Haramaki and Underwear Galore!

Today, I spent the day sewing like crazy! I made the above 3 pairs of panties from old T-shirts (the two Spiderman pairs were from a single shirt). The old Tinkerbell shirt I have had for years, and it has been a part of so many different projects... I'm not sure how long these underwear will last, but there are so many memories associated with this shirt that I just couldn't help myself. Some detail on the Tinkerbell are below:

She's just a little bit faded...

I also took the White Queen costume from last week, and made the bottom into a little slip. It was the only part of the original costume that really fit me well - I'm happy with how it turned out! I just cut the original slip, folded the fabric over some elastic and sewed the whole thing together with a zig-zag stitch. Voila! Insta-slip!


I also made an old black T-shirt into a tank top (straps yet to be added). When I make tank tops, I like to buy the adjustable bra-type straps to use (or just scavenge from old bras). It always seems to me that tank top straps always stretch, and I hate that, so this is my way of avoiding that.

And, the piece de resistance of the day is my new haramaki! What is a haramaki you ask? A haramaki is a piece of japanese fashion that has been around since the time of the samurai. It's basically a belly warmer - a tube of fabric that covers your mid-section from your hips to your ribs. I fell in love with the idea a while ago, and let me tell you why:

I'm tall. At 5'8", I'm not exceptionally large, but most of my height is in my midsection. As a result, shirts are pretty much never long enough for me. Add to that the fact that I don't like the waist of my pants to be too high, and I am pretty much constantly showing off a circle of flesh around my midsection. Not too pretty, especially from the rear...

Enter the haramaki. It can be worn under the clothes so that if ever that area between the shirt and the pants peek through, all that shows is a little pop of colour. It can be worn over the clothes as a focal point. They are wonderful for those expecting, because they will cover the part of the body left exposed by ill-fitting T-shirts.

I really love the colours of this one I made - reversible yellow and orange. Both colours come from old T-shirts, and I love the way they look together. Makes me want to eat citrus...