Shorts to Skirt Upcycle

Good afternoon folks!

First of all I would like to say how sad I was to see the news about the terrible destruction in Oklahoma City, such a heartbreaking thing to happen :(

Today I am sharing a little project from last year, you know how on the ball I am with these things. A while back I got some weird shorts from a charity shop (I have since discovered they are gauchos) that I liked but could not find anything to wear with them that looked okay. So I thought sod it, I'm going to have to make them into a skirt. And I did!

I forgot to take a before picture but just imagine some really odd wide legged knee length shorts and you're good to go. I unpicked the inside hems and just re sewed them to meet like a skirt. You have to chop the little crutch bit out but otherwise there isn't much to do other than getting the join smooth.
I top stitched for strength along the front and back seams. There is also one of those vents (? is that the right term?) at the back to allow leg movement - always a useful thing to have! I added the lace at the bottom to jazz it up a bit, I think it works quite well!

I even covered (badly) my raw edges as it was fraying like a S.O.B!

I haven't worn it many times, maybe three or four, but I do still like it. I wore it to my first OU tutorial thinking people would be all smart casual, I might have made too much of an effort....and the top I paired it with is actually a bit see through...oops! So errmm yeah, librarian chic... I rocked it baby ha ha ha! ;)

Foxy Lady!

Hey guys!
I thought I would share with you a project that was initially conceived over 2 years ago but only completed last autumn!

Meet my fantastic dead fox scarf!

He is very long and his paws have little bags of rice in to make them hang properly, although the wind does like to pick them up and swing them right in my face...

I love his tongue the best!
He is crocheted with a double layer so he is super cosy, perfect for the extended winter we have just suffered here in England. I wish I had the foresight to make part of his face cream as well but I tend not to overly plan what I want to make as I am a bit impatient with things like that.

In typical fashion when I came up with this idea I had a look around the internets and found nothing. Since then these style scarves are everywhere. Moral of the story - Don't take so bloody long making things! Although the length of this bad boy meant that even a hardened crocheter would have struggled to crank it out quickly even if they weren't so lazy about it!

Has any one else made any funky scarves? Be sure to link 'em up below if you have!

Something Old into Something New

Here are a couple of things that older readers might  recognise...

This skirt used to be a bit longer and look like THIS. I simply chopped some fabric from the top and sewed on a length of elastic as a waistband.

This skirt used to be a DRESS and was just hanging around unworn in my wardrobe. I chopped it in half and made casing from some scrap white fabric to house some elastic. I also put in a small amount of lining just to stop it being so see through. I wear this regularly now it is in skirt form, so don't be afraid to chop up your hard work into something more suitable - what a waste to have things unworn and unloved!

Current Embroidery

Hello!
Well this squiggly mess is my latest embroidery project. Clearly it involves boobies in some capacity (I just started in the center honest!)... It is for the back of a hoodie I bought a while ago that was all plain and black and dull, so I thought I would embroider an applique for the back. I am using short stitches this time to avoid any sagging like on the zombie embroidery.

I will keep you all updated and post more pics when it is a bit further along.

~ lucy x

Dress Upcycle

Happy bank holiday everyone! I hope all of the UK readers are enjoying the sunshine! I am stuck indoors doing a lengthy assignment - booo!
Just a quick post to share an upcycle I did in January for a works retirement party. Ignore the dodgy hair, I have no idea what I was thinking with that parting! I do have some before pictures of me wearing this dress 8 years ago but I am way too embarrassed over them and I also can't be arsed to scan in a photo. The dress in question was from when I was a bridesmaid at my Mum's wedding. It was plain purple and was tea length. I looked like thew worlds biggest (quite literally the biggest) muppet. As you can see I chopped off about 8-9inches off the bottom to make it a far more flattering above the knee style, perfect for us shorties who like to give an illusion of being taller. I also handmade 35 black acrylic net flowers with beaded centres that were hand stitched around the bottom.

Recognise this Mum?!

You get a better idea of colour here, it also looks a lot shorter when hanging up but I assure you I am only 5ft 2.5" so this is not that bad! I rolled the hem very painstakingly but it looks a bit shoddy so I didn't want to photograph it - good job I'm not on the Great British Sewing Bee isn't it ha ha!

A bad close up of a flower, simple to make, I'm sure you have seen tutorials for them around the blogosphere/ Pinterest.

All together a successful transformation. Just goes to show that sometimes you really do need to hang onto that thing in your wardrobe for a bit longer!

Zombie Pin-Up Embroidery

Hello everyone!

Remember when I posted about THIS?

Well I did finish off the embroidery! Obviously it is not entirely finished (and in need of a good wash and iron!) as it was meant to be a tote bag. It is currently a sack.... I am undecided on what exactly to do with this now, the bag idea is still in the running but it could also be a cushion, dodgy wall art... or a sack.... The problem lies with the satin stitching on the lettering, it kinda sags a bit now it is no longer in the hoop, so I do not know how to remedy this other than turning it into something that is permanently stretched taught.

Overall I am quite pleased with how it has turned out, the colours go well together and I managed to keep it fairly neat. The face isn't as good as I would have liked but err zombies look a bit like a shovel hit them in the face right?!?!

Any one else out there embroidering for the dark side? Let me know!