Agent Skully's T-shirt and Cardigan

I like skulls. I like things with skulls on them. I am not goth, punk or anything dark. I just like skulls. Is that so wrong? I especially like smiling skulls.

When I came upon Debi's Design Diary's tutorial on sugar skull t-shirts, I was in 7th heaven!!! If you haven't checked out Debi's blog yet, get there asap. She makes the coolest things. I love how she thinks. Plus, she has this awesome, vintage, repurposed store. Sigh. She has my dream job. But she has a great tutorial on how to make these super cool sugar skull t-shirts. You can find it here.

I found a long sleeve white t-shirt in the thrift store one day for just a buck. I used lace from a vintage stash I had plus I purchased some that I thought would be perfect for my sugar skull. The Martha Steward decoupage lace at Michael's was the optimum choice for the eyes and nose of my skull. I followed Debi's steps and the result was my super cool t-shirt.

I love the shirt so much! When you wash this shirt, do not dry it. Hang it up to dry. Once I made the shirt, I knew I wanted more. So I took the skull pdf pattern that Debi provided and made it smaller in Photoshop. I printed out the smaller version and cut a skull out of lace. I then took a thrift store cardigan that originally had a beaded bow on the left side. I cut the thread from the bow so the beads would come off, but there still was a pattern left on the cardigan. 

I glued on the smaller lace skull where the bow was. Once that was done, I added some Simplicity iron on studs to compliment my smiling lace skull. 

Love, love, love this cardigan. But I have skull fever and I don't think I am done yet. I found  a great vintage teal 80s dress that would provide the perfect skull over a black or even a hot pink t-shirt. 

Make sure you visit Debi's Design Diary soon for to learn how to make your sugar skull t-shirt. She has a lot of other great things that I know you will want to make as well.

Happy thrifting from your snow shoveling, parka wearing, skull loving friend of the north!

Prabal Gurung Skirt Re-Style

Too much turkey and turkey preparation can prevent one from blogging. Add a little wine and you may pass out while your friends play with your cool toys. But eventually, one must come out of the turkey coma and get back to stitching and bitching, right?

Since I made my ultra-cool leather vest with the fur trim, I needed something funky to wear with it. I have this gorge black and white floral Prabal Gurung skirt that I got at the .99 sale last summer, but it is too small and too short. Story of my life I think. So I decided to expand the skirt to make it fit and lengthen it to make it longer.

First, I cut up the side on the right and on the left. I also had to cut into the lining. Before I started cutting, I used a seam ripper to remove the upper skirt band from the bottom of the skirt and lining. Once the sides were cut, I cut two side panels for the lining and two side panels for the outside of the skirt. I measured my waist and did some mathematical calculations as best as my limited math skills would allow and sized the panels at the top to add just enough width to the skirt for my waist. I also took seam width into consideration as well. 

For the lining, I found some simple scrap fabric in black that would suffice for lining. I sewed the lining panels in first. Then I cut two side panels out of black faux leather for the outside and also two small strips to add to the top skirt upper band. Once they were all sewed on, I reconnected the outer portion and the lining with the skirt band. Since the zipper was in the back, I never had to worry about that.

To make the skirt longer, I purchased a pre-made chiffon ruffle at JoAnn fabrics in the trim section. Remember, never waste a coupon-trim is rarely on sale. I sewed that ruffle to the bottom of the lining so that it would hang lower than the outer portion of the skirt. The result was exactly what I was hoping for!

Finally it was time to put my new funky outfit together. I found a little pink Cynthia Rowley leather trimmed top at the t-store for .99. I put it under the leather vest and added it to the skirt. I love how each piece has a leather look to it.

The most expensive part of this outfit was the trim, which cost about $5 with the coupon. The coat was $2, the top $1 and the skirt was $.99. The fabric used was scrap fabric, so I would estimate it at about $2. 

Total cost of the outfit = $10.99.

Check out those mad math skills, huh?

There is a snowstorm moving in and I have my sewing projects on reserve in case I am stormed in!  Happy shoveling  from your thrifting friend of the north!