The Casual Cardigan

My grey cardigan was a bit too casual. I haven't washed my hair in a week, comfortable here on the couch casual. I tried to jazz it up a bit by accessorizing, it still was bad. No one needs to look this boring.

Know what I mean?

It reminds me of the cardigan that was part of my school uniform in Liverpool, not a look I'm dying to re-create.

If it's broken, fix it. Improve it, reshape and resew it. First of all, it needed to be shorter. 3 months at the local gym is starting to pay off, so no need to hide the backside. It also needed to have shorter sleeves, they were remarkably long. I got out my best scissors and cut along side the ribbed edge. Then I cut the cardigan to the desired length.

I secured all the edges with my beloved overlock machine. I have no idea how I ever survived without one. I didn't, to be honest. Sewing anything elastic or knitted was a nightmare. Now it is a heavenly dream. (I do recommend a Singer one.)

I toyed with the idea of sewing a strip of lace on to the edges, but voted against it. It could have been nice thought, maybe next project.

Once all edges was secured with the nice overlock  stitches, I also stitched along the ribbed bits. Now it was time to join the two, sewing the ribbed part back on the cardigan. I used a zig-zag stitch, it's more elastic than regular stitches.

Nice! It looks like it's always been this way. That is always the aim, making it look brand new. 

If anything, in this case, it looks much better than when I bought it. It really doesn't take much. 

It is still casual, nothing fancy, but without being a snooze factor. Great with dresses, perfect for jeans. This is more like it. 

 

Something Rotten

Wearing this I look like I'm auditioning for an amateur Shakespeare production. Bad. In the store I got blinded by the silk, the frills, thinking I somehow could pull this off. Not so much.

You will know from your own experience that the clothes in the back of the closet often only have one flaw, one little thing wrong with them. It's rare that the entire outfit is off, if so, donate immediately to your local charity shop. Even so, one flaw is enough for the skirt/blouse/trousers to be ignored and never we worn again.

In the case of this blouse-thing, it was clearly the excess material around the arms that bothered me. What to do? Rip, tear, take it off.

It was easier than I thought. It was held in place with one lonely seam. Great!

I love undoing, so satisfying. Sip tea, listen to music, snip, snip, snip.
I use this slightly bent scissor, then there is never any danger of cutting the fabric as well, only the thread. You should all get a pair.

15 minutes later the blouse is as good as new, and I can wear it without being mistaken for Benvolio, Amiens or Frontibras. 

Upgrading the winter coat

Are you wondering what to wear now that the temperature is dropping? I am. I don't like any of my winter coats. Too red, too long, too heavy, too bulky, too frumpy, too boring. There is now point running out and buying a new one, because by next winter I'll be tired of that one as well.

Soooo...........instead I went berserk on my white coat, determined to give it a magnificent makeover.

Here it is, in it's former boringness:

The style I was going for was a fusion of taking a stroll on the deck of Titanic (before the crash) and young girl reading in the park. 

First I cut of the sleeves and lined them with black velvet. I made sure the velvet showed from the front, making a small border.

Then I replace all the buttons with beautiful vintage buttons from 1920.

Then I top-stitched along the main seams and long collar and pockets with both straight stitches and embroidery ones. 

It was an annoying length, so I cut of 6 inches and re-hemmed it.

Finally I cut a cotton belt in half and attached each part under the collar in the shoulder seam. With this bow the coat immediately got a more maritime/sailor/ oceanic look to it.

The finished result:

Now, who has a blue diamond?