Saturday, April 26, 2008

The bridesmaids purses and hats

These little purses afforded me much needed breaks from sewing the dresses and were quickly satisfying! :D I made up my own patterns for them, but exhaustion and running out of time worked havoc with the last one, so I looked to Craftster for it's replacement.

Please take a moment to let them introduce themselves.

"Hi! I'm the most tailored!"

"Hello! I'm chic with pleats and a little color!"

"ciao, sono una figura di divertimento" (In english, that's "Hello, I'm a fun shape!")

*giggle* "I'm the favorite!" *blush*

"I'm last. That's just life, I guess." (This is also the only one that wasn't completed. The embellishment was only pinned on during the whole thing!)

I used tulle, ribbon roses, satin bows and my imagination to embellish them. We finally put the last few stitches on the hats the morning of the wedding. It was so worth it!

Some had little pockets. Only one had a zipper closure.

Every girl had at least one jewelry pouch. I made these because there was one in each of the vintage purses that my grandmother lent us for parties. The snaps were a breeze once the hammer finally made it's way back to the house after some very efficient hands whisked it off! :)

The hats were
TW's idea, but I created a pattern that would work and set Annie on making them.

They really added to the vintage look that the bride wanted!


Many, many thanks to my younger sister for so patiently helping me fashion the ribbon roses! Yep, all 38 of them; there was painstaking small stitches to wrap the ends up, too! Also thanks to Mother for finding us the instructions and the rest of my sisters for moral support and advice. We giggled a lot late one night working on them!

We did not carry our purses during the ceremony, but it was nice knowing that these cute little things were waiting with family for us and they looked very good with our bouquets on the bridal table!

Note: I do intend to eventually post pictures of the bridesmaids dresses, but I don't have the professional pictures yet and I want to wait for them! There are a few shots that I'm hoping the photographer caught!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Vintage Style Blouse


I altered this cute dress pattern to make a blouse. I'd already made a muslin for a now almost finished dress, so I knew it would fit (perfectly, too, in my opinion!). I couldn't pass up this perfectly darling fabric when I saw it. With only 1 1/4 yds, I knew I'd have to be careful with the pattern choice. This was the perfect one!


Results: The ghost of a vintage pattern updated for the empire waist fashions of today!

The right side of the fabric was too bright for me, so I have the wrong side out; it's so much more pretty that way! It's lined with white muslin, but is still lightweight and perfect for the unbearable heat I'm anticipating this summer.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Birthday gift for a special friend



My first ever crocheted doily!





EXTRA BONUS!!!
Here's the birthday card! From this tutorial.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Refashioned shirt



I made this shirt a few years ago, but rarely wore it because I didn't like it 100%! My sister altered it some, but then she didn't wear it. Finally, I decided to alter it again! This time I completely ripped the sleeves off because they didn't fit correctly, changed the neckline and replaced the zipper in the side. Because it's a woven, it has to be just perfect in order to get it over the head with ease; I think I've accomplished that! I added full sleeves from another pattern and gathered them into a band at the bottom, then folded the excess an attached a button.

Here's a before shot:



Here's hoping I'll wear it now!

Friday, April 4, 2008