From Blah to Bippity Boppity Boo

I have this basic business card case that obviously does what it's supposed to do. However the heat of summer has been getting to me and therefore it became subject to one of my mini-experiments in re-covering....

BEFORE!

AFTER!!!!

Tada! Oh the wonders of cute fabric!! More happy than ever to use this thing now! 

DIY Satin Top

Although I aspire to be well-dressed most of the time, I don't quite reach that mark as often as I'd like. It's usually because a) things get messy and b) I get messy. While I  can't really say I have a 'style', I can say I'm getting pickier about the clothes I wear. Was it just me or did anyone else notice that the winter sales have more summery sleeveless clothes instead of winter wear? Maybe I'm just getting (c)old and cranky.
Anyway, my point is that sometimes, a girl just wants to look classy. But sometimes, desired classy clothes are kinda pricey. So why not risk a little bit of cash and time and make something nice to wear?

I started with a t-shirt with a simple design, since I decided to use satin (barely needs ironing, woohoo!!!). Folding the t-shirt in half, I laid it on paper to trace out the pattern. 

Please do not use your lens cap as a weight next time!

While tracing, I deviated slightly from the waist hem, since it's a just wee bit  *ahem* snug around me belly....

In retrospect, I should have gone out a bit more...

The pattern traced out:

Substitute lens cap with glow-in-the-dark fake pebbles...far cooler!

 Since the back and front of the top are similar, I made a copy of this pattern and slightly lowered the neckline...

dangerously low! not!

Yay! Pattern done! Now it's cutting time!

Love this colour palette :)

about an inch seam allowance....

get momentarily distracted mesmerized by cuff in the same colour scheme....coooool!

So once you've cut the front and back pieces, it's time to sew them together. I went with a french seam because i thought it'd be easier and neater...sort of...So place your 2 pieces right sides together and sew with an 1/8" seam.

go slow!

 Start with the 2 shoulder seams and then the 2 side seams...
 

Follow the (imaginary) yellow lines...

 

 After trimming the seam, turn the top wrong side out and sew a 1/4" seam along the same places 

a little wonky, but that's normal (for me)

After this, turn in the sleeve edges to a length you like and hem. Do the same with the waist hem and you're done! 

Anyone seen my champagne glass?

Now flaunt that top! Strike a pose! Bask in classy-ness (?) to heart's delight!

Cheerio!

Cellphone case

I'm someone who really prefers having her hands free.  But I'm also someone who (ideally) needs to be prepared for anything and therefore have everything-on-hand. Somehow at the same time the fashion industry thinks that women have a complete dislike for USEFUL pockets. Thus, one requires a bag of some sort to carry stuff that maybe doesn't really need to be carried around anyway. But sometimes, I'm just hanging out at the bakery outside my house and I feel quite foolish to carry a bag to a place that's 5 steps away from my house. Modern girl troubles, right???

So, this week I decided to make a phone case for myself. If you're wondering why I can't just keep my phone in my pockets, I actually can, but it's really uncomfortable, ok?? Once, I left it in my back pocket, forgot about it, and went for a ride on my bike....Really lucky that it didn't fall out!
Initially, I thought I would find a pattern online, but with me being me, I decided to wing it. It didn't go too badly, fortunately, but I think I'm gonna call this one Prototype A. 

It simply has a pocket which holds the phone, and a little tab which I can hook to my belt loop (though now I have to go find one of those cool mini carabiner thingees. How awesome are those?!) I never stitch neatly but this time made an effort to stitch straight along the edge (looks like I need more practice), plus I will probably use a heavier interfacing next time. I also landed up making the case a bit too snug, but at least I'm sure that my phone will not fall out!

The most frustrating thing now is that I still have to keep it in my pocket till I get the carabiner thingee. An almost futile project!

Till my next idea!