Upcycle T Shirt into Peasant Dress

Easy peasy tutorial!!  Upcycle a favorite t-shirt into a peasant dress for your daughter.

Materials:
1 Tshirt
1/4 to 3/8 inch width elastic

Step 1:  Cut off the top of the tshirt.  Make sure to do a slight upward curve at the sleeves so you don't end up with a V as you hem the sleeves. (I will take a picture of this close up in the next few days and post.)

Step 2: Fold over the neck and sew a casing.  Leave a small opening to insert the elastic.

Step 3:  Insert elastic using a safety pin.  Try on and wiggle around elastic to make sure you have enough, cut and pin. (I use about 18-20 inches for a 3-4T)

Step 4:  Sew elastic ends together.  Insert into the casing, and sew up the casing opening. 

Step 5: Voila! You're done!

Upcycle T-Shirts into Rosette Embellishments

I know my family always has a bag of t shirts that are too small just waiting for the next yearly garage sale.  But...you can use up some of those t shirts in a new way.  Just cut strips of various lengths and make rosettes.

This is a super easy way to use up old t shirts and give your baby a chic look.  It's also a great way to hide stains on solid color onesies or t shirts, too.  This same technique can be done on any other fabric or clothing item as well.

If you would like the downloadable version of this tutorial to save for later.  Please click the picture:

Materials

·         Onesie or t shirt

·         0.5 inch and 1 inch strips of old t shirts

·         Coordinating  thread

**These were onesies I had previously tiedyed.  You do not need to tiedye yours for this tutorial.  I just like tiedyed onesies.  A lot.  And I picked up used ones at thrift stores for super cheap and dye them all the time.

1.       Cut strips of t shirt roughly ½ inch to 1 inch in with by various lengths.  I do this from the leftover sleeves from making upcycled pillowcase style dresses out of old men’s t shirts.  

2.        To form the rosette, roll up a strip of t shirt in kind of a smashed way, like the picture.  Make sure to keep the ends tucked into the back of it.  The longer the strip, the larger and thicker the rosette will be. 

3.        Once you are happy with the size of the rosette, pin it on the onesie.

4.        There are two options to sew the rosette. 

a.        Beginning at the outer edge, sew around and around in a spiral until you finish off in the middle of the rosette – make sure you backstitch at the beginning and end.  Try to get as much of the fabric into your stitches so that nothing is loose. 

b.      Another option is sewing a big zigzag back and forth through the rosette, just make sure nothing is left loose.  With the red rosette, the zigzag design can easily be seen.

5.        Once you are satisfied with your rosettes, you’re done!  You can add some extra embellishments such as hotfix crystals as shown in the second picture below.

©2012 Stephanie Pass Sewing Chick Studio / The TipToe Fairy

The Toddler Sweater Coat Part 2

We're doing something weird with dinner. We defrosted some pork chops and hubby is soaking them for 2 hours in a brine to make them more tender and yummy.  Because of that, I had some time to finish up the sweater coat sew and show. 

Here is a close up of the sleeve.  I love the thumb holes.  Molly put her thumbs through them and immediately started sucking her thumb, which is odd because she is not a thumb sucker at all.  They were very easy to make, you just pull one of the pieces out of the serger's way to make a hole.  Funny, since every once in awhile, how many of us do that inadvertently when serging? 

Now here is a close up of the button placket.  I admit I was in LOVE with this turquoise sweater.  It was 100% cashmere and heavenly.  I tried to use it as much as possible.  I also loved the placket.  You can't see, but under button #2 it has a gathering that is just adorable.  I attached the placket when I attached the hood together at the same time. I attached them under the binding that goes around the entire edge of the coat.  Oh! Here you can see the waistband and the ties.  This way it's a little big now and we can tie it tighter, but as she grows into it, we can loosen the ties. 

Here is the back.  I made a shortened pixie hood.  I was afraid it would drag the floor if I made it too long.  It's really cute, especially when she has it pulled up over her head.  The front I made very wide and attaches fairly low onto the front of the coat.  I like how it's open, so if she's wearing a hat, it won't be too tight. 


This is the side view, so you can see the length of the hood.  To give you an idea of the size, I'm saying 18-24 months.  She wears 12-24 months size.  She's a tiny 16 month old.  She is always in the 5% for height and weight.  

And here is the little stinker.  I bribed her with rocking in the recliner by herself if I could snap a few pictures.  This was, unfortunately, the best one that gives an idea of the fit.  For the bodice, I used a nice black Banana Republic sweater in 100% italian wool with puffy sleeves in a size adult medium.  I felted it, and it shrunk down to probably around a size 6x.  Then, I put it on her and pinned it a more fitted size for her, and probably took about 4 inches off the width of the bodice and 2 inches off the sleeves.  I was able to keep the puffy sleeves, but you can't really tell in the pictures.  In real life, it's adorable with the puffy sleeves.

The Toddler Sweater Coat!

I Made this start to finish today! This is Molly's sweater coat. She would not sit still for pics so I put it on my baby mannequin. I made it from inspiration from the grown up versions by Katwise.
I am so pleased. It came out just lovely. It is made from upcycled wool, cashmere, and silk/wool blend sweaters. And it has thumb holes!!(Molly loves the thumb holes.)
I'll post more pics after dinner so you can see it all, including the adorable elfin hood and the back.