Dresses for me

Right now I'm busy getting ready for T's second birthday this Thursday. 

I am doing a circus theme so it is going to be lots of fun!

A few weeks back I made myself a couple of dresses. 

The first being the same idea as the toddler dress I made S last year, adding a skirt to a shirt.

The second, I used this easy 20 minute dress tutorial offered at Design Fixation.

Although they were quick and easy to whip up I'm not sure what I think of them. 

I might just stick to making things for the girlies.

Happy Tuesday!

Simple Dress: A tutorial

I had been itching to get my sewing machine out lately but had no projects in mind. So I started going through my stash. When I came upon this cute owl fabric I instantly thought 'Dress'! 

S wears dresses EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

And it happens to be a rotation of the same 4-5 dresses. 
So I thought giving her another option wouldn't be a bad idea.

I started out with a white long sleeve shirt and the fabric (measuring 18x21 inches).

I folded the fabric in half and stitched up the side to make a hoop of fabric. 

Then I hemmed along the bottom.

Along the top I hand sewed a gathering stitch leaving excess thread at both ends.

I then pulled on the thread to gather in the fabric and pinned it to the shirt. 

(Right sides together, with the skirt going up towards the top of the shirt)

I sewed the skirt onto the shirt, cut off the excess shirt and serged it.

Flip it right side out and you should have a dress.

I went a step further and sewed on sash so that the waist could be tightened.

I think she likes it, she wore it two days in a row!

Happy Tuesday!

The second life of a cardigan

Well I told you in this post, that I didn't throw away the scraps! 

Above is what I made out of this one sweater. 

Not to shabby eh?

I just ended up doing a lot of experimenting, trying to make the best use out of the fabric I had. 
Cutting up and piecing it back together.

 I even made a lil purse out of the pieces with pockets!

A close-up of the toque (from this post).

So she got a cute little hat and mitts, as well as a skirt and sweater vest (oh and the purse).

So my sweet heart cardigan lives on!

And after all that I still had some scraps leftover.....

 ..... don't worry these made their way to the garbage!

Toques and Mitts from Old Sweaters!

 Yay we are into fall!! Fall is my favorite season. I love the crisp fresh air, the changing leaves, layering an outfit with sweaters and scarfs, and bringing out the boots! I even buy something from the back to school supplies for myself! (nothing quite like opening up a new package of pencil crayons!) Besides the odd warm day, it has become quite chillly here. And a couple of weeks ago I went digging in my old clothes pile to make some cute toques and mitts for the girls (inspiration from Make It Love it) in preparation for fall.

Above is the two sweaters I used. I was still wearing the heart one, but when I realized I had bought it probably in grade 11, I figured it was time to repurpose it! haha.

And this is what I made them into.

For the toques I simply folded the sweater in half (right sides together). Drew around a bowl on the bottom of the sweater. Pinned into place and stitched on the line, cut out leaving a bit of fabric on the outside of the line, and then flipped right side out.

 For T's mittens I just guessed, but for S's I traced around her hand on paper. Cut out and pinned to the cuff of the sweater (which was inside out). I wanted the cuffs of the mittens to be long (either to go under a jacket, to stay on, or to be folded over). I stitched around the outside of the paper, cut out and flipped right side out.

Aren't they cute?

 I added a pink fabric flower to T's toque as well. I also made another green toque that was much to small, so it will either go to my little niece or become a dolly toque. 

Of course this didn't use up all of the sweater material, a post coming soon on what else it became! 
(...come on I couldn't just throw it in the garbage!)

The final chapter of the pink T

Recognize something?...

Remember this shirt?...

... originally from the T's to tanks post. 

Well it was a smidge to tight on me so I decided to make it into a dress for the girlie. Just a bit of trimming and sewing down the sides and it is transformed once again.

 Cute right? Much better than a too tight shirt on me!

I swear I'm done with this shirt now! After this dress, the bracelets, and the applique I am done!

I also wanted to share with you what happened later that same day, 

we received these little guys in the mail...

 Aren't they so cute!! 

Kay (of Jerry and Kay)had made some turtles like these for her grandchildren and I thought they were adorable. Since I can't crochet/knit I thought I'd ask if she would make and sell me one. She made my day when she told me she would not only make one but two! ...and she didn't want to sell them to me she wanted to do a trade (for one of my cup cozies.. which is coming soon Kay, I promise!). 

It was such a fun surprise in the mail! The girls have been loving on these lil turtles ever since.

S has picked the purple one to be hers, and has named her 'slow poke'.

linked to:
Sugar and Dots

toddler dress from ladies shirt

 Here is the most recent re-fashioned shirt. I turned one of my shirts into a little girls dress (somewhat like this one). Here's the before and after:

I just simply cut off the sleeves, cut each shoulder and then tied them back together, and added three heart appliques (which were still some leftovers from the pink shirt used in this refashion and the fabric bracelets). 

She loves it, it's so comfy and breathable, nice for a hot summer day!

Check out my other t-shirt refashions here , here, and here!

linked to:
Sugar and Dots