Categotry Archives: sewing

RAINBOW COWBOY LEGGINGS

30 April 2012 by Julianne

Yippie ki-yay y’all, we’re off to the Glitter Rainbow Rodeo!

Obviously it was hard to pick just a few photos! Jason is a great photographer! But I think the two above are my favorite.

I don’t think I need to even say it, but this is my most favorite outfit ever. If you’re coming to Lightning in a Bottle keep your eyes out for the rainbow mess that is me. Complete with rainbow eyelashes! Whenever Jason goes away on a business trip without me, he brings back fabulous makeup things.

These pants are perfect for dancing cowboys or Indians! They’re disco-tastic, super comfortable, and make me feel absolutely awesome. Seriously, you cannot stand still if you’re wearing these leggings.

Some people are afraid of tight metallic pants, but I’ve always felt like they glossed over parts of my body that I’m less comfortable with. From my experiences at Burning Man, I get more attention (from men and women, sexual and just plain awesome) with glittery fabric stretched over my body than when I’m completely nude. Which all adds up to say that you don’t have to have a perfect body to look perfect in metallic lycra.

I think this is my favorite waistband yet. It’s super comfortable and super sexy. Yeehaw!

I used a very stretchy silver lycra for the pants. The fringe is made from 5/8″ strips of foldover elastic, which comes in a million bright colors and has a great flow to it. The ends are all seared to prevent the elastic from fraying at all. The gold strip isn’t really functional, but I think it gives a nice fly attitude to the leggings.

As usual, all the materials came from Fabric Planet. As for the inspiration, there’s no telling where I get this stuff from.

I’ll definitely be using this same technique to make different color schemes. In the meantime, go ahead and order a pair on Etsy!

Of course I made everything else in the outfit too (except the amazing pinwheel), but you’ll have to wait a couple weeks till I have all that posted as well.

PSYCHEDELIC PUZZLE VEST

29 April 2012 by Julianne

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I thought that I posted this weeks ago. How on earth did this blazing glory slip my mind?! I like to think that it’s a very special closet where neon tessellations can be forgotten.

I feel like this vest accentuates the waist. It’s perfect for bellydancing, or the circus, or of course Burning Man.

This omission came to my attention after the fabulous Oona came into the store and picked out the same fabric! It was near the end of a very busy but also awesome morning, and I may or may not have shouted her name as soon as she came through the door.

Like I said, it was a crazy morning. And I am not able to maintain my otherwise cool demeanor when surprised by people I admire from the internet. Just as Rick Steves. Oh but do go read her write-up of the craziness; she really hit it right on!

Back to the sewing! Devoted readers will recognize this same fabric from my Mystic Jigsaw coat. It’s a heavy woven wool that we have near the upholstery section at Fabric Planet, but I don’t think anyone has bought it for their sofa. Yikes, even I draw the line at that!

I used a soft woven cotton for the lining, which has a small pocket for a cellphone or money. The black and white trim is an upholstery twist, and I knew right away that this fabric would need it. I used pressed brass snaps on the placket, so the vest is reversible if you’d ever want to be a little more mellow.

Apparently I don’t have a great photo of it, but you can sort of see that I made the back in two pieces. I’ve got the purple shapes forming an upward chevron on the back, and the diagonal continues to a V in the front. It’s pretty sharp lookin’!

There will probably be new interpretations of this vest, but for now you can find the one-and-only in my Etsy shop.

POCKET SQUARES

22 April 2012 by Julianne

I made some pocket squares for my dad to wear to a Red charity event. He sent a photo of the tie and suit that I needed to match, and left the rest up to me.

I think you can all tell that I have a colorful sense of style. My dad, however, tends to be a little more conservative in his dress. I could not trust my own judgment as to which fabrics went with the tie! I agonized over the fabric selection for a while, but then reasoned that if he wanted a boring pocket square he could have gone to JC Penny, but since he asked me to handle it then he knew what he was getting into.

I picked two printed cottons from Joann, but I wanted a fancier option as well. I went to a few other fabric stores looking for a silky print with no success. I even hit up thrift stores, planning to cut up a men’s dress shirt for the project, but no luck there either. Finally, I just decided to paint my own silk!

I chose two different ABC silks: one is a dull blue, the other is a neutral gray. I didn’t entirely trust the accuracy of the colors in the photos, so I wanted to cover my bases. I used a simple red paint pen, and the 10×10″ square took almost no time to decorate. Hemming was also a breeze of course.

I haven’t seen my dad in over a year! He lives a few miles in from the Atlantic, and I’m a short bike ride to the Pacific. We could hardly be further apart. He and his wife just booked their flight to New Orleans for our wedding reception, so it’ll just be another 6 months.

Made By Julianne

adventures in making

Categotry Archives: sewing

RAINBOW COWBOY LEGGINGS

PSYCHEDELIC PUZZLE VEST

POCKET SQUARES