Re-Fashioning!

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Wow!  

It's been much too long since I did a blog post.  I've been in mask making mode, but now I have a bit more time to sew for myself.

I've been attending our outdoor services at my church and because of the heat, I wanted to be comfortable (don't we all).  Maxi and high/low dresses work...but can still be hot.  

And since I don't wear shorts, I thought a few skirts might be in order.  But alas, I haven't fabric shopped since November...what could I use from my stash?  

I took a look, but decided I didn't want to use my stash for casual skirts.  So I chucked the whole idea!

Then...one day I accidentally wore a pair of jeans that were much too large and I had to fiddle with them for several hours!  When I got home, I decided to carefully arrange my jeans so that wouldn't happen again...ever!

  While doing so I discovered a few pair of denim capris that were even larger than the jeans!  

That was my AHA moment!  Skirts...make some really casual, fun skirts with the capris!

So...they went from this:

To this:

I'm sew happy with them!

I started by determining the length I wanted and cut it about 2 inches longer.  That allowed me to shorten the front to the length I wanted and to leave the back a bit longer...since I was not actually constructing a garment and could not do a full butt adjustment!  Yes, there is such a thing!  LOL!

 

I then cut the front and back inseams open.  I laid the capris flat on the table and crossed them over each leg.  This took a bit of double checking where they crossed, so I wouldn't have a pucker or point at the intersection.

My next step was to sew those seams flat and cut away the excess from the inside.

 

Then I adjusted the side seam to fit my hips! This must be done prior to hemming the skirt!

Because the over laid seams determined the size of the splits in the front and back, I then needed to decide how to best cover them.  

I thought of a piece of lace I've had for more than 20 years!  I'd never decided what to do with it and was sew glad that I hadn't given it away.  

When I checked, it was the perfect size for the front and back of the skirt...without making it look formal.

I used Wonder Tape to temporarily hold the lace in place, so that I could stitch it down and cut the excess away.

Note: Because of the lace attachment, I hemmed the skirt before attaching the lace.

I love how this lace works so well with the denim!  Fun!

 

I actually followed the same process for this khaki skirt! It was larger, so the front and back pieces crossed over enough that I did not need an insert.  

Of course I couldn't resist wearing my leopard print shoes...even if it was just for pics! 

And yes! A matching mask!

Matching mask and bag!  

The bag is an Embroidery Garden In The Hoop Zippered Bag design!  

It's one of my favorite bags to make!

  It's a quick make and the multiple sizes make it such a useful bag!

These skirts are such fun, easy and fast projects!  

I have 2 more in mind!  Maybe one will be a maxi or high/low skirt!

What are you re-fashioning or up-cycling?

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Me Made May 2018

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Well!

I completed yet another challenge!  

So what is Me Made May 2018?

It's what I consider to be a rather loose Instagram challenge to wear something you've made. It didn't need to be made in May or even this year. It's just a way to remind yourself to wear what you make and take pride in your creations and skills.  

Each person made their own commitment. Mine was to wear at least 1 Me Made garment each week during the month of May. As you can see, I exceeded that with my 6 pieces! Ahhhh...yes...I'm a Type A personality!

If you're on Instagram, check out the hashtag #mmmay2018 to see all the wonderful makes.

Of course you can find me on Instagram @endless dzns by carrie.

Even though black and white are great spring colors, I made this in January as part of a Sew Your Stash challenge!

I hacked one of my my self-drafted tops by adding the flutter sleeves. Sew feminine! 

I love this top!

This was worn during week 4 of May. 

It's one of the 1st self-drafted tops I altered after the weight loss.

And it's still one of my favorites - mostly because of the super bright print!

I also love the hi/low draping.

And the journey through my Me Made May Garments continued with this Angela Wolf design that I made 2 years ago after winning the pattern. I made it almost immediately after the win and loved how easy and fast it was to make!

I especially love how beautifully the neckline lays. It was sew fun to make!
The fabric is a rayon knit that feels luxurious! Using my serger made it so much easier to complete!

This ITY knit top was originally a self-drafted maxi dress that I made last year. But after wearing it once and putting it on twice more, I decided it was not a print that I wanted to cover my entire body. LOL! So I cut it! It's so much better as a top!

I haven't yet decided what to do with the remaining fabric. But don't be surprised if it shows up as a sleeve or some kind of accent. 😉

This is a tunic length top I made during the Sew Your Stash challenge.

I love this asymmetrical neckline and will definitely make another one. 

The pink and black lace knit fabric used for the sleeves was initially purchased to make an over-sized cowl neck collar. I'm much happier with it as sleeves. 

And of course...

My yellow dress that I made for the May 19th Yellow Dress Breakout Conference!

I hacked (lengthened) one of my self drafted tops to create this dress.

  I used 2 spools of black embroidery thread as the top thread and normal polyester thread in the bobbin for top-stitching all the princess seams and hems.  I also top-stitched an asymmetrical design on the sleeves (not shown). 

I increased my stitch length to 3.5. It took several tests to get the effect I wanted.  But in the end I was quite pleased with the shine I got from the embroidery thread.  

I'm in love with this first Me Made dress of the season!  

I'm thinking to wear it later this week to my Grandson's 8th Grade Graduation. 

What was my take-away from this challenge?

It's pretty simple really...

It's quite OK to wear my favorite pieces repeatedly, while interjecting some of the not so tried and true pieces! 

I hope you've enjoyed walking through my Me Made May 2018 journey and that it inspires you to continue (or begin) making your own garments and to wear them with pride!

Can You Say Yellow Dress?

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Yellow Dress Event

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending and being one of the vendors at the Yellow Dress Breakout Leadership Conference.  It was developed and lead by my friend, Delilah Jones-Bardlette, of Delilah's Downloads. 

I also had the honor of making her yellow dress.  And of course, I needed a yellow dress.  Sew fun!  Both dresses were made with a lemon yellow scuba knit.  

Delilah's dress included a lace overlay for the princess seamed bodice, complete with a lace peplum, self belt and of course lace sleeves! Her dress idea was presented to me in the form of a photo and we took it from there.

You may recall that I made another vision of her's for her wedding vow renewal. It was a white lace  high/low tiered dress. Just as for the white lace dress, her fittings were done in the midst of commuting from Hawaii.

  

Both dresses were self -drafted...a bit of work, but so well worth it!

When she did her final fitting and pick up, I told her I couldn't tell which dress she was happier with! It just filled me with joy to see her face and giant smile when she tried it on that last time! And I must say she looked radiant in it!

My dress was a hack of one of my favorite self-drafted tops (ya'll know I love pattern hacking). 😃

I lengthened it from the high hip down.  

It has princess seaming and I top stitched every seam! I even stitched an asymmetrical top stitch on the sleeves (forgot to take a picture of them).

After some trial and error test stitching, I used two spools of polyester embroidery thread on top (I wanted the shine) and a basic polyester sewing thread in the bobbin.   

 I was more than pleased with the outcome of both of our dresses!

For my vendor table, I spent weeks making Ankara African Print Maxi Skirts and Fold-over Bags as well as a few men's Bow Ties with matching Pocket Squares.  Again, it was work that was well worth it.

The ladies were quite surprised that the skirts were adjustable to fit sizes 2 to 22! It was a blast to see the surprise on their faces when they tried them on.  😊

More skirts, bags and bow ties are available on my website https://endlessdznsbycarrie.com/

This event was such a blessing! 

The inner beauty of the ladies as well as outer beauty was overwhelmingly evident! All those yellow dresses filled the venue with light!  And the speakers spoke even more light into our lives!

Wendy Manning, who holds an adjunct faculty position at Wright Foundation, and is a director of the Women's Leadership Program there, spoke with us about the difference between "wanting" and "yearning". 

Lynee Urban, owner/operator of Operation Fix My Life blessed us with information on health and wellness through surrender to God.

  And of course Delilah, who has published her 1st book, spoke about surrender and leadership and lead us through some thought provoking exercises.  One of which was all of us declaring God's Word over each other! Such a blessing to hear from other women profess who we are in Christ and to affirm each other!

 

I was blessed to be able to raffle 2 of these maxi skirts specifically to the ladies of Hardin House who were able to attend. Check out the link to see how you can help this non profit which serves men and women with living accommodations prior to re-entry into the traditional world of career and/or reunification with family and friends. 

This 1st annual Yellow Dress Breakout Leadership Conference was a blessing as well as a success!

I left feeling blessed, encouraged and spiritually stronger!

Dress For A Special Day

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Special Dress for a Special Day!

I had the honor of making a dress for my friend, Delilah's 20 Year Wedding Vow Renewal!

She presented me with a photo of a similar dress and we collaborated on bringing her vision to life!

It was wonderful working with her! She did a total of 4 fittings - one of which was a muslin fitting - all in the midst of her commutes to and from Hawaii. Each time she saw the dress, she had a huge smile of her face.  It always makes my heart glad when I see the smiles on the faces of those I sew for!

As she was leaving her 2nd fitting, she touched the dress and prayed over it and a 2nd dress that I was working on for her.  I didn't hear all of the words of her prayer, but it touched me.

I pray about most of the work that I do, but to know that someone else prayed, touched me deeply.

The dress is a stretch lace with a satin lining.  As we all know, most knits are challenging to work with, so I used a ton of weights. Using weights to keep the fabric in place is so much better than pins that would have just gotten lost in the lace.

I also used tissue paper on my cutting table to prevent the lace from shifting while rotary cutting (I rarely cut any lace with scissors - unless I'm doing appliques).

Don't they make a beautiful couple! 💕

The lace moved beautifully!

Can you tell she was quite happy with her dress!  😃

The entire event was so much fun and all the vendors did a great job! Check them out via the links below:
Her hair and make-up was stunning - Hair and make-up by Starr Status Creations
The DJ was on point from beginning to end - DJ services by Daron Gross
The food was amazing - Culinary by Tawanna Devine
The photographer was wonderful - Photography by Diamond Gant
And of course - The dress - Dress by Endless Dzns by Carrie

Delilah is the owner of Delilah's Downloads.

She is a motivational speaker and will be hosting her 1st Yellow Dress Breakout, Women's Leadership Conference on May 19th in Chicago, IL.

  I will be one of the vendors there!
  There is still time to purchase tickets for this event!

You won't be disappointed!
Click on the link above for more information!

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