"Drumming Pants"

My boyfriend, Cody, requested some "drumming pants" from me. Basically they're not all that different from a typical trouser. Except for lighter fabric, "pirate" buttons, and a lime green zipper. The "pirate" buttons are buttons he chose that happen to be gold and have an anchor on them. He also decided it must have a zipper that absolutely did not match the pants fabric, but I think it works. They aren't quite finished yet but I do have a few sample photos of my current progress.

His Pirate Buttons:

dress up

So I made this dress based mainly off of this pattern, Butterick B5211. Got it on sale at Joanns for only .99 cents. After some tweaks, I made my own version. Shortened it a bit.(More than I intended.) Then added some cut-out detailing on the top. I'm really pleased with the results but horribly upset with my choice in fabric. The pattern recommended using cotton, linen, and such. So I grabbed a Linen/rayon blend figuring that would be perfect. It felt a little rough but I assumed it had some sort of starch or something that would be fixed upon washing. I was so wrong. Washing made it was worse. Fabric softener and warm water did nothing for its softness and I'm 99% positive it just made the texture worse. All I want to do is wear it, but not if it's going to feel like sandpaper all day. What to do, what to do....

And yes, I did you all a favor by covering the ridiculous expression on my face.

(Belt was purchased with a dress I got from forever21)