New Addiction - Sewing with Knits

Okay, my dear sewing friends!
WHY did nobody ever tell me how easy it really is to sew knits?!
WHY did nobody ever tell me that my sewing machine has a "fake" serger stitch?!
WHY did nobody ever tell me that that same sewing machine has a fancy decorative zig zag stitch perfect for top stitching knits?!

Along the same lines: WHY did nobody ever tell me how easy french seams are. I had to find out all on my own. But better late than never. I will safe this topic for another post, though.

But, back to knits! I am addicted to recycling John's and my old T-shirts into dresses for the Twins. If you cut it right then the lower edge and sleeve edges are already finished for you. Which eliminates a lot of work.

Inspired by a dress that Angie at Mama Lusco recently made for her daughter and the Lil Blue Boo Sienna dress, I took three plain white shirts and turned them into simple A-line dresses with lots and lots of ruffles. Oh, they are so cute. Never mind the fact that white really is not a good color choice for Toddler dresses. But, oh well, who cares. They are adorable.

Initially, I just wanted the dresses to be all white. But then I remembered the hand sewn felt flowers I made last summer and figured they'd look cute as appliques centered on the dresses.

(Note to self: Need to comb childrens' hair before taking pictures and work on lighting, to eliminate pee-yellow hue on white fabric.)

I think, I will enter them in the Lil Blue Boo / Dharma Trading Design challenge as well. Did you know that for every 10 dresses entered into the challenge Ashley will make and donate one to a Charity! If that's not reason enough to make some more...!




Have a great week everybody!

Recycled T-shirt Dresses

It was a more or less a last minute decision for me to participate in the Lil Blue Boo / Dharma Trading Design Challenge. I didn't think I could pull it off.
Ashley from Lil Blue Boo has the cutest patterns for dresses made from recycled T-shirts. And see, I don't really like working with knits and I don't own a serger. Which I think is really a plus to have when sewing knits.

Anyway, Sunday night I just started cutting away. Inspired by the Sienna dress, I used four old shirts to piece together two different dresses. In addition I used the bottom of some pants' legs I had left over from making another set of capries for the girls. Those legs are now the sleeves on the dresses.

On one of the dresses I added a low fitting belt made from left over T-shirt fabric. It is looped through slits I cut above the twirly skirt part of the dress and simply tied into a double knot on one side.

I also added the girls' initial on each of the dresses by creating a stencil from freezer paper and filling it in with fabric paint. (Will be a helpfull touch for some of the teachers at their Pre-school ;-))

I think I will be making a few more of these dresses. They are easy and quick to make and the girls are very comfortable in them. Also, we have plenty of T-shirts that would love to see the light of day again...

PS: YES, I still have 3 or so "one-of-two-done-projects" laying around....!

Bright Summer Dress

As of late I have been in this crazy summer-clothing-for-the-girls-sewing-mood. And it's not over. Bad part about it is that I have about three or four "one-of-two-done" projects laying around.
Obviously, I have every intention of finishing them and luckily at 13 degrees (-10 C) there will be no need for any of the clothes I am making just yet.
Like this one (one of the few that I have two to show already):

I have been stashing tons of different pinkish fabrics: new prints, thrifted pillow cases, linens, you name it. I picked a few Amy Butler and Michael Miller prints and paired them with a couple of bright flowery pillow cases. I love the result: so bright and fresh. Just like summer.

These dresses do not have a zipper or buttons in the back. They are cut wide enough to slide over the hips. So: step in, pull up, insert arms, done!

I have drawn a little pattern and written some instructions, if you like to try this kind of dress. The pattern is made to fit a child with a 22 inch chest (56 cm) or 4T dress size. The instructions are not very detailled and don't have step by step pics. But, that's all I can manage for right now. If you do have any questions just comment here or send me an email. I will get back to you.

Hope everybody has a great week!