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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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new photo space!

I’m really excited about my new little shelf. No more doorknobs in my photos!

yellow floral reversible handmade tote

It’s not really that blue, but the white spray paint I used still doesn’t match our trim very well. My husband said we have some leftover trim paint downstairs, so I’m still not finished with this project yet. Luckily, it’s good enough to start using right away. (p.s. These two new totes are now in my etsy shop!)

recraft: All it took was a little paint to give this $2 shelf new life!

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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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project done: crochet jar jacket

crochet jar jacket

I love this little jar jacket. If you remember, the yarn was from a garage sale. I’m so glad it was wool, because it was worn in so many places. I did a lot of splicing it back together. It makes me think that it is recycled from something, but the wool is so straight. Usually recycled wool is wavy from being knit. Did someone actually take the time to unravel, steam out the kinks and then sell it? Or was it so old that the kinks just fell out? I wish I knew its history.

It turned out a little big, so I wound up putting it around a larger jar. (Smuckers natural peanut butter, if you must know.) I also had to crochet with two strands held together because the yarn weight is so fine.

stash: I have lots of yarn left to make this crochet bag. You can find the jar jacket pattern here.

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project to do: rugs

We have a sisal rug as a door mat that we bought from Restoration Hardware more than 10 years ago. I love the look of sisal, but it’s a little expensive. I thought it would be easy to reproduce by knitting with sisal. I got a ball of it at the hardware store a few years ago. It’s still sitting in my stash. I’m just not motivated to knit a big rectangle with scratchy twine.

In the meantime, I found a natural colored rag rug at Target a few years ago on clearance for $5. They only had one. We’ve been using it by our garage door and it works fine, but I don’t really like the look of the tassels. I do like that it is softer than the sisal. It feels a little nicer in our kitchen area.

rugs

Then one day at a church sale (have I mentioned how much I love church sales?) I found three more rag rugs that matched ours. The colors are all slightly different, but they are in the same family. I got an idea. What if I cut the tassels off and added fabric trim. I get the look of my favorite rug, but softer and cheaper. (I got all three rugs for $1.)

I’ve washed all of them and I’m just waiting for a little bit of free time to dive into this project. I don’t expect it will take long, but I think there will be some hand sewing involved. I don’t know about putting these under my presser foot, even if they do fit.

refashion: Refashioning isn’t just about making over your clothes. Try refashioning items for your home, too. Sometimes the best way to find the perfect accessory is to make one yourself.

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wardrobe refashion: green cardigan

green cardigan refashion

These flowers and buttons make me so happy! I am just in love with this cardigan refashion.

I found this Talbot’s sweater at a church garage sale. It was in really nice condition. The button bands were even backed with grosgrain ribbon! I knew right away this would be be a summer cardigan and I had everything I needed in my stash.

green cardigan refashion

The original sweater looked kind of sad. The buttons were nice, just too heavy for the knit fabric. (I’ve saved them for another project.)

green cardigan refashion

The tabbed sleeves were a bit much. They needed some brightening and lightening up. This is definitely a case of less is more. Here’s what I did:

  1. Removed all of the buttons and threw it in the wash. Let it dry flat.
  2. Cut off the tabbed cuffs and made 3/4 length sleeves. (Note: I sewed two zigzag seams above and below my cut to keep the pieces from unraveling.)
  3. Made some trim with my bias tape maker and stitched it over the raw sleeve edges.
  4. Sewed on new buttons.

green cardigan refashion

This is a fast and easy way to update outdated sweaters. I may even take a look at the sweaters in my closet and see what I can do to brighten them up, too!

refashion: Sweater came from church garage sale. Floral fabric was from my “free” stash. Buttons from a thrift store score.

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wardrobe refashion: comfy shorts

Looking for the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway? Click here!

comfy shorts refashion

Does every guy have a pair of these? These are T’s comfy shorts. He has literally worn them threadbare. My attempts to replace them didn’t really work. They either didn’t fit right or didn’t have pockets. I think he bought these when we were dating. It is past time for letting them go.

comfy shorts refashion

I found this pair of really big sweatpants at a local church sale, and now that I’m refashioning, I figured I can make new comfy shorts! I tried to just trace around them, but the front and back panels were two very different sizes, so I had to deconstruct them. It was a very delicate operation.

comfy shorts refashion

I am really impressed with the results, if I do say so myself. They turned out much more professional looking that I would have thought. (Pat myself on the back!) They also fit well and T approves!

Sewing knits has always frustrated me, so to prepare for this project, I got Wendy Mullin’s Sew U Home Stretch from the library. I used an overlock foot for the inside seams and a walking foot for the hem. Both worked really well.

I think with the small amount of sewing with knits that I do, I really don’t need a serger. It’s not like I’m going to be making t-shirts and comfy shorts for the whole family. I am planning to make some sweats for Bella with the leftover pants legs, but will wait until closer to Fall to measure her.

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sew, mama, sew may giveaway day

may giveaway day
I’m participating in Sew, Mama, Sew’s May Giveaway Day. Remember that beautiful tablecloth I was going to make into tote bags? Here’s the first one!

tablecloth tote bag

The top has a slight curve because the tablecloth is round. I love how the trim fabric contrasts with the floral print. The lace tape really pulls it together!

tablecloth tote bag

I’ll be making three more for my etsy shop, but I’m giving this one away! I’ll even ship internationally.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. Yep! That’s it! You have until midnight, May 31st to enter. I will choose a winner with a random number generator. After you leave a comment, check out Sew, Mama, Sew for more fabulous giveaways!

recycle: original tablecloth purchased from garage sale here

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