A new skirt for me and projects from the past

I've made a new skirt this week that I'm quite proud of!

I didn't use a pattern for this skirt, just modeled it off one of my favorite skirts. I used linen-look fabric, put a zipper in the back, and even used interfacing in the waistband so it wouldn't look all slouchy while wearing it. This actually used to be a full length cape that I used as part of my Red Riding Hood Halloween costume in 2012. Repurposing for the win! This fabric is perfect for pleated skirts, the linen-look fabric is so wrinkle resistant and it's perfectly weighted and flowy and ugh, linen-look, I love you. I managed to make this skirt look a little fuller by adding another hidden pleat tucked behind each visible pleat. So fancy right? While I'm at it, here's a few of the skirts I've made in the past that I never showed off:

I made this yellow linen skirt last spring. I used genuine linen so it wrinkles like crazy unfortunately.

This skirt I made in the summer of 2011 when I was living in Concord and I was too poor for fancy clothes so I used up my fabric stash. This was actually a fabulous skirt for summer. It was a light fabric and so flowy! I just gathered it and made a nice wide waistband. I don't know why, but I love wide waist bands. For some silly reason, I have since gotten rid of this skirt. Ah well.

I also wanted to share my hand made vintage inspired bikini that I made at the end of last summer!

I also mostly free-handed this creation with a little pattern help for the top. I used parts of a pattern from either the book Famous Frocks or Sewing Vintage Modern (I'm way too lazy to go digging through my pattern collection right now). I just needed a little guidance for getting the cup construction right. I tore apart a regular bra to help with the construction for the top; I just pulled out the underwire and cut the cups to the right shape for the top, stitched them in between the decorative fabric and voila! Support! For the bottoms, I just traced a pair of my comfiest boyshorts onto newspaper for a pattern and went with it. This is literally the comfiest bathing suit I've ever owned. I don't feel like I'm gonna fall out the top, and the high-waisted bottoms give me such a curvy looking silhouette, which is quite a boost for my confidence in the summer. I'm so self-concious.

And just for fun, here's the final result of my pastel hair journey!

 I did one more gentle bleaching and my hair is finally light enough to call pastel. I'm in love with it, but the maintenance is unbelievable. Pastels fade so quickly. I'll have to start thinking about a summer hair color before I know it. I'd love to do a warm color for summer, but we"ll see. 

Message to any readers out there: would anyone like to see tutorials on how to make any kind of clothing this year? Leave a comment with ideas for me! Since I'm on a learning curve myself with perfecting my talents, I'd love to share any knowledge I have with my readers. I appreciate any and all input!

A Year Without Clothes Shopping

That's right. A YEAR without clothes shopping. For my new years resolution (something I usually don't bother with) I want to cure myself of mindless consumerism and fully immerse myself in the value and satisfaction of making my own clothes, instead of buying the mass produced items off the shelf of the nearest Target (as much as I love you, Target).
I can't even count the number of times I've gone into a store and said "Wow! That's super cute!" Then I look at the price tag and go "Wow! I could make that myself!" So this year, I'm putting myself to the test. I shall not buy a single article of clothing that I couldn't make myself. I'll only have a few small exceptions to my goal of not shopping, which will be items like socks, underwear, and jeans, that I simply do not know how to make. However, that doesn't mean I can't try to make them throughout the course of the year, because man would it be nice to never need to wiggle into several pairs of jeans to find the right size again..
I also want to grow as a seamstress and to save money in the process.Two yards of fabric and a zipper can result in a gorgeous $9 dress, as opposed to a $40, cheaply made (albeit super cute) dress from a chain store, that will fall apart in a few months time.
This also gives me an opportunity to use my new 99 stitch Singer Fashion Mate (the limited edition Project Runway model!) to it's full potential. It's still mind-boggling to me how many stitches this thing has, compared to my trusty two-stitch Brother machine that I was rocking for a solid 12 years.

I've got an enormous stash of patterns that need use and love. My FAVORITES are in my two vintage fashion books, with patterns inspired by the styles of Twiggy, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, Janis Joplin and so on. They're so timeless and perfect. I want to create a super minimalist wardrobe of things that can be mixed and matched any which way, and things made with classic silhouettes that never go out of style.

 I've also got an amazing book called DIY Couture that shows the same patterns done a bunch of different ways, which really shows the versatility that comes with making your own clothes. SO MANY CIRCLE SKIRT VARIATIONS. It's badass.

I also inadvertently got into this mindset before I even resolved to this resolution. I made myself a pair of slipper and a new pretty Christmas dress last month because I simply didn't feel like spending money on things that I already had the supplies to make. I crocheted these adorable slippers and added a felt bottom to keep the yarn from wearing out and getting dirty and added pretty ribbon to keep them from slipping off (which they did, frequently).

 The dress was easy peasy and I didn't even need a pattern for this (babydoll dresses ftw.) I got the lace and pearl trimmed top from another dress that I had picked up at a thrift store. I cut off the sleeves of the old dress, carefully removed the zipper that went all the way up the back, and stitched it up most of the way and left room for a simple snap closure. I added a simple gathered skirt made of linen-look fabric, and voila! I love the mixture of textures and how comfy this is. Also, super low maintenance. As long as I keep it hanging, the linen-look fabric will not wrinkle ( as opposed to natural linen which wrinkles like craaazy.)

 

I've never been happier with a New Years resolution, although I also haven't mad very many because few of them are attainable or worth sticking to. But I feel like this is perfect for me, and will hopefully lead me towards a life of less shopping for needless things and more appreciation for what I have and what I can make with my own two hands.