Use a Broken Chair

 Hello Readers. Sometimes in this life, things break. Lots of things break, I found a broken chair and thought it shouldn't be thrown out. Do I know how to fix it properly? No. But that's OK. Let's use that chair. I have so many ideas!

 Yes, that is me taking my neighbor's trash. But this chair was really sturdy and still had a lot of life left in it. I wanted to save it from the landfill.

I took this brown chair and let it sit in my garage until I was ready to do something with it. You can see the seat is missing. It seemed to be missing some kind of seat that must have worn out. It sat in the garage until I was ready, I never take anything like this in the house until I can clean it. 

 

The seat of the brown chair was missing but it probably looked something like this. There must have been a cushion or seat of some kind originally. It could be replaced but I can still use this chair even if I don't fix or replace this seat.

 

I used various brushes to clean this chair. I wanted to really get in the nooks and crannies and make sure all the dust and dirt was gone. This is important for the next step. I don't think it matters what kind of brush you use, but I found that the toothbrush worked best me. 

I went it my utility room and searched for something I could use to wipe the chair down and refresh the finish and hide some of the little scratches, roughed up and faded areas. 

 

I grabbed this one because it was thin and watery. It was also clear. I just wanted to freshen up the finish, not re-stain it. This stuff smells bad, make sure you have good ventilation if you use it. 
 

I wiped the entire chair down with a sponge and I added a little more refinish liquid as needed. I didn't want the sponge dripping but it needed to be wet enough to cover the surface of the wood. 

 

The wood looks so much better when it is wiped down and refreshed. It almost looks like it was moisturized. This wood was not smooth, it had a bit of a rough finish. That was just the way they stained/finished it. It was pretty but a thick furniture polish might have gotten stuck in the rough surface. I thought this watery kind of wood refresher would work best. 

 

I was thinking of this chair as a side table instead of a chair. A large book can sit over the missing seat and it can work as a small bookshelf. Large thin books can even fit under the seat in between the legs of the chair. 

 

A large tray can create a side table that can hold small items at the front door like keys, wallets and glasses. The chair and tray could even be a small night stand by the bed. 

 

Need a plant stand? A medium plant can sit in the open seat. Check the sizes carefully to get a good match. This plant fit well and was large enough that it rested in the open seat and did not fall to the floor and make a mess. 

 

This chair/table can hold a large plant too. Check the sizes carefully so your plant will be secure. This plant sits well on the chair and it gets it up off the floor. I love all the different uses of this chair. I'm sure you can think of a few of your own. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big T

 Hello Readers. Sometimes I see things online or at the store and want to try and make them for myself. This shirt was one of those things. 

I saw an ad for a really big loose t-shirt. I thought... I can make that. So, I did.  

This shirt was so big and boxy that I didn't need to worry about getting a perfect fit. 

 

The original shirt was basically a rectangle with arm cuffs. I made 2 rectangular pieces. 

 

I cut out the head hole and sewed the shoulder seams. 

 

I added my arm cuffs and I added a neckband that looked like the arm cuffs.

 

Here is my big t-shirt. It was super soft and cozy. 

 

This was great for lounging and it's a great basic that can work with lots of things. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

Window Blinds to Summer Clothes

 Hello Readers. I took some fabric blinds down from the windows in my dining room and almost got rid of them. But then I realized I could make something out of that fabric. I liked the yellow and blue, just  not on my windows. They were pretty though. I decided to make a fun summer outfit from the fabric. 

 Before and after. 

These blinds were pretty but I replaced them. There was a second blind identical to this one, with all that fabric, I hoped I could make something really fabulous.  

I used this Simplicity 9408 pattern. I wanted the outfit in the middle. I liked the shorts with the long tunic style shirt. Let's get to work. 

 

When I say these are blinds, I mean they are Roman blinds with strings and a simple kind of pulley system in back to raise and lower them. I had to take everything apart to remove the strings and the lining and get the yellow fabric separated for me to use. 

 

I cut out all my pieces, including the neck and armhole facings. I hate neck facing, It is kind of a pain to sew in and it feels bulky to me. But, I was going to follow the pattern and do this right. (Spoiler- I did not follow the pattern and I did not do it right.)

 

The shorts came together easily. I first needed to sew the side seams.

 

Next I had to add the elastic waistband. I gave the shorts a simple hem. I followed the directions of the pattern for a pair of boxer shorts that I had because I didn't want to put in a zipper and I wanted a stretchy waistband. These shorts were not the difficult part of this outfit. 

 

Here is a look at the top. Can you spot the problem? It would never fit around my body. It was like a size 0-2. I did not check the measurements of the pattern carefully enough. I should have sized up to a bigger size in the top for sure. 

 Now what was I going to do??? I had run out of blinds. This was it. But my mom didn't raise a quitter, I'm going to do something.

 

This is literally all the fabric that I had left. Maybe if I had not cut out the neck and arm facings, I would have had more fabric. (I hate neck facings!!!) I had this small amount of very wide yellow grosgrain ribbon, I put it all together to make side panels. I was going to make the top and leave it sort of open on the sides. 

 

Short video of my mental break-down while I was working with this top.

 

This is what I ended up with. It had to work because I was out of fabric, out of patience and ready to fight this new top in a back alley somewhere. 
 

I tried this on and I was surprised because I loved how it turned out. It was comfortable and I liked the pop of bright yellow on the sides. The side panels cover everything that needed to be covered but the open sides are great for the heat on August. Thanks for reading along as I fought with this window blind upcycle, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cat Shirt Fail

 Reposting in honor of National Black Cat Day 8-17-2025

Hello Readers. I love to go on Pinterest and get ideas for projects. They don't always work out well but it is fun to try new ideas. I saw a cute shirt that had a cat face cut out of it. It seemed so simple, in reality it was very difficult. 

Before and after.

I had several black T-shirts I had collected so I thought I could safely attempt this project and be sure to get it right eventually. I started by tracing my cuts on a black T-shirt. I thought I would make some cuts and be done in five minutes. I was a fool. I didn't realize how difficult this shirt would be to make and wear.

I had several black T-shirts I had collected so I thought I could safely attempt this project and be sure to get it right eventually. I started by tracing my cuts on a black T-shirt. I thought I would make some cuts and be done in five minutes. I was a fool. I didn't realize how difficult this shirt would be to make and wear.

ATTEMPT #1

Well, the whiskers look like a rib cage and I forgot to keep a thin line of fabric to divide the nose in half. Oops. My chest was sort of distorting the cat in an awkward way too. That's OK, I will keep trying.

ATTEMPT #2

I got the nose correct but the whiskers are right over my boobs and look like a rib cage again. They need to be more narrow and closer to the nose. It just looks weird. I will try again.

ATTEMPT #3

I got the eye placement wrong on this one and forgot to keep a thin line of fabric across the eyes. It was difficult to put on the shirt without a boob poking out of an eye hole. Having a woman's chest is a serious problem for this shirt idea.

ATTEMPT #4

Yes, this is the fourth shirt I was cutting up. It already had the sleeves cut off but I didn't think it would matter for this project. I got the eyes and nose placed correctly and divided with a thin line of fabric. I cut slits in the fabric for whiskers. They opened up on their own when I put it on. I think this is the best I can do. And I am out of black T-shirts, so that's it for now. 

Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.

Fabric Scraps to T-shirts

 Hello Readers. Hot summer weather means t-shirts. I realized I had so many fabric scraps that I could make several t-shirts from all the scraps. I would piece them together and make as many as I could. I like to use fabric scraps, fabric is too pricey to throw out the scraps. Let's see how making my own t-shirts goes. 

 It's a t-shirt bonanza! 

All of my t-shirts started here. This is my scrap basket. It was getting pretty full so I decided to organize it. I realized some of the fabrics went together nicely and I could make some t-shirts for myself. 

I used this pattern. It is Very Easy Very Vogue 8062. It had small cap sleeves that were part of the shirt itself. It seemed easy to put together and I was going to make several so a simple pattern would be best. A similar pattern would be this Simplicity New Look 6216. This pattern is for a shirt with the same kind of sleeve so you only have to cut out the shirt front and back and sew them together.

I sewed the scrap pieces together until I had enough for the front and/or back of the shirt. 

 

I was basically making panels that I could cut into a shirt shape. I held the pattern piece next to the pieces of fabric to make sure the fabric was big enough to cut out my shirt piece. Every shirt turned out different colors and arrangements based on the scraps I had to use. 

 

When I cut out the front and back of the shirt I sewed the shoulders and side seams together as the pattern directed. 

 

 I hemmed the bottom of each shirt by turning the raw edge under twice and stitching it down with my sewing machine. A good beginner machine is this Singer sewing machine.

 

I wanted to make the necklines as simple as possible (And use the least amount of supplies.) so I used my serger around the neckline (Rainbow colored thread.) and then turned it under and stitched it down with my sewing machine. 
 

This shirt had a lot of linen and I loved the colors. I didn't stop there. 

 

I put scraps together without much plan. I just liked the colors and patterns. 

 

I just had to make the scraps go together until I had one connected piece big enough to cut out my shirt. 

 

I used my serger on the edges and then turned them under and sewed them down. 

These shirts were fast to put together and I started to get obsessed. I kept repeating the process. 

I liked these fabrics and they were already cut into strips so this shirt is going to be stripes. 

I was on a roll and I kept going. 

 

 Some of the fabrics were so much fun. I don't know where this cat fabric came from but I loved the cats with the polka dots. 

 

Little french bulldogs? Yes, please!

 

Bumble bees? Of course. 

 

This one includes a piece of embroidery that I found at a thrift store. 

 

When I got to these shirts, I realized I had enough scrap fabric to make matching shorts. So with my "Go big or go home" energy, I made 3 pairs of shorts. At this point, I was tired of making t-shirts. I had more than enough for the hot days of summer. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.