Floral skirt makeover

This is the last project I have to post from 2014 - finally! On to even bigger and better things, right?

 

I'm still really on board with the floral trend that was everywhere last year. I hope it's still on-trend this year, but even if it's not...I'll keep wearing them, because they rock (and most of the fabric I bought last year was floral-print, so...gotta use that up!). 

This skirt started its life as one of my mom's. No idea where she got it from, but it didn't fit her anymore and she figured I'd like the print.

This was horribly unflattering on me. In addition to the bad length, it gave me awful muffin top. So nothing to do but take it apart, right? I kept the original waist band and hem and shortened it up significantly. If I'm being honest, I did not do a great job keeping the hem even. But that didn't stop me from wearing the skirt once a week!

[Blowing in the wind.]

Unfortunately, I wore this so much that the stitching at the waistband started coming apart, and I now have a big hole to mend. Should be a quick fix, but right now I think it's buried in with a bunch of other projects. Gotta get on that!

This is probably my favorite upcycle - what's yours?

Polo Shirt Refashion

After almost a year of sitting in my UFO pile, I am pleased to announce that this project is finally done!

[My mom, who graciously agreed to take some decent pictures for me, said that I looked like I was ready to go sailing in this outfit. I'd love to!]

I struggled with what buttons I wanted to use for this, and finally decided on some contrasting navy-ish ones.

 

As a reminder, this is what it looked like beforehand (bad lighting and all):

-a super large old shirt of my dad's with a hole in it (I'm not convinced that my mom didn't make that hole herself just so she wouldn't have to look at this shirt anymore...)

 

After a promising start, inspired by Merrick, this one languished for quite a while. First, I couldn't get the neckline to sit right. I finally fixed that and wore this to work (we have a very informal dress code) and noticed that it hit me at a very weird spot and I was constantly fussing with it. My solution?

Use some more of those buttons from the back, and some scrap fabric, to make these cute little whatcha-ma-call-its (seriously, what would you call that?). 

I'm not 100% in love with this shirt (1. I accidentally cut the boat neck too big and 2. I'm not sure it's really figure-flattering), but it does fill a hole in my wardrobe and feels very summer-appropriate. I do especially like the cute but easy feel with the navy shorts, and have been wanting to add some stripes to my wardrobe for a while, as they're very classically trendy (a perennial favorite of Tilly’s). And I stash- and UFO-busted like a champ, woohoo!

What's your favorite go-to summer look?

Good enough for who it's for

Over the years, this has kind of become a family motto for us. My parents built their house about 20 years ago, and while they did an excellent job, there were a few things here and there that weren't perfect, but hey, "Good enough for who it's for!" I've certainly carried on with this motto. Although I'm very type A, and often demand excellence, I'm also incredibly impatient, so if getting something finished RIGHT NOW means that it won't be perfect, the impatience usually wins out. 

Cases in point:

 

Yes, ladies and gentleman, this is what was covering the window of my front door for an embarrassingly large number of months. I'd intended to make a real curtain for quite a while, but couldn't figure out what fabric I wanted to use. I finally picked out some stash fabric and got to work without a clear idea of how I wanted the curtain to come together. The fabric, which I picked up at a local fabric store warehouse sale as part of a $6/pound special, probably cost me no more than a dollar, so, while I liked it, I wasn't too afraid of screwing it up. It was slippery and very difficult to work with, so I thought fusible interfacing might be easier to work with than the sewing machine. Well, after 2 seams, I'd had enough, and set this project aside for months.

Eventually (as in, the day before my housewarming party - which I held 4 months after I actually moved in), I decided that, come hell or high water, this curtain was going to get done! I realized the way I'd originally envisioned the curtain was pretty stupid and impractical, so I decided on a much simpler version and started over (luckily there was enough fabric left!).

So...it's finished, but the edges aren't quite straight, and the back looks terrible, but...good enough for who it's for! It's neutral, it still lets in some light (a must in my basement apartment!), but is thick enough to provide some privacy. All in all, a job decently done. 

This next project was actually finished the day OF my housewarming party. Back story: I bought these two footstools at an auction 6 years ago for $10. My cat practically tore the "leather" to shreds, but the footstools were incredibly useful and, since I didn't want to shell out for new, store-priced ones, I couldn't bear to throw them away. When I moved into my last apartment, I decided to recover them:

I cut out 6 squares and sewed them into a cube shape. You can't see it in this picture, but I didn't have quite enough fabric to reach the bottom of the stools. Still, it was better than what I had and, you guessed it, good enough for who it was for.

Well, with my new apartment, it was time for a new theme. I decided to use one of the footstools as a sewing "chair" (still needs to be recovered!) and put the other in the bathroom as a good catch-all, since my vanity is so small.

At first, I was planning to use some stash fabric, but then my friend and I bought Groupons to the Chicago Textile Discount Outlet and I found some remnant fabric that matched my shower curtain almost perfectly!

 

I definitely rushed this one, hence the less-than perfect seams and the fabric dragging the ground a bit. Instead of the 6 squares this time, I figured I'd save myself some seams and cut out an X-shape to start with. It's really handy having this in the bathroom, and I really like that it matches! Now, if I could just whip the rest of my apartment into shape...

Are you guys perfectionists? Or would you rather just get a project done?