Tag: recycle

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Top Ruffles

I got this dress for $1, it was ripped in the back but turned out to be just the seam opening. Anyway, I loved the pink roses and figured it would make a cute top. I had a top from Pinterest that I really like, I found that I already had a pattern that was similar. Just had to make a few changes.

First, I cut the dress apart so it would lay flat to cut out. The Pinterest top had a ruffle around the top with the elastic casing lower. The pattern I had has the elastic around the top of the blouse. I had to add 2 inches to the top, back and sleeves to accommodate the ruffle. I also had to cut the back a 2 pieces, I just stitched the back seam before I stitched the side seam. Then I sewed the shortened sleeves.

I loved the bias ruffles on the sleeves but did not have enough fabric for them. I made gathered ruffles to the shortened sleeves. I don’t like them as much but the top is still cute. I gathered the ruffle on the end of the sleeve. I covered the edges with single fold bias tape around the end of the sleep and the underside of the arm hole. Then turned then to the inside of the top and stitched down the other edge. I also added the tape 1 and a half inches below the top ruffle for the elastic.

I measured my body form to determine how much elastic I needed. I cut the elastic and safety pinned one end to the inside of the top.

The another one to the end of the elastic so I could guide it through the bias tape.

Once the elastic was through, I put the top on my body form and made sure the elastic was pulled well so the “ruffle” had the shape I wanted. Again, I don’t like this as much as the one I was wanting it to be. I wouldn’t call it a fail because it’s still a cute, lightweight top for summer. Hope you like it.

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Pink Floral

I stated in my last post that I love the color PINK. I am always drawn to anything that has pink in it. So much that both my girls pretty much refuse to wear anything pink, lol. I got this dress for $6. Two things I liked about it was, obviously, it’s got pink flowers and that it has so much fabric, I thought there was a lot I could do with it.

I also liked the pink and brown together in the floral pattern. I decided I wanted to make a sun dress out of it and wanted to use a pattern. I had to go through several patterns before I found one that would work with the amount of fabric available. The entire dress is fully lined so I was able to use it as well. I cut the dress out.

Because the fabric is completely sheer, I cut 2 sets of lining fabric for it. One I used for lining, the other I put together with the floral fabric and treated them like they were one. I did not want to see the seams through the fabric. I sewed the pattern according to the instructions. Now speaking of patterns, I shop mostly at our local JoAnn’s for patterns and have never paid full price. I always go when they are on sale for the lowest price and get them then.

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Play Clothes

I always hated buying play clothes. No matter how inexpensive I found them. All the big superstores had the little shorts and shirts for less than $5-$10. But, I had a hard time wrapping my head around buying brand new clothes that I knew would be stained and grungy after one wear. I also hated sending them to school/daycare in something cute just to have it ruined before they got home. So, whether they’re playing inside/outside or at school, I decided making them play clothes out of my donation bag would serve me well. One, I was getting rid of the stuff not knowing if it would be used or go in the trash and two, it wasn’t going to cost me to get another use out of them.

So, I went through my donation stuff and found a couple of items I thought would work

Here are some of the items I used to make the pattern for the clothes. Pencil, scissors, craft paper.

I had to find a shirt and shorts that are currently the size I needed. I used them to make a pattern (I did not cut them up, Just folded at the seems and traced them onto craft paper)

I added a 1/4 inch seam allowance on the pattern. I cut the front and back of the shirt on the fold and used the bottom of the shirt so I would have to hem it when complete.

After I cut out the pieces, I sewed the side and shoulder seams of the shirt front and back. I then used single fold bias tape for the neck and arm holes. I started working on the shorts, and made a big mistake. Remember how I said my seam ripper is my favorite tool. Well, it got put to good use because I meant to stitch the front seam then the back seam, however, I ended up stitching the sides. I had to take them out and then I sewed it correctly. So once I stitched the front and back seams I could stitch them together at the sides then the crotch. I hemmed the legs and added elastic with a zig-zag stitch around the top of the shorts. I folded the elastic over and stitched again. Now, a trick I learned a long time ago is to add a piece of folded ribbon in the back seam of the shorts when sewing so you can easily tell which is the back. I have found that sometimes it is difficult to tell. So, here is the finished outfit.