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

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!

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.

More Sewing

I have been sewing a lot lately. Well, I was, and now I'm taking a much-needed break. I got burned out. I just have so many things I want to make, and such limited time to make them in.

I made this dress for Chess to get her two-year-old pictures made in.






I used the same fabric to make her birthday shirt.


I made this shirt using from one of my old shirts following this tutorial, but adding the ruffles.






And last, I made this hooded towel. Actually I made two, one for my kids and one for my nephew's first birthday.

Skirt Refashion

So my 4 year old had a pink twirly skirt that she just loved, wore it everywhere. It lasted all of three months before it was torn while playing outside. I never threw it away and instead salvaged some of the ruffles for a new skirt. The flower fabric was on clearance for less than $1. And miracle of miracles, I think this was the first piece of clothing I've sewed without using a pattern or online tutorial to guide me through. Woo hoo! Does that mean I've passed basic-elastic-waisted-skirt 101?

I added a little fabric rosette to the side just for fun.

Little Girl's Top

One of my favorite things to do is take old clothes I don't wear anymore or that I find at the thrift store, and turn them into something wonderful for my kids to wear.

I forgot to take a picture, but imagine a big, unattractive, lavender, polo-style shirt. That's the "before" picture.

This is the "after" picture:



I made it using this tutorial. I just altered the length and the sleeves a bit for a cute, new play shirt.

Refashioning Clothing

Have you noticed the trends in the stores lately? All the fabric-accessorized shirts and cardigans. I'm loving them, but not loving the prices. For example, at Ann Taylor Loft, just a plain-ol t-shirt that had a couple extra rosettes thrown on there was $35-50! I kept walking around the store snapping pictures with my camera phone (see below), thinking, "I could do that!!"

 

  

 

So I went home and grabbed a short-sleeved sweater that I hadn't worn in a long time - because I just didn't like it that much - and grabbed some white fabric remnants and started designing my own "trendy" shirt. Now this once-drab Old Navy sweater that I never wore, has become a new favorite. And whenever I wear it, I get several comments about where I bought it! This was just a test run, but now that I feel a bit more confident with the concept, I'm totally going to get a bunch of cheap t-shirts and spruce em up for spring with my own fun designs. Do I hear a craft night a-brewin? Who's with me??