spring in shelby park

Photos by Neil!

Vintage Denim Shirt, High Waisted Trousers, Belt - Thrifted

Cream Floral Mesh Bandeau - American Apparel

Wood Wedge Sandals - Madewell

Warm weather has officially hit Nashville, and yesterday Neil and I went to Shelby Park to enjoy it. We brought our little dog (and the loveliest vintage blanket borrowed from Colleen) and took a walk around East Nashville's Shelby Park, following it up with nutella ice cream from Pied Piper.

This outfit is my first attempt at the minimalist trend I told you I wanted to try out.. but I added a bit of blue to it with the denim shirt. And short tops with super high waisted bottoms are going to be a staple for me this summertime, I think.

And now for the winner of the peter pan collar giveaway! The winner is.. Rachael! Rachael, shoot me an email with your address and I'll get the denim collar out to you asap! For those that didn't win - don't worry, I've got another giveaway coming up soon.

Happy weekend, all!

sewing saturday! a 1950's red gingham crop top

Well, we're home. After nearly a week of hanging out with my family, we drove back to Nashville to do some work and celebrate the 4th of July downtown. I had a fantastic time with everyone and took plenty of sister photos at the winery and the plantation home we visited and even in the city, so I'll post them later this week!

Now, for my favorite Sewing Saturday yet.. a 1950's red gingham crop top with puff sleeves and rick rack. I found the pattern through Etsy and immediately fell for the bloomers as well as the blouse. First, I wanted to make the ruffled top, but found that I didn't have quite enough fabric. Another time? I'm happy with the choice I made, though, because its square dance-y cuteness is plenty without a ruffle and lace attached.

Pictured above are the supplies I used.. fabric (around one yard), rick rack, measuring tape, a marking pen, good scissors, pinking shears, thread, a sewing machine, elastic, and lace if you're sewing the ruffle top variation. And, of course, the sewing pattern.

First step - picking out the fabric. I chose the oversized red gingham, which was originally a tablecloth with rick rack attached that I found at an antique mall with my mom. I pinned the pattern pieces (front and back pieces on the fold) and cut them out, and marked them.

I sewed the sleeve piece ends to the front and back pieces, connecting them all together. I cut the inside seams with pinking shears and pressed them flat.

Rick rack! I used medium sized rick rack and only sewed one row of trim on, rather than the two the pattern suggested. I pinned the rick rack trim to the top at 3 inches below the unfinished neckline. Then I sewed it on, being careful to remove the pins as I sewed.

After sewing the rick rack trim, it was time to sew the sides and armpits (a very technical sewing term) together. I then worked on elastic casings, forming casings at the neck, waist, and sleeve openings by pressing 1/4 inch down, then folding it over 5/8 and pressing it again. I sewed the top and bottom of the casings, leaving a spot to slip the elastic in. I cut the elastic pieces, measuring my waist, shoulders, and upper arms and cutting elastic to match (adding a little extra). Then I attached a safety pin to the end of the elastic, pulled them through, sewed the elastic together, and sewed the casing shut!

All done! Here it is, in its country style Nashville downtown eating a hot dog glory. I wore it to the 4th of July festivities with my Madewell sandals and American Apparel high waist chambray trousers.

2 dollar hot dog, yo. I bargained my way into a half price hot dog due to lack of funds. Thank the Lord for green peppers and onions.

I hope you had a good 4th of July weekend! Now that I've finally got time to relax, I'm ready to eat mac and cheese and watch Hitchcock movies. I've got to update the shop today, though.. which comes first. I'll have some lovely items up soon!

floral crop top love

1990's Floral Crop Top - Thrifted

Patchwork Denim Cut Offs - Thrifted, DIY

Wood Wedge Sandals - Madewell

Red Grosgrain Ribbon

I've done a lot of shopping where I find a dress or a skirt and I feel it's an important purchase, only to completely forget about it in my closet a week later. I've also gone shopping, found something I liked and not bought it, only to still remember it a month (or more) later. One blouse sticks out in my mind. It was at Forever21 when I was shopping with my friend Zach over a month ago (strangely enough, the mall it's in is still flooded and won't be open for awhile). It was a brown crop top with smocking at the bottom, thin straps, and buttons up the middle, all in a vintage-looking liberty print. At the time I chose the seersucker blouse instead, but ever since then, I've been on the lookout for brown liberty print and crop tops.

I found this rosy crop top at Goodwill yesterday and had to work it into an outfit post. I'll be selling it in the shop next week (it's just a bit big), but our relationship was fun while it lasted.

I love crop tops. I really do. But I also wonder sometimes about how much skin I feel comfortable showing. I guess it all depends on the time and place, really. If this top were used as some sort of swim coverup on the beach, that'd be all well and good, or maybe during a walk in the park on a super hot day. Or with friends at a packed party. But on a regular basis, I'd rather go for something that covers my belly button.

I've also bought some vintage liberty print fabric at thrift stores recently. I've already showed you guys the yellow fabric on the bottom, but it looked so good with the three new additions that I had to take a photo with them all. My favorite fabric is probably the red on the top, but it's such a small piece that I need to find a good way to use it.

Sewing Saturday tomorrow night! In lieu of the theme of this post, I'll be making a summery ruffle crop top with an elastic waist out of a white striped fabric. I'll also be sewing it from scratch - as this is a super easy project, I think I'll be able to manage without a pattern. And the fact that the crop top I found thrifting didn't have darts in it gave me hope to make one without. We'll see!