Refashion Month--Knit Dress to Maxi Skirt

House of Estrela is hosting her refashion month!
 

 

And, I'm joining in!

 

I found this dress at the thrift shop and it is completely not my style.

I prefer a more modest top, and it is see through....maybe it was a swim cover-up, I don't know!

Either way, I bought it thinking I could salvage the fabric for something.

 

 

Enter the Jocole's Yoga A-line Skirt.

This pattern is amazing--it has 9 different length options, slim and regular width, and wide or narrow waistband.

 

I chose to make the slim, petite maxi skirt, and I love how it turned out.

 

I threw in a second, above the knee length skirt to make the skirt modest--it's attached right at the waistband, with the side seams facing out to make it nice and comfy. And, that fabric was a long sleeved $3 tee from Walmart that I chopped up, so also a refashion!  

 

I used both original hems, so no hemming--this skirt was done from start to finish in less than 1/2 hour!

 

Now, the question is: What do I style it with?!

I had originally worn the grey shirt on the bottom, thinking grey and pink--one of my favourite combos.

But, my dear husband thought I should wear white with it.

And, I threw in the other option as a possibility--a bit of a layered look for fall, maybe?

Let me know what you think--would love to have your thoughts!

 

Either way, I love it--it's so comfy!

And, I'm eyeing my stash of knit fabrics thinking they'll make some more comfy maxi skirts...maybe I should just make another trip to the thrift store.

 

And, now for the giveaway!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


And, you can add pictures to the Refashion Flickr Group to be entered to win a bundle of patterns as well!!

 

Make sure to stop by all the other stops for Refashion Month!

Gigggles & Beans - Nest full of Eggs - Friends Stitched Together - The Lachman Collection - Sew Straight & Gather - FABulous Home Sewn - Skirt Fixation - Swoodson Says - Gracious Threads - Sews n Bows - Carissa Knits - Sew Shelly Sew - Hamilton Chicklets - Climbing the Willow - Serger Pepper - xoxo Grandma - Threading My Way - Sara Made - The Land of K.A. 

Catherine by BebeLambs

I had the privilege of testing a tutorial from BebeLambs!

This cute little dress or top is called the Catherine.

It's a tutorial--there are no pattern pieces, but there are measurements to cut the pieces.

And, it's on sale for $3.50 through July 4th!

 

 

I made the 3 month size for my little girl in the dress length.

There are measurements for top, tunic, dress, and maxi.

Plus, there is a ruffle option.

Sizing goes from 18" doll to 10, so it can be used for many years!

 

The fabric I used is Nursery Versery by Heather Ross and the green is a Kona solid in Avocado.

Both fabrics are fabrics that I won in previous giveaways.

 

To get your Catherine pattern, visit the BebeLambs Etsy shop or her website!

Plus, there is a coupon for 25% off her website with a cart total of $7.00 using coupon code INDEPENDENCE.

Finally--the Tinny!

I finally got around to the Tinny Dress from Straight-Grain that I had been hoping to sew up for my girl!

 

 

I sewed up a size 4 with size 5 length--I dislike when she grows out of her dresses in a couple of weeks.

The fabric is from Betz White and I managed to just eke this out of what I had left after this top.

So, lining up flowers at the (invisible!!!) zipper was out of the question, unfortunately.

 

Some of the instructions I found a little confusing, especially with the collar and facing, so I just improvised with what I knew would work.

It is definitely a fun pattern with the different collar styles, different sleeve cuffs, and different skirt options!

I did the notched cuffs, pleated skirt (I didn't have enough fabric for the circle skirt), and the asymmetrical collar.

My girl was so excited to go for a photo shoot--and after we picked a small bouquet of dandelions, she was even more excited.

 





 

And, the second youngest wanted to be in on the pictures too...

 

My friend Jess, from Gracious Threads gifted me the e-book, Style that Kid by Alida Makes as a 'baby gift.'

I've tried to incorporate some of what I've learned into this shoot--a prop (dandelions), getting as natural light as possible, etc.

The pictures are not perfect--quite far from it, but I'm excited to be learning!

 

 

Rag Blankets Added to Shop!

Finally! I've finally added some more rag blankets to my Zibbet shop!

 

 

Click on the pictures to be taken to that listing!

 

I love myself a good rag blanket/quilt.

These are all baby size--29" x 34".

Perfect for a crib or car seat!

 

Fabric Painted Flags

My sons (especially the oldest) are war buffs.

World War 1 and 2, the American Civil War, etc.

So even though we are Canadians, my oldest especially loves the American flag and wanted to make one to use as a 'war flag.'

 

We cut up an old sheet and used a mix of acrylic and fabric paints as I didn't want to use all fabric paint since it's much more expensive than the acrylic.

 

He used stencils for the stars and freehanded everything else.

Excuse the wrong number of stars and stripes--he was going for the look, not accuracy so much!

 

My second son's loyalties are divided...

 



 

Those are the same flag. One side is his version of the American, one is Canadian.

He got me to tie it onto the stick...I love how 'carefree' he is about a two-sided flag--he tells his brother when they play war, that their 'team' is the Americans and Canadians!

 

My older son on the other hand had a much larger flag and was insistent that it needed a good stick.

So, my husband picked up a dowel from the hardware store.

Then, it had to be attached with grommets and hooks.

 

He ran outside to do a battle charge so my husband quickly snapped some pictures.

My son is pretty proud of his flag!

 

 

Ha, and a funny story: they were done (the oldest, one side and the younger, both sides) and wanted to take pictures of it--just like Mom does when she makes something. I think they're learning a little something from my sewing and blogging!

 

So, to all my Canadian readers: 'Happy Canada Day on the 1st!'

And, to all my US readers: 'Happy Independence Day on the 4th!'

 

Something Sweet, Something Slimy, Something Sewn

 I no longer look like or feel like a hippo.

The culprit has emerged:

 

 

Our dear little daughter, our little blessing, our gift from God!

Leah Bethany was born last week weighing in at 7lb 13oz.

And, I have to say she is so sweet.

 

We are adjusting to a new routine and a tired Mama.

One of the refuel naps I was taking, my son caught this--a slimy frog:

 

Imagine my surprise when I'm looking through pictures on my camera of little Leah and suddenly there are pictures of grimy hands and slimy frogs. Yes, I was surprised.

When I asked where this picture came from, my oldest son told me he had caught it and had wanted to show me. But, I was asleep, so Daddy had taken a couple of pictures.

Love it.

 

Finally, I was able to get some sewing done, after a long absence of my sewing machine.

I had brought it to the shop to get serviced, hoping it'd be a week.

Three weeks...sigh.

But, it's back after my dear husband drove to the city and back to pick it up (1.5 hour round trip) and I'm back at it.

 

My youngest son is 2 1/2 and he needs to be potty trained.

But, he still wears size 12-18 month clothes.

Perfect time to whip up some undies out of old tank tops of my own!

 

I love adding fun tags to their clothes!

They're not perfect, but they'll hopefully do the trick of getting him potty trained.

He's already excited about them.

And, I'm excited to be back in 'business.'

 

 

 

Mimi Blog Tour

When Melanie from Filles a Maman was looking for people to do a blog tour for her new pattern--the Mimi Shirt and Dress, I was quite eager to hop on board.

 

Read on for a discount code and a Giveaway!!!

 

It's a really nice pattern with some neat details that really make it stand out!

 

 

For one thing, there is the option of doing a peter pan collar (which I did) or a fringe around the neckline.

Plus, there is the keyhole.

 

The sleeves aren't just straight sleeves--they have a folded over cuff.

 

 

It can be made as a shirt or a dress.

And, as my daughter will only wear dresses, that is what I made.

I followed the size chart, and made a 4 in width and then lengthened it along the lengthening line to about a 6.

It's so handy that Melanie included a finished length chart--I was able to measure where I wanted the dress to fall, look it up on the chart, and then lengthen it by the required amount!

No guesswork there.

 

To tie the dress, Melanie suggests using grosgrain ribbon, but I wanted to match the fabric that I used for the collar and the covered button, so I made a 'belt' out of some of the same fabric.

 

Another fun detail is the topstitching around the facing. It doesn't show very well with the fabric choices I made, but it adds a nice detail!

 

 

And, the hemline!

I loved that I didn't have to hem it--that it was a facing.

But, I also really like the curve of the hemline--it takes a simple A-line dress and makes it that much more interesting.

 

 

All the little details really make this pattern pop, and my daughter loved that she got another dress out of the deal!

Such a girl.

 

Fabrics are Heaven and Helsinki knit by Patty Young, bought at our local Fabricland.

And, it was sewn completely by regular sewing machine--no serger required.

 

Grab the Mimi Dress here, making sure to use the code: MIMITOUR20 for 20% off!

 

And, SURPRISE!, enter to win 5 patterns of your choice from Filles a Maman!

 

Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by!
Make sure to stop by all the other bloggers on the tour!



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