Thursday, July 9, 2009

A Week of Stunt Dressing

So I don't know whether it's cheesy or hilarious (or a little bit of both) but I enjoy dressing for holidays. Not in the obvious blinged out sweater kind of way, but with a little more subtlety. But only a little. Since I did a red, white, and blue wardrobe last year for Paris, I thought it would be fun to do a whole week of stunt dressing

July 4th, 2009

Oddly, nobody really noticed. One co-worker noticed my outfit on Wednesday (the red swiss dot blouse and navy eyelet skirt) and asked if I was dressed for the holiday but that's all. Huh.

You might notice a few new pieces in there. Obviously, I am way behind on reviews as usual, but most of them were made in a frenzy last week to keep up with my color theme.

One of the new pieces was a ribbon belt, shamelessly copied from Cidell's red version. I wanted a navy belt and had wanted to try the belt so I made it up in a flash and wore it that afternoon.

Supplies:
1 18 foot roll of 7/8" wide grosgrain ribbon (I used cheapie Offray)
2 18 foot rolls of 3/8" wide ribbon
Belt buckle to cover

Iron braidCut each roll of the narrow ribbon into three 2 yard sections. Pin three sections together on the ironing board and braid. I felt like I was part of an old-fashioned rope walk. The key is not to let the ends of the ribbon braid themselves in mirror image.

Don't twist the layers of the ribbon as you braid. It won't look great and you will be doubtful, but when you finish your braid, sew or pin the ends to keep it from coming undone and iron. The ironing really does wonders in getting the braid to look nice.

Three Layers for Belt Then prepare the belt portion. I used three layers of the 7/8" ribbon, sewing the two side ribbons underneath the top ribbon. Cidell used a more layered look on hers. It's important to use more than one layer just so you get the proper body and stiffness.

Next, sew the braid into each long edge of the belt.

Finally, cover your belt buckle. Mine does not look particularly good (sorry, I could not get a decent picture and I am working on blogging now rather than waiting until that magical day when I have perfect pictures), but it doesn't show from two feet away so eh. I used the 7/8" ribbon and just sewed it into place.

Thread your belt over the center bar of the buckle. I hand-sewed in place because I couldn't get close enough to the buckle with my sewing machine. Turn the raw edge of the free end under, stitch, and turn under again.

Voila! A super easy yet surprisingly attractive and RTW looking belt.

15 comments:

Trudy said...

What a fun idea. Your outfits were cute and stylish.

www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I loved all the outfits, but my fave was the one on the bottom right. I love that top!!! And I like your idea of stunt dressing. Very cool.

Notamermaid said...

I do this sometimes! I wore hot pink patent leather shoes for Barbie's 50th anniversary this year (that I didn't expect anyone in my mostly-male office to get). I didn't have time to make anything for the 4th, but I saw a little girl in the cutest stars-and-stripes sundress and it got me thinking about next year.

Uta said...

I love your holiday dress-up... Dressing up with a theme is a great excuse for a new wardrobe, isn't it? And so inspiring. I love all the color combinations! And thank you for the belt tutorial.

Nancy K said...

Fun and I love the lower right, blue and white blouse with the white skirt. What pattern is the blouse please? I love it.

BrusselsSprout_Katharine said...

WOW! I dig it. Where else is it better to stunt dress in RW&B than over the Fourth in Washington? Thanks for pictures of the fireworks too.

Debbie Cook said...

Very cute! So, what actually happens on the Mall these days on the 4th? Besides fireworks, I mean. My days in DC were when the Beach Boys still played there and the guys in our group built towers of empty beer cans. Ahem. Edging toward TMI. ;-)

Why, after revealing this, was my verification word "binge"? LOL!

caroline said...

too cute!

Meg said...

I love your joie de vivre and how it carries over to the clothes you wear. I've been stunt dressing for work too lately. My theme is "I'd rather be at the beach."

neighbourhood.gal said...

If you are going to go, go all out!

Love it!

BConky said...

My daughter Nicole is a Holiday lover to. She follows your blog so I'm sure she loved your week long salute to 4th of July. I have two favorites of your red, white and blue wardrobe. The red and white polka dot with navy skirt and the navy and white top with white skirt. Guess I'm a polka dot fan.

JC said...

As always, your outfits look cute and are fitting. We had a nice day weather wise here on the 4th.

~ Kimberlee B ~ said...

Very fun! I love your uniqueness!

ClaireOKC said...

You have such style and empowerment in your sewing. This is exactly what I would love to teach my students - especially the young ones! You really look great!

Faye Lewis said...

Yes, we're TWINS! What are you going to make of your piece?