ThinkingGirl

Surfing the internet the other night (when I had finally finished ALL the marking) I came across a very cute shirt/blouse made out of men’s ties. “I can so do that” I thought and headed off to the local hospice shop on what happened to be their annual fair day.

The grannies looked slightly taken aback when I dropped 20 ties on the counter and handed over my R40.00  In response to the curious stares I explained I wanted to make a blouse… which left them even more confused.  As I was explaining my plan, a fellow-teacher walked in and burst out laughing…”anything is possible from a woman who wears a skirt made from curtains!”  Mea Culpa! I do have a skirt I absolutely love to bits, made from a lace curtain and lined with the most gorgeous lime green…

So home I go with my haul!  And as I take the bundle of snakes out of the bag, I am hit by that not-so-pleasant smell of old folks. I have nothing against old folks at all, it’s just that lingering smell that I’d rather not deal with. So into the machine went the ties and while it was whirling around, I did wonder if they would survive?

Despite the rather vigorous washing, they did survive and spent a while resting in my sewing room, awaiting their fate.

At the risk of having a gang of medic-type people arrive at my door with one of those not so flattering white jackets with leather trim, I do need to let the parts of my creations wait and tell me what to do next.  And I must confess that I suddenly had second thoughts about transforming these “snakes” into something wearable which would not embarrass the daylights out of my kids…actually most of what I wear embarrasses them, so it is just a case of how much.

Finally, the ties spoke and my courage returned and there was the beginnings of the blouse, pinned and ready to be sewn together. I did put a zip in the side, having had to play Houdini before in an attempt to get out of something that slipped over my head and shoulders very easily, but refused to go back the way it had come.

The actual stitching was much easier than I anticipated…given that ties are cut on the bias (the angle of most stretch). I thought I would end up fighting lumpy seams and pulled ties, but nothing. Perhaps it is because they are all “used” and so didn’t wriggle as I sewed.

So this is the point where I confess that I misjudged my bust size…and had to go back to scare the grannies again to find a few more ties to increase my bust…of the blouse, that is. And also that I have learned how difficult it is to take a full length photo of myself without the aid of a tripod and a camera..so this is a shot of the blouse on Dummy 2…who has a hook coming out of her neck which means the bathroom door is a perfect-ish backdrop…damn what an ugly door handle!

Hopefully the blouse will have its premiere soon and I can get some one to take a pic of it on me!