Adventures of a Denim Trench: Done!

I took a day off to relax then got back to the finishing touches today.  It took just shy of 3 hours to finish everything! It's beautiful and me! I put the sleeves on, and the buttons.  I washed it and its hanging to dry.  NOTE TO SELF: this is a hand wash only item! washing it in the machine made it fray pretty bad.  I definately need a surger!!! Im very pleased with the outcome and I have enough material left over to make another one.  I think I just might and try to sell it.  Well, here's the finished trench!

 The buttons.....to keep with the mismatch theme I used 5 buttons, 3 of a dark color and 2 of a silver!

This is what happened after I washed it.  It took almost two hours to cut all the fray off but I got it done!  If anyone out there has tips for how to keep this from happening without a surger or burning all the edges I would love to hear them!!!

Adventures of a Denim Jacket part 2

This is the second part of my denim trench! It's almost done.  I put together the top piece and sewed it to the skirt.  I also put together the sleeves at this point, but didn't take pics of them.  during this process I had a needle snap.  Part of it went in my eye.  When that happen I closed my eyes and not paying attention the rest of the needle went through my finger.  I ripped the finger out which of course caused it to bleed. :(  However, I got the piece out of my eye and super-glued my finger shut and got back to sewing.  I got lucky it didn't go through to the point that an er visit was necessary.  Just a little rip.  well, enjoy. 

 The injury, after I super-glued it.  NOTE TO SELF: if machine starts to jam....don't force it! Just stop and figure out the problem...might save a finger (or eye).

 Front of jacket

 Back of jacket

Side view

purses

Over the last couple months I made a couple purses.  They were both christmas gifts for family members.  I had bought the handles a few months ago and decided it was about time I used them.  I decided to make these two cute little bags.  Both bags have pockets inside the purse.  Each one has a larger pocket for storing small notebooks, possibly a kindle, or other things.  The other side of the purses has a multipocket that has a few slots.  One big enough for a droid phone or iphone, three for pens and pencils and one that can hold a couple markers or checkbook.  It was fun learning how to make pockets and line purses.  The main reason I made these was to learn how to line items and how to use those dang handles.  They are both the same style.  One is flowery and the other is Star Wars themed.

both have a strip of denim at the top and have pleats to add style.  they aren't large pleats so you can't see them in the photos. 

just some accesories!

I've made a couple of things all of you readers out there might enjoy.  The ideas are not entirely my own, yet again.  but I made them me! The first is a wallet.  It is 90% jean, the lining is just a plain cotton.  I used a couple different shades of jean.  a darker on the outside and a lighter on the outside.  I'm thinking of adding an applique or some bejeweled stuff or something to spice it up a bit and make it less plain.  It was fairly simple, however between the layers and the thickness that is jean, it got very difficult at times.  The tutorial I used for my wallet is at THIS site! it's very simple to follow.  Here are a couple pics of mine:

 

The next item is a tote! completely jean! completely my pattern.  I used the whole top portion of some jeans.  I then added strips of various other colors and styles of jeans at the bottom to give it something different.  I also took the opportunity to practice different stitches to see what the look like. I also didn't seam everything the way everyone normally does.  for the panels i just overlapped them and stitched them together. the idea is to get a somewhat frayed effect over time.  I have already used this tote once.  I don't need it for everyday.  However, I needed something big because the movie theatre in town quit selling mountain dew and good candy.....therefore, i need a bag to sneak some in.  I used it to hold 2 bottles of soda, 2 bottles of water, and 6 packages of candy.  It was heavy as heck, but it held up very nicely.  I also made the strap way to long, so I knotted it and I like it, it added something different.  Here is a front and back picture:

 

 Well, I hope you enjoy my accessories! I love making them and I love working with jean! It's so much fun to tear up the jeans that laugh at me because they don't fit! It's so much fun to come up with ideas or even to used old ideas!