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wardrobe refashion: shirt to toddler dress

shirt to easy toddler dress

This shirt turned into the cutest dress, but it’s big! I figure it’s at least a 4T or 5T. Since this season is almost over, I’m going to wait until next year to have my daughter try it on. It will probably need a dart in the back because she’s so tall and thin. The length might actually be ok. Just in case, I didn’t sew the straps on in the front.

shirt to easy toddler dress

My seam ripper was my BFF for this project. I unpicked the stitches from the neckline and used the bias trim to cover the raw edges under the sleeve.

shirt to easy toddler dress

I also unpicked the stitches from the cuffs and used them as the straps. I cut off the button hole end and sewed it to the back. The other half will be sewed to the front. That way I can use the buttons without having to resew the holes.

shirt to easy toddler dress

refashion: This was really easy. Seriously! The hardest part was not poking a hole in the fabric while ripping seams! The shirt was $1 at a garage sale. The best part? My daughter said, “Mom, that dress is beautiful! Is it for me?”

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wardrobe refashion: shirt to apron

shirt to apron

Here’s the third shirt from last week’s garage sale purchases. These big, flouncy shirts came in style right after I had my daughter and I refused to buy any. I had just gotten out of maternity clothes. I didn’t want to buy shirts that made me look pregnant!

shirt to apron

I really liked the band around the middle and thought it would make a nice apron. I love how this already had the ribbon and trim details. All I had to do was cut it up and add the sashes!

shirt to apron

I’m not really an apron girl, but this just might make me change my mind. I just need to get over worrying about getting it dirty. I know, it’s an apron, but it’s so darn cute!

shirt to apron

refashion: Shirt from garage sale cost $1. Sash made from the sleeves. Cute ribbon trim conveniently part of the original shirt. Love when that happens!

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wardrobe refashion: de-ruffling a shirt

floral shirt

Here’s the shirt from yesterday’s garage sale finds. I really liked the fabric, but the shirt was a little bit too frilly for me.

floral shirt

The first thing I did was cut off the gathered cuff and replace it with a simple rolled hem. Next I removed the ruffle and reattached the fabric with no gathers. Finally, I snipped off the ties, stitched the center closed and added a vintage button.

floral shirt

I like the shape of peasant style blouses, but I’m not a big fan of all of the frilly stuff. This turned out just perfect for me. Plus, I totally love that button!

refashion: Shirt 75 cents from a garage sale. Vintage button from my stash.

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wardrobe refashion: shirt to skirt

I found some cute shirts at a garage sale this morning. I’ve already refashioned two, but it was too dark to take the second “after” photo. Here’s the first one.

circle print shirt

The top portion was a little tight and the bottom was big enough to be a skirt. Ha! A skirt! I cut off the top and sewed a casing for the elastic. It even already had pockets!

circle print skirt

It hits just above the knee, which is about as high as I go these days. The fabric is lightweight and it’s going to be a nice, cool skirt for the hot days of August.

refashion: Shirt 50 cents from a garage sale. Elastic from my stash.

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wardrobe refashion:
pajama pants from thrifted sheet

thrifted sheet pajamas

It seems like everyone in blogland is making comfy pants out of vintage sheets. I don’t think mine are that old, but I still love them. They turned out a little big, but after my too-small skirts, I wanted to make sure they were wearable! I’ve adjusted the pattern a little for next time and can’t wait to make another pair. I’m also thinking of making a matching pair for my daughter with the leftovers.

refashion: Thrifted sheets are a great alternative to buying new fabric. You have a lot to work with and you don’t feel bad if you mess up! This sheet was one of my $2 deals and the pattern is Simplicity 3935 from a 99 cent sale.

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surprise for our recycling guy

bags of shredded junk mail

Our recycling is mostly made up of glass, aluminum and plastic. Since I’ve canceled most of our catalogs, our weekly paper bin consists of some boxes, a few days of newspaper and junk mail. Not tomorrow, though!

Believe it or not, the biggest project I worked on while my parents were visiting was non-craft related. I tried to regain some control over our filing. There are lots of reasons excuses as to why it was in such a state. I won’t go into them here. Let’s just say there will be a lot of paper at the curb tomorrow morning.

I’m still not finished. Most everything has been sorted into files. The next step is to go through each file and figure out what we need to keep. I’m going to work on that at a much slower pace, though. I need to get back to my sewing!

resource: The IRS has a guide for what kind of records you should keep posted on its website.

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wardrobe refashion: skirts

I was all excited to try out my new simplicity skirt pattern with two cute pillowcases I had thrifted, but I forgot to add in the ease to my measurements. Bugger! That’s what I get for cutting fabric too late at night. I’m already ripping out the seams to make something else. Here is the too small front.

fabric for new tote bags

I tried the pattern again with the proper measurements and it fits much better. I didn’t want to sacrifice anymore fabric until I got it right, so I made this version out of a cotton sheet. It’s a little sheer, though. Not sure if I’ll be wearing it outside of the house.

fabric for new tote bags

I’m planning to try the version without darts next. Hopefully the third time will be a charm!

refashion + recycle: pillowcases from church sale, sheet from tote of garage sale fabric, thrifted zippers in both

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wardrobe refashion: floral shirt

floral shirt refashion

Not sure if this qualifies as a refashion or if it is more of an alteration. Do I need a new category?

floral shirt refashion

Originally, I thought I’d take it in at the waist, but the front has a bunch of tiny little pleats. I was worried they might look funny if I altered the sides.

floral shirt refashion

Instead, I just cut off the cuffs, which were too tight when buttoned. I used my rolled hemmer foot to finish the new edge. It worked great!

floral shirt refashion

I never thought I’d be a fan of 3/4 sleeves, but I seem to keep making them, don’t I? I love the way this shirt looks and fits now.

refashion: Shirt was $2 a neighbor’s garage sale. I wasn’t planning on buying anything that day, but I couldn’t resist the little blue flowers.

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wardrobe refashion: t-shirt toddler dress

I’ve got way too many pictures for this little refashion, especially because it was just a practice project. I bought this shirt because I liked the embroidery on the front and back. You’ve gotta love fabric that comes already embellished!

t shirt toddler dress

It’s loosely based on this Simplicity for Kids pattern. I say loosely because the pattern didn’t really cooperate with the embroidery. Not only that, but the shirt was crooked! There was more pink fabric on one side than the other.

t shirt toddler dress

I used the 3T size, because that’s what Bella is mostly wearing these days. It turned out a little big.

t shirt toddler dress

I’m still trying to work on two skills: sewing knits and using my rolled hemmer foot. My seams are still a little wonky, but they are improving.

t shirt toddler dress

Here’s the awesome thing, though. When I was taking these pictures, Bella asked me what I was doing. When I told her I made her this dress, she grabbed it and said, “Thanks, Mommy! I love this dress! I love it!” Then she rolled it up in a little ball and began to hug it.

t shirt toddler dress

It wasn’t until she tried it on that I realized how big it was. She told me it was fine. I’m hoping she’ll grow into it before the end of the summer. (Please excuse the post-quiet time crazy hair.)

t shirt toddler dress

refashion: I’ve been collecting cute t-shirts to turn into dresses. This one was from a church garage sale. Most of them are from 99 cent days at Goodwill. Pattern was also from Goodwill. It goes up to size 8!

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handmade student emergency kit

virginia tech birthday gift

My brother is very smart. He’s got one of those jobs where he can’t tell you what he does. I have a feeling I probably wouldn’t understand a lot of it if he could. He’s also working on his PhD. Both involve a lot of hard work and math. Two things that he can always use: pencils and caffeine.

virginia tech birthday gift

If you’ve been reading my personal blog for awhile, you know that he went/goes to Virginia Tech. He never tires of Hokie-themed gifts. (I asked.) I figured what he needed these days was something for all of those pencils and caffeine. I made him a pencil case and tucked some extra mechanical pencils, lead and erasers inside. I also made him an adjustable coffee sleeve and sent him a big bag of his favorite tea.

recycle: I can’t believe I am still using up VT fabric scraps from a yard I purchased over a year ago. Denim was from a pair of jeans. (Freecycle is a great source for denim!) Fabric and button were from my stash. Elastic was a colored pony tail holder.