Results tagged “recycle” 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.

Sweater Surgery by Stefanie Girard is one of the most fun books I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. My library is full of resource books, books with great patterns, foundation books and go-to books but not many FUN books. It is kind of scary at first shrinking and cutting a sweater but there is a freedom that regular fabric cannot give. Mistakes turn into great details, seams are lovely and size is irrelevant.

Stefanie takes you through everything you need to know to turn your old sweaters into something new and special: toys, purses, different sweaters or any accessory your wardrobe is lacking. She talks you through picking a sweater for your project or vice versa, felting (washing machine and needle), tools and notions, deconstruction, reclaiming yarn, you name it. Stefanie shows the reader how to look at the details of a sweater and use them to their best advantage: the bottom ribbing of a sweater becomes the cuff of a mitten, the buttons of a cardigan are the central design on a bag, and the reverse of a fair isle becomes an endearing softie. The projects are a little bit crazy and a little bit bold but only because of Stefanie's sweater choices. The bones of each project are on trend and adaptable to many styles. There is something for everyone because you can make it your own with sweater choices. The fabric necklaces in the book may be too bold for you but if you choose neutral colors and amber colored beads, the whole look of the necklace changes. It becomes a remarkable accessory, a conversation starter upon close inspection but not a neon sign.

Stefanie also includes home accessories in Sweater Surgery that are amazing. Just imagine soft, luxurious sweater pillows to snuggle with on your couch. Such pillows are costly and popular at all the high end boutiques but with careful selection at a local thrift store you can have the same look for under $10 instead of hundreds. There are also some great holiday decorating ideas and projects in this book. 

Each project is well explained and some include patterns. In the back, there is inspiration with summaries of how to achieve the look yourself or to use as a starting point for your own creation. I chose to use a mistakenly felted cable sweater and turned it into a sweater dress for my little lady come winter. I cut up the center of the sweater and cut off the arms. I left the seams on the right side because I really dug the look in some of Stefanie's inspiration photos. I stitched with a 2 in seam allowance on the sides and then cut the seam down to ¼ in. I then stitched up the center with a ½ in. seam, leaving 2 in. open at the top (to make it easier to get it over her head). I cut 8 in off the arms and sewed the arms back on with a ½ in. seam stretching to make the arms fit. I trimmed all the seams to ¼ in. The dress fits perfectly and looks even better (it will be great paired with some polka dot or striped leggings). I may use the left over arm for a softie or arm warmers for me when knitting in the cold. This book has got my blood pumping for more sweater projects and I am excited to reuse some of my old sweater instead of tossing them.