Make it something you LOVE

Hello again! You probably won't be hearing from me in the next couple of weeks. I have massive amounts of studying to do, as well as a Capstone paper to write. >.< If I don't come back, it means I've died of exhaustion. Ack!

So what I'm showing today is really simple, but when I realized this, it was still eye-opening. You know those clothes you have that are just...okay? The ones where you look at them and think, "If only this or that were different, it would be perfect."

I've finally realized that I have the ability to make them perfect! Well, for me, at least. ;) And so do you! Take, for example, this sweater.

It's a nice sweater. I wasn't a huge fan when I first got it because I wasn't so open to the chunky knits thing. But lately, I've really come to see the great potential in it. (It also comes with a matching belt, so I don't look like a droopy rectangle when I wear it!)

However, there was one thing that really, really got on my nerves about this sweater. Can you guess what it is? Here, I'll give you a hint.

ARGH! Those buttons! Do you see how they're this funky, pinkish hue? I probably wouldn't have minded if they were actually pink. But these buttons just look faded and grody and I hated looking down at them when I wore this sweater. (bonus points to anyone who realized the buttons aren't sewn on...I had already replaced them so I just put them on top of the buttonholes)

So for months I pouted and mentally whined about how much I hated those buttons until I came upon a revelation: Change the darn buttons already!

My first thought was to go through my modest button stash. I experimented with variations on a hue (red, green, or blue), or using multiple colors. Ultimately, I decided that I still wanted my buttons to be plain and simple, because the cabling was already quite enough detail. So I went to Hancock Fabrics, found some lovely, simple black buttons, and here we are!

So much better, yes? I like how the contrast makes the sweater a leetle more interesting without making it look busy. Here's how I wore it with the the shirt I just posted about.

I look a bit bulky...I'll just blame my boyfriend for taking pictures of me from a low angle. :P And yes, I switched out the belt. I wanted something with a bit more color.

I now love this sweater. Let's look at the comparison again:

It was such a small change, but it made a world of difference to me.

Your assignment: Evaluate your own wardrobes and see if there's something in there that just needs a little tweaking. A shirt that needs taking in? New buttons on your cardigan? A dress that needs to be shortened or lengthened? Take the time to do these things, and you will thank yourself immediately afterward! It's totally worth it to be able to turn something you like into something you love.

What item in your closet do you think needs a little switching up?

See you all next time!

-Annie

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Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sundays (sorry Bev, the button wasn't working for me!)

From scratch!

Long time no see, my friends! Things have been absolutely nuts in my life this past month, and the crafting front is quite quiet. However, I have many, many old things I would like to show you, so I will slowly be posting about those in the coming days/weeks. Is it sad that I had to wait until Spring Break before I had time to draw a breath and maintain my blog? Wow.

Anyways, this project had me super-excited. My interest in sewing was initially inspired by my interest in recons. However, despite my lack of experience, I have always had the ambition to sew something from scratch (hence the heaps of fabric in my closet). Hallelujah, what should I stumble upon one day but this fabulously simple tutorial for a fabulously simple shirt? And would believe that this girl is only in seventh grade??? Such envy...

Ready to see my VERY FIRST WEARABLE ITEM MADE FROM SCRATCH? (can you tell I'm excited about this? Haha...)

Voila!

Oh yeah, look at that, look who's a crafting boss! By the way, please forgive the exposed closet, my ancient apartment doesn't have closet doors. I'm debating getting a pretty shower curtain to cover it and use as my photography backdrop, but we'll see.

These photos without flash are a bit more true to color. I have no idea where the fabric actually came from, but I've had it for years, and I have a lot of it. My grandmother used it to make a baby-sized bathrobe for my brother, and he's 11 now, so let's let the age of this fabric really soak in...

I won't be posting my own tutorial since I don't want to be stealing Nay Nay's glory. But I did modify it in a couple ways.

Number one (and honestly my favorite part of this shirt), I hemmed the neckline rather than using a band. However, for some reason I decided to be a genius and use a straight stitch with jersey. I don't know if any of you have tried it, but you can feel how weak that kind of seam is. So to add some strength, I went over it three more times, this time making the lines wavy for visual interest. And I really love the look! My only real regret is that I wish I had cut an even more generous neckline, but there's still plenty of jersey in my stash! :D

I did something similar with the sleeves, opting out of using a cuff and instead hemming them. I'm not as happy with them because it is much harder to manipulate the waves when the sleeve is so stretched around the machine, so they don't look quite as nice. I'm pretty sure I'd be the only person to notice though, haha.

So there you have it! Make sure to visit Nay Nay's blog, Sweet LemoNAYde, if you're interested in this tutorial or any other simple but awesome sewing projects. Seriously, how many seventh grade girls are this cool?

-Annie

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