Meet Me For a Drink

 Hello Readers. Sometimes tops are too low cut for me. I am short and I think I have short shoulders (?) so it can be difficult for me to get tops that fit well. The V-neck always hits my chest too low. That's OK, we can fix this. 

 I loved this top with the fun cocktail drinks all over it. But it was too low. 

The top had a little tie at the top but it would still sort of gape open. I needed to make the top "more" closed. 

Here is a close up of my top. This V shape was my problem but it is easy to fix. 

I decided to pull the 2 sides together. I planned to sew over the stitches to keep the top closed. 

I sewed over the stitches that were already there so my new stitches wouldn't stand out. I ended my stitches about 1 inch below the head hole. 

I can still tie the little tie but the shirt is closed without it. 

Now I can lean forward without flashing all of my lady bits. That is a big win from a simple fix. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Dress to Jacket

 Hello Readers. It is still a bit chilly where I live so I need a jacket. Sometimes I wanted to wear this vest by itself and sometimes I really wanted it to have sleeves and be a full jacket. I wanted it all! Was that even possible? Probably not but I had an idea. 

I thought this brown dress would be a great lining in this vest and it would add sleeves like I wanted. 

 

This dress was like a long t-shirt. I like brown so I kept it around but I never really wore it.

 

I thought I could cut the dress shorter and somehow attach it to the vest. 

 

I cut the dress shorter to start off. I didn't want it to hang out of the bottom of the vest. I cut the dress a bit shorter than the vest. 

 

I cut the dress open in the front. I cut straight up from the hem to the zipper at the neckline. 

 

I cut off the bottom stop piece of the zipper. I also removed the zipper pull of the zipper. I didn't remove the zipper but I won't need to pull the zipper up and down. 

 

I used my serger all around the cut edges of the dress. This would keep the edges from curling. 

 

I had some brown Velcro. I was going to use it to attach the dress to the vest.

 

I clipped the soft Velcro to the vest and the scratchy Velcro to the dress. I wanted the soft Velcro on the vest so that if I wore the vest alone, the soft Velcro would be more comfortable if it rubbed against my skin when I wore it.
 

I sewed the Velcro to all the edges.

 

The Velcro holds the new lining to the vest. 

 

I can wear the 2 pieces together to stay warm and cozy.
 

I can also take the lining out whenever I want and wear the vest alone. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crop a Sweatshirt

 Hello Readers. Have you ever wanted to shorten a long top? I liked this sweatshirt a lot but it was a tunic. I wanted it to be waist length so I decided to shorten it and add a waistband made from the excess fabric I cut off. Let me show you how I did it. 

A new shorter length.

 

This was a soft tunic style sweatshirt. I like the eggplant color but the hem length and the sleeve length were both a bit long for me. I would like it a lot better if it was shorter in length and I would love an actual waistband at the hem of this shirt. Let's make it shorter. It's easy to do.

 

I cut the length of the shirt to my waist. I use sharp sewing scissors. This length will vary for each person. I suggest putting it on and marking the length that you want and then cutting the shirt.

 

I cut a second piece to use as a waistband. I cut a band from the extra fabric that was approximately 3 inches wide. 

 

I folded the band in half. I wanted the right-side of the fabric facing out. 

 

I clipped the waistband to the outside of the sweatshirt. It was clipped all the way around the hemline. The clips will help keep it in place while I sew it together. 

 

I sewed all the cut edges to each other. I sewed all the way around the hem of the sweatshirt to attach the waistband. I used my serger but you could also use a zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine. Either is fine. Use what you have.

 

My next step was to top stitch the new seam. This will make the seam smooth and flat. I used my sewing machine with a straight stitch. This waistband will look nicely finished with out any elastic in it so I did not add any elastic to the waistband. (This is a simple beginner sewing machine if you need one.)

 

I wanted to shorten the sleeves a little too. (I have short arms. If you have normal to long arms, you might not need to do this.) I turned the sleeves up. I wanted the sleeves about 3 inches shorter. 

 

I stitched around the wrist cuff. I used a zigzag stitch so that the cuff will still have some stretch. The way I folded the cuff up to sew it will remove the extra length in the sleeve.

 

This is what the new seam looks like. It runs all the way around the wrist. 

 

I cut the excess fabric off the sleeve. I cut next to the seam I just sewed. When I fold the cuff down it will look like a normal sleeve and cuff.

 

Here is my new sweatshirt. The new waistband and wrist cuff look like there were always like that. 

 

I was happy with the new shape and fit of this sweatshirt. I hope this helps you crop one of your shirts. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quilted Placemats

 Hello Readers. St. Patrick's Day is coming and I had some shamrock fabric in my fabric stash. Let's make some quilted place mats for the table. It wasn't difficult and didn't take a long time but they looked super cute. And you can choose any fabric you like, not just shamrocks.

You don't need the luck of the Irish to make these cute quilted place mats. 

 

 To start I got my fabric and some batting for the middle. I made a "sandwich" of fabric on the bottom, batting in the middle, and fabric on the top. Both pieces of fabric have the right sides facing out. That makes the place mats reversible. 

 

I trimmed all 3 layers to make them the same size all around the 4 sides. The fabric layers and the batting should match in size. 

 

I used a yard stick  and chalk to mark diagonal lines on the fabric. I marked with the chalk in 2 directions to make a grid pattern. I tried to make each line evenly spread out but this isn't rocket science. Don't stress about it too much. It will look great once it is sewn together.

 

I stitched across the fabric on the white lines. This made a grid pattern of stitches across the place mat. The stitches make a nice quilted look on the the place mat.

 

 I wanted to use bias tape to finish the edges of my place mats. I chose green because it went well with my shamrocks. Your color choice is up to you.

 

The bias tape fits around the edge of the place mat. The bias tape is like a taco shell and the place mat is the taco filling. I sewed carefully to attach the bias tape to the place mat on top and on the bottom at the same time.

 

These place mats are a great start to having a fun St. Patrick's Day dinner. (You can see I haven't cooked anything yet. But I will get to it, I promise.) Thanks for reading along, I hope your day is wonderful and lucky.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A St. Patrick's Day T-shirt

Hello Readers. St. Patrick's Day is coming soon. I'm not sure if you celebrate or are into this holiday but I am. I am mostly of Irish decent. (Like you couldn't tell from the pale skin and freckles right?) Anyway, I made a shirt to wear for the special day.

I didn't have a spare t-shirt to use so I decided to use this dress. It fit fine but it was too clingy and heavy. The dress was full cut but somehow thin and heavy at the same time. I didn't like to wear it, even over leggings or tights. This dress would be better as a shirt.  

I got out my handy dandy stencils. I should have checked to see if I had green paint. I didn't. I decided to mix some yellow and blue and make my own. I put some cardboard inside the dress so the paint wouldn't bleed through to the back. 

 LUCK!

I was also missing the letter L. I used a 1 and a letter E to make the L I needed. Was I getting annoyed that I didn't have the things I needed to make this shirt? Yes, and it made me more determined to make the shirt than ever! I would not be stopped!

I did not have a shamrock shaped stencil either. I used this little foam shamrock. I painted it and used it as a stamp to get the shape. I filled in the paint where it needed it and I was done. It just needed to dry.

  I cut the bottom of the dress off. I used a shirt I liked as a guide for length. I didn't hem it because I planned to tuck it in anyway. 

I let it dry overnight and it was ready to go. Everyone has heard of the luck of the Irish, may you have a lucky and happy St. Patrick's Day too.  

Be Sustainable & Organized by Reusing Containers

 Hello Readers. I am always trying to get organized, and stay organized. It isn't always easy but I try. I also don't want to spend money on the latest and greatest organizing bin or container system. Do I really need to buy more stuff to organize my current stuff? Is there another way I could get my stuff together? I think so.

 We all want to be neat and organized. Let's do it! 

I want to be organized and I want my house to be nice and neat but do I have to buy more containers for my stuff? Do I really have to spend more money to hold all the stuff I spent money on? I say no. I decided to use this tea container for something besides holding the tea that came in it.

 

I checked to see if the container could hold water and it could. Grabbed some potting soil and filled the container about 2/3 full with loose, not packed soil.
 

I put a small plant in the tea container. It became a cute planter. I put the tea bags into a tea cup. It looked pretty and was perfect next to my water kettle. But...

 

This water kettle shorted out. I was going to throw it away but it also held water so it became a great pot for my spring onions. It is cute and unexpected. And free! I just added some potting soil and then my plant.

 

 

 This little gravy boat was perfect for this small parsley plant. I didn't need to buy pots for these plants, I could use what I had at home.

 

The same kind of metal tea container could also make a great pencil cup that could attach with magnets to my refrigerator. It would keep the pens next to the calendar.

 

I used some small magnets to hold the container to the side of the refrigerator. I didn't need any tools, just the magnets between the container and the refrigerator.

 

I had this cute little lamp in the corner of my kitchen. It lit up the corner well but hiding the cords behind the cutting boards did not always work. I needed to use the boards for cutting at times. 

 

I placed it on this little candle holder/stand to hide that cord. 

 

The extra length of cord fit into the back of the stand so well. 

 

The candle stand is actually meant to hold this soup tureen. I can place a tea candle in the stand to keep the dish warm at the table. But for now it is holding my little lamp's cord. 

 

Another example is this small milk glass collection that I use to hold jewelry. The bud vase hold bracelets, the ash tray holds earrings and the small plate holds a couple necklaces and a tiny bowl of rings. I didn't need to but a jewelry box, I could use these dishes that I already had. 

 

I have another group of milk glass dishes that hold my sewing tools. I could have bought some kind of desk organizer or a sewing box but this works great and it is a way to enjoy the dishes in a different way. And sometimes buying a new organizer bin just isn't feasible. Let's use what we have.

 

I use this candy dish for cosmetics in my bathroom. There are so many cosmetic bags and holders that you can buy to put your bathroom products in but this was free and prettier. Thanks for reading along, now go organize your home and enjoy what you have on hand.