Tutorial: Flared to Skinny Jeans

A few weeks ago I posted an outfit where I wore a pair of Express jeans that I altered into skinny jeans.  I was asked for a tutorial, so here goes.  Note that I think a moderate amount of sewing experience is good for trying this.  If you’re a bit unsure of your skills, try it on a pair of jeans that you don’t care about, or get a cheap pair from the thrift store to experiment with.  And if your sewing skills are nada, you can always get your pants tapered by a tailor.  Also, it’s important that the jeans fit you everywhere else.  If they’re fit poorly in your rear, turning them into skinnies won’t change that.  All this being said, here’s the tutorial.

• Measure at the knee, mid-calf and ankle of both your actual leg and the pair of pants you want to alter.  Note the distance between each of these three points.

• Rip out side seams.  Determine the difference between the measurements of the actual jeans with the measurements you would like them to have, making sure to leave enough ease for the largest part of your calf (at least 2 -3 inches ease).  Mark the new measurements on the jeans and cut/serge.

• Following the example of the original seams, sew up all seams.  Try them on.  You may have to fix the area around the knee by re-doing the seam there – for some reason I always have trouble with this area

And there you go – flares become skinnies!  Happy sewing!

And remember,  you have until midnight tonight (July 4th) to enter the Chickdowntown giveaway!  That’s midnight Eastern Standard Time, if you’re interested.

Daily Outfit: From Gathers to Darts

I had one of those monday mornings yesterday where I felt tired, cranky, and un-eager to deal with the rest of the world.  It took me about an hour to get dressed, as I kept feeling unsatisfied with everything.  I finally selected one of my new tops from my work/interview shopping to wear, only to discover that there was one problem.  See if you can figure it out.

You guessed the baggy fabric underneath my chest right?  This beautiful wrap top is a nice structured cotton, perfect for the summer.  But for some reason, the designer decided to place gathers a good two inches below the bust line, leaving lots of extra fabric where it isn’t needed.  I ended up wearing the top like this most of the day, but I when I got home, I broke out my seam ripper and sewing machine.  This is normally something I would take to a tailor but 1) I was feeling really ambitious and 2) I wanted it now.  I took out the gathers, pressed them flat, made new darts that ended at the bust line.  I sewed them back in and voila!  a much better fitting blouse!

Like I said, this is one of the fabulous items bought recently at Nordstroms, along with my gorgeous teal top that you saw yesterday.  Since this is sleeveless, I wouldn’t wear it to an interview.  But it’s great for a regular day of work, and it looks amazingly sharp over a pencil skirt.  You’ll be seeing the rest of my interview wear soon, which includes my fab pencil skirt, a pinstripe blazer, and a silk black and white printed top.  Since almost everything was on sale, I got all these items, alterations to the blazer, and a pair of Spanx, for less than the suit I was originally going to get from JCrew would have cost me!  I never would have thought of Nordstrom as a bargain before!  (Of course, I should note that the money for my interview clothes came from extra money I took out this semester for this specific purpose, not from my regular budget)

I’m so glad to finally have some jeans at the right length for heels.  All my other pairs had been hemmed too short.  With these, I specifically tried them on with shoes my average heel height (about 2 3/4 inches) and then hemmed them so they would fall about 1 inch from the ground.

My shoes end up just peeking out from under my jeans this way, but the longer hem creates a much nicer line.

Blouse: Great Plains (Nordstroms)
Camisole: Old Navy
Jeans: Express Stella
Shoes: Dansko Neve
Pearls: ???
Earrings: Sara Westermark
Cuff: Thrifted
Purse: Morelle Oyster

Daily Outfit: Splashes of Color

During a recent trip to Revolve, I bought this dress and the skirt in today’s outfit using some store credit.  The skirt was a bit large on me, and came to about mid-calf, but I knew that the material was good and that I could easily modify it to work for me.  I hemmed it significantly, then used the section I chopped off to add a ruffle at the bottom.  I put some elastic into the waistband to help it fit me a bit better.  And volia!  Gorgeous new skirt.

These pictures really don’t do the color justice.  It has a khaki base, with stripes of orange, yellow, green and blue, which means it can go with just about anything.  I used these colors to my advantage in todays outfit, by adding lots of red accents to pull out the orange.  I balanced out all the warm colors with my blue headband and gray purse.

I think it’s funny that many people tend to avoid colorful garments or accessories, because they’re worried about finding things that will go with them.  The fact of the matter is, if you keep enough colorful items in your wardrobe, there will always be something that will work.

I think I’ve discovered that one of my wardrobe essentials is having multiple scoop-neck t-shirts in different colors.  They keep an outfit casual, but the scoop-neck makes them a bit more put together and flattering than crew necks.  When I find a particular tee like this, I stock up in as many colors as will work for me.  I have this one in brown, black, eggplant, pink and red.

The pendant necklace is a beautiful red, cream, and white floral pendant that I bought from the now-defunct Etsy shop, Imogen.  

Tee: Target
Skirt: Lane Bryant (via Revolve and re-conned)
Shoes: Born Codders
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Headband: Target
Scarf (tied on bag): Thrifted
Earrings: June Designs
Pendant: Imogen
Bracelets: Jill Popowich 

Daily Outfit: Mixing It Up

This outfit was inspired by Academichic’s module on pattern mixing.  To keep the multiple patterns from looking too busy, I chose a simple color palette of white, black and blue.  The patterns in the outfit include black lace in the camisole, blue paisley in the scarf, blue brocade and white eyelet in the skirt, black and white polka dot on the bracelet and black mock-croc print on the sandals.  All of the colors came together in the scarf, which made for a lovely finishing touch.  This has also reminded me that I really need to try new things with my hair.  It’s so easy to just wash and air dry it every day, that I rarely try anything to style it.

This outfit also contains two of my new favorite wardrobe staples: my LOFT bolero and Clarks Rime sandals.  When I first purchased this bolero, I was somewhat skeptical of how often I would wear it.  But since I’ve discovered that it works as a draped cardigan (as in this outfit), as a belted cardigan and as a tie-front bolero (here also), I’ve realized that it’s actually far more versatile than a traditional cardigan.  

When I first bought my Clarks Rime sandals from 6pm, I was worried that the straps would hurt my feet.  But I’ve come to love them as my go-to sandals.  They are very comfortable and supportive, and the mock-croc and buckle makes them quite stylish.  And I have yet to get any blisters from them (although I haven’t taken a long walk in them yet – that will be the next test)

Camisole: Old Navy
Bolero: Ann Taylor Loft
Skirt: Sewn by me!
Sandals: Clarks Rime
Scarf: Thrifted
Necklace: Target
Bangle: Thrifted
Earrings: Claire’s

Daily Outfit: Finally Getting It

I got the fabulous book Sew U  for Christmas, and ever since then I have been trying to get the patterns exactly the way I want them.  I’ve mainly been focusing on the skirt.  The largest pattern size was too tight for me, so I kept adjusting the pattern according to my measurements.  I had to keep adjusting it to make it work for my hips, and there were some failed attempts.  After aggressive and honest measuring, adjustments to the darts so they ended at my widest point and adding extra room to accompany my hips, I’ve finally got a skirt that fits.  And it’s even lined.  I’m ecstatic! 

The blue fabric is some synthetic material left over from my prom dress I made years ago, so I was glad to finally make something with it.  The lining is some lovely eyelet cotton.  Normally, lining is supposed to be shorter than the main layer, but I decided to let mine peak out a bit.  I might re-hem it about 1/2 shorter though.   Now that I’ve finally got the pattern figured out, I’ve got plans for several more skirts, including an above-the-knee denim skirt and a hounds-tooth corduroy number.  Once there’s a little more cash flow, some lovely summery cotton skirts will be in the works as well.

Tee: Target
Skirt: Sewn by me!
Shoes: Naturalizer
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Pearls: Coryell Design
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Sewing Lessons I've Learned

• Paper patterns can be ironed on low heat to get the wrinkles out of them
• Transferring patterns to poster paper helps to preserve them and makes it easier to keep reusing a pattern.
• Store your patterns on hangers in your closet.  Or get a wardrobe rack like this.
• Always thread an extra bobbin when you start a project
• Change needles before each sewing session
• Use ballpoint needles for knit fabrics!
• Use tailor’s chalk to label all your fabric pieces
• Press, press and press when sewing!  Your iron is your friend.
• Measure twice, cut once.  Taking your time will save frustration later.
• Use quality fabrics.  Don’t settle for the cheap stuff.
• Read the instruction manuals for your sewing machine(s).
• Be a perfectionist.  Keep trying until you get it right
• Don’t beat yourself up when something doesn’t work.  With each failed project, you learn more and your skills improve.
• Measure yourself and compare you measurements to your pattern.  It may need adjusting (and usually does).

Busy, busy, busy…

My life has been insanely busy this semester, especially in the last week it seems.  Usually I end up spending my free time collapsing in front of the TV and knitting something really simple.  But yesterday I actually had a nice, big chunk of free time, so I got some sewing done.  I have been trying to work through the patterns in Sew U, tailoring them to fit me perfectly.  I haven’t done much pattern drafting or modification before, so I’m learning by trial and error.  After two attempts at trying to get the skirt right (the first one had too high of a waist, the second one was about 6 inches too wide)  I think I’ve finally almost got it.  I made this one by re-coning a pair of wide leg pants.

Thus these pants became this skirt:

Now you may have noticed that I said I almost got it perfect.  Here’s why:

See that lovely little wrinkle of fabric?  The skirt fits fine just below my waist.  It seems to fit my hips alright.  Yet the second I start to move after putting it on, it wrinkles like this, just below where the darts end.  I know there’s some readers out there who sew or at least know a bit more about fit than me.  How do I fix this?  I’m really happy with the overall look and fit of this skirt.  But this persistent wrinkle is driving me crazy, and I want to fix it before I continue to use the pattern for more skirts.  I’m considering going to a tailor to ask for advice.

Christmas loot!

Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with huge long lists of random stuff.  Most of my presents were small and simple, but there’s a few particular items I got that I’m very excited about.

I always prepare an Amazon wish list for Christmas and my birthday, so most of my gifts tend to be books.  I really want to get more into sewing and eventually designing my own clothes, so this year I focused on sewing reference books to help me polish my skills.  Check these out:

The top book is obviously not actually a sewing book, rather it is The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style.  I like to have inspiration around, and this book is excellent for it.  The Sew Everything Workshop and Sew U both deal with the basics of garment sewing.  Some of this will be repetitious for me, but I’ve mostly learned to sew by reading and interpreting patterns, so I like having books that will give me a thorough review of the basics as well as take me to the next level.  Sew U Home Stretch deals specifically with sergers and knit fabrics, which is an area of sewing that I’m particularly weak in.  I’m really looking forward to using these books as a “student” of garment sewing.  I’ve been so fed up with a lot of what I’ve been finding in stores lately, so I’m excited about making and customizing my wardrobe.

I also got a lovely pair of Florida perfect shoes.

Yes, they are Crocs Mary Janes.  I realize that Crocs can be as controversial as Uggs in the style world, but hear me out.  One, I always wear the Mary Jane style.  I think that these look more feminine and less “garden clogish” than the regular Crocs.  Two, these are my uber-casual shoes, on the same level as flip-flops.  Trips to the beach, the park, Busch Gardens, running weekend errands, around the house, etc.  I don’t wear these to work.  But they are uber comfy and I enjoy wearing them.  I think even Crocs can be stylish if you enjoy wearing them and feel confident in them (and recognize when casual is and is not appropriate).

I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday!

Daily Outfit: Spicy v 2.0

Today’s outfit was totally built around one of my recent Revolve purchases, a beautiful vintage goldenrod paisley neckscarf.  It reminds me of the color of turmeric, thus the title.  I had to find a way to wear this piece.  It has some red-orange accents, so I combined it with the red bolero re-con, some dark neutrals and voila! Awesome outfit.  The v 2.0 part comes from the fact that I first decided to wear the outfit sans tights, and while it looked cute, I was a bit cold.  Some faux fishnets to the rescue and the outfit was complete.

Bolero – re-con sewn by me
Scarf – vintage (via Revolve)
Camisole- ??? (Ross?)
Skirt – NYC Design Co (Thrifted and re-hemed)
Shoes: Clarks Marillas
Fishnets: ???

The skirt was another recent sewing project.  I’ve had it for awhile, but I never wore it because the hemline fell below my knees and was very unflattering.  I cut off a few inches and used the rollled hem function on my serger. Now I have a sexy, cute “new” skirt to wear.

Daily Outfit(s): Cozy weekends

Sometimes on the weekend, I have the desire to wrap warm, cozy scarves around my neck.  It always perks me up and makes me feel classy and comfortable no matter what I’m wearing.

Black and White and Red all over

Blouse: Target
Bolero: (Sweater re-con sewn by me)
Scarf: Kohls
Jeans: Lucky Brand
Shoes: Born Codders

This outfit fully utilizes one of my favorite color combinations: black, white and red.  These colors always look great together and can move an outfit from okay to classy.  The bolero was a recent re-con project I did.  This was originally a boring sweater that didn’t fit well.  I cut it down the middle and made it a cardigan for awhile, but it still looked frumpy.  Last week, after learning how to do a rolled hem on my serger, I re-hemed this and made it into a bolero, and now it’s one of my favorite things to wear.

Yummy Yellow

Scarf: bought in Chinatown
Camisole: Old Navy
Henley: Daisy Fuentes (via Kohls)
Jeans: Lucky Brand Sweet & Low
Shoes: Aldo
Earrings: Wish By Felicity (etsy)

The focus of this outfit was one of my new favorite colors to wear, yellow.  I find myself increasingly drawn to all shade of yellow lately: goldenrod, lemon etc.  The scarf I bought from a street vendor in Chinatown.  I realize that it’s cheap and maybe not the best quality, but it feels so cozy and warm on.