Deconstructing to create a pattern

So I found this awesome t-shirt and I loved it so much, I went and bought another one to rip apart and use as the pattern, lol. Is this weird? I dunno...Anyway, I'm going to do a little sew along with pictures for informational purposes. I figured a t-shirt for $6.50 to rip apart was about the same price as a pattern, and it would save time instead of having to trace a RTW t-shirt and then do a couple of run throughs. Anyway, be on the lookout for my deconstruction sewalong coming veddy, veddy soon.

Amy Butler fabric for CHEAP - Part II

So I went back after the sale to Hancocks and I found more Amy Butler fabric. And guess what? The regular price of flatfold wovens is $1.99/yd, so I still got it for $1.99/yd and I found even more stuff. I found Michael Miller prints and a gorgeous border print, I can't remember the designer. And even more Playa Sur prints. Anyway, so check your Hancock's. I think Free Spirit must be getting rid of AB fabrics since she's jumping to a new fabric company, though I can't remember the name, lol, so that's probably why they are turning up for cheap.

Redesigning a T-shirt into a dress

This set was one of two I did for a trade with another sewing mama. I morphed a crossover t-shirt into a dress. I love this print, but it's cotton lycra and it decided to be difficult when it came time to sew it, lol. I think this is a Baby Nay print, it's the same manufacturer who does Baby Nay and I bought it at the same time I found a bunch of baby nay stuff.

Anyway, so I basically flared out the sides and lengthened the t-shirt into a knee length dress. Then I added leggings to complete the set. The sleeves and hem are lettuce edged as is the hem on the leggings. I love lettuce edging, I think it adds such a cute feminine quality to outfits.

The second set was done in a cute, cute polka dot knit, but the picture came out just horrific, lol. I could not get the colors to look normal in the picture, so you're just going to have to imagine it, lol.

Directions for turning a t-shirt into a dress (this can be done with any t-shirt, I just chose a crossover top pattern to do it with):
#1 Take the measurement of your child (or you) from the back of the neck down to the length of the dress. For a 2t/3t toddler, my measurement was about 20 inches.
#2 I take the back pattern piece for the t-shirt and lay it on some tracing cloth and lay my tape along it a the fold line. I start my tape measure 1/2 inch above the neckline of the pattern piece to account for the ribbing/binding of the t-shirt.
#3 Then I mark my measurement for the length (eg. 20 inches for 2t/3t toddler and add 1/2 inch for the hemline.
#4 I take my ruler and move up to the side seam about 1 1/2 to 2 inches under the underarm and I use my ruler to flare out the skirt of the dress. I trace the line of my ruler until I reach the hemline.
#5 I move to the front pattern piece and trace the upper part of the front pattern piece, then I use my new back pattern piece and lay it over to create the same hemline and flare of the skirt, by lining it up at the side seams at the underarm and tracing.

Have fun!!

I did it!!

I made a campshirt and it was really not that bad. It came out so cute!! I'll be making a lot more of these. Ds has claimed it for his own, I just can't get him to try it on yet, lol.

Yippee!!! I finally conquered my fear.

Amy Butler for CHEAP!!

I found Amy Butler fabric at the big Hancock's President's Day Sale for $1.99/yd!! Yippee! They had a "designer" flat fold table for $1.99/yd and there were lots of Free Spirit fabrics, all the selvages still intact so you could see who the designers were. There was some really nice stuff.

here is the one I found...

Sale lasts through tomorrow if you wanna check your own Hancocks.

Camp shirts - yikes! and coverstitch machines

I'm attempting to psych myself up to master camp shirts. I can't believe I'm scared of these things and I want to make one, lol. I'm going to attempt it tonight. Dh just left out of town for 2 weeks, he's on his way to England for business. The kidlets and I took a nap at 9 pm and woke up around 11 pm, we are going to be up all night, I think, ugh, but we've all got this upper respiratory thing.

Dh is bringing home my Brother coverstitch machine! Weird, I know, but there was a UK dealer selling Brother coverstitch machines for roughly $350 US dollars during Xmas and these suckers sell for $700-$1000 here in the US. Not only that, but they delivered it to dh's office in the UK for FREE. Woohoo! So dh is bringing home a couple of converters and my coverstitch machine. I'm so excited!!

Okay back to campshirts or is it camp shirts? I dunno. I've got one of my Ottobre magazines, I think it's 2/05 and I'm going to go make a rough draft copy for ds right now. Wish me luck. I'll post pictures later. I think I'm mostly worried about the collar coming out right. Ugh...

On another note, we're on pins and needles over here. Dh is the lead candidate for a new job in GA. My entire life is in TX, so the thought of moving to a new state away from everything we know and love is just frightening. But the salary is just too good to pass up, we will get so far ahead and have no debt. My mother, on the other hand, is thrilled, somebody she can go visit, lol, and we'll be fairly close to Disney, lol, we are disney freaks, lol. They are supposed to call ME next week to let him know, since dh is out of the country and his cell phone is company provided. I'm so nervous for him. I can't shut up about it, and I've been driving him crazy, lol.