Make Something Monday

I was asked by a friend to post a tutorial for my DIY man's shirt to tank top.  The pictures that I have are old, but I'll do my best to write a good description.  Feel free to ask any questions!

I took one of my husband's old T-shirts, laid it out flat and used one of my tank tops (that fit well) as a template.  I cut around it, and because T-shirts are made of jersey knit, I didn't have to worry about finishing the edges around the color, sleeves, and bottom.

I used the extra fabric that I cut off around the bottom to make the ruffle on top.  Super, super easy!  Set your machine to the largest zig-zag stitch, pull out your bobbin thread, and stitch over the bobbin thread.  

I pinned the ruffle where I wanted it, and sewed away! 

All in all, I think this took me about 15 minutes.  I think I need to go rummaging through my husband's clothes again, now.  This has made me want to do another one!

Make Something Monday

Here's a couple of projects that I finished last week.  The hats, bow ties, and hair bows are for a dance recital.  I love how they turned out!  The hair bows will most likely have rhinestones attached to them.  The kids that will be wearing these are between the ages of 4 and 6, so it will be absolutely adorable!

And this is another shirt refashion that I did.  I started with one of my husband's old T-shirts and a vintage doily.  I used my Cricut to cut a fleur de lis to use as a template, then cut it out of the shirt.

I pinned and pinned, and then sewed the doily in place.

Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.  Pretty cute, if I say so myself!  I also made a pocket out of another doily and added it to the front.  But... I put it too far to the left, so I need to fix that.

Make Something Monday! Infinity Scarf and Burlap Hair bow

How was your weekend?  Mine was wonderful!  I bought a serger this weekend.  I've been wanting one for months, and finally found one that fit my needs and wasn't over the top expensive.  I'm having so much fun with it!  And my little family of sewing machines is complete.  I have a regular sewing machine, an embroidery machine, and now, a serger!  I can make basically anything my heart desires!
     I picked up this remnant of fabric the other day at Hobby Lobby.  It's been in their remnant section for the last few weeks, and every time I went in, I wanted it.  So, on Saturday, I grabbed it.  It's just so pretty!  I had the lace shirt, and since I don't like how it fit me anymore, I've had plans to chop it up for a long time now.  Here goes!

From this

To this!

Isn't it gorgeous?  I love how this scarf turned out!  I plan on wearing it today, but since I've been sewing all morning, I'm not yet presentable enough to take a selfie with it on. :D

As you know, I make hair bows for a local children's boutique, and when I saw this burlap and lace ribbon, I couldn't pass it up!  I love the vintage look of it.

I can't show you how I make my bows, but I do use a different method than most bow makers use.

I attached a clip to the back, and here it is!  So pretty!  It's 4 inches wide, so not terribly big, but very, very pretty and feminine.

Have a happy Monday!

Happy Birthday to my 6 year old guy! (And a dye job.)

My middle guy turns six today!  I'm so proud of him.  He's pretty laid back and is so mellow about things, and for the most part is just an easy kid.  Happy birthday, Dude!  We love you so very much!

We'll have a party for him later on this week, but we're celebrating as family tonight with a special dinner of his choice and a cake.

Now on to business...  Make Something Monday!  Here it is!

So, I have this pair of jeans.  I like how they fit, and they really are cute, but, they're kind of flesh colored.  They looked pink when I bought them.  But, every time I've worn them, I've been asked if I'm wearing pants. Not a good thing.

I bought some Rit dye in tangerine orange, and thought I'd give it a go.  The instructions are fairly easy.  You have to mix the dye and then put it on the stove top and stir it for half an hour...  Here goes nothin'!

Stir, stir, stir



Oh, and wear gloves!~  This stuff will dye your hands.

Because these are made of cotton, I had to add a cup of salt.

When they were done, I washed and dried them.  I think they turned out pretty nice!

What do you think?  This was fairly easy and fun.  Probably something I'll be doing again.

Shirt Refashion

For Make Something Monday, I decided to redo one of my husband's shirts.  I really enjoy refashioning clothes.  It's SO much fun, and it's FREE!  (If you already own the clothes, anyway)  This is a XXL button up that my husband doesn't wear any more.

Thanks, Babe, for taking the pic!  This is the only one that he was home for, so I couldn't use his mad picture taking skills on the rest of them.

I put the shirt on my dress form inside out, and buttoned it up.  Then, I pinned away!

After I was done pinning, I tried it on just to make sure it fit before I sewed it up.

I LOVE my dress form.  It's a vintage adjustable dress form from the 1940s.

After I sewed up where I had pinned, I cut the extra fabric off.  I really like doing it this way simply because if the shirt is too tight or I don't like how it fits, I can just rip out the seams, and redo it, without having to worry about losing fabric.

Sorry about the bad selfies!  Like I said, my husband is at work, and I dare not trust my four year old daughter to take a decent picture. :)

It looks really cute belted like this with a pair of leggings.

The sleeves are dropped for a more relaxed look.  I didn't take the shoulders in at all.

Yes, I had to stand on my bathtub to try to get a full pic.  A girl has to do what a girl has to do...

I threw an oversized sweater over it, and I'll wear my boots with my leggings.  Super cute and comfy!  I actually like it a lot more than I thought I would!  What do you think?

Make Something Monday

 Or, in this case, makeover Monday.  My choice today was this pair of pants that I bought recently on a trip to visit family.  I absolutely fell in love with them, but I neglected to try them on before I bought them. (BAD Becky!)

Ignore the messy desk.  This is the only picture of the pants I had before I started to take them apart....  They're cranberry with a black paisley print on them and they're oh so cute!  They were also oh so tight!  So I decided to add a tuxedo stripe down the sides.

I opened them up on each side with my seam ripper,

And grabbed a pair of leggings with zippers on the sides.  Also an item that I loved, but...  They had all kinds of itty bitty snags on them.  Not attractive.

Press those seams down!

Pin, pin, pin!!  My stripes are about and inch wide on the bottom, where the zippers are, and they go up to 2 inches at the top.

Sew away!

How cute is that?

And they fit me so much better now!