15 minutes dress fix

Happy Thanksgiving to all! This morning I decided to take a couple of pictures of Bug in her pretty formal dress, and I noticed a little problem. Do you see it ??

 Look closer... Here.

Well, Bug is one of those string bean kids, show only grows one direction : UP, and fast at that. While short dresses are cute for babies and toddlers, I felt this was a lot of leg to show for a formal dress, even with tights underneath.

So a little stash dive later... I cut some 6" wide strips of satin that matched the sash color as closely as possible:

Folded in half, ironed and cut to size.

Then sewed into a loop

And added to the bottom of the skirt

Ahhh much better and it only took 15 minutes :)

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Step stool to foot stool

This poor old step stool... looking all ratty and tired was begging for some TLC... And the armchair in my basement needed a companion to facilitate the concept of "putting your feet up"

A bit of foam and batting

And the left over of the slipcover fabric..

Now I can put my feet up

No more old tired step stool... Instead I have a supercomfy footstool.

Flower power: Fix ripped jeans

Do you have an active kid? I do... VERY active. I sew a lot for Bug, not only new outfits or updating old ones, but I also often have to mend, patch. Bug loves it pink and girly so what to do when a pair of plain old jeans gets a nice tear? Flower power ! 

First mended the hole in with a zigzag 

Then I used a fun quilt block cast off from a friend's project

Iron on with some Wonder Under

And a zigzag stitch with silver thread

The finishing touch, some pink flower lace at the cuffs

Flower power works pretty well for Bug

 Yep that's Bug, in Bug mode :)

Can you say active kid ??

Snazzy slippers

We've had a fantastic week weather-wise, it felt like summer all over again, but dry. However, the week before was pretty miserable, which reminded me I needed new slippers. Ikea has those simple black slippers for $2 a pair. Serviceable but really not pretty. 

A bit of fabric was all that was needed to turn blah into tada...

Check out my new snazzy slippers

Yep I made two pairs ... 

I think that counts as upcycling, right ??

I'm still not ready for cold weather but my feet will stay warm

Denim - Pants into cute skirt

Lately all the sewing that I managed to do was "utilitarian": Clothes marking for school, hems and repairs. Nothing fun. I was putting away some fabrics and bumped into my stash of old jeans. That's when I remembered seeing this cutie skirt:

I figured I could make one for bug. I grabbed a pair of jeans with big holes on the knees, cut them off just above the crotch and removed the ruffles on the back pockets. Then I pulled some cutsie fabric from my stash and my ruffler foot...

 

And an hour later ...

Bug did not hesitate much to model

She announced she was going to wear it for her first day at school, too bad the first day has been postponed due to the aftermath of hurricane Irene, Bug had to wait one more day to wear her new skirt.

Upcycling - Kid table and chairs

With  Bug going to Kindergarten and her special needs, we figured we needed to set up a quiet spot for her to do homework. I'm not sure what Kindergarten homework entails  but you can be sure if there is anything that can interfere with the task at hand, it will be transformed into a long and painful ordeal. We picked a corner of the main floor with as little distraction as possible then I went hunting for the perfect desk for Bug. 

This little table and chairs set was donated by aunt Joan, her (now grown) daughters used it to do her homework. I decided to spruce them up a bit to make them work for us. I had bought all the supplies and was planning to get this done over the weekend but I got unexpected free time this afternoon so I went to work !

All it took is some primer, 2 cans of spay paint and new rubber feet. Budget: $12

I picked colors that match the corner of the kitchen they will be located

I might add some hand painted decorations, olive branches, since our decor is mediterranean inspired.

If I have time ...

Ready for school... well almost.

And bonus ... the chairs and table fold so they can be easily stowed away.

Denim upcycled - A tote for the farmer's market

I found some fun fabric at Joan's a couple of weeks ago: apples and oranges. The minute I saw them I knew just that I wanted to make a tote to go to the farmer's market that is held 2 blocks from our house on Sundays from May to October. I needed something sturdy to resist the weight but instead of canvas, used more denim reclaimed from Old jeans. 

It's roomy but low profile with a wide base to tuck in the groceries without piling them too much. I added a big pocket in the front for my cell phone and sunglasses,

 

a strap for closure with a really big button, a padded strap for comfort.

Inside I added a pocket with a snap to tuck in my wallet.

I'm out of Jeans for now but no matter: more upcycling to come

Princess Fiona's - A summer dress

I have been informed/instructed by Bug about Princess Fiona needing some summer dresses. This is the first one that came out of the sweatshop studio. Bug is of course expecting a couple more.

I still had a few scraps of the toile blouse I recycled into a dress for Bug.




Just about enough for a dress for Fiona. I went for a simple pillowcase dress to avoid having to deal with sleeves. It turned just a bit short so I ended up adding a ruffle at the bottom

And for Bug's convenience (and mine) I used a fabric covered elastic instead of a ribbon tie. Easy to put on and off without mommy's help. Bug loves it "Oh! La jolie robe" she went. I think Fiona will get more dresses on the same basic design. It's so cute I'd make some for Bug too but her closet is already full of pretty dresses thanks to Grandma.