Refashion #8: Cantaloupe cardigan

It should be obvious: I'm really getting into this refashioning business! Those of you who saw me through the Great Canning Frenzy of 2008 know that when I set my sights on something, I don't stop until I've throttled the living snot out of it. Last summer, I didn't just learn to can. Oh no. I started modestly enough: applesauce, bread and butter pickles, a little tomato sauce. Pretty soon I was fastidiously compiling recipes, buying pectin by the quarter-ton, and inviting myself over to my parents' friends houses just long enough to load their unwanted canning jars into my car, slam the trunk and drive away. I exaggerate, but only a little.

But this post isn't about canning, it's about refashioning. It's about how, in the space of six weeks, I've doubled my bobbin supply, halved my fabric supply, and purchased no less than six different kinds of elastic. Oh, and three new books, eighteen spools of thread, snaps, a zipper foot, and a covered button maker.


That's where this project began, right there with the instant the covered button kit touched itself down into my cart. Visions of sweet little flower-covered buttons danced in my head, thanks in no small part to one Amy Karol.

This is the first project I've done where I actually used two thrift-store items. (Ooooh, do I get extra refashionista points or something?) The sweater (obviously), but also the fabric I used to cover the buttons and trim the bottom of the sweater. It was a cotton/spandex-blend skirt from American Eagle, and let me just say emphatically that after 1+ hours hunched over the thing with my seam ripper, I am never de-constructing an American Eagle garment again! Triple-seamed madness. Yeeps.

The covered buttons were ridiculously easy to make. And exciting. So exciting I felt the need to dance back and forth several times between my craft room and Patrick's studio saying, "Look, honey, covered buttons!!!" I'm sure he was thrilled.

ANYway, this is the before shot, just for reference:

(The funny red line down the middle is my tailor's chalk.)

Don't worry, pretty soon this phase will wind itself down and I'll move on to my next fixation. Any guesses? Paper mache, maybe, or mosaics? Candle dipping? Welding? Your guess is as good as mine!

Announcement, and a giveaway!

Well, it never rains, it pours. This season has brought us many good things, along with our new house. I am pleased to announce that I've landed myself a spiffy little writing gig. So far, I've written articles on things like growing sprouts, making aprons, and shopping at the farmer's market, for an excellent little sustainability-minded site called Grow and Make. If this sounds like it's right up my alley, well, that would be the understatement of the century.

This means several things. One, in addition to wife, daughter, caretaker, barista, gardener, seamstress, and chef, I am also contributing editor. I quite like the sound of that one. Three jobs, though, goodness. How did that happen?

Thirdly, we are looking for contributors. Next week we're going to launch a sort of Sustainability Show and Tell series-- like the Design*Sponge before + after posts, only green. Anything from refashioning clothing to making stock to reupholstering a couch-- it's all fair game, as long as you've got pictures. If you'd like to be featured on Grow and Make, and get a cute little button for your blog, let me know at adiantumpedatum (at) yahoo (dot) com.

The real point of this post (now that I'm finally getting to it...) is a giveaway. It seems only right to host one in celebration of things--houses and dreams and new directions--and for you all. You've been out there-- some since the very beginning--commenting and cheering me on even in those days of single-digit hit counts and three followers. Your comments make my day like nothing else. You rock my socks! And so, this is for you.

The apron I am wearing in the picture is one I made for a Grow and Make article last week. It's refashioned from a button-down shirt. If you'd like to win it, leave a comment on this post before midnight, Monday, June 28th.

Self-indulgent sewing, the best

Here's what happened. About this time last week, after rounding third base on my mother-in-law's Christmas present, I paused to take stock of my Christmas-progress. It may not be apparent here, but I've been quietly sewing presents since the beginning of September.

The quilts are done. The pillows are done. The purse, the napkins, and the tote bags are done.

I did a double-take. A month to go, and only four presents left to make? Four quick, easy presents? Whaaat?

Self, I said, it's time for some self-indulgent sewing.

Hungrily, I hauled out my bag of thrift store/vintage/to-be-altered clothing, and dumped it on the floor.

All this week, with Thanksgiving looming distractingly in the near future, I carved out a few hours of sewing time and devoted it to myself.

Oh, it felt good. As many of you know, I have a hard time spending time on myself. (Money, on the other hand, is no problem...) I'm working on this. Certainly, my new-found love of refashioning helps. I can rationalize: I'm just a beginner, I don't want to flub someone's gift, for goodness sakes. Perhaps it's better if I just sew this one little thing for myself. Because then I'll have a new skirt for Friday night...

A new skirt, or two. And a dress, and cardigan.

(For those who are curious: the dress is vintage, bought at a yard sale this summer for $5. I repaired a tear with a little interfacing and creative embroidery, and hemmed it. The skirt in the middle was a thrift-store purchase, about ankle-length and a size 2. I cut the top off so it would fit my waist, made a waistband, and added some elastic. All I did to the sweater [also thrifted] was take it in. A lot. The skirt on the right used to be a button-down shirt [if you click on the picture you'll be able to see the buttons]. I bought it at Salvation Army, and altered it using this tutorial.)

All this has result in four new things to wear, and a quite obnoxious amount of pride. Next week, it's back to the presents.

Re-fashion #5: Plaid skirt

The beautiful thing about thrift stores is, they have lots of clothes for cheap. The even-more-beautiful thing about thrift stores on half-off days is, clothes are so cheap you don't need to try them on before buying. To me, it's shopping at its very best: you can go by the feel of things, checking the tag (if there is one) and sizing things up with your eyes. After all, who really cares if it doesn't fit? You paid two bucks. Move on.

Of course, if you're me, you end up lugging home huge bags of great clothes which, let's face it, may or may not fit. Sometimes, I get lucky. Sometimes, concessions must be made.

I fell in love with the fabric of this skirt in an instant. It's lightweight cotton jersey with a really nice swish to it. Truthfully, I probably would've bought this skirt if it was four sizes too small; lucky for me, it was only off by one size.

Once home, a radical zipperectomy was performed. Zipper removal, I've discovered, is usually the first step in refashioning a skirt or a dress. Once that was done, I had a tapered tube of fabric with a jagged gap in one side (where the zipper was).

The magical thing about A-line skirts (besides being extremely flattering to just about every body type, heavens be praised...) is that they get wider as you go down. For this skirt, I measured my waist, divided by two, and then slid my ruler down the skirt until its width matched my own. Then, I cut.

I made a new waistband by turning down the top two inches and stitching, and I added some elastic around the back. (All the most comfy skirts involve elastic.) That all was straightforward enough. But how to close that gap? What to replace the zipper with? Tea in hand, I commenced to pacing. And then it hit me.

Little loops and buttons! This was way easier than it looks, trust me. The only really tricky part was making (and sizing) the loops. And the minutes hours I spent dumping and sorting my button collection was mighty therapeutic. These petite little wooden guys were in the jar I bought last weekend. Good stuff.

Now, all I need is a slate gray crochet cotton cardigan, some lace and knee-high boots. Hmm. Do I feel another thrift trip coming on?

Sewing for friends

So perhaps some of you have been wondering where my proclivity for sewing has gone lately. Truthfully, I've been spending way more time in my kitchen than my studio these past few months. Mostly, it's seasonal. Every year, between the End of Snow and the Height of Summer, my needle-and-thread minded head takes a break. It's only fair: when the weather turns gorgeous, there's many places I'd rather be than in my room, under hot lamps, bending and cutting and pressing seams. So, when my urge for perfect seams flies the coop, I don't push it.

In the end, I'm always called back. Sometimes, it's the perfect fabric or project that calls to me, or the pure and simple necessity of Christmas beckoning. Other times, a friend's birthday, and plans for an early July soiree will draw me back to my fabric piles.

The truth is, I've always sewn mostly for friends. With the exception of the refashioning, plus three bags and a table runner for myself, everything I've sewn was a gift. The chance to come to my studio and spend time pulling out fabrics and sketching project ideas with one of my favorite people in mind is a treat. There's a slowness and eternal calming feeling I savor in every project. As seams and sewn and thread ends are snipped, I often find myself lost in meditation on the person, the giftee who'll soon be holding the finished item in their hands. Lots of people out there like to marvel at the amount of work and drudging effort that goes into a handmade gift, but for me, it's never work. It's an excuse to create, and spend hours in the company of my favorite memories.

And of course, the presentation of the finished gifts ain't bad, either.

Last night, I got together with my two best pals from college, and cooked a birthday feast for Kat. Good things happen when the three of us are together. We've been known to walk to miles in pursuit of ice cream, to create delicious concoctions involving coconut rum and frozen fruit, and to be the ones who start dancing at a show. Last night, there was toasted baguette with fresh mozz and roasted red peppers, cherry-vanilla-angelfood cake parfaits, and in between, this salad.

See? Like I said, good things.

Happy Birthday, Kat.