Mending Week Part I & II: Jeans to Skirt

The creative girls at Making More With Less are hosting Mending Week, so I'm joining in!  My mending pile is smaller this afternoon after finishing 5 mending/upcycling projects this morning.  Up first was a too short/holey jean upcycle into a new skirt.  I used the little tutorial from Becky's Craft Closet as a guide. Instead of applique, I added  bias trim edging to the bottom and front & back pockets.

Abby refused to wear these overalls but really liked the dress I made Mally with her outgrown overalls last month.  Running with the same idea, I cut the overalls off to shorts length then opened both inner leg seams so I could easily add a twirly skirt and appliqued patches.  After finishing the skirt and appliques, I stitched the leg seams back together for a twirly skort overall.  I think she'll love them!

Stay tuned for more mending, upcycling and even a tutorial!
Also linked to:
Lucky Star Lane Lucky Linky

Trimmed With Love Birthday Dress

I have a new favorite creation, the Birthday Dress. This is a combination of ideas I've had brewing with a great result! Inspired by Courtney Courtney and Lil Blue Boo's flutter sleeves and sometimes full skirts, I drafted the pattern pieces for this one and came pretty close to what I wanted.  Mallory was so excited to try it on and even found gold shiny pumps for the occasion!

I tried a few new techniques on this dress.  For starters, I bought a vinyl decal and ironed it on my bodice.  This was regular-old wall vinyl so I'm not sure how it will wash but it looks great for now.  I'm planning to wash this one on delicate and line dry, so I'm optimistic it will work okay.  This was also my first time using spray starch to firm up my knits.  The striped knit is lightweight (and only $1.50/yard at Walmart!) and the spray starch did help unroll the edges and prevent the problem of my machines needles "eating" the lighter knit.  I used Heat n' Bond lite to cut out the circle applique and 3 applique - my first time using a knit for applique.  I was a little unsure if it would work because the knit is so light, but it cut and sewed wonderfully!  The number '3' I cut freehand using the inner circle from the front applique. The bodice is from my re-use t-shirt bag and ribbon is a remnant, so I had it all in my stash and it cost a total of $2.75 to make! 

For extra cuteness, I added lavender grossgrain ribbon trim to the flutter sleeves and bottom trim.   I really like the extra body the ribbon gives the sleeves and it adds fullness to the skirt.  Perfect for twirling!  To finish the ribbon trim I used a decorative stitch.

Mally is not at all modest yet, so I also made a pair of matching stripey shorts to wear underneath.  She refused to take these off and is napping in them now, so pictures of the bloomers will have to wait.  Mission:  Birthday Dress - accomplished!

Linked to:
Brown Paper Packages Wardrobe Wednesday.
Lilac Lane Trimmed With Love
Sumo's Sweet Stuff  Market Yourself Monday

So Many Sew-Alongs!

I enjoy a sew-along and right now there are many to choose from! I've already mentioned the (Make) A Bag Sew Along,

And added the button to Lilac Lane's Trimmed with Love Contest,

The Sewing Dork and Until Wednesday Calls are hosting a new project each week in June,

And Making More With Less is hosting Mending Week.

A Lemon Squeezy Home is hosting Sew Through The Decades and has an adorable scalloped skirt tutorial I want to try.

Crafterhours is hosting Skirt Week with 4 categories you may enter.

Lastly, Sew, Mama, Sew is hosting Make It, Wear It!  with helpful hints and tutorials on making and tailoring clothing for you!

So much sewing, so little time!  I hope to join in as many as I can manage.  Mally's birthday is next month so hopefully I can do her birthday outfit as part of the contests.  Any other fun sew-alongs you know of and want to share?

Whimsy Knotty Outfits

I've been hard at work on the girls' summer wardrobes.  This week I finished 2 outfits for Mally and one top for Abby, all using patterns from Whimsy Couture.  I own most of WC's patterns and like their simplicity and style.  For the pink argyle outfit I modified the Knot Dress, using only 1/2 the width and shortened the length to make a less full top. For the bottoms I used her bloomers pattern, adding a side band and lower band of fabric and capri length.  She loves them!

I finally used these coordinating red fabrics from J. Paganelli that I've been saving for something special...For Mally I used WC's Knot Overalls pattern, lengthening the bodice by 1" and adding a bottom ruffle in shortall length.

The remainder of the red fabric made a knot top like the pink one above only this time I lengthened the bodice by 2".  Matchy-matchy sisters are so cute!

I've also sewn 4 pairs of bermuda shorts for my girls and one pair for a student of Andy's.  This pattern for Bermudas & Gauchos was from You Can Make This.com- a favorite online store of mine- and ranges in size 4-14 so I'll be sewing it for years to come.  I added the cargo pockets to the shorts - my girls like to stash things :)

The pink argyle shorts were for an 8th grade girl who likes Mally's handmade clothes.  As a joke, Andy asked her if she would wear something I made...she said "Anything!" so he promised a pair of funny pants for her to wear the last day of school.  I think they're pretty cute, but not sure how a 14 year-old would feel :)

Drew is feeling left out, so I plan to make him a few pairs of shorts too.  I'm also planning to make some upcycled tank tops & dresses using Lil Blue Boo patterns.  I've had fun using the Sienna and Hoodie patterns and highly recommend them!  Any favorite summer patterns you'd like to share?

Weekender Tote Sew-Along Results

Sew Spoiled blog is hosting a sew-along for her Weekender Tote pattern through the month of May (pattern still available free on her blog!).  I'm a little ahead of the pack and finished my bag last weekend.  It's wonderful as a hip tote or would make a fantastic diaper bag by adding another pocket. I added a burnt flower corsage and think it's great!  On the inside, I also added a little loop to hook my keys on.  No more searching for keys!

I did encounter a few problems in my sewing;  possibly my error in cutting but I thought I had them all cut correctly.  These were minor issues and no problem for intermediate sewers to remedy. 
- Top band was too large for my pleated panels.  I had to cut off about 2 inches, then it matched well.

- Lining top was smaller than my outer bag top, so I trimmed down the outer bag to make them fit nicely.

-Bottom panel:  Just a pet-peeve of mine, but I do not like sewing bag bottom panels.  I find it difficult to get the corners crisp without folds or rounding.  I would much prefer to add 2 inches to the length of the main panels and add gusset corners like I did in Mama's Ruffle Shoulder Bag (example below).  The separate bottom panel does allow you to add a contrasting fabric on the bottom if you choose, but for me gussets are faster and easier.

I would recommend this pattern for intermediate to advanced sewers.  If you've sewn a handbag before you will do fine, but this could be confusing or intimidating for a newbie.  Instructions were good and the pictures helpful.  This is a wonderful free pattern, so get it while you still can!  Other Sew Spoiled patterns are available at her Etsy shop Sew Spoiled.  Her ladybug bags are darling and I really like the Mommy & Me backpacks.  More for my Wish List!

I'm on to my next sew-along , {Make} A Bag Sew Along.  Looks like fun!

Photo from Make blog