I know it’s been a while since my last post, but it’s actually because I have been really inspired by this pattern pack and have made TWO skirts back-to-back just to try some things out. I’ll get to that in a bit.
So I got this pattern because the skort design jumped out at me and I found it interesting design-wise. Also, I have been looking for a wrap skirt pattern that closely resembled a beloved skirt that can’t fit me anymore, and I will be making that for a future Copycat Fashion post.
I know, another Pattern Probe post so soon! I’m so productive. 🙂
Actually I tried out this McCalls pattern as soon as I finished the sweatpants. Summer was practically here and it turned out that I had no shorts that were more dressy-looking for nicer occasions. Since the fashion industry has been pushing culottes back into our      closets, I thought a pair of floaty culotte shorts might be a cool thing to sew for myself to wear in the warmer months.
Okay so here is the first post for The Pattern Probe series. This was a project of necessity; my favorite pair of comfy yoga pants that I’ve had since college have finally fallen apart and I needed a new pair of pants to lounge around the house. I discovered this “Learn to Sew” pack with 2 types of lounge pants in the Simplicity section and picked it up. Let’s see if the pattern and instructions live up to the Simplicity “Learn to Sew” label…
Hello! I know it’s been a while, but I am back on my blog with a new topic to post about.
I have a few posts that highlight my attempt to make fashion items based on stuff I’ve seen in magazines and the Internet. I wanted to flex my crafting skills and make some things for myself that I can’t afford to buy in real life. The category is Copycat Fashion and you can go here to check it out.
Anyway, part of that activity was me buying commercial patterns to sew with. I noticed that so many luxury fashion products (clothes, jewelry, purses) have basic pattern designs that I would find in Joann’s pattern section. If I’m lucky, I can get a pattern for as little as $0.99 each.
I have about 117 patterns total, which is a LOT of patterns. They are too easy to buy, especially when they are on sale, and they have accumulated in my space. It’s time to start using them and I thought it would be neat to document my process and give a sort of review on how well I did making the garment and if the pattern is good to use.
So stay tuned for my first Pattern Probe post! 🙂
I know that it’s been a while since I wrote my last blog post. I have been blessed with a few freelancing jobs these last 2 years, so I’ve been designing and building logos and web sites for many clients. If you’re curious, go here and check out my professional work. 🙂
So I have been digging through my collection of broken costume jewelry, and I found this pair of clip-on earrings:
They look like they’re from the mid-20th century (1950s-1970s maybe), but I couldn’t find a signature or logo on the pieces. Nevertheless, I thought they were cute and I wished that one of the flowers wasn’t missing, or else I could just glue it back together and wear them on my ears. But then I thought that was a little typical for this design, plus the earring backs were rusted and broken.
I searched through my many fashion magazines and saw some Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses with various decals decorating them. They seemed like a ingenious way to re-cycle these earrings; turn them into decals for a pair of sunglasses:
Left Photo Fall 2012 Collection from zoccao.blogspot.com. Right Photo Spring/Summer 2013 Collection from swide.com
Now that I have my idea, I collected the supplies I figured I’ll need to make this happen:
1 pair of plain white sunglasses (2 for $5 from Claire’s)
the Creative Versa-Tool (a hot tool used for cutting/removing various things – $30 from craft stores)
tube of E6000 (the GREATEST super glue of ALL TIME)
2 clay flower decals (found them at Bead World – Broadway and 36th Street, NYC)
jar of Modge Podge Outdoors (thought I would need to coat the beads to protect them, but the film is pretty sticky so I dropped it)
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
As you can see from the gallery, the process was very simple:
First, I used the hot tool to remove the old clip-on earring backs and the remaining flower from the decals
Then I glued the clay flower beads to the plastic decals
After that, I glued the decals to the corners of the sunglasses
Now for the results:
I have to say, I’m pretty happy with the final turnout. I don’t usually gravitate towards sunglasses this large and decorated, but they do add an interesting element to my everyday look and protect my eyes from the sun. Plus, it’s great that an old pair of earrings that might have been tossed in the garbage found a new life on a pair of shades. This is what I’m going for with my “Ms. FixIt” projects, and I hope to post more projects like this in the future. Stay tuned and give me a shoutout in the comments!
However the sentiment is the same. I have made some important changes to this blog, namely its responsive abilities. Before it was just stuck in static mode, no re-sizing between screen sizes. Now this blog can re-size itself to fit any screen from cellphones to tablets. The content space is much cleaner and less cluttered with stuff for easier reading.
Thanks for checking out the place and stay tuned for more work!
