Made By Lex

Daydreamer Top

Remember the Daydreamer top?

I had a request to make it in a shade of white.

I love the details in the side of this top and how they slightly frey.

Here’s the sweet buttons on the sleeve.

I wanted to show you another way to finish the hem in a garment. It makes for a nice extra detail that’s clean and tailored looking. Fold your hem under. Press and pin.

Get same same colored grosgrain ribbon and pin it over the hemline.

Stitch it on. I like to do it on each side of the ribbon. It has such a nice, polished look.

Here’s how it looks from the outside. I did one other decorative stitch to mimick the lines in the top of the shirt.

Hope you’re having a great day!

Tea Staining (Dyeing)

This is my Lisa Sweater made from a plum colored linen knit.

I loved the combed effect on the white jersey.

it has these slimming details on the front and back.

It’s also for sale in my etsy shop!

i hope you enjoyed this technique and can find lots of fun ways to use it!

Tags: etsy, Lex Designs, lisa sweater, Original Designs, tea dyeing, tea staining, tutorial
Posted in Original Designs, Uncategorized, women's clothing | 1 Comment »

Updating Simplicity

I love simple T-shirts. I love simplicity, period. But I’ve been trying to challenge my creativity by taking simplicity to a different level. So I wanted to make a t-shirt with simple lines, but that had different constructed pieces to add interest. I came up with this top, the one I paired with my black pants.

Here’s a close-up of the front.

Next, the side. In retrospect, I would have like this line down under the elbow. Live and learn.

Finally, the back,

I used my dress form and my tape to create different pieces. Then I cut those pieces out of the fabric and pieced it together.  It was like putting together a puzzle.

In other news, I’ve finally gotten my act together and am offering personal  styling services now! It’s something I’ve been unofficcialy been doing on the side for a while but am thrilled to publicaly be doing it. For more info, visit my new button on the sidebar!

Also, if you don’t already, follow my on facebook and twitter. I offer special discounts weekly and you can see what I’m up to before it’s up on the blog!

I Conquered the Pants

Oh greatest joy of my life. Ok, There’s a few others that were better. The usuals- having kids, getting married.. . But after those, making pants follows.

I made these pants out of a thick black knit that wool. I wanted them to be right above the ankle. I love that perfect length. It’s so enchanting with both heels and flats. I also made a stitch detail down the front and back.I think it really elongates the look and adds interest.

These are the kind of pants I want to wear every day. They are dressy because of the great fabric and they are beyond comfortable.  This picture sums up how I feel about them:

Not Just Your Plain Black T-Shirt

I love plain T’s. But here’s a way to add a little more to your average T.

Get your T- shirt of choice. This was one I tried to do this technique on the back that completely failed. Then I marked where I wanted to replace a panel. I started narrow at the top and made my panel wider towards the bottom…

You can see I wrapped it around to the front of the shirt.

Then cut that panel out. Here’s the shape of mine.

So basically you are going to replace  the panel with another piece of fabric, the texture and color are your choice. I chose to keep it black and to add texture by a shirred panel. I got a piece of fabric that would fit and gathered each side.  After doing this, cut it to the size of the missing panel. Pin it WELL and sew or serge in place.

Here’s how it will look.

I love the way this came out. It’s a little drapey, but only from the back. I love suprises on the back of shirts.

It’s an easy way to update a plain T-shirt  in to something just a little less plain. You can also see that I made my panel a little longer to create that draped effect.

Like it? And so easy, huh?