Upcycled Shirt

I think this used to be my little brother's shirt. That, or I purchased it at one of the local thrift shops. Can't keep everything I have straight any longer.

Since it finally looked like spring (perhaps even summer-like) weather had arrived in New England I wanted to make a new shirt. I really wanted to try to sew one from a pattern last night but discovered I didn't have enough of the fabric I wanted to try. So, next best thing - I cut up this shirt, added some buttons, and some single fold bias tape. Voila - instant new shirt. Not completely flattering but it is completely comfy and that counts for an awful lot.

And a huge thumbs-up for my four-year-old who took these pictures.

Flannel Shirt Teddy Bear

I picked up a flannel shirt awhile back at my local Salvation Army thinking it would become - something...Yeah, vague. But I like flannel. And I live in New England. I think flannel is a required fabric in this part of the world.

I recently received an e-mail from one of my homeschool e-mail lists that said they were looking for someone to make bears for a local hospital. After reading about the need I decided that becoming a teddy bear would be a better use of the shirt. I'd love to volunteer to sew these but I needed to know (1) if I could and (2) if my oldest, whom I am homeschooling, would be willing / able to help.


I searched the web for a free pattern but came up empty handed (hey - I know that I might not be good at this so why pay for a pattern I might only use once). But, my trusty library came through with a few books on the subject of sewing teddy bears. I consulted them, drafted a pattern and voila! An 'instant' teddy bear!


I think I need to work on attaching the ears better. I'd like to do it differently next time. And, I haven't bothered embroidering a nose / mouth yet. I might but the fabric nose is 'pointy' and I don't think would embroider nicely. Plus, I kinda like the no mouth look. Oh - and his arms. They are great for hugging but - um - I don't know. They stay up. I think I sewed them on wrong. Hmmmm - must see if the kids mind. If not then I guess it's okay, right? Should I stop pointing out his imperfections now?

On the positive side - he'll be a great prop to use when teaching about Teddy Roosevelt!

For those that celebrate - have a Hoppy Easter! I'm off to help the Easter Bunny hide eggs...

Thrift Pants

A few months ago I was at my local Salvation Army and picked up a pair of size 21 pants. They are corduroy and I thought - I'll try to make a new pair of pants out of them or a skirt. If that fails they will become fabric for dolls. Then, just about two weeks ago, I was in the Garment District in Cambridge, MA.


There is a section where all clothes are $1.50 / lb. In addition to finding a 100% silk Liz Claiborne shirt I found the SAME pants - just a different size. There were a 20. I bought them. I'm going to attempt to make a skirt. I'm just trying to figure out how to resize the waist. Oh - and upstairs was a 50% off sale on all merchandise. I found a Bob Mackie button-up sweater for $4.

I have taken the seam out of the legs of one pair of pants and am wondering - do I just baste up the side and see how it looks? Yeah - maybe that is what I'll do. That way, if I want it fuller I can cut up the second pair of pants and add it. Hope it turns out to something wearable!

Booty Bag - Done in time for V-Day

My polka-dot booty bag is done!

Not perfect, but hey - it doesn't have to be.

I adore the faux pearl handles but purchasing them was a trial. I frequent a JoAnn Fabric store just over the border in NH - because it is the closest type of store like that to my home. Every time I go to that store and buy something there is an 'issue'. Not with me - with the store.



All I have to start a conversation with is "Honey, I went to JoAnn's today..." and my husband knows I'm going to tell him about customers that insist items are on sale - "It must not be an advertised sale." or that they used to be able to use their sewing club guild discount AND a coupon. Well, this time was a doozey. The district manager was there so everyone was nervous. Then, the credit card system went down. I was third in line when this happened. Finally, when the cashier got to me I asked her only to ring up to - but not over $30 worth of merchandise since there was no way I was leaving my credit card info with her. She assured me the system was now working because of an icon that appeared on her screen. She was wrong. She then proceeded to subtract my 'non-essential' items off to get my total to under $30. Once at the car I checked my receipt and one of the items that should have been removed wasn't. I had to go back in and ask for the item back. A good 45 minutes of my life wasted yet once again in this particular store. So annoying!



But, now that my rant is over, I must say - I like the purse. I wish I hadn't put blue fabric as the loops for the handles but I'm not going to go back and change it now.

I'm looking forward to taking my pretty red bag out for Valentine's Day and not finding a unicorn in it. Enjoy! Beth

Booty Bag

I picked up a super short XS skirt at the Salvation Army in Haverhill a few weeks ago. It screamed "make a purse out of me" to me. It cost me all of $2

I need to get handles for it this week to finish it and add a key holder clip inside - aside from that I think it is mostly done! Well, unless I also plan to add a zipper opening / closing on the top. That might require me to buy a zipper too. I thought I was going to do a snap but I have a purse with a snap closing I purchased in December and I'm not liking it. I think the zipper will keep my stuff safer and allow me to stuff my purse with more items that should not be in it (such as a pink unicorn - that is what I found in my purse today).

Skirt with the fabric I chose to line / create the pockets form. Was part of my stash.

A new tote bag

I have been working on creating a tote bag all week and finally finished it!

A while ago I picked-up some fabric scraps from a fellow freecycler and in the bag were two quilt blocks. I thought, since some of the blue fabric that was in the blocks was also in the bag, that it would make a great tote bag for me to carry my handwork around in. Mind you, I don't have any handwork yet. Because - I didn't have a bag to carry it in.

Anywho - the photo at the top of the post is one of the sqaures. The photo below is of the finished bag. I won't be able to show you the insides - ever. The squares weren't really square and I put in batting and a backing and didn't quite make the backing as big as the square (remember - I'm working with someone else's scraps late at night...). I'm thinking about going back and fusing some other fabric inside so I don't see the ugliness! But, overall I love how the bag looks - on the outside! And now, I have no more excuses. This week, during the children's swim lessons, gymnastics and rock climbing I'll have the proper bag to carry my handwork.

Wardrobe Refasion

I just signed up to be part of Wardrobe Refashion for the next six months.

Really, to be perfectly honest, I don't really like to shop for clothes. I literally have two pairs of jeans that fit me that my husband bought me for Christmas and those are the first new pieces of clothing I've gotten in over a year. So - I don't think the buying will be an issue. It'll be making it to the second hand shop with one of not two girls in tow and finding some good bargains while making sure they behave. Things to wear (like the $4 brand new Land's End button down shirt I found) or things to upcycle (a really cute polka dot skirt that is too short to be a skirt but I think would make a darling bag).

So - wish me luck with my refashioning for the next six months! Ill blog a bit about it here as well as on the Wardrobe Refashion blog. Happy Sewing! Beth