The Power of a Belt

If you have any eye for patterns, you might notice that I’m a fan of belts. They have an amazing way of drawing an outfit together, creating a waist in a shapeless outfit, or covering a really lazy empire waist to drawstring skirt conversion.

Before. Frumpity frump.

After. Almost polished.

 

It just so happens that NY Times fashion editor Bill Cunningham wrote last week about the presence of belts in French fashion right now. Not the crazy absurd costumes of Fashion Week, but what the real Parisian women were wearing all week. I’ll take that as a vote of confidence and keep on belting everything I own.

 

Kid Jeans Repair

This post is about mending. I’ve found repairing clothes that have a small flaw but are in otherwise good condition to be one of the best ways to avoid contributing to the sweat shop cycle. Gently worn kids’ clothing that’s been outgrown can be donated, but really, who is going to buy my son’s holey-knee jeans? No one. If I donated these, they would end up in the trash. Maybe recycled, if rejected by certain stores, but even clothing recycling carries an environmental strain.

Enter patches. Now, I could certainly have bought some iron-on patches from a craft store to fix these jeans. I grew up in jeans covered with those patches, in fact. But I remember them being really stiff, and uncomfortable against my bare knees. I wanted to try something a little different here, and I happened to have a whole lot of scrap denim hanging around from this project.

The never-ending sea of holey pants

I repaired three pairs of jeans for this project. I cut some different shaped patches out of my scrap denim, then used a zigzag stitch on my machine to minimize fraying on the edges. Since the legs of these jeans were so narrow, trying to actually sew patches on using a machine would have been next to impossible. I could have stitched by hand, but really, who has time for that? Enter Stitch Witchery. Have you met this stuff? It is fantastic. It’s heat-activated fusible, basically strips of the stuff covering the back of an iron-on patch. Game changer, perfect for projects like this, hemming pants or a skirt, or quick-fixing a ripped seam on a garment. I laid a strip of the Stitch Witchery around the edge of each patch, flipped it over carefully and tucked in the bits that inevitably were displaced in the flip, then covered with a damp cloth and ironed.

The boy was having none of posing for an after picture. After several blurry pictures while he jumped around the living room in his new pants, he finally crashed on the floor and let me get a semi-clear shot of him. Oh well, you get the idea. These pants have now been worn, played in HARD, and laundered. The patches are holding on strong.

Thrifted Maple Dress

Today’s post is a thrift find that needed no alteration besides a good dry cleaning (it was pretty dusty). I found this one at the Salvation Army store in Port Chester. Yes, I know, I’ve been critical of the Salvation Army here before. The reality was I needed a dress for an event and didn’t have much time, so I went to the store that was close to me. I figure that’s still better than buying new sweatshop-made clothes, right? I did find a few nice things, thanks to the beauty of a thrift shop in the town between Rye and Greenwich, both fairly upscale places to live.

I wore this with a navy blazer (another thrift find from a few months back) and my trusty brown leather boots. I needed a camisole for work, but this would be cute without it for a nice out.

Does you recognize this label? I’ve Googled extensively and can’t seem to find it. I *think* Maple is a discontinued Anthropologie brand, but I can’t be sure. Anyone know? I’d love to estimate retail on this one.

Mashup Skirt

Wow, long time no post, eh? Life’s been a little on the frenetic side these days, and in an effort to survive, I shift blogging to the back burner. I’m sure you understand. I have been sewing and thrifting, though, because this stuff gives me energy when the rest of life is sapping it, so you can expect a slew of posts now that I have time to write them. Knock on wood.

This post is brought to you by two of my past favorite pieces of clothing. These jeans were my fit-like-a-glove, wear-with-everything standby jeans for ages until last year when they tragically wore out in the worst possible place. I was not about to wear patched-crotch jeans, so they went into the scrap bag. This nightgown was the one thing I felt comfortable in from weeks 36 to 42 (yes, 42) of both of my pregnancies. The material is so light and airy, but also really pretty. It doesn’t fit as a nightie anymore, but I wanted to find a way to wear it again in the heat of summer. So, a mashup.

I cut the jeans off in a straight line just above the worn area, like awkwardly short cut-offs. I cut the nightie off just below the waist and hemmed the raw edge. There was a little more width than I needed, so I hemmed and cut off two inches on one side, then used a zigzag stitch to minimize fraying. I stitched the jeans and skirt together, and planned to be done there.

Thing is, things came out a little uneven. Since I am an incredibly lazy seamstress, there was no way I was going to pick out all of those stitches and start again. I also wasn’t crazy about the simplicity of the look. I found this scarf that one of my college roommates brought back from a trip to Cuba (Huh. Does that make it contraband?) and added it over the seam. I totally love the look now, and can’t wait for weather warm enough to actually wear this! I’ll try for an IRL shot to share here when that happens.

Thrifted Boutique Dress

Last weekend Colin and I had an unexpected kid-free day thanks to my fabulous in-laws. We had lunch and coffee, then did a little shopping at The Golden Shoestring in Larchmont. This thrift shop is run by The Junior League of Westchester, and its inventory is clean, organized, and curated to a degree you don’t generally see in thrift shops. It was really a pleasant shopping experience. Colin picked up two pairs of shoes for $6, and I found a skirt, a belt, and this dress.

A few of the details caught my eye when it was on the rack – I liked the buttons on the breast pockets, the cut of the sleeves, and the tiny eyelet design. On me without accessories, though, it had sort of a Nurse Ratched quality to it. A brown belt, necklace, and boots helped to warm up the institutional green.

Out of curiosity I looked up the brand, since I didn’t recognize it. Turns out this French company has a US boutique in Greenwich, just over the state line from me, plus a few in the swanky NYC shopping neighborhoods. And their dresses retail between $135-$185 Euros. That’s $150-$250 US. I paid $18. And that is what we call a thrifting win.

Sock > Legwarmer Upcycle

Today’s post is another kid-centered one. I know this is going to sound a little textile-hoarderish, but it really bums me out to get rid of cute socks that have a hole in the heel or toe but are otherwise in fine shape. A couple of my favorite pairs breathed their last this week, so I decided to scrap them for parts.

I cut all four socks just above the heels, using the patterns to help me get a nice straight line. I turned the tops of one pair inside out, then tucked the other pair neatly inside them, right side out. I stitched along their edges with a simple, small, straight stitch, then turned them inside out. Voila, toddler leg warmers. Perfect for winter potty training (no pants for quick diaper removal or diaper-free time when I’m feeling brave, but chubby little thighs stay comfy!). Also perfect for enjoying your favorite tiny board book 🙂

Not Buying It: Babywearing Edition

In case you don’t know me in real life or haven’t picked up on it from the frequent presence of The Toddler Assistant in my photos, babywearing is a big part of my life. (If you don’t know what I mean by the term “babywearing”, and like my brother-in-law are getting some crazy Silence of the Lambs imagery in your head, go here and here to learn more. I’m telling you, it’s good stuff. Also not at all revolutionary, just sadly countercultural in the Western world.)

The trouble with babywearing is that once you start poking around in the culture, you learn that there are about 10 million gorgeous baby carriers out there, and it is possible to want them all. Like I do. And like I cannot afford. Enter thrifting and craftiness. I started with a twin-sized bed sheet that I found at Savers in Newington, CT for $2.50. I loved the neutral colors of it, and the stripes gave it just a bit of interest. With a very reasonable amount of sewing I turned this sheet into both a size 2 wrap and a ring sling.

Ideal material for a wrap or sling should have little to no vertical stretch

Or horizontal stretch

But a bit of diagonal stretch. This lets it form closely to the bodies of baby and wearer for a really supportive (comfortable) fit.

The length of the sheet was exactly what I needed, so all I had to do was cut it in half lengthwise and hem the edges.

Pins, of course, because I would never sew in the right place otherwise.

Stripes make straight lines easy(ish)!

Ta-da! Short wrap. Perfect for using out of the house in slushy weather, because it’s short enough to tie without dragging on the ground.

Also it folds up really neatly to toss in a bag on your way out the door.

I now had two identical wraps, so I decided to take one of them a step further. I used a medium pair of Sling Rings and Jan Andrea’s ring sling instructions (links to both at post end) and made one of my short wraps into a sling.

Teddy bear model because my TA was napping. I’ll spare you step-by-step photos of my process since Jan’s video is much better, but I am really happy with my results!

Detailed instructions, fabric selection guidelines, etc. can be found at Sleeping Baby Productions.

Sling rings available at SlingRings.com.

Video tutorial I followed for my sling:

PSA: The safety of your baby is way more important than having an affordable baby carrier. If you are not confident in your sewing skills or the strength of any of your materials, stick with a no-sew wrap or buy one that was commercially made. Also, beware of the craft rings you can buy in brick and mortar craft stores. These are not meant for carrying babies! SlingRings go through rigorous quality testing, are really inexpensive, and ship quickly throughout the US and Internationally. Go with the real thing on these. Oh! And if you want to know how to use one of these nifty carriers but don’t know how, visit a local Babywearing International chapter for help!

Leftover Night

My family likes to joke that as a child, my catchphrase was “I could use this for something!” I would save anything that could possibly be used in a craft. Toilet paper tubes, baby food jars, egg cartons, packing peanuts, basically anything my mom wanted to recycle, I wanted to keep. This habit has carried over into my adulthood, and thanks to Pinterest, I can call it upcycling and justify it as a legitimate activity. No one laughs at me about it anymore, at least to my face, but there is currently a stash of empty egg cartons in my laundry room. I’m going to use them for something.

Tonight’s post comes from the upcycled leftovers department. Basically the same project twice, both times quick and dirty but oh-so-practical. Enjoy.

(Click through the first image for slideshow format)

Remember these guys? They’re the leftover sleeves from the refashioining of..

…this sweater…

…and this one. This was really just a basic hem job, but I needed to do a couple of specific things because of the pieces I was working with.

First, hemming these sleeves meant having to stretch them out over the base of my machine.

Did you know the majority of that slides off? (I did not, until recently. See, sewing amateur.) Then the ends of the sleeves could fit easily under the needle.

This was thick, heavy material, doubled over, so I needed to get the machine settings just so to make it work. These are what I finally found to work, after much trial and error.

Here’s a sleeve hemmed,

and trimmed.

And there you go. Hipster sleeves. Perfect for that moment when you’re carrying a cranky assistant , but want another layer on the part of you that’s not wearing a human vest.

The second set of sleeves got the same treatment…

…for a different purpose. Perfect for those times when you aren’t actually cold (hence bare feet), but are trying to model something you made so you can blog about it.

Winter Doldrums Sundress

This dress has been hanging around in my closet for years. It was my getaway outfit after my wedding. I loved it, but really, when can you wear a white dress, other than your own wedding? I’ve even tried a few times, but it never quite worked. I decided a dye job was in order.

My initial plan was an all natural dye job for this one (link at end of post).

I started by boiling it in a 1:4 solution of vinegar and water for an hour. (Smelly! Exhaust fan necessary.)

After a good rinse, I added a few cups of juice leftover from cooking beets earlier in the week, diluted with water, and simmered for an hour. I then left this to soak overnight to deepen the color. (It’s so pretty, right?)

It didn’t stay pretty. By morning it looked like this. I’m not quite sure what went wrong, other than that maybe beet juice doesn’t actually tint things their its true color?

It was time to take chemical measures. I washed the dress in hot water to remove the beet juice and picked up a bottle of Rit for $3.99 at Michael’s.

I measured out 4 ounces of the dye in a mason jar, which is stain-proof and has handy measuring marks. (Seriously, what can these things not do?)

Then diluted with four cups of very hot water. (The amount of dye needed depends on the weight of the fabric and desired color – follow bottle instructions if you do this.)

I poured the dye mix into the detergent dispenser of my washer… (Shaky pic because, well, pouring deep purple dye one-handed into my washing machine).

… and ran a hot wash cycle.

Ten minutes into the cycle I added a cup of salt…

…diluted in another four cups of water. This helps to set the color into the fabric. My dress is cotton; vinegar sets color in some other fibers. (Tips on this also in the links below.)

Funny story, I was almost out of salt when I did this, so I had to empty the salt shaker to get enough to finish the project. Dinner was a little bland.

Purple happened! After the dye cycle was done I washed the dress again on cold, then popped it into the dryer. I also washed a load of old towels with bleach to get any stray dye out of the washer.

I love the final color of this dress! Definitely wearable now.

Bonus: The body of this dress was cotton, but polyester flowers were woven into it. Since polyester won’t hold Rit dye, they stayed white for a gorgeous contrasting pattern.

Obviously it’s a little chilly out there, so some layering was required. I wore this to work with a cardigan and a pair of American Apparel thigh high socks (Do you have a pair of these? I love mine so much!) under my trusty black vegan leather boots.

My husband says this outfit screams “F you, winter!” And that’s just about the message I want to send right now.

• Ehow: How to Dye with Beet Juice
• How to Dye in your [front-loading] Washing Machine 
• Rit Dyeing Techniques Tips for Success
• American Apparel Thigh High Socks *Warning: The images on this website are known for being, um, provocative. This one is borderline SFW.