Refashioning Hubby's Old Sweater

Last night, while much of the nation sat watching election results roll in, I sat in the quiet of my guest/project room and used my hands to do something cool.  Specifically, I turned 2 of John's old sweaters into something new.  Both were intended to be new sweaters for me, but one was a big fail.

First, I tried them each on to see how big they were on me and what their original shape would allow me to do.  As you can see, this one was a bit boxy to begin with.

Then, I laid them out and, using pins, a yardstick, and a fabric marker, made a plan for where my new seams would be. With the first one,  I was shooting for a dolman-type sweater that would still allow a lot of room through the body but be more fitted at the wrists and waist.

The blue line is faint, but what I did was see how big a hole I needed for the wrist and made a mark there.  Then, using the yardstick, I drew a straight line from the existing armpit to that dot. 

I did the same at the waistline, measured how much I wanted to take off the waist and made a dot there.  Then, I drew a line from that dot to the existing armpit, joining the line I'd just made from the arm.

Then, I sewed on the lines, cut off the excess fabric, turned it rightside out, and checked out my new sweater!

As you can hopefully see despite these horrible photos, it's still a full, flowy sweater but it nips in at the wrists and waist.

I also tried to refashion this one.  It was looking great, with more fitted sleeves, until I cut out a giant neckline that made it impossible for me to even keep on my shoulders.  Oh, well.  Other ideas for how I could salvage this sweater and perhaps turn it into something else?

So, I took something that John had viewed as less than desirable and approached it with hope, with positivity.  It's apparent to me after reading my FaceBook feed this morning that many of you could use a little positivity today.  So, join me:  drown out the ignorance and negativity around you by turning up some positive music, dancing around the living room with your Little Boy, taking a walk (it's a gorgeous day here), posting/reading about /doing something positive, and praising God for his sovereignty. 

Sounds pretty good to me.  ;)  I'd better get to it.

Sew What?

Sew What? 

Sew knits! 

I was thrilled to discover that our local fabric warehouse has begun to carry knits.  The ladies who work there just shake their heads at my enthusiasm:  "What could you possibly want with this fabric?"    (They're really fun, sweet ladies who always give Little Boy treats and are eager to help me out with my crazy project ideas, so I'm willing to tolerate their playful jabs.) 

At $3.99 a yard for solids and $5.99 a yard for prints, I decided to do some experimentation in making my own clothes.  I was going for a kind of "body-drape" look that I thought would be easy to achieve with knit. 

Here's a look at 4 things I've made lately with Marshall's knit fabrics.

This one is definitely my favorite!  I love this dress.  Since it only involved sewing one long seam, it was definitely the easiest to make.  I even made one for Girl 1, and she loves it.  I feel a little like I'm headed to a toga party when I'm wearing mine.  Girl 1 says she feels like she lives in the Bible.  Either way, it's a neutral, comfortable dress that can be accessorized lots of different ways.  To make this dress, I kind of loosely followed these instructions.

I had some leftover fabric from the above dress, so I decided to turn it into a skirt.  Love this skirt!  It's very versatile.  I don't usually tuck into it, but I thought that would give you a better look at the skirt for the photo.  For this one, I VERY loosely followed these directions.

Then, I guess I started to get cocky and decided I'd try something with an actual pattern.  When I got that pattern home and started to read over it, I realized that though I've sewn LOTS of things over the years, I had basically no formal sewing training.  My mother-in-law gave me a few simple sewing lessons years ago, but other than that, I'm self-taught.  Reading that pattern was like reading another language.  Needless to say, this tunic/dress did not turn out as planned.  After lots of seam ripping, my first go at using bias tape, and a quick YouTube tutorial on how to sew a slipstitch, I did complete the project.  The end result is not something I would buy off the rack, but, oh well.  It was intended to be a tunic that I can wear with leggings, but it turned out a little longer than anticipated by the time I added the extra length to the waist to allow for my height. 

My mom, who probably hasn't worn bare shoulders in public since her 40th birthday, will be glad to hear that I am making some attempt to dress my age lately.  My new personal rule has been that I don't show both knees and shoulders at the same time.  It works most of the time.  So, if I'm wearing short shorts, I try not to pair it with a tank top.  Jeans and tank tops.  Short skirts and t-shirts.  You get the picture.  The dress, as pictured above, however, does not meet the criteria.  So, I guess I should go put on those leggings.  (By the way, my exceptions to my own rule are my running gear:  I definitely wear shorts,  and I can't stand to have sleeves when I run, so shoulders and knees are all bare when I hit the road.  I also make an exception for crazy hot days.  If it's above, say, 90 degrees, all bets are off!)  Of course, rules are made to be broken, so I don't always follow my own rule.  Besides, 33 is not that old, right?

And lastly, this picture really doesn't do this top justice.  It's really cute.  And it has an adorable little pocket!  Oh, and these are the jeans I had on in a Goodwill store one time when a kind, older gentlemen offered to buy me a new pair!  Hahaha!  And, yes, I do realize that these jeans do not look like the jeans of someone who's trying to "dress her age,"  but I love them AND, they do follow my rule:  my knees may be showing, but my shoulders aren't!  ;)

Reduce Waste: Sew Your Own Cloth Napkins

 When you decide that you want to cut down on your household's contribution to the landfills, start by taking a look at what paper products you use the most of.  At our house, we used a lot of paper napkins.  By using cloth napkins, we cut down on our paper waste and just toss dirtied napkins onto the mountain of laundry.

When it comes to selecting fabric, I do have a couple of pointers.  Be sure that it's something that will wash up well and not be too wrinkly.  You do not want to be ironing your napkins.  Yuck!  (Have I mentioned that I hate to iron?)  Also, be sure that your fabric looks basically the same on both sides.  If you select a print that is mostly white on the back, your resulting napkins will look funny.  And, lastly, I love to use the now popular batik-type prints because they don't show stains.  Oil stains that won't come out just look like a part of the pattern. 

 Napkins can be made in any size square you are comfortable with. The standard sizes are 12, 14, and 16 inch squares. The easiest way to make sure they will all be square is to make a poster board template.

Press under all edges 1/4". Press that edge under again.

Using your pressing lines as a guide, trim off the outside corner.

Press the new "corner" down to the inside press line. Re press the first press of the edges.

Press edges under again making corner meet diagonally in center of the corner.

Top stitch the hem into place, swiveling the material as you reach the corners.

Gifts for Kiddos

Here are a few of the crafts that I've been doing lately and would be happy to sell to anyone who'd like to purchase!  To order, email me (Ashley) at bellerbrood@yahoo.com.

This is what I call a TAGGIE BLANKET.  It measures about 10"x10" with ribbon loops.  Babies love these!  One side has a print, while the other side features a super-soft and cuddly solid-colored fabric.  $8 each.

I mostly have more feminine ones made up right now.  However, I would be more than happy to make custom Taggies; just let me know what colors you'd like.

From left to right: pink, tan, brown, orange

These CRAYON APRONS are always a hit at birthday parties.  The apron measures about a foot in length and ties around the little artist to keep those crayons well within reach at all times!  $10 each.

Here are a few of the varieties I have available right now.

What about the little boys?  I wouldn't leave them out.  These are CRAYON ROLLS.  They are similar to the apron, only they just roll up and are tied shut with an attached ribbon.  These are great for throwing into mom's purse or into that busy bag for church!  $10 each.

Designs currently available are Spiderman, John Deere, camouflage, and soccer.