Saturday, June 14, 2014

Anne Klein Quote


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

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.


 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
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

Kesha Davis's photo. Such a fun idea! Going to have to try this!