Reverse Applique Top

I got an order for a top with a reverse applique flower on it, and got it out last week. I hope she likes it!

 I love the colors she chose.

I've got the picture lightened up quite a bit, but it's a navy blue top with a bright green flower. The colors really pop together.

Make it a pocket tee.....

My children's birthday was last week. One of them is a huge Hunter Hayes fan and for her birthday she had asked for tickets to his concert in Dallas, so that's what she got.  Well, in keeping with that theme, I decided to make a customized shirt for her. I settled on a pocket tee with a custom pocket.

I chose a picture of her with Hunter Hayes from a concert that she had been to earlier in the year where she also purchased the 'coffee house experience' so that she could meet him.

I ironed freezer paper to a piece of off white fabric and then cut the fabric to match the size of the paper. (Be sure to iron it with the wax side to your fabric.) Then, I just ran that through our ink jet printer.

(I messed it up on the first go round--I put it in with a seamed side starting off which was too thick--so I got a little extra ink on the other end.)

After I printed my picture on there it occurred to me that I might should have done something special to the fabric. I got online and found some information saying that I should have treated the fabric with something before printing and then follow that up with a separate treatment after printing or the whole thing would wash off with water. I was in a panic!!! Then, I remembered that I had a Tide To Go pen in my desk drawer (I printed it at the office) so I tried that. First I tried to rub off the part where I had messed up and nothing happened. Then I tried a corner of the picture and, as you can see, it didn't even smear. What a relief!!

So I cut out my pocket leaving plenty of room around the edge of my picture.

Then, I hemmed it across the top of the pocket, folded the edges under, and attached it to the t-shirt.

So there you have it! It was quick and easy.

But best of all.........she loved it!!!

Made over Tee

I can't believe that once again it has been forever since I posted!! School for the kids has already been a little crazy. We're all still getting used to the fact that they are now in high school. Them because they have a whole new set of responsibilities and expectations. And me because, well....my babies are freaking in high school! How does that happen so fast?!

So far in the three weeks since school has started there have been three colds, two cases of chiggers,  and one sports injury. Hoping that the next three weeks are better!

Anyway, all of that to say that I'm staying busy, but having a hard time finding the time to blog. I have had a few orders to ship out so that's been a good thing.

I also made myself a new shirt. I started with a teal colored t-shirt. I cut out the neckline and cut the sleeves to be more flattering. Then I drew a flower near the neckline with chalk. I pinned a grey piece of jersey knit (I cut it off of a t-shirt that was destined for the rag pile) and stitched over my chalk lines by hand using a big straight stitch. Then I went back and cut away the top layer of fabric to form my petals.

I really like the way it turned out. I'll have to come up with some more designs and make others.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Gift

A few years ago I bout a Christmas sweater at Goodwill for the sole purpose of making a pillow with it. Well, since then my mother-in-law has been trying to sneak it out of the house and take it home with her. I've been looking like crazy to find another one but since people started having ugly Christmas sweater parties it's almost impossible to find one. But, that's because I was always looking when it was close to Christmas. I finally found one but it was in early June.

So, I took this sweater....

And made this pillow.....

She's going to be so happy when I give it to her.

It's really just a pillow cover because I left all of the buttons in tact and operational so she can just unbutton the sweater and take the pillow out if she needs to. It's also very quick and easy to make. I didn't have to take in the sides of the sweater at all so all I did was cut it off at the top, turn it inside out and stitch the top and bottom closed. I turned it back to right side out, inserted the pillow, and buttoned it back up. Piece of cake!!

I can fix that!

So, some time back I bought this shirt online and once it arrived it was too tight in the bodice so I gave it to my daughters. They decided that they like the shirt, but not the long sleeves.

Somewhere around the same time I also bought these pants on ebay. When they arrived I found that the flare in the legs was pretty major.....like I couldn't see my feet at all.

So, I was trying to decide how to take in the flare on the jeans because the seams on the inside of the leg and the outside are finished off and anything I did would be noticeable.

Then one day an idea struck me and I decided how to make things work out so that we would all be happy. I did the only logical thing. I cut the sleeves off on the shirt and the flares off on the pants. Woohoo!

I hemmed the sleeves on the shirt. Done! And the girls are happy with it.

I just have to add here that every time I use my sewing machine my husband gets a whole new set of brownie points for buying it for me!!

Just look at the beautiful job it did when I hemmed the sleeves on this sheer fabric!!

I took the lace that was in the middle of the sleeve and down at the cuff and separated it from the fabric. Then I stitched it together in one long strip.

I turned up the raw edge on the jeans (with right sides touching) and stitched the lace around the bottom and again around the top of the lace.

Ta-dah!! New capris.

And they're cute too!!

So now we're all happy.

I love it when I can take the things I am unhappy with and turn them into things that I AM happy with.

Quick Refasion

When I was just looking through Craft Gossip (which I often do) I came across a great tutorial for turning a hoodie into a cardigan. Of course I clicked over to check it out.

The tutorial for it is at Coca Cola Island (you can go directly to it here) and it really is super easy.

I asked the girls for one of their hoodies that they didn't wear too much anymore and Abigail was the only one willing to take the chance.

I didn't think to take a before picture, but it was just a hoodie. :0)

I also didn't print out the tutorial and my computer at home is sick with a nasty virus so I can't use it. I had read through the tutorial and had to go by memory and I still managed to do alright.

 (I couln't get her to put down the popsicle or change out of her pajamas for the photo shoot. LOL)

She's pretty happy with it. At least that's what I'm assuming since she's already worn it to school. That makes me happy. And really, it doesn't take long at all. 

I think the only thing I really did differently than the tutorial said was that I didn't 'cut' the zipper out, I used my seam ripper and took it out to keep the nice edge that was already in place and to save the zipper. Win - win!

Sweatshirt Refashion

I saw this post (it has a tutorial) awhile back and decided that I needed to try making a sweatshirt into a vest for myself.

The other day I was going through the clothes that my son had pulled out to get rid of and found this black sweatshirt. I don't think he had ever even worn it.

The tutorial says to use a sweatshirt that's a little smaller than you would wear, so this one was perfect.

I got out my scissors and went to work. I cut off the arms, the bottom band, and around the neck. Then I cut it up the middle. I used a plate as a guide for rounding the bottom and around the armholes. I cut it into a racer-back style in the back.

By the way, that's all you need for this refashion. Just scissors. There's no sewing involved.

When I was finished cutting, I wound up with this.

I actually wore it belted but I had already taken it off when I remembered I should take a picture. lol

It was quick and easy - two of my favorite things!! My girls are all out of town right now so they haven't seen it. I'm pretty sure that when they do they'll be going through their clothes in search of sweatshirts to cut into themselves.

And yet another shirt...........

I bought this shirt to go with something else, but it didn't work for that. I found another one that I liked better.

I found some bling (I don't know what else to call them because they're not really beads) on clearance at HL which I bought in several colors.

(I bought them just becaue they were on clearance and I was sure I could do something with them....we've all been there haven't we?)

Anyway, it took a few days for me to put the two purchases together in my head with an idea.

I used a fabric pen to mark my placement points. Then I hand stitched them into place.

I've already worn the finished product and I loved just the touch of flash that it gave to the shirt without being over powering.

Back to shirt refashioning

Ha! I guess I can't go too long without showing a shirt make-over.


I wonder if there is a twelve step program for this? lol


Anyway,


I had these two shirts that I didn't wear much. One was too short and one was too low cut.

(Pardon my helper in the picture. She doesn't quite understand 'move' when I say it.)

I've been seeing all these posts from other bloggers that put ruffles onto shirts to re-do their look. I'm not usually much for ruffles so when I tried it I didn't make them terribly full.

I gave it my best shot at making some little gathered roses at the bottom of the neckline to help make it even a little less revealing.

I still need to work on that technique a little, but at least I have a shirt I'll wear now.

And what's even better is that I only used the sleeves off of the shirt that was too short. That still leaves me with options on doing something else with it. woohoo!

It's a refashion, but not mine this time.....

Abigail has been bugging me to get her a sewing machine. (Really that's just one of the things she's been bugging me about.)



Anyway, I told her that first she should learn to sew by hand because there are some things that can't be done on a sewing machine. And, if she learns the mechanics of how things work and/or go together it will only help when she is creating things on the sewing machine.


She has a bag of clothes in her room that she doesn't wear anymore so I told her to use those things to work with on creating something new.


Here's what she came up with.

The red was a shirt that she cut up and turned into a jacket. She took the bottom of the red shirt and used  to make the flowers and used the buttons from the red shirt for the center of the flowers.

She did a great job, didn't she?

I'm linking this bit of bragging to Tea Rose Home's Wednesday link party. Go check out all the other great things she and so many others have to share!

Yes, it's another shirt refashion....

My girls got a couple of bags of hand-me-down clothes a few months ago. There were many things that they liked that will be well used. The things that they didn't care much for have been passed on for others to use.


One of the shirts that Abigail liked, though, had a stain on the front and another on the back. She was really disappointed so I told her that I would see what I could do to fix it.


This is what I came up with.

I had a dress that I had kept from when they were little because I just loved the little blue flower print.

Anyway, I used the bottom of the dress to make a ruffle on the bottom of the shirt. Then I cut out flowers (it only took one to cover the stain) and stitched those on. There's a single flower on the back of the shirt covering the stain there.

It still didn't feel 'done' so I dug through my stash and found the blue buttons for the flower centers. Originally I had picked out all matching buttons, but I decided I liked the idea of each one being different instead.

Then, to finish it off, I cut the ties off of the dress, opened the side seams in the shirt, and added the ties.

Abigail was really happy with the makeover and I am too.

Yet another t-shirt refashion

I think I'm on a roll here.


This is another t-shirt I've had laying around forever.


I don't even remember why I bought it in the first place.


And I know that this is (at least) the third house of ours that it's lived in.


I'm glad i finally got around to doing something with it. :0)

I cut the shirt off under the sleeves and finished the raw edge with a zig-zag stitch using contrasting thread.

Then I put a few lines of shirring all the way around the top.

For the straps, I  cut the hem off of another t-shirt and turned it inside out. It almost felt like cheating. lol

I cut a flower design from that same other t-shirt and did an 'Alabama Stitching' type design on the shirt along with the reverse applique.

When I got finished, I felt like it still needed a little more pizazz (as my girls like to call it) so added the beads to the middle of the flowers.

The girls are happy with how it turned out, as am I. This is the first time I've done a design without copying it from somewhere else. Yeah me! lol

Another t-shirt refashion

This is another t-shirt that I had bought for ridiculously cheap. It was just a plain white t-shirt and I knew it needed a little sprucing up.

I wrote (one of) my daughter's name on a scrap piece of fabric.

I cut it out.


Then I sewed it onto the shirt sideways.

She loves it!

I just stitched down the middle of the letters so it will curl a little once I wash it.

Now of course I have two more to make after the others saw it.

I also took a little piece of the fabric and made the bow for the barrette. Maybe now we'll be able to see her face?

T-shirt refashion

I remade a t-shirt that I had bought on a clearance rack for $2 or something like that.


I started with a shirt that was too big for me.

I cut it off right under the arms.

Then I used the fabric from the back of the shirt top to make straps.

Then I used elastic thread in the bobbin to put in a few lines of shirring on the back.

That helps it to stay a little more tightly against me. That way I don't flash anyone if I bend over.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It fits well and is comfortable to wear. I made sure to make the straps wide enough to cover my bra straps so that wouldn't be an issue either.

I would think that if you are using a shirt that already fits you could avoid the shirring in the back.

I've taken the time to be busy in my sewing room studio (sounds more sophisticated) and I've been loving it. If only I didn't have so much other stuff to take care of too. *sigh*

Hand warmers

I don't know if you're aware or not, but fingerless gloves are back in.


In a big way at our house.


Kirsten has been wanting some sssssoooooo baaaad (or so I'm told.)


Well, the other day she was putting away a basket of clothes and found a pair of black gloves and asked her Dad if she could cut the fingers off. Of course he said sure.


When I got home later she was thrilled to show me what she had made.




That's great....except they're MY gloves....or is that were?


Since she wanted that kind of thing I dug out an old pair of their tights--I don't think they ever wore them--and made a slightly different pair.





She thinks they're 'all that' and wore them to school.


By the way, the shirt she has on was a turtle neck the night before with long sleeves. She didn't wan't a turtle neck and the cuffs were stained so a pair of scissors took care of that. :0)

Wardrobe Refashion

I've asked the kids to go through their clothes and pull out the things that are too small or that they just don't want anymore. They are so skinny though that lots of pants still fit in the waist but have gotten too short. These fit into that category.



I just loved the plaid and hated to see them go so I decided that they could be a skirt.



I cut them off at an appropriate length. Cut the inseams out. Then sewed them together for the skirt. I used the remainder of the leg fabric to make the ruffle around the bottom. I would have liked for the ruffle to be a little more full but I couldn't match up the plaid for the remainder piece of fabric. Oh well, I think it turned out well and the girls are happy with it. Another plus, it only took about 30 minutes total to get it done. Not bad. :0)

More Refashions

What do you get from a too small dress and a plain black t-shirt?



You get two new shirts. lol Okay, probably not really the answer you were expecting but what can I say? :0)

I cut the neck a little bigger on the dress, cut off about the bottom half, and cut out the sleeves and back. Then I did a little shirring-you know, with the elastic thread in the bobbin (such a wonderful technique to learn)-at the back of the neck and along the back of the shirt just to pull in a little of the slack. The girls claim to love it. :0)



For the black t-shirt I just gathered part of the bottom of the dress and sewed it to the bottom of the t-shirt. I did cut off the hem of the t-shirt first. Then I used some of the left-over dress material from the shirt and reverse appliqued three cat head shapes down the left side of the shirt. The cat heads are all shaped a little differently (not on purpose mind you) but I still think it turned out okay. :0)

Re-fashion

I saw this picture a long time ago and cut it out to make someday.



So I already had this shirt and bought some fabric I thought would work well with it.



Since I only had a picture to go by I kind of made it up as I went along. The picture shows the shirts as jackets with big bow in the front but I knew I would wear it more if I made it a shirt instead so I put buttons in and left out the bow. Here are the results.



I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. Who knows, I may even give it another shot. :0)