Upcycled Iowa Hawkeyes Dress aka "Go Awkeyes"

When it came time to box up, donate or otherwise get rid of "baby clothes" I had a really hard time getting rid of things. I mean my 'babies' were practically babies together at only 14 months apart, so I coped by keeping PLENTY. This particular onesie is one of the little treasures I just couldn't part with :) And, now I'm so glad I kept it.

I debated turning it into a doll outfit, but ultimately I decided to UPCYCLE it for the girls! It was so darn small (0-6 months) that I had to cut and patch it ... I'm pretty thrilled with the turnout. I've been on a fabric shopping spree lately and had this awesome black / yellow / white / grey number on hand. I like the overall turnout.

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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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