Obi 1

Here's something I made a few months ago, but only attached the strings this evening. I love the obis at fantastic Melbourne shops like Queen, but simply couldn't justify the purchase. Also, as soon as you begin sewing in earnest, your internal monologue starts chanting 'I could make that'.

The only upcycled part of this project was the maroon silk fabric which I found in an op-shop and which was inexplicably glued to a piece of paper???? The Japanese fabric was quilting material bought from Lincraft and ribbon from Spotlight.

Front view

Back view.

Also, it's reversible. Here's Genevieve modeling the inside.

Unflattering Dress Gets A Make Over

I bought this maroon dress on sale and somehow neglected to notice how unflattering the empire bust line was on me. I'm sure that it would have worked on some people, but it just made me look pregnant. A few years ago, I would have chucked it into a bag for the op-shop, but with nothing to lose, I decided to do a bit of experimentation. Because this was pre-blog i.e. last week, I haven't recorded the process, so you're just going to have to use your imagination...

First I cut off the low-waisted bottom of the dress and took in the sides.

I added a band of Japanese fabric around the hem and then decided to cover a panel of smocking on the front with the left-over fabric.