Once Upon a Bag…

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago, I made something and forgot about it.  No not one of my pink pants recons (see A Challenge), really need to get back to that.  My everyday bag has been looking a bit worn lately, so I thought I’d whip up a new one.  I had a shirt my mom dumped on me that I thought would be perfect.

Here’s the before.  The t-shirt had some holes and a few stains in odd places, but it had some sparkly embroidery that was promising.

And now the after.  I cut two large rectangles to sew the body of the bag and cut the embroidery off separately then attached it to the front of the bag.  There just wasn’t enough usable material around the embroidery, so doing it this way made more sense.  I cut strips from the rest of the t-shirt and twisted them into cords for the straps.  I also used some fabric I had lying around for a lining, no photos of that though, not exactly easy to take a picture of that.  Overall I think I did a decent job, except one little problem.  I don’t like it.  The bag just isn’t my style, strange since I made it.  I tried to use it, but it didn’t feel right.  Oh well, at least I can make another one.  I just need to figure out what to do with this one.  Hmm.

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T-Shirt Redo for a Doll, a Tutorial

Remember that dress I made for a Cabbage Patch doll with a t-shirt (see Now You See Me, Now You...)?  Well, I did say I would show how I did it sometime after Christmas. 

So two months later, here it is.

Again here’s the t-shirt I used. 

 

A t-shirt and basic sewing supplies are pretty much all you need for this.

The first step is to try the shirt on the doll to see where it needs to be cut down to size.  Basically everywhere, especially around the shoulders and armholes.  Also don’t forget to remove the sleeves for later.

Snip, snip, snip.

After cutting, it looks like this.  A lot like a tank top.  It’s now time to pin the shoulders and sew.

Sewing…

 

Now it’s time for the sleeves.

Pin the sleeves in place, don’t worry about them being too large.

Ta da!  All stitched.

Now it goes back on the doll inside-out.  Just need to pin up the side seams and double check on the length.  The length depends on whether it will be a doll t-shirt or dress. 

All stitched and ready to hem the bottom hem. 

 

Could either zig-zag or serge it.  Or…

…Add a ruffle.

 

The t-shirt I used did have one and it’s only natural to work with what you’ve got.

Cut down to size and pin.

After sewing, the dress is complete.

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Crash

A funny thing happened more than a week ago which should explain my rather long absence.  I had my netbook in my backpack with a rather heavy textbook.  I put the backpack on a low table where it almost immediately fell off.  When I turned on my netbook, the screen was black.  The computer was on and working perfectly, but I couldn’t see a thing, apparently something to do with back lighting.  The really funny thing happened after I replaced it when my new one finally arrived.  I put the old one on my night stand and it fell off that, then my sister turned it on and it worked.  You could actually see everything.  So now I have a newer netbook to work with, my mom has my old one to play around with, my sister has a smug look on her face.  But anyway, I’m back and every has returned to “normal”.

Tip:  An associate at Wal-Mart mentioned that prices on electronics are almost always better online rather than “instore”, and there are frequently special deals on the site and a better selection.

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