The Cottage Revolution

Tag: sewing

  • A Trivet (at long last)

    Here are just a few of the things I’m bad at: • Running long distances • Math • Recalling the story lines of movies • Mailing things promptly It often takes me months to mail anything. As a kid I moved from Indiana to Minnesota, then back to Indiana. My friends and I had the…

  • I’m Back

    October was fully consumed with our 19th annual Film Festival. It was a great 10 days. The High School Film Competition Award winners rocked the experience in a huge way and their families were amazing. Our Institute Workshop actually came together, thanks the cooperation of some amazing filmmakers. Over the course of two weeks, I…

  • Girlified

    This week I’m at home, taking the week away from work. It’s just me and the dog from 9 to 5 each day, and I think that with the absence of Regan I’ve somehow embraced girly things on a pretty impressive level. It all started with the garage curtains. Our garage is more a playhouse…

  • Liberty Print Refashion

    I grew up wearing a steady stream of old clothing — but not the vintage kind. My dad was (and still is) a camp director and we lived on property. Each summer hundreds of campers would leave behind towels, tennis shoes, t-shirts and shorts. All of their unclaimed belongings made their way into my dresser…

  • Ruffles

    I don’t normally shop at Forever 21 since I’m well past 21 and all, but on a whim I walked into the store on my lunch break and walked out with 4 shirts to embellish. This is shirt number two. Using some green jersey fabric I had in my stash, I cut a two foot…

  • Doilies

    This is what happens when doilies meet a flimsy Forever 21 t-shirt. I’ve fallen short of my goals this year for learning to make clothes. Between vacation, summertime socializing and a heap of new responsibility at work, spending my nights and weekends learning to sew hasn’t happened as planned. While I try to get back…

  • Project 4

    After realizing how difficult it is to work around zippers in my last project, I decided to forge ahead and tackle the dreaded zipper in a skirt that was all but finished. It turns out I spent a lot more time worrying than I actually needed to. Do not fear the zipper (if you have…

  • Project 3

    For starters I did not pick the most flattering dress concept. From my vast dress-wearing experience I know I don’t wear strapless well. It’s just too much skin. I have horrible posture when I feel exposed. Strapless dresses scare me. That said, I went ahead and made this dress. On one hand I love that…

  • Project 2

    For February I made a dress and in doing so realized that I still have a lot to learn about fabric. The fabric and I had a few spats, but ultimately worked out our differences and agreed the final result. Pattern: Modified Baby Doll Dress from Wendy Mullin’s Sew U: Home Stretch This took a…

  • Zipper: 1 Claire: 0

    I’d hoped by the end of February I’d have a new skirt to show — one that I’d drafted just for me. And it was looking good, like it could happen … until I got to the zipper. Zippers and I have never really gotten along and I’ve managed to avoid them until now. But…