Make It Work

 Hello Readers. I love to sew and refashion and make clothes fit. I have not really had any formal training (You can tell by now, right?) But I just try to figure out what I need and make it work. These cargo pants were just like that. Did I need pants with a bunch of pockets?? Yes, I'm sure I did. So let's make it work. 

 

Before and after.

 

The pant legs were too long on me and the waist did not fit well. Here is my weird idea to take in the waist from the back. That way all the side pockets stay in place. 

Why is the back belt loop diagonal? I don't know. 

 

I unpicked all the stitches that held the belt loop in place. I set the belt loop aside for later. 

I cut the back of the pants apart right at that center seam. My cut was about 5 inches long. I just cut through the pants along the seam. It's weird, I know. Trust the process. 

 

I went to my sewing machine and used a zigzag stitch. I pulled one side over the other and sewed the waistband back together. I used a wide zigzag to cover the new seam. 

 

You can see here that I sewed the belt loop back on and it hid my new seam a little.
 

I also made the pants a bit shorter. A new hem helped these pants a lot.

 

My cargo pants fit so much better, thanks for reading along. Now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

Maxidress to Bubble Skirt

 Hello Readers. I loved the sunflowers on this maxi-dress. It was so fun and cheerful. I liked the maxi-length but I also had an idea. What if I made a bubble skirt/dress from it? That could be a lot of fun. 

Before and after. 

This dress was great already. I could wear it alone or with this yellow sweater. But...

 

I could also sew the skirt inside itself and make a really fun bubble skirt. I could simply sew the hem of the dress to the waist seam of the dress. It would be a quick easy way to change the whole dress.
 

I sewed the hem of the skirt to the waist seam. That would create that puffy bubble skirt shape. 

 

I thought the new shape was a lot of fun. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

Light Summer Robe

 Hello Readers. I thought this sheet would make nice light weight sleep wear. I thought I could make a night shirt and coordinating robe. I had a vision and tried to see it through. Did I succeed? You be the judge. 

 

Before and after. 

 

I thought I could use the leftover half of this sheet to make a robe that coordinated with the night shirt. (Spoiler-I did not love either.)

I sewed the sleeves of the robe together.

 

I used this trim as a belt to keep this new robe shut. 

 I hemmed the robe and...... 

 

I didn't like this anymore than the night shirt I made. This looks like hospital attire too. Yuck! Well, This was not a win in my opinion, I will try again to make some fun sleepwear soon.Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Summer Pajamas

 Hello Readers. It is warming up so that means light weight clothes and light weight pajamas. I wanted a simple light weight night shirt and I thought this upcycled sheet would make a great one. (Spoiler- It wasn't great!)

Before and after.

 

The sheet was divided in half using 2 patterns. I decided to use one half for my night shirt. 

 

I cut out the front and back of the night shirt.
 

I sewed the side seams to connect the front and back.

 

I used my serger on the neck and arm holes then I turned the edges under and stitched them down with my sewing machine.

 

I added the button at the neck just for decoration. 

 

And.... I don't love it. It looks like a hospital gown. Ugh! This was not the vision! I shortened it and it still looked like I was a runway from the Emergency Unit. If I make a coordinating robe from the rest of this sheet, will it improve the hospital vibe??? Check back tomorrow and you'll see the robe and decide if this was a whole thing was a good idea.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Make a Big "Lego" Head

 Hello Readers. If you have kids or a Lego lover in your life you will love this fun project. This big imitation Lego head would make cute decor.  I use it as a little yellow trash can. It was a huge hit in my house and it was useful in my kiddos bedroom too. You will need a plastic "can" and some paint to make one of your own.

Make a fun trash can.  

The first step of this project is the best. You will need to buy a big plastic can of cheese balls. The can will need to be empty so you need to eat all those cheese balls. You can get friends and family to help you eat all those cheese balls. Make it a party if you want.

When all the cheese balls were gone, I washed the label off the can. I scrubbed a little and it came right off with just soap and water. 

I needed to paint the can yellow like a Lego head. I used this inexpensive acrylic craft paint. It took 4-

5 little bottles to complete my painting. 

 

I poured all of the paint into the can. I put the lid on and turned the can all around to get the yellow paint all over the inside of the can. It was very easy to keep the paint from making a mess with the lid on. You don't need any brushes or tools, just turn the can all around so the paint can coat the inside of the can.

The paint was thick and it took a little while to get the inside evenly covered with the paint. I just kept turning and rotating the can and eventually the paint was all over the inside of the can. 

When the paint was even, I left it to dry over night with the lid off. 

The paint was dry and my head is ready for its face.

 

 I wanted a simple smiling face.You can choose whatever face you want.

The eyes were perfect circles so I got something that looked perfectly round and traced around it with a permanent marker. 

I made a small curve for the smiling mouth. 

I wanted the eyes and mouth to really stand out so I bought some of this Puff Paint. 

I used the paint to draw on top of the marker. 

The black paint was very dark and looked great to define the face. 

I filled in the eyes and again, let the paint dry overnight. 

This was a cute little trash can for a child's room or next to their homework desk. If you want to eat a lot of cheese balls, you could make more than one. Thank you reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

A Spring Pillow With Buttons

 Hello Readers. Spring is here. The sunshine, the blossoming trees, the flowers... I wanted to make a springtime pillow with bright fun colors to celebrate spring. I don't know how to embroider by hand so I decided to simplify and use my sewing machine and some colorful buttons.

 

Make an easy colorful spring pillow. 

 

I already had this chair from IKEA. I have had it for years and years. The little pillow is from IKEA too. It has a little cover or pillow case. We are going to use that to do our sewing. (Similar pillow cover here.)

 

I took the cover off the pillow. The cover is what I will be sewing my spring flowers on. It will fit in my sewing machine easily. Using a sewing machine will make this a quick project. It is perfect for a beginning sewist or someone just learning how to use a sewing machine because the stitching does NOT need to be perfect at all.
 

I did my sewing at the bottom of the pillow near the zipper closure of the pillow. The zipper made it easy to get one side of the pillow cover under the sewing machine foot.

I sewed straight lines along the bottom of the pillow. That will be the "ground or grass" that out flowers will be growing out of. Then I started sewing shorter lines perpendicular to that "grass" to make my flower stems.

I started with one shade of green to make my grass, flower stems, and leaves. Then I went over those lines of stitching with another shade of green.

When I was done using all the shades of green thread I had on hand, I had 4 different shades of green all sewn on top of each other. I wanted the different shades of green to give it some depth and variation. 

My next step was to sew on the buttons by hand. I used the colors that caught my eye. Any colors that you like are fine. I used the largest buttons I had so they would really pop. Use any buttons you like. (Similar here.) I threaded the needle and stitched through the holes in the button and tied a knot in the inside of the pillow cover.

I used embroidery floss to sew my buttons on my pillow cover. You could also use thread. I sewed the buttons to the pillow and it only took a few minutes. 

My pillow was so fun to make. It was "no stress-just fun sewing". Grab a pillow cover and you can make this fun project. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.