Stocking Cap

I found this easy pattern for a fleece stocking cap. (Like an old fashioned sleeping cap.) Mine came out wonderfully and I highly recommend it.

Americana Messenger Bag

*Sorry...some of these pics aren't great.
This messenger bag was a gift for my daughter's friend in Germany. She loves all things American. I used 4 different cotton fabrics for this one. This is the front flap. It has a ruffle of red cotton with stars. I also applied rhinestones to the center of each star on the American squares on the flap.The strap is adjustable.The inside is lined with American flags. The pockets are a fun dollar print. I included a key clip and a personalized name tag too.

Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcake Skirts

I found the cutest cupcake fabric. One with a pink background and one with a brown background. Miss H thought it would be fun to twin with her friend Miss G. Miss H made 90% of both of these skirts and I finished them up. She designed them all the way down to the pearls and bows on the skirt. This was Miss G's Christmas present along with a date to our local tea shop later this month.Miss G was a crafty gifter too. She made this lovely bracelet for Miss H. All the different beads have a special meaning.
Miss H's pink shirt came from Bodyline. Miss G's green shirt came from the thrift store. I bought them matching pearl bracelets and silver rhinestone bow rings with a pearl. I forgot to have them pose for pictures, but I did snag some shots of them playing DDR.

Irish Dance Doll Dress

My daughter has been wanting an American Girl doll since she was 4 or 5.

Steampunk

I have a new hobby....like I needed another one! Steampunk....

One person describes Steampunk as "science meets romance". I've always loved history, including Victorian clothing and furniture. I also love fantasy novels. Time travel, steam locomotives, airships, steam powered weaponry, submarines, old fashioned ideals and dress....these are all incorporated into the genre as a train wreck of fantastical ideas. Now, I finally have a label for my "style". See pictures of my first Steampunk outfit below.

Here are some great places to find out more about Steampunk and see what I'm talking about.....
Explanation of what Steampunk is
Steampunk Empire
Steampunk Livejournal Community
Steampunk Home Decorating
Steampunk for sale on Etsy
Steampunk pictures from DragonCon

I put this outfit together at the last minute for Sugoicon 2010.
This picture is a close up to see the goggles and jewelry. I made the goggles...Look for a more detailed post on those in the future. The watches, pins, rings, earrings, and necklaces I already owned. Like the Victorians...more is more. I just kept layering them on. The colors in this picture are pretty accurate.The skirt is a long burgundy suede I already had. The vest is a very dark chocolate brown brocade from the thrift store. The shirt is off white with brown embroidery on the collar and front placard. The jacket is a lightweight embroidered cream duster from the thrift store. I wore brown boots (not pictured) to finish it off.The hat is one I've had for about 15 years. In the following picture, there is a black pouch on my belt under the jacket. It was one I borrowed from my son and it got pretty bulky with all my necessities since I didn't carry a purse. I'm working on making several small pouches to replace it. The old leather belt came from a yard sale.

Renge

This year, Miss H chose to dress up as Renge from Ouran High School Host Club. She insisted on making this costume herself. (Which I was more than happy to let her do!)

Here is Renge from the anime.....

And here is Miss H's version(seen here with her friend, Miss G, as Haruhi)....The wig is a cheap and horrendous halloween item. We'll be getting a nice one before the next animecon. I made the pink hair bow and drafted the collar and cuffs. The dress was made from Simplicity 4136.
I think she did a lovely job!

The Chronicles Of The Imaginarium Geographica... Book Review

Quite the mouthful, isn't it?

Wonderland Tea Party!

Miss H has reached her Sweet 16 milestone.


To celebrate, we hosted a Loli Inspired "Wonderland Tea Party".

Summer Cherry JSK

Miss H asked for a new jumper skirt(JSK) for her 16th birthday party. How could I say no! She chose a dainty cherry fabric, accented with a small red gingham.She wanted something for a Country Lolita style. This is the front.Here's the back. I did add shirring to the back of the bodice instead of a zipper.The hem features a scalloped edge with a pretty gingham ruffle peeking out.I did some fiddling around with my skirt pattern to make the peek-a-boo eyelet section in the back. I'm quite pleased with the outcome and will apply this idea to other Loli outfits in the future. The large eyelet ruffles are recycled from a thrifted bedskirt.
Stay tuned for a future post on how I did a makeover on the peter pan collared shirt that goes under this JSK.

Yellow Dress Makover

This dress is one I've had rattling around my closet for years. I'm sad to say I've grown too robust for it, but my daughter spotted it and asked if I would alter it for her to make it less "frumpy".
I wanted to get this one over with pretty quick. So, I cut it to the length she wanted, minus about a 1/2". Then, I cut off the hem to reuse as a ruffle at the bottom.A little pinning and stitching later, and VOILA!, a finished dress in less than an hour!(Thanks to using the original hem as the ruffle. Thus skipping that step.
She loves to wear it around the house...especially now when its so hot out. With a cute puffed sleeve shirt underneath its extra cute for going out.

I decided the large leftover piece of the dress should be used up before it disappeared into depths of despair(my fabric stash). I had made a green skirt for Miss H several years ago and its in my "needs a little TLC" pile now. I had some leftover fabric from that and decided it would be fun to make a capelet. The capelet is reversible and can be worn with the green skirt I'm fixing, or this yellow dress.The touch of yellow in the green fabric is the exact shade of yellow cotton from the dress! I made a tiny pleated ruffle with the yellow cotton for the edge.
I hope you're inspired to breathe new life into an old piece of clothing too. It was a lot of fun....and VERY satisfying!

The Irish Dance Dress Saga...Part 3-Finale

Here are the links if you'd like to read part 1 and part 2 of this saga.

Well, after much hemming and hawing and procrastinating and trial and error, the dress is finished! Here's a picture of the final product. Miss H with her friend, Miss G.

The Irish Dance Dress Saga Part 2

Okay, so I'm reeling* down the path toward completion with this dress. I've got the bodice, skirt, skirt lining, and panel sewn. I do not, however, have them sewn all together yet.

The Irish Dance Dress Saga, Part 1

Well, I'm up to my elbows in sewing! On the sewing table...an Irish dance competition dress for Miss H.  She's worn this school dress thus far and is ready to get a solo dress now.

The Lavender Fox Boutique

Marla, over at Always Nesting, is featuring her Woo Hoo Wednesdays...check out all the great projects!

Once again, I jumped into this project without remembering to take a before picture. Sigh. Well, this was another closet with 2 sliding doors. It was difficult to access everything and very dark. There was only one long hanging bar/shelf for clothes. Part of the problem was there is a ledge taking up 1/3 of the closet and the bar was hung too low to hang shirts or pants without dragging on the ledge. Overall, this closet was an organizing desert!

Poodle Skirt

My neighbor's friend commissioned this poodle skirt for her daughter. She was specific about the color, and wanted a scottie dog. So, I stitched one up out of a lovely turquoise felt to cut down on the cost. I used a silver cord for the leash and was quite pleased that it looked "felted" into the skirt. The scottie dog sports a cute multi colored striped bow with silver sparkles and sheer turquoise ribbon.

My Steampunk Gal

Miss H and I discovered Steampunk style not long ago. I really think its an ideal style for guys who are stepping out with girls in Lolita. We saw this dapper fellow at a recent anime con. He has his trusty ray gun, rifle, swagger stick, and airship goggles.Here's my take on Steampunk style...Consider time travel....if you were to start in the late 19th century Victorian era and travel ahead 10 years at a time up through the 1940's or so. Picking up time pieces and gears and gadgetry related to time. Your clothes would remain dapper, but worn too. You'd add an item here or there as you went along. Of course watches, especially pocket watches, would play a big part of the equation if you're traveling around in time. Maybe, you encountered a glitch and landed in the 25th century where you picked up a ray gun or two. Then, its back to vanquish evil in your designated frame of time....hmmmm.
Well, Miss H decided one day to put together a Steampunk outfit for herself. Luckily, I have impeccable taste in clothes, and keep an extensive dress up box for fun. I happened to have all the necessary pieces on hand.The hat belongs to her brother. The jewelry is from my collection. Every Steampunk Gal should have a locket to keep her true love close at hand. Hers is copper. The bracelet she's wearing sports a heart shaped pocket watch, as does the watch and fob on her vest. Both timepieces also feature skeleton keys and jeweled heart charms.The blouse is one of mine, and a little large for Miss H. It has a geometric design embroidered on the collar and down the front. The vest is a gray jacquard from the thrift store. The skirt, also a thrift store find, is a burgundy velvet. The boots and two leather belts came from yard sales. The red velvet piece on the skirt is actually a cape from the dress up box. Miss H just draped and tucked it in place.
All told, this whole outfit, not counting the jewelry, cost less than $10! If you add in the price of the jewelry, 2 rings, earrings, 3 necklaces, 2 bracelets, one brooch, & 1 watch and fob....also thrifted, yard saled, bought on clearance, or were gifts....the total price for the outfit would come to less than $30.Steampunk Threads , Clockwork Couture, Gentleman's Emporium, and Retroscope Fashions all have great inspiration. I'd suggest you take a look at their photos for inspiration for you, or your gent. Try to look at clothes with an eye for the shape and style. Color doesn't matter as much. Fabrics can be dyed to change the color completely, or just tea stained or over dyed to give them an older look. Silk, cotton, brocade, linen, jacquard, and velvet are all period correct. Remember that 100% synthetic fabrics like polyester and rayon won't take dyes well if at all.I like to think Miss H's current outfit is rather appropriate for travel or perhaps a skirmish or two...Maybe, she can concoct a lovely Steampunk dinner and theatre outfit next. If we've whetted your curiosity, here is a more in depth explanation of Steampunk to peruse.

Easter Tea Loli

I found a divine cupcake fabric with sparkles...but, alas there wasn't enough to make a skirt...so I went perusing the calico section and found a sparkly stripe that matches it exactly! Miss H wanted to attempt to make the skirt herself, so I let her go ahead with a little instruction from Moi. She managed to make about 3/4 of it before running out of steam, so I finished it for her with only a few hours to spare before the big debut at church on Easter morning.This is her design. The small ruffles in the front and the large bottom ruffle sport a decorative stitch in dark purple thread. The ribbon woven in the lace is a vibrant blue sheer.

I was planning to make her a blouse, but ran out of time. Fortunately, I spied this cute shirt at the thrift store. It was about 2 sizes to big. But hey, it only cost $2 and I didn't have to make it!Of course, it need to be Lolified, so I cut off 4 inches from the bottom and used that fabric to craft a ruffle. I had to add a button above the existing buttons so it would be more modest. I used a button from the bottom fabric I cut off.The back of the shirt is 1 1/2" longer than the front. It makes a nice subtle bustle effect.I sewed the hem of the ruffle with a pretty scallop stitch.So, VOILA! Presenting the Easter Tea outfit....{minus the striped hair bow and other accoutrements...}

Pai Sakuranbo {Tart Cherry}

Ok...I've been very busy...no, really I have! I recently completed the black "Tart Cherry" (Pai Sakuranbo) dress for Miss G's birthday. Miss H is featured in the pink "Sweet Cherry" dress as the girls posed for me at a recent AnimeCon.I'll be posting more close-ups of "Tart Cherry" here at a later date. I didn't make them exactly the same. I used slightly different lace in some areas, different rick rack sizes, and different bows. I only make one of a kind items, but similar is nice...especially when the girls wanted to twin in their Loli dresses.The umbrella came from the Japan pavillion at Epcot. It has Hello Kitty, cherries, hearts, and other misc. goodies printed on it. Miss H glued the lace to the edge to "Loli" it up. The following picture is courtesy of The Enthusiasts