Dollar Store Shirt to Peasant Top -- TUTORIAL

I think I'm becoming obsessed with Dollar Store "Irregular" T-Shirts. Take a look at my latest project!

I made THIS:
(photo courtesy of Buzz's awesome "4-year-old photographer" skills!)


out of THIS:
This project will take MINUTES. All you need is:

~ a Dollar Store T-Shirt
you want it to fit well in the hip area
(check where the "irregularity" is -- I find it's usually a tiny hole)

~ bobbin loaded with elastic thread
(HAND wind it without stretching!!)

~ regular thread in a color to match your shirt

~ serger


STEP ONE: Cut your shirt as shown in the photo.


STEP TWO: Gently serge around all raw edges using a rolled hem stitch, being careful not to stretch the fabric. (When you get to the part on the neckline where you cut into the sleeve, gently straighten the fabric and continue guiding it into the serger.)


If you are digging the 80's off-the-shoulder look, stop here and throw it on over your leotard!

If not, continue:
STEP THREE: With your regular thread above and the elastic in the bobbin, lengthen your stitch to 3.5 or so. (I did 3.75) Beginning with the neckline, line up the edge of your presser foot with the serged edge. Go backward and forward a few stitches two or three times to ensure the elastic won't pull out. Stitch all the way around the neckline. When you get to where you started, veer off to the left until the right edge of the presser foot is lined up with your first row of stitching. Gently pull the fabric flat as you go, and don't sew over any "tucks." Go around the number of rows you like (I did three rows on this one), and when you get back to where you started, veer back in to your most recent line of stitching, remembering to backstitch again.


If you like the fluttery, sticky-outy (technical term, there!) look in your sleeves, you can stop here!

If not, continue:

STEP FOUR: Stitch around your sleeves, starting at the seam in the underarm, lining up the foot with the edge and backstitching the same way as in step three. I did one row of stitching here, and backstitched when I completed the row.

YOU'RE DONE!!

This would make a super cute maternity top -- all you would have to do is start with a shirt in Size Giganto. (No offense, pregnant ladies!!) Or, if you find a youth size shirt, this could be adorable on a little girl!!

Flashback Friday -- Unfinished Paper Collage

I started this collage earlier this year. I've spent hours on it already, cutting each piece from my vintage 1960's home decor magazines. The backing is a flat wooden frame with the Declaration of Independence pasted onto it -- from a thrift store, of course. I really love how it has turned out so far, but I am (obviously) at a point where I don't know what to do next. Three things:

1. WHAT do I do for the background (besides that fabulous carpet)?

2. Do I really need to put a face on her (me)?

3. Does the sewing machine really look as dumb as I think it does?

I've been carefully setting this atop the highest shelves, out of reach of little hands, for MONTHS so that it doesn't get shredded. I've got my ModPodge ready to go, but I can't put any of it together until I get that background taken care of!! Since the rest of it is made from those vintage magazines, don't I have to continue with the same medium?

I really want to get this up on the wall in my new sewing room!

HELP!!

Stained Onesie + Lame Onesies = ?

Today I HAD to make something, or shrivel up and die. (Well, I guess that's every day, but today I was especially needing to create.) I have been in the middle of hauling the rest of my c~r~a~p (yes, I admit it is!) up to my new sewing room from the old one in the basement, and let's just say I am NOT loving the project.

Anyway, here's what I whipped together:

I inherited this practically-brand-new-but-stained onesie. I love the color and the polka dots, so I knew I would be using it for something!

I started by whacking it in half and making...


...a little diaper cover. I seem to be short on these for some reason. Even if JellyBean doesn't have a dress that matches it, so what? Underwear can be any color, right?!


When JellyBean was born I got two of these "fabulous" onesies advertising my insurance company. Who wants their baby advertising ANYTHING, much less an insurance company?? Anyway, I've been hanging on to them, and finally came up with a way to cover the lameness:

I cut out a heart from paper that matched the size of the "adorable" on the cute onesie and also the size of the lame logo, centered it on there, and traced the heart with my disappearing ink marker. I used the same process with a flower shape I freehanded. I appliqued them on by machine, and...

Ta-Da! Three useful items from three useless items!

(I still have a bunch of that cute purple polka-dot fabric left for future projects, too!)

Post #10 on Wardrobe Refashion

New post over at WR!

Pants for JellyBean

It seems that JellyBean is short on pants yet again. Time to whip some up!

First I took a pair of pants (the only ones that fit!) that look super cute on her, and created a pattern from them. Then I took an old pair of my pajama pants that have shrunk over time and now look like ridiculous floods:

(ouch -- really bad photo, sorry!)


And made some for JellyBean: I utilized the original hem and drawstring, and used a strip of T-shirt to create the waistband.

Speaking of that T-shirt: I also created these cute little lounge pants from a dollar store "seconds" T-shirt. My local thrift stores seem to have fairly high prices, even for used clothing items. (Other non-clothing items generally seem to be priced much better.) I prefer snatching up dollar store T-shirts when they pop up because they cost less than thrifted shirts. Nothing like harvesting "new" materials from super inexpensive sources!! The only problem? They are always solid colors.

Guess I've got to keep looking at yard sales for cute thrifted items! What will I do when summer is over and yard sales are no more??

Juice Pouch Coin Purse -- TUTORIAL

I've had a couple people ask me how I made my juice pouch coin purse from this post. This is SUPER easy, and takes only MINUTES -- even if you are nervous about sewing with zippers. Don't be scared!!

Supplies:

Empty Juice Pouch
(wash in soapy water, and squeeze water out on top of a towel with a rolling pin)
Zipper
(you'll want a little excess length -- I've used 7" and longer)

Monofilament Thread

Step One: Unzip your zipper and line up the edge about 1/8" from the edge of the zipper teeth. Don't butt it right against the teeth! Sew all the way across, near the edge of the juice pouch.

Step Two: (This is where you need that excess zipper length!) line up your zipper on the bottom edge of the juice pouch and sew the same way you did in step one, making sure the ends of the zipper match up so it will zip up correctly.


Step Three: Fold your juice pouch in half and tuck the ends of the zipper inside. (This is the end where the zipper tab sits when the zipper is CLOSED.)


Step Four: Sew all the way down the side.


Step Five: Zip it shut! Trim your zipper about 1/2" past the end of the juice pouch. Tuck the ends in the same way you did on the first side, and sew all the way down this side.


Ta-Da!! Super easy! And isn't it cute??


(I'm not obsessed!)

Hooded Towel -- TUTORIAL

Today I'm going to share my method for hooded towels! This is not one of those ridiculous corner hoods that are basically useless, OR one of those "conehead" towels. This one is actually quite useful, and my boys (4 1/2 and almost 3) still really like theirs. No one likes to stand around dripping and freezing after a bath OR a swim!

Even with just a little bit of experience, you can whip this thing together in 25 minutes or less! These towels also make great baby shower gifts in a hurry.

Supplies:
Bath Towel (I'm using a beach towel this time!)
Hand Towel
Scissors
Pins
Sewing Machine

Step One: Fold your hand towel in half with the two "decorative" edges together and cut on the fold. Then fold the half in half, finding the center of the raw edge, and mark with a pin. Also fold your bath towel in half to find the center of the long edge, and mark with a pin. Line the two edges together -- "right" sides together (the sides you want facing OUT), matching the pins.

Step Two: Pin the edges together, leaving the edge of the bath towel sticking out slightly under the hand towel (see next photo).

Step Three: Sew approximately 1/4" from the edge of the hand towel. I actually go back here and sew just barely to the right of my first line to ensure I've caught the edge the whole way across.

Step Four: Turn over and push the finished edge of the bath towel over to the hand towel side, covering the raw edge of the hand towel. Sew along the finished edge of the bath towel to encase your raw edge. This finishes the seam beautifully!

Step Five: Lay the towel down with your new finished edge up ("right" side down), and fold the hand towel down so the edges of each towel are just touching.

Step Six: Sew down the inside edge of the finished edge of the towel on both sides of the hood. There is a lot of bulk at the end (where my thumb is in the picture), so go very slowly over this part.

You will have a pocket like this.

Step Seven: Turn the towel over so you are looking at the back and fold the two corners down to the edge of the hand towel. Sew along the outside edge of the finished edge, lining it up right where the bath towel meets the hand towel, on both sides.

Here is what the "front" will look like.

Now your little one is ready to be all wrapped up and cozy after a bath or a swim!

**For another idea, see the towel I made for JellyBean a couple months ago. You can use any fabric you like for the trim -- just cut off the existing trim and bind the edge like you would a quilt!

edit 6/10/10: See another version HERE!

Fabulous Finds!

I've been having a good time thrifting (at least once a week!) recently. I'm so brave I even take all three littles with me!

Here are some of my favorite finds in the past couple weeks:


Isn't it DARLING?!! It's battery-operated. I thought for sure it would only sew a chain stitch, but look:


The teeniest little bobbin ever!!

Mr. S really likes it. (He likes any kind of machine, I tell you!)

I also scored a bag of zippers (267 of them!!) for three bucks! There are a few different lengths. Some of them have metal teeth, and there are a few sportswear zippers that zip all the way open. I already have lots of ideas!!

Check this out!! My dream of finding a bag of someone's vintage quilt pieces has come true! By looking at the fabrics, it's obvious that the lady who was making this quilt had been gathering peices over a span of at least a couple decades. It's a pinwheel pattern I've never seen before, where the blocks end up being octagonal. She cut out tons of blades for the pinwheels, but no backgrounds other than for the two blocks she finished. Her magazine-page patterns are still in there, though -- even the background piece. I love it!!