I had a cute pajama set, but it shrank, as many of my clothes do. So I refashioned it into this tote.
I have donated the purse to a silent auction benefitting flood victims in my community.
I have a special fondness for all things Carhartt, and it’s not surprising. In all my best memories of my father, he wore canvas Carhartt work pants (dungarees?) and a chambray work shirt.
When I recently wanted to make a small but sturdy purse I was glad that I had kept an old pair of his [...]
It was Zirah who said ” I’m sure that a well made handbag could, in its own way, somehow make the evolutionary process easier.”
Zirah is, admittedly, not a purse girl. And I’m not out to convert anyone. But I thought she might just like this cute little mini-purse. She can think of it as a [...]
Our supervisor Rosemary is retiring after 39 years. We really hate to see her go, but she certainly deserves some time to herself.
I made this bag so we could all sign it. The shell is khaki canvas, with silk trim from a thrift store men’s shirt. The handle can be doubled and carried short, [...]
My dear friend (and sister) Linda loves pink and green. She says that when she sees them together it makes her heart sing. And just as her birthday was approaching, it occurred to me that nobody deserves a heart-singing pink and green uno by sumo more than she does.
I found a pink and green striped [...]
My Aunt Emma is elegance personified. So when she told me she wanted a sumo original, my suspicions were confirmed: I rock.
Emma liked Kika’s purse, but wanted a smaller bag. She chose a red and cream toile, which we coordinated with a deep red silk. The lining is ecru silk, with pockets and a key [...]
My dear friend Tahra showed me this beautiful piece of Egyptian print fabric, and I guess she saw me drool, because she gave the fabric to me. I made it into a skirt for my mom, and lucky for me, she didn’t care for it, and gave it back to me.
I made it into a [...]
bridesmaids threaten to throw down
When my sister got married 35 years ago (yikes!), these were the bridesmaids’ dresses we wore. I recently found my skirt in my mom’s attic, and thought it would be cool to make Sis a purse from the floral skirt fabric.
I used a tip from Mary Mulari, Queen of ReFashion, [...]
Continue reading about ReFashion: A skirt becomes (what else?) a purse.
Kika is beautiful, exotic, and sophisticated, and I hope that this uno by sumo purse is perfect for her.
The shell is made of black & white cotton toile with black dupioni silk, bonded to cotton canvas. The front features a removable drop of black and red beads.
The lining is black & white poly/cotton gingham, with [...]
My long, long-time friend Marty Anne asked me to make a bag for her. In her soft southern drawl, she only specified “something simple, with feathers.”
Here is a picture of Marty’s bag. I put some feathers on it, along with some beads and an arrowhead that I made out of [...]