Archive for 30 for 30

Life is One Bix Mixer

December 6, 2010 30 for 30, pattern 2 comments
Due to a combination of (disgusting, horrible) wintery weather and working on new combinations for my 30, I am taking a jaunt into Patternville. I need color and layers!
Day 20
I’ve mixed this floral skirt with this scarf before, I really love the combo. I wasn’t really thinking about two busy florals going together, but they are so similar they looks really nice together. I can also tone down the rest of the outfit with some of the darker colors in the background.
Day 21
Stripes, ombre, and lace-look tights (all the trend with none of the frozen legs). I love this ombre skirt with stripes!
Day 22
More floral, this time with plaid and skulls, because nothing goes together like a lovely spring day and death. I felt like the blue in all of these was enough to pull them together. There are small blue flowers on the tights, a blue background on the skully scarf, and grey blue in the skirt, and a solid blue skirt. Or more likely I just felt like wearing all this at once and I’m now just making up a reason that I match. I guess we’ll never know.
(Also, yes, I am pretty much that white. By January I might glow in the dark.)
Also, I was kind of a naughty little cheater. New glasses are medical, they don’t count!
(I really did need them, I haven’t had new ones for about five years and my poor little eyes were suffering for it. Please don’t judge me!)

The Way Things Were

November 24, 2010 30 for 30, altering, skirts One comment

So I’m glomping days 7 through 9 together for two reasons. The first is that I am kind of behind because I suck at blogging. The second is that they all have something in common, which is that each outfit features a thrfited and altered skirt.
Because I have a rather small waist and what I will affectionately refer to as “birthin’ hips”, it is an absolute pain to find bottoms. I pretty predominately wear skirts because they are much easier to fit, alter, and when I try them on at the thrift store this is less potential for flashing and therefore less creepy dudes pretending they are deeply interested in the rack of blouses behind me. (My favorite thrift store lacks dressing rooms, which means trying things on under skirts in the aisle. Let no one say I lack class.) These were all skirts that I loved but didn’t exactly fit. However, for $2 I am willing to make things fit.

Discovery

November 22, 2010 30 for 30, peacock 3 comments

“If a man knew anything, he would sit in a corner and be modest; but he is such an ignorant peacock, that he goes bustling up and down, and hits on extraordinary discoveries.”
-Emerson

So most people wouldn’t classify a thrifted muumuu with a giant peacock as an extraordinary discovery, but man do I love this dress. This isn’t actually the original peacock dress, Mr. Peacock was cut from him faded and fraying original home and put on a Target dress. (Alert: thrift stores are a great place to find things to applique!) Once I wear this dress to death, he will probably get moved again if he can manage it.

Five and a Tutorial

November 16, 2010 30 for 30, tutorials 2 comments

Day five and it’s the first time wearing this recently thrifted skirt. I love the color!

I also love my scarf. Here, look closer and be amazed.

I got the fabric at Cottage Quilts on a trip to Fresno to visit my mom. I love the retro inspired print and it is complemented nicely by the pale blue pompom trim. Feel like making your own?

You need:
- About a 1/2 yard each of a cotton print and a cotton flannel (45″ wide)
- Thread
- Scissors -or- a rotary cutter
- Yard stick
- Marking tool
- Optional: About a 1/2 yard of trim

- Measure and cut two 9″ strips from each fabric.
- Sew the two strips of cotton print and the two strips of flannel together along one short side, making a long strip of each fabric.
- Fold the fabric in half along the seam and measure out 36″. Mark and cut so you will have a 72″ strip of each fabric.
- Press the seams open.
- Put your strips good sides together and iron. (I found this helpful since it makes sure that both pieces are flat and the heat also makes the two pieces of fabric cling to each other a bit.) Pin and sew. If you are doing trim on the ends sew along both long sides with a 1/2″ seam allowance, leaving the last few inches unsewn as well as about a 2″ gap for turning. If you’re not bothering with trim, just sew all around, again leaving a 2″ gap for turning.
- If you’re doing trim: Pull back the top piece of fabric on each end. Line the trim up with the edge of the bottom piece of fabric. Lay the top piece back in place, pin and sew along the sides and ends.

- Snip the corners of the scarf off (little diagonal cut) close to the stitching line. (This keeps there from being too much bulk in the corners and they will look nicer when right side out.) Turn the scarf right side out through the gap you left. Use a chopstick or something similiar to poke the corners out.
- Press the scarf with a hot iron for nice, crisp edges.
- Topstitch about 1/4″ from the edge all around.

P.S. If you want the trim along the long edges, you will need about 4 yards. Put it in between your fabric strips when you sew the sides.

I’d love to see if anybody makes one!

Up a Three, Four the Fun of It

November 16, 2010 30 for 30, skirts, thrifting One comment
Wednesday I got to escape from my work polos for an extra day due to a class. However, I had to take the rapid transit home and it was really hard not to ride the two extra stops to the thrift store. Like, REALLY hard.
I’ve been thrift shopping for as long as I can remember. Nearly every Saturday my parents and I would go downtown to our favorite thrift store. My mom and I would call over the aisles to each other, treasures in hand. My dad would wander off to a dusty corner to thumb through books or find embarrassing pants. (He had a penchant for Zoomba-esque pants for much of my childhood.) Saturday morning is just “thrifting time” in my brain.
Speaking of thrifting, both these skirts are thrifted finds.
I frequently have to alter skirts because of my pear shape. The plaid skirt got totally overhauled, it was mid-calf length with a stretched out elastic waistband. It was like the icky sweatpants of skirts, but there was potential that icky sweatpants generally lack. I took off about 8″ from the bottom and used the extra fabric to make a more fitted waistband. Much better, right?