Refashion: Sweater to Leggings and Slouchy Beanie

Are you wondering what happened with Kid's Clothes Week?  How did I manage to go on and on about how I was going to participate, and then only post a few little items?  Well, I didn't finish as much as I'd hoped to, but I did manage to do more than I've posted.  We had a death in the family, and family time trumped KCW, as it should.  I still have a couple of things to share with you today, and a half finished pair of pants that might not ever see completion.

First up, another sweater refashion. This time it was my husband's old sweater. It never fit him right, and was starting to show signs of wear.  So rather than throwing out the sweater, I took advantage of the sweater knit material, and made a slouchy beanie for Gus, and a pair of cozy little leggings.

The beanie was made using Max California's free pattern.  The pattern is for a toddler, but my baby has a MASSIVE head.  I used the waistband of the sweater to serve as the cuff of the beanie. Super easy.

Free Pattern Here

The leggings were made using a pair of existing pants as a guide.  Also a very simple project. 

 I cut the pant legs out of the sleeve pieces, and the cuffs of the sleeve serve as a fold up cuff for the pants.

 Super fast, simple, and free projects.  

Sweater to Slip Cover Upcycle

One of my New Year's ReSewlutions was to do more sewing for my home.  We are a month into 2014, and I have one little project to prove I'm moving in the right direction (progress is progress right).

I've had this chunky cable knit sweater in my refashion pile for quite some time.  I finally chopped it up, and turned it into something pretty, a new pillow slip cover for my couch.

Because it was a button up sweater, all I had to do was cut out my material, which proved to be the most difficult part, and then sew four straight lines.

I chopped off the hood, and the arms of the sweater, trying to save as much of the fabric as possible.

 I then cut my material into a square that was roughly the size of my pillow form.  I would have loved to have the buttons offset on my slip cover, but I didn't have enough material to work with.

I turned the material so that the right sides were facing, stitched around all four sides, and then finished off my edges.  With this chunky knit, the stitches unraveled quickly, so I really had to make sure that I caught all of the secure material in my seam allowance.

 I love the open weave of the sweater slipcover, and the wood buttons have a certain amount of charm.

One little step in the right direction.  

My two year old thinks that this project is absurd, and continues to try to undress my pillow.  At least he is getting plenty of practice learning to button and button something.

Kid's Clothes Week: Upcycled Sweater with Shooting and Elbow Patches

Day two of Kid's Clothes Week resulted in an upcycled sweater for Gus.  Originally I'd thought the sweater would be for my two year old Miles, but some errors in my pattern drafting resulted in a smaller version, perfect for my big 5 month old.  

The oatmeal colored sweater used to be my dad's.  I've always loved it, and it's been in the refashion pile for quite some time.  I added some faux snake skin elbow patches, shooting patches, and a back panel for some visual interest.  I ended up quilting the patches to secure the layers of fabric, and I really like the way it turned out.

A bit shiny but super cute on my little dude.

A view of the back. . .

...and a view of Gus' back. 

Sewing success.

Tutorial: Pants to Shorts Refashion

I remember wearing cut offs as a kid.  I was always embarrassed.  Why? I don't know, but I was.  I don't blame my mom for cutting off my worn out jeans.  As a parent myself, I can now hardly believe how quickly my four year old can outgrow, and wear out a pair of pants.

So, in an effort to save money, and make the investment last, I turned several pair of his worn kneed jeans into shorts, but I'm not going to call them cut offs, let's call them refashions. I'll share a few tips on creating successful short refashions.

First off, make them (if for boys), as long as possible.  Mid thigh shorts are a dead giveaway that the shorts were once pants. Second, try to incorporate as many of the design elements of the pants into the hem of the shorts.  Third, control the fray.

This brown pair of shorts started out as a pair of pants that never quite fit right.  We liked them, but by the time they fit with the waist adjusted, they were too short.  So in an effort to get more use out of them, we figured they'd get more wear as shorts.  I pulled out a pair of Clark's existing shorts that fit well.  They served as a length guide.  Match up the top of the waistbands, and determine how long you want the shorts to be.  Next, determine how big you want the hem of the shorts to be.  Add this length (plus 1/4" if turning the hem under), to the length of the short.

 Fold the pants in half, matching up pant legs.  Make a straight cut using a rotary cutter and a straight edge.

If you have a serger, serge the edges.  It will control the fray, and make turning the hem easier.  If you don't, you can use an overcast zig zag stitch to control the raw edge.

Stitch Witchery, or any sort of sewable fusible adhesive is great for this project.  I found this unused package at a thrift store-score.

Turn your shorts inside out.

 Align the edge of the fusible adhesive with the raw edge of the shorts.  

Fold up the hem along the inside edge of the hem tape.  Press with an iron.  Your iron shouldn't come in contact with the hem tape at any time, so make sure it's nicely tucked into your hem.

Turn your shorts right side out.  Select a thread that matches the existing stitching on the shorts.  If you have a golden thread, use gold.  It's important to match the existing stitches, and not the fabric. If you don't have a matching thread, consider another contrasting color, and repeat in multiple places on the garment (see upcycled shorts).

 Select a stitch that most resembles that stitching on the shorts.  If your garment has a longer stitch length, lengthen the stitch on your hem.  If it has a reinforced triple stitch, then adjust your setting as well.  Repeating these design elements will help the shorts feel intentional.

Stitch 1/8" inside your hem allowance.  I stitched 5/8" away from the folded hem, of my 3/4" hem. Try to keep your stitching line as straight and consistent as possible (how to sew a straight line).

These blue shorts had worn out at the knee.  The hem is narrow, but I was able to repeat a double row of lengthened triple stitches.  It helps the shorts feel more finished.

Single row of elongated straight stitch for these brown shorts.

 Repeat on both legs.  Done and done.  Another example, my pants to maternity shorts refashion.

Another option is to try to use the existing hem of the pants on the shorts. This will only work well if the pants is relatively straight legged.  If the pant hem is narrower than the knee/thigh, then you won't have enough material to work with.

Ombre Dip Dye Tutorial with Sabra of Sew A Straight Line

I'm excited to have Sabra from Sew a Straight Line, sharing a fun tutorial, on revamping an old favorite top.  I know that I have plenty of clothes packed away waiting for a little attention.  This is such a great idea, and fantastic step by step tutorial.

 If you haven't visited Sabra's blog, you really must.  She  has a page full of tutorials, and her Kids Clothes Week projects were amazing...I need her skills.

Hi, I’m Sabra from Sew a Straight Line.  I have four kids I love to sew and create for.  But who I really love to make stuff for the most is me.  There, I said it.  I love making my own clothing, and revamping store-bought items for myself.  And today I’m going to show you how I took an old item from my closet and updated it with no sewing and very little effort.
Meet my old, boring cardigan


A couple of hours and a little bit of dye later, and now it’s a unique and trendy top!



Ombre is totally on-trend right now and it is ridiculously easy to apply to pretty much anything and everything, including some of your old tops that were destined for the donate pile.




All you need to ombre-fy an old friend from your closet is…get ready for it…
A pack of dye, hot water, and some salt.
I’m telling you, easy.



I’ve done a lot of dyeing in my past.  My favorite dye for natural fibers (cotton, etc) is Dylon.  WalMart and JoAnn both carry it, so it’s pretty easy to find.  It doesn’t come in as many colors as Rit, but the end results are far more long-lasting and vibrant.  I’ve mixed colors of Dylon before with great results, too.  Use whatever brand you like, but I recommend Dylon.



You’re going to want an apron.  Even if you’re careful, it’s super easy for a little dye to get splashed on yourself.  Since this dye is meant to stain clothing, it’s best to not risk it coloring the wrong clothing.  Also grab some gloves.  I once dyed my hands a horrible shade of green.  It took over a week to fully wash out of my nails.  Wear gloves if you don’t want dyed hands.



I have a dye bucket.  Okay, I actually have four dye buckets.  I told you, I’ve done a lot of dyeing.  Just cheap $1 buckets found anywhere.  I like using a bucket because I don’t have to worry about cleaning out a sink, and I can easily transport my wet, dripping-with-dye cloth to my washing machine when I’m done with the actual dyeing. 



Start by getting your fabric wet.  Make sure you get it thoroughly soaked where ever you want the dye.  Anywhere that is left dry, the dye won’t bond with the fibers as well.  Since we’re going for an ombre effect, leave the top of your fabric, or where ever you want NO dye, completely dry.  Even as the rest of the fabric, where it’s wet, soaks up they dye, the dry areas create a sort of barrier.  So, all areas to be dyed totally wet, all areas to not be dyed leave dry.  Got it?

Add your dye to super hot water and dissolve the dye completely.

Next add salt.  I at least double the recommended salt when I dye.  Probably more like triple or quadruple.  The salt is what makes the dye bond to the fabric fibers.  The more salt, the more intense your final color.



After the salt is dissolved, carefully dip your garment into the dye.  Dip just below where you want the top layer of dye to end.  See above where the dye is starting to “climb” the fabric, bleeding into the wet areas of the sweater that aren’t in the dye?  Eventually that dye will work it’s way all the way up as far as the sweater is wet, fading in color as it climbs.



Every ten to 15 minutes, pull the fabric up a few inches out of the dye.  Wait another 15 minutes, pull it up another few inches.  Continue until you’ve worked your way all the way to the bottom of the fabric/garment.

Leave the bottom in the dye for another 30 minutes or so.

Remove the fabric from the dye and rinse with the darkest edge hanging.

Do a hot rinse in your washer followed by drying in the the dryer on hot, to set the dye.   Don’t worry about your colors running on themselves in the washer in your rinse.  Mine never do.  I don’t rinse with any other garments or fabric, but have never had a problem with the colors moving more up the ombre-dyed fabric in the wash.

And that’s it!

Just a little bit of time, but super easy for a trendy look.

You can use ombre dyeing on pretty much anything.

But it’s especially fun for giving new life to an old top.

Thanks so much Sabra.  I love how your sweater turned out.  

Frances Collar Tutorial by Katie of Blue Eyed Freckle

Katie's blog, Blue Eyed Freckle, was one of the first sewing blogs that I fell in love with.  She has a very individual style, which can be a hard thing to develop.  She has great refashion ideas, backdrop ideas, and not to mention a fantastic etsy shop where she sells headbands.  The first project I found of hers was the "I Wanna Be a Girl Scout" T-shirt revamp, featuring a fantastic collar, so I'm thrilled that she's sharing a faux collar project with us today!  

Hi everyone! I am Katie Kortman of blue-eyed freckle (blogger and esty-er). I am a mother of 2 (soon to be 3) and wife to a medical student and so.... I like to make it instead of buy it whenever possible. I don't usually do straight copies of the things I see and like, but rather use them as inspiration. Today's top is inspired by the collar of this dress I saw on thumbeline. I love a removable collar, but sometimes its easier to just make a faux one. So if you are ready to jazz up your daughter's shirt in just a few simple steps, keep reading!

Materials Needed:
cotton shirt
material for the collar (1/4 to 1/3 yd should be more than enough)
some pretty, sew-able ribbon (I used velvet)
*optional: more scraps of fabric to make a bow
THIS PATTERN (I made it for sizes 12-24 months and 2T-4T but can easily be adapted)

1. print the pattern and cut 4 pieces. Sew right sides together and make 2 collar pieces. Leave the top (straight) part open (don't sew).

2. turn the two collar pieces right side out and pin them to your shirt. Fold the unsewn part of the collar under, or inward so that it is closed shut as you top stitch the collar pieces to your shirt.

3. Cut 4 pieces of ribbon and top stitch on both long sides of the ribbon, making sure to tuck in the raw edges on the ends.

So quick and now you are finished! A little work make a big impact in this case.  Now, if you want to add a little something more take a look below:

For my older daughter's shirt, I decided it needed something more. So, I added a bow. You can follow my tutorial here if you are unsure how to make one. To apply it to the shirt, I just got out a hand needle and thread and tacked it in several places to ensure it won't get all wonky after being washed (which tends to happen). 

Here are a few more shirt-making or re-making tutorials from my blog. Happy Toptober!

for boys/men, newborn girls/boys, pom-poms shirt, gathered collar shirt, ruffles and stripes t-shirt, the no-sew fringe shirt, book page shirt, easiest shirt from scratch, and my baby onesie applique ideas.   

Thanks again Katie. Great project.  Look at those beautiful girls in their tops.