Friday, September 26, 2008

First Attempt at Embellishment

After seeing some really cute ribbon-embellished toddler and infant jeans on ebay, I have wanted to try to make some myself. I'm not particularly crafty, and I can't sew (even by hand) for anything.

I did a practice outfit before I go out and buy ribbon and other items to start really playing.

I had an old denim 6-12 Gap jumper that Isabella never wore much because it seemed so plain. I figured I wouldn't lose anything by playing around with it.

I don't have a lot of things on hand to use. I had a spool of rainbow ribbon left over from back when I was excited about making hair-bows, LOL. I just used that to play around.

Adrian thinks it's super cute, but I am not thrilled. In my defense, though, it was a) my first time trying, b) I rushed through it, c) Isabella was up my butt most of the time, and d) I escaped to the garage to do the last bit, including painting, and it was DARK in there.

I learned that the no-sew tape works GREAT for putting ribbon accents on denim (left over from when mom no-sewed my curtains), that I need good lighting and patience to paint, and also that I need to work more on layout and plot it out before starting a project.

I also need to work on my hand sewing skills. Or ask someone to teach me. Because I seriously don't know what I'm doing. The enthusiasm is there, but the skill and technique are lacking.

Before:



After:



The ribbon on the side is where the outfit ties together (it's a wrap-around dress). I just cut off the ratty shoe-lace type string that was there and replaced it with the rainbow ribbon. Better would have been a thinner ribbon, but I didn't have that.

Not the cutest thing anyone ever "made", haha, but I'm not discouraged enough to keep me from trying again.

7 comments:

Dana said...

I love it! I think it looks fantastic!

Braeden said...

You should sell it to people for exorbitant amounts of money. ;)

Jenny said...

You did a great job! Did you paint the bear on there? I think you have skills!

Amy H. said...

It's cute. If you do another one you might want to paint a layer of white underneath your design. It will give you colors some more "pop". Again I ask myself - why didn't I get a girl? I could have had fun with these projects. The boys don't go for ribbon embellishments so much.

Brandie said...

dana: Thanks...you're too nice!

Ouroboros: LOL, I think I have to work on quality control first!

Jenny: Thanks! Yes, unfortunately I did. Not my best work!

Amy: What an incredible tip! I would never have thought to do that. Thanks!!

Brandie said...

Oh, and Amy, with your talent, you could some little jeans or outfits for fun and sell them for $$ online!!

The jeans and top sets go for upwards of $35!

Amanda said...

I really like it! The rainbow stuff makes it look a lot better than the plain denim. Great job sis!