How to make circle ruffles

Photo credit: Kyra Malicse

 You know, I try not to be too too girly, but one day I decided I needed to make ruffles.  Really.  Stop pretending you don't think they're cute.  I had to do a tango demo for my club, Texas Ballroom, and nothing I owned was right.  In December,  bought a new dance dress, but it just didn't feel tango-y enough, for lack of a better phrase.  It was a beautiful emerald green dress that was nearly floor length, but to me it just seemed more suited for waltz.

I already own an asymmetrical black skirt, so I pulled it out.  I was pretty grossed out at the horrible craftsmanship of one year ago me, so I threw it on my bed and started over.

Long story short, I made a new asymmetrical black skirt with a slit up the short side.  The long side went down to my knee and the short side went to mid thigh.

I modeled the ruffles I wanted to make after this skirt.  In order to avoid looking like a curtain, I chose to make circular ruffles rather than gathered ruffles.  I also chose a pretty thin flowy fabric so it would move with me for those sharp tango movements.

Dresses for Tehya

A couple of months ago I decided that Tehya is wonderful and beautiful, and she needs a dress.

First of all, I was being a little selfish.  Basically, I was tired of thinking of clothes to put on an amazon woman (myself).  Looking at my 5 foot and 2 inch friend, I can see so many possibilities.  Boatneck dresses.  Cute short cocktail dresses.  Things that aren't v-necks.  The list could go on, but I'll just stop being creepy.

The thought instantly came to me.  I wanted to make Tehya a one shouldered Latin dress with an asymmetrical hem with sort of a wing on it, for lack of a better phrase.  This might seem like a a really detailed instant thought, but when my imagination is given something that isn't a girl with shoulders like a swimmer, it just runs with it.

As an aside, when I say Latin dress, I mean ballroom dance Latin dress.  For those who don't know what that means, it means being really sexy and awesome on the dance floor.  Familiarize yourself.

In case you couldn't tell, this looks nothing like her body type and a whole lot like mine.

So anyway.  I drew some pictures, told her about it, and she got really excited.  Then I got scared.  I am in no way qualified to make this dress.  There's like no way she's going to like it, and then she is going to hate me for the rest of forever.

Reasons four and five

I found these labels in my sewing box today, and it made me a little bit sentimental.

These labels were made for my grandmother from a friend.  My grandmother moved to the United States with her husband and three boys from the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Picture of a clock tower in Bern I took on my last visit.

T-shirt refashion

Number one fact you must know about me.  I hate t-shirts.  Those free ones that you get a million of when you're in college?  Hate 'em.  I have broad shoulders, and if anyone out there reading also has broad shoulders, they know what I'm talking about.  They just make me look ridiculous like I'm being choked by my own clothing.  The only reason I own them is because I try to show a shred of school spirit now and again.

So a couple of days ago I found this miracle tutorial on how to turn your crew neck t-shirts into v-necks.  Yeah, okay, it's still a t-shirt, but I'll actually wear it.

This tutorial is impeccable.  Great directions.  Easy to follow.  Here's how it went for me:

The first entry

Hi,

My name is Alissa, and I'm in way over my head.

On January 1st, 2013, I embarked on a one year mission.  A mission to make all of my clothes for a year, rather than buying them.  Some of you may be thinking (especially those who thought this was a blog about hot chocolate and are totally not in the right place), why can't you just... not buy any clothes for a year?  Well, you see.  I just can't do that.  I, along with millions of women in the world, have a clothing addiction.  I love putting new pieces together and bargain hunting for the perfect sundress.  To me, it is more like an art form.  Some of you who have actually seen my outfits are probably just thinking "art form... this girl just wears a lot of cardigans."  Well, they are well thought out cardigans, okay?

After many years of solving most of my problems with retail therapy, I have decided to embark on this mission for several reasons.  First of all, hopefully I'll save some cash.  Buying patterns and fabric isn't as cheap as it used to be, but given the amount of time it takes to actually make clothes, I'm hoping to spend less over all.  Second, I want to get better at sewing.  The word "seamstress" in the title of this blog is a bit of a misnomer.  Whenever I try to put a zipper in a dress, it just looks like I was in a fight with a viscous coyote while attempting to sew.  Finally, I want to appreciate the things I own and stop my habit of buying clothes when I don't need them.  I suppose that sounds a little counter intuitive since I'm still going to be increasing the amount of clothing I have, but it makes sense to me.  Each of the pieces of clothing I make will come from inspiration and become more than just something I wear.  They'll be something I remember.  Plus, if I just made a blog about not buying clothes for a year, I can't imagine it would be that entertaining.  "Day 35... I had a dream a gang of cardigans were dragging me into a J. Crew..."  No.  We don't need any of that.

So here it goes.