Fancy Dirndl for my Favorite Fraulein

Ava sings with the Kinderchor, (a German choir) from German Village in Columbus, and I wanted to make her a special dirndl for her to wear. 

Last winter as I was browsing a Goodwill store, I came across this lovely skirt and immediately thought that it would make a beautiful German-style dirndl because of the embroidery detail. 

That same day, I found this sweater, and knew that I was onto something good, as the closures were perfect for lacing up the dirndl's bodice.

Using another dirndl as a guide and putting together three patterns, I set out to design an original :)

Below is the front of the dirndl before the back was attached. The colors of the top do not look like they match very well with the skirt's embroidery, but really, they go together well enough, as you can tell in the pictures of Ava wearing her new creation.

I built the dirndl with growth in mind, so hopefully Ava will wear it during many concerts and Octoberfests :)

And here is the choir performing. :) Aren't the kids adorable?

The sweater was not sacrificed just for it's beautiful metal closures, the sleeves were up-cycled into leg warmers, that are featured in this post (with instructions).

 During the Great Depression, it was common for people to make-over garments to be able to use them longer. I can imagine the pride that those people, who were forced into being thrifty because of the economy, had when they were able to create something new from the things they already had.

I like creating new things from older things; it gives me a feeling of pride and accomplishment. I am happy that this is something that I do for pleasure, to make 'one of a kind' garments, and not something that is part of my everyday survival. It took 10 hours to make the dirndl. Believe me, once was enough (for now, at least!).

 

Marcheta *designing woman

A Random Day

Today has been one busy crazy day! It started off by going to Crawford Soil and Water Conservation District in Bucyrus first thing to pick up the fish we ordered for our nature pond. There will be a story about this in the coming days.

It is nearly 2:00 p.m. and we are just now home from doing odds and ends; such as taking a super to Nelsonstrail. Bob and Sue are the maple producers that I wrote about last winter. They also keep bees. The Nelson's property is along a creek and Bob is pretty handy to catch wild swarms of bees. He promised to nab one for us, but need a 'home' to put them in. Again, there will be a story coming about this experience, too.

While in town we took a ton of "stuff" to the recycling center...got a whoppin' big check of $28.00 for a whole pick-up truck  load...LOL. But, I always feel that this is better than clogging up the landfill, so it's all good.

I have a few hours before my writer's club meeting, which I plan to start on the up-cycled garment that I posted about last winter: the one where I took elements from a sweater to use in this garment, and made leg warmers for Ava from the sweater's sleeves.

I am glad to finally have time to work on this. PLUS, she may get a chance to wear it on Saturday, giving me the extra 'push' that I need to Get 'Er Done. :)

Random days like this one are fun, but I gotta tell you, already I am as tired as if I had done hard labor all day.

Whew!

Marcheta *Randomista

Trending Now and Then; Upcycling

While icicles hang outside, I am up-cycling inside.

Just what exactly is this thing called up-cycling that is trending now? Actually, it is a new spin on and old practice; making something new and useful from things that are discarded or are no longer useful.


For instance, famous country singer Dolly Parton's song "Coat of Many Colors" tells the story of the coat that her mother made for her from fabrics taken from other garments.

The Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that my sister made is another example because all the fabrics she used were either scraps or taken from old clothes.

Here is a link to Upcycle That, a blog that I just now found that gives you a good visual of creative up-clycled projects. Does it inspire your creativity?

At one time, wearing something that was "up-cycled" was often embarrassing for the wearer. Not so with Dolly, she was proud of her mother's innovative ways of keeping her large family clothed. Now days, in some circles, up-cycled clothing is all the rage. It gives the maker a showcase for her creativity. It is frugal. And, it is fun to look for old garments in thrift stores and imagine what you can make out of them.

The picture above shows a sweater and a skirt that I recently purchased with specific garments in mind. I chose them for their details.

The skirt is black with colorful embroidery.









I bought the sweater for the closures.






Can you guess what I am going to attempt to up-cycle these garments into? Check back tomorrow to see what I did with part of the sweater!

Marcheta *keeping myself in stitches