i’ve been sew busy sewing and celebrating that i haven’t had a chance to share what i’ve been creating this past week!  i’ll start with the commissioned birthday outfit.  my dear friend asked me if i could make him something to wear while hooping on his birthday. it sounded like fun and i needed to practice sewing for other people sew, i said yes.  he was a big part of the design process which i absolutely loved. we decided on a masculine shirt and loin cloth type cover up, to be worn over black pants.  he requested the outfit to be different shades of blue and black to match the color of his hoop. we had planned a trip to the fabric store but first, we wanted to sift through his goodwill pile and fabric scraps. we ended up finding everything we needed from what he already had.  the shirt was made from a size large tee shirt that was way too big for him to wear as is.   the loin cloth was made from another tee shirt (straight out of his closet) and fabric scraps that he had been saving.   we spent no money.   i didn’t get any pictures of my friend wearing it (was too busy hooping!) but i did photograph it before i gave it to him. it was fun to make and ended up fitting him well, what more could i ask for? next, i needed to make something for me to wear to his birthday-hoop-fest! i decided on an entire outfit. i wanted an outfit that flowed nicely and that wouldn’t affect my ability to hoop. the first thing i did was to make a flowy, skirt type garment that can be worn a few different ways. i copied this from a garment i borrowed from a friend, but made it from scratch. since it is wide open on the sides i needed a pair of comfy pants to wear under it. i had been to the thrift store recently and picked up some items to practice on. i found these homemade pants and only paid $1.99 for them. they happened to be the right color but boy, were they awful! very high waisted and made for a short person with a huge belly and skinny legs. i altered them by lowering the rise, taking them in at the top, inserting a new elastic waist, and serging the bottom of the pants to uneven points. much better. then i rummaged through my own clothes and found a nice, long, gray tank top to sacrifice. i serged the front and back of the bottom half to match the lines of the skirt. i also used the same color thread to make a more cohesive color combination. i figured i may get cold sew i decided to add one more layer. i used a pull over that i had also purchased previously from the thrift store for $2.99. it was a medium size and hung a little loosely, sew i knew it would hang a certain way after i altered it. i serged the front and back lower portion of the pullover in the same pointy shape as the tank top, skirt, and pants. lastly, i tightened up the sleeves by serging them all the way from the shoulder to the end of the sleeve. it’s a really cute outfit and i love the way all of the points flow. to see more photos of the complete outfit, click one of the pictures. ok…one last outfit. (i’m addicted to sewing, can you tell?) here, i took another pair of pants that i got from the thrift store for $1.99 and again, lowered the rise and added an elastic waist band. they were already high waters on me, sew i decided to make them more of a mid calf length. i then hand-gathered two ruffles that i made from my skull & crossbone printed cotton material. i love that material. i cut off the pants, leaving a seam allowance and serged the ruffles in place. this was my first attempt at adding ruffles and other than the gathering, it was easier than expected. in fact, my serger eats ruffles for breakfast! anyway, i then picked out a pink shirt from my closet that i got for free from a friend. my friend Lauren inspired me to cut it up! i saw her wearing her own cut up shirt that she made and was totally motivated to do the same. sew i did. i used a rotary cutter to make the first round of cuts. i was a little conservative and ended up lengthening the cuts with scissors after the shirt was constructed. the tee shirt has skull & crossbones on the front sew it now matches the ruffle on the pants. viola! i now have another cute, hoop worthy outfit =) now, i’m going to go sew some more clothes! i am determined to make or alter 80 percent of my own wardrobe by the end of the summer. then i’ll be good enough to make clothes for you too!