Take that, squander bug!

En klänning gjord av en vintage jeansväst och en bomullstop. 

Dress made from a vintage denim waistcoat and cotton top.

 En riktig snygging till väst att börja med.

Hawt waistcoat to start with.

Vänd uppochner och bakofram för att kunna nåla in den lite. Redan mycket bättre.

Back to front and upside down to do some draping. Already I think it looks much better.

 Nålad i veck för att få fram lite form runt bysten. Då var överdelen nästan klar!

 Pinned in pleats around the bust for some shape. Bodice almost done!

Med överdelen fastsydd har jag satt på en enkel kjol, lite volanger, och självklart en rosett.

Bodice done, I´ve added a simple skirt, a few tiny ruffles and of course a little bow.

 Och till sist en ordentlig dragkedja. Klart!

Finally, a chunky zip. All done!

Make do and mend!

Look at the horror of the Squander Bug! All swastikas and trident tail.

I love how smug he looks when he says "And it doesn´t help the war a bit!" (because he is an evil, nazi-commie Squander Bug. You see? I know, it´s very subtle. You have to read between the lines a bit).

So although I like shopping and want to encourage it in others (what, with running a shop and all), the Squander Bug is a frightening little creature, and I think it clashes with our philosophy of reusing clothes to let him have his way and waste any of them. That´s why I´ve started remaking and recycling some of the things which I love the style of but which don´t meet our high quality standards.

My first project was a lovely dress which was in perfect condition around the top, but which was ruined around the skirt and hem, so I shortened it into a top, added a bow and resewed the bodice a little. Et voila!


Not sure whether I want to be helping the war (even a bit), but at least we´ll keep that nazi bug at bay for now!

I´ve completed a few more projects in the last week, so I´ll have to get snaps of them, and also to think of a name for these clothes, since I don´t want to mix them up with the throughoughbred vintage.

A Sign of Things to Come

Our sign is up! Look!

And this is the main room of the shop, all the shelves are up and the fitting room is nearly done! I love our big window to the street, it's nice to see what's going on outside, and while we've been working lots of people have been stopping by to see what we're up to. It's been a lot like being in a fish bowl, which has been weird, but we haven't minded at all. It's just so nice that people interested!

This is our lovely chandelier up close. My father made this out of waterbottles - the holders for the lights are the bottoms of the bottles, and all the little prisms are cut and folded from the bottle plastic.

...And this is the second shop room downstairs. It still needs a little bit of work but the shelves are up, the floor's been painted and it's really just small final touches to do before it's done (like maybe sorting out that very fashionable wire hanging from the ceiling).

My father has also made a lovely, simple glass top table for displaying jewellery and smaller hats which is installed in the downstairs room. It's been really nice to do the shop up as a family project, everyone has been working really well together, and we've also been recycling as much material as possible, making shelving and other bits from material we've recycled from what the previous tenant left behind.

So close now! Our 2DO list is still pretty long, but the jobs on there are getting smaller and smaller!