Easter Sewing Projects

Long time no see, eh?

Vet school means very little time for sewing and cosplay, but I did manage a few projects during the Easter holidays.

T-shirt reconstruction:

I altered my Deadpool shirt fron Qwertee, following an old Threadbanger tutorial that Corinne did years ago. 

I followed another one of Corinne's t-shirt reconstruction tutorials and altered this goat t-shirt: it was an XL before.

 I also altered these black t-shirts to give them a cold-shoulder design. I made patches based on the sigils from Game of Thrones, and sewed those on for decoration. 

I made a little waist pouch for days when I want to wear leggings or skirts without pockets. The pouch is made from fake suede (originally part of a curtain) and closes with a zip. There's a plastic buckle at the back, and I used webbing for the belt. 

 Finally, I altered a tartan shirt dress that I had. It was a bit tight and I didn't wear it that often. I cut it apart and made a new bodice, using a bit of black spandex to make extra bodice panels to improve the fit. 

 The original dress had a nicely flared skirt, which I kept, but I added pockets, and some black lace to the hem. The lace originally came from an old shrug: I had picked all the lace trim off to use for another project. I used up all of the lace, and had just enough for the hem.

 I used grommet tape for the straps (this is the last of the grommet tape that I used to make my Violet Baudelaire costume!) and an old curtain ring for the back of the dress.

Bags!

I got back from University two weeks ago, and in that time I've been able to do some sewing. I made a second Pusheen bag (I gave the first to a friend). I had bought enough fleece to make this bag too (with careful cutting and pattern placement). I improved on the last bag. 

I made sure to baste the fleece layer to the canvas layer, then I overlocked their edges together. This lends strength to the bag and prevents stretching, which was a problem in the first version of the bag. I used some brown jersey to make Pusheen's eye and mouth, and some lining fabric for the stripes and the bag straps (the straps are also stitched to a strength layer of fabric). The webbing is a bit thin for the bag buckles, and I didn't line the bag, but since it's a bag for personal use I don't mind. 

 The second bag is made from an old pair of jeans that tore last year. I really like damask and damask prints, so I kept the material. I was happy to be able to use it. This is a bit of a rough bag: I didn't make a proper pattern and just cut and sewed quickly. It isn't perfect, but it's a nice little bag. I'd like to add a few bages and pins to the front. This bag is fully lined, with internal pockets.
The next bag I'd like to make is a Fjallraven style backpack, large enough to hold a laptop. I'm considering trying to create a galaxy-print fabric. For now, I'm happy with these two bags. 

Ramona's bag and Steampunk costume

Some projects I've been working on :

Ramona Flower's bag. Just in case I need an easy cosplay. I mostly winged it with this project, though I did refer this blog  to  for help. The old table cloth I had came in useful: I used it to make a waterproof lining for the bag. I only wish I knew how to make the bag stiff.I have a feeling it involves very heavy weight interfacting that probably won't go through a home sewing machine. 

 

I've added hook and eye tape to the corset. Now all it needs are the eyelets.

Star dress completed

At last the star dress is finished. Actually it's been finished since Staurday but I only got around to uploading the image today.

I also made a little handbag based on a tutorial by SecrteLife of a Bionerd, using cotton and some satin-like fabric. ( see tutorial here http://www.threadbanger.com/episode/SLB_20100701/silk-chiffon-flower-hand-bag-inspired-by-blugirl-handbag-secretlifeofabionerd )

WIP:

T-shirt recon and skirt to handbag

Since my efforts at creating a dress did not go well (the dye went navy rather than black, the dress itself didn't change colour at all etc.) I needed a simpler project, so I remade a t-shirt. The original t-shirt was an ordinary boxy t-shirt that my parents bought in the Camargue, which I remade into a more fitted t-shirt with better looking sleeves. I'm particularly happy with this because I didn't use any tutorials, just the pinch and pin technique.

T-shirts are fun to reconstruct: they are very versatile and can be remade into a myriad of new clothes or accessories. I plan to do more t-shirt makeovers. One thing I want to try in particular is to make a blotchy looking t-shirt, such as this I'm not sure how to achieve this affect: is it

a) tie dye on a plain white shirt using red dye and black dye

b) tie dye using bleach on a black shirt

c) tie dye on a red shirt using black dye

d) tie dye using bleach followed by dying the shirt red

e) something else?

I've been experimenting with t-shirt designs, such as this:
but sometimes a printed design is a little boring on its own, so dying techniques and how to add embellishments are all going to be useful in making unique t-shirts



My other weekend project was making a skirt handbag. It isn't the first one I made, but it is the first one with a proper strap that won't fall apart. I hand-sewed this bag because I couldn't be bothered to change the needle on the machine. I used an enormous denim skirt that ended up in my fabric pile: in fact, I have enough material left over to make another skirt-or handbag.

I'm going to continue to think of way of creating my star-dress. I'm considering creating a corset-like dress, without boning, something like the t-shirt in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdmsPTLnhRA&feature=related . I don't think I'll put in any lacing; a zipper up the back is just fine. I just need to find the right fabric.
EDIT: I have to start thinking about what to cosplay for Comic Con. the Convention is mid-October, so it will still be warm. So far, Neytiri (Avatar), Masane (Witchblade: firast Witchblade transformation), San (Princess Mononoke) and Violet (A Series of Unfortunate Events) seem the best options.