TSquared5 - Spring Collection 2017

It's that time again folks. It's time for my Spring Collection. I'm calling it TSquared5. Honestly, this one might as well be a Summer Collection. It took me awhile to get my life together this year, and by the time I started it was already too warm for some of my designs. So, there will be a continuation in late Summer/early Fall. I'm already excited. We're here to talk about spring though, so here we go!

My first piece is not a full design, it's more of a revamp. I have had this dress for years. It's cute. I just haven't really had a strong desire to wear it in awhile. 

While cleaning out my art supplies recently, I found this ribbon that I've been trying to figure out what to do with. It hit me to put the two together. 

I started by cutting the top of the dress. The original design had a full collar and cap sleeve. I wanted something a little more summery. So, I transformed it into more of a tank shape.

I ended up needing to take in the sides a bit. The original shape left a little more material than was necessary. Then I sewed a strap to each side from front to back. 

Just like that I have a new dress, and I didn't have to spend one penny. 

The next piece was an idea I got while watching Project Runway. I knew this summer I wanted to create a Romper. I found this print while at Jo-Ann. 

I wasn't sure if I actually liked the print, or was just intrigued that it was different. Either way it kept calling me. So I bought a yard. I started by making the bottom portion using a standard pattern that I use as the base for all of my shorts. 

For the top I started off by making a tank top pattern first, and good thing I did. I used a tank top I already had as a base. I cut out the pieces, and pinned them together as a test. Well wouldn't you know it didn't fit. It was too small. Hmmm. I looked again, and apparently did not realize the tank I used stretches. The material I was using did not. That was good to know. Even more so before I cut my actual fabric. I went and got another shirt that did not stretch, and used it to make a second attempt. 

Before I put the pieces together I added some faux straps using remnant ribbon. I needed to gauge how low the top would hang, so I knew where the two pieces needed to be joined together for the best fit. 

Once everything was fit and pinned, I sewed the pieces together

I was loving it. Only thing left to do was add actual straps. I found black leather at Jo-Ann, and cut 2 16" long pieces.

I attached them to the romper. This was a little more difficult than I thought. The leather was actually quite thick, and I ended up having to hand sew them on. It also took a little bit of time to get the placement correct. Once everything was on though....it was magic!

I LOVE it. This might be my favorite piece of the entire collection. It's super cute don't you think? Maybe I'll make a men's one. I mean... that is a thing now right?

Next I did an unplanned project. I saw this fabric while perusing Jo-Ann. It was an accordion fabric with an elastic waist band attached. 

This should be a fairly easy skirt to sew. It's practically made for me. I just have to sew the ends together. I also have to cut length off of the bottom. I contemplated a long skirt or even a maxi dress, just so that I did not have to cut the fabric. However, it was still too long in both instances. Plights of a 5 foot human. 

Now if you can't tell, the fabric is a tad sheer. That does not particularly bother me. I would definitely just rock this with a pair of shorts under it for a sexier more edgy look. However, for the times where I care to be covered I picked up some black chiffon to make an underlay.

What do you think? How would you wear it. See through OR covered?

I'll be honest though, I'm not sure how I feel about this skirt. I was definitely a lot more excited in the store about the fabric than I am now with a finished garment. I also thought the fabric would be fuller. So, I'm not sure if this will last past the season, but we'll see. 

My next skirt inspiration came from one of my fashion magazines. The image appeared to be a short bubble skirt with added laser cut fabric to the bottom for length.

I had an idea in my head of what I was going for. Then I got to Jo-Ann and saw this beautiful laser cut lace like material. It definitely wasn't what I was imagining, but it was so pretty that I just couldn't pass it up. To go with it I picked out a lightweight gray canvas. I started by connecting the bottom and top fabrics. Then I measured where everything needed to fall.  I wanted the solid fabric to be long enough to just cover my bum. The lace had an ombre look, so I wanted as much of it to show as possible for maximum effect. 

I was going for a gathered skirt, so I gathered the top of the skirt into pleats, and then added a waistband and a zipper.

This is where the problems start. In the midst of photographing the skirt, I dropped my camera on the hard floor with the lense out. I tried fixing it by just adjusting it back in place, but no such luck. It was dunzo! So, I had to do the rest of my shots with my Iphone. 

I tried on the skirt, and liked the general look. At this point I contemplated if I still wanted to add a bottom waist band. Remember the original idea was for a bubble skirt shape. I liked the grandness of the skirt as is. Adding the waistband just didn't seem like it was going to enhance the look. Then I happened to take a second look at my inspiration picture, and realized something. It was not a bubble skirt with laser cut bottom. It was a laser cut skirt with a long sweater that covered her butt. WELL I'll be. No wonder it wasn't looking the way I wanted. I had the wrong design entirely. I decided to just leave it the way it was, and call it done!

Once again I am torn about this piece. While I absolutely love the way it looks, I'm not sure if it is the utmost flattering on me. I'll have to wear it to see how I really feel. I was trying to keep the laser cut fabric in tact, and so it's la little longer than I was going for. I think if I just styled it correctly it would be super cute, and if anyone could handle a giant skirt it is this girl.

Next is a trend I have seen everywhere this year. I decided to do an off the shoulder dress. I have tried on several off the shoulder situations, and I'll just say I walk away completely unimpressed more often than not. It seems to be hard to get a perfect fit. So, I thought it would be a perfect project to DIY. I started by getting some striped fabric from Jo-Ann.

Now I was told by a friend that this fabric did not seem like me. It was rather subdued. Which is actually true. I wasn't sure what color I was going for originally. However, I became smitten by a blue and white striped off the shoulder shirt in H&M. I took inspiration from that. Also I figured if I like it I could make another one. If I didn't, it wouldn't be a total waste of money. I started by using my T-Shirt dress pattern. 

Now being that I dropped my camera there are not very many pictures of this project. However, the process was pretty straight forward. I cut the pieces for the dress, and sewed everything together. Then I cut straight across removing the top. Lastly, I added a casing and and elastic to the top. It was pretty simple. However, as I began sewing it together I realized that the fabric was a lot thinner than I thought. You could practically see through it. That meant to wear it as a dress I would need to add something underneath. That seemed like a lot of work. So, I decided to just cut off the bottom, and make it into a high-low shirt. 

My last project really isn't that exciting in the grand scheme of things. It's just more practical and necessary. I recently got a new laptop, and have not found a case. Lots of options, but nothing I liked at a reasonable price. So, I'm just going to make one. I started off by measuring all the way around the laptop. Then I took to my stash for fabric. I was determined to use something I already had for this one. I ended up with a piece of gray felt and leftover printed fabric I used for a skirt. 

I also picked up two navy blue zippers to use as closures. Along with the case I decided to make a smaller pouch to hold my mouse and power cord. 

I'm kind of excited about this. 1) I now have something to protect my laptop. 2) I finally used up all of this fabric. 

So there we have it. My 2017 Spring Collection - TSquared5. Like I said before there were other pieces that I was going to do, so stay tuned for Part II coming in late Summer. For now I think it's time to get back to building. Oddly I've been kind of missing it. I have the perfect project too. I'm getting my patio ready for the summer, and need a new table. I was originally only partially considering one. However I have carpenter bees, and one day they decided to go savage and feast on my wood table top. That was the last straw. So, I've been thinking of a new design. I've also been into this guy on YouTube who makes things out of concrete. So, this should be a fun adventure. Stay tuned.

Until then though...It's on to the next project!