shake what ya nana gave ya

A little while back my Nana gave me a bunch of old dresses to cut up.

This is one of them.

The first couple of times I tried this dress on it just didn't fit right. So I decided to cut it up, perhaps make it a halter or racer-back type dress, taking it from Boho to Hippie.
However!, I tried it on again tonight to figure out what cut would work best with the top and for some odd reason it first for the first time.
Now I can't decide if I want to leave it as is or still cut it.
The sleeves aren't skin-tight, but they don't leave much room for growth, and the material doesn't allow for much flexibility. Also, it's a little warm for the sunny state of Florida.
The back is fully covered, so if I do leave the sleeves on, I might turn the back into a big plunging V.


I couldn't really get it in the picture, but the dress is exactly floor length.


Taking off the sleeves would probably give my arms a lot more mobility and take away the heat factor.
I can't seem to decide.

What do you think?

want!

i'm sure i could make this if i bothered to figure out how it works, but if you want to buy me one, that's okay too.
<3

get the picture?

WARNING: This post hosts approximately one billion photos.

Oh no!, again?
Yes, the green striped tank is back.
I'm in love with its versatility, perhaps.
I love the shape of the collar, but it's a little tight in the bust and the fabric doesn't stretch so it does the impossible and gives me some crazy cleavage.
Sometimes when I'm going into a situation where I know I'll feel uncomfortable or shy, I'll dress crazy or tough (I try, anyway).
I knew I was going to be spending the day with someone important that I barely knew, so I did my best to hide my timidness.

green striped tank (thrifted), vest (forever 21 - believe it or not, on rare occasion I actually do shop at mainstream stores), black skinny jeans (old navy), steel toed boots (used to belong to my mom)

I freaking love these boots. It's so fun to be able to run up and kick stuff or have people stand on my feet without feeling it. Makes me feel tough, for once?


I suppose this outfit is chic without being too dressy.

sunglasses (Claire's), green striped tank (thrifted), skinny gray jeans (Sears), jacket and shoes (Marshall's)

When I bought the jacket, it had these ugly lame blue buttons on it, so I replaced them with these sweet buttons from Walmart. They give the jacket a more nautical feel.

Wearing heels makes me want to kick shit over.
Then again, so did the steel-toed boots, so maybe I just have a problem.

But aren't they beautiful?
Very vintage.


I don't know if one is allowed to mix stripes with stripes, but I've never been one for following rules...
I made this skirt from a purple and very light pink pinstripe material.
I was going for a vintage sailor girl skirt feel.
Big white buttons found in my mother's sewing kit, and white piping separates the waist and the skirt.

front/back


And in final news, my boyfriend got me a screen press for my birthday! I just need to get a screen, and then I'm on my way to making bunches of sweet sweet shirts/pillows/wall art/whateverthehellifeellike.

this one will get her out of her clothes and into the sheets

I was up by my school the other day and there is a JoAnn's that is relocating, so there was a massive sale. I figured I might be able to get some nice thread for my new serger for a little cheaper, so I went in.
And ended up buying $65 worth of sewing fabric/supplies.

But! All of it was 50-70% off, so I couldn't miss this opportunity.
Also, my family threw out my old bed (which was a full and all of the other beds in the house are queen size), so we were stuck with several sets of sheets that didn't fit any of our beds. My mom was just going to give the sheets away, so I snagged them before she had the chance.
All of my fabrics combined take up an entire 30 gal tub.
Exciting!

Keeping to my addiction to making new outfits every week, I used the flat sheet from my bed set that I had when I was about 11 (I grew out of the tulips as I got older, haha) to make a dress that was inspire by the first dress in this post by MODAna.

paired with a baseball belt stolen from my brother


The dress was supposed to have a very 70's feel to it. Floral and flowy.


I changed the style of the top part so that the sleeves would always be off-shoulder and couldn't ride up.


Double ruffle bottom!

I felt like the dress came out a little more German girl than 70's hippie, but I still like it.
I hope Dana doesn't mind me stealing some of her style! To be honest, I like her dress much better anyway.
:)

curtain call

For my birthday, my friend Christopher gave me a giant roll of this beautiful thick purple fabric. It's almost as tall as I am!
You could make curtains out of this stuff, I love it.


The first thing I made with it was a high-waisted bubble skirt.

front/back

I wore it out dancing last night with the shirt and necklace Jimmie got me.

waistband detail.

I finally got my serger yesterday (It's a Kenmore). However, we didn't bother to any nice quality thread, which is apparently required for a serger to work properly. So!, when I got home and set it all up and tested it out, it would work for about a foot of fabric and then decide that it really didn't like the cheap thread that I put in it. So I'll have to go pick up some nice thread that is designed for sergers and form a new opinion on whether I love it or not. Has anyone else ever used one?