Refashion: Toddler Boy Vest to Toddler Girl Vest

Another simple but practical and much needed refashion project! The weather is getting really cold. This past weekend the harsh Canadian winter has set in. I needed to make another warm layer for my fussy toddler girl quickly.

This was a vest that I made for my boy when he was a toddler. It's a nice thick brown fleece vest that is now too small for him. So it gets passed onto my toddler girl. However, I know she will not want to wear this boring plain brown vest so I had to jazz it up a bit to entice her to wear it. So with some remnant pink ribbing in my stash and some poorly embroidered cat character, here is how it turned out:

I'm still experimenting 'embroidery' (if you can call it that) with my old low-tech sewing machine. I need to buy some appropriate tear away stabilizer for these projects. Anyway, I think it turned out okay enough to get my daughter to wear this(fingers crossed)............. :-)

Refashion: Sweater knit skirt to Sweater Dress

I thrifted this sweater knit long skirt with a torn waistband and a high back slit a couple of years ago at my local thrift store. I initially thought I could make a cardigan vest out of it. But since I just LOVE sweater dresses for Fall/Winter, I thought I should try to turn it into a sleeveless sweater dress.

First I sewed up the high back slit closed. Then, using a sweater dress that I had refashioned before as a guide, I put chalk lines down on the skirt where I wanted to cut. I managed to avoid that torn area.

I sewed up the side seams and the shoulder seams. Then I rummaged through my scrap box and found this purple cotton velour scraps that I had used for another refashion project before. I bound the new neckline and the sleeves with this material. And this is how it turned out:

My hubby saw me in the dress and asked if I was going to be in the next Star Trek movie! I guess he thought that it looked too sci-fi/futuristic with those sleeves that stuck out. I am inclined to think he is right!

What do you think? Should I redo the sleeves to make them stick out less?

Refashion: 80's Power Dress to Batwing short dress

I thrifted this 100% pure virgin wool jersey dress from my local thrift store for a few dollars. I liked the forest green colour and I liked wool jersey. I also liked the gold button details on the shoulder. The only problem was that I didn't examine the dress too closely and only discovered later that there were many moth holes on the dress! Still I like wearing wool dresses in the winter with leggings so I decided to do a simple refashion.

First thing first, I took off the huge shoulder pads. Now the dress just looks like a drop should dress.

Next I turn the dress inside out and put it on. I marked the hem length I wanted to cut off and pinned out the excess fabric on the body. I like the idea of a slightly bat wing dress so I didn't reposition the sleeves nor the shoulder seams.

I hemmed the dress and then painstakingly repair all of the moth holes. I hope no one notices my repairs. And here is the result:

I'm pretty happy that I have 1 more Fall/Winter wool dress to wear. Another simple refashion project!

Pattern Review: Butterick 3267 Toddler Jumper

This past week, the temperature has dipped below 0 Celsius and snow has started to fall. My willful toddler has just gotten used to wearing her winter jackets, hats, mittens and snow boots. But she still would not wear the wool sweater vests I made her. She has become very very very picky about what she wears. She would actually physically fight with me when I try to help her dress in the morning. She loves red clothing but hates almost everything else. So I decided to quickly make some red warmer layers for her with whatever red winter fabric I have in my stash.

I found a small scrap of red fleece in my stash and it was just enough to make her a little A-line jumper. I dug out this thrifted pattern I got from my local thrift store - Butterick 3267. The pattern comes with a pretty coat, an A-line jumper/dress, sweat pants and a hat too.

I made some adjustments to the A-line jumper. I ignored the jumper neckline facings and used some pink ribbed knit scraps to bind the neck and armholes. I thought the straps on the pattern were a bit narrow so I just ignored the 1.5 cm seam allowance for the neckline and the armholes and bound the edges as they were. I added a self-made applique pear (related to my husband's last name) to the left bottom part of the jumper as decoration. I like the contrasts of the red against the pink binding and the green pear against the red background.

I'm pretty happy with this quick to make dress. The fleece was obviously easy to cut/sew and the pattern was so simple (2 pattern pieces only because I ignored the facings). I just hope that my toddler will keep wearing this all winter long!

Jumping on the checkered clothing bandwagon - McCall 5273 pants

I have had this grey/black checkered cotton knit since 2009. I bought it at a liquidation sale at a local fabric store and hadn't really used it. It's slightly stretchy with a firm hand. It's a bit heavy to use for spring and summer. So this Fall I decided to use it for a pair of slim pants.

I have noticed how popular checkered fabrics seem to be this Fall/Winter. Many high end designers and high street labels have produced checkered pants, dresses, tops and jackets this season. I guess I'm jumping on the checkered bandwagon too, while busting my fabric stash from 2009! Yoohoo!!

I used my altered McCall's 5273 close fitting pull-on pants pattern. I knew that they would not be leggings-like. I just wanted them to be slim knit pants that I can wear under tunics. And here is the result:

The pants don't look that great as is but under a tunic they seem okay (excuse the wrinkles on the tunic - I had been wearing it all day):

I'm happy with them. They are slim fitting which means they will fit into winter boots easily and I can also wear them with flats. I guess I'm on the checkered trend now!