A Scandalous Internet Scam

Internet Scams are all too common these days. Faceless characters with fake names and what would seem like a fat wallet. I've had to deal with too many of these since opening my company online. Luckily I've learned the signs to recognize a scam. Hopefully my experiences can help others avoid loosing money to these financial gremlins.



August 3rd, 2013: My company receives an email from a man with an alarmingly fake name and poor grammar. He is interested in my products and would like to know where he can buy them online. I kindly email him links to places he can find Tiny Tipis online. I'm already 25% sure this is a scam.

August 6th, 2013: He emails me back stating he would like to purchase 10 of my most expensive items. He needs the price excluding shipping. Now I'm 50% sure it's a scam. Who needs 10 tepees and why is the shipping cost not a concern? Also, the price is listed online - is he so bad at math he couldn't multiply by 10? The more likely option is that this is a scammer who never bothered to click the link and see what a Tiny Tipi is. I email him back with the basic cost and request an address for a shipping quote.

August 12th, 2013: I receive an email from him stating he would like me to contact a freight company he uses. He sends me the shipping address and asks me to let him know what the freight company will charge so he may send me the money and have me pay them upon pickup. Now I'm 99% sure this is a scam. I Google the address and see that the location I am supposed to ship to is a BP Europa Property. Is BP buying Tipis now? I think not. Now I'm really onto him. I Google his fake name and find that the person I am emailing is either dead or not in existence. Now I look at the contact info for the freight company. Another quick Google search turns up a fishy looking page for a company with no contact info to compare to. I politely let him know that my company only ships via USPS or FedEx. He sends me a reply almost instantly saying it has to be his freight company with copied and pasted text from the previous email. I politely decline to use any other courier and have yet to hear back again.

Here are things that immediately send up a red flag for me:

- A customer wanting to take care of the shipment details. If I buy something on Amazon do you think I waste a second thought on who or how it is being shipped? No. I care about the cost and how quickly it will arrive. I don't try to hire my own shipping company.

- A name that just sounds fake. If you can't Google it and find traces of a real person with a real life they probably don't exist. Everyone and their grandma has a Facebook or email these days. If it's a real person chances are you will find them.

- The address goes to an industrial area. My company provides consumer products, not industrial materials. I expect most of my sales to be shipped to a house or apartment.

- A complete disregard for the cost. Most people care how much they spend. If you were going to fork out several hundred dollars (or in this guy's case almost $15,000) wouldn't you have questions about the product? I know I try to make my descriptions as detailed as possible but I would still expect some conversation to be needed on such a large purchase.

- Poor grammar or English. At several points in the email conversation the "customer" refers to my product in terms of Units. "I would like to order the units." Who calls a tipi a unit? No one! People call them Native American Lodges, Tipis, Tepees, Teepees, Native Dwellings... not "units."


- Requesting a Wire Transfer because they sent too much money. While this didn't happen in the current incident I have seen it before. One of the first scam attempts I avoided I recieved a check for nearly 4x the cost of the item. The customer basically said "Oops I sent to much. Wire transfer the extra back to me and keep a little extra for yourself." Yeah, fat chance. I don't ship until every penny is in my account and cleared. A "pending" transaction can be canceled or pulled leaving you with a negative balance if you already withdrew some of that.

Tips to keep yourself safe:

- Only sell through an online venue such as Etsy, Storenvy, Zibbet, ArtFire, or other similar sites that offer addition protection for both seller and consumer.

- Clearly state that products do not ship until payment has FULLY cleared. Do not ship if payment is still "Pending." If you cannot physically hold the money in your hands the item should not ship yet.

- Ship large items or orders you are nervous about with tracking and signature confirmation. Get insurance on it. Keep all receipts so that if something goes wrong you have a way to prove your side.

- Keep a separate bank account that sites like PayPal do not have access to. Transfer the money without linking to this separate bank account so that PayPal and other payment processing sites don't have the ability to tap into that. If everything is linked they will take what they feel you owe them and leave you wondering how you went wrong.

- Google it... Bing it... Yahoo Search it... Just make sure you get the full story on anything that seems fishy.

- Follow your gut. If it seems to good to be true or too easy... it probably is. Nothing in life is easy.




Have you had scammers attempt to rip you off? How did you know it was a scam and what did you do to avoid it? Leave a comment below to share your experience with others.

Tiny Tipis provides high quality canvas products and custom sewing services. This article is written to inform others of my own experiences and should in no way be taken as professional legal or financial advice. Find out more about Tiny Tipis by checking out the links below:

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The Garden Blog

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DIY - How to Make a Pattern from a Sketch

How to make a sewing pattern from an idea or sketch - Step by step Tutorial with Pictures

One of the most essential skills of sewing is being able to make your own pattern from an idea. In this post I will take you through the basic steps involved in creating your own pattern from a sketch. This tutorial will be best if you are an intermediate to advanced seamstress.

The original idea I had for a fun yet responsible looking shirt

Sometimes the idea comes first and the fabric must be sought out, other times I see certain fabrics that scream "MAKE ME INTO SOMETHING AMAZING!!!" Either way you need to start out with a loose plan. I sketched out an idea I had for a professional looking yet fun top as my first step. When drawing the idea I thought about things like shape and the way the fabric might fit after being sewn. All patterns are basic geometric shapes. Keep that in mind when you create your drawing. Also remember to be flexible, especial on your first few attempts to do this. My shirt varied slightly from my plan because I changed small things as I went in order to save time or simplify certain steps.

Old Men's Dress Shirts before being upcycled into a sexy Woman's business shirt.

 My next step was to pick the fabric that would become my top. I had saved several of my grandfather's old dress shirts when he passed away thinking that I could re-purpose them later. I chose Grey, Pink, and a fancy white and silver one. The combination of colors reminded me of a tie my husband had from probably before I was born that would work well with the theme of my shirt: responsible yet sexy.

Old Sports Bra being recycled to make a sewing pattern.

Now that I had all my supplies gathered it was time to start making my one dimensional drawing into a pattern that would create a three dimensional object. A very easy way to start is to choose an old article of clothing with a similar fit to what you want that you don't mind chopping up. I saved this sports bra with stains and holes for this purpose. I put the bra on and decided where I wanted the seams to be in the chest area. I then marked exactly where those seams would be with a sharpie. I took the bra off and chopped along the lines. The resulting bits and pieces are what I would later use to make the actual pattern. (Yes, this bra is just a precursor to the actual pattern.)

To make the official pattern I laid the cut up bra pieces on top of some junk mail and traced around them making sure to leave 1/4" to 1/2" inch of extra space around the edge for seam allowance and/or hemming. This only gave me the pattern for the bust of the shirt though. To design the body of the shirt I matched the waist pieces to the bust parts so they were the same width. I decided length by measuring from the bottom of where the bust would be to the place I wanted the bottom hem to lay around my hips. I then added seam allowance where needed. To get the shape of the sides I simply drew a rectangle that matched up to the width of the side bust piece and the length of the center body piece. I then trimmed it to look like an hourglass shape. If the hourglass isn't perfectly shaped for your body don't worry too much. There are ways to take it in later that will save frustration and brain cells. It just needs to be close to correct at this point (error on the side of too large.)


Lay your pattern on a flat surface in the way that it will be sewn together. This will allow you to see if there are any big mistakes before you cut into fabric. When you are sure it looks like what you want transfer your pattern onto the fabric you intend to use. If you are worried about mistakes or wasting expensive fabric I suggest buying some muslin or linen to make a tester.


At this point you will need to decide what order to sew the parts in. Think about what will fit easily on your machine without a lot of bunching in the arm. Also consider where the various seams will join up. There's almost nothing worse than a seam that doesn't line up right. For the shirt I made as an example I joined the upper and lower parts first, then sewed the vertical panels together. I hemmed everything after joining so that they were all a consistent size. I did some decorative top-stitching on the gray panels at this point to make the shirt lay nicer when worn and because it makes the seams more sturdy.

My last step was to attach an old men's tie I was going to reuse for the straps. I had my hubby help me with this because it was late at night, I was getting lazy, and my girl friend was on her way to pick me up so we could go out ( I really wanted to wear this.) I sewed the small end of the tie where I wanted it to hold up the front and threw the extra over my shoulder. I told my hubby to snip the tie parallel to the upper back hem of the blouse and to leave me at least half an inch for the seam. The second strap was easier - I sewed the snipped portion of the tie opposite the other strap on the back, threw on the shirt, and marked where the excess portion of the tie fell on the front. I then took the shirt off and sewed the fat part of the tie in a decorative manner on the front. Voila! A brand new and completely unique piece of clothing for me to wear!

I tried the shirt on and noticed that there was extra space in the waist area. This is the simple fix I was telling you about: Mark with straight pins or a light pencil mark how much extra room there is in the areas needing adjusting. Turn the clothing inside out and add another row of stitches further in where you marked. Turn right side out and try on again. Repeat this step if needed - I had to take the shirt in twice after I finished it. I have since altered my pattern to save me this trouble if I ever make this shirt again.

If you are having problems with a pattern take a deep breath and remember to reduce all of it to simple shapes. It's just geometry wrapped around your body.

Thanks for reading! For more DIY articles by Tiny Tipis click here.

 Tiny Tipis is a small handmade company providing environmentally friendly products to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. We focus on using high quality materials with attention to detail and running our company as close to zero waste as we possibly can. All shipping materials are recyclable, compostable, and/or biodegradable. See more of what Tiny Tipis does for our planet at any of the links below: 

 

facebook.com/TinyTipis

pinterest.com/TinyTipis
TinyTipis.blogspot.com

instagram.com/tinytipis/
TinyTipis.etsy.com

 

 Thank you for being environmentally responsible!!!

DIY Tie Dye with Red Wine

Easy Do It Yourself Dye

 I'm obsessed with Fabric, especially canvas. It's natural, it's strong, it has more uses than a swiss army knife... and it can be a challenge to Dye. There's nothing I love more than a challenge. 

I also love red wine. 

Here is how I use Red Wine to Dye Fabric, including so-called "non-dye-able" Canvas, and a shirt I never wore:

Supplies: 

White or light colored fabric (I used cotton)

2+ cups Red Wine

Rubber Bands or Hemp Twine

Oven

Clean Baking Pan

Jar or Bucket 

Iron

An Old Towel

Supplies laid out ready to start dying fabric

 Step 1: Tie up items to be dyed. If you bind it with more wrinkles you will end up with more light colored areas after you are done. The tighter you tie or band it up the more areas of light color will remain as well.

Cotton articles tied up and ready to be Dyed with Red Wine

  Step 2: Steep the items in the Red Wine for at least 2 hours. I let mine soak for 4 hours.

A white shirt after soaking in red wine for 4 hours

Step 3: Squeeze the wine out of the fabric. Leftover wine can be saved to re-use next time you want to dye but the color won't be quite as strong. For really dark dye wring until no liquid drips. For lighter dye wring as much out as possible.

Wine Dyed items being laid flat to dry in the oven

 Step 4: Lay items as flat as possible on your clean baking sheet. Try not to let them touch or overlap so the color doesn't bleed from one article to another. Your baking sheet must be clean or you risk discoloring your dyed items. I covered mine with foil just to be safe.

Wine Dyed clothing and fabric drying in an oven

 Step 5: Set oven at 170 to 180 Fahrenheit with damp dyed items inside. The combination of heat and drying with the wine pigment still on the fabric helps set the color. Make sure to set a timer so you don't start a fire. I checked on my items every 10 minutes. The small items took about 20 minutes to dry fully while the shirt took over an hour. I didn't want to put freshly dyed items in the dryer in case it might leave color behind which is why I chose to do it in the oven.

Check your items every 10 minutes: Safety First!

Step 6: (This step is optional. I did it to make sure the color was fully set.) Lay your old towel on an ironing board. Iron dyed items as you normally would. The heat will help set the color so it won't fade with washing. The towel prevents your ironing board cover from getting any color on it if your dyed articles aren't fully dry yet.

Small test items in a Red Wine Dye Project

Step 7: Hand wash dyed clothing and fabric in warm water to get rid of any pigment that didn't set. This way the color won't spread to items you don't intend to dye when you wash it after regular use. After dying an article you should avoid washing it in hot water to keep the colors bright.

Gorgeous color and pattern from Red Wine Tie Dye

 And the finished product... 

I like this shirt so much better with the natural earthy rouge dye than I did when it was plain white. I think I'll actually wear it now!

Thanks for reading!!!

Click here for more great DIY ideas or visit the other Tiny Tipis Blog to learn about recycled urban gardening.

 Tiny Tipis is a small handmade company providing environmentally friendly products to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. We focus on using high quality materials with attention to detail and running our company as close to zero waste as we possibly can. All shipping materials are recyclable, compostable, and/or biodegradable. See more of what Tiny Tipis does for our planet at any of the links below: 

 

facebook.com/TinyTipis

pinterest.com/TinyTipis
TinyTipis.blogspot.com

instagram.com/tinytipis/
TinyTipis.etsy.com

 Thank you for being environmentally responsible!!!

DIY Valentines Day Gift

The Heart-ful Hand Warmer

A Picture Tutorial by Tiny Tipis

 

 

 

Visit the Tiny Tipis Store Here

I saw an idea on Pinterest this morning and had to try it. Since I was at a loss for what to give my husband for Valentine's Day I decided to make him something to keep him warm. I like to keep those that I love well-fed and warm. This simple present was free (recycled materials) and took about an hour total even with me pausing for pictures. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

 

 Supplies: Two scraps of T-shirt, Two rectangles of Fabric for exterior, One scrap of fabric for Heart Shape, Half a cup of 20 minute White Rice, Scissors, Thread, Sewing Machine, and Extra Thread to Hand-Embroider the Message.

Step 1: Sew one t-shirt scrap to the back of each piece of outer fabric. The T-shirt acts as a liner and stabilizer.

 

Step 2: Place Heart where you want it on the outer fabric and sew around the edge with a zig-zag stitch. You can use any shape you want. I used a heart so I could give it to my hubby for Valentines Day.

  

Step 3:  Embroider your Message with the visible side on the outer fabric. You could use a machine for this. I did it by hand to give it extra personality. I think this was my first time hand-embroidering.

 

 Step 4: Zig-Zag stitch around the edges with outer fabric facing in. Leave a 1 or 2 inch gap to turn and fill the handwarmer with the rice.

  

Step 5: Turn so that the correct side is now facing out and topstitch around the edges. Still leave the gap open so that you can fill the pouch with rice.

 

Step 6: Fill the Hand warmer with  20 Minute (NOT instant) White Rice. I used 1/2 cup but you can adjust the amount to fit your needs. More rice means longer heat. Less rice means a lower profile to fit better in a pocket. Top stitch the gap you left to close it.

 Step 7: The final step is to toss it in your microwave for 30 seconds. Pull it out and feel the heat. For a warmer effect microwave it longer. For less heat microwave it for a shorter time. The one I made stays warm for almost 30 minutes!

My hand warmer says, "You are loved" in shorthand or nerd lingo. What message would you embroider on your pocket size hand warmer?

 

For more great DIY ideas follow Tiny Tipis on Facebook, Pinterest, and Blogger. Also cruise over to the shop to see what's for sale today! Thanks for reading!!!

Yummy Snack Time

On the nights my hubby works late I like to make a snack for my son and I before we go to bed. The other night I was running low on groceries and needed to get creative. In no time at all I whipped this together from items that needed to be used - bacon, cucumber, and cream cheese on toasted wheat.

Look at that rich layer of cream cheese... yum!

To make this delicious snack follow these simple steps:

1) Toast bread - this gives it some texture and keeps it from getting soggy when you add the other ingredients.

2) Spread desired amount of cream cheese on toast - I do it on both peices. The cream cheese acts as a moisture barrier to keep the bread crunchy and the cucumber juice away from it.

3) Layer bacon to desired level - I used 3 slices cut in half.

4) Add cucumber slices - I used five 1/8 inch slices on mine.

5) Enjoy!




Next time I make this I think I'll try some turkey on it too. Maybe some sprouts... What do you think?

I  <3  BACON!

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to Follow me on Facebook to keep up to date on everything Tiny Tipis does!

DIY Lace Patch for Clothes and Jeans

5 Simple Steps to Patch old Jeans with Lace

      Recently one of my favorite pairs of pants started ripping at the back. For a while I sucked it up and wore them with shorts underneath but the hole just kept getting worse every time I wore them so I decided to do something about it. In my massive piles of sewing odds and ends I happened to have lace... lots of lace (Thanks Grandma.) Follow along to see how I fixed my favorite pants to make them even better!

1) Lay clean pants on a flat surface with lace on top of the hole. My hole was big enough I needed two rows of lace to cover it. Cut the lace about an inch too long (1/2" extra for each side of the rip). If you don't cut the lace long enough your patch won't cover the entire hole and it will continue to rip further. 

2) Since my lace needed to be wider to cover the hole I just cut two pieces the same length and cut a piece of hemp cord (about 2" longer than lace segments) to use as a stabilizer for joining the lace. I then placed both lace segments back to back with the hemp in the middle. To join them I used the widest zig-zag stitch on my machine with a short stitch length for the maximum amount of strength in the seam. I stitched down the middle ensuring the hemp cord was captured inside the zig-zag and both pieces of lace were secured together. I decided to use hemp because I have it on hand, it is cheap, and I like the natural look of it with the lace. You could use any type of strong cord pretty much.

3) After joining my two lace segments I cut the hemp cord to be 1/4" longer than the lace on each side. I left the hemp longer so I would be able to turn it under and prevent unraveling. 

Broken needles happen... just make sure you pull out all the little metal pieces or it can really damage your machine. My needle broke while I was sewing around the extra thick seams in the crotch. If you advance the needle by hand in the thickest parts it's less likely to break.

4) (Showing stitches inside jeans) I first zig-zag stitched a big rectangle to secure the lace to the jeans. Make sure to turn your cording under and zig-zag over it extra well if you had to use it to stabilizer. If you don't the stabilizer cord will pull out and your patch will fail. I tried to only zig-zag on the busy parts of the lace to hide as much of my thread as possible on the visible side. The rectangle will keep the lace in place but you still need to sew down any ends that are loose so they don't stick out when you wear your pants. I did this by using a straight stitch to sew around the outer edges of the lace patch. You can see this in the photo above where the straight stitch makes little triangles outside of the zig-zagged rectangle. This way I don't have any loose lace bits flapping around on my butt.

 

 5) Last Step! Cut any loose thread ends and try pants on. Now brag because your favorite pants just got even better!

This took me about 30 minutes to do (even with taking photos) and maybe half a brain cell. When I wash these pants I try to turn them inside out to protect the lace from snagging on other clothes. So far the patch has held excellent with no damage. Let me know how your lace patches turn out!

 Tiny Tipis is a small handmade company providing environmentally friendly products to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. We focus on using high quality materials with attention to detail and running our company as close to zero waste as we possibly can. All shipping materials are recyclable, compostable, and/or biodegradable. See more of what Tiny Tipis does for our planet at any of the links below: 

 

facebook.com/TinyTipis

pinterest.com/TinyTipis
TinyTipis.blogspot.com

instagram.com/tinytipis/
TinyTipis.etsy.com

 

 Thank you for being environmentally responsible!!!

As You Wish...

     Sometimes relationships aren't all they are cracked up to be. Sometimes you butt heads and chase each other round and round about daily worries. Sometimes the stress of life works it's way into our happy place.

     With the move coming up and a bunch of other major changes coming up in our life my honey and I have been finding the rough spots. As a loving wife I feel it is my job to find creative ways to brighten his day and help put him in a good mood. One of my simple ways to show him I care is to write a message for him on the mirror in our bathroom. I use our sons bath crayons that he never plays with and change the message each time I clean the mirror. Today I wrote "As you wish..." for him because he loves The Princes Bride movie. It's a small way to show him I care that doesn't cost me anything (maybe 5 minutes of time) and who wouldn't want a little positive message every time they look in the mirror!?

     If you don't have bath crayons (also called soap crayons) you can use dry erase markers. The darker colors work better. Sometimes if the message isn't easy to read you will need to make the lines thicker. The only downside to dry erase markers is that when the bathroom gets really steamy from the shower the message can start to run. It's not a huge deal but you will want to use the soap crayons for messages that you want to last longer.

     My honey had to run off to work before I changed the mirror this morning so I will have to wait till he gets home to see if he likes it. Some of the other messages I've left him are "You make me Smile!" and "You're Amazing!" but a simple "I love you" is always nice too.  :)  What messages are you going to leave?

For more updates like me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest! Also make sure to check out my Recycled Urban Garden Blog if you love a green thumb. Thanks for Reading!

Secret Summer Recipe

There is a small thing I have been doing this month that not only helps keep my body healthy but reminds me to take little breaks. I have a secret recipe for a summer beverage that I think I may be willing to share finally and I promise you'll love it. I call it Health Tea. My hubby calls it "That Tasty Water Stuff." My son even drinks it and he can be kinda picky!

I make it in bulk and freeze portions not only to save money but to save me time. I will first cover how I make it in bulk and I will give the portions toward the end to make it in single batches in case you only want a little to try first. This beverage is beneficial for your body in how it helps you shed toxins, keeps you hydrated, gives you vitamins, and tastes amazing! Oh and did I mention it's cheaper than soda? Healthier too!  ;)

Items you will need:

2 Lemons

4 Limes

1 Large Cucumber

1 small chunk of Ginger Root

Apple Juice

A pitcher (1-2 liter)

7-8 Ziploc Freezer bags

Wash all ingredients well. You will be leaving the skin on everything so make sure it's clean.

Slice Cucumber into 1/8" slices with skin on.

 Slice the limes into 8 sections going from tip to tip. Slicing them in this direction keeps the pulp in the drink to a minimum.

You will cut the lime in half, then cut the halves in half, and then cut the quarters in half to make 8 slices from each lime.

 Slice the 2 lemons the same way you sliced the limes.

 I use very little ginger root because it is so potent. You will need less than 1 cubic inch and will slice it as thin as possible while still making it thick enough to stay in tact in water. The end result is slightly smaller than a quarter and about as thick.

Pull out 7 to 8 freezer safe bags. I use the 1 quart size. You will need 8 if you plan to freeze it all or 7 if you are making 1 batch to drink when done.

Into each bag you will put 2 lemon slices, 4 lime slices, 1 ginger slice, and 4-5 cucumber slices.

 Fill each bag 1/2 way with water. Get as much air out as you can before you seal it. Label the bags so you know when they were made and then put them in the freezer.

I stack mine in the freezer to save room.

 When you are ready to drink a glass pull a bag out of the freezer and put it in your pitcher. Pour fresh water over it until the pitcher is full. Once the ice melts you simple mix it 50/50 with apple juice and drink. I prefer to mix mine in the glass (I just eyeball the halfway point) because if you mix the apple juice in with the water it won't last as long in you fridge. If the water has too strong of a flavor for you add more water to dilute. I normally end up with 1.5 liters of water from 1 frozen bag.

I try to remove the floaters (the lemon, lime, ginger, and cucumber) from the water with a slotted spoon anywhere from 1 hour to 12 hours after the ice fully melts. If you leave the fruit in the water longer the taste becomes bitter. This will keep about a week in your fridge before you will need to make fresh.

 The portions for a single batch are 1/2 a lime (4 slices), 1/4 of a lemon (2 slices), a small slice of ginger root, and 4-5 cucumber slices. When not freezing let ingredients sit in the water 12-24 hours before removing with a slotted spoon. Mix 50/50 with Apple Juice when ready to drink.

 Slicing the ingredients every time you run out makes it seem like a lot of work. This is why I started making it in bulk. A nice variation if you want something a touch more refreshing even is to add a few mint leaves to the bags before freezing. It makes this refreshing beverage even more thirst quenching!




Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of this and if you came up with any variations of your own.

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Step-by-Step Vintage Hunting Vest Upcycle

     I was browsing the items at a yard sale one day when I found this treasure of a hunting vest. The piece had character and had seen many days of love and use but lacked any kind of style that would make me wear it in public. So I decided to redo it! With a little lace and an hour of my time I transformed this beast into a beauty. Here's how:









     1) I removed the fabric on the back that just kind of hung there using my seam ripper. This took maybe 10 minutes.

2) I got a bit impatient and added lace around the collar next. To do this I buttoned the vest and marked where the left and right sides came together above the buttons. I don't use pins when I sew so I just folded the lace under and started using a zig-zag stitch to attach it where my first mark was. I didn't cut the lace to length until I was perhaps 2" away from having it fully sewn on the front. Then, I tacked the lace down every so often to keep it from rolling up around the neck while being worn.

3) I used my seam ripper to finish separating the fabric below the arm. I wanted to give the vest a more feminine shape so to accomplish this I measured 1" in on each side at the base of the back. I connected this to the top where the armhole comes together. That's the brown line you see in the photo. I cut the excess off and sewed the seam back together. If you aren't confident in your altering skills you can always pin and try it on before you trim.

4) The last step was to add lace along the back where I took the old fabric panel off. To do this I once again folded my lace under at the edges and used a zig-zag stitch to attach it to the vest. Again, to avoid wasting lace, I always sew first and cut the lace to length when I'm a few inches away from having it completely sewn on. This eliminates concerns about elasticity differences between the vest and the lace.









     I left the back of the vest shorter than the front as a style choice. I like the way it causes the fabric to add even more of an hourglass shape around the waste. This can make boobs look bigger, mid sections look slimmer/longer, and hips look more feminine. Below is the end result... it's hard to get good pictures of yourself! This vest can be purchased on my etsy store if you like it as much as I do.