Driftwood Cruisers Upcycled Dresses

 

I've posted a couple times before about my husband's hand crafted wooden bikes / cruisers. The Driftwood Cruiser logo is so cool, I got to thinking that I should snag a couple of t-shirts and make them into dresses for the girls.

Since the t-shirts are black, I wanted to cute-sy them up a little bit. I have quite a bit of red and white stripe interlock leftover from making the twirl skirts  so I used that to make the sleeves and create a 'bubble' band around the bottom of the dresses. I used red ribbed knit for the arm bands & the neckband.

The dresses turned out even better than I 'saw' them in my brain! :) So next year, when we head to Barrett Jackson - the girls will absolutely sport these dresses! I think they make a good marketing tool!

How do I get them to pose together? I don't. I ask them to twirl in the hopes of at least getting them both in a frame!

 

Pattern Used: Lil Blue Boo Sienna Dress Pattern. Modification - add bubble band to bottom of dress at 75% of the circumference of the bottom hem. Add band to sleeves too.

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Festive Romper turned Dress

By  now, the cat's out of the bag: I'm currently obsessed with Lil Blue Boo's patterns, and I love sewing with knits. This is Ashley's Maliboo Romper Pattern, which is the most recent clothing pattern of hers. When she released the pattern, she offered a giveaway on her blog and I was lucky enough to win one! Woo-hoo! 

I couldn't wait to try it out, and I knew I wanted to make a patriotic one for the upcoming Memorial Day & 4th of July. I have had the worst luck finding cute printed knits in stores, and am slowly realizing that you have to just purchase online. I am so impatient, I couldn't wait for that. SO, I went to Goodwill and found some fun red, white and bluep prints (and even one with stars!).  Silly me, I thought I may have gotten enough for two rompers, but it was only enough for one, so the "baby" gets this one! She makes a fine model and may be the cutest thing I have ever laid eyes on. Ever.

Materials for this one: upcycled knits from Goodwill; purchased ribbed knit in red for the back 'band'

see the little 'flair' on the bottom back here - that is because I didn't sew up the crotch!

Why is this a Romper turned Dress? Well because I goofed up! I accidentally sewed the crotch of the front piece to the outside. I'm a little embarassed to say that I didn't even notice this until I got to the VERY END and realized that there was no front crotch to sew to the back crotch. Oops.

I wasn't even about to rip this all out and I also wasn't going to scrap the project. So, I tried this on the little miss without any crotch being sewn and decided - it worked as a dress! The only modifications I made were to trim the front crotch (which was on the outside edges of the dress) to make it flow a little smoother. I left the back crotch there (it gives a little asymmetrical flair) to the back and just did a quick zig zag stich around the bottom as a "hem."

I totally love it! I may make more dresses from this pattern too because these rompers / dresses are just perfect for summer! ;)

If you're wondering about the leggings - California is COLD! They don't totally match, but it's what I had. It was a little colder there than we are used to here in Arizona ;)

In case you're wondering, yes I've made more rompers by now. The proper way. As soon as I finished this one, I cut material for another. I slowed down and paid attention and ended up with an actual romper. Then I made another one ... because this time I had enough for two matching rompers for my sweeties! I still need to attempt photos of them together in those rompers so I can post, but they are stinking cute in them.

Gotta say, I love the open back of this halter style romper - shows off her cute baby tan she picked up at the beach! :)

We were in Oceanside, California this past weekend for the holiday and Great Aunt's 90th birthday. My in-laws beach house is GORGEOUS and I thought this Red & White lifeguard ring was a perfect prop to have Izzie pose with. She is always happy to play along!

ps- have you voted for the Garden Challenge yet? Please do!

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Another Shirt for Me! and Sewing Machine Discovery

I introduce you to my Lil Blue Boo Pieced Tunic No. 3! I daresay that I may be obsessed with this pattern, ok all of Ashley's patterns from Lil Blue Boo ... I love knits, her patterns are easy to follow, fit is super flattering and always comfy! And, now that I've gotten the hang of this tunic, it really is quick to sew!

I bought some Modal Spandex from this eBay store and used it for the top front & top back pieces (the pink). It's pretty slippy and a little tricky to sew, but SO WORTH IT. It really does drape beautifully and it's SO soft. When sewing the spandex to spandex, I definitely had to start at a middle point and sew out to the ends to avoid my machine "eating" it. (I don't have a serger -YET - so this was done on my regular sewing machine w/ a ball point needle).

Other than the pink spandex, I upcycled tee shirts & some jersey.

• Hog's Breath Tee from Key West circa 2001. I bought this for my then boyfriend, now husband. He never liked so I just took it back! Hog's Breath is a staple in Key West; what's he thinking?
• The gray is from an Atlantic Beach tee shirt ... I didn't get a good picture of it, but you can see a little of the words in the pic above.
• Grey / white stripe - in waistband. In a desperate move to add stripes to this tunic ... I ran to Goodwill and crossed my fingers. I came away with a ladies shirt in this grey /white stripe for $4. Sold!
• The ribbed knit for the neck and arm bands is also upcycled. Years ago, I made a MOBY wrap for myself because I couldn't see the sense in paying $50 for a long piece of knit. I no longer have a need for it, so I have started cutting into it and it's just perfect for the 'bands.'

Speaking of the neck and arm band ... if you're making these or any knit items with a neck or arm band and having some trouble, check out this video! Wow! This helped me SO MUCH in making Tunic No. 3. Being able to see someone else do it properly helped me alot. It was also incredibly helpful to see how to 'quarter' the neck band since the front is so much lower than the back. Really helped me out. The video is by Threads Magazine, which appears to be a great resource! I decided to buy the current issue @ Joann's the other night to see what it's all about - I haven't gotten to it yet, but maybe this weekend!?!

I'm still  a fan of the racerback!

=

Attempted close up shot of the quote ... this was the front of the Hog's Breath tee; flipped around and used on the back.

What about my discovery? It's a new stitch that I've discovered on my sewing machine! When I saw down to make these tunics, I decided to read up in my sewing machine manual about "stretch stitches". I tested them all and discovered that I really like this one called "slant overedge." It creates a seam AND finishes it at the same time. Since I'm sewing on a regular sewing machine (Singer Confidence), this is a big time saver. I use this stitch in lieu of a straight stitch followed by zig zagging the seams. Also, I seriously think this just looks better. It lays very flat - I liked it enough to put it on the right side in tunic no. 2 (on the back). (I really wish I'd discovered this sooner - it would have been helpful with these pieced jersey dresses with all those layers!?)

Anyway, here are the tunics in sequential order; I do love them all and wear them all! I have so much more modal spandex left (a "cosmic" silver and some pretty blue / aqua), that I'm pretty sure I'll make more. Maybe I'll take a page from Fashioned by Meg's book and switch up the pattern because how cute is her variation in this post? I love it! And, I love that bustle skirt she made (which is from a free LBB pattern). Hmmm, this is why blogging is so much fun - you never run out of inspiration!

Tunic No. 1



Tunic No. 2



Tunic No. 3 - I swear my mother taught me to put my shoulders back ... why didnt' I just do it in this pic? Grrr.

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LBB Beret

Pattern: Lil Blue Boo The Blue Beret Pattern - this one's a freebie!

Fabrics: Upcycled Old Navy toddler tee (print) and old green t-shirt (trim)

Audrey refers to this beret as "her doctor hat" ... pretty clever, right?

Given my recent tunics and dresses, I'm almost afraid to post this and reveal that I've recently been a tad obsessed w/ LBB patterns! I tend to get on a roll with stuff and I've been on a knit kick lately, and these patterns are so precise & easy to follow.

Yes, she is still playing with her Fabric Nesting Doll that I made for our last challenge!

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Knock Off Cheerleader Outfit - DIY / Mini Tute

I wonder if this happens to everyone who has kids? Did you get a TON of clothes with your college / favorite team logo on them? We did! And most of them were SUPER cute!!! I received an "exception" piece .... and it's this onesie right here:

Doesn't look so bad, right? I agree ... here's the deal. It says 12-18 months but it is HUGE!! It only started fitting my oldest daughter when she was 3 years old. And by then, she was potty trained (hallelujah!) so I wasn't exactly down with a onesie and it just looked ridiculous on her (yes even w/ pants or a skirt).

I know these little diddies are expensive, so I started thinking - how can I refashion this?

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LBB Dresses

I've become that person that my friends "donate" to ... whenever they are purging their closets! Recently I "scored" some super soft tees from Em because she wanted to see "what I'd do w/ them." She also gave me back the bridesmaids dress she wore in  my wedding six years ago (again, to see what I could come up w/)!

I've been thinking on those tees for a while now, and finally decided to go back to my old trusty dress pattern from Lil Blue Boo (the Sienna patttern) and made the girls some new dresses. I love this pattern and have made more of these dresses than I've blogged about! But here's one, the sorority tee upcycle.

Their dresses are different styles but the colors coordinate - just like I like them! Audrey got a ruffle b/c she is so tall and I needed the added length (someone in Trader Joe's seriously thought she was FIVE the other day ... right! She is only 3.5 yo ... but as sassy as a 16 yo).

She picked her coordinating pom poms for her pig tails. I was impressed with her matching! ;)

Izzie got the cool flower print tee (a GAP tee that I loved and wore a while, until it developed a hole on the front!) mixed with Em's beige shirt. The front and back are different color blocks.

Izzie's sleeves are do not have a folded hem ... they are just finished with a zig zag stitch and I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I used a tank top for the beige, so I didn't have existing sleeves to work with and didn't have enough of the tank body to use.

Yes, she too promptly removed her shoes; it's a thing they do.

We were at a birthday party for these pictures and all my kids (and Trey down there) wanted to do was play in this nasty mud puddle (it smelled like rotten fish). Naturally when I asked for a picture, they gathered around said puddle. Grrr.

When I asked for a picture, they all snugged together with their arms around each other and said "cheese!". They are trained professionals, for sure.

This ^^ is my favorite picture from the day. That ball + that puddle = trouble.

Final picture from the party, I cut off here because this is where I became a referee between my children and the desserts. You see that cake right there? (Audrey licked it) and Izzie? She helped herself to a very large selection of homemade cake pops! It was a fun day for all of us! ;)

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Pieced Jersey Dresses & Happy (belated) Easter!

I don't know how I've missed it before, but I've recently discovered this blog and really like alot of their stuff! Particularly, their Tutorial for Basic Pieced Jersey  Dress. These are SO easy to make and an excellent way to use up old shirts or knit items - I love a good refashion!


I decided that my girls just had to have a couple, so I went digging through my ridiculously obscene "recycle" pile and came away with the green, purple, pink & orange stripes. Then I hit up their closets to find identical tank tops I didn't mind cutting ... I settled on the grey American Apparel ones (I LOVE their tanks!).

I cut all the pieces for both dresses, and THEN sewed all the pieces ... I find it's faster that way. The tutorial explains the process precisely, so check it out! The only change I made was to use a tank top vs. onesie (for the obvious reason). ;)

These pictures are from Easter and despite my best attempts and begging, I could not get really good pics of the girls together (or even facing the camera) ... ha!

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Scrapbuster No. 10: Ruched Tank ...Mini SJP? (tute included)

I asked for a model.

She asked for a tutu, and candy, and Cinderella shoes.

I needed pics, so her demands were met. 

As I was snapping pics of her last night, I thought she looked an awful lot like a toddler SJP with her fancy tank tucked into her fluffy skirt .. .and her heels of course! :-)

for the life of me, don't think i could jump in those shoes!

you talking to me?

Wanna make one too? This "technique" could TOTALLY be used on a women's tank too.

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Valentine's Day Craft - From Last Year

Sorority T-Shirt Recycled Dress
Pattern: Lil Blue Boo's Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress

This dress was actually one of my very first sewing projects on my own. I made this for my oldest last Valentine's Day. For an unknown reason, I have been saving my sorority t-shirts for a very long time (over 10 years now). When I saw this pattern, I had an a-ha moment and instantly found a great use for those old tee shirts! This dress is made from one very old, very cheesy, pink sorority t-shirt ... and an old red knit from the Gap.

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Warhol "Dress" Top No. 3

So I mentioned a while back that I really like the pattern for making MADE's Warhol Dresses so much that I made, hmmm.... 5 of them! Well here is the 3rd one (the first 2 are here). This green & white knit fabric is the remnant of a tube top I bought a Target a while back. Me & the tube top ran our course, so it transferred to my ever growing "refashion" pile (in other words, the mound of clothes I'll never ever wear again, but seem to think I can make something else out of!?!? so I cannot possibly bear to throw them out). When I pilfer through my refashion pile, I always land back on this white & green, so finally I decided to do something with it. I love the contrasting red band at the top .... kind of Christmasy! Oh and I didn't even take the sides in, so this was extra easy- I just left it fall blousy on A and eliminated a whole step in making this little top!

PS ... she had a fabulous time in the pumpkin patch. She wanted to take about 10 of them home because they were all "her favorite."

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A Project from the Past

I love spray paint.  To me, it is one of the great innovations of the 20th century.  I'm thinking about naming my next pet Krylon to honor this fabulous product.

I've been itching to get outside and rehab some old furniture.  The problem is, it's too darn hot!  Dang, I'm telling ya, I don't think this Arizona summer is ever going to end. 

Since I can't show you anything new, I thought I show you an old favorite that I did:  the Escaramuza Cupboard.  It all started with this cute little cupboard I found at Goodwill for $20.

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Kids Clothes Week Challenge Project 2: Little Brother Refashioned Vest

Well, here's another project I finished up as part of the KCWC that I worked on last week! Project 1 is here ... and this is a coordinating vest for the little bro. It's made from the same brown sweater, only this time I had less fabric to work with, so I had to get creative!

The front is the "flap" or collar of the original sweater, only it was too short to work alone. SO ... I had to attach part of the original sweater front to the flap it in order to get enough length for the vest to work. Likewise, the back fabric was also too short -- so again I had to attach additional fabric to make the hemlime.

Not. So. Easy. This time around I did have to use my walking foot and it still wasn't enough to really get this to go through my machine easily. At one point, I thought I may have broken the machine! I definitely had to take it apart and clean out all the sweater fuzz - needed to happen anyway. Point being - the sweater is THICK. Sewing through 2 thick layers is serious business!

Anyway - it's done and it's cute. Here are the pics ...

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Kids Clothes Week Challenge Project 1: Refashioned Vest

As you may have read, I signed onto a challenge called Kids Clothes Week Challenge. The deal is a commitment to make Kid Clothes for 1 hour each day from September 20 through 26th.

Here's my first finished product ... It's a REFASHIONED Mom Sweater turned into a Childs Vest!
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