For Emerson

Pinterest is so much fun - especially when you stalk pins by your cousin who just had a baby girl! My cousin Jen and her husband Dennis have a beautiful baby girl, Emerson. I have been working on this Crossover Pinafore Dress since I saw Jen pin it a few weeks ago. I bought the fabric at the Good Ju Ju vintage sale about a year ago and have been holding on to it for the perfect project. I hope Jen likes it and I hope it brings Emerson some Good Ju Ju!



Upcycled: Easter Dress

I loved this dress, shoulder pads and all. It was probably a junior high/early high school dress. I wish our photo albums weren't in storage right now because I'd love to see if there is a picture of me wearing it. My sister, Lori, had it for some reason (boy am I sad that she didn't save it for Eleanor to wear in a few years, you know, shoulder pads are coming back) and brought it in her upcycle donation bag last November. 

I decided to try and modify a pattern. It was my first attempt. I didn't want to add a zipper or buttons down the back so I tried to figure out how to reshape the arm and neck holes. I wasn't very successful because it was huge on Lyla. I ended up pinning the neck so that it didn't fall off her shoulders. I think I'll need to add some kind of button closure to the back for future wears but didn't she look cute for Easter?

The models



Wow, didn't realize I took this one. Watch out Michael Jackson!



Upcycle: A Robe for Lyla

When  you do one for one kid, you've got to do one for the other!

Lyla's robe was constructed with the same pattern as Steven's but I had a few modifications because there was not enough material from my choosen item for upcycling. My sister Lori gave me some old clothes to upcycle at Thanksgiving, including a Hannah Andersen adult jumper made from a jersey knit. I'd never sewn that material before so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be pretty easy. I just had to really pay attention to steadily feeding the material through the machine.

The color is this photo is off, the shirt in the back is pink.

I had a few errors on this project but in the end it turned out pretty cute. I had to improvise on the hood because there wasn't enough base fabric. I tried to get enough out of it but ended up cutting out two left sides of the hood so I had to scrap it completely and go with some old shirts. The hood turned out pretty cute and I decided to make the tie out of the shirts to make it all work together. Thanks goodness I have two bins of old clothes that are eligible for upcycling, now I just need to find my next project!

Upcycle: Pillow Cases to Bath Robe

 I have an old robe that I wear around the house all the time. It keeps me warm in the morning and cozy in the evenings. I just like being comfortable and I think that is wearing off on my son because he asked me to make him a robe.


Over Thanksgiving Tracy and Lori off-loaded some items for me to upcycle (when I got the time) and it included to king size flannel pillow cases. My original plan for the pillow cases was pajamas in my book Making Children's Clothes: 25 Stylish Step-by-step Sewing Projects for 0-5 Years but I decided to use them for the Beach Robe pattern by Dana at MADE. I figured that flannel pillow cases would work just as well as a beach towel and the pattern is for "experienced beginners" which is perfect for me!


I printed and cut the pattern, cut the pieces and took Steven and Lyla to Jo-Ann to buy bias tape for the edging. I have to admit that I fell into gender bias when it came to the bias tape choices. At first Steven was drawn to the pink, I should have just let him get it but I continued to prod him and show him other options. He looked at the purple, green and then zeroed in on orange. And then Lyla picked pink. She was determined (even though I didn't have plans for her robe just yet). Steven didn't throw a fit so I was safe!


I spent most of Sunday afternoon pinning, sewing, hosting a child on my lap, ripping, repinning, reading a story, sewing, rearranging pieces, sewing and then it was done! Just in time for pictures but no time for a shower tonight so that Steven could try it out for real. 


Steven never takes showers, he loves his bath. But now that he has a robe he is constantly talking about taking a shower. We'll see how long that lasts! I'll take a photo of the model soon.

Upcycle 2

This time the victim, err, scraficial shirt was a green and white stripe Eddie Bauer *wrinkle free* number. This one was fraying on the wrist and had a small stain on the front. That didn't stop me from trying a dress for Lyla. I've seen a lot of patterns using the buttons (Made and Luv in the Mommyhood are two I like) and I thought that was a great idea to maximize the reuse of this shirt.

I used a pattern from the same book I used for her upcycled pants; this time picking a PJ dress. Turns out that I am not that sold on this pattern. I want to add a belt to make it a little less boxy but it would be fine for PJs - I just don't know if those buttons would bother my tummy sleeper.

PS yes, that is a bathtub faucet the shirt is hanging from in the top photo. We don't know why but it was here when I bought the house. Even after deconstructing the original deck and rebuilding the landing and stairs we retained the faucet. Just a little quirky to add to our yard!

Upcycling, my new crafting adventure

Tommy must think I have ADD. I can't seem to pick one craft and stick to it for any length of time. I guess I just like to have variety and today's flavor is denim!

Tommy played basketball for the William Jewell Cardinals. This lovely denim number was one of their team "dress up" shirts. Even though we love our Cardinals, it wasn't hard to part with this shirt, especially when its destiny was as pants for our sweet little girl.

Upcycling children's clothes has become my recent obsession. I've been trolling Etsy and several blogs lately learning the tricks of the trade. I bought a book at JoAnn using a 50% coupon with a 10% bonus coupon and picked any easy pattern to start. Positioning the pattern on the shirt was the trickiest part. I wanted to preserve the Cardinal logo and the pocket. It is going to be hard to keep these components as the kids grow (if I stick to this craft) because the pattern for 2-3 years old barely fit between the buttons and sleeve.

I had a little mishap when labeling the patterns. At least this wasn't the first scratch in the table. And knowing my kids, it won't be the last.

And now for the finished product:

My model is asleep so you'll just have to wait for a photo of her wearing them!

The logo ended up a little higher than I wanted but that is a lesson learned for next time. The pocket looks like it will be pretty usable but it will wrap around her leg pretty far. Lots of room for treasures!

This was such a fun project, I am lining up other old shirts for more! And stay tuned - baby booties are currently being constructed from the leftover denim fabric. Nothing is going to waste!