Transforming Low-Waisted Pants to High Waisted Pants

If you're like me, I love skinny jeans but hate the very low-waisted variety that show off your undies when you ever-so slightly bend down. I'm not a prude, I just don't want to flash the world my undies. They are called intimates for a reason, lol. Anyway. I have a whole bunch of low-waisted pants that fit nice on my thighs but alas, again, too low waisted.

Here's my solution. I bought a pair of high-waisted bell bottom pants at Old Navy a couple of years ago. I outgrew this look, so I decided to transfer the high waist onto my low waist pants.


My low-waist pants



High-waist bell-bottom pants from Old Navy

I simply cut off the high waist part of the Old Navy pants below the seam, right above the zipper. Then I did the same thing to my low waist pants, cutt off the waist band right above the zipper.

I then attached the high waist to the low-waisted pants and voila!

My new high-waist skinny jeans



Looks great with a top over it. Will try to see what it looks like with a cropped top.

These are super comfortable, I love them! If you don't have a high waist part, you can also band the top of your low-waisted jeans with stretchy material but you would have to cut the zipper out too. However, if not done right, it could look too much like maternity pants. But I will try this method and report back.

Let me know what you think!

Nelesc Designs 2011 Highlights

Stop Traffic Fashion Show

There were several reasons I was so silent on my blog from July on (besides wanting to concentrate on my shop more). My son was hospitalized for several days from an atypical case of strep, we were in a car accident, and my husband was injured at work. It was a critical time for my family and I had to let some things go in order to be there for them.

That said, there were some wonderful things that happened at the end of the year that I did not get a chance to share here. So here are some pictures from my first fashion show (October), my participation at the Comite Noviembre Puerto Rican Crafts Fair (November), and my first time participating in the Puerto Rican Crafts Fair at Boricua College (December).

I was invited by the Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ),   to participate in the first annual Stop Traffic fashion show on October 28,  to raise awareness of human trafficking within the fashion industry. The show took place at the YWCA of Brooklyn and also featured local designers Kate Goldwater, chromat, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, and Anthony Posada. It was a wonderful experience and I met some great designers. All the designs were available for a silent auction and the proceeds benefited LSRJ and Kamisetas, a women’s collective in Medellin, Colombia in support of labor and fair trade. If that is not meaningful fashion, I don't know what is! I was so happy to be part of it.  Check out the youtube video here. 

Tara, the organizer of the show, and I

Final walk through, wonderful models



Kiko and I, she was a great model and person!



Serena and Adri, beautiful ladies!

One of a kind dress I made just for the fashion show



Models showing off designs by Kate Goldwater. Check out her blog here.

 On November 19, I participated in the 6th Annual Comite Noviembre Puerto Rican Artisan Fair for the second time! It was so much fun! I consider myself to have a global sensibility who appreciates all cultures but it is also important to take time to be among your people to re-fuel and remember what makes you special. There's nothing like it!  I would like to thank Luis Cordero who makes this possible for me every year. Check out some of his great designs here.



Me and my table



As always, my friend Sheila helped me, I so appreciate her

I added tote bags this year and a new image, Sylvia Rexach!

I made a connection at the Comite Noviembre craft fair which lead me to the Puerto Rican Craft Fair at Boricua College in December! That was a blast too! I was in between Maria and Candida (Warixi) and we sold our stuff and laughed all day long. Maria makes beautiful pottery. You can check out her etsy site called Barro y Agua here. Warixi is a fascinating lady who is a martial artist, a Taino Bohike and a leader in Taino organizations. She makes taino dolls and jewelry, among other things. She can be reached at Shihan@rock.com. Arieana was across from us, a new friend, who has a company called Buttonpress, etc. However, she does so much more than buttons, she also sells mirrors, original paintings, and does face painting, among other things. Check out her site here.

Boricua College Puerto Rican Craft Fair

Not a pretty bad year for Nelesc Designs, huh? Thank you for allowing me to share all of this with you.

Happy New Year! I'm Back! and with a Nelesc Designs Sale!

Hi ya'll! I've missed blogging so much but decided that I needed to focus on my shop if I was going to make it work which is what I have been doing since July and am happy with the results.

But I really missed blogging and decided that if I was going to do both (the shop and this blog), I had to have a clear blogging direction. So this coming year, I want to concentrate on sewing tutorials and shop news. Everything after that is gravy.

So to start off the new year, I am once again offering my BUY TWO GET ONE FREE sale. I am also offering free shipping with the sale. Here are a couple of new tops up in the shop now. I am going to continue adding new t shirts/tops here and there until I unveil my Spring/Summer collection.

So have fun looking and let me know what you think!

FAN LOVE: Shannon Garcia

Hello! Here is my second installment of what I like to call Fan Love where I post pictures of people wearing their Nelesc Designs duds and tell you a little bit about them.


This is Shannon Garcia seen here rockin her Nina Simone rust grey tank top from my Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Doesn't she look great? Shannon also has a shop on Etsy where she makes the most incredible jewelry. I especially like her custom spiral gauges. I don't have piercings that big but if I did, I would definitely buy these. So read on. Shannon is multi-talented as she also paints, writes teaches..., well, I'll just let her tell you about herself.

1) How did you find out about Nelesc Designs?

Stumbled upon when browsing through Etsy shops.

2) Why did you choose this top/icon? Ms. Nina Simone is hands down one of the greatest musicians I have ever heard. I remember the first time I saw a video of her performing "I Ain't Got No, I Got Life," I had it on repeat for days. She had such incredible presence, talent, and personality. I have a magical connection with her music and I wanted to have a little piece of her with me.

3) Tell me about yourself.

I am a student, a teacher, scribe, artist--just a lady looking to get up on some extra cash for school books and start up community projects. I believe in having an active conscious and that everything can have a purpose when applied creatively. That's what I try to do. So far, I have put my creative energy into spoken word, painting, and jewelry. I lend my artistic abilities towards challenging myself, inspiring my niece and nephew, enriching communities, and aiding grassroots movements around the world. You can view my work here. You can find my shop here.


4)What would you like to see more of at Nelesc Designs?

More cuffs! And just keep creating beautiful things as you are.

5) What are you reading or listening to nowadays?

Currently reading: The BFG by Roald Dahl, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Versos Sencillos by Jose Marti, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
Currently listening: Songs Out Here by That Ghost and Post No Dreams by Brad Hamers aka Phlegm.

Okay, I've made a mental note: more cuffs! Thank you for sharing and for being an inspiration Shannon!

My First Tutorial: Make a Cuff from a Boot!

This is my first tutorial and I'm so excited! As some of you know who read my blog, I have a love affair with cuffs. I started out making fabric cuffs to give as gifts back in 2009. These were fun and easy to make. When my husband's leather coat got torn, I then then graduated to making leather cuffs.  For more about my cuff journey, read this post from 2009. 

This cuff I made from my old boot a long time ago.

My sister loved it so much that I decided to make her the same one from the other boot. I thought this was a great opportunity to take pics of the process to show you all. These are really easy to make and they open the door to a lot of possibilities.  So here goes:

Here's my boot. I re-heeled it several times but the last time I went to the shoe repair, the owner told me there was no hope. I noticed that it had such a cute design detail and I immediately decided to make a cuff out of it.

I believe these are leather uppers. The first thing I did was to cut the top off, cutting around the zipper.

  I then turned it around and cut all the excess seaming . This will make it easier to sew.

This is what you are left with at this point. Make sure you leave enough room on the top and bottom to fold in and stitch. Also note the tiny seam on the middle bottom. I decided to leave it in and just fold over which made it a bit difficult to get it on but I didn't want to lose the finished look it gave it.

Fold in and stitch the top and bottom. I have a factory machine and used a #18 needle. Make sure your machine is equipped to sew leather.

Since it already has a snap, I used that for a closure and stitched the other end.  Like I said, I left that  previous seam. This is what it looked like after the sewing. I guess you could also totally cut it but I didn't want to lose the finished look. Do you think my hand fit through it? 

Yes it did! With a little shove.

My sister and I wearing our cuffs. Now we're ready for action!

I hope this inspired you to turn those old boots into something useful. You can also look at interesting details on purses and belts. The possibilities are endless!  Tell me what you think.

Camouflage Jacket to Camouflage Tote Bag

Face it people, sometimes it feels like there is a war going on out there, and you need to be armed with your camouflage tote bag!

This is a recent reconstruction that I wanted to share with you. It's a camouflage jacket that I turned into a tote. I love the way it came out and I decided to sell it in my, shop. 



Before picture




Camouflage Tote Bag, $30.00.
Available at http://www.nelesc.etsy.com/

 I transferred the pockets to the bag,  two in the front and two  in the back and I lined it with recycled denim. There are more pictures of it in my shop so check it out and tell me what you think.

New Nelesc Designs 2011 Spring/Summer Collection

I apologize for this late post. I have been very busy working on this collection and then had some family issues to deal with which did not allow me to post this as fast as I wanted to but....here it is, my 2011 Spring/Summer Nelesc Designs Collection.

My Spring/Summer collection is centered around three items; a tank top, a sleeved top, and a dolman sleeve tunic. These are all designed and produced by me in various colors and sizes. This collection continues to speak to my idea of the glorified t-shirt; stylish, casual clothes that make a statement, that are conversation starters. It also continues to showcase my love of color combining that is reminiscent of my past work with color blocking, fabric scraps and t shirt reconstruction.

I will continue screenprinting my collection of icons onto the tops but will offer the tops without the icon if the customer wishes. I believe my designs can stand on their own as well.

Hourglass Tunic.
Available in S/M and L/XL

Striped Tank Top. Available in S, M, L, XL

Striped Tank Top also available in these colors with your choice of icon.  

Baloon Sleeve Top.
Available in S,M,L,XL

Balloon Sleeve Top also available in these colors too.