Frou Frou!!!!

In the absence of any real inspiration, we once again, retreated to our dolly textile archives and revisited another fun technique: frayed edges. We combined with an earlier theme: denim to come up with something we thought would be fun for summer. So get your dollies ready for some south of the border fun! One-two-cha cha cha!!!!

You can fray almost everything, but I love recycling old garments so once again, I cut up an old pair of my dad's jeans. The denim is thick but after years of washing, the fabric is now soft and supple. Normally you need a holding stitch to stop the fray, but denim doesn't unravel so much, especially the way we intend to use it. 

Caught Up In the Fray!

The garments we use as a base are very simple, very basic. Again, the embellishments here is the real story! This is time intensive, so pick a lazy day when you have lots of free time on your hands to create your trims and embellishments. 

Before you begin....With denim, there are two colors of threads in the weave. My light blue remnant has blue running vertically (aka: the warp) and white running horizontally (aka: the weft). You will need to chose which color you want for your fringe.

1. Start by measuring and cutting even strips of denim. In this case each strip is !-1/4" (3cm) wide. 

2.Cut as many strips as you will need depending on how many rows of fringe you will need.

3. Begin fraying each side of the strip you have just cut. Though optional (you can use a pin) a seam ripper is helpful in pulling away the cross threads. 

4. Once the cross threads are pulled up, I remove them by pulling them away with my fingers.

5. You will do this on both sides of the strip. I then fold the strip over so that the fringe at the bottom of one edge meets the top of the fringe on the opposite.

6. Make your basic garment. Pictured here is the basic straight skirt. 

7. Begin in the back at the bottom, pinning the middle (or fold line) in place. Then stitch by hand. Let the center of each strip overlap in the back. With so much going on, texture wise, those frayed edges adds to the movement. 

8. Fold over and press.

9. Repeat until you have just the look you want. 

For my first skirt, I added the fringe from the hem to the waistband. I didn't measure the placement of each row because I wanted a an irregular alignment. However, if you want something more uniform, you can always measure and mark the placement line for each row of fringe.

What is that she's wearing at the top? I started to make a simple tank top but decided to go all the way with my Spanish them by creating a simple camisole with fringe at the top and bottom. If you fray the edges as I have, the end result will be very irregular. You can visually correct that by adding a layer or two of fringe, tacked to the inside of the camisole. Take a look at our initial post on fringing HERE. She's also wearing a swing jacket with denim "roses" at the cuffs, as a corsage on one shoulder and "rose" bottoms down the front. The next project show you how...

Rose Garden

I made another camisole, this time with removal "rose" puff sleeves. The sleeves are actually small tube with several clusters sewn on. 

1. Cut a small square of denim to fit the doll's arm. Fray each end. A single, underarm seam is all that is needed.

2.Cut circles. They don't have to be perfect. In fact the imperfection will make them more interesting.When you begin to fray the edges you will discover that where there are curves, it won't fray as easily. That is ok. You just want to fluff up the edges enough to soften the cut edge.

3. Fold each circle into quarters. 

4. Pin then sew the first one on the sleeve at the point.

5. Take another frayed circle. Fold into quarters and sew the midpoint to the midpoint of the previous circle.

6. Continue adding these quartered circles until there are enough to cover the sleeve.

If you want, you can tack each sleeve to the camisole where it meets under the arms, or treat them as removable sleeves.

And now...getting back to that jacket...This is a basic jacket with straight sleeves, each trimmed with these poufs of denim roses. I used smaller circles to create the buttons. 

Feather Weight

I found this on the craft pages of Pinterest and thought they were so interesting. These are fabric feathers! Again, they are made by removing enough of the cross threads to create the illusion of feathers. Before you start, you will need to figure out which direction each color thread moves in and which color you want for the feathers. I chose the cross thread (white) which I felt had a softer, fluffier look.

. 

1. I roughly cut leaf shapes out of the denim. 

2. With my seam ripper, I begin lifting away the cross threads. 

3. On each side remove the cross threads. With my smaller "feathers" I can remove them simply with my fingers. 

4. Work from one side to the other side, pulling the cross threads away until you arrive with a strip down the middle that is about 1/8" (3mm). 

5. If you want an even look to your feathers, you can always trim them into the exact shape you want.

6. Now that I have a variety of feathers, I can begin to embellish my garment.

1. And so I begin with a basic sheath dress. 

2. I pin on feathers until I have just the look I want. 

3. Hand stitch each one partially down the middle (about 1/3-1/2 the length of each feather) so that they can "flutter."

And voila....my completed dress. I made "gloves" to match out of longer tubes of denim where the edges are frayed.

And here's what it looks like from each angle.

Fancy Pants

Of course I could have stopped there, but by now, you know me.... I could have made a gown and added feathers but instead, I decided on a pair of "cha cha" bell bottom pants, instead. 

Again, I started out with a basic, bell bottom hiphuggers that I frayed at the hemline. It doesn't matter if it is uneven because the feathers will cover everything.. I made enough feathers to achieve just the look I wanted. For her top, it is a basic bodice with a square neckline. I made small "feathers" to add to the hem of the sleeves, which repeat the design of the pants.

Okay, let's hear it.....One...two...cha cha cha!!!!!

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