My husband named this project “Frankencoat” because it is actually a dress with pieces of other garments, plus fabric, sewn onto it. It may be used as a costume for a youth production of the Broadway (musical) version of Little Women. Or it may not.
Initially planned to be a hag dress, the gray tweed was deemed too nice by the director. At the same time, I was struggling to come up with ladies coats in the shape I wanted; most modern wool coats (at least the ones we can afford to use for costumes) are boxy and shapeless. So was the dress.
Here’s what I did:
- split the dress up the front and cut off the bottom. The extra off the bottom became the little cape effect thing below the collar.
- Next I took the top of a black velvet dress I had found, which wasn’t being used for anything. The top may actually end up being used now, I didn’t have to cut through the zipper and I serged around the bottom to keep it from fraying. Making a seam at the waist of the dress, I attached the full black velvet skirt to the inside. Then I sliced up the dress to allow the black velvet to show. How hack is that?
- A sleeveless vest with fake fur trim donated the toggle closures.
- Some random velvet I had laying around (for what purpose, who knows?) covers the collar, trims the little cape thing, and fills in as a faux back half-belt.
- Lesson: baste everything first! Can you imagine having to take out little stitches from this stretchy fabric? And tweed?
There it is. One of the reasons I haven’t been around much. (I had hoped to get this posted in time for the fabulous festival on costumes at dramatis personae. Perhaps she’ll have mercy on me.)
What do you think? I’m happy I made it, but this may be the most daylight (or spotlight) it ever sees. 
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“Can I put pink duct tape on your shoes?”
“Sure.” 
(Why not, right?)
Other stylin’ uses for duct tape:
- Purses: here’s instructions for a very stylish little striped number and here’s an easy one, more like a book bag.
- What to put in your purse? How about a duct tape wallet? The link goes to instructions for it, but I think my daughters figured it out for themselves by making …
- Bible covers. You’ve got to admit duct tape Bible covers are a brilliant idea - custom sized, sharpie design-able, and, best of all, protective! They’ve been a staple in our household for years.
- Shoes. Believe it or not, we knew a young man who, last spring, made flip flops entirely out of duct tape and wore them constantly. I’m not recommending it.
Done any creative duct tape projects lately?
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Remember last Spring when I said I hoped legwarmers would return to the fashion scene? Well, it seems they have; it’s only natural with the current knitting craze. Many thanks to Jenn for posting this link to ALOT of patterns.
Now if I only had the time and inclination to pick up the yarn and tools and actually knit some!
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Better late than never.
I bought this belt, a men’s eelskin, at Salvation Army for 89 cents. That’s frugal, especially when you consider that it fits both my waist and the “waistband” of my mid-rise jeans. (Previously I blogged another solution for that problem.)
To keep the tail of this belt in place, no matter in which spot I wear it, I took the keeper off altogether. (Actually it was falling apart. I was very disappointed until I figured out how this was going to work.) Then I put it back together as a separate loop, using a pair of pliers. Now I just slip it on my belt wherever I want it!
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Last week I posted two different pictures of me wearing my brown suede boots and belt: one with low-rise jeans (scroll all the way down for that picture) and one with a high-waisted skirt. The same belt. Are you with me on the problem here?
See the trouble, is if I try to wear a belt high up on my waist, there’s this long tail flopping around. I’ve tried different things, tucking the belt around, making a paper-clip keeper (–really). The textbook answer is to buy a different belt. But I could hardly bring myself to spend the money on the first one!
Enter double-stick tape. The kind you use to hold carpet down. That is what’s holding the tail of my belt in place in the high-waisted picture. Removing the tape right after changing, I didn’t even damage my $4 belt. That works for me.
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In one of my most-googled posts ever, Modest Swimwear, I described my dream swimsuit. It remains a dream. Remember these board shorts? Only $6.99 American, plus $18.95 shipping and handling!
So … a couple of weeks ago, at our church’s family camp, I got a wild hair and made my own. You see, I have one ancient swimsuit. It’s one-piece, with a modest neckline, but I’d love to replace it because it doesn’t fit great. It does, however, match with EVERYTHING “swim” I own: my Reef flip-flops 
and my short swimshorts. I even had a pair of matching cargo capris in board short fabric. Had. That is, until I ran over to the camp kitchen, borrowed a pair of scissors, and made myself a very “hack” pair of knee-length board shorts.
Hehee. It works for me.
BTW, I got those capris from a daughter for $1, the usual going price when an item moves wardrobes within our family. For more on how we taught the ladies to budget for their own wardrobes see this old post: Crazy Budgeting Mama.
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