How I spent the heatwave: sewing! In particular, re-inventing some clothing, including several T-shirts and especially my beloved celestial jacket. About the jacket, first. I originally made the jacket probably about 18 years ago, and the last time I wore it was around 15 years ago. But I was so attached to it, I left it hanging in my closet. But I had lost about 25 pounds (thank goodness) and it no longer fit. These photos were taken today, with my renovated jacket.
The original jacket was about mid-thigh length, with on-seam pockets. About a year ago, the parent of a student, who is a seamstress, tried to take it apart and try to make it smaller. She took massive volume out of the arms, but because of the structure (pockets and lining) could not do more. The pockets were too low (losing weight had somehow made them fall lower on my thigh) and the whole thing still looked massively huge on me.
So yesterday I took a scissor to the jacket and chopped off about 6" of length. I took out what was left of the pockets, created some new binding out of some night-sky fabric, and rebound the bottom. I'm now considering putting frog closures on the front, and while the I'm so happy to be able to wear the jacket again!
Here's what I did to the T-shirts, including the orange Matisse-quote shirt and the "Got Art" one pictured above.
Both of these shirts had been purchased at my state art teacher's conference. But they were standard T-shirt shapes and I NEVER wore either of them. You see, though I am petite, at barely 5', I have what I guess I'll call a decidedly "womanly" shape. The hips on a small-size standard T-shirt are too small for me, so I had purchased mediums. They looked ridiculous on little me. The shoulders were halfway to my elbows, the shirts hung down to mid-thigh, and the sleeves were voluminous. Ugh. They looked like nightshirts. And I don't like those ugly un-feminine T-shirt necklines.
So I cut off the sleeves, altered the sides to make it more female-shaped without being tight, cut back the shoulders and reinserted the sleeves. I also cut the sleeves shorter and and made them narrower.
I cut off and re-hemmed the bottom to a nicer length, and cut off the T-shirt neckline too. I then narrowly folded over the neckline twice, ironed it and hemmed it close to the edge, making it a little less constricting with a more feminine look.
I'm so happy to be able to wear both of these artsy T-shirts, plus the NO COMPLAINING shirt that I fixed also. This shirt also has, on the back, the Maya Angelou quote: "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." My students know that our #1 art room rule is NO WHINING. So they'll like seeing me wear this shirt on a blue-jean Friday.
Hopefully tomorrow will be in the 80's or even 70's and I'll do something outside. How have you been spending your heat wave?
