T-shirt to Cheeky Garter Belt Refashion And Tutorial

Yay! More lingerie refashions! This will be lingerie tutorial #2 (#1), but there will definitely be more to come. I had been wanting to make my own lingerie for a long time but I had a hard time justifying putting that much time and energy into something I could only wear in my own house. Finally I gave up trying to justify it and just stahrted sewing. Besides, I have made a number of pieces of men's lingerie (true story), why not make my own?
I was inspired by this awesome graphic T I mined from a corporate thriftstore in my neighbourhood. Originally they were going to be panties but I decided that wasn't quite cheeky enough for this find.
As always (usually) I started by cutting the tshirt open at the seams to create flat pattern pieces.
I marked my pattern on the right side so that I wasn't having to constantly flip it back and forth to make sure I wasn't cutting through the graphic.
I folded the shirt in half to make sure my cut was symmetrical.
I did the same with the blank back of the shirt. The blank piece will be the front of the garter.
The hem on the graphic (which is the back of the garter belt) rose up much higher). The cut ends up looking like this.
I also made a liner out of the rest of the t-shirt so that the t-shirt cotton wouldn't stretch out of shape as easily. For the liner I just cut duplicates of the first two pieces. I sewed both the sets of pattern pieces together seperately.
And attatched them at the top, right sides together.
At the bottom I folded both hems in toward each other and sewed the bottom hem with a zig zag stitch.
With scraps from the t-shirt I created these four garters by cutting 1.25" widths and folding them in on eachother so no raw edges are visible. I sewed them closed with a zig zag stitch.
For lack of ready garter clips I repurposed paper clips which worked surprisingly well. So well that I doubt I'll replace them.
And voila!
May the refashion be with you.

Hey, is that Easter up there?

If by up there you mean up there in the future then yes, it is.

Hubby and I are in the rather exciting position of starting family traditions this year, as we now have a little family to tradish with. Granted, Wildeman has no idea what Easter is, or what bunnies are and no way in hell is he eating chocolate this Easter but he'll appreciate all this in a couple years and by then we'll have it down pat.

So, good weather allowing we will be Easter brunching in the park with our lovely family (with brownies baked inside eggshells)  and if I recall someone started some kind of holiday challenge...what was that again? Oh, that's right:

Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013 #4: Easter

and here is the adorable little bunny now in

 

The Shabby Bunny

Pinterest Challenge #3 Cross Back Tank

Yay! I'm still on track with the Pinterest Challenge!

Confusion can be cured by clicking that link up there ^

Boring tank tops can be cured by doing this:

My Pinspiration:

I bought this tank at my favourite thrift store with the original intention of doing nothing to it. I get so excited about details and prints that I own very few basics. It turns out I can`t really handle basic.

My Other Pants are a Kilt - Part 3

It's the beginning of the end!
(but in a good way)


 If you have no idea what I'm talking about and you have never seen this picture before you want to be over here, not here.

If you are in the right place then: It's the beginning of the end! Congratulations to making it this far in the project and/or clicking on some links and reading some stuff!

By now I'm sure you're very familiar with this cutie.

My Other Pants are a Kilt Part 3

The Jacket and Sporran

This is part 3 of the tutorial for the Wildeman Holiday Challenge 2013: St. Patrick's day as well as my Sew-vivor audition this season.This formal Irish suit is made up of 6 different pieces. A button-down onesie, vest, jacket, bow tie, kilt and sporran.

No idea what challenge I'm talking about?
No idea what Sew-vivor is?
Haven't seen Part 1?

Caught up now? Good, on we go...

Part 1 -
Kilt and Vest

Part 2 -
Button down onesie

Part 3-
Jacket and sporran (You are here!)

I made the bow tie using this tutorial.

Baby Boy Formal Irish Jacket Tutorial

Blue Plaid Flannel to Sexy Pleated Micro Mini Skirt

Hello everyone !

Ever notice the ridiculous lack of lingerie refashion tutorials? No? Well, I have and I think it's a travesty that requires a quick remedy. Hopefully this will be the first of many lingerie refashions, because lingerie makes you feel beautiful and sexy and the world needs more women who feel beautiful and sexy.

I started out with this:



It's kinda big...

 

Peace! - and other clever blog post titles...

Hello everyone!

How about another maternity refashion? I'm not pregnant anymore but I still have a few refashions that have gone woefully unshared for far too long. This refashion ended up being my favourite top while I was pregnant and every time I wore it I got a complement, so awesome near the end when I was all waddly and bloated!

To start out you'll want to find yourself an L - XL T, mine had a cool graphic (because, you know, it's me) but a patterned something would work well for this too. This is a great way to fill up your maternity wardrobe without spending 30$ for a t-shirt.

Would have been awesome for twins!

Waterproof Changing Pad Cover

You know what's a weird word? Pillowcase. Pillows don't go in a case. Why not bag or sack or cover. Or even pillowcasing. But case? Am I missing some period in the English language when a case was a bag?

Any way, this tutorial is for a changing pad COVER...not case. And on with the show!

When hubby and I bought our changing pad before Wildeman was born we thought we were getting one that was waterproof (seemed reasonable) but that was very much not the case (hehe, not the bag...it's beginning to make sense). Then we, being new parents, were all like, "Meh, who needs a waterproof cover, we'll be diaper ninjas's in no time!" It turns out the diaper is the ninja, evading explosive poos with wicked agility. Several dry cleaner bills later I finally got around to making a waterproof cover for the thing. I used PUL, polyurethane laminate, the same stuff they use for diaper covers. It was originally a fabric made for use in hospitals but now you can buy it in tons of baby-friendly patterns and colours. We were gifted with a few yards of it while I was pregnant, and I bought some in brown. The brown will eventually be a waterproof mattress cover for Wildeman when he starts sleeping in his own bed (I know the mattress isn't ninja).

Okay, seriously with the show now...

Women's Button Down to Baby's Button Down

Hello everyone,

It's time for some baby refashions! I have made a ton of clothes for Wildeman and I intend to share them all for you. There really aren't enough cool, commercially available baby clothes in the world. My kid is already cute, covering him in bunnies and teddy bears seems like overkill. It's a damn good thing I can sew or he would be naked all the time!

On with the tutorial:

Reshaping Men's T to Women's

Hello Crafty Folks,

I have a really simple t-shirt reshaping for you today. This is a good tutorial for beginning refashioners who are feeling nervous about taking scissors to their clothes. I started out with a large men's t-shirt with a great graphic design (I have a thing for graphic Ts...and skulls...and colours...I LOVE THIS SHIRT).

 

Simple Refashion: XL Men's T-shirt to Cinched Tunic

Man it feels good to be doing this again!

I loved this idea I found on Pinterest a while ago but hadn't come across the right shirt until my last thrift store visit. The Value Village near my house is a goldmine of large men's graphic T's, and I fortuitously have an obsession with graphic T's. When I found this one I knew I had to have it and immediately knew what to do with it.

I love a cheeky graphic.

Men's XL Flannel to Women's Fitted Shirt

Hello Crafty Foxes and Foxy Crafters,

I'm finally posting my first tutorial since my little Wildeman was born! This refashion posed a special challenge for me as I am refashioning for my post-pregnancy body, and it's very unlike the body I am used to sewing for. Not only is it bigger in size (40 of 65 lbs to go!), my breasts have gone rogue. I was a generous A before I got knocked up, then I swelled all the way up to an E and am still getting the hang of these Ds I've been left with. TMI? Well, I think it's a valuable piece of information for other refashioners who have experienced weight/body changes for any number of reasons. So this was very much trial and error as fitting a shirt to my bust line before meant very little.

Anyway,

On with the tutorial>>> 

Men's XL Flannel to Women's Fitted Shirt

Crocheting for my baby boy!

Hello foxy crafters!

The world seems rife with boring overly cutesy baby clothes and I'm just not cool with it. Luckily I have some craftiness up my sleeve. Here's what I've made so far. Click the pics to be taken to the patterns:

Cloth Necklace

Hello crafty people
{crafty like a fox}

No refashioning today. Just an oldschool DIY. I made this cloth necklace with some fabric I bought at a thrift store (took me forever to figure out what to do with it but I loved it so much!) but this DIY in particular is usually done with an old t-shirt. Probably works best with jersey, I did it with a shiny, non-stretchy fabric. No freakin' idea what it might be made of (I'm not quite that good).

This is a simple project. I just whipped it up in about 45 minutes. You just cut the fabric into strips to make your braid (I doubled them for a bulkier braid), sew off the ends and attatch a whole bunch of strips for the rest of the necklace. Super easy and super cute! Perfect for summer. Enjoy! (+ my amateur artsy photos :P )

See you soon!

Second Trimester Outfit

Hey crafters.

Not so much crafting today, just sharing one of my all-time fav maternity outfits:

Silver + black cardigan: Gifted

Yellow tank: Motherhood Maternity 10$

Dark blue jeans: Thyme Maternity 59$ (This is what happens when you buy clothes instead of make them)

Jesus and Mary belt: Apartment 

A close up on the belt becuase it really is one of the coolest things I own. Birthday win from my lovely sister!

Frakin' flash!

Lace Shorts!

New tutorial for today!

I know that lace shorts have been a thing for a while now but I didn't know about them until I saw a woman wearing them at the doctors office and I was in love! But is there any chance that a maternity option is available for these beauties? Not a shot in hell. But that's okay because I have a sewing machine and a giant box of lace my aunt wanted to get rid of. Score!

You can use this tutorial to make non-maternity shorts really easily as when I make maternity bottoms I just keep the waist below the belly so that I can still wear my creations after the baby is born.

The Shorts

Rocket Skirt/Top

Happy almost the end of June!

How is everyone liking my new blog?

I have another maternity tutorial for you today! At the thrift store a while back I found a wicked extra-large, extra-tall men's t-shirt that was covered in rocket ships. My non-pregnant self could have worn the thing as a dress it was so huge but prego me fills out the front a little to much. So, I made a new thing! It's a shirt/skirt for pregnant a ladies!

The finished product:

The tutorial:

Originally I wanted to make a dress using the rocket fabric a the skirt and and old black t-shirt as the top. These were my starting materials, I think the shirt was around 7$:

Men's XL to Women's Maternity

Hello!

I told you I would get a tutorial up here sometime soon and I meant it! I guess I'm over the first trimester fatige (at 4 freakin' months!). I whipped this little beauty up yesterday afternoon and now it's my favourite maternity shirt!!! Read on for the tutorial:

After

Before

Oversized Envelope Clutch

Hello!

It has been a while since I've posted something new up here. I was having brain-melting computer troubles but my brain has been unmelted, my computer replaced and my harddrive restored so...I'm back!

While all of that nonsense was happening was, of course, busy making cool things to share with you. So, without further ado the

Oversized Envelope Clutch Tutorial

I started out with this very cute Juniors dress (yep, that's a dress) that I found at a thrift store for about 11$. It was a size 3 so there was no way I could wear it but I couldn't pass up that gorgeous print!

I tried pinning it in billion different ways (8) and while there were all fine none of them were really . doing anything for me. I think it was the quality of the fabric. That sheen was keeping it from being the funky, casual top I had envisioned. So, I changed the plan.

As I often do, apparently, I forgot to take pictures of the first part so put get ready to use that imagination. First thing to do is decide how big you want your clutch to be. You need something to stiffen the fabric. I used cereal boxes, without thinking that that means I can't take it out in the rain (in Vancouver)...yep...

You'll need two rectangles, one a little thinner than the other and a triangle for the top flap. Then wrap your fabric around your base.

It also needs a liner so that you can't see that base evertime you open the thing.

Now sew it all together (make sure you left yourself a seam allowance).

Need a strap as well (I also added a button just at the point of the flap).

And VOILA!

Pretty cool eh?

Thanks for stopping by!