A new picture of my FOUR MONTH old baby (I know, four months? WHAT?!!)…
See, even she’s surprised how fast time flies!
I cannot even tell you how THRILLED I am with my new sewing machine (the Janome 7330). I was a little concerned about the price at first, but as soon as I started this bad boy up and started sewing, I knew it was worth every penny!!!
So, here is my first completed project (aside from the 8 pairs of babylegs I made as soon as I took the machine out of the box 
)….
My neice has a dress similar to this one that I absolutely ADORE, so I used it to draft the pattern. The shirt I bought from Walmart for $3 and sewed it to the dress so that the straps would stay in place. Someday (when I’m all grown up, as my friend Lori would say ) I’ll make my own shirt, but not this time.
The thin, stretchy fabric fed through my Janome beautifully! I am lovin’ this machine!!!
It’s not going to fit Amira for long, but will work well under her clothes for now. It’s a size small, but I guess I underestimated how much Amira has grown.
This soaker is made of a merino wool/cashmere blend (which I bought on clearance for 70% off) and took about 2 days to complete. I used the punk knitters pattern (knit in the round).
I know that I haven’t been blogging much lately, so here’s a little update…
The kids are doing well. Here’s a sweet picture of Sammy taking care of his baby sister.
We got back from our trip to Oklahoma last week. Lori sent me back with these AMAZING cloth diaper covers from Japan. We LOVE them. Laci, if you’re reading this, let me know when you are back in Japan because I need at least ten more of these!!! haha
I’ve been taking a break from sewing (in the process of trying to sell my sewing machine and upgrading), but I’ve been busy for the last couple of days knitting my first wool soaker! I got this 100% cashmere yarn at the Hancock in Oklahoma on clearance for 70% off! I also have some pretty colors, like pink and baby blue, but I wanted to make sure that I was capable of completing the soaker before I used my good colors.
Mira likes them!
They’re so soft! And I haven’t even lanolized them yet!
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With her big sis!
Happy baby!
Hangin’ out in her newest cloth diaper!
I know it has been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve been pretty busy! I’ve been working on mastering the cloth diaper. I’m not there yet, but getting closer…
And the wool longies…
And for my sister’s baby shower, I made some little pj pants and matching appliqued onesies…
I found this tutorial on how to make a mold of yourself using duct-tape. I don’t normally make clothes for myself, but I thought this would be a helpful tool when making clothes for Alena, so I made a mold of her.
Mine’s not as pretty or smooth as the one from the tutorial, but please take into consideration that I was molding a very busy 3 year old.
All I need to do now is stuff it and make a stand (find out how here) to put it on. How cool is this idea?!!
As requested, here are the step by step instructions (with pictures) on how to make a girl’s skirt out of a pair of women’s jeans.
First, choose the jeans you are going to be recycling. I chose a pair of jeans that I hadn’t worn for years. They had a bit of a flare at the bottoms, which was perfect for the type of skirt I wanted to make (fitted at the top and flared at the feet). Once you have chosen your jeans, lay them out and cut the bottoms of the legs off at the length that you want your skirt to be(see picture 1a). Be sure to take into account the seam allowance (for the top only ~ you will be keeping the already-made seam at the bottom of the pants) and the waistband (you will be transferring the waistband from the pants onto the top of the skirt later on).
Next, cut out one of the seams on each leg (I cut the inside seam). You’ll end up with two pieces like in picture 1b.
1a.
1b.
Now, lay the two pieces on top of each other, right sides together, making sure that the two seams going down the center of the skirt are lined up on top and bottom (picture 2a).
2a.
Place a pin just above the bottom hem on each side to keep the two pieces in place (picture 2b).
2b.
Next, measure your child’s waist (I add a few inches to give some extra growing room) and divide that number in half. Mark where the seam will be on each side using this measurement (make sure that the measurement is centered, using the seam down the center of the skirt as the midpoint (see picture 3a and 3b).
3a.
3b.
Next, pin where you want your seam to be along each side. I used measuring tape as a guide to ensure I was pinning in a straight line (at a slight angle to make the bottom of the skirt wider than the top) as I pinned down to the bottom hem (see picture 4a).
4a.
Now, stitch the seam on each side. You can either use a serger, or use the straight stitch and go over it with the zig-zag stitch to ensure a secure seam (see picture 4b). If you did not use a serger, cut the excess fabric from each seam when you are finished stitching(see picture 5a).
4b.
5a.
Using a seam ripper, remove the belt loops from the pants. Set them aside (picture 5b).
5b.
Starting from the center of the back of the pants, cut out the waistband. Make sure to leave at least 1/2 inch seam allowance (aee picture 6a). When you get to the front zipper/button section, cut around it, leaving a generous amount of fabric around it (see picture 6b).
6a.
6b.
Now turn the skirt right side out and iron the seams flat. Lay it on a flat surface and center the zipper/button section of the waistband over the skirt, making sure that the seams are lined up down center and place a pin along the seam to mark where the zipper section ends (see picture 7a).
7a.
Now, cut down that center seam until you reach the pin that marked the end of the zipper (see picture 7b).
7b.
Center the zipper section onto the front of the skirt once again, but this time put the right sides together and pin the waistband to the skirt on each side of the zipper, all the way around the waistline, each side meeting at the center seam of the back of the skirt (see pictures 8a and 8b).
8a.
8b.
Sew the waistband onto the skirt beginning on one side of the zipper (again, using either a serger or a straight and zig-zag stitch). Stitch as close to the waistband as you can without stitching over it (see picture 9a).
9a.
Stop when you get to the center seam on the back of the skirt and begin stitching again on the other side of the zipper (again, stopping when you get to the center seam in the back ~ see picture 9b).
9b.
Now press the excess waistband together and stitch (see picture 10a). When you are finished, cut the excess fabric from the waistband.
10a.
Next, fold the excess fabric (on the left side of the zipper) under and pin along the edges of the zipper section (see picture 10b).
10b.
Cut a small section from the fabric in front of the zipper (on the right side ~ see picture 11a). Now fold the fabric under and pin along the edges of the zipper area. It can be a bit tricky to get the fabric to lay flat. It might take a few minutes until you have it right (see picture 11b).
11a.
11b.
Now, stitch along the pins, careful not to stitch the front of the skirt to the back (see picture 10a).
12a.
You’re almost done! Just stitch the belt loops onto the waistband where they would normally go (two in front, one on each side, and one in the center of the back). This can be a little difficult for your sewing machine, so take your time. It’s a lot of thick fabric for your needle to push through (see picture 12b).
12b.
And that’s it! You’ve made a recycled skirt! Here’s what the finished product looks like:
Front
and Back
And your little girls will love their new skirts made from old jeans!
This is an ankle length skirt that I made for Alena out of an old pair of jeans that I hadn’t worn for several years. I used the bottom of the legs, the waistband, the buttons and the belt loops from the old jeans to make this skirt. I am in the process of making a second skirt similar to this one and I have been taking pictures in order to make a tutorial. This project was more time consuming and required more effort than most of my previous projects, but it was well worth the little extra that I put into it. I ADORE this skirt on her (I’ll be sure to post pictures of her wearing the next skirt).
It also looks fabulous with a belt!
**Update** You can now see the tutorial on how to make this recycled skirt here.
In her handmade recycled sweater-pants!
