The Girl That's Up to Date: Cycling in Frills

The weather is warming up, and if you're anything like me that means one thing: it's time to start bicycling again!

However, it can be tough to get cycling when you also want to wear frills.I've seen a number of questions about this over the years, so I'm going to share a bit of my knowledge with you!

Outfits of the Day: Country Mouse, City Mouse

This weekend I went out of town for my youngest cousin's graduation ceremony and party. I ended up using a couple of different styles, one which comes across as more slick and styled and the other of which is a lot more freeform.

For the party, I went with something casual that stands somewhere in between 1950s retro and Lolita. I wanted to be a little dressy, but with enough versatility that I could take off a layer if it got warm and not so dressy that I looked like I was trying to show up my cousin.

Better Balance For Me: Downsizing Bows for My Use

Cute? Yes. Right for me? Nope.

There is a wrongness between me and oversized Lolita bows. They're adorable, but they are very much not for me. So, when I order a dress from Bodyline and it comes with an oversized bow, I’m usually left with a bow that I will not use.

This winter, I decided to change that by taking apart the bows and creating something that I will use with the materials. As a result, I collected rather a lot of tutorials. These would also work with waist ties, if you’re so inclined.

Start With Your Fabric

I thoroughly recommend taking the bows apart with a seam ripper because it allows you to keep the most possible fabric.Yes, this takes more time than taking a scissors to it, but I think it's worth it. It also allows you to easily take out the lace without making a huge mess of things (and, with Bodyline lace, you'll really want to take most of it out).

After I rip out the seams, I press every one of the fabric pieces until flat. This always involves a hot iron and sometimes involves steam, depending on whether the fabric has interfacing pressed into it.

This also gives me time to assess what can be done with the fabric. If the fabric has interfacing - a thin white stiffener ironed onto the fabric itself - it will likely not be good for projects that need it to be flexible. Save fabric with interfacing for bows with body or other pieces that can afford to be a touch stiffer.