One of the strangest bits of culture shock I experienced when I moved to Berlin (other than the extreme rudeness & xenophobia) was the size of the pillows. At a whopping 80cm x 80cm a traditional German pillow is nearly the size of a bed itself! (Perhaps to soak up all of the tears of sadness & frustration after a long day spent dealing with harsh & offensive locals)
Such large pillows require large pillowcases which means the textile area of the thrift shop is jam packed with groovy vintage bedsheet sets with extra large pillowcases just begging to be transformed!
Here’s how to create your own easy breezy top from a couple of squares of fabric:
Grab a couple of squares of fabric that wrap comfortably around your torso and a loose fitting sleeveless top to use as a template.
Place your fabric squares together with right sides facing and then fold them in half. Fold your shirt in half and lay it on top of the fabric with the folded edges aligned then trace out the basic shape of the top onto the fabric.
I wanted a wider result so I sketched out a bell shape from the underarm.
Chop out the shape keeping the folded edge intact.
Unfold the fabric and pin the shoulders and sides together.
Stitch the shoulders and sides together (make sure to leave the armholes open!)
Try on your almost done top and widen the armholes and neckline if needed/desired.
Once you’re happy with the fit snag your rolled hem foot and finish off the neckline, armholes and hem.
Working with vintage fabric can certainly be challenging at times! As I was hemming an armhole the funky material ripped – aaaargh!
Luckily the tear was close enough to the shoulder seam that a quick fix was easy:
I simply stitched across the shoulder under the rip and chopped off the excess fabric then repeated the process on the other side.
And my fancy new top was ready to face the judgemental glares of the locals.
My second attempt came out even better than first!
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Excuse me for saving this but why the hell would your neighbours be upset that you were taking pics of yourself? They should be silently and secretly amused and entertained by your loveliness. Good grief. How do you say lighten up in German? 🙂 Love the pillowcase top!
Unfortunately I’ve had to accept the fact that living in Berlin means dealing with this crap every day. It saddens me that rudeness/coldness & xenophobia are an integral part of German culture and it is absolutely awful when it is directed at my young child.
I have lived in major cities in N. America, Japan, Greece & England and during my experiences as a ‘world-liver’ I was never treated horribly for being a “foreigner” or “different” until I came here. Sadly German culture is sorely lacking in the common human decency & general politeness that is found in the bulk of civilized societies throughout the world. It seems that Berliners have never been taught that simple golden rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated – or an even easier version: You catch more flies with sugar than sh*t.
*the closest translation I can come up with for lighten up in German would be “immer mit der Ruhe” 😉
I think you’re a bright ray of sunshine in what I perceive to be dreary Berlin my dear. 🙂
You are giving top-notch smize in these photos, Sheri.
hahaha! I was actually fuming mad in the pics as a local had just been screaming at me from the other side of the street for taking photos (of myself, in my neighbourhood with a tripod), I only managed to keep my composure & throw on a sad/angry smize because my kiddo was with me. WTF is wrong with people??
i love that you don’t let judgmental stares slow you down–rock on with your funky self!
Thanks so much Linda! I figure that the gross stares (& comments) I receive just means that they’re unhappy in their own lives and instead of dealing with it they prefer to lash out at others – sadly a trait that they then pass down to their kids in a seemingly never-ending cycle of hate for anything slightly against thier own personal “norm” 🙁
This was certainly a quick makeover! I would like to see a photo of the thrift store in Berlin. Does it have kid’s bedding with Dora the Explorer and Cars?
There’s several photos of the thrift shop I frequent in my “Gift of thrift” post including a a few pics of the linen area 🙂 https://awesomesauceasshattery.com/2014/12/04/loud-proud-thrifty-thursday-gift-thrift/
I hunt for funky prints & vintage linens while thrifting and I haven’t seen any modern cartoon character bedding but there is, of course, loads of it in the mall stores – unfortunately Disney is actually named as one of the brands that is not only unethically produced but also uses hazardous chemicals in its fabric: https://awesomesauceasshattery.com/2015/04/24/a-tale-of-toxic-clothing-monsters/
I like your funky vintage fabric and the top you made it into is cute. I think I would have made some self bias with the scraps and used that to finish neck and armholes with since a curved edge can be difficult to hem. Sorry to hear your culture shock has been unpleasant for you, hope it gets better and that you meet some locals who are not so harsh.
Great idea to create some bias binding from the scraps, I shall most definitely give that a try next time!
Very little has changed during my 7 years living in Berlin and unfortunately doesn’t appear to be improving any time soon. I will never get used to the rudeness, coldness & xenophobia that is an integral part of German society – even moreso in Berlin where Germans themselves have a name for the insulting & ignorant behaviour of the locals: Berliner Schnauze (the Berlin snout).
Now THAT is cool!
Darlene
Cheers Darlene – it’s definitely an easy breezy DIY to help beat the heat 😀