It is finally here. The last week of genius hour. I am really glad that I did this project because I learned so much more about sewing and upcycling. I learned that it is much harder than it looks. To finish off, I wanted to try upcycling a shirt. I haven't done a shirt yet, and I thought it would be fun to finish this way. I was going to make bell sleeves in the shirt. This is the kind of sleeve that flares out towards the bottom. I had to cut off the bottom six inches of the shirt to make the sleeve. You cut this bottom part into two pieces, one for each sleeve, and sew them to make each part round. To make the bell part, I had to sew straight through the top of each separate sleeve and pull the seams to make it look ruffled. Once this is done, you sew this part onto the sleeve of the shirt, and it is done. I did all of this pretty well. The only problem is that the shirt it short now, making it more of a crop top, but the sleeves turned out really well. I would say that I learned a lot throughout this project. After doing all of this, I have more confidence in my sewing skills, and I am excited to see what I can upcycle next.
Thank you!
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This week was very successful. I was this idea for a tank top made out of an old t-shirt. I liked this idea, but then I found another one that was braided in the back, and I couldn't not do this. I loved the design and knew that was going to be my project this week. It was a simple design, and it only required sewing at the very end. The first step is to cut off the sleeves all the way up to the collar. The next step is to cut the back part so it is separated from the collar, and then you cut the back into three strips half way down the back of the shirt. You then braid these three strips, and finally, you sew it back to the collar. I ended up using my old middle school DC shirt, and it turned out really well. These tank tops are good for playing sports in and just to wear in the summer. See you next week for the last week! I decided that these last three weeks would be different. I want to do something different each week for the rest of the project, so I can try more things. Depending on the difficulty of the project, I might do multiple pieces each week. I am doing scrunchies this week. It is more complicated than some of the pieces I have done so far, but it wasn't something that couldn't be done. The first one I made was a little bit too small, but overall, the it looked nice. I was very pleased with the outcome first time around. The second one that I did turned out good too. And I did this one without any help! There are very summery, and I am excited to wear them! Things are definitely going good. See you next week!
So far, I think this project is going really well. I am getting much more efficient with putting together the designs which is one thing I was aiming for. One thing that I have realized is that it is difficult to find the right materials for each piece. When you are looking through a thrift store, it is unlikely that you will find exactly what you need. When upcycling, you have to learn how to be flexible with the materials available. This week, I did the hi-low skirt again. This one was a little more difficult than last week because the skirt was large. I had to bring it in before I could cut the skirt and hem it. It was all pretty easy after getting it to the right size. I think everything is going as planned. See you next week!
This week, I am making a skirt. It is definitely harder than last week, but it isn't the hardest project I've done. Just from looking at my example, I thought this one would be pretty easy. It turned out to be a good challenge that was doable. The skirt was a different material that was harder to work with, but it still turned out alright. First, I had to cut the skirt to the correct length. Since the skirt is sheer, there is another solid one underneath. For the part underneath, I cut it straight around, and the sheer skirt I cut at a slant (look at the picture). To finish it off, I had to hem the cuts. It all turned out really great! I am not the biggest fan of the design on the skirt though, but that is what you get when you shop at a thrift store.
Thank you! This week, I decided to do the same sandals as last week. I did this because I wanted to "master" it. I realize now that this week was way too easy, but I don't have enough time to go out and purchase something new to do. The sandals did turn out great though. I have gotten much more efficient with my work recently, so I am happy about that. I am going to look for something harder to do next week though to have more of a challenge. For those of you that don't remember, the steps I took last week were very simple. Here they are: 1) get a scarf and some old flip flops, 2) cut the scarf in half (one for each shoe), 3) wrap the scarf around the straps of the flip flops, 4) put on the shoes, tie them, and enjoy!
Thank you. See you next week! Summer Sandals It's spring break! I wanted to take things easier this week, so I decided on reimagining old sandals. There were some old sandals lying around the house that no one has worn in years. I wanted to take them a make them to look nice so people would actually wear them. I found this idea on Pinterest. It looked easy to do, and it was really cute. The only thing to do was get a scarf and wrap the sandal straps with it. I got the scarf for $1 and the sandals were basically free because I already had them! This was a really cheap week! I got a nice scarf and followed the directions from Pinterest. I worked! All I had to do was cut the scarf in half and then start wrapping. I think I found myself a new pair of shoes!
See you next week! Rerun For this week, I wanted to try to master the process of making the skirt I made last week. I have decided by this point that I will be doing this for every piece I do. When I first started, I thought I would do both in the same week, and master it the same week. I quickly realized that was a lot of work and time that I could not do all of the time. I will start a piece one week, and then try to master it the next week.
Last week was a very successful week with the skirt. I wanted to improve my efficiency in making it this week since I already had down the basic steps. The shirt I used this week was a different material though; it was a sweater. It was much more difficult to work with than the plain shirt from last week. It was also much shorter than last week's shirt. To make sure the skirt was at an appropriate length, I had to use material from the sleeves to fold over for the elastic band. Overall, it went really well, but the final product was messier than last week. Hopefully I can do something more difficult next week during spring break. Thank you! A Fresh Start
The Process
My Progress
A Close Call
A Somewhat Success
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AuthorHi! I am Laura. This is my project on upcycling! Archives |