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!

T-Shirt Galore

I may have said this before, but I've always felt that the t-shirts they make for men are usually far more fun than the ones they make for ladies. So, long ago (much like everything else) I got into just making my own. I've had a few designs on the horizon for awhile now, and rather than do one I decided to turn it into a full project. Now, I know that there are plenty of sites where you can load a design, and have the shirt made and sent to you. However, those are usually pretty pricey, so I prefer the DIY method when possible. 

Let me first start by saying, I have yet to find a full proof go-to method. I've tried a few over the years, and none of them are quite perfect in every instance. I started with iron-ons. This is my preferred method of making my own t-shirts because it's the easiest. Unfortunately it may or may not give the best results all the time. Sometimes they don't hold up over time, and are prone to cracking when put in the washer machine. I started with a gray v-neck from Target. I am a little bit of a t-shirt snob, and have become quite particular about the overall feel and quality of my tees. I like mine soft, and unfortunately some of the ones out here feel like you're wearing cardboard.  The first shirt I did was a an upgrade of a current one. I am from Cambridge, MA which has come to be known as "The People's Republic of Cambridge" (for obvious reasons if you have ever been there). I bought a shirt last summer, but one wash and it lost all of its soft, comfort factor. It was also a little plain. So, I spent some time designing one I really liked. I printed the image on a piece of transfer paper, and ironed per the instructions. 

I was a little shocked. The image itself had white lettering. I didn't realize that with this transfer paper that white would not print. Some do and some don't. This one did not. Not the end of the world, but good to know. 

The next shirt was for Radio Raheem. I got this idea, and did the sketch sometime last summer. Then unfortunately Bill Nunn, the actor who portrayed Radio Raheem passed shortly after I finished it. I thought it best to wait a little bit. I didn't want the idea to seem cliche. I started with a dark gray t-shirt. I was a little unsure considering that the transfer was not going to print the white. Originally I thought that it would, which is why I went with the color shirt that I did. A black outline on a dark gray shirt would probably blend, but I went ahead and did it anyway.

Well I was right. Once I ironed the images down, nothing stood out. I also made the transfers too small. I wanted the imagery of this shirt to be dominant, and the current situation just wasn't doing it for me. So, back to the drawing board. I tried it again. This time I went with a white tee, and made the transfers bigger. It turned out so much better. 

I'm kind of excited about this one, and am contemplating making it in different color combinations.

For the next few I'm going to do lettering. Now typically when I do lettering, I use pre-cut iron-on letters. They sell them in a pack of all different fonts, colors, and sizes. The problem is there are only but so many of each letter, and forbid that you need more than 3 Es or 1 K? You're just out of luck. I end up buying multiple packs, just for one or two letters. It's wasteful. So this time I decided to just buy iron on sheets and cut my own letters. 

Cutting my own letters was a lot more time consuming, but definitely more cost effective. I also wasn't limited to specific fonts. For this shirt I'm making a tank top. I started with a black tank, and bought neon vinyl sheets from Etsy. I was going for a fun summer time 90s vibe. 

I got this idea probably from listening to music in the car. DJ Ipod Shuffle sometimes plays old songs, that I have long forgot. Well MC Brains came on. Definitely a one hit wonder, but boy was that my jam in middle school. For the vinyl letters I ironed each word down one at a time. These were fairly easy to apply. Just lay down the letter, cover with Wax Paper (I used Parchment), and then peel off the top layer. The letters were a little transparent and thin. So the black shirt showed through a little.

I got me a total throwback tee for the summer. I'm going to exercise my inner "Suns out guns out" with this one. 

This next project is one I have already attempted. I made this sweatshirt some time last year during my Fall Collection. If you read that blog than you know that I tried something new. I bought canvas fabric, and used Heat-N-Bond sheets to adhere the letters. Well, after washing it some of the letters began to fray and peel up. Then while on a plane, I dropped a piece of chocolate on myself (because I eat like a Kindergartner) and it stained the front. I washed it, but a spot still remains and every time I see it, it reminds me of poo. 

I really liked this sweatshirt, but don't wear it as much as I would like because of the aftermath.  

I yanked on one of the letters, and it seemed to pull completely off. It made sense to just start over. I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased iron-on transfer sheets in white and red. 

I chose a font I liked out of Photoshop, and cut new letters

Before ironing the letters down, I put the sweatshirt on and marked my chest area with pins. Last time I made the letters a little too big, and they extended past where you could see them. I cut all of the letters out, and ironed each word down one at a time. 

You can still see a little bit of the glue residue from where the old letters were, but I'm hoping that that goes away in the wash. If it does not, it will just add extra character.

The last shirt I actually did online. Now I know I said I typically do not do this because it's quite expensive. I also do not like that I can't completely control all of the factors like feel, quality, size, and placement of the design. However, I designed a t-shirt years ago, and it was time for a refresh. It is a pain to iron-on though. The t-shirt is full body, and takes 4 full page transfers. A heat press would have been ideal in this situation, but I have not been able to justify that purchase. So, I made an exception and tried my hand at online. I chose Spreadshirt.com. They had all of the criteria I needed, and they printed on American Apparel t-shirts. I also found a coupon code, so that solidified my decision. I loaded my design, and then waited patiently to get my package in the mail. 

I was quite impressed with the result. I have printed on American Apparel shirts before so I knew the feel and sizing would work. The design was a little small, but not bad. It still gets the imagery across. 

So that's it. I'm pretty pumped about all of my creations. I've already plotted how I'm going to properly rock these in the streets. If these work out I may make a few more in the fall.  

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

Broken Glass - A NEW MATERIALS PROJECT

I have a bad problem of being excited by many things. Well every so often when I can't sleep I'll watch YouTube. Recently I was looking at videos and came across a guy making things out of cement. I thought...that looks cool...why not. Lately I've been doing quite a bit of perusing, and have come across quite a few things that I want to try. So, I decided to make it a mission as part of my year of returning to art, to experiment with materials that I don't normally use. Sounds fun huh? I think so. First up, glass. I have left over broken glass from an old project, and a box full of Clip Frames.

The first project I want to try is making a glass mosaic. I some how have managed to obtain a small collection of Clip Frames from IKEA. I actually don't plan on keeping this project. It is more of a test to see what happens. If I like it, I may turn it into something bigger. I started with a piece of glass from a 5x7" frame and a piece of scrap wood from my stash. 

I started by painting the wood with Navy Blue acrylic paint. For the glass I  added different shades of blue to the surface, and worked the paint in until it was completely covered. I put both pieces aside and let them dry.

Once both pieces were dry I spread a layer of Mod Podge over the top.

Then glued it down to the piece of painted wood. 

This next part is going to sound weird, but I took a hammer to it.

That's right, I smashed it. The goal was to break the surface apart while still glued down.  

I thought the painted top would separate, and create a cool collage situation. Not so much. It was more like shattered dents. 

A couple of pieces broke off, but for the most part it didn't turn out as interesting as I thought it would. Maybe I'll try it again on a larger scale. To be honest it actually looked nice before I smashed it. So, I could always leave the tools alone, and not be destructive. We'll see. Experiment 1 - COMPLETE.

For the next project I utilized a few pieces of broken glass. I was making a glass top for something, and attempted to cut the glass myself. I was clearly part of team doing too much, and ended up with a bunch of jagged pieces. It was a big mess honestly. Needless to say I have not been able to add glass cutter to my repertoire. 

To start the process I grabbed 2 pieces of scrap wood from the garage. I traced the shape of each glass piece to the top, and cut around it. I spray painted the sides silver, and then sanded and painted the top white as a base. 

For the larger one, I added a few pieces of masking tape to the top. Then I painted the exposed sections black. 

Once it partially dried I removed the tape. 

For the glass, I started by drilling 3 holes into the surface. In order to do that I used my Dremel, and newly purchased Diamond drill bits. 

It took awhile to drill the holes. However, it wasn't too difficult. I just had to take my time. 

Once my holes were drilled, I painted the underside using various colors of acrylic paint. This wasn't going to be handled at all, so I didn't see the need to get specialty glass paint.  

While it dried I added some blocks to the base. I wanted the glass to float over the top, and the blocks serve as spacers. They were also a means of securing the glass to the base. I painted them black to blend in.

With both pieces complete I added the glass to the top

To secure the glass to the base, I used Thumb Tacks and extra glue. Unfortunately the Thumb Tacks did not push as easily into the wood as I had thought they would. I tried to use my hammer, and ended up breaking the glass.

A little frustrating, but not the end of the world. To rectify my issue, I cut a portion of the tack off, and used a liberal amount of E6000 glue to secure it. As for the broken piece, I just put a few dabs of clear glue and adhered it directly to the wood. Not my first choice, but still looked cool.

For the next piece I tried a different technique. I added the paint using straws. I've seen this before, but never tried it. You stick one side of the straw in some paint, and then blow from the other side. It came out kind of cool, and was not that hard to do. Definitely took a few tries to get the hang of it, but once I did I was on to something. I started by adding black to the white base.

For the glass portion I used the same technique, but used the same variety of colors from the other glass piece.

This time though I added the tacks and blocks to the glass first.

Then added the whole thing to the base.

Experiment 2 - COMPLETE

To hang the pieces, I added a picture hook to the back of each one.

I added the finished pieces to my top floor gallery wall. 

So what do you think? I think they turned out nice. I wasn't sure what I was going to get when I started this whole thing, but that's kind of the whole point. This was a fun experiment. Not really sure what the next project or material will be. I do know I need a new patio table though. Hmmm...I'm thinking a good outdoor material. 

....Until the next project