Baby dress from an old skirt

The other day I went through my closet and threw out all the old clothes that I didn't wear, were ugly, or didn't fit anymore. It wasn't a pretty sight. I had stuff from 7th grade that was way out of style. Yikes! Did I really wear that? I was about to donate them to DI then I thought to myself that it would be a shame to waste so much fabric that could be used to make something else like doll clothes, baby clothes, purses, baby bibs, etc. However I don't want to have a pile of old clothes laying around so I made a goal to make something weekly from my old clothes. This little baby dress came from an old skirt I had that was too short for me. I used this tutorial and free pattern. It took a little longer to cut out because I had to make all the pattern pieces fit onto the fabric which wasn't easy, but after that it was a breeze to sew together. I'm proud that I recycled and saved money. It will make a cute baby present to give to someone. Plus I'm learning how to construct clothes which isn't my strong point right now. What better way to learn than on fabric you don't care about right?

Making your shirts actually fit

So over the past week Matt and I have stopped by the Van Hansen outlet. They were having a mega sale and had some really cute T-shirts for $8. Problem was they didn't fit well. For some bizarre reason their shirts tend to be wider and baggier than most shirts even in extra-small. I decided to buy them anyways. I guess I fell in love with the cute ruffles and yoyos on them.

Today when I went to go wear it I looked in the mirror and sort of regretted buying them. They made me look fatter than I actually am. So I went on a search on how to take in a t-shirt. I came across this video. I then took a leap of faith and tried it out.

I was so surprised when after 5 minutes of work it looked great! I wish I knew how easy this was before!

Thank you youtube! Now I don't have to look frumpy and can enjoy my $8 shirts. I might just have to go through my closet and make more of my shirts fit perfectly.

Before

ew I'm even embarassed to post the before. Not flattering!

After



*The pictures don't show off the drastic change as much as in person. Just take my word for it. It was a huge difference. I took in 2 inches on both sides! Yes ironing does make a difference too, but aren't all before pictures supposed to look awful so everyone is shocked with the final result?

T-shirt Makeover

I don't know about you, but my summer wardrobe is pretty boring. I usually just buy plain T-shirts and dress it up with jewelry. It's fine, but I wanted a change. I love how J-crew dresses up the common t-shirt, but I'm cheap and really don't want to pay those prices. So when I came across this tutorial I had to try it. It did take awhile, but I absolutely love the result. Plus I found the shirts for $3 a piece so the shirt only cost me $6!

Just pop in a chick flick and you too can make a cute shirt. It doesn't even require a sewing machine and if I pulled it off with horrible hand sewing abilities so can you!

* The color is a very pretty lavendar. My camera doesn't ever capture my crafts well. Maybe someday I will have a nice Canon camera. Until then everyone will just have to put up with my crummy camera and photography skills!