Skirt hemming/Waist band removal tutorial: BEFORE and AFTER

The Story: Thrift store shopping!

 I found this skirt at Goodwill. The length made me want to cringe! But I saw potential in this interesting-or awful- fashion item. All I needed to do was chop off the length, remove the elastic waist, and fit it to my natural waist= easy fix!
After that, this $4 dollar skirt turned into an adorable,  and non-awful skirt. ;)

  The Alteration: 

-FIRST find out the measurement from your natural
 waist to your knees (or where ever you want it to end) and then add
 2" inches to that length.
-NEXT mark your length measurement down the front, all the way around the skirt so you end up with a "line" of pins(see picture). 

Once you've pinned all the way around the skirt,
cut at the pinned line all the way around.

TO HEM: Turn down a half an inch, then iron.
Next turn down 1 and 1/2" inches all the way around, iron and pin.

Since the circumference gets smaller as it gets to the waist, you have to do some
 of these "tucks" in the hem about every 8 inches or so. 
(Don't worry you can't see them from the outside.)

If you happen to have buttons down the front, make sure the hem lines up with each other.
(One side being longer then the other is not cool, hipster, or unique in any way.
 It's dorky :) .... fix asap! haha)


Now how to fix the offensive elastic 
waist band in the back... 

Rip all the seams surrounding the elastic waistband leaving the front
 waistband intact.

The elastic is now gone.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

To cut out the new "back-of-the-skirt-waistband", I used a piece of the hem that I had cut off. Since the hem already has a finished edge, use that edge for the top of the waistband.

(To find what the measurement is, simply measure the empty space where your old waist band used to be and add a 1/2" for seam allowance. SUPER simple.)

***Now make sure you sew the bottom of the waistband on first, and then the sides.

(Right side to right side of course)

Don't forget to put the finished edge at the top! ;)

(If you'd like to keep the belt loops, pin them onto the waist band before you sew the band to your skirt, then hand sew the top of the belt loops on.)

After that YOU'RE DONE!!!!!

Belt: Goodies, undershirt: Francesca's, jacket: Ross, necklace: Garage sale, 
Pendant: created by Elennna Flautt. :) (see tutorial for pendant:

 http://fortheloveofclever.blogspot.com/2012/03/copper-tape-necklaces.html)

_________________________________________________

I SPY: the photographer and her model. :) 

***Thank you Susannah Flautt Photography 

for letting me drag you to down town Franklin for the
 photoshoot of my newly altered skirt! <3 

... and it's all "For the Love Of Clever" :)

Sewing Treadle Base Turned Table

                 

                My flee market savvy mother happens to own 3 old sewing machine treadle bases AND a lot of vintage suitcases. After seeing these I thought why not turn the treadle base into a table?! I really needed a piece of furniture in my room anyways..... not! (But hey when you make something cool, you MAKE room! haha) I also thought why not use a suitcase as the "table" part?! So an idea was born.

And here's my process...

This is the original treadle base I used as the base of the table.

I added 2 pieces of 2x4's that I stained a color that semi matched the metal. I then cut the pieces of wood to size. 
**If you don't have equipment for cutting pieces of wood, Home Depot or Lowes will cut it for you... How nice of them! :) 

      

                 I found a suitcase that fit. Yay me!

        

 And TA-DA!!..... wait is that really how you spell that? Anyway... Finished project!!! (of course you already saw it at the first, so it really doesn't deserve a "Ta-DA" because that implies a surprise.... dagummit.)

        

                  There's also a shelf.... WHAT!
(By the by, I'm fairly certain that adding a type writer to ANYTHING makes it spectacular! 

I highly recommend the purchase of one as soon as possible.)


....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)