Cindy's Miss Me Jeans

My friend Cindy's boyfriend bought her a pair of Miss Me jeans last summer.  She sent them out to get hemmed and when she tried them on there was HUGE rip up the butt.  We are talking HUGE:

These jeans are like $85 jeans.  Yes, really.  They are really cool jeans and someday I will buy myself a pair, but for now I will just dream about them.  Anyway, back to Cindy...the boyfriend had tossed the receipt by the time she tried them on again and the store would not take them back without the receipt.

Bummer for Cindy.  She held onto them, thinking on how she could fix them.  Then they had a party at their house and after drinking a few very delicious apple-tinis I asked if I could try on one of her Miss Me jeans, because I really, really want a pair.  That's when she showed me this pair of jeans.  Me being Miss I-Can-Fix-It, took them home and noodled on how to fix these.  I really had no clue how I was going to fix them.

I turned them inside-out and I noticed that there was another rip along the other pocket:

This was a complete lemon of a pair of jeans.  I should have had her write a letter to Miss Me about the quality expectation of an $85 pair of jeans.  Anyway, I thought of putting a big patch on the inside of the jeans and sew it in place so that there will not be any further stress on these seams.

I took an old pair of jeans that was in the junk pile and harvested a square from the leg:

I positioned the square right in the middle:

Then I thought that I need to at least sew up the hole.  The only way I could think of was good ol' needle and thread.  I had thread that was a cornflower blue that blended in really nicely.

From the inside of the jeans, I threaded the holes. But this was not going to be strong enough.  The first time she bends over in them, the thread would either break or pull away from the jeans in a fraying way.

So, I put the patch back over the butt and sewed in several areas:

First, up the middle seam, then on each pocket, below each pocket then up each butt cheek in the space between the middle seam and pocket.  The thread blended in so well, that even looking close-up from the outside, I couldn't even see it!  Nice!

Ok, ready for some butt shots???  Ha, ha, here they come:

I was trying to pull them really tight on the butt (that is how they should fit) and wanted to make sure that the patch could not be seen as a panty line from the outside.  Nope, panty line a negative!

Me bending over...hey, I have to put it through rigorous quality control tests such as this to ensure that Cindy won't bust them on her first wear of them.

I hope that this patch holds up.  It's a bit strange, but you can't see it from the outside in means of lines, nor can you feel it on the inside.  No digging in or anything.

Success!  Man, I wish I had a pair of Miss Me jeans....

Origami Sweater Finale - Part 3

Happy New Year!!

I have been working on this sweater since October and I was working steady on it for a good month and then my elbow/arm started to hurt from knitting nonstop that I slowed way down.  Here are my past two posts related to this sweater:

• Origami Sweater - Part 1
• Origami Sweater - Part 2

Just a quick overview:  This sweater pattern is from Berroco called Buzios.  I don't know who comes up with these names at Berroco, but typical is not an adjective I would use.  I enjoy that about them, though.  I knitted this with Berroco Origami.

During my weekends knitting, my cat Julie would occasionally nap on my project.  I would get up to get something or do a chore and I would often come back to that pic above.  Too cute!  She's literally face down in the yarn!  Here is another one:

I did have two resolves before the end of the year, 2012, and that was 1) To finish a book that I had been reading since Thanksgiving (have you noticed that I have not been posting about books lately??) and 2) to finish this sweater.  Well, I am happy to report that there are checks in each of those boxes!!

I was definitely going down to the wire with that second resolve!  The microwave clock read 9:59pm on New Year's Eve.  Phew, with two hours to spare!  That was finishing, binding off and weaving in ends.  I used a total of 6-1/2 hanks of Origami.  I had to run down to the Brandon Yarn Boutique to buy that 7th hank on Monday.  Unreal!

A few things about this sweater...The neck is way too big.  I needed to decrease more stitches.  Since I am not going to unravel it, I made a braided string with the extra yarn and laced the V up a bit.

I also replaced the tank underneath with a short-sleeved shirt, so that there is fabric for the sweater to "grab" onto.

I am very pleased with the final product that this sweater became to be.  This can be worn with jeans, leggings or even pajama pants!  I'm actually wearing pj/yoga pants in the above pic, so this can be worn with pretty much everything.

I'm loving it and I hope that you enjoyed my Origami Sweater journey. 

Have a great 2013!

Headbands-A-Plenty

Happy Mother's Day!

I was surfing the web of my favorite websites and blogs for some inspiration and I found some on P.S.-I Made This.  Today's project idea came from the braided headband all the way down the bottom of the page.

It is making headbands with covered elastic hair ties, scraps of fabric and odds and ends.  I not only braided some headbands but also made some from a bag of old neck ties I bought at a yard sale for a buck.

My odds and ends

Here is my collection of odds and ends: it includes neck ties, ribbon, yarn, lace and strips of fabric.  Yes, there is some feather boa in there, but it ended up being a bit too elaborate for a headband this time around.  I know, I'm no fun!

Good ol' Goody

First, I did the neck tie headbands first.  I used the skinny portion of the tie and cut a length that fit my head.

Making use of ugly neck ties

I knew these ties would come in handy!  I sewed one end around the elastic and pinned the other end to the elastic so I could fit it to my head perfectly.  I have a small head, so many elastic headbands slip off because they are too big.

Half done already

Once I got it where it fit the best, I sewed that end down.  Viola!  I'm done!

Ugly ties = chic headband

I made a few neck tie headbands, because they took no time to whip up.  I then made a few braided ones.  For the first one, I took a strip of denim, a green and white polka dot ribbon and a strip of black lace.  I sewed them around the elastic like I did the ties.

Neon is back!  Really!

That one had a very retro 80's feeling to it.  Very Debbie Gibson.  The second braided one, I took some brown chenille yarn, navy blue nylon cord and baby blue cotton yarn.

Skinny headbands are cool, too

That one is very skinny.  The chenille gives it texture that holds to your hair a bit.  The blue and brown together reminds me of Holly Hobby with her brown field boots and blue bonnet.

Love Holly Hobby! <3

So, all-in-all I made six headbands in the course of about an hour.  This was an easy project and you really don't even need a sewing machine.  You can just needle and thread the neck tie ones and then knot the braided ones.

Busy bee, I was

Show me some blog love and send me some pics or comments to let me know what your thinking!  I would love to see your WIPs or finished projects!

Fix It - Skirt & Tank

Happy Memorial Day!  I had big crafting plans for this long weekend and I ended up doing none of them!  Hey, everyone needs a do-nothing weekend once and awhile, right?

Alterations are never very high on the sewer's to-do list.  I have a huge pile of to-do's that I never can find the time to fix.  So, since I was lazy this weekend I figure I would look in my cache of pics to see what I have done recently and I found a white denim skirt and a blue tank top.

First the skirt.  I bought this at Goodwill for less than $4.  It is a J.Crew white denim skirt that has a normal waist.  By normal, I mean not the hip-hugging, low-rise style that gives anyone who is a few pounds above their "desired" weight muffin top.  I have my fair share of low-risers, but I was glad that this one is one that I do not have to suck in my tummy to wear comfortably.


White denim, so 90's!

There is actually nothing wrong with this skirt, but since I only paid a few bucks for it, I had no buyer's remorse wanting to make it a bit more chic for the summer.  The bottom hem has a roll to it and I know that I will have to break out the iron every time I wear this.  Not very grab 'n go if you have to take the ironing board out in the morning.  I have frayed the ends of skirts and jeans before, so I was leaning towards that direction, but I did not want a mini either.  The length of this skirt was good as it was, so I decided to unstitch the bottom hem and unfold it.

Carefree, here we come!

The unstitching was a bit tedious, but not too bad.  I took a standard seam ripper and went all the way around the bottom hem of the skirt.  Then I unfolded it, like you see above.  You can also see the the raw ends are already fraying: Perfect.

When you unstitch something, be patient.  You will have to break the thread several times and pull out the tiny lengths with you fingers or tweezers, but you will be rewarded in the end with no rips or holes.

Orts of threads

Once it was unstitched and unfolded, I took it over to the ironing board and ironed it with steam and starch.  I knew the folds were not going to iron out, that is why I went this route rather than lopping off the bottom hem.  This way, it gave the skirt a meant-to-do-that deconstructed look.  Done!


Ta-da, Starch!


Next came the blue tank top.  This is a sale rack, Forever 21 purchase.  The straps were very long, so I had to shorten them.


Soon to be stunted straps

I prefer to alter the backs of items, rather than the fronts, so that you do not see stitching or other imperfections, in case the thread does not exactly match or an otherwise "oops" happens.  I took the same seam ripper and unstitched the back straps. 


Mark where they came from with a pen


I marked where they originally went so I could affix them in the same location.  I pinned it in place and tried it on.  I did this until the straps fit well.  These straps were originally placed at an angle so I wanted to ensure that the same angle was pinned.


Look how long the straps were!


Since the band gong around my chest was elastic, I installed a ballpoint needle on my machine.  I did not bother with a zig-zag because I was not sewing around the circumference, just an inch or so.  The elastic will still be stretchy around the rest of the top.  This is not fabric that will fray much, so I did not finish the edge, after I cut the extra length off.  No one will see it.


Perfect criss-cross angle!


This ensemble was less than $10 and it is very comfy!  Just a little bit of stitching skills and you can decontruct and alter someone else's cast-offs to be unique to you.


Plenty of daylight left to enjoy!


I have worn both of these pieces since I fixed them at the end of March and am truly satisfied with how they came out and how they wear.  This skirt will fray more as I wash it.  I will trim away the excess long threads, but you can keep them there and that will give it an even more casual look.

Try looking in your donation pile of clothes and see if there is something that you can tweak about them that may make them wearable to you again.  It doesn't even have to fit, you can totally cut it up and make a headscarf or a fabric belt.  Or if it has a stain, consider dying it a darker color or try tie-dye. 

Let me know if you try a Fix-It project of your own!  Happy Deconstructing!

Laptop Bag

This project had been on my mind for awhile; for I had this pair of jeans that I loved, but sadly, a hole had worn itself on the inner thigh.  I had worn them, even with the hole there, but I knelt down the other day and I heard the "rrrrrip" of the threadbare fabric; I knew their time had come.  But I had these jeans since forever and wanted to repurpose them somehow.

I've been to craft shows where little girl's pants are transformed into cute purses and seen denim purses selling in stores.  I went online to take a closer peek at these said items and came across a video on YouTube on making a laptop case out of a pair of old jeans.  The unknown chic who made this sped up the video so it was only about a two minute tutorial on how this is done, but it is really all you need.

But, you know me, I'll drag it on a bit longer than two minutes.

My poor favorite jeans!

First I took my jeans (see the worn spot), and cut the legs off just below the crotch.  This depth was adjusted later, but I did not want to cut it too short to begin with. 

Then, with the seam ripper, I opened up the front to the bottom of the zipper flap.  If anyone says that Gap jean are crap, then try taking the seams out and get back to me.  The inner seam had three layers of stitching.  Three layers!  It took longer than I though because this was baffling to me.  After I unstitched the plethera of stitches, I had all these little thread bits every where I cut the stitches (on both sides of the jean fabric and on the table).  There is this little trick I learned in a quilting class to get those little bits out of there in a jiffy.  So, I took a lint roller and slowly rolled it over where I cut the seam stitches.  Each one of the bits stuck to the lint roller in a crazy straight line.  Amazing!  Alternately, I ran out of lint roller tape and had to use packing tape.  That worked well too, you use it like you are waxing (put on, press where the threads are and rip)!

Flap over and stitch

Once, I had all of the threads out, I arranged the front so that one side flapped over the other (like in above pic) and sewed to the end.  Coats and Clark makes a denim thread that is orange and is a bit thicker than your average thread.  I used this to sew the flap down.  I only did one pass with the sewing machine, but a second, double row would have matched the way the rest of the stitching was done. 

Next, I then figured out how deep I needed the "bag" to be.  Then turned it inside-out and drew a line across the bottom so to make it straight, then I cut along the line and sewed it shut.

Measure from the waist to determine your line

The below pic shows that I also sewed and trimmed the corners off, but this is not necessary. 

You know, what this could be...

I turned the bag right side-out and ironed it.  The waist was crinkled from the store during the stonewashing, so they were always crinkled.  I ironed the heck out of it with a touch of starch so it would stay uncrinkled.  A little starch goes a long way.

Almost there!

If you watched the video link, you will see that the chic made holes in the waist and cut the side seams off of the legs.  She used the side seams as the handles to the bag.  In my opinion, this will not do for me.  I did cut them out, but I did not like the way it was going to look.  I imagine that you could tie them to the belt loops or thread them through the belt loops as you would a belt, but my legs are short and I would have to sew them end to end to make something long enough to do these ideas.  I was not in the mood for that.

Instead, I chose to insert rivets or grommets in the wasit area.  Just poking a hole was not enough of a finish for me.  I marked where I was going to place the grommets with some screwdriver thing with a point on it and tapped on it with a hammer.  (Vince said it was a size 1 Philips scewdriver, if that means anything to anyone).  This gave me a guide to make my snips into the denim to insert the grommet.

Two-piece grommet with anvil

I just followed the directions on how to install the grommets.  This type uses an anvil with that cylinder you see in the above pic.  I inserted the cylinder into the hole and tapped it with a hammer until it was flat.  I did one and then Vince did the rest.  My taps on the hammer were lighter than his.  He only needed two or three taps while it was me tapping several times.

Tap on a hard surface, like concrete

Once they were all in, it pretty much was done.  I just had to figure out what to use as handles.  I looked through my craft closet and then my belts and found a yarn belt that I made with an i-cord maker.  It used novelty yarn and a string of sequins.  I used it as a dressy belt tons of times, but the sequins-on-a-string got caught on themselves one time and I almost could not untie it to use the bathroom.  Yeah, so I had rarely used it since then.

My personal touch!

At first I thought this bag was a bit juvenile, but once I put my i-cord belt on it,  I was loving it!  It is large enough to fit my laptop and it's battery power cord with plenty of room to spare.  The front and back pockets are still functional and can hold your cell phone and/or mp3 player.

Very Chic!



As I was doing this project, I had a thought of another idea.  Take the same jeans and cut the leg a lot lower and make a skirt.  You have to do it slightly different, but it is the same concept.  I have another pair of jeans that just ripped, maybe I will have to give it another life as a skirt. 

Stayed tuned.