Felt birthday crown!

Happy birthday Britton! We went to a fun camping birthday party with loads of kids. Food offerings included trail mix and ants on a log (celery, pb and raisins).
Made my favorite new style birthday crown out of felt. It has a Velcro closure. I hope to make more of these to sell at shows this summer.
Custom crowns available! Just let me know what size and color.

Bubble wrap print t-shirt

Enjoying a day at the lake in a hand dyed and custom printed t-shirt! We were inspired by a class we took, making prints with bubble wrap. So we tried it with fabric paint on dyed t-shirts and it worked great! Little f had a blast making them and it's fun to share that he made his own shirt!

Old jeans to market apron

Our farmer, Sandee Ware, from Ware Farm asked me to make some aprons to use at the farmer's market and for planting. The old one had these nice big strong pockets, so I used that as my inspiration.
Here she is selling organic seedlings at the market. Thanks to her, I'll have tomatoes, basil, zucchini and pumpkins in my garden this year.

Neckline revamp on a women's shirt

Found this shirt in my thriftng adventures and loved the fabric. But alas, it was too big and didn't look right. I tried taking it in and then it was left to languish in my ever growing to do stack.
And then I discovered the smock. This technique of cutting off the collar and converting it to a channel for elastic is brilliant! It was exactly the treatment this shirt needed. I used bias tape instead of trying to fold the curved edges under and loved how it worked out. The vintage rick rack in red was just enough to give it the look I wanted, truly a modern mix of old and new.

Biking in a blue star shirt!

On the beach

Mermaid shirt

Instead of making shirts with groovy new fabric, I have found that I love adding new elements to found shirts. This one has mermaids and pearl snaps, which prompted a look of sweet joy as little f pulled them apart at bath time!

All the logs are remnants from our big winter storm, cut up with a chain saw. They make a nice little natural obstacle course!

Mother's Day 2012 in Arcadia

revamped vest rescue

It's so sweet when your handiwork returns to you. This vest was sold locally at an art show a few years ago. This also happened to be the show where I met my very dear sewing sister, Amylynn over at Farm Girl Studio.

Then, a few months ago, another sewing friend handed it to me after we reconnected at another thrift shop (note the theme). Her name is Deb and her recycling enterprise is called Pretty Stinkin' Green. She had found it at a thrift shop in the their boutique section, recognized it as my work and bought it to give back to me. Thank you Deb, you are so thoughtful!

Best part of the story? It fits my little guy right now for a cool Michigan spring, just as he was outgrowing his little orange vest. So we passed that one on to another buddy, paying it forward!

jeans to flirty skirt tutorial

So here it is, at long last, inspired by my birthday buddy, Kristin.
These photos were taken at the sewing studio at a class. Thanks to Erin Truog as my hand model for a few of these- nicely done, and two cute skirts to boot!

Starting with a pair of jeans, cut off the legs just above the inseam. Using the legs, cut out several curved pieces for the flounce. The curvier you cut them, the flouncier they will be and the more fabric you will need.

With the right sides together, stitch the flounce pieces together to make one long flounce.

The top edge of this flounce piece should be roughly the same size as the bottom of the jeans.

Here you can see that we cut four flounce pieces (two from each leg of the jeans) and the stretch pants that were used for the little leopard velour skirt.

At this point, you can sew the ends of the flounce together, pin and stitch to jean top. Or, if you are feeling more advance, you can start a few inches from the end of the flouce, sew all the way around until you are a few inches from the end on the other side and stop. Then you can stitch the flounce together (once you determine you have the right amount of fabric on both sides - if you don't, now is the time to add a bit to your flounce but cutting and sewing another piece). Return to stitching and finish attaching the flounce.

Now you can leave the bottom edge unfinished, use bias tape to finish hem, or if you are using jeans, topstitch around about 1/2" from the bottom for a nice frayed finish (that won't fray too much).

Please send me your feedback and skirt photos!

Adding length to pants

As my sweet little boy grows taller, all his clothes need a little extra length. For this pair, we chose some wood grain fabric and stitched a few inches onto the bottom. He chose his favorite mushroom cap too, made from cashmere sweaters.

Need more details on adding length? Check out my etsy shop for a tutorial.
www.victoriavelting.etsy.com

Mobile test!

Oh this is exciting! If this works, there will be more new posts soon!

men's shirt to sweet smock

t-shirt to skirt class at community sewing center

A few years ago I had a dream of a place where people could sew together. While getting my hair cut, I shared this dream. My hairstylist and friend introduced me to a woman named MaryAnn who was working on a great local community project called Grow Benzie. So, MaryAnn and I sat down and had a conversation. She shared my vision and immediately began to work on a space where we could sew together.

Now it is two years later and the dream has become a reality, thanks to all the great people who have come to sew in this wonderful space. Since the beginning of this year, we have an open studio/sewing circle on Monday nights from 6-9pm for a $10 donation or 15 if you would like to use some of the donated materials. Sometimes we offer a class like this in conjunction with the open studio.

To make this story even more interesting, the woman in the photo above was getting her hair cut as I arrived for my last haircut a week ago. Clarissa is a sewist who recently moved to the area and wanted to come get involved. Can I say that I love my hairstylist? She is so cool.

A few weeks earlier at an open studio, I made a ruched overskirt and petticoat with this great tutorial from maya*made. After making two skirts using it, I drew up some visual instructions that I could pass out in the class. Photos were posted on facebook and people started to sign up for the class. I called my crafty friends for back-up because I knew I was going to need help if fourteen people really showed up.


Fourteen people did in fact show up for the class, although not all the same people who signed up, as might be expected when people have families and travel to consider. As I reviewed the instructions with everyone, there was a pause while I slipped on my skirt and petticoat. To fill the space, a friend's daughter who is 10 and a Shakespearean actress stepped in with a recitation about sewing. Amazing. Where else would this happen?

I am feeling so blessed to have these people in my life! The skirts were all very different and wonderful. The women who came were working together, helping each other measure, make creative decisions, threading bobbins and offering encouragement and affirmation. I would like to especially thank Maya Donenfeld for inspiring the event with her Reinvention Skirt.

Thank you to everyone who had been part of this amazing dream and helped to make our community a richer, more creative place to live!

I'm looking forward to sewing with you next Monday night!
Let's wear our new skirts!

revamped shirt to baby dress/top

This sweet little top was a baby gift for this little cherub. She wore it first as a dress, and now she is still wearing it! You can read more about it here.

recipe for quinoa vegetable bake

1 c dried quinoa
2 c water
1T oil

Place in large sauce pot and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered for 20 min, stirring occasionally.

1 small onion - finely chopped
2 small carrots - grated (I have also used a 1 parsnip and 1 carrot)
1 small zucchini - grated
10 oz frozen spinach or cooked greens
1/8c flour (I used potato starch to be gluten-free)
1/2t baking powder
1/8c tahini - (I have used up to 1/4cup)
2t salt
1/8c fresh dill - chopped or 1-2t dried dill (optional)
2t fresh lemon juice

Bake 20 min at 400 degrees.

I found this recipe in the Whole Foods Market Cookbook (p.214) and have made it several times - it's supposed to be made into cakes, but when I omitted the 1T yogurt, they ended up crumbly. So I decided to try an easier way and tossed it all in a dish. Tasted the same and was so much easier!

This one's for you, Amylynn!

Valentine Art Party!

A few years ago, a couple of friends started getting together to make things. This time we chose to make valentines. There was cork stamping, collage and cutwork everywhere. Party favors included vintage valentines, felt baskets and silver sharpies with a collection of envelopes, stamped muslin ribbon and journals with red and white houndstooth pencils. Of course, the February edition of Martha Stewart and the Papersource catalog were on hand for inspiration. We had a wonderful time!

Hope you had a crafty valentine's day too!

happy valentine's day!

These two little sweeties came into my life a little over nine years ago. What love. They are so sweet and affectionate. Imagine a sweet pussycat purring in your ear and another at your feet. Today, I hope that you find love within yourself as well as all around you.

recycled skirt and petticoat from t-shirts

Last night at the open studio/sewing circle, I made this skirt and petticoat from the tutorial by maya*made, which was given to me by a friend. It was pretty clever, using the hem of a tshirt for the waistband. Once I figured it out, the second skirt went together within an hour. I have plans for several more! In two weeks, on February 27 from 6-9pm, there will be at class at the sewing studio at Grow Benzie if you want to make your own. Bring some t-shirts (xlarge works best unless you want to make panels) and 1/2" elastic, along with a $10 donation for the studio.

At first I wasn't too sure I would wear a petticoat, but when I tried it on with my boots, I was in love! A few more rows of ruffles added to this one will make it perfect! My next one is going to be in an oatmeal color.

The best part? Having two layers of fabric makes it more flattering in the back, since t-shirt fabric can be a little on the light side for my taste. It also eliminates the possibility of having it get stuck to your body - so embarrasing!

Have I told you how much I love my Frye boots? They are worth every penny even at full price! Somehow they transform every outfit to a level of sublime, don't you agree?

recycled sweater skirt

A while back, we were headed out on a date night with all our little buddies parents. We were excited to see them and have adult conversations while the kids had time with their grandparents. As I was getting dressed, I couldn't seem to find what I wanted - something warm, cute and fashionable. Now this happens more often than you might expect. It results in a frenzy of activity in my studio as a pile of collected goods is transformed into the finished piece. The inspiration for these projects is often prompted by just such a deadline.  I'm so glad it all worked out this time!