Back to the sewing machine!

I made a skirt!

Check it out..

I made a scarf last year with this tiger print knit material and I could not let the leftovers of this fabulous print go to waist :) Here's how I made it:

I used a skirt that I already have to cut out the shape I wanted. Originally the skirt was going to be all tiger print, but when I put my red skirt next to this fabric I could not help myself. I knew I had to use some red for the back and luckily I just happened to have red knit fabric too.

 After I cut the shape I wanted, I started playing with layering the print (thanks to my friend Sara for suggesting it!)

I played around with different shapes and placed them in various positions until I liked the way it looked

 below is what I decided to go with, so I pinned it down and sewed the tops and sides of the pieces on. I left the bottoms un-sewn and unfinished because it adds movement and since it's knit, the material won't frey (here is a secret, knit is ridiculously easy to work with!) Ok, ok it's not a secret, but if you are looking for a forgiving fabric go for knit!

I did use a finishing stitch along the sides of the front and back panels before using a straight stitch to put them together.

 Then I measured and cut out two pieces of elastic and put a finishing stitch on those. I attached the elastic pieces to each other using a long straight stitch so that I had a circle and then I attached the front of the skirt to the back of the skirt using a long straight stitch.

 Finally, I sewed the elastic on very carefully. This is important: I used a large zig zag stitch that makes a dotted line looking zig zag because it is the most useful for elastic since it leaves room for stretch. To get a professional and finished look, I pinned the bottom part of the elastic to the inside of the skirt so that, if this step were shown in the picture below, the elastic would be sticking out the top. (Of course I forgot to get pictures of the most important part but I'll add some later.)

After I did the dotted zig zag stitch, I folded the elastic under so that you could not see it with the skirt facing out and I did one last top stitch along the top.

I decided to leave the back a little longer and curved and I did not finish the bottom edges because I didn't want it to look to "clean"

TA-DA!!!!

If you want a tutorial on sewing elastic comment below! Trust me it is not as scary as it seems!

 As soon as I get the chance I am going to finish my re fashion on this

And perhaps next time I'll have made something out of the pile of old jean scraps I've got..

Until next time!

Thanks for reading! 

Fast Fashion

Let's talk about important issues with the world we live in...

I know it's been a while since my last post and, for those interested, I do have sewing projects that I plan to post about soon, but today I want to start an important discussion (ok maybe not start it, but contribute to it in hopes of positive change.)

First off, I LOVE shopping at:

Love Culture

http://www.shoppartridgecreek.com/asset/get.asp?asset_id=768

H&M

http://www.shopwestfarms.com/asset/get.asp?asset_id=2909

Forever 21

http://thequickanddirtydirty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/forever21.jpg

and every once in a while I still go into Pac Sun

http://cdn.business.transworld.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/12/Pacsun-storefront.jpg

I recently saw a short video that a lot of people have probably seen:

http://www.upworthy.com/growing-up-he-was-told-that-folks-making-his-clothes-were-being-taken-care-of-he-had-no-idea?c=ufb1

The video made me realize that a lot of the clothes I own have probably come from sweat shops :( I feel like sweat shops were a big issue in the public eye for a little while back when I was in High school when Wal Mart was criticized. Then somehow the issue just dissipated. I don't know if it was because I lost interest or if the media and people in general stopped caring about it but I want to keep talking about the issue.

I have always loved shopping where I could find cute and low priced clothes, but I can no longer ignore the fact that labor laws in a lot of other countries do not exist and a lot of Americans take advantage of that. We help these horrible things continue to happen when we don't ask questions and when we turn the other cheek because we want what we want and we consume and consume, so interested in looking like the latest trend. I don't know how many people will think twice about looking into which stores are doing good in the world and which are not, but I really hope that after reading this you will help male a difference and only shop and places that do not do business with sweat shops.

If you know of awesome stores that do not support sweat shops please comment. Let me know what you think about this! Lets change the way we shop!

World hoop day!

Happy (late) World Hoop Day!!! 

In honor of world hoop day (which was yesterday) I made a "dream catcher" hoop and I have put up a new video...

You can watch my hooping around Evora, Portugal video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twM6HdwZL6E

I hooped it up at Gas Works park in celebration after I finished making the "Dream Catcher."

Before I tell you how it's done I want to mention that you can purchase a really nice fully collapse-able "Dream Weaver" hoop here:

  http://dreamweaverhoops.bigcartel.com/

My hoop is a very simplistic version of this type of hoop that will not hold up as well as the one's you can purchase, but it is pretty :).

If you want to make one you will need:

One small hoop (I made one roughly 30" in diameter), one very large hoop (I used one roughly 42" in diameter), yarn, and scissors.

If you do not know how to make a hula hoop, you can visit this tutorial:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBreLABeqlI

I used 1/2" tubing for this and I recommend sticking with that size for this project. If you are a beginner, you might want to wait to make something like this because the inside hoop will need to be much smaller than a beginner sized hoop.

I used the thicker yarn to start with four ties to keep the little hoop in the center.

 Then I wrapped the other colors around and tied them off. As you can see I added more of the thicker yarn as well, mostly because I had it. Later, I added some gaff tape to the inside of the smaller one for extra grip. I am also considering adding tape to the outside of the big hoop just to help keep the yarn in place a little longer.

I had fun playing with my new hoop and I love how colorful it is.

Until next time,

Thanks for reading!

Nail creation

If my blog was not already all over the place enough, here is another random post:)

I was doing my nails the other day and I though I would share:

Since I would like to get back to the creative side of this blog, here is a simple nail tutorial.

 You will need...

Nail polish and glitter that is all!

I used really fine glitter so that it would stick to the wet nail polish better. It helps to have a pile of glitter spilled out for easy access

First paint one nail with a thick layer of polish

Before the nail polish dries, sprinkle a good amount of glitter on the back of your nail. Then, gently tap your nail on the paper so that the extra glitter falls down toward the tip of your finger. 

It gets a little bit messy so I went over the outside of my nails with a q-tip of nail polish remover. I did not use a top coat and the glitter stayed just fine but I am sure it works even better with a top coat.

Then I did the same thing to the back of my phone case :)
I 

SIDE NOTE:

Here is a fun cut t-shirt idea

Nothing fancy and there are a million shirt cutting tutorials out there so I will refrain from putting another one up

I think when I get back to the states I will lace something through on the sides... or add some lace.

We are heading back to the states on Friday so I will be back to sewing in no time :)

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for a lot more sewing!

Lisbon

Lisbon is a large city with a lot to see and do.

The first thing we ran into was this:

There is not a lot of good beer in Portugal so we decided to go in.

These sculptures were in the serving area on the first floor of the building. Since we just wanted a good beer we did not inquire about seeing the whole museum but I don't doubt that, if there is more to it, it is interesting.

On our way to the hostel we found some nice views

Most streets are bigger in Lisbon than in Evora, although you can still find plenty of tight squeezes

I like how this building looks two dimensional from this perspective 

This seems to be a popular hangout spot and right on the other side of the statue is a restaurant where I had one of the best salads I have had in my life. I found a restaurant that knows that a salad is more than lettuce and tomato! 

The hostel we stayed at (called Oasis and I highly recommend it) had a nice little patio with furniture made from pallets.

We joined the pub crawl that the hostel put on and it was very fun. The nightlife in Lisbon is best in the Bairro Alto neighborhood and from there you can catch a cab to a famous nightclub called Lux. 

On Sunday we rented a scooter so that we could see more sights...

This is Monesteiro dos Jeronimos. It is right next to a famous pastry shop in the area of Lisbon called Belem.

 

Photo credit: http://blog.tribunadonorte.com.br/aoponto/pastel-de-belem-do-real-botequim-e-receitinha-de-olivier-anquier/47070

We stopped in to try some of the famous pastels de Belem -AKA- Pastels de nata. I don't think they look very appetizing but now that I have tried them, I will say you must, must, must try them if you ever get the chance! 

Padrao dos Descobrimentos is right on the water and a pretty impressive looking monument although this picture is not from the best angle.

Across the water is the Centro Cultural de Belem which has a free art museum.

Here are some of the best and weirdest pieces:

This one might give you nightmares haha!

I find this one quite creepy too

The one above and the one below were favorites for sure

After the museum we went to the water where some locals were fishing.

We had a great view of "touchdown Jesus" (which is a replica of the real thing from Brazil)

And the "golden gate bridge." There is a larger white bridge in Lisbon that I think is more impressive, but we were not near it.

Then we got lost and found a giant fountain to admire 

Later I found out that this is called Alameda fountain. I think it is the most impressive one in Lisbon but that is just my opinion! Renting a scooter is a great way to see all of the sights any time you are in a city where driving a car and riding a bike are not ideal. We saw a lot more than we would have on foot for sure!

And now that I have bombarded you with photos, That is all I have!

Thanks for reading! :D