Pleated Top

I've had this little top pinned for some time and finally got around to making it.  It is really adorable and Chess loves it.  The tutorial is very easy to follow, as well.  I love her whole website.











-Alison

Pillowcase Dress

There are tutorials for these cute little pillowcase dresses everywhere online.  They are very simple to make, so they make a great beginner sewing project.



I got the pillowcase for this dress at an awesome thrift store for $0.25.  I already had the thread, ribbon, and rick-rack, so this was one cheap dress to make.



I've seen these on sale at boutiques for $25 or more!  No need spend that!



Go make your own!

-Alison

Freezer Paper Stenciling

I've done a few freezer paper stenciling projects before, and I really enjoy seeing the outcome.  I thought I'd share my most recent one.  I wanted to make a Rainbow Brite shirt for my daughter, so I googled Rainbow Brite and found and printed the image below.



I traced the image with a sharpie onto freezer paper (find it in a big roll near the tin foil), simplifying the design to make cutting easier.



The most tedious part is cutting out all the black parts with an exacto knife.  If you have a machine that cuts for you, that makes this project really simple, or just go with a less-detailed design.



Save all the white parts that might get removed in the process, then carefully place them all on your shirt, and iron them in place.

Paint with fabric paint.  I did about 3 coats, letting them dry in between.



And the funnest part in peeling off the freezer paper when it dries!



I love how she turned out!

Sweatshirt Dresses

From this:


To this:


I got some Hanes sweatshirts from the thrift store in new condition, and repurposed them into dresses for the girls.  I made my own pattern using clothes the girls fit into currently.  Chess is bigger, so she didn't get as full a skirt as Lera, which she didn't like.  But both girls enjoy wearing their comfy sweatshirt dresses!

Another Knit Dress

I love sewing with knit (stretchy) fabric. It is very forgiving when worn, so mistakes don't show up as easily. I recently saw this tutorial and had to try making my own playdate dress.



I love the way it turned out.



I have pretend not to like the clothes I make too much, or my daughter will refuse to wear them.



Am I the only one with this problem?

Comfy Dress

I made this soft dress from two old shirts. I used a shirt that fits my daughter for the pattern. She loves playing in dresses like this.



I used some of the extra fabric to make flowers to sew on by hand. My favorite thing about using old clothes to make "new" clothes is using the existing hems. I am horrible at sewing hems with knit. Also, it is a lot cheaper than buying new fabric. This dress cost less than a dollar to make!

Appliques and Freezer Paper Stenciling

I love finding a good deal on a plain shirt. I keep my eyes open at Wal-Mart and Target, especially, for those plain long or short-sleeved tees at the end of the season. I'll grab a bunch of them up for $1-$2 each. Then, let the fun begin!



I made this shirt for my three-year-old's birthday. We had a little bit of a strawberry theme going on. I just used old knit scraps from T-shirts in my scrap pile for the applique. I love using knit because it doesn't fray.



I found these swim trunks for my nephew and knew I had to make him a whale shirt to match. I used scrap fabrics here, too, and found a basic whale template online using google images.



I did a variety pack for a good friend's baby shower gift. I decided to try freezer paper stenciling for the first time. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I used Dana's tutorial and it was actually pretty fun to do. In case you're wondering, my friend loves George Washington, fall, and has a pet great Dane. I'm all about personalizing these things.

If you're thinking about applique or stenciling, you should go for it! It is easy, takes a relatively short time, and it makes clothing unique and fun. It is also great for covering up stains on shirts you already have - no need to throw those away!

Good luck on prettying up all your T-shirts.

A Few Refashions

I have been thrifty lately (okay, I usually am). I have such a huge pile of clothes I don't want to get rid of, and fabric I have bought or been given over the years, I just can't justify buying new fabric. I have been making my girls some clothes out of old items, and I love getting something new for free!


Breezy summer shirt made from a men's button-up


Here is a close-up


Here is another one, showing the original buttons up the back.


Some old pajamas that got shrunk and stretched in weird places


They got made into some new pajamas for my two-year-old.


My old ironing board cover - nasty!


Covered it with some fabric my grandmother gave me. I've been wanting to do that a long time. Much better.

Christmas Tree Shirt

My youngest daughter has had many Christmas shirts, pajamas, and dresses handed down to her, but my oldest didn't have one Christmas thing. So, I made my her an appliqued Christmas tree shirt.

I think I saw the ruffle Christmas tree idea somewhere last year, but I can't remember where. I originally wanted to use ribbon for the tree, but I ran out of green ribbon. I had this green fabric, so I decided to cut it into strips with pinking shears and gather it, then sew the strips in rows on the shirt.

I used a button for the star and a piece of brown ribbon for the trunk.

Baby's Winter Hat

I have made a few of these hats using this tutorial for my own kids. This yellow one is for my new niece. The tutorial is really awesome and the hat is very easy and inexpensive to make. I highly recommend it. Oh, and my kids love the hats, so they keep them on, which is always a plus.

Birthday Girl Outfit

Before (thrift store shirt)


After (outfit for my cousin, who turned nine)


I used the shirt bottom to make a simple, elastic-waisted skirt. I used more of the fabric to make an appliqued shirt and matching hair bow.

4th of July Dress and Easy Star Banner

I've had this awesome red, white, and blue flowered fabric lying around for awhile. My grandmother gave it to me with a ton of other goodies, and I knew I wanted to make a 4th of July dress out of it. Like the Easter dress, I just kinda made it up with a plan in my head of how I wanted it to turn out.



I used a red and white striped fabric (that my gram also gave me) for trim and a ruffle. I shirred the top using elastic thread in the bobbin of my machine. There are a ton of tutorials online about how to do this. It's really easy once you practice it a little bit.



I'm showing a close-up of the pocket above, even though I know it is terrible. The trim is uneven on the left and I had to do two lines of stitching across because it didn't catch the back on the first go. Chess really loves pockets, though. And it just goes to show it doesn't have to be perfect to be loved, and it's hard for most people to see the mistakes, usually.



There it is in action. I tied the straps in an X on her back instead of straight on the shoulders as an after-thought, so they wouldn't fall down. I should have planned ahead for that, though, because it makes a big gap in the back. Oh well.



And here is the easy star-banner! I had so much fun making this. Did you know you can cut a nearly-perfect star out of a piece of paper with only a few, easy folds? Learn how here. That was all the decorating I did this year, but I like it simple. You could use the stars for so many different crafts, all year long. Enjoy!