T-shirt refashion (handsewn edition)

In the age of electric sewing machines, hand sewing seems like a thing of the past.  It is alive and well my friends.  Hence this project.  At least the first part of it anyway.

So, I needed a project for a three hour car ride to and from the airport.  And because children’s clothes use less fabric, I decided to make something for none other than Curly Cutie.  I am determined to use every piece of clothing given to me by my neighbor before she moved.  Remember the first t-shirt refashion I completed from said clothes?  Ha!  Actually Curly Cutie is wearing the shirt today.  She loves it.  On to our next subjects.

 

 

Armed with a pattern, these t-shirts, scissors, and pins I was ready to take this project on the road.  I decided to use the floral print and solid red t-shirts to make CC a dress.  I thought I would use the white shirt to add ruffles or something, but I nixed that.  I completed the project in well under the three hours.  There were some things I didn’t have to do since I used finished garments.  No hemming or finishing seams.

 

 

I removed the sleeves from original shirt.  Cut those down to size and reattached.  Left neckline alone.  Cut off bottom.  I sliced the floral print shirt right underneath v-neck and just used bottom portion.  There was only one problem.  When we got home and CC tried it on it was way to big.  She also made a request to have it sleeveless.  So much for ALL my hard work.  Lol.

 

 

That’s what I get for trying a new pattern and not sticking to what is tried and true.  Using a piece of nice fitting clothing as a pattern.  No need to fix a method that’s not even broken.  If CC would be able to wear this, I had to go back in and fix it.  It was kinda sad having to pick through those hand stitches.  Since I was at home, you already know I hopped on my machine to get the job done.  This in no way took away from my appreciation of hand stitching.  I learned that if I needed to do it, I could.  Being that I don’t have to right now, I won’t.  Lol.

We both really like the final product.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not all that comfortable just yet with finishing knit armholes.  For this project I just used the hem of the original sleeve and added it to the tank part.  Turned out great.

 

 

And this is another way we are doing clothes for CC the easy (inexpensive) way.

 

 

 

A holiday gift

There is a special woman in my life that has encouraged me from the first day we met.  She’s the kind of person that sees things in people that they might not see in themselves, and continues to talk about those things until she sees fruit from it.  She adores my family, and cannot keep herself from bringing our children gifts at least once a month.  Seriously.

One day she was telling me about her recent trip to a craft fair and all the goodies she saw.  There were beautiful Christmas-themed table dressings she had her eyes on.  She mentioned her desire for a holiday table runner.

My wheels began turning, and I decided I would make one for her.  Her style is very different than my own, so I did a lot of praying while I walked through the fabric store.  If I had my way, it probably would have been black and white.  I really hoped she would like my selection.  Only time would tell.

When I got home, this is what I had to work with…..

 

 

I forgot to mention my project inspiration came from a lovely lady over at the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  They are pretty much amazing.

 

 

It was very helpful to have a tutorial to follow since I had never attempted a project like this before.

For the finished project….

 

 

 

 

With the leftover fabric, I decided to get a little jazzy and make a drawstring bag for the gift.

 

 

Last but not least, I wanted to sneak in a set of matching quilted coasters.

 

 

I was pretty happy with how things turned out.  I definitely took note of the areas I need to give special attention to if I make another project like this.  Sometimes I get so excited when working on projects that I just want to get it done.  I am learning that patience is my friend.  The project will get done.

Are you creating anything special to give this season?