Results tagged “green sewing” from Fabric.com Blog

Its spring and that means sprint cleaning. Spring cleaning in my house starts in the closest but before I place any t-shirts in the "donate" pile I give them the once over to see if they are good for projects. My husband's t-shirts are especially good for kids' clothes. His shirts are usually large so they come with a lot of material to work with. My youngest is growing so fast and with warmer weather coming I need some cooler pajamas for her to sleep in. In cold weather she loves the footed PJs but she is hot-natured so I decided on some short-alls. I found this great pattern on Pinterest by Feather's Flight. . It is an excellent pattern for size 6-12 mo. though it is large if your baby is on the wee side (50% or below).

There are a few things I would change before making another (I'm a sucker for short alls so I will be making more). First, the size changes that she outlines in Step 10 I would make them to the pattern before you cut. You know your kid's head so you can adjust the pattern before cutting. This makes it easier later. I didn't and tried to wing it and ended up taken it in too much at the chest. This makes it difficult to get my daughter's arms in but I can just add a strip under the arm if I want her in it longer.

Second, I really recommend a crew neck shirt for this and also it should probably be a man's shirt. Most women's shirts are slim fit so they don't have enough materials for all the extras like facings and crotch pieces. Look for men's shirts with cool graphics, slogans or pictures. My husband was gifted a funny shirt with a graphic that says "I have gas". I thought it would make cute Pjs for my little one given my baby's love of tooting. It looks adorable and quite funny.

Third, next time I will be cutting the sleeves in a bell shape. I had trouble getting her arms in and some of that was because the arms are slightly narrow. I think a slight flare will help with that. I also believe it is because most baby clothes are made from narrow ribbed knit which gives them a lot of stretch where as t-shirt fabric has much less stretch.

Lastly, I recommend 5 snaps instead of 3. There is a good amount of gaping with 3 snaps. I also don't recommend Velcro as a fastener. There is a sleep factor that must be taken into consideration. Whether your baby is asleep when you must check the diaper or almost asleep, ripping Velcro is surprisingly loud and even if you do it super slow the sound doesn't decrease. I used our Babyville Plastic Snaps; they are wonderful and so colorful. You can read more on them here.

I heartily recommend this pattern. Because you are starting with material that already has hemmed and bound edges this outfit goes together so fast. Couple that with using a t-shirt that is already decorated you can create a super delightful get-up for little ones that you still have time for a shower, or even- gasp- making something for yourself.

Remember back in November when I first took a stab at a project from Sewing Green by Betz White? Well, I decided to take another go at the Easy, Breezy Skirt for Earth Day. I really like my original skirt but have decided to take the pattern up a notch for Earth Day to inspire our readers with the versatility of the pattern. My first version used a pillowcase, but I wanted more volume for my second try so I decided to use the matching flat sheet that came with the pillowcase. If you don't have a great sheet laying around to cut into you can use1 ½ yds of quilting cotton or 1 yd of 56-60 in. apparel fabric (like our Tropical Hemp fabric).

I had the picture in my head of a hybrid of a Paper-bag Skirt and a Ruffle-topped Skirt. The modifications I added were that I started with 2 rectangles of 25 in. by 26 in. which I cut using the existing hem as suggested by Betz White. When it came to sewing the elastic casing, I folded over the top 5 in. towards the right side and with a 1 in. seam allowance stitched the elastic casing-this created the top ruffle. Before adding the elastic I added a double turn hem to the top of this ruffle.

Because of the added volume and length (I made this skirt longer than my previous), I can make this skirt do double duty as a strapless tunic. It looks amazing with a chunky belt (try my free fabric belt pattern) and jeans.

This is just one way to recreate this great eco-friendly pattern. You can layer 2 or more pillowcases to add more color or texture. You can sew on some knit ruffles to create movement or if you opt for a solid colored sheet (like me) or pillowcase you can add some great embroidery from Sublime Stitching. I recommend purchasing Sewing Green book for your library so you can make your own version of the Easy, Breezy Skirt plus anyof the other 24 great projects.

Sewing Green is a great book to enjoy on Earth Day; not only does Betz White encourage you to work from existing goods but to also grab from your stash. She also highlights other Green Fabric Lovers so this book is full of eco-inspiration. However, should your stash be in need of replenishing, check out our Organic and Eco-friendly fabric section!