I do not have a  passion for thrifting. I think it's mostly because it is a time consuming "treasure hunt", depending on your definition of treasure. Anyways I try to avoid it unless I have the time, but I rarely do. In this case, I needed something to wear for a home going service for a friend of my husbands. Like many times, it never fails that when you have something to go to, you never have anything to wear. I didn't want to spend money on anything new and I didn't feel like making something from scratch, so as I was driving back home from running my errands I said maybe I could stop by the Goodwill store and find something to refashion.

With an open mind and a bit of patience, I went through the dresses and finally found 2 polka dot dresses. I looked at them and said there was no way I would have ever bought this, but I said there is enough fabric to make something else. I paid for them and headed off. I inspected them to see if there would be anything that wouldn't make it work and I threw them in the washer for an extra clean.

Pinterest is your best friend, at least I know it's my best friend and so I typed in polka dot dress and all this inspiration came up.I picked something I could work towards and this was it.

Inspiration from Pinterest

I love that the Dashiki print is so popular but I kind of have some OCD about how people align it.  I am really trying to think of ways to use this fabric so that it aligns right and is still stylish. Anyways this was what I came with. I used Vogue pattern V8897 for the  tunic.

Let me know if there are ideas you come across that could help.

I have been toying around with different ideas for Dashiki Fabric. This is another one of those commanding fabrics that was popular back in the day and has made a come back. Dashiki is also know as Angelina, or Miriam Makeba a South African Musician who was a trendsetter, and so made it popular. I don't have much history on it but Wikipedia seems to have some interesting information about it. (Not the best source of information though). Anyways, here are a few of my projects so far. More to come.

Finally completed the front drape blouse I had been working on. Inspired by the BCBG draped front blouse going for $158.




Pattern used, McCall's M6991 view B without the pocket. Loved the way it turned out and since its fall,  figured I could add a sweater or a coat to it. Funny that I just realized this top was a hit for the summer in most of the sewing groups. Clearly I wasn't paying attention. On to the next project.

So in the many sewing groups that I find myself in, there is always that one person that posts their work and says "My outfit for church, made it this morning" or This just took me an hour".  This kinda leaves me wondering why it takes me longer than and hour. What techniques are they using? How did they do that?

Anyways, I can officially say I have graduated  and made my skirt in about 2 hours. Yes two whole hours. Now the circle skirt is supposed to be one of those easy skirts to make but the thing that will get you is the waist measurement. I am telling you this because I have made a few circle skirts that were either too big or too small on my waist and I gave up. This is what  I am talking about on the waist measurements.

Wiki how explains it like this: Work out your waist radius. (I can already tell that radius will throw people off. ) You'll need a little math here (Math?? We all know people hate math right?), but you can use a calculator!

• Measure around your waist or hips (the point where the skirt will eventually sit when sewn together).
• Divide this number by 3.14 (pi).
• Divide the resulting number by 2. This is the waist radius

I am not sure what it is, or where it came from, but I LOVE jumpsuits. Maybe it's because it's the one pot wonder of clothing (Ok maybe not). But yes, dress, pants and top all combined in one. Do you see it yet? .......Oh well I may be alone in this!!

With my love for jumpsuits comes the urge to acquire more and more, but that may prove to be a tad bit expensive. So I decided to make my own. With my sewing adventure I have made four jumpsuits which I will show case later, but for now this was my birthday jumpsuit and I absolutely loved how this jumpsuit flowed and fit. I will definitely be rocking it more often.

Pattern: Simplicity Pattern 1158
Fabric: 3 yards Rayon Challis Marni Teal Rayon Fabric
Note: Hancock always has great deals, so a smart shopper never buys anything at full price.