqued" in color. I think I used 8 or 9 tea bags in a stock pot half-full of boiling water for this one. 

And the belt from that second thrifted 80s dress? ...is now the proper strap for the suit :)

I think they look pretty similar now, don't you? 

3) The Top

When I originally detached the top from the bottom of the second dress, I wanted to keep the top. And I was really happy with the fit BUT even though I am quite short-waisted, the top was still super short. I toyed with the idea of adding a band of some sort to the bottom to lengthen it an inch or two, but I realized that if I created darts and kind of curved the bottom in a bit, that would help. So that's what I did and it worked. Two darts at the bottom of the bust, and slight taking in at the side seams. Still short--but I like it! 

And I love that it goes with everything! (In my particular summer wardrobe, anyway :)

And my brilliant strategy--where I show you all my wardrobe items separately (as I've been doing) and then BAM! show you the 8 million various ways they all go together...is coming very soon. Very few things excite me more than a well-edited, thoughtful, efficiently designed seasonal wardrobe, (including shoes and accessories). It is my goal every year, twice a year. Don't always get there, but I think I did this year. (!!!!!) It literally makes my heart beat fast. 

A Polka Dot Story, pt 3 coming next...

 

 

 

a polka dot story pt. 1 (and looking cute for the rapture)

 

Well, I was all dolled up for the rapture and lo and behold...here we all are! Guess I'll just have to save these outfits for vacation instead of the second coming.

My running show-and-tell continues! I realized today that I'm going to have to double-up on posts on some days to try and get it all in before we leave Thursday morning. I intend to take some outfit pictures while we're there, since there might actually be sunshine (gasp). I'll try not to overwhelm with posts but right now I'm determined to get this shown. I'm a very stubborn person. 

The Project: 

Polka-dot Tap Shorts; high-waisted, vintage in feel, but something I could wear every day. 

The Inspiration: 

Again--a combination of a few different things....

These, for the contrasting patterns and waistband...

...and these for the color scheme and overall sensibility. 

(Both from Anthropologie.)

...and at some point in the process I must have seen these, too (on Modcloth). And I was feeling Scallop Confident having just finished some successfully. 

The Process:

Like a lot of the things I made, these were from some thrifted rayon polka dot pants, which I disassembled, and then re-sized basing the cut somewhat on this 1980s pants pattern (from stricklypaper on Etsy)...

Though I left out the front fly and instead made a side zip. That caused some complications, but I figured it out. 

The waistband fabrics are a combination of one that I got on sale and another one I bought at an antique store in Virginia, plus some vintage buttons I found here in NYC. 

 

And voila! Everyday scalloped Tap Pants!

 

More to come! Oh, so much more...

And for your viewing pleasure...here is a remarkable little film made up of censored and cut film pieces from the 1920s/early 30s and is so strange and beautiful and wonderful...

 

 

 

 

 

 

the divine ella raines as wardrobe muse

 

The Project:

A two-piece dress?

A cropped sleeveless suit?

How about just an outfit. 

The Inspiration:

It was two-fold.

Flipping through Lucky (the only fashion magazine I can stand), I saw this page and was kind of hypnotized...

Especially the beige two-piece on top and the grey one in the middle. I think what got me here was the combination of modern silhouette but still a vintage look. And also the vintage suiting aspect for women is one of my favorite things on earth. Yay for women stealing looks from men. Also I was clearly a dapper dandy in one of my former lives. 

And! The same day that I saw this in the magazine, I happened to see a noir film called "The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry." One of the female leads was someone I had never heard of but was utterly taken with. Her name is Ella Raines and she was pretty accomplished in her day--albeit a bit short-lived as it would seem, before she was relegated to some B-films and then stopped acting altogether. But just look at her...

That's her on the left. She looks a bit like a cross between Julianna Marguiles and maybe Sherilynn Fenn? Anyway--I think she's just gorgeous. 

And that was The Outfit. I just froze and then died when she walked in with that on. Just shriveled up and died. I mean--that little tie? Come on. I had to have it. Or at least a version of it...but maybe a bit more modern...

How it was made:

The neat thing about this for me was that my ideas worked! By that I mean that I always have Big Plans. Large and ambitious. Being a Big Dreamer is definitely an asset as long as you're prepared to deal with lots of disappointments and readjustments to said dreams. And the dreams being somewhere between 0-60% successful. Suresure, I always learn a lot but this time...it all somehow worked. It was pretty thrilling. I hope this means my skill level has improved. It feels like it! 

For the top I used the shift pattern form the same BBW book BUT I changed the arm holes and neckline quite dramatically, which meant the facing had to be created off my new "pattern" and lo and behold I did it. I cursed a little and may have thrown just one little thing across the room but still. It worked! Even the little details up close look ok...

One of my favorite details is that it's higher in the back than the front...

For you accomplished sewers out there it's certainly an easy enough thing to do but this was the first time I attempted to structure a garment and it came out like I wanted. 

For the skirt I started with the dirndl bottom from the same book but ended up changing quite a lot, including the overall volume. Still it was a good enough place to start because I knew I wanted gathers at the waist and I'm still confused about the ratio of fabric to gathers to actual end measurement, etc. And there are some issues with the placement of the seams but only me and some other nerds will notice hopefully. 

The polka dot lining at the waistband was almost an afterthought. I had already made the top and the skirt was just the plain fabric but it felt like something was missing until I put that in. 

The main orangey/browny/beigy fabric was something I already had (I must have bought 17 yards of it or something?) from a couple of years ago. Longer-term readers might remember it from here. But the polka dot was a thrifted dress--one of two--that I have cut up and used for a whole slew of projects that I will be showing here shortly. They were well-loved and well-used in their second act, I can say that :)

We have a family vacation to Charleston, South Carolina coming up next weekend and there will be lots of polka dots on that trip! I have some more things to make and/or finish but my deadline is next Wednesday, and I have lots to do including making three hats one of which is shaping straw on a mold like a real milliner! Though tonight I did spend the entire evening altering some thrifted finds that I am so excited to show you! So that meant a lot was crossed off my list...but I had the best thrifting day today!

For example this purse...

Wonder if Ms. Ella Raines would approve?

Ooh, let's look at her again for just one more second...

I wish we wore beautiful lounge wear like that anymore...it's just so decent...

Just look at that teeny tiny waist...

It's an unfortunate hat but she's still so pretty. 

It's a pretty good movie, too. Geraldine Fitzgerald is particularly wonderful, as is George Sands. But it's a bit odd, I suppose and the ending...well, the ending will have to remain a secret as I was instructed...

I mean--for goodness' sake I want my friends to enjoy the picture! 

Isn't that so sweet? And it just would never work nowadays...sigh.

More to come! And thanks for all your sweet comments from the last post. I'm really so grateful it's hard to express. 

 

a long red dress

So here we are! The first of my (mostly) homemade/scavenged spring and summer wardrobe. My long, red, scalloped-hem, maxi-dress.

The inspiration:

I remember I found this late one night after having clicked through a million links so unfortunately I don't remember where it's from. (Any eagle-eyes out there that recognize it--please let me know so I can credit it!)

Why I made it:

I love the long skirt and dress thing and it seemed like a good everyday dress that was both casual and basic. 

One of the toughest things I've found when making clothes is finding fabrics. Not only are fabric stores completely overwhelming, but the fabric is always way more expensive than you think, and finding the perfect fabric for your project is nigh impossible. Especially when you get your heart set on something. So--the ideas end up germinating for awhile. And in this case--I randomly found this particular fabric at Joann of all places!

Pros: waaay less expensive.

Con: wrinkles super easy. But I can make that work for saving the $$! Ideally I'd love a red silk/lace thing but we'll have wait on that. 

I love red. Probably my favorite color. And thematically, this "season" (ha!) I went with a specific color palette: red, mint green, mustard yellow, ivory and black. 

Such gray light from all this rain!

How I made it: 

I used the shift pattern from the Built By Wendy: Dresses book as the basis. I lengthened it to be ankle-lenght on me, and ended up taking in the waist quite a bit so it could be belted without being too "blousy." For the scalloped bottom (new obsession) I used this tutorial and it was basically a cinch! Much easier than I had feared and for me, this makes the dress.

...simple zipper up the back...

I actually finished this a few weeks ago and it was a bit chillier then, so I wore it with a black cotton kimono belt and a thrifted linen blazer. 

  

...and my red shoes :)

More to come! 

 

 

a coupon binder?

Perhaps I have lost it. Perhaps living way out in the middle of Nowheres, Catskills has shifted my personality into a different dimension--but I have to show you what I made today. 

It's a coupon binder. 

A binder. For my coupons. 

I don't know who I am anymore! I've never even thought about saving money and clipping coupons--but suddenly I do?? And I'm letting my freak flag fly. Have you seen the couponing show? Strangely I started clipping coupons right before that show aired but it got me really fired up. Especially after my first trip to the grocery store and literally saving 1/3 of the bill. Not even kidding. I don't care to have a stockpile like the people on the show (I mean, they're totally hoarders, right?), and we only bought what we would have bought otherwise (just a little more), still healthy and some organic, too. And until I'm a millionaire and as long as I have the time to do it, I see no reason not to spend a few hours a week doing it. Phew.

But. I had to make it cute.

On the train the other day I had a ball sketching it up...

...without any reality of sizes or measurements, I knew what I needed it to hold and look like and that it needed to be compact...

...and organized. Oh how I love to see things in their proper places!!...it does my heart good. Before I had all my coupons paper-clipped in a paper envelope but it was so hard to see them and keep them organized in the grocery cart (and not at all cute). So. I bought a regular binder and then made the cloth cover-envelope-thingy today... 

And all the little pockets for my rewards cards, pens, scissors, and anything else...

...two little handles and velcro tab closure...

 

...a front pouch for receipts and such...

...a back pocket for a pad of paper for my lists and other notes (pads are $1 at Staples right now!)...

...and all the organized goodness!

Also--the fact that I had the tabbed dividers, the fabric and velcro already was nice. The fabric was an upholstery weight cotton I've had for years. I loved it but couldn't figure out what to do with the amount I had (a little less than a yard). And this project used up every last bit of it. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how satisfying that was. The binder and plastic pages were from Staples. I used these (and another size for trading cards which they don't seem to have on the site but do have in the stores). 

In other news: 

• tomorrow I am working the whole day at Bliss Co-op in Sugar Loaf. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hi and see our sweet little shop! The town is tiny so you couldn't really miss us but we're in Romer's Alley should you wander that way...
• I am alllllmost finished with my Spring/Summer wardrobe! All made from vintage patterns and some thrifted, some purchased fabrics. I wasn't sure how to unroll it all but I think so as not to overwhelm myself I shall do it item by item. Starting tomorrow! So stay tuned. 
• My dear and sweet girlfriends The Watson Twins have released their record "Night Covers" TONIGHT! They did it all on their own and its wonderful. As opposed to slick-corporate-sounding-more-than-an-arms-length music you get something with their fingerprints on it and its brilliant. You can also purchase their original artwork AND their self-designed gorgeous t-shirts in different packages with the music. I just bought mine and you can buy yours here! Such talent...I have some heart-stoppingly gifted friends and these ladies, while amazing musicians as you will hear, also have 1000 other gifts not the least of which is being wonderful artists and creative beings with incredible taste. You just can't go wrong. 

marceline; the little mushroom hunter

I am so happy to finally introduce Marceline, the little mushroom hunter I hinted at a few posts ago (here and here). Getting ready to open the Co-op (which happens this Saturday!), I spent a whole lot of time getting all the groups of characters and their corresponding little items ready all at once. In  my mind, it was a very simple venture but in reality--all the tiny little details almost did me in! Down to creating all the individual items' tags--it was quite an undertaking. But it all got done and, I have to say, it is incredibly satisfying to see all these creations I made all together on shelves in a real live store. I'll have pictures after Saturday, but for now--meet Marceline :)

A pretty little nerdy scientist, there isn't a mushroom she doesn't know or hasn't gathered...

...in her tiny little mushroom-hunting basket, of course!

She comes with three different mushrooms--one in her tiny apron pocket and two in her basket. The mushrooms are made from my original drawings of actual mushrooms...

...and are backed with red polka-dot cotton matching the apron...

Her hand attaches at the shoulder button with a loop of elastic on her hand which you can see in this picture...one of the many details it took me a bit to figure out...

She's about 20" long and 5" wide and she's made from organic and "upcycled" cottons, vintage lace and buttons, and felt. And her face is handpainted. 

And she's here in my shop.

And that's not all!

There's actually a little handmade book that will be coming along shortly detailing the beginning of Marceline's adventures, but it turns out that making a book from scratch takes longer than I thought! Indeed. But some characters in the story you can find here in this set of 10 canvas stickers. Again--from my original drawings...

It's a limited edition series and each has an official seal with your series' number and a list of the "ingredients." 

The set comes in a 5.5" by 7.5" kraft top-sealing envelope with my handmade label. And you can find it here!

I have a couple more Marceline-related goodies to share which I'll get to in the next few days. 

Lots to do! Also we're getting snow tonight. I could shrivel up and die. 

p.s. Hope you like the blog's little "facelift!" I felt like a change...

dolls, dolls, dolls

...still working away over in these parts!

I had planned on making these months ago. I think I did the original sketch backstage and sadly, it's taken me this long to finish them. It's a relief. Especially since they look like they did in my head :)

I'm just in love with their little hats. (Which are removable, as is Gloria's bow-tie). Their arms are attached using vintage cream-colored buttons. And of course their little shoes...

I've listed them as a set for now. I can't really imagine separating them, but that could change. You can find them here.

And also in the category of things I've been  meaning to make for a while--these little fox dolls...

A few years ago, I bought a piece of beautiful hand-dyed felted wool (I think thats what it is, anyway). It's wonderfully soft. I had no idea what I was going to do with it until a few months ago and voila! Two little foxes--Burke and Alice.

Made using the felted wool, and vintage fabrics and buttons.

The obligatory footsies shot:

They're also being sold as a set for now, and you can find them here!

 

And here's a sneak-peek of what I'm working on now...

I guess I have a thing for wood lately. I mean, let's face it, I'm interested in pretty much any materials I can make something with. But I'm particularly thrilled with these. I'm not exactly sure what inspired them, but I think there's something about 1930s cartoons in these. Maybe its the noses, I don't know, but you can see the sketch is pretty much exactly these:

(I ran out of wood to make her legs, but I have some more and plan on getting to them today. I just realized it must be kind of strange-looking :)

I've been thinking a lot about houses. Sort of both the physical shape, and also the concept of 'living in something.' So I used a bunch of scrap wood I found underneath our house and made some...

 

This is just the beginning phase. I have more plans for these--including the backgrounds of them.

I love the little swing... :)

 

I'm loving using power tools, too. Makes me feel tough.

And that's all for now! I have rye bread dough rising, and vegetable stew to make (as well as some legs for a certain leg-less doll). It's getting cooooooold here, too...winter is here to stay, it seems. I love it :) This is such a wonderful time of year. Can't wait to show you the bread! It sure is pretty when it comes out of the oven...

what would we call these...?

Pants? Shorts? Harem-knickers? Pantaloons, perhaps?...

I found a pair of--whatever these are--at UO a few months ago and have worn them at least twice a week (example here). For me, the silhouette is so interesting because it isn't snug, which I very much appreciate of late. I'm also a fan of the 'drapey' feel, as it's both modern and reminiscent of my favorite fashion decade--the 1920s. So since I've worn the bejesus out of the other pair already, I decided to copy them in my favorite color, and eventually make a matching jacket (like this one--and oh, look! There's those pants again! :) to go with it so I'll have a suit and separates to wear throughout the fall that can be both dressed up and down. Sounds so simple, right? Almost easy, in fact!

Here's my idealized, simplified, super-clear sketch, ready to be "thrown" together:

Sure--pleats!! Why not? (And I was originally going to make a smaller, boxier jacket but have since changed my mind...)

So then I got more specific with my pattern pieces and measurements:

This really makes me laugh because I spent so. Much. Time. Working all this out and it actually makes sense to me, but come on. It looks a bit chaotic, no? So maybe things are starting to get a bit more complicated...

Did I mention I haven't really worked with silk before? Because I haven't.

Note that these sketches involve silk items with silk linings. Among the many, many things I learned--like even, pretty pleats are real, real hard and are best abandoned entirely and hand-basting is my new best friend-- was that silk likes to move. Merely glancing in its direction causes it to shift slightly to the left. So it was pretty slow-going in places, especially along the waist-band, which basically turned out after I gave up on the pleating effect:

I used iron-on interfacing for both sides of the waistband, which I initially thought I made too small (again--the tricky math business) but which led to the happy-accident of the detail around the zipper...

...which then made the waistband a little too large. Sigh.

Also the eagle-eyed among you will probably notice that the two tops of the waistband don't match up. I have never tried so hard to make anything work more than I did trying to make that work out and I have no idea what happened. I think I'll be able to disguise it with a button or a hook-and-eye-type of closure, but it just kills me. I think I'll just keep blaming the silk. 

And so. The waistband is a little too large. I wish I had made it both thinner--maybe 2" instead of 3" for example. And there's probably a way to add some elastic or smocking in there somehow to snug it up. That will have to be for next time. And I like the paper-bag waist thing anyway...

(outfit details here.)

Anyway--it got made! That is a wonderful fact. And, as always, a tremendous amount was learned for next time. Which will have to be soon because I bought a lot of silk and it is staring a hole through me. But I may have to make something out of a simple straight-forward cotton first. Or better yet--felt!! Or maybe just draw...though I do have a screen-printing idea burning a hole in my brain that might need to get started on...

Right now I've got Edith Piaf serenading me (it feels so personal with her!), as I gather together some orders for shipping. After which I am going to tentatively continue work on another silk project--a gathered-up tunic-type of thing that will go beautifully with the red pants if all turns out. And I will practice not screaming curse words and scaring the kitties. And my husband. And myself.