Subversive Sewing

Steve bought me this book for my birthday called "Sewing Subversively." It is really cool, because it is mostly about a process called "Refashioning," meaning you make new things out of old things. Its perfect for me for two reasons:

1. We are on a budget
2. It means less difficult sewing

Basically the idea is to take something you already have (or something you buy secondhand) and make it into something you will wear. I have a lot of clothes with cute patterns or almost-perfect fits, and this has cool ideas about how to make them cute and fun to wear.

Yesterday I finally got up my courage to sew something real on the machine. I took a sweater that didn't fit quite perfectly, cut the sleeves off just so, and made it into a cute sweater vest. I know that sounds geeky, but I think it came out kind of cute. I figure I can wear it to work over a blouse. I'm also planning to cinch it in the back with a ribbon. I'll post pictures when it's finished.

The coolest thing about getting my sewing machine is that I just realized that I don't really dress the way I actually want to dress, but obviously we don't have the money for me to go out and redo my wardrobe. This gives me the chance to use what I have to make what I want.