Tuesday, April 28, 2015

5 minute maxi ugly toga party challenge

The story: Some of us hate some of the fabrics we get in our Knit Fix. Some of us challenged ourselves to use it rather than trade it. When I saw this fabric, I hated it so much I thought I needed to make something ugly with it on purpose. My ideas included a scary stuffed animal monster, or 10. The puberty helper from SNL, which would be like this dress only the arms and head would be worn on the inside. The only other viable option I could think of was garbage bags, like disposable bags. Then I thought of the ugly toga. People celebrate the holidays with ugly Christmas sweater parties. To celebrate Summer, we should be having ugly toga parties. That is how the 5 minute maxi was born. I love my dress. It is literally so comfortable that I don't care about the fabric. I think I will make another one out of fabric I actually like.
The challenge: Use the free 5 minute maxi tutorial to make your own version of the dress and photograph yourself in it. Post your photo on facebook and tag it with #5minutemaxi. I will check out the photos and announce random winners - up to 10 winners will be chosen from entries. I will run the challenge through the Summer to give you a chance to actually have an ugly toga party. The prizes will be surprises. A great prize pack of fabric, patterns, Craftsy class, and something handmade by me to anyone who hosts an ugly toga party.
The reward:  I actually found that making something ugly on purpose was fun and freeing. Check out my friend Kim Werker's book for more about how and why that works. As a bonus, the first person to host an ugly toga party and post photos of the party on facebook with the hashtag #uglytogaparty will win a signed copy of Kim's book, Mighty Ugly.