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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Cases and a koi

Hello, my lovelies, it's me again! So more crafting has been going on in my life than my blog makes it look like. I just post the fancy ones. :)

Anyways, here's a quick overview of my more "mundane" crafts. More photos and information (including some simple tutes) are below the cut, but it's a looooot of pictures.

Oh yeah, check out my mad Paint skillz!

Ranting, housekeeping, and stitch patterns

Hey there everyone! As always, I seem to post in stops and starts, especially now that the busy semester has once again set in. Was anyone else on here hit by that crazy blizzard? I live in an apartment in Chicago and go to school in Chicago = SNOW DAY!!! Except it wasn't actually that awesome, because it totally screwed with my schedule.

But anyways, moving past my self-pity, I wanted to share something that has really lifted my heart. My blog has already passed 5000 views!!!!

Did you get that?

5000 VIEWS!!!!!!

Thank you so much, dear readers, for validating this stingy stitcher's poor soul with your interest and lovely comments! I hope that I continue to prove interesting, because, come on, who doesn't love knowing that people take an interest in what you do? 

So first, really quick, I took some more pictures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hat I crocheted for my friend a while back (there's a mini-tute of how to make it via that link). She's camera-shy, and I've more or less moved past that phase that since photography is so vital in the online crafting community. :) So here we go, with the maker as the model!

See that in the background? That's my boyfriend's bunk bed/futon (yeah, you read that right), which he scored for $25!!! Can you believe that? The frame and the heavy, high-quality mattress! Though he didn't get the mattress for the top bunk. I love me some garage sale-hopping!

I love that the hat's nubby, thick, and warm. And there are earflaps! I want a hat like this, though probably not TMNT. I don't think I've ever watched a complete episode even, haha.

With that taken care of, I wanted to share a little something else with you. Maritza from California requested that I share the stitch pattern to my mother's Christmas shawl, which you all might remember...

Now, since I'm sure that the rest of you are just so riveted by my work that you were unable to summon the willpower to ask yourselves (hardy har har), I'm sharing it here! Read on to see it!

A quick and easy T-shirt recon

First off, a shout-out: Thank you to Heather of Me Making Do for featuring my join-as-you-go crocheted ribbing! Visit her blog for all sorts of great things: beautiful crafts, great tutorials, and of course, our favorite, link parties!






So, on to the topic of the day: you all remember a little while back, when t-shirt reconstruction was all the rage. While it may have toned down somewhat, it's still going strong. Way back then, while browsing the various creative things you can possibly do with a t-shirt, I stumbled on a fabulously easy one:

Sorry, the room looks like a mess, but it actually isn't. Bad angles?

Assuming you want to make it (and I know you want to make this), read on!

A different way to crochet a ribbed brim

Hey there all! So school's started, and of course that's been loads of fun. I've been trying to keep crafting, especially since my friends' Christmas gifts still aren't finished. I'm so close to finishing this next one, just need to add some finishing touches.

Anyways, I decided to post up a little technique I used on this hat I'm making for my friend. So I'm sure a lot of you crocheters have heard of crocheting in the back loop to create a ribbed effect that even has stretch. If not, here's a quick video showing how. I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly. :)

In my experience, I have only seen projects that either start with the ribbing and work their way up (like the fingerless gloves I made a while back), or sew the ribbing on later.  Or consist completely of ribbing, but that's not the target of this tutorial.

So I came up with a simple little method to attach the brim as you make it. Lazy as I am, this was an amazing discovery! And look! It even looks nice!

So you want to learn an easy way to add a little more elasticity to your hats? Click on Read More and let's begin!

Excitement! I've been featured!

Great news! So I should have done this ages ago, but I've been featured twice already! I feel somehow validated, knowing that people have taken notice of my work and thought it original enough to share. Thanks to them, and also to my awesome viewers. As I am writing this, I have already surpassed 3800 pageviews, and it's so exciting! Thank you all for reading, and I hope to keep seeing you coming back around to hang with the Stingy Stitcher!




Moving on: the first person to feature me was the awesome Amanda of Today's Top 20, a blog devoted to showcasing all the amazing crafters who are online these days. Do y'all remember those Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle hats I posted a while back? She added those to her top 20 about a month ago, and it's taken me 'til now to remember to thank her in turn. ^_^;; Sorry, Amanda!

Please do check out her blog! Not only is it awesome in itself to see so many creative people spotlighted, but it is also an extension of my gratitude to her. Enjoy the craftiness!



Next up is the wondrous Wendy, Lord and Master of Copycat Crafts. Seriously guys, this blog is the best idea ever. No one who has been out and about in the crafting community could possibly miss how popular and prevalent knock-offs have become, and I can't believe no one else has thought to devote an entire website to these wonderful pretties.

Wendy was nice enough to showcase my Forever 21-inspired infinity scarf, which has rapidly become my favorite scarf. I mean, duh: if you wear lots of a particular color, make a scarf in that color. Only took two years to figure out. Anyways, thank you again to Wendy!

I absolutely must restate this as many times as possible. Visit. Their. Sites. Seriously, you will not regret it. Sites like Today's Top 20 and Copycat Crafts are just amazing for sharing knowledge and building up your electronic network. Don't miss out!