Upcycled Dresses plus a Tutorial

Caleb took a long nap this morning, so I spent some time doing a couple of upcycled dresses for Katie. I have been having such a good time looking at all the pics for Celebrate Yellow on Made, that it seems the inspiration has leaked into my own creations. The dress below is my own design. Scroll down for a tutorial.

This plaid one was made using one of my husband's old shirts and I followed the tutorial on Made By Lex for the Shirt Jumper Dress. The shirt I used already had two pockets, so I removed them with a seam ripper and sewed them onto the skirt. Katie loves having a "pockee" like Daddy's.

Little Maxi Dress Tutorial

I know there are a million tutorials in the blogosphere on how to make these little dresses out of a tank top, but I thought I would show you my way.

For this dress, I used one of Katie's old tank tops from this past summer and a vintage pillowcase I found at the Salvation Army.

  

Measure how long you want the skirt of your dress from the open end of the pillowcase. I went with about 16 inches because I wanted a little longer dress that she can wear for a while.

Take your raw edge and set your sewing machine to the longest stitch and loosest tension for gathering. This is what it looks like on my machine.

Start about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the seam on the pillowcase and sew a straight stitch all the way around until you are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the seam. 

Measure how long you want the top of your dress and cut off the bottom.

Find the mid point on the back of the shirt by fold it in half. Mark the mid point.

Gently pull the thread on the top of the skirt to gather.

Turn the top inside out and place skirt inside with right sides facing.

 Line up midpoint mark with pillowcase seam.

Pin really well all the way around, making sure gathers are even and edges are lined up evenly. 

Sew together about 1/4 inch or less below the gathering stitch. Since I am not yet in possession of a serger, I like to go back over the edge with a zig-zag stitch to keep the fabric from unravelling in the washing machine. 

This is what you now have. Kinda cute, but needs a little something. I decided to add a little sash  to this. I'm all about a big bow on the back of a dress. Well, for the seven and under crowd anyway.

Take the remainder of your pillowcase and cut off the original pillowcase seam. Now, cut two 4 inch wide strips horizontally. Cut one strip in half width-wise. The easiest way for me to do this is to fold in half to find the mid-point, mark and cut. You now have one long strip and two short strips. Sew one short strip to each end of the long strip with right sides facing each other. This will allow for the sash to be long enough to tie a bow without having a seam right on the front of the dress.

Fold the long strip in half length-wise with right sides facing. Press with iron. Sew the long sides together. Turn right side out.

Turn the open ends in and press. Top stitch closed.

Pin sash to dress and top stitch evenly with the seam of the shirt to hold it in place on both sides.

Here is what you get! 

It ended up being a little long on her, so I'm calling it the Little Maxi Dress. I'm planning to layer it this fall with a white long sleeved t-shirt.

Sally Mellville Love

Knitwear designer and author, Sally Melville, will be in Memphis this weekend for a series of workshops and I'm taking one. I can't tell you how excited I am!!!!! Yay!!! Anyway, so I headed out to Barnes and Noble this morning while the kids were at Mothers Day Out to pick up a copy of her new book, Warm Knits Cool Gifts, and I can't wait to have it signed on Saturday. This book is perfect for holiday knitting. It has a little something for everyone on your list and includes projects from easy to experienced and quick afternoon knits to long-term commitment knits. This book has it all.

Warm and Snuggly Vest

Yay, another finished boy project! It turns out I can make clothes for boys. Anyway, this is from Dear My Kids and the pattern is called The Warm Hoodie Vest. Since it is for Caleb, I made it out of a cute flannel printed with cars and trucks that I found at Hancocks and lined it with super soft fleece from Joanne. I also left off the bow tie and added a button to make it a little more masculine.

In knitting news, I am busy working on about 3 different projects. I should hopefully have a pair of socks done to show you soon.

Little Turkey Dress

Despite housework, potty training, and just general kid craziness, I actually got some sewing done today. This little dress only took me about an hour from cut out to finish. The fabric I found at Hancocks and the pattern is the toddler sized Itty Bitty Dress from Made by Rae. And, in case you haven't heard, it's free!!! The original Itty Bitty Dress is sized for like a preemie to newborn. Perfect size for the Bitty Baby doll that Santa will be leaving for Katie, complete with wardrobe sewn by Mrs. Claus.

Sick Day

The fall weather is here and I love it, but with the fall weather comes yucky sinus stuff. Katie was sick this last week, but now it's my turn. Lou took the kids to church this morning to allow me to get some rest. So, I'm here on the sofa cuddled up in my jammies pants, my Monkey Socks, and one of my Grandmama's quilts knitting and listening to our pastor Chris Conlee of Highpoint Church teach the last sermon of the amazing Love Works series. If you are looking for a church, you are welcome at Highpoint. We are a perfect place for imperfect people.
I wanted to show you a pic of my quilt that I am cuddled up with. My Grandmama McCaleb made it many years ago. Since she lived out of town, I didn't know her very well. She moved in with my aunt, who used to baby sit me, when I was about seven but by then she was sick and not quite herself. She passed away when I was eight. One of the legacies she left me was her craftiness. I feel so blessed to have inherited my creativity gene from both sides of my family. She was an amazing quilter and I love the fact that I have one of her's in my collection. This quilt is my absolute favorite. It is blue and has doves with olive branches appliqued onto the blocks. It is cozy and soft after many years of wear.

I can't tell you how much it means to me to have a hand made heirloom. My hope is that someday when my granddaughter is my age, she will be able to wrap up in one of my hand knitted shawls and think of my legacy to her.

Wedding Shower Munchies

Later this afternoon, our friends Jenny and Kelley are hosting a co-ed wedding shower for a couple in our church who had a small ceremony a couple of months ago. The plan is to grill out some burgers and hotdogs and just hang out and let the kids play. I love parties and I really love cooking for parties, so when Jenny asked me to help with the food I jumped. Today, I am taking my mom's Pasta Potato Salad and white cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Pasta Potato Salad

3 pounds of red potatoes

1 box of salad rotini pasta

1 red pepper chopped

4 green onions coarsely chopped

Mayonnaise

Ranch Dressing

1 pack of microwave bacon

Salt and Pepper

Cut up potatoes and boil on stove until tender. Meanwhile, cook pasta on stove as directed on box. Drain both and run under cold water to cool. In large bowl, place pasta, potatoes, red pepper, and onion. Mix in mayo and dressing to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Right before serving, heat up bacon in microwave. Crumble and sprinkle over salad.

Plain White Cupcakes

(Recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook)

1 box white cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cups in muffin pans. In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. Place in cups to about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 stick of butter at room temperature

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

4 tbsp vanilla flavored coffee creamer

2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar, creamer, and vanilla extract. Beat until frosting is well blended.

Mommy Made Friday

What Mommy-made items are my child(ren) wearing today?

The pattern is A-Line Tunic from Whimsy Couture and the fabric is from Hobby Lobby. The hair bow is also made by me and is called the Itty Bitty Pinwheel bow and is available in my Etsy Shop.