Spring Refashion, and More Spring Cleaning

Remember the to-do pile in my sewing room I mentioned a couple of weeks ago? I finally started tackling it!
This refashion started out as a hugely too big skirt.

I picked this skirt up at Goodwill the same day I bought these shirts. It was too big, but the tags were still on, and the material was so comfy. At $1.49, I couldn’t leave it behind.
This was such a quick refashion.

Here’s a breakdown:

1. Try the skirt-soon-to-be-dress on, and pin the (top) sides to fit.
   
2. Take the dress to the sewing machine and put under the needle at the pin mark.
   
3. Line a piece of masking tape up with the side seam. This will be your sewing line. (I was too lazy to measure and pin the dress.)
   
4. Sew from top to bottom. Make sure the side seam is lined up with the tape, and the ends are lined up. Sew using stitch appropriate for material.
   
5. Try new dress on. If it fits, good, if not- make adjustments.
   
6. When dress fits cut extra fabric from sides. This will be used for the straps.
   
7. Sew the fabric pieces into tubes, turn right side out.
   
8. Match the unfinished ends of tubes, and sew to the center top front of dress.
   
9. Finished!
   

My favorite thing about this refashion? It’s a two-for-one! Pull the dress over your bust, and tie the straps halter-style around your neck for a cute, comfy dress.

Pull down to your hips, and tie the ties around your waist for a belt. Now you have a go-anywhere maxi skirt.

What do you think?
On to Cleaning Business…Project #16 is deep cleaning the bathroom. Our bathrooms were in pretty good shape, but I still cleaned them. (Even though I tried talking myself out of it.)
When I tackled the bathroom closet last week, I didn’t have the chance to take care of the medicine cabinet, or under the sink cabinet. So that is where I poured my love today.

The medicine cabinet (top): The top two shelves belong to the hubby, so I didn’t do much there. I cleared everything out, wiped down the shelves, and put hubby’s stuff back. I went through my stuff (bottom shelf), tossing items I didn’t need.
Under the sink (bottom): Same process, I pulled everything out, washed it down. Then I purged products that were almost gone, or that we didn’t use, and put everything back. (I also decided to store the toilet brush in here. I kept picturing a toddler sword fight. )
It doesn’t look much different, but I know it is clean. All of the bathroom cabinets have been cleaned and purged!
Are you cleaning along? If so, are you finding that it is getting easier each day?

Partying here:

Mama’s Cutting Up Daddy’s Shirts, Again!

Do you remember this shirt? I made that shirt over four months ago, and the boys hadn’t worn it until last weekend.
Reason #1, I had only made one shirt. Reason #2, that upside-down decal was quirky, but annoyed the crap out of this perfectionist.
This is one downside to being a crafty mama of twins (and the reason I temporarily traded my knitting needles for crochet hooks). You have to corral your crafting ADD, and make two of everything. This is also why I do not knit socks, can you imagine having to make four!
Here’s the first refashion, refashioned:

I covered up the upside down decal with a Triceratops applique. The design was copied from a coloring book, cut out from t-shirt material, and fused on with Wonder-Under (doing a little experiment).

The second shirt was also one of hubby’s donations. I used the same method and pattern. T-Rex came from the same coloring book and was applied in the same manner.
I am in love with making these shirts for my boys. Absolutely free (always a good price in my book), simple and straight forward, and minimal time investment required. Not to mention how handsome my boys look.
Now that I have two under my belt, I am trying a couple of different methods to save a little finishing time. I’ll keep you updated.
I am thinking that we may need some pants. Do you have any favorite pants patterns? If so, leave a link in the comments, I would love to give it a whirl!
Thanks for stopping by!
Participating here:

Bring On Baseball; Little Man Refashion

The melting snow signifies one thing around here. Not the end of the school year, or tulips and daffodils, not even hot dogs and campfires. What else is there, you ask?

Baseball season! My stepson keeps us busy from spring through summer with baseball. Hubby plays men’s softball through summer. Needless to say, we are a busy baseball-loving family.

The boys were in need of team apparel. I had an image in my head, and boy was I excited. I actually jumped up and ran to the basement in search for a red t-shirt I could cut up. No such luck. Then after tearing my own closet apart, I begged every family member to search their closets, while I may or may not have been looking over their shoulder “in case they missed something.” Still, no red t-shirts.

What’s a mama to do? I patiently (or not so much) waited for the little guys to take their nap, then told hubby I was headed to Goodwill. “You better come home with a red shirt.” I guess he may have been a tad bit annoyed with my sudden urgent t-shirt need.

I found the perfect shirt, for half off; .99! The blue shirt was in our donate pile. An hour after washing the tees and .99 later, I had 2 shirts for the boys to sport their school spirit.

These shirts came together easily. I drafted a pattern based on the one I used here.

Can you believe that I used to be afraid of t-shirt fabric?

Want to know how I did it? Stay tuned, hopefully I have a tutorial to share in the next week or so.

Do you share our baseball love? Want proof of our love? The boys had been to six ball tournaments before they turned eight weeks old! (Talk about starting them young)

T-Shirt Refashion for Toddlers

Hubby has earned/collected a ton of t-shirts in his lifetime. He plays softball, bowls, and used to shoot darts. Every team needs a t-shirt right? What about if they win the championship? You guessed it, another t-shirt. (Hey, I guess it’s better than a trophy, how on earth would I upcycle all the trophies? )
My step-son is also involved in sports, so more t-shirts. We have hand-me-downs from my baseball/football/basketball playing nephew. Needless to say, we have a lot of t-shirts.
One of my 30 by 30 goals is to craft through my stash. Somehow these t-shirts ended up in my stash.
The twins need t-shirts. Specifically long-sleeved shirts. (Have you ever tried to buy long-sleeved shirts in February?)
Last week Melissa from Melly Sews posted a how to sew a t-shirt tutorial (and pattern). She made it look achievable, so I decided to tackle our t-shirt pile. Here’s the outcome:

The gray shirt was the first one I tackled. The project was a quick one, about half an hour. I used an XL men’s gray t-shirt for the body. The neck and decal came from a men’s large softball t-shirt.

This one was my problem tee. I was working at night, and that seems to be when I make stupid mistakes (like forgetting to not cut the fold, that’s why we have the layered sleeves). The quality is lacking compared to the gray shirt.
Melissa’s tutorial and pattern are wonderful! The hubby was so impressed, he mentioned going through his closet so I have more t-shirts. Thanks for supporting my stash busting hubby. Here’s a few tips:

• Use the biggest shirt possible. The orange shirt was small, causing a little frustration and creativity.
• To save time, and have a finished-looking project- use existing hems. This is why the sleeves are a little long, I didn’t subtract the extra seam allowance. Oh well, it works (and they grow, fast).
• Use the neckband from the old t-shirt. Just cut it off right above the serging. I unpicked the red collar during a car ride, too much work. The blue collar I just cut. They had the same effect.
• Want a cute ‘boy’ applique? Look in your coloring books. I traced the animals from a coloring book. Then I traced it onto fusible stuff. Ironed it onto scrap t-shirt. Cut it out, and ironed it onto the finished project. I didn’t sew them down, too many small details. (I’ll let you know how they hold up.)
• If existing t-shirt has details you like, use them. (For example, the name on the sleeve.)
• Toddlers are awesome to practice your skills. The project is usually small and quick. Also, they rarely stay still, so any imperfections that you are hung up on are not noticeable to the general public.

Have you done any boy refashions? If so, share them in the comments, I am always looking for more things to sew for my boys.
Here’s to a wonderful week!

Partied here.

365 days of Creating for Cash Update 1

Its ten days into 2013. Usually any resolutions I have made are long forgotten be now. What about my commitment to Create for Cash?

As you may remember from last week, I set a goal of Creating for at least 30 minutes every day for a year. Can I do it? So far, mostly, yup. Here’s a breakdown from the past nine days:

• 1st- 1 1/2 hours in sewing room
• 2nd- 1 1/2 hours in sewing room
• 3rd- 1 hour in sewing room
• 4th- 1 1/2 hour in sewing room
• 5th- I had some housework that had to get done during naptime, so I crocheted while the boys were playing. (30 minutes +)
• 6th- The boys wanted to party all night, so naptime also meant mommy naptime. Frogged dishcloth from yesterday, and started over. (30 minutes +)
• 7th- 1 1/2 hours in sewing room
• 8th- Took pictures, edited pictures, and started working on Etsy listings (talk about overwhelming!)
• 9th- 1 hour in sewing room

These are my (mostly) completed projects from this week, plus I have cut out a few in each pattern so they are ready for customization. It doesn’t look too impressive in photo; maybe I should have posted a picture of the stack waiting to be customized.

I have learned that ironing and cutting takes more time than anything. I also learned that although I love sewing and the final product, I truly enjoy the ironing and cutting process. Therapeutic of sorts.

I have also fallen into a routine that I enjoy. (You know me and routines. ) On the flipside, I still have to focus on being deliberate (see Saturday and Sunday).

I plan in the next week or two to discuss my routine (if it is still working), the how's and why’s of what I make, and my plans for other items.

What motivates you? How do you squeeze in time (or squeeze out productivity)?

Stash Crafting, Crossword Decor

You have heard about my hoarding issues. I’m trying to recover, I swear. Here’s my problem; I see a project I want to do, buy the supplies, and there it sits until I have the time. Call me an ambitious crafter. This wouldn’t be so bad except one thing, I forgot what project the supplies were for when I do finally find the time. Does anyone else suffer from craft amnesia?

I bought this Scrabble Turn Tile game at a garage sale two summers ago (er… may have been three summers ago…) I had grand ideas. But I forgot what they were.

While corralling my craft clutter I pulled them out, wanting to make Scrabble gift tags/ornaments like these. But the Turn Tiles are much bigger than regular Scrabble tiles. The gifts would have been at least ten inches long for some names, and that’s using nicknames. I’m looking more for classy, not gaudy. Scratch that idea.

So I started messing around with our kids names, and came up with a crossword style board. Luckily it works for our family’s names. I found a cute piece of scrapbook paper that I think will look decent in our living room once it is painted.

I used glue dots and stuck the tiles to the paper. I found a 12 x 12 frame at Jo-Ann, and used my coupon to get it cheap. I really wanted a shadow box, but knew if I waited until I found one this project would sit in that corner of the room where unfinished projects go to die. So I used two-sided tape, and stuck the whole thing right to the glass. (I may be a bit redneck…)



Some of the paper under the glass is visible(never should have trimmed that scrapbook paper…), but I can fix that if it really bothers me. I figure I’ll leave it as is. Eventually it will get on my nerves and I will find the shadow box.

This project was so quick, just like most of the others on my list. Obviously this is where I need help. I need to find the motivation to just start.

Do you have any quick projects waiting patiently to be finished? If so, go do it! It feels good to mark something off of your to-do list.

See you tomorrow for part 5 of Letting You In.

Pinned it, Crocheted it! Am I Too Old For a Slouchy Hat?

I have a huge Pinterest addiction. I am positive that I’m not alone. This turns into a problem for people like me, people with to-do list issues. Like most other pinners, I pin, and then never do…
Well, I can finally mark off a to-do. I had pinned this slouchy hat pattern from Jenn Likes Yarn. (This has been repined over 125 times!) Since this pin was so popular, I decided to go for it.

Here it is, mommy’s totally selfish crochet project:



I used Lion Brand Micro Spun in Turquoise. This is a sport weight yarn, which was thinner than the yarn used in the pattern. I still used the recommended G/5.00 mm hook.

I tend to be a tight crocheter, so I usually have to add an extra row or two of increases. Combine this with the thinner yarn, I made 2 more increase rounds for a total of 88 stitches.

*I did make one mistake. I was worried that the hat was going to be too slouchy for my preference, so when I got closer to the crown, I decreased down to 80 stitches. This resulted in a tighter band. Too tight when I dropped down to the recommended H hook for the brim. I had to pull it out, and continue with the G hook.

This pattern is very well written. If I had used the same yarn used in the pattern, this hat would have been perfect. It is also a quick project. I was finished in a day (a day with twin toddlers), including figuring out additional increases, and ripping out a handful of rounds.

Here’s a problem, my step-daughter and I were watching the Disney channel. These hats were very abundant. (If you are looking for a teen gift, this is it!) This brings me to my question:

Is very-close-to-thirty too old to pull off this trend? (Okay, I know its not too old for most, but I am not a trendy momma.)

Hope your weekend was wonderful!