Altered: Sleeveless Bias Tape Top

I picked a blouse to do my first alteration from the mountain of clothing I got at the last estate sale I went to. I chose this white blouse that I had no desire to wear as-is; it was too large on me and had a slouchy high neck that I didn’t like. Since I wasn’t attached to this blouse (in any way) and had bought it for 50 cents, I didn’t feel bad cutting it up (because usually a part of me will worry that I’ll “ruin” a garment in some way if I try to alter it).

When I looked at this blouse I saw some potential. I liked the lapped front that covered the buttons. I also thought that the polyester material it was made from wasn’t bad. I thought about different altering possibilities and decided to use black satin bias tape (that I’d made a lot of some time ago) to finish my edges.

So first I cut off the sleeves and took out the shoulder pads. Then I cut around the neckline, along the base of the high neck neckline. I cut the sides open and sewed them in and then I finished all my edges with my bias tape. It wasn’t hard (although it did take me longer than I anticipated). But I think the result is pretty good. It’s a very simple black and white top that will work well with a lot of my skirts. 

Cute Bias Tape

I’ve been meaning to make bias tape for a while. I’ve used packaged bias tape on projects, and while it’s been fine to use when I needed bias tape immediately and just wanted to use a basic color, I can’t say that I’ve ever been particularly excited to use it. The packaged bias tape is just so limiting in the color and fabric options available, and seeing how simple it seemed to be online to make your own bias tape, I was motivated to try.

So I bought a bias tape maker with the intention of making bias tape and I also bought cute patterned fabric specifically for making this bias tape. [Pause.] And then both my bias tape maker and fabric sat in a drawer for months. [Sigh.]

I’m not sure what exactly I was waiting for, but I finally got around to making my own bias tape. The fabric I bought was $3 a yard and I used about a half a yard of it to make a little over 15 yards of double folded bias tape that’s ¼ inch wide. So in the end this tape didn’t cost much to make, but it did take some time to make. And even though it was my first time making it, it was pretty simple and easy to get a hang of and I didn’t run into any glaring problems.

I’m infinitely happier with my own bias tape; I like the freedom that comes with creating your own bias tape. And I’m sure once I get around to using this bias tape, I’ll be happy with the extra bit of specialness it’ll bring to a project.

Doable Retro Dress

My resistance is low when fabric and supplies are on sale. I admit, it’s my own fault; not entering a store would be the correct step in avoiding getting more stuff. Sadly, I choose over and over again to go into a store to “just take a look” and inevitably find something I want.

I like to rationalize and think that as long as it’s not full price, I’m getting a good deal. This time it was a 1950’s retro dress pattern that was on sale. I do like vintage style items and the pattern had a sewing rating of “very easy” (which I thought was doable with my limited sewing skills). The pattern required quite a bit of fabric (which despite my growing collection of fabric, I didn’t have the required yardage at home) so I decided to get some cheap fabric.