What about you?

I have been wanting to find out more about my followers. Not just the ones that read this blog but about everyone on my various social media sites. I have put together a short 5 question survey. This way I can start to make sense of what my followers/readers are looking for. In the future I plan on having other surveys but they will not be the main focus of my posting. Today I really just wanted to focus on the readers. So what about you. Please let me know. With your input I will grow this page into something that we all are happy to read.

Once again have the most wonderful week and keep being the best you that you can be.

It's time for me to get to know you. Please answer the short and quick 5 question survey. 

Recycle and Reuse. That's What I'm About...most of the time.

     I don't believe that you have to run to the store every time you need a new outfit. The only place to go is your closet. I'm sure that there is plenty items that have been worn once and you'll never wear them again. There are also things there that you love but they are getting a little worn out. Believe it or not with just a touch of creativity you can get them new life and a new purpose.

     If you haven't already noticed, I like to reuse and recycle. I started out by making the sewing ham where I combined some new with a lot of old recycled t-shirts. You can not see the t-shirts because they are what I used to stuff the ham. I also had a couple of queen size sheets laying around. I used them for backdrops when I was doing photography 20+ years ago. I have just kept moving them with me every time I moved. Finally I have come up with something to use them for. I made the circle skirt and the wrap skirt out of these sheets.

     I have done some research and found that I could bring new life to old jeans. there are a few things that you could do with them. First of all they would make a great pair of shorts. They could be just cut off shorts with no hem on the legs or you could take a little extra time to hem them just to give them a little more of a finished off look.

     Your old jeans could also take the shape of a cute jean skirt. The length of the skirt dictated by taste and though a little more imagination must go into creating the skirt it is a realistic project to accomplish. Am working on creating a jean skirt an will hope to complete it fairly soon. I will be working to keep on track of these sewing projects even with my heavy work with my job and in my college classes. The nice thing about the jeans project is that it does not have to be limited to jeans. You can find any old pair of pants that you want and create a new skirt or what ever your imagination can come up with.

     Some of the projects that are on my short list to accomplish are:

• I need to finish the jean shorts/skirt project.
• I want to start exploring sewing men's clothing, pants and shirts.
• I will be creating a couple more skirt projects. Still need a midi and maxi that I am still looking for the perfect fabric.
• After all of that it is hopefully onto a full length dress. 

These should be enough to keep me busy for awhile and I should be able to increase my sewing skills. I am still a novice at this sewing business. One day I will be able to create anything that I want but until then I will keep taking these baby steps. Have the most wonderful week and I will see you next time.

That's a Wrap!

 

     I have so many goals in life and so little time to do them. Aside from working 50 hours a week I am also a full-time student getting a business management degree. I enjoy learning about what I need to do to make me better at managing a business and about building my own business. I would like to see a time where I can get out from behind the desk and not have to worry about going to work every day. I want my money to work for me so that I can enjoy doing whatever I want to do. I am taking small steps learning about how to be a business owner and how to properly invest my time and money.

     Things that I enjoy doing are photography, writing and sewing. There are many other things but I have learned to focus on just a few things that get me to the life that I want to live. I would hope that one day photography, writing and sewing could be wrapped up into one big business and so I am formulating a plan.

     The reason I have selected the name and have become Fashionframework is because I am looking to focus on a well rounded life. Fashion to me is much more than the photography. It is more than women (and men) dressed in the latest trends, the unrealistic portrayal of what the everyday average woman must live up to. It is about a lifestyle. It is about your home, your family, the way you perceive yourself as an individual. That to me is fashion. Not everybody can be a model, but everybody can be themselves. They can live that fashionable life and live in that fashionable environment. That to me is what fashion should be all about.

     So now on to this weeks project. I have chosen to sew a wrap skirt. Once again I am using my own design and need to make some tweaks to it. Pictured is a floor length skirt made once again out of my favorite practice material, a bed sheet.

     It is hemmed on the bottom and on both sides using a single stitch rolled hem. One thing that I learned after and what I will be trying on my next skirt is to use a double needle on my machine. That way the hem allows for a little stretch and looks finished off with the double row of stitches.

     The waistband was created out of a 8 inch wide by 74 inch long strip of fabric. It each side was folded over to the center line of the fabric to create a stiff yet pliable waistband and ties. One thing that I would do differently next time is to increase the length of the ties. As you can see in the photos there is not much room to tie a bow or use other fasteners.

     This was the most awesome project and I learned a lot. The next time I create this wrap skirt I will be looking at a different fabric. I will also be adding some light to medium weight fusible batting that will give the waistband a little more structure. Add a little more length to the ties and it will then be a great outfit for that special someone.

     Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I managed to successfully create pretty good elongated button hole which I created to feed the tie through on one side of the skirt. I think it worked out well.

Until next time please keep striving to do things that make you happy.

A Full Circle

     Hello once again. I believe that I am back after a well needed break. I am refreshed and ready to jump into 2017 with a renewed energy. This coming March I will be starting what I hope to be my last tern in college. I will then be graduating with a Business Management degree. The only thing that could foil these plans is one class that I am currently taking. It is managerial accounting and I find that any accounting class is a little challenging for me. I must continue on though. So much of what I hope to do with my future revolves around business that this could be a nice addition to my knowledge base.

     I had to leave work early yesterday since the children are still on winter break. I also did the same thing today. That just gives me more time to do the things that I love to do and that is to learn. I learn the best by doing, so yesterday I jumped in and immersed myself into my sewing. I created my very first circle skirt. Even thought there are some flaws I feel that it was a very successful project. I learned something.

     I am running short on fabric around here. But what I had was  couple of  old sheets lying around from my photography. I would use the sheets as my back drops and I have somewhat shifted from using these for back drops but kept the sheets. Now they are free to be used for my practice material.

     I have a tendency to work from memory and create what is in my minds eye. Is this the correct way for one that is new to sewing? Not really, but I have a strong vision as to what I want to accomplish and I have a love for geometry. I find that sewing is just one big geometry project. I will use patterns for many things that I want to sew, but I will also make many patterns. I find that if I am making everything from scratch I am learning everything that I can about what works and what doesn't.

     I managed to get that perfect circle from which to make this skirt. I made successfully made a 1/4 inch hem around the bottom. I know that this is not the typical hem width but this is what I chose for this project.

     I had a vision in my head as to what I wanted for the waistband and just cut it out. The waistband is 3 inches wide and but I cut the original piece out as a 4 inch piece with a length of 42 inches. I left a half inch seam allowance on each of the long edges. That is how I got 3 inches out of the 4 inch waistband.

     In the last picture you will notice that the zipper is showing and that it really stands out because I did not color match and just used the last zipper that I had in my kit. Is everything sewn straight? No. What I have is working zipper. It zips from the top to the bottom without any snags. From everything that I know from others who have worked with zippers this is one of the hardest things to do when it come to sewing. My next zipper will probably be color matched and there will be a much cleaner look. I learned what I by doing and managed to learn what I will and will not do next time.

     This was my first project heading into the world of sewing clothing. This skirt will not see the light of day, or the darkness of the night. In other words no one will ever be wearing this skirt. I was my learning project, by break out project. Now I will take what I have learned and make improvements and work towards that sewing perfection and maybe I will one day I will create that perfect outfit.

Take care and keep challenging yourself. 

More to come!