Anne Klein Quote

Recycle Stretch Pants, DIY Romper Tutorial

The late Meesha Booh made a Youtube tutorial on how to make a halter-top swimsuit out of a pair of leggings. I used her idea to recycle some knit stretch pants that don't get worn anymore into cute rompers that can be worn for sunbathing, exercising, dance rehearsal, etc.

Mine will be worn over leotard and tights for teaching dance classes.

I've also worn them over a jogging top and panties to exercise at home.

 

         Here's all you need:

• One pair of knit stretch pants (Repurpose a pair you already have!)
• Matching or coordinating thread
• Sewing machine
• Serger (Optional)
• Iron and ironing board
• Fabric scissors and straight pins
• Less than one hour

First:

Find a pair of knit stretch pants. These are White Stag, 40/60 cotton-poly, size Small, 4-6.

Then...

 

Measure 5 inches down the leg starting at the crotch seam, and mark.

 

Fold up the pant leg at your mark and cut off the leg. Cut off the other leg the same way.

 

Now you have a pair of shorts and two pant legs:

 

Next, you hem the shorts. Use your serger to overlock,

 or use your sewing machine with a zigzag stitch:

 

Then, fold over about 1/2 inch to the inside of the shorts legs to

form a little hem and zigzag on top the overlock stitching. 

 

 

Press your new hems:

(Or, you can press the hems before you sew them if

you are worried you might not sew them straight!)

 

Now, to make a halter top out of the pant legs!

Serge or zigzag the unfinished edges together of each pant leg:



 

Lap them over together about 4 inches.

(Make sure the left is lapped OVER the right if you want to have

your halter with the right half on in front.)

Pin in place, and baste across all four layers:

 

Now, the really fun part! We see the romper begin to take shape as we join the top to the bottom!

Pin the two wide straps (that once were pant legs!) to the shorts putting the

right side of the straps on top of the wrong side of the shorts.

 Be sure to line up the middles. Pin the straps all the way to the side seams of the shorts:

 

 

 

 Zigzag across all layers stretching out the elastic waistband on the shorts as you go:



Turn the romper over so the right side is facing up and

zigzag across the top of the shorts waistband elastic, again, stretching as you sew:



 

Looks like:

 

Now, the final step! Pin both straps together and sew a straight stitch through all 4 layers:

 

Trim the excess off ONE of the pant leg seams:

 

Last of all, pin the finished seam over the trimmed seam,

 and topstitch though all layers with a straight stitch:

That's it! You did it! Now go romp in your romper!
Thank you for allowing me to share this tutorial with you,
and thank you for sewing along with me!
I'd love to see a picture of your finished product!

Here's another one I sewed from a sage green pair of stretch pants:

 

 

 Sometime soon I'll be posting rompers on my Esty Shop boutique called Bloomingayle's.

 

Crochetted Over-the-Oven Bar Dishclothes

Just wanted to see if I still remembered how to do this:

Child's Bandana Dress

 

 

A lot of people are making bandana dresses for their little girls.

The ones I've seen seem out of proportion, too long. My solution was to add a ruffle:

This dress fits my 20-month-old granddaughter perfectly and

 

fits my tiny 8-year-old "bonus" granddaughter as a darling blouse!

Here's how to make one:

STEP ONE
 Choose 2 bandanas the same color and style.
Select about 2 yards of coordinating ribbon, 5/8" to 1 1/2" in width.
Thread your sewing machine with matching or contrasting ribbon.
Heat up your iron.


STEP TWO

Fold over 5 inches at the top of the right side of both bandanas and iron a good crease.
(I prewashed and ironed my bandanas.)


STEP THREE

Stitch all the way across both bandanas to form a casing.

The width of the casing should be just a little wider than the width of your ribbon.

I used a zigzag stitch because I thought it went well with the bandana fabric motif.

 

STEP FOUR

Cut two strips of ribbon the width of the bandana plus about 12 inches. (So that the ribbon extends about 6 inches on each side.) Thread both ribbons through both bandanas.

 

STEP FIVE

Next is a small but very important step: Stitch through both casings at the middle of each bandana. This is so the ribbon doesn't come unthreaded.

 

STEP SIX

Now, all you have left to do is place the bandanas right sides together and sew up both side seams. Leave  5" open from the top for the arm holes. Be careful not to catch the ribbon ends in your seam! Also, be aware that the bandanas are not always exactly the same length. So, make sure you start sewing from the bottom up to the arm hole so that the hems turn out even.

Oh! and one more really fun part: gather up the ribbon and the tie bows over each shoulder!

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Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions?

Happy sewing! I know yours will turn out darling!

I'd love to see what your finished product looks like on your little one!

 

Sorry I couldn't get my models to be more cooperative for a photo shoot:

You get the idea...

 

 

 

 

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot "Bikini"

Grandma's Baby Doll Models Her Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot "Bikini"
I made this from a remnant of stretch cotton fabric. The pattern for the top is from a tutorial on Meesha Booh's (RIP) Facebook Group Page. I just added a ruffle to the bottom and ties at the neck. The bottoms are made from a regular bloomer pattern. (Bloomers look better than fitted trunks when you have to wear them over swim diapers!) I sewed black ribbon ties to the sides of the bloomers and to the sides of the top so that she won't loose her bottoms when she goes in for a swim. Just enough fabric left for a fashionable headband!
Doesn't she look like a Madame Alexander Doll?!

More Journals

Two are for July birthdays and one is for a high school graduation.

The Back Covers

Scarves Plus Flip-Flops

 Such a fun idea! Going to have to try this!

Project Sewn: Going Global Lounging Pajamas

Hooray for Project Sewn!

(Okay, never mind the Project Sewn thing. I couldn't get my blog to link up!
- gbt 5/26/2014)

 

Recently I learned about Project Sewn. Hoping it will help me whittle down my fabric stash, I decided to participate. This week the theme is Going Global! My sewing machine went to the Far East; Japan and India. My Asian print, woven, silky polyester finally found a purpose! At a clearance sale in JoAnn's a few years ago I fell in love with the piece, but it has not spoken audibly to my heart until now when I made these lounging pajamas.

Since harem pants have made a comeback I used a pattern I've had since the 1980's craze, Butterick 5610 for the bottoms. The only variation to the pattern is that I put in a solid red Lycra bandeau instead of the elastic casing the pattern suggested. For the top I used McCall's 6794 with just two minor changes. I made a traditional facing for the neck instead of the bias binding, and I made the sleeve holes smaller. (So I can raise my arms without showing unmentionables!)

Our family has a deep love for the Japanese people as my husband was a missionary in Japan in the early 1970's and, thirty years later, my daughter also served a mission in Japan. The doll I'm holding is a treasured souvenir.

My flip-flops are embellished with fuzzy-yarn crochet.

The robe that I made from McCall's 6408 works well with the set. I made  it a couple of years ago when my adult clog dance group performed a Russian number.
(Scroll to the end to see the group picture.)

Here's the top worn with jeggings. (I love the fishtail back on the top!)

Here are the harem pants doubling as party pants.
(I made the top, but, sorry, I don't remember the pattern number.)
The pants worked great for my morning yoga today!

I made all the hats and we each made (or hired out) our robes and pants.
 Yes, that's me in the middle jumping!
______________________________________________________

It's been a great trip! Thank you for the ticket, Project Sewn!

 

 

Grandma's Baby Doll With Cape

Here's a little cape I made out of a plaid fleece remnant. It's from Simplicity 1564. Cherish is visiting the lion statue outside the West Clinic in Pocatello, Idaho. Matching pants made from another fleece remnant. Isn't the model adorable? :)

 

 

 

Taken with my flip phone.

Vogue Pattern # 8975

 

This is the second dress I've sewn off V8975, It was hard finding coordinating fabric that I loved that were two-way stretch. The polka dot fabric came from Hancock and the other crazy fabric came from JoAnn's. Although I'm a veteran seamstress the pattern was a little difficult to follow on a couple of accounts. It has been a while since I've "bitten the bullet" and bought a Vogue Pattern, and I expected more for the money you have to lay out for a Vogue Pattern. (Although I got the pattern on the $5 sale!) The neckline was to my liking on the first dress I made off this pattern, but this one turned out a little low for me, but, lucky me, I had a great matching camisole! The flower accessory came from a sale at JoAnn's. The necklace and earrings my sister, Carol, made for me back when the clay jewelry was fashionable. I love it that the necklace copies the motif in the fabric and the earrings repeat the flower theme of the posy accessory. You can see some of Carol's newest beautiful designs at her Etsy Store called Silver Trove. The shoes are from Born. I love this dress because it is so comfortable, different, is all-season. It can also be accessorized in many different ways because of the different colors and designs in the fabric, and can be worn appropriately for many different occasions from wedding reception, church, out to lunch, or a housedress! I'll post a picture of the other dress soon!

Journals from Composition Notebooks

Our church Relief Society is putting together gift baskets for girls graduating from high school. My contributions are theses journals. I like to make journals out of composition notebooks which I get at Walmart for just under a dollar.  I glued pictures from old calendars and used scrapbook paper. As you can see, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Mary Englebreit designs! Some of these are also decorated with stickers and duct tape, etc. A fun thing I learned to do watching an artist on Youtube is color the edges of the pages with crayons in rainbows of colors used in the designs. The journals are covered with plastic folders I found last week at Walmart for 50% off the clearance price of 75 cents each. (The photos would have turned out better if I had taken the covers off first!)

Fronts

Backs

Table of Contents (Just printed on white cardstock.)

Close-Up of Two

 

 

 

Recycled Bath Towel and Washcloths

This is what happened last week when I cut an old, ragged bath towel in four pieces, serged around the edges, and decorated with a calico print, ribbon, and lace from my scrap stash. The pot holders are made from the same fabric stash and interlined with old washcloths. (A family favorite way of making the best pot holders ever passed down from my maternal grandmother.) Yea! New kitchen towels and potholders for moi!

Easter "Bloomers"

For Easter I bought Kammi and Cherish matching dresses. I couldn't find the fabric I wanted to make them myself, and I could buy them for less money than making them. Kammi's was a size 6x and Cherish's was a 24 months. Cherish's didn't come with matching bloomers, and I wanted her to have some to cover her diaper. (She's only 19 months old.) So, I made bloomers out of some pink washable satin I had left over from dance costumes. When Kammi saw them she decided she wanted some too, "in case she wanted to do cartwheels!" So, here's the pair I whipped up for Kammi: