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Posts Tagged ‘hand me down’

Embellishing Baby Bloomers – I heart these!

Posted in DIY, Scraps, TUTORIALS, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on July 8, 2011 | 4 Comments »

I’ve really been wanting to make Rosamund some of those darling ruffly fluffy baby bottom bloomers.  I have it on good word from my friend, Erin, however, that they take quite a bit of time.  Uh, yeah right – like I take “quite a bit of time” to do anything!

Soooo, I decided to go to work embellishing bloomers that I already own.  I mean, seriously, if you can buy them for $2 stinking dollars, why NOT!?!

Here is the first pair - "I 'heart' big butts and I cannot lie!"

These were really really easy…and they beat the heck out of taking “quite a long time!”

Here’s how to do it…

Pick a pair of store-bought, thrifted, or hand-me-down bloomers. I chose a pair that's a bit too big - longevitiy, baby! These are hand-me-downs which means FREE! Which means LOVE!

Cut out two identical shapes. Some of you might want to apply interfacing to stiffen the shape a bit. I chose not to because I like the fabric to be soft and gentle on her little tushie!

Put the shapes right sides together and sew around the edges. Leave a small opening for turning. (If you look at my seams, you'll see I first forgot to leave the opening. Had to pull out my trusty Seam Ripper!)

Turn right side out and press. Don't worry about sewing up the hole because you'll do that when you attach the shape to the bloomers. No sense doing a step twice, right!?

Decide where you want the shape to go and pin. Oh my goodness, we're almost done already!

Set your machine to a decently long stitch, I think I used a 4 or 4.5, and attach the heart to the bloomers. Be sure to sew pretty close to the edges so that you close the hole. (NOTE: you can do this project with one layer of the shape as a typical applique technique. I chose to take the extra step because I like the more pristine look of this version. Either way is good, it's a preference. Oh, and this version won't fray at all!)

Want to know something dorky? I really like looking on the inside and seeing how straight (or not straight) my stitches are.

Because I think babies should look like babies, I like matchy-matchy things for them! So, I also created this little patch. I thought I going to put it on a onesie...but I decided to put it on a diaper to use as a burp cloth. You'll see that the star/flower shape was created with the two-sided method but the heart was a simply applique. I like the pristine and edgy combo!

Here is Rosamund's fun little set. So girlie. So fun. I like.

Let’s face it – we’d all wear this if we could get away with it!

Breakdown:

COST: FREE if you use hand-me-downs and scraps.  Otherwise, definitely not more than $5.

TIME:  I forgot to keep track because I was also working on another heart project (coming soon)…but I’m guessing about 15-20 minutes.

GO make some!!!

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Ragamuffin Denim Shorts – how to upcycle cutoffs from His to Hers

Posted in Austin City Craft, DIY, Scraps, TUTORIALS, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 25, 2011 | 4 Comments »

What is most exciting about this project is the ridiculously low “cost per wear” of these used-to-be-jeans.  Originally, these were purchased for my son when was 3 years old.  They are a size 4T, so their intent was to be purchased big in order for him to wear them a long time.  And that he did!  As he grew, I cut them off to be worn as cutoff shorts last summer.  Nice!  (Have you realized that stores are selling cutoff shorts for about $30!?!)

Well, this summer Owen is almost 6 and can no longer wear them.  BUT WAIT!  Ellie is 4!  The show – er um CUTOFFS – must go on!

I just love them … and wait til you see the back!

Here’s how I did it…

I cuffed the shorts to the length I wanted them to be on Ellie and then pressed the creases. This gave me a line to cut so that I could cut all the way around accurately.

After I cut off the excess length, I created a flower 'stem' using extra wide rick rack. Pinned it down and sewed a straight stitch right down the middle.

I created a fabric flower and hand sewed it to the top of the stem. Then, for extra pizazz I added a covered button. You pretty much have to hand sew these ... trust me, if there's ever a way around hand sewing I will take it!

Then I created little hearts and sewed them on - again by hand, with embroidery thread so it's extra sturdy.

Ellie wanted flowers and hearts. I, of course, wanted RUFFLES! So I added them to the legs.

And here is what I/we ended up with ... just a fun pair of ragamuffin cutoff shorts that I love .. and I'm pretty sure she does too!

So once again… this project was FREE!

I used an old pair of cutoffs and scrap fabric.  If you don’t have any official scraps, please please please don’t buy any fabric for this … just find something in your closet that you don’t wear anymore and cut it up!  How fun!

That’s all for now.

Please remember to check out my latest venture: Austin City Craft.  The blog is completely in it’s infancy, but you’ll get the point!

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How to UPdate a Hand-me-DOWN!

Posted in DIY, Scraps, TUTORIALS, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 17, 2011 | 3 Comments »

I am a firm believer and enjoyer of hand-me-down clothing, especially for babies!  So, I was thrilled when my aunts delivered a HUGE bag of clothing from my cousin’s baby girl.  It was a lot of fun going through it all, and I kept most of the pieces just as they were … except for this one:

Yes, this is a cute little pair of overalls. HOWEVER, it's stinking 150 degrees here on the face of the sun, so there's no way I could subject Rosamund to wearing these. Not even for the sake of fashion!

So I transformed them!

Read on…or should I say “view on” for the tutorial on how easy it is to transform a pair of overalls into a darling dress!

Start with your overalls. Duh.

Grab a piece of your favorite scrap fabric that you've been dying for something to use it for! My piece here is roughly about a half yard, maybe 1/3 yard. (You know me, I didn't measure it, who has time for that!)

Before you cut your fabric, cut the legs off the overalls just below the bodice seam. I also cut off the back pockets in case I wanted to reapply them to the new skirt.

Now to cut the fabric - aaah, scary! Simply cut your fabric into two equal rectangles. Sew the sides together. Go ahead and hem the bottom. I just used a simply serged edge. If you don't have a serger, just use a typical hem.

Sew a gathering stitch (it's just the longest stitch on your machine - mine is a 6) all the way across each of the two upper edges. (sorry for the lame photo!)

To join the two pieces, turn your overall piece upside down...

Pull up the gathers on both upper edges and turn the skirt inside out (right sides together)

Tuck the bodice piece inside the skirt piece. Match up the side seams, pin, and sew.

Here's another lame-o photo, but you can see the pins and seam. NOTE: I was too lazy to replace my needle with a heavyweight needle, but I regret it! Since I was sewing onto denim fabric, I highly recommend taking the measely 3 seconds to put in a denim or heavyweight needle!)

But it all worked out nicely. In fact - I love it!

I chose to embellish one of the pockets with an easy flower and covered button. Then I reattached the pocket onto the front. Since little babies spend lots of time on their backs I decided not to put the pockets back there! You're welcome, Rosamund!

I also decided to make a little headband - just cut a strip from the bottom portion of the overalls, and attach elastic at the sides. Oh, and a little covered button adds some pinache.

Now you're ready to play dress-up with your little angel baby! ( If I didn't live in Texas, I'd put a little onsesie underneath the overalls, but goodness gracious - why add to the heat here!)

Now for the breakdown…

Time: If you don’t take the time to remove the pockets, you can do this in about 15-20 minutes.  No lie!  Removing the pockets takes some time because those puppies are sewn on tight!

Cost: FREE if you use scraps and hand-me-downs!  If you purchase, be sure to thrift the overalls so that it’s still inexpensive!

*click here if you’d like to learn how to make those little flowers that I put on the pocket.

That’s all for now.  I’m off to work on the City Craft sewing class!

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