and now....the exciting conclusion (warning: excitement levels may vary)

When we last visited the boring baby blue shirt, plain and tall, it was not what I would tag and call my own.  Bulky finished edges, kinda roomy through the back.  Yeah.  So I trimmed the yellow and pink nightgown-turned-bias-tape at the seam....

folded the excess down on the front and stitched a straight seam on the back, securing it in place....

then trimmed it right up next to the seam, leaving a raw edge with the yellow and pink knit.  When you tend toward bohemian and upcycled style, you can do this!  It isn't fussy, it is cute and fun!

I also put a few pleats in the back to take up the extra fabric and provide a slimmer fit.  Adds a bit of interest, too.

Would pockets make it too busy?  I can't decide.  I haven't put it in the store yet, so pockets might make a great sequel.  Whaddya think?  Should I add some pockets? 

Baby Blue Shirt, plain and tall

So I found this pale blue shirt in the closet, and cannot figure out where it came from!  It is a big and tall shirt, and the collar is stained.  My favorite!  Great fabric,  and lots of it!

Here we go!

I started drawing it out on one side, changed my mind and redrew it a bit smaller (a little more multi-sized). 





(I also thought I could do something with the sleeves, like make a little pair of bloomers for underneath, but upon dreaming up what that would look like, I passed.  I really like repurposing, but I don't think sleeve cuffs for pant legs would be as cute as it would look like an arts-n-crafts project.) 

After cutting out one side, I folded at midline, and traced the other side.  There!  Cut out front and back in one cutting. 

To finish, side seams stitched and serged.  So now what?

I have a stash of ribbons and ric rac bits that fills an milk crate.  So I got to play around til I found a layout I liked.

Thinking about finishing the raw edges....enter sleep shirt!  Lots of fabric, nice amount of stretch, and a little pink print to give boring blue a girly sweetness.

Moving forward....


I cut out 2 inch strips, folded them in half and pressed them, then serged the raw edges, right sides together, to the neck and arm openings.

And.....

Yeah....I must be honest, I didn't like the look.  It looks too bulky on the finished edge.  Not petite and girly.  So I tried it on my niece....and confirmed.....I need to fix it.  I said I would post today, so I'll leave you in suspense to see what the "fix" looks like.  Next post will have the finished, store-ready product.

We all have ideas that don't work out.  I just like to post mine!  The joy of working with salvaged fabric and no pattern is that I don't have to hope for the best, I make my own best work happen.  Just have to be creative.  See me tomorrow. :)

Don't give up on me yet!

Yikes!  Has it really been a month since I've posted?  Just a wave to say I'm still here, I've got a real post with pics coming up, and thanks for being patient.  The hot weather is not doing me any favors as far as excess energy, and I've had a sick kid that I wouldn't dream of putting on our wonderful new babysitter.  Priorities arranged, kids in the pool with dad, and I'm in my upstairs oven/sewing room putting together a new dress for the store.....here's what I'm working with....

Give me a day and check back to see what happens next!

2 piece with a reversible top, 3t-4t

I'm really liking the idea of reversible clothing for kiddos!  It doesn't take much effort to make an outfit with two choices. 

With this little number, I gathered some of my favorite remnants left over from old projects for a top/capri outfit; the reversible option was born of the need for lining the garment.  If there is lining, why not make it cute?  Why not make it cute enough to wear on the outside?  So I set out with my basic top pattern pieces, got my yardstick out and started drawing up a new back closure, using the existing pattern piece as a guideline for the side seams and arm and neck openings.  It was just a V from the shoulder opening, past midline, then back to the bottom of the side seam. 

Emma, my gracious and adorable little model, shows the top's back closure.  Summery and cool, and the turquoise makes me think of the pool at Grammy's house.  Add a couple of large buttons from the button jar collection, and some bias tape to finish the pant leg hems and arm openings.  The reverse side of the top is the same as the capri pants elastic casing, white with tiny turquoise dots (not shown).  If anybody is interested in how to make the top with the single button back closure, let me know!  I'll make another one and take pics along the way.  This one is currently for sale at Kindel & Company. Hope everyone is enjoying summer as much as I am!

Workin' shirt 6-12 months *SOLD*

It's so fun going through the donations my friends drop off!  Inspiration awaits.  A few years ago, I would have wrinkled my nose at this one and maybe harvested the buttons. 

The stains on the front show that someone was a very hard worker.  Now the back.....that is where the re purposing lies.  Since I can't find my tailor's chalk, break out the kids' washable markers and start drawing! 

The button placket resembled a bib, representing many meals, but the buttons underneath got cut out and used.

Salvaged some denim jeans to form the button placket, just need some holes.  I like the stand collar look of the original shirt, so I kept that in mind when I cut out a new one; I saved the original label on the outside, used some baby novelty scraps for the inside.

 Can you tell that I'm just making stuff up as I go along?  There's a long term plan, but it's flexible.  Note to self:  pinning ultimately saves a lot of seam ripper action.  I just get so excited to see the finished product that I try to skip pinning, then regret it and delay the moment when I get to hang it in the store!  Made some sleeves from the original sleeves, just traced the arm hole and added a seam allowance. 

Got to use the fancy schmancy font to embellish the pocket, much to my delight.  Tags, and now it is in the store SOLD!  So my new mantra is "pin even though you don't feel like it".   Thank you, Susi S., for the super-fun donation!

The Tough Guy Shirt 18 months

I don't want to alarm anyone, but I think I'm getting my creativity back following my dull lull!  I've been waiting for it to happen, and sure enough.  It didn't hurt to keep sewing, even though I used a pattern many times over.  At least I could play with colors and notions during the brain fog.  I've got some fun ideas in my notebook for future projects.  Currently, I have this ready to go....

Embroidered the helmet and stitched it under a junk tshirt that happened to have a cool graphic, then cut out the center so it is raw edges surrounding the helmet.  On the front, I stitched a denim pocket and a name badge.  It is 18 month size. 

I have another Tough Guy shirt that I'm putting together hopefully today. It all depends on the aimless wandering we enjoy on a sunny, nice day with no place to be.  I might have another post by the end of the week :)
. 

Vintage fabric, vintage dress pattern....yes, please!

Rummaging through my sizable stash of fabrics and notions, I found this steel blue/floral vintage fabric that my mama kindly got rid of donated to me. 

You see, this fabric has been kicking around her house since probably the early 80s, at least as long as I can remember.  It hung out so long that fashion changed, new fabric got more attention, and....well....it is just not right for just everything, with its small flowers and obvious lines.  When I saw it last week, I finally got the "a-ha" moment; I knew what I was going to do with it!  Utilizing my pattern from earlier posts, I cut it out on the bias...

and added pockets with an elastic upper edge and gathers around the bottom.  See how easy they are?  Just pin in place!

Done!

Besides home school home ec, I have had one sewing class, and it was so enlightening!  I owe so much to my mom and her instruction, but this college class helped with a lot of the finer aspects.  For instance, finishing raw edges.  I thought that was what pinking shears were for, or a serger if you were lucky enough to have one.  But I learned a very attractive, professional finish that I applied here.

stitch an eighth inch fold on all your raw edges that will form side seams or shoulder seams

sew side and shoulder seams, half inch seam allowance, right sides together.

Press open.  Admire your nice looking finished seam.

With the advice of Christian at Kindel & Company, my unbiased arbiter of good taste, I added goldenrod to the mix...

and finished it with the lace that used to adorn every little girl's wardrobe when I was a wee one.

Vintage fabric, vintage pattern, little spicy color added.  Size 3t-4t. Hope you like it!  It will be in the store tomorrow!