It’s In the Bag!

 

This past weekend I stopped by the last day of Epic Thrift’s Back to School Bag Sale.  I really didn’t want to miss it because of how great the last bag sale was (see Bagging It on Black Friday).  I wanted to show off share what I scored at the sale. I’m afraid the pictures were taken as soon as I got back from work that evening.  Bad lighting ahead.

I found a pair of Julius the monkey pajama pants as well as some nice pillowcases.  Perfect for bedtime, or possibly to cut up for sewing other things.  I saw a pair of Hello Kitty pajama pants too, but they were too big.  It’s hard to see at the bottom of the photo, but I also found a pair of long white gloves.  They were easy to fit in the bag and I thought they might come in handy.  I also got a white curtain that I thought was a sheet until I saw the loops for a rod.  It will still work, I can either use it for sewing or for taking pictures. 

The blue dress on the left is actually made of terry cloth, as in towels.  I thought it was really cute and comfy, plus it would be perfect after swimming.  The other blue dress I kind of took a chance on, it may or may not work for me.  That’s one of the good things about bag sales, you can squeeze in extra items you may not normally consider otherwise. 

And yes, that is a Barbie movie.  Barbie’s The Princess and The Pauper, I actually like it.  It’s really funny, especially the bloopers at the end.  Remember, all Barbie movies have bloopers you don’t want to miss.  Plus, remember to check out movies from the library for free before buying.  That way if you hate them you didn’t waste any money.

Three pink tops, can you tell I like pink?  Two of them are polo shirts, I guess there is something about a pink polo.  It just looks so cute, on men as well as women too.  Of course that a completely different topic. 

It’s hard to see the black skirt, but it’s a short A-line skirt and simple but super cute.  I’ve already worn it, it works with practically everything and is really comfortable.  Can you tell I really like this skirt?

The skirt on the right has pretty embroidery on the edge and looks like it’s hand made.  It does remind me of a white and brown skirt I got before at a bag sale.  Sad this about that one is that I haven’t worn it because it doesn’t match anything.

I also took a quick peek at housewares and found three really pretty saucers.  They have gold edging and two of them have English violets painted on them.  I sadly couldn’t find the matching tea cups.  Maybe another time.

Why in the world are black clothes so hard to photograph?  Anyway, from the left is a see through lace top, a sheer black blouse and a black vest with lace on the sides.  Basically three pieces that require me to wear another top underneath for the sake of modesty.  They are also all small things I took a chance on.

Here is a couple of basic tank tops and a really cute red violet sleeve less top.  It has lace, pin tucks and ruffles and it ties in back and on the front.  It look really pretty on me too.  I wore it the other day with the cute A-line black skirt.  Told you it works with everything.

Another black top that wouldn’t photograph well, it’s a nice button down that fits me well.  It actually has nice looking cuffs with cute buttons.  I also got a pair of embroidered napkins and a wallet that looks just like the one I currently have.  At least it has the same design for things like pockets and stuff.  It even has a built in keychain, just like my current wallet which is why I like it.  It’s really handy to have my keys attached to my wallet.

I know it’s still Summer, but I like to plan ahead so I got these pretty long sleeved tops.  They will come in handy when it finally cools down here.  I also got this short sleeved bolero, it’s perfect to use year round.

More trouble with black clothing.  The black velvety dress is so adorable, I would actually wear it now if it weren’t so warm outside.  I also found another pair of black pants for work and a special pair of jeans.  Special because they actually fit me.  I have the most trouble finding jeans that fit me.  They are either perfect everywhere but the waist, or fit the waist perfectly and are baggy everywhere else.

And the best piece.  A coat.  Yes more planning ahead for Winter.  I’ve always had trouble finding cute coats on sale, no matter what the season.  That’s another good thing about bag sales.  It doesn’t matter what the price tag says, it only matters that it fits in the bag.  Of course things fit better in the bag when you know how to roll it.  Rolled up clothing takes up much less space than folded, meaning you can fit more in the bag than usual.  That’s why I could get so much in the bag.

Speaking of which, here are the totals:

• 4 white pillow cases (1 with lace!)
• 2 floral print pillow cases
• 1 white “curtain”
• 1 pair cute pajama pants
• 1 pair long white gloves
• 3 dresses
• 2 skirts
• 3 pink short sleeve tops
• 2 long sleeve tops
• 3 black tops
• 1 vest
• 1 bolero
• 1 small piece wall art
• 1 Barbie DVD
• 2 pretty napkins
• 1 pink wallet
• 1 pair black pants
• 1 pair jeans that actually fit
• 3 sleeve-less tops
• 3 pretty saucers
• 1 cute coat

38 items total for $20 plus sales tax.  A pretty good haul.  Still can’t wait for the next sale.

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Pants Recon Challenge Round 3

Round 3 of The Great Pants Recon Challenge is finally here.  I’ve been using that word a lot lately, finally.  That’s what happens when you take too long to post things.

Anyway, this time I was strangely inspired by the hems of the pants to whip up something pretty.  Namely…

…flower corsages!

Nothing like something flowery to wear on your wrist.  To make them, I just cut off the hems of the pants and cut each into two strips.  I gathered them on one side and stitched the ends together.  With some fabric circles for the centers and some remnants of lace they made perfect flowers.  For the straps, I just cut pieces from what was left of the pants drawstring and threaded elastic through them before attaching.

Here’s the finished results.  The top three are corsages, the bottom one I made into a matching broach by attaching a pin to the back.

Now up to three finished projects with one pair of pants.

• Flower corsages
• Pin cushion
• Drawstring bag

And here’s what’s left of the pants.

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Pants Recon Challenge Round 2

For round 2 of The Great Pants Recon Challenge, I decided to concentrate on sewing supplies seeing as that’s what I used the last project to store.  What better to go with a pink drawstring bag than a matching pink…

…pincushion.

First I cut three circles from one leg of the pants.  I took two of the circles and with right sides together sewed all around leaving a space open.  After turning inside out and stuffing, I had my pincushion base.  Time for the third circle.  I made that into a fabric yo-yo and stitched it to the top to decorate.  There was still some of the pants drawstring leftover so I cut a piece to make a little bow.  Perfect thing to finish off my new pink pincushion.

Now up to two finished projects with one pair of pants.

• Pin cushion
• Drawstring bag

And here’s what’s left of the pants.

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Pants Recon Challenge Round 1

For the first part of The Great Pants Recon Challenge, I went with a rather obvious project.  Our lovely pink pants happen to have a pink drawstring waistband, so what would be better than using that to make a simple drawstring bag?  I can use it to store my new sewing supplies (see Breaking Down).

I simply cut off the front half of the pants so I had a rectangle shape that was about as long as I wanted to bag and twice as wide with the holes for the drawstring in the center.  By the way, I removed the drawstring before cutting.  I folded the material right sides together and stitched down and across the bottom.  I ripped out some of the stitching for the casing first so I could sew the seam without screwing up the drawstring’s path.  After all  that was done I just turned the bag right side out and thread the drawstring back in the “waistband” and tied it off.  I had to cut it since it suddenly became too long. 

Now I have a cute pink bag, that’s one pants project completed.

And here’s what’s still left of the pants.

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A Challenge!!

I mentioned the other day that I would be starting a special project.  I made this pair of pink pants several summers ago (see Pjs and a Long Awaited Photo). I’ve since gotten tired of them, but I still like the fabric and of course the color even it is a little bright. 

I call it The Great Pants Recon Challenge!  The mission: to take these sad lonely pants and cut and stitch as many little projects as I can from them.  My goal is to make at least ten different items.  Wish me luck

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Pants To…

So remember the two pairs of pants I got at that yard sale a few weeks ago (see Good Day for a (Yard) Sale)?  I found that although I liked the fabric I certainly did not like the fit.  They were a bit snug in some places while too loose in the worst places.  Of course there are things that can be done about all of that.

So here they are before all sad and unflattering…

…And after.  I first cut off the legs where I wanted and removed the waistbands.  I let out the seams on the side a little to give a little more wiggle room.  For the flowered pair I reattached the waistband and hemmed the legs.  For the black pair though I made a new waistband with wide lace.  Sadly you can’t really tell in the photo, why is black so hard to take pictures?  Now for the rest.  I had to do something with the cutoff legs.  Especially for the black ones, they had that great eyelet embroidered edge.  So I made a pretty little bag that highlights the embroidery as well as a cute doll skirt as modeled by my Monster High doll.  With the floral pant legs I made a small tote bag because one can never have too many, and scrunchies.  One can never have too many of those either.  So I paid about $1 and ended up with two new pairs of shorts, two bags, hair scrunchies and a doll skirt.  I say it was well worth it.

Moving on, I still had some red fabric leftover from that one dress (see Think Red).  Enough for another simple casual skirt.  What I really like is the lace at the hem.  I recently acquired a large amount of lace including this particular lace.  The flowers on it are the same shape as the ones on the fabric, so I absolutely had to use them together.  Now I have this pretty and comfy skirt to wear and I just need to find a top for it.
Here’s the updated list:

• Sunflower skirt
• Present
• Video
• Little t-shirt redo
• Pincushions
• Pants redo
• Bear pants
• Hair accessories
• Red skirt
• Wristbands

Nine down, just one more to go which will of course be up by the end of this week.

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Pants to Potholders?

Remember that sewing class I took?  One of the projects required for all students was to make a pair of pajama pants.  They didn’t have to be good, they just had to be completed.  Well, a pair of the not-so-good ones was left behind by a previous student.  These ones were so badly done that I felt it would be too cruel to take a picture of them.  I took them home with me, no one else wanted them and I felt bad for them.  Plus the fabric used was super pretty.  But what to do with them?

I made potholders with the pants.  Why potholders I have no idea, especially since I have never made them before this.  If you look carefully you can see some imperfections. (Hint: the bow on the heart shaped one isn’t just for show.)  For a first try they came out fairly well, and it’s fitting that they were recycled from another person’s first try. 

Here’s the updated list:

• Business cards
• Lip balm holders
• Pins
• Potholders
• More doll clothes
• Hook reuse
• Pink skirt
• Tote bag
• Skirt
• Bags

Four down, six to go.  The next project should be done by Monday.

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Pjs and a Long Awaited Photo

So I posted last Friday and then disappeared.  Oops.  I had a test in Chemistry on Monday that I sorta kind of forgot about until the day before.  Thankfully the test covered stuff I had down already.  Not much need to study and I’m confident I did well one it.  Sort of.

Anyway, I finished my first major assignment for my sewing class.  A pair of pajama pants.  Simple right since it is a basic class.  Except that I have never been very good at making pants.  Something always seems to go wrong.  In this case, that worked out well.  It has a drawstring waist and I accidentally made the holes for the drawstring on the inside instead of the outside.  The pants actually look better that way.  Who knew?

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Three down, seven to go.  I’ll get the next one done by this weekend.

Bonus!  Sometime ago I mentioned that we got a new addition to our household (see All Done, Finally!).  I never did post any pictures until now.

This is Angel.  Isn’t he pretty?  He’s pretty quiet most of the time and spends way more time napping during the daytime than Midnight.  I think it’s because he still hasn’t fully adjusted to life indoors.  Out-door cats sleep during the day and come out when it’s cooler in the evening, so it makes sense.  Oh and that is a paper clip hanging from his collar.  My niece put it there and I didn’t notice until after I took this picture.  Luckily Angel is very tolerant about small children.  Poor thing.

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All Dressed Up, In Shorts

These were another pair of pants that were dumped on me.  I thought they were cute and they fit great, except they were too short.  So, I decided to make them shorter.  Most of my shorts are cut-off denim and it would be nice to have something a little nicer for a change.  The fabric makes them dressy, not to mention incredibly soft and comfortable.  I glued faux pearls to the buttons and metal things, and I added dots of clear sparkly fabric paint along the edges of the pockets.  Now I just need to figure out what to wear with it.
Here’s the updated list:

• skirt
• dress shorts
• bookmarks
• boxes
• key necklace
• cutoffs
• embellished wedges
• rings
• soap
• Top
• luggage makeover

Two down, nine to go.  The next two should be easy.

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