dianaschnuth

I’ve never owned a halter top, as far as I can remember. I know my mom liked them when she was younger (read: before she had me and gained weight). Eventually I figured, what the heck. I wanted to see how I’d look in one… and I’m really kind of getting into this t-shirt surgery thing. Plus, I was curious about Sheryl’s claim that halters really are made so that even those of us with ample boobage can go braless in one. O.o

I ended up combining this tutorial for a basic halter top with this one for an empire waist. I knew I’d need some semblance of support, and just having a basic, flat halter top with no tightly-fitted bodice just wasn’t going to cut it.

The Process:

Witness the hunter green RCC shirt, intact and in all its 2XL glory.

I took my fabric marking pencil and, comparing the two tutorials, drew in where I’d be cutting and sewing.

I cut off the sleeves and removed the collar, then mostly removed the back and turned some of it into the halter straps. I also took some off the bottom, to make it shorter. Once everything was cut, I finished all the newly-raw edges, then I hemmed the bottom and turned down the cutout back, where the empire drawstring would thread through. (I’m really proud of my hem. It looks tres keen, IMHO.)

This is the finished product! It’s not exactly how I’d envisioned, but it was a learning experience. I was thinking about maybe putting a white or gold edging along the neckline, but I don’t know if it turned out so well that I’ll be into putting a whole lot more work into this particular design.

Witness my flubbery back! No, really, check out my keen drawstring action. The original plan had been for it to tie in the back there, but a.) I’m just not that coordinated, and b.) the drawstring (made from the leftover material off the bottom of the shirt) ended up stretching like a mofo.

Here’s a view from the side. Not a bad t-shirt surgery experiment, after all.

I have discovered two things tonight. #1: I like the way a halter top makes my shoulders look. #2: It really might be OK not to wear a bra with one of these; it’s really quite comfortable. #3: I should just buy one, instead of trying to make one that will fit properly. ;-P

When was it? Last year? Anyway, some time ago, I got the idea that I could make t-shirts with neat designs, and started a CafePress store to that end. I made a keen design that was reminiscent of a late-70’s era tee my mom had:

So, I ordered myself a 2XL jersey with my design on it. And, when it arrived, I thought it was cool.

Then I tried it on.

OMG. I could wear it as a nightshirt. (And I did, on occasion.) I hung it in my closet, rarely to be seen again.

Until now.

When Sheryl took me on Shopping Spree Part One, she showed me a “fashionable tee” she had in her closet, and told me about the people who do t-shirt surgery to make their big, boxy tees into chic and, well, fashionable tees.

It took me a week or so, but I began to resent the oversized tees I own that are too cool to thrift, but too baggy to wear comfortably anymore. (Who’da thunk it?) So, I went to the t-shirt surgery LJ community, snooped around a while, and decided to go for it.

I didn’t have the CafePress jersey in mind as my test subject at first, but it presented itself after only a moment of closet-searching.

Look at this thing. It’s *huge* on me—and that’s saying something.

I chose a new shirt that fits me well, and used it as a template, tracing around it and then sewing on the lines. Good grief, though, look at how *huge* that shirt is!

Voila! I took a few inches off the width and the length, and added a little zig-zag stitch to the bottom for that finished-yet-unfinished look. (Actually, it’s really because I’m new to the whole sewing thing and didn’t know how to properly sew a hem into the bottom of my shirt.) I had contemplated shortening the sleeves, but decided to leave them for now.

Here’s another view of the finished shirt. My slightly surly look is due to having argued with the digital camera for over half a dozen exposures.

Now all I have to do is get rid of the spare tire around my middle, and my shirts will fit even better *without* surgery.

(Next in line for various stylistic surgeries and possible home-brewed silkscreening: my bevy of RCC shirts!)

I swear to God. It?s like a fucking addiction.

I spent fifteen minutes of my 20-minute break today sketching out ideas for a new totoro hat design.

Part of me is like, didn?t you want to try making those s?mores candles tonight? or practice your mellophone? and part of me is like, OMG I might have the answer to the standee-up ears!

Seriously, though—now that I?m actually fabricating hats, coming up with ideas, and being generally creative, I can understand why it?s impossible to find actual character hat patterns online. Especially since so many people sell their hats for a profit. It?s kind of like with soy candles: it?s impossible to find all the little tips and tricks all in one place, just because individual candlemakers (myself included) are so proud of having figured it out themselves, and they?ll be damned if they?ll share their hard work with budding candlists for free.

I know that, once I get this totoro hat to look just right, I ain?t planning on posting a pattern. Buy one and seam-rip it if you really want to know the secret of the totoro hat. 😉

But that might be a while…