New Year's Eve

Tinker Bell phone to go with Tinker
Bell sweatshirt

The Sophistique Noir theme for this month is New Year's Eve.  I didn't do anything special for NYE; though I was invited to a party, one thing led to another and I ended up needing to go to work on NYD.  Since I had no plans, and also wasn't feeling fantastic, comfort was what I opted for.  That meant jeans, a t-shirt, motorcycle boots, and a sweatshirt (which I embellished).

I purchased this sweatshirt with the intent to embellish it, though I don't remember if I had this particular alteration in mind when I did.  The patches come from Tinker Bell flannel fabric.  I couldn't find a picture of the fabric uncut, but if you click on the pictures, you be able to see more detail.  The pull-string for the hoodie is a set of Tinker Bell shoelaces, which I think came from Hot Topic.

It is really difficult to take a
picture of yourself with your cell
 phone in the bathroom mirror at
work

I cut the patches in two sizes, using a glass and a glass bowl as templates (since you can see through them, they were easier to align).  If you've never sewn patches on with a machine, it is incredibly difficult to get them to lay flat unless you hand-baste them first.  (Yeah, even with a metric ton of pins holding the patch in place, it is still super hard to get the patch on correctly.  Just trust me and baste your patches.)  After I basting, I went over the edges a couple of times with a zigzag stitch, which stops the fraying.  I've had this sweatshirt for years and I've had no problems with the patches pulling from the stitching.  It was a little tough to get the patches on the sleeves (due to the narrower opening), but I managed to zigzag to my dark heart's content.

Purple hair and pixie earrings

It's a bit difficult to see, but I lined the hood in a different Tinker Bell fabric.  For that, I traced an outline of the hood and added some seam allowance.  I didn't particularly care about the stitching showing (since it was black anyway), so the lining is just top-stitched on.  If I had cared, I probably would have hand-sewn the lining.

As for resolutions, I generally don't make them on New Year's (not that I don't make resolutions; it's just that I don't wait until NY to make and/or carry through with them), but this year, I am resolving to get through a sizable chunk of my fabric stash.  I don't want to aim too high and disappoint myself, so my resolution will be that 75% of my projects for this year will come from the stash.  (I am not including things like buttons or interfacing here; just fashion fabric.)   If I do buy any new fabric, I must have a plan for it in mind other that "squee!  bats/pumpkins/skulls!" (yes, this happens frightfully often).