Stashing gorgeous fabric. Hoarding irresistible patterns. Designing when I can. Sewing up a Storm.
PeridotLane . . . Handmade Bags and Gifts.

Friday, January 29, 2010

{so chic}

chic (sheek)
adj. 1. Conforming to the current fashion; stylish
n. 1. The quality of state of being stylish; fashionableness

This is the first word that I thought of when I finished this bag. How can you not like black and hot pink?! When my friend, K, saw another friend carrying her bag that I made several years ago she said she HAD to have one! So I jumped at the chance to create something different from the few bags I have been making almost exclusively for a couple years. When I asked her if she knew what kind of fabric she would like she immediately said black with a hot pink lining. So this is what I came up with. Her reaction was the best one I have ever received when delivering an order. There were OMGs, oohing and aahing and showing it off to the other gym members. :) That is the best compliment I could receive!

So, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to a new bag that I happily refer to as, "Colette" after my girlfriend that received the first bag I made of this style. It has a great A-line shape, but the most fantastic thing about this bag is the sash bow. It can be a fun embellishment on your bag, a belt around your waist or a scarf around your neck or in your hair. How fun is that? It has a coordinating topstitching that adds a little bit of stability and strength. I included my favorite feature of a purse or bag, pockets! Four of them to be exact, one of them being a cell phone pocket.

To add to the shrieks from "K", I included a matching Java Jacket. :) Shop and enjoy your coffee in style. Why would you do it any other way?


I can't tie a pretty bow to save my life!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

{old jeans? presto! new skirt!}

I tried my hand at this nifty little project about a year ago and the results are so much fun! Jeans to a skirt, baby! Do you have an old pair of jeans that you just don't like anymore, but they fit? Try recycling them into something totally different. This isn't really going to be a tutorial because I didn't take near enough pictures to walk you through the steps. This is more of a before, during and after pic. Sometime in the future maybe I will try a tutorial, I've never done that!
This is a skirt I made for my friend, C. She delivered two pair of jeans to me. One for her and one for me to make myself a skirt!! Yay! I still haven't gotten to that project, but what else is new??? lol
So take a peek and see how the before turned into the after. I hope to someday post some pics of little girl skirts from my girl's "tore up knee" jeans. The embroidery is just to cute to just throw them away! Enjoy!


Regular 'ole jeans just waiting to be transformed


Use a seam ripper to rip out the inseam. You actually end up ripping further up toward the zipper so the denim will lie flat.


Ta-Da! Cute skirt! I use the lower section of the pant leg to make the insert so you use a lot of the denim from the jeans. Not a huge amount of waste. This part always seems to be the most troublesome for me. Not being a clothing seamstress I have to take more time to make this right. There is a lot of adjusting the insert when on the model to make it hang just right.



I like leaving the skirts with a raw edge so they fray when washed. Just a fun detail!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."