Weekend Projects: Update

Yes, indeed, I have been working on the projects I told you about here, just like I planned. Since we don't grill or have parties or do anything special for holidays, I can get a lot done when everyone else is out of pocket, out of town, away from the computer.

Here's the dress I showed you:

Here's what it looks like now.

I cut it off to knee length and changed out the buttons--I had the absolute perfect ones already, bought on clearance and saved for just the right garment. I really recommend doing this:  buying cool buttons when you find them cheap and saving them. Oooh, remind me to show you my button box, please! But not now--I've got all the photos I want to deal with today.

Better view of buttons:

And then Jest #4. OK, here's Jest #1:

Jest #2:

Jest #3:

And Jest #4:

OK, I've got a pale orange skirt under it, so that longer part you see isn't part of the Jest.

The challenge I set myself with this one was to use only thrifted garments, not yardage. Everything here except the gold panels under the arms is from a garment, and those garments were used in their original colors. The body is from an ankle-length red sleeveless red dress that had--gack!--white plastic buttons. I cut it off and opened up the side seams.

The gold panels--left over from #2.

The orange in the front is the coolest stuff. It was from an ankle-length dress, lined, probably expensive, very stuffy. But it looks like that silk dupioni that's got two different colors for the warp and the woof, so one way it looks orange, and the other way--if you look at it in the light--it looks pink. This isn't like that, but it seems like that, in the right light. (That's how I think dupioni is created; if you know more, feel free to leave a comment explaining.)

The back part is from a fuchsia dress, also long and lined and probably expensive, but it had a tear in the middle of the shoulder. Not a seam ripped out, but a tear as if the wearer had snagged it on something and kept going--a big enough rip that it really couldn't be mended.

The pockets are from a hideous dress--knee length, with a self-belt and big shoulder pads. Aieeeee.

It's got an iPhone pocket. See?

The applique in the back--I think I'll bead it, maybe. It was just to see if I could do it, mostly.

So that's what I've been working on. I've made progress on Rain, as well--she should be photographable soon, just in time for rain.