Behind the Seams of Re:Fashion Season 2: Sequin Two Set!

Actual shot of my face when I had to delete this post last month.

If you're experiencing déjà vu, mea culpa! I'm still learning YouTube, and human error meant I had to erase my Re:Fashion Series 2 kickoff posts across multiple platforms. Which is such a 2019 sentence. Then, you know, the whole acting-career-thing meant I had to push my course corrections back even further. SO. If you caught my July glitch, and wanna get straight to watching the first sparkly episode of Season 2 for ab-so-lute-ly free, you can head on over to our new Youtube channel! It's not going away this time, I promise.

Now let's get back to pictures & ramblings!

GOOD LORD THERE'S TWO OF THEM RUN FOR YOUR LIVES

It made perfect sense to me to kick off the new season with a sequined, ombre, off-the-shoulder mermaid gown. SUCH AN EVERYDAY PIECE. But don't we all have that specialty item? The monster that haunts us each time we open the closet door? You know, the kind of beast one is *requested* to buy, in order to complete a bride's wishes...the kind of beast that lurks in the shadows, after its one day in the sun? Yeah. THAT BEAST. 

What, you don't have a horror story in your closet? Want one of your very own to refashion? Who am I to stop you.

RTW beasties aside, you might imagine my technicolor racks are overflowing with sequins of the handmade variety. Nope! Nary an item! I'll tell you the truth, every time I fall in love with some blingy yardage, I dive straight in, sparkle flying everywhere...and when something goes horribly and immediately wrong, I keep stubbornly stitching until I've fitted the thing to within an inch of its life, and several inches smaller than myself. Then into the Time Out Corner it goes. I've got a whole pile of botched bling just waiting to be saved.

Sequins require extra work, extra patience, and extra cleanup. I'm down with two outta three of those. Depending on the fabric, you might need to remove each sequin from the seam allowance, so that you don't have great big galumphing lumps of seams running up the side of your bod. Lining is a necessity, to keep necklines and armscye scratch-free. And sequins. Get. EVERYWHERE. In fact, they are now a permanent part of the ambiance of our apartment. 

With all that in mind, I wanted to choose a project that would end in success, both for myself and for y'all! The gown I refashioned has an allover, scattered pattern of miniature sequins, sewn onto stretch mesh, with a separate poly lining. These guys were so tiny, I could do away with the painstaking removal of each little speck from the SA. And the stretch mesh fabric meant no fraying edges--an even cut was all I needed for my hems. Remove any amputated sequins from those edges, and voila!

Oh--recognize the top? It's the beloved Ogden Cami from True Bias, saving the day! I flipped the script on this gown and used the gold that was once the mermaid hem for the new top.

I went nose-to-tail on this refashion, using every bit of the gown to make my new look. The lining, zipper, and even that great big floofy shoulder tie, were all saved and used. The only new item was a length of petersham for the waistband treatment. It gave me an elegant, easy finish for this little two set.

OH AND SPEAKING OF TWO SETS

I CAN'T I REALLY CAN'T.

We were thrilled to be back on set with our Re:Fashion gang! I'm pretty sure I was in Godzilla Hummingbird Mode the entire week. The nonstop Nitros definitely aided and abetted. SUCH HAPPY RAMPAGE! Watch me tame this blingy beast (the dress and Rob), and cover every surface (the apartment AND Rob) in sequins, in the Season two premiere on our brand spanking new Youtube channel! 

If you're jonesing a binge of all 6 episodes, and get your sewing TV through Bluprint, they are all LIVE now. You can also sign up for a free trial and play around for a full week. More to come on each episode, with loads of pics, my usual ramblings...and a couple of surprises, including a giveaway or two ;) It is my birthday month, after all!

Have you tried your hand at sequins? Maybe you've got a beastie in your closet that has you stumped? Do tell.....