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Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

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Tips on Quickly Refashioning Clothes

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Super Easy DIY Refashion of White Halter Top (via vivatveritas

Refashioning clothes is one of my favorite things to do in between projects. It’s fast and I like giving old clothes new second life. I’ve salvaged an old pleather leggings to make a baseball cap, turned an old cardigan into a cropped sweater, and gave a cocktail dress  new life. (Check out more for DIY archive) Because my friends know that I like to sew, I get clothes donated often. Through out my refashioning journey, I’ve learned a few tips to speed up the process.

1. Don’t unpick seams, but cut along the seam line. 
This is the biggest time savor. I used to unpick seams and it took hours. I hate the fuzz it makes after I unpick seams. Now instead of unpicking the seams, I cut along the seam line, or cut as close as possible to the seam line. This won’t work if you are making a very minor adjustment, like taking in the waist 1cm, but if you are changing up the design entirely or taking in more than 3cm, it works.
2. Spend time on salvaging notions
You can save unpicking time for salvaging zippers, hook and eye, bones, ribbons.
3. Think of a design to preserve the good original details
This can be pretty hemlines, necklines, sleeve cuffs or pocket details. For this white halter top, I kept the design as is, and just hem it short to make it into a top and took in 10cm all around to fit myself better.

Before and After of White Halter Top DIY (via vivatveritas Before Pictures of Halter Top DIY (via VivatVeritas cut out for new seamssalvedged notionsnew seams for the white topAdding bra padsAdded a bra cup so I don’t have to wear a bra. Easy DIY Refashion of White Halter Top (via vivatveritas.com)Wearing it with DIY distressed jeans.

What is your best refashioning tips? Do you prefer making things from scratch or refashion old clothes?
Quick Refashion of White Halter Top (via vivatveritas.com) One Hour Refashion of White Halter Top (via vivatveritas.com)

洋裁が趣味なのを知っている友達から、おさがりを色々いただきます。

このサマードレスもいただきものだったのですが、サイズが合わなかったのでリメイク。
バスト、ウエスト回りを１０㎝小さくし、染みが着いていたスカート部分を切り取って、トップスにしました。chie sig2Find me elsewhere:

Etsy Craft Party 2015

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Etsy craft party in Tokyo 2015 via Vivat Veritas3 Etsy craft party in Tokyo 2015 via Vivat Veritas

My friend Natalie and I went to a Etsy Craft Party held in Shibuya last weekend. I’ve participated in the Tokyo Craft Party in both 2012 and 2013 and have met some wonderful people there including Taren of Oslo and Alfred. They always make for a good time. It was not a “party like a rock star” event but fun nonetheless. I was able to make this weird perpetual motion (yes I know that is wrong but I don’t know how else to describe it) origami thing called a flexagon. I simultaneously amazed my daughter and bored my husband with this thing.

All in all it was fun. I look forward to the next one.

Here are some groovy people I met at the party:
– Hiroko Japan (hand-dyed textile)
– RosieKarin (culinary illustrations)
– necocoa (prints and iPhone cases)
– Kaede (graphic designer)
Flaxagon at Etsy craft party 2015 Japan Etsy Craft Party 2015 via Vivat Veritas 今年もEtsyのクラフトパーティーに行ってきました♪
今年は金曜の夜、渋谷で。
2012年、2013年と行き、毎回楽しい出会いがあるイベントです。
日本でハンドメイドグッズというと、CreemaやMinneを良く聞きますが、
私はアメリカに居た2008年からずっとEtsyで販売しています。
Etsyにてカスタムオーダーやセレクトショップへの販売の道が開けたこともあり、結構忠実なユーザー。。
これから先、日本用サイトもできるみたいなので（今は部分のみ日本語になっています）期待してます！

Etsyロゴ入りケーキやクラフト出来るブースがあって、楽しかったです。
chie sig2

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Hand-worked Buttonhole

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Handworked Buttonhole on Jacket via vivatveritas

For the Butterick 4610 white jacket, I made a handworked buttonhole. I have a home sewing machine that does buttonhole (Thread Banger) but I didn’t feel like taking the sewing machine out of closet for just one buttonhole, so I decided to finish it by hand. I usually use my Juki industrial sewing machine and Juki home serger. My Thread Banger, that has been used to death is neatly been stored in the back of my closet.

Tutorials for handworked buttonholes are out there online already, so I won’t write a step-by-step process here. This one from by gum, by golly and this from A Fashionable Stitch are great. They are easy to follow and there are tons of pictures for graphic learners like me. I also made a reference to my Japanese sewing book, “Atarashii Bubunnui (新しい部分縫い）by Yutaka Shimanaka (嶋中豊）, pictured below. I love this book! The book goes over every sewing techniques you can think of for casual clothes sewing, going over different type of zipper opening to pockets. I find myself referencing this book over and over again while I made a tuxedo. I happened to find this book along with other sewing text books from Bunka Publishing at a local library for sale for 100 yen (1USD) each! I got so lucky.

I think handworked buttonholes are very durable, but I prefer the look of bound buttonholes. I used the latter for my first and second Butterick jacket/coat. Of machine sewn buttonholes, bound buttonholes and handworked buttonholes, which finish do you like the most?Japanese Sewing Book on Handworked Buttonhole Handworked Buttonhole on Jacket via vivatveritas3Handworked Buttonhole on Jacket via vivatveritas4 Handworked Buttonhole on Jacket via vivatveritas2

こちらの白ジャケットは１つボタンなのですが、ボタンホールを手縫いで穴かがりしました。
１個しかボタンホールがないので、家庭用ミシンを取り出して始末するのが面倒くさかったのもあるのですが。
手縫いの穴かがりのいいところは持ちがいいところ。
市販のファストファッションのボタンホールみたいに穴がぼろぼろになったりしません。
が、ちょっと手作り感が強いかも。

少しこういった細かいところで差をつけられるのが手作りの醍醐味ですね。
chie sig2

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