The Making of Something Different: Sew Unconventional Challenge!

Hello folks!

It’s been a hot minute and so much has changed since my last post in January. I have a good one for you though. A nice read hopefully to give you some distraction as well as a peek into my creative mind. 🙂

I hope you are sitting down or better yet standing up as you preview this post. hahahah

It’s March already and what can I say – it’s been a very busy two months of 2020 creating- wise on my end. I have to shine some light on this amazing January sewing challenge I took part in on Instagram.

Take a good look at the last two photos. Do the materials look familiar? Is it fabric or not? Read on for details. 🙂

The month of January was dedicated to this sewing challenge. This was a challenge created in the sewing community on Instagram by two sewing bloggers. I decided to join in with the hopes of challenging myself to do something interesting and new. The challenge was all about using non-traditional materials to make your garment. The materials below and my new sewing machine were a part of what went into my look.

The Materials

In addition to the shelf lining I used a bath mat that was also polyurethane. The bath mat was thicker so I didn’t bother manipulating it too much to be sewn into the garments. Instead the bath mat was really purchased for cutting out the butterflies.

The Process and Pattern

I assumed that the materials would have been flexible and easy to manipulate once I got on the way. It was a combination of both. With limited colour options, I knew I wanted to do a colour block. I also knew that I wanted to present a functional outfit that looks like a dress and can work as separates too. A two-piece it was! A box-pleated colour block skirt and a sweetheart bustier laced back top. There was no muslin material used in the creation of this piece.

Once the materials started to take shape, I became hopeful about it being finished. 🙂 The colour block for the skirt came along nicely. Those pleats were everything.

By the time the skirt took shape, I decided to do a pin up on the mannequin to see how things were shaping up. This was the first pin up on the mannequin. I loved it but decided on another route once time started to catch up on me.

The top was initially going to be a halter as seen above in the pin up, but last minute I thought I wanted something a bit more detailed and dressy. So I used a bust portion of a pattern I had in hand already to create the pattern for this. The laced back seemed fitting as well as following the colour block flow with the top. The materials cooperated to create this beauty.

Final thoughts

I felt like a winner completing this look. It was so much fun and a dynamic creative way to start my year off. I was super pleased with my final look and the photographs (thanks to the hubby).

It turned into a fun party dress to wear out and hopefully no one would guess it’s a bath mat and shelf liner. I was able to add a decorative purse to style it.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this piece as much as I did. It was a good challenge for me creatively and I would definitely do it again.

Here’s to the future creative challenges that birth new things.

Blessings and take care!

Uta