New Maternity Clothes, Please! Stretch Pants

"Sometimes, when you are a man...you wear stretchy pants...in your room...it's for fun."

I was able to get this project finished before the big move, which has been nice because I've been able to enjoy these bad boys most of my pregnancy.

This was a pretty easy alteration, and pretty straight forward. Truth is, I miss stretchy pants from the 80's, and had been wanting to get my hands on some for awhile. Then, while spending countless hours on my miserable back during the first + trimester of pregnancy, the thought occured to me... why not alter some black stretchy workpants from my first pregnancy??? Though my pregnant brain was fried with hormones and I forgot to take pictures before and during the process, I have conveniently illustrated as best I can the process for alteration. This process would work for altering flare jeans into skinny jeans as well, but make sure you use heavy duty needles and thread!

Here is a representation of what the pants looked like before: just your standard black, stretchy maternity workpants. Convenient, but plain.

The first thing you want to do is to turn them inside out and put them on. Decide how tight or loose you want them.

After you have a feel for where you want parts taken in, pin the pants in a vertical pattern so it creates an outline of where you want to sew. Remember, you should still have your pants on.

Take your pants off carefully, I think I got stuck a few times in this process, but I did rush it. If you're not home alone, it might be a good idea to replace them with another pair of pants.

Sew along the pin line, removing pins as you go, so you can sew in the exact area of the pins. Reinforce your hem to your preferrence.

Do this for both sides, and cut the excess fabric off as close to the reinforced seam as close as you are comfortable with.

Turn pants back right-side out, and you've got yourself some genuine 80's stretchy pants to comfort your growing body (or regular body) during pregnancy!

This isn't supposed to be a belly shot, but sometimes I like to emphasize that it is actually a baby there, and that I'm not just a super-sized Sarah in a mu-mu.

And isn't it kind of nice to focus on something on your body that isn't quadrupling in size?? Well, I guess at least from the knees down...

New Maternity Clothes, Please! Blue Maternity Shirt

This is a new little series I'm doing. As most of you have noticed by my previous post, I am expecting our 3rd child in June. With this being my third pregnancy, I really want some new maternity clothes. Thank goodness we're about ready to be grown-ups now and move away with a job! But the downside, is that I have become very cheap in our years as students. I really can't bring myself to buy new maternity clothes #1, because in between my second pregnancy and now, I've acquired quite a few non-maternity clothes, that would easily fit a 9-month belly in an array of different styles. #2, ever since I've developed a love of refashioning, I've thought up ways to redo some of my existing maternity clothes to more fit my style and give me something exciting to wear. #3, though I grow sick of them, I do still have quite a selection of maternity clothes from the last two kids.

I'm sure I'll break down and buy some new things, but maybe this will help all you 2nd+ time moms-to-be when trying to find something new and "you" to wear!

This was the first shirt I re-did. It was one of those shirts that I would never really wear out in public because even at 9 months, it's still a little slouchy and baggy. I figured, it could survive a change, since if I'm not going out in public, I have quite a nice variety of baggy t-shirts to wear.

The first thing I did was I chopped off the sleeves.

The second thing I did, was I cut up both sides of the shirt on the side hem, up through the sleeve. I measured and took it in as needed, then I used some of the excess fabric for a "binding" of sorts for the sleeves.

Then I laid out my two pieces of extra arm material (though I only used less than one whole arm for this part), and I cut it in a square spiral, starting with the outside so that when I got to the middle I had one long piece of fabric about 1/2 inch thick. (See THIS tutorial for a better explanation on the cutting, follow the link) Put the strip aside, and hang onto it for later.

I then taped the shirt down the front in strips. I actually had to do it as I went, because the tape was too thick, but if you're using regular width tape, you can just put all the strips on at the same time. I started above the V, and taped off 1 1/4 inch strips until I met the bottom of the shirt. 

I then mixed up acryllic paint (for your reference, I mixed 1 part white to 1/2 part gold and 1/2 part silver) and painted between my taped off lines to create the stripes. I did it lightly and roughly to look like that beaten/worn look, with the ends fading out. Acryllic paint is a great subtitute to screening because it's super permanent, and has a very similar texture to a regular screened shirt. Iron-ons are good, but they tend to peel off eventually.

Here's where you'll need your long strip that you cut from the arm piece. I really had no rhyme or reason sewing this to the shirt, just basically whatever direction it laid, I sewed it into little loops and crosses, until it looked like this.

P.S. This is not my real belly, I was only 16 weeks when taking this picture, but wanted to show what it would realistically look like.

***Linking this up at Today's Creative Blog---Get Your Craft On***

Fall Apparel: Victorian Collar Scarf

This is another one of my "Fall apparel" Projects. Please don't ask me how I did it...I don't remember! Well, I'm half kidding, if you really want a tutorial on this, I will post one, I just didn't really pay attention to what I was doing as I was making it...I just sort of...did it! I can tell you though, that I used the shell stitch, and to get the ruffle, I did a scalloped-edge border, then 2 dc in every stitch on top of that. The lace is two pieces of lace gathered, and sewn to the scarf.

I love the ruffley look of the turn-of-the century Victorian period. Since scarves are really the thing right now, I wondered if making a Victorian collar of sorts would be cute. I was really pleased with the outcome, and it's really warm too, so it will keep me warm when it starts getting a little colder!



Fall Apparel: Collared Shrug

 You may have noticed that on list of "Projects on my Plate" that I have listed Fall Apparel. Fall is my favorite time of year for shopping. I love the transitional styles. I love the jackets, and love that you don't have to wear a heavy coat over everything yet. I also love the rich tones that you see in fall clothing, and love that you can wear so many styles and layers. I think I have also just gotten used to going "back to school" shopping over the years, that I just naturally tend to look for new clothes evey fall. As August came upon us, I was starting to think about what I wanted for the upcoming season, but shortly after, realized that our budget would be limited this fall due to Josten graduating and having to pay for moving out expenses and really expensive uniforms that he has to buy when he comissions in December. We also have 2 weddings in Utah (10-12 hours away) to budget for, so needless to say, a fall wardrobe wasn't exactly on the priority list. Since I still get that fall itch, I decided that I would, in fact, get a new wardrobe. I would refashion things, trim up things, alter things, and make things so that I would have an array of "new" clothing, to feel like I have something exciting to wear!

There will be several more of these post, but here is one of my first projects...the collard shrug. I made this using some old fabric that my mom had stashed from her mom in their basement for years. I think I wrote that confusing, but bottom line---It had been around awhile, and I got it for free. I used a shrug that I had had before that I wasn't too fond of the fabric on for a makeshift pattern. I also made some alterations to the back, because I didn't like the back all that well. I was pretty excited with how it turned out, especially not using a concrete pattern. I used a hook-eye combo for the connector on the top (also retrieved from my grandma's stash).

Bow Head Band

I love the look of big bows on adult heads! Maybe because it reminds me of getting all dressed up for church when I was little in the late '80s-early '90s time period. You just weren't finished getting ready unless you had a huge bow! I wanted to make one on a head band for myself, so here's the instructions, (though it's pretty straight-forward).

(Sorry for the lack of pictures, I completely forgot to take pictures in the process, but hopefully the instructions will be clear enough)
What you need:

Fabric (in color of choice, and amount depending on how big you want you bow)
Sewing Machine and thread

Headband

Hot glue

Step 1: Cut out two rectangles that are just a little bit bigger than you want the bow to be (for seam allowance)

Repeat this step if you want a smaller bow on top as pictured, using appropriate measurements.

Step 2: Place the 2 sides together, wrong sides out. Sew around the edge, leaving a hole so you can turn it inside out.

Again, repeat this step with the smaller bow, if using.

Step 3: Turn inside out, and stitch over hole. I would make the hole in the center, so that the band covers up where you are sewing over the outside.

Repeat for smaller bow.

Step 4: Cut out a strip of fabric that is about1 1/2 to 2 inches in width, by 3-4 inches in length.

Step 5: Fold in half length-wise, wrong sides out. Sew up the length of the tube

Step 6: Turn tube inside out

Step 7: Iron all your peices so they lay flat. Remember to use a low heat if you are using synthetic fabric.

Step 8: If you want to use tulle, as I did on the top, Cut out a peice that is the size of the smaller bow, or if you didn't use the smaller bow, cut it out a tiny bit smaller than your main bow.

Step 9: Place the Big rectangle flat, then place the smaller rectangle flat on top of it, then the tulle on top of that. Sew a straight, large seemed line down the center of the rectangles. Gather the bow by gently pulling on the ends, and pushing the edges of the fabric toward eachother in the center.

Step 10: Wrap the tube peice around the center of your gathered bow as tight or as loose as you prefer. Cut of the excess, if any, and hand sticht together.

Step 11: Put a dab of hot glue on the very front and center of the bow, behind the tube, and secure the tube in place.

Step 12: Slide onto your prefered headband, and you're done!

  

Pretty Little Thing

I was in Forever 21 this Summer, and I saw these necklaces that were so adorable, but the kind where you immediately say "I could make that". I have since seen them literally everywhere, and have been dying to make one. So I thought the perfect opportunity to make one would be for Christmas, as a gift for my sister! I was so in the zone of making it, that I decided just to keep on going and make myself one too! They're really simple, and I'm sure just by looking at it, that you could figure it out too, but just to be nice, I decided to post a tutorial.

You'll Need:

Pearl Beads (These can be as cheap as you like, you can't tell once it's all finished)

A Spool (you won't use it all) Satin Ribbon

(In a width that's fairly close to the width of the pearls)

Needle and Thread

Step one:

Thread your thread into the needle

Step two:

Leaving about 6-8 inches for a tail, place needle through the middle of the ribbon from bottom to top, not pulling the needle out.

Step three:

Put a pearl on your needle, then feed the needle and thread through. Then tie a knot with the ribbon and the thread, to keep the necklace secure.

Step four:

You may need to look at the picture to do this step, as it may be hard to fully explain. But you then fold the top of the ribbon back over the pearl (making a "c" with the ribbon), and push needle through in the middle of the ribbon where it hits the top of the pearl.

(Sorry, this was really hard to photograph one-handed, so it's not exactly how I explained, but hopefully you can look at it, and follow the thread to see what I'm talking about.)

Repeat these steps over and over and over until your necklace is the length you want.

Step five:

Tie off both ends of the necklace in a knot for safe keeping. Tie the two ends together in a bow, and your necklace is officially done!

P.S. I like to burn the ends of the ribbon to seal them so they don't fray, but you don't absolutely have to.

More Kitchen Goodness for the Bride-To-Be

Here are the next parts of my gift for the bridal shower I mentioned earlier in the apron post. They're all part of the same gift, so they coordinate.

The first are hot pads, pretty simple to figure out; 2 pieces of fabric with batting and binding, then a simple quilting over top.



Next are dishwashing gloves. I have also wanted to do these for a very long time, and I found the perfect excuse with the shower once again! I got the tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets.

The Apron

Some of you may have noticed that I've had an apron on the to-do list at the top of my blog for quite some time now. It was never really a priority, so it just kept getting pushed aside for the last year and some. This is the apron I wanted to re-create. I saw it and LOVED it:



Well, I was recently given the perfect excuse to re-create this apron when one of my closest friends from highschool sent the invitation for her bridal shower. I'll probably eventually make one for myself too, but it's just not at the top of my to-do list right now.

Anyway, I didn't take as many pictures for this as I had first intended to do, but hopefully I can make it straight-forward enough to help you out, if you decide you want to make this.

First, you need to take maesurments. Take measurments from where you want the top to hit, to where you want it to hit near your knee. You'll also need a measurement of how wide you want it, which I got by measuring from just behind my left hip to just behind my right hip. This will be your widest measurement.

Once you have those 2 measurements, cut a rectangle of the 2 measurements (example, if the hieght measurement was 30 and the hip-to-hip measurement was 28, you'll cut out a rectangle that is 30"X28")

Once you've got your rectangle, you need to fold it in half length-wise and shape it like an apron. I don't have any exact formula for you for this part, but if you just look at the picture, I'm sure you can make it work.



So now you open it up, and you've got your apron shape. Now you need to hem the edges.

Next, you're going to cut another rectangle, but a much smaller one for the front pocket. This is just whatever your preference is. I made mine larger, and sewed down the middle to make 2 compartments. I ironed the edges in, and only sewed the hem on the top SEPERATELY, then I put it on the apron and sewed the other sides to the apron (the sewing to the apron becomes the sewing for the hem too.)



The next part is the neck strap. These are pretty easy and straight-forward. you just sew 2 strips about 2 inches thick, and attach them to the top corners of the apron. They only need to be long enough to tie a bow in the back.

Next was the trim for the bottom. The one in the picture uses pleats, but I decided to do a basic ruffle. For that, I measured twice the length of the curved bottom part of the apron, and cut a 3 1/2 to 4 inch thick strip that was the measured length. I hemmed it all up, then along the top, I adjust my sewing machiene to the highest tension and the highest stitch length, and sewed a straight line right through to the end, and came out with a ruffle.

I then sewed the ruffle to the bottom.

Next are the ties for the back. I originally wanted to do them longer, like the orignal picture, but I ran out of that material, so I had to make due with what I had. The ties that I did are both 45" long, and about 3 1/2 inches thick. You sew them up (which I did by just measuring 7 inches thick, and folding it in half then sewing one side, and turning it inside out and ironing flat), then sew them to the top of the bottom portion of the apron.

Now just cut all your threads and you're ready to get cookin' you cute little homemaker, you!

Super-Easy J. Crew Re-fashion

I was looking around on J. Crew, which, if I had to pick a store that I think defines my taste in clothes perfectly, it would be that one. Anyway, I was looking around and found this beautiful shirt:



I really liked it, among others on the site, but I decided I wanted to re-create, with a few differences. I wanted to combine this with another idea I have seen around that I love. I love when clothes have an artsy feel, and I LOVE shirts that are painted, or look like they are! So for this shirt, I decided to use the same concept and design, except I wanted to have the stems painted.

I used acryllic paint for the stems, and if you do this, make sure you put cardboard or something in between the front and back of the shirt, to prevent bleeding through on the otherr side. You have to let it dry a couple of hours, just to make sure it is set. I free-handed it so it looked sloppy and hand painted.

Once the paint was dry, I cut two 24X1 inch strips of satin, and two 5X1.5 inch strips as well. I pleated the shorter strips with an iron, and evened out the edges, then sewed down the middle. The longer strips become the petals, and the pleated sqaure becomes the center.

I hand-stitched the petals on the shirt by just folding the strip back and forth over itself in a circle pattern. I stitched it on the shirt in the middle, then stitched the pleated center on.
(Sorry I don't have pictures of the process, I couldn't find the camera until after I finished.)

And there you have it!!!


And here is a close-up of the flowers with the pleats.

Copy Cat Design/Another Refashion

Does anyone else remember the Favorite Tee from the Gap? They may still have it, I don't know, but it used to be the biggest wardrobe essential before Down East Basics came up with the Wonder Tee. They were just basic, crew cut tees in long sleeves and short sleeves, and different colors. They lost their steam when The Wonder Tee came out with a more up to date neckline and body length. That's about when I lost my steam with them too, having a need for a longer tee shirt to fit my afore mentioned large frame.
That didn't change the fact that I had literally a dozen of them, just laying around, waiting to be worn.
Around the same time I was pondering what to do with these shirts, I was looking around at one of my favorite idea stores (I say idea store because I can't afford to shop there, so I just get "ideas" from it), Anthropologie, and was noticing their cute little dresses, that were just so basic, yet chic and comfortable. It was this one that really caught my eye:

It was then that a little light bulb went off, and I realized i could make a sleeved version of this dress with one of my "Favorite Tees". I had a different idea for the top, however, because I wanted to save this beautiful circle ruffle for another top. Here's what I did to re-create this lovely piece:

First, I cut the trunk of the shirt across where I wanted it to hit.

I then, used the bottom that I cut off to cut 4 2 inch thick strips. (It doesn't really matter how thick, just as big as you want your ruffles.) I then took them to the sewing machiene, where I adjusted the tension on the machiene to the highest tension, and the stitch length to the longest length. I then only had to sew one straight line on the edge, and it came out like this:

I then sewed each ruffle to the top half of the shirt, starting with the bottom ruffle. This is how it turned out once finished with that part:

Next I found another "Favorite Tee" that I had used the trunk of to make the gaucho pants I posted about earlier. I used just one of the sleeves for the mid section, evening out the width before sewing it on.

Later, after this next picture was already taken, I decided to put vertical gathers in it every 4 inches or so. I did this by attaching elastic that was cut about an inch shorter than the width of the band, and stretching it out as I sewed down the width of the black section.

After that, I found some material that I thought would look cute with it, and cut it to the length I wanted, leaving the width the same as it had come. I hemmed up the bottom, then I measure the right size of elastic to fit around the t-shirt at the open end. I attached this elastic to the top by using the same method for the gathers above. Then I folded it in half with the wrong side facing out. I sewed the sides together, then turned right-side out again. I then attached the skirt to the top, and was just about done when I decided I wanted just a little more flare. I found this tutorial for fabric flowers, and took some black satin to make it, and I sewed on the pearl beads after I was done. I also hot-glued felt to the back to kind of seal it all in, then I attached it to a pin.

The finished product:

Just add some black skinny jeans and some pumps, and your ready to go!

Re-Fashioning Again...Skirt

I love pencil skirts. They are so sleek and classy, and can go with virtually anything. I've had the hardest time buying one. Not a whole lot of places sell the type that I like, that is, one that is a dressier skirt, rather than having zipper, button, etc. on the front like jeans. Anyway, even when I would find the dressier kind, they'd be too short, meant to hit above the knee, which of course in itself is not what I want, but it also means that it hits my 6'1" frame mid-thigh.

Well, I finally found this beauty and snatched it up. It hit me just above the knee, but that was the best I could find. So I decided to dress it up AND lengthen it by adding some pretty trim.

Now of course, since I had EXACTLY what I wanted for the trim in mind BEFORE actually shopping for trim, nothing met up to my vision. So I made the trim myself.

I made it using black satin. First, I measured how much I would need. For this kind of trim, you need 3 X the length of the measurment of whatever you are trimming. I cut the strip 4 1/2 inches wide. I then hemmed the strip, then pleated it by ironing folds into it. After ironing, I sewed the top of the strip to keep it in place. All I did after that, was treat it like normal trim and sew it to the skirt! Pretty fun and simple!



This one is so you can see the fold/iron pattern: