Burlesque Circus Sans Nipples

I found this dress while I was hunting for potential steam punk costumes and I'm thinking that it may have been a formal or bridesmaid dress.

The biggest clue was the suspicious-looking stains right down the front. Red wine? Or something less palatable...

 First I cut off the skirt and pulled up the stained fabric to reveal...

THIS! I think that it's a bit circus-meets-burlesque-in-a-non-nipple-revealing-way.

Escape Artist Dress

I found this interesting-looking homemade 1940's dress at an op-shop. It had a beautiful sweetheart neckline and I could tell that it would fit just by looking at it. But there was one problem...no way to get into it. I'm not sure what shape the creator was, but it is a fitted dress with no zips, buttons or hooks. My theory is that the maker finished it and realised her mistake. Sometimes it's better to get rid of the evidence by giving it to an op-shop that to undo all your good work. Or she may have been an escape artist...

Sweetheart neckline with black piping.

 Seams finished with pinking shears. Haven't seen that for ages.

 I unpicked one side seam and added a white zip. Problem solved!

It's not the sort of thing I'd wear on a regular basis, but with a red cardigan and post-war hairdo, it'd be great for a 1940's event.

Here's a little show and tell from one of my favourite vintage shops in South Australia. It's the Bazaar of Strathalbyn, which is a place which probably won't mean anything to most people, but it's where most of the film 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' was filmed. Only the scenes at Hanging Rock were filmed in Melbourne.
If you want to see what the countryside around Hanging Rock looks like, you can check out 'Hanging Blog' where our friends Mr and Mrs Mac now live.There you go guys, as Ritchie would say, I've given you a 'mensh on my proge'.

 It's crammed with the sort of industrial furniture which I love and is generally VERY overpriced in Melbourne.

 It's like a museum where you can buy anything you particularly like.

 I was very restrained this year, but last year I came back with a 1930's hearing aid, a set of 1920's sheep clippers and a turn of the century type setters tray.

I can just imagine myself reclining to the fainting couch and listening to the gramophone.

When my thesis is finished...

Silk scarf halter

I know that it's been a bit quiet at 'A Sow's Ear'. I've got four weeks to finish my PhD and I'm trying to resist all other distractions. However, after my trip to South Australia, I picked up a few things which almost make themselves.

I found a big silk scarf for $3 at an op-shop in a very funky purple and green pattern.

Tie around Genevieve and knot at the back.

I already had a few silver collar necklaces picked up in Melbourne for 50c each.

 It was just a matter of sewing one seam across the top and threading the necklace through.

The top's a bit revealing in the back area - I'll probably wear a singlet top underneath.

So there you go, a piece of upcycling which took less time than uploading the photos to this blog!

Spontaneous table cloth

Cam and I are not really dining table people. 364 days of the year, our table is my desk. That doesn't really leave much time or space for entertaining.

Tonight we had 5 people sitting around our table simultaneously consuming food, which created several immediate problems:

1. We do not have 5 matching plates
2. Or glasses
3. Or mugs
4. Or chairs
5. We don't own a table cloth

Problem 2 was solved by a quick visit to the $2 shop. Problems 1,3 and 4 meant that one person had to use a square plate, sit on a desk chair and drink out of a novelty mug.

Problem 5 was solved by...UPCYCLING!

A quick dive into my fabric bags revealed a long piece of green wool cloth found at an op-shop MANY years ago and a left-over piece from the homemade study curtains.

 I cut the green piece to the right length, but didn't have any thread the correct colour for hemming (will have to do that later)

Then I trimmed and hemmed the curtain remnant into a table runner. Instant table decor!

Anything can be a brooch - Part 1

 Here's my new philosophy: ANYTHING can be a brooch. All you have to do is stick a pin on the back.

Exhibit A: A mahjong tile brooch for a very dear friend
Exhibit B: Red bakelite domino
Exhibit C: Three stacked buttons

If you have any pictures of something quirky that you've made into a brooch. Feel free to leave your link in the comments section!

The Final 'New Dress a Day' challenge

Today is a sad day for upcyclers everywhere with the final day of the gorgeous Marissa Lynch's 'New Dress a Day' challenge.

This girls is a complete inspiration and if you haven't been keeping track for the past 365 days, don't worry, it's all archived here:

http://www.newdressaday.com/


Day 365

Before

 After

A bit of tweaking...

This is not my most dramatic or creative posts, but I am secretly proud of this upcycle. Often you buy something which is a fantastic piece, but there's a small aspect that makes it incredibly unflattering and consequently unwearable.


I found this jacket at an op-shop in Victoria St

 and fell in love with the buttons!

 It cost this much, but it was made by one of my favourite designers and would usually sell for at least $200 dollars

 This is why is was still at the op-shop:

 From the back this rutching looks ok...

But when I put it on Genevieve: instant hunchback!

 After examining it from every possible angle, I decided to deal with the problem by unpicking the back shoulder panel thusly.

I then also unpicked the inside lining, gathered up all the excess material and sewed a new seam.

Shoulder baggage begone!

 I also took some of the buttons off the front and placed them here to liven up the back

Finished product modeled by Genevieve and photographed by slightly smug self.

'Sold as is'

Q: What do you do when you find a gorgeous RED Chinese top in an op-shop and it only has one out of a total of five buttons left?

A: Grandma's Button Box to the rescue!

The top come with a little tag which said 'SOLD AS IS'. This might have discouraged some people, but I had stowed away a tube of sparkly black buttons with a diamond-cut look which were just right for the job. Originally I had the feeling that they should be sewed onto some sort of cocktail dress.

But they looked at home on this number.

Mystery Jewelry Jar - Part 2

So what did I do with the contents of the mystery jar of broken jewelry from my last post?

Project #1

There was a plain silver snake chain in the jar which just needed some cleaning up with a silver cloth. To this I attached a paper crane which I speared with a long silver jewelry pin.

 Close up!

 Project # 2

In my jewelry box I had a beautiful moonstone necklace which my Mum bought me in London. It was one long set of beads (which I don't really wear) so when it broke, I decided to give it a style revamp.


First I attached the broken end to a new place on the chain, leaving a bit of dangle.

 This sweet little horse also came out of the mystery jar, but was being overwhelmed by the large brown beads it was attached to. I freed it up and hooked it up to the end of my new look moonstone chain.

Beautiful, but so delicate! I think that it was originally made in India.

Upcycling Supplies

Here's a quick tour of one of my favourite op-shops in South Melbourne.

 The upcycler can also view thrifting as a means of gathering inspiration, supplies and items to reconstruct.

The $1 bin is a great place to find things to cut up and remake. See it as a fabric remnants bin.

 Ties for making into...pretty much anything.

 Jewelry to remake.

Somebody else's upcycling project!

My Loot?