a new bag (again)

Hey you guys! Back with a project I finished WEEKS ago, but have been too busy to post! I just finished my last final from my first year at college, yay! Plus my brother bought me a belated birthday present (Sim 3) and let's just say it takes over your real life a little bit, hahahaha


Anyway, onto the project! A year or so ago, I went to see one of my favorite bands, fun., in concert. Their shirts were relatively cheap and had great designs, so I really wanted to buy one (or two, ha). One of the styles they had in my size, but the other one only came in XXS or XXL. I really, REALLY, liked this design so I opted for the XXL but I never really wore it because it was so frumpy.

Now, I've been needing a new tote bag since my old one was so used, the orange was turning brown (yuck!). Instead of buying one, I decided to make my own! Right away I knew I wanted it to be reversible, and my sister just happened to give me the perfect fabric the month before.

So, I began cutting it up and pinning it! Now, there was something a little different about this sewing project: I SEWED MOST OF IT MYSELF! That's right, my mom actually showed me how to use the sewing machine and most of the sewing I did myself. (so, some of the lines were a little wobbly, ahah)

The was I made it reversible was by first sewing the front and back of the outside together, and then the front and back of the inside together. I then put one part in the other part and ONLY sewed the top edge, with two different sewing lines; one was really close to the edge and one was about 2.5 inches down. I made the straps with only the fabric, and sewed it beween the two shirt material and the fabric so that it looks the same no matter what part is showing.

And here it is!!!

The proportions are a little weird (it's so long!) and the owl was  higher up than I anticipated. But hey, practice makes perfect, right?

 Now I'm going to be on the lookout for shirts with cute images at Goodwill so I can make more of these cute things! And it's so handy, the weird length actually makes it perfect for my laptop, and it was also perfect for all my bath stuff when I went camping. (Unfortunately, my shampoo opened up and spilled in my bag, but because of the material this is made of, it was perfectly washable! If you do this project, make sure to wash the shirt a couple times before so it won't shrink if you ever have to wash your bag)

xo, caro

from too-short dress to shirt and headband!

Alright, I was all geared up to post this MUCH sooner but some stuff happened. I had taken all the pictures (before, mid, and after) and edited them all, and saved them on my computer. Since I had them on my computer, I deleted them from the camera. Unfortunately, my computer got a really, really nasty virus and I had to completely restart my computer from scratch, thus losing allllllllll my files, including the photos. Luckily, picnik saves the last 5 photos you've worked on, so i got the befores and afters but lost the mid-way photos, ughhhhhh but it's pretty easy to describe.

ANYWAYS, I started out with this dress:

It doesn't look thatttt nice in the picture, but the print is AWESOME and I really liked it. However, it had shrunk in the wash and was way too short for me. If I can't bend over to pick up my dog's doodie on our daily walks, then I'm not gonna wear it. But I just couldn't give up that beautiful print, so I came up with an alternative. 

I cut off a little more than six inches off the bottom. I cut that long strip into about four shorter pieces, and then cut the width into three pieces. I braided those three pieces together, knotted the ends, and attached each end to a hairband. Voila, easy new head band!!!

 Now there was obviously a lot of the dress left so I asked my DARLING, WONDERFUL, AWESOME mom to sew the bottom edge for me (a lettuce stitch to match the ruffle-y sleeves) and now it is an pretty shirt! I love how it came out.

 

Also, thanks to my mom for taking this photo~ You're the best!

You can do the headband with any old t-shirt, its a great, cute way to recyle!

xo, caro