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DIY:: Dress to Cropped Top

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DIY dress to cropped top by vivat veritas

I bought this forever 21 dress about a year ago on sale for 400 yen (about 4 USD)! That is so cheap. Perhaps it might be cheaper than making the dress, considering the cost of fashion fabric, lining, zipper, interface and hook and eye. It is insanely cheap. I really like the floral print fabric, but I did not wear this dress because the dress is short. It hits about 10 inches above my knees and it gets shorter when I raise my hands.

I saw this cropped top and skirt DIY from a pair and a spare a while ago and made a mental note to do something similar. This I line dress was a perfect candidate for this project. There is a seamline at the waist, so that’s where I de-stitched and finished the hem. Because the top part was quite fitted, I made a small slit on sides so I can easily put on and take off the top. The zipper was in center back, so I cut it about 2 inches shorter than the hem of the top.

DIY dress to cropped top by vivat veritas1 DIY dress to cropped top by vivat veritas2

I used a French curve ruler to make a slight curved line at the hem. I find it more flattering than just regular straight cut. The skirt is made by me too. Blogged here. I made a separate skirt too, but will still need to photograph it. I used a simple trick to lengthen the skirt…more next week! DIY dress to cropped top by vivat veritas3

Outfit details: Top and skirt – self made, watch – Michael Kors, Sandals – Dolce Vita “Foxie Low Heel Sandals“kiko１年ほど前に、フォーエバー２１のセールラックで４００円で見つけたワンピースを、クロップトップスと、スカートの２ピースセットに作り変えました。
このワンピ、柄はお気に入りだったのですが、とにかく短くて（ひざ上２０センチぐらい！）特に手を挙げるとパンツ丸見えになってしまって、全然着れていませんでした。
タンスの肥やしになるぐらいなら、ザクザク切っちゃえと思いクロップトップにしました。ストライプのスカートも自作。
スカート部分は、長さを調節して、新しくつくりかえましたが、それはまた来週ブログに載せます♪ChieSignature

 

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Made:: Boyfriend(Husband)’s T-shirt

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gray t-shirt handmade5 copyI love the instant gratification of a simple sewing project like this. As much as I enjoy sewing pretty dresses, sometimes I really need just basic pieces, like t-shirts, button down shirts in monotone colors. It is rather boring compared to sewing dresses in fun print fabrics or sewing coats, but I want to be able to say on any given day, that I made the clothes instead of having bought them. There is nothing wrong with wearing the clothes from those fast fashion brands, but people seem to expect me to say that I made the clothes I wear daily, because I make clothes for other people.

So this t-shirt is the same one as I made for Andy, just deepened the V neckline for a more feminine look. I actually made three of the same t-shirt in this gray fabric for Andy. He goes through many t-shirts as he works out a lot and t-shirts and sweatshirts are pretty much the only things he wears (even to work!). I really perfected (in my mind) the patterns for his t-shirt. It fits the way I like, although he complains the fit is too slim and makes him self-conscious… I have to take pictures of him wearing it and ask you guys what you think!

I used the thread for sewing stretch knit fabrics, called レジロン糸, but not sure how what it is called in English.  For the shoulder seams, I used fusible interface tapes, sew the shoulder seams together, overlocked it and top stitched it from the right side.

I like the simplicity of this relaxed fit t-shirt and am sure it will be one of my wardrobe staple in the warmer seasons!

handmade gray t-shirt by vivatveritas1 gray t-shirt handmade6handmade gray t-shirt by vivatveritas2ChieSignature

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DIY:: Cutout & Cropped Sweatshirt

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before and after DIY sweatshirtHi everyone! I wanted to show my first DIY of 2014. I’ve mentioned the fashion blog, Karla’s Closet in this blog a numerous time. I am obsessed with her style. She is just so….cool, someone that I would love to be fashio friends with. On top of that she has an amazing figure! She is my style icon. I saw she added a peep hole in her sweatshirt in this post, and since then, I have not been able to stop thinking about wearing sweatshirts. I had not owned a single  sweatshirt  previously (not sure why, I wear hoodies as roomwear), but I searched online for a cheap sweatshirt so I could recycle. I found this white sweatshirt from Rakuten for 500 yen. It’s actually a child size, but I figured that they make sweatshirts oversized anyway, so it should be fine.

As you can see above, my “before” picture is rather sad, and unflattering. Here is what I did to make it better:marking the line

I wore the shirt in front of the mirror and figured out how much I wanted to shorten it. I ended up marking the line 16cm above the rib. chopped

Chopped off the rib, and kept it since I wanted to attach it to the new hem line. Then I cut the shirt in the line I marked above. stitching the folded over band sweatshirttopstitched sweatshirt hemI re-attached the rib to the new hemline (make sure to pin the rib before sewing, and stretch out the rib as you sew, since the rib is shorter than the actual hemline). Then I overlocked the seam allowance and topstitched it from the front.handmade outfits by vivat veritas3

After that, I made the cutout detail in the neckline. It seems like Karla’s version is just chopped off without finishing the seam allowances, but I was afraid that they will fray. mark the new neckline with french curve

Marked new line with french curve…facing neckline

Attached the neckline facing and topstitched it. voila necklineVoila! The only thing I DON’T like about this is that the neckline got stretched out as I finished the edges, and makes a weird curve. You can see it below. new necklinehandmade outfits by vivat veritas

Overall, I’m pretty happy with this little DIY! I like to wear it with the sleeves rolled up and a high waisted skirt. By the way, I made this skirt recently too! Just a simple I-line skirt, made with a stretched knit. I lined it with the same fabric to seal all the edges so that the edges won’t be stretched out.

Outfit details: Hat:Bop Basics, Sweatshirt: DIYed, Skirt: Made by me (similar here), Bag: Alexander Wang, Booties: Rag & Bone

ChieSignature

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