Raindrop robe

We lost our robe, so I had to make a new one. Melly Sews published her Sleepy Robe pattern just a week before Kids Clothes week - perfect timing! This pattern is so easy, and imagine...it is FREE and yet, comes in 4 sizes – 18m/2T, 3T/4T, 5/6 and 7/8!
I did some changes to the pattern, because we'll be using this for swimming and hood is indispensable. Fabric is SKÄRET Bath Sheet from Ikea. I tried to keep all possible original seems and I was really lucky with the hood, because I had an old hoodie, or part of it to be more exact (I used the sleeves already for these sweats) and the hood was perfect for this robe. I lined it with pieces of the towel and I must say that is the best feature. We already tested it and it does wanders for that wet after swimming lesson. Zipper was a practical choice, somehow belt don't work for us yet. P can't tie it himself yet, we it always ends up losing it or pulling it all over the floor.
String of the hood is a T-Shirt yarn I made not long ago.
I'd say this was a very productive upcycle:)

My way around stain removal

Kid's Clothes Week is always a good way for me to try to go through the pile of stuff waiting on my desk to be 'treated'. Way back during my first KCWC I challenged myself not to buy anything new, but to try to use what I have at home for my projects. Unfortunately, the pile has only grown since.

I will show you a bunch of T-shirts today, which went from useless to spotless:)

See, I am not your perfect housewife. For example, I am very bad at removing stains. VERY BAD! When P started his solids, the only way I was able to remove those carrots from his onesies was by boiling them on my stove. It is not really working for me, this stain removing business, I just can't be bothered to go through god knows how many chemicals just to remove a spot, when I can do this:

This T was fixed by mere accident. We were making a T for P and by mistake we printed a photo I had on my computer from the time I wrote this post for Budapest Moms. It is an illustration of a Cyclop by Csilla Kőszeghy. 
Although this was not the original plan, the deed was done, image was printed, iron on paper spent, we had to do something with it. Since this T-shirt was stained all the way up to the neckline (icecream) I decided to cut off this poor Cyclop's head and use it that way. I must say this proved that accidents are sometimes the best thing that can happen to you, because we received numerous questions about this T-shirt and I came out as very cool for making it. What is also very cool about it, is that iron on paper for dark fabrics (which is what this one is, because the image we wanted to print out originally was for a dark blue shirt) is thicker and more plastic, which means we could drip ice cream on this one whole summer and I was able to just wipe it off. This turned put to be a built in bib.

I had some Ts without the build in bib, which means more stains to cover up.

I cut this sign out from an old onesie all the boys from the family already used, so I didn't feel the need to keep it anymore for future generations. I also stenciled some star motifs with fabric markers to repeat the pattern from the sign.

Opening his eye-patch

Next one is also a cover-up from an old onesie, but flossed around with embroidery thread.

 

And just so you don't think P doesn't stain, he does...so we did his vest too. I met Dia (B!mba) for a coffee recently, and she surprised me with a bag of her fabric scraps.

 

I even drew some bird poo on there with 3D paint. My smart son called it bird seeds...I don't know why I didn't think of seeds instead of poo, but let's not dwell on that now.

Was this too much?
See my other T-Shirt refashions here and here or check how I made a beanie out of a onesie.

Mop beanie

I've only taken up crochet several months back but I only got as far as practicing some of the stitches for a few days. I do that often...get crazy about something and then forget about it completely.
So it happens,  I went to buy a circular cutter last week (which made making these color dipped pants sooo much easier) and I found some yarns I just couldn't resist. I've been looking for some fun boy-yarns ever since Peggy made this Fairy Hat for her daughter and this Schachenmayr Boston Style yarn came close enough to make me want to try again.

 I started with this video tutorial by Yolanda Soto Lopez, this is the easiest way to make beanies, you just crochet a big square and sew it together in the end. I love that you can do it without really thinking too much, no counting is necessary because you are just going strait and back. This is how I did the fist 4 rows, after the first chain which is the desired circumference of the hat I did a single crochet stitch into the back of my loop, this causes the ribbed look when you turn your crochet after each row.

Except that after 4 rows I decided that it doesn't make sense to have to sew up the hat in the end, why wouldn't I just make a circle chain one into the first loop of that row and continue crocheting in circles, which basically caused that braided look, because I didn't have to turn my crocheting anymore.

As for the pompom, I was going more for this look but T-shirt yarn I cut up smply did not want to curl up and this is how we ended up with a MOP BEANIE.

Color dipped boy

Continuing on my quest to prolong the life of P's pants...
His grey corduroys got outgrown for the second dime. The first time I just let down the seems to the maximum. Since he loves this pants, not only they were short, they were seriously worn out, and weirdly only on the left knee and thigh. As I didn't want to cut the pants to look like hot pants, I cut them at an angle that could go across both legs and cover all the areas that needed to be cut off, but still give me enough fabric of the other pants to attach and lengthen a little.They look like I dipped them in colour:)

Enough already...

The beanie on the above photos is also a project from my first KCWC two years ago.

I am awesome T-Shirt

As the title says, I think I am awesome! My whole life I was freaked out of sewing with knits. I started a while ago with some upcycles and it really wasn't that bad at all. But to make a T-Shirt was impossible to imagine for me. I thought I needed a serger, my machine isn't good enough and that I would fail miserably. But reading all the sewing blogs out there and seeing how people do wanders without sergers and any special equipment I though it is time to give it a go. Plus, what is the worst that can happen? T-Shirt turns out to be a disaster, I wasted a little time (not the first) and fabric (I upcycle anyway, so no biggie).

But I didn't fail:)
I am quite happy with the result. There are some things I will do differently next time, but in general, this is a perfectly wearable piece of clothes.

It is a little loose on him, but he loves it and he'll grow into it in no time anyway. I made it a bit longer than the pattern suggests. This T is made of two old T-shirts of mine. I used the old neck ribbing. Dana from MADE did a tutorial on this recently if you are not familiar with the process. I also made cuffs bigger and wider.

Pattern from Tank Engine (free, available in sizes 110, 120, 130). It is in Japanese, but there are photos if you are new to sewing, otherwise you will figure it out for yourself, it is a 3 piece pattern. The pattern lines up real nice and is very easy to work with.

What do you think?

Are you following my Free Sewing Patterns board on Pinterest yet?


Linking to The Train To Crazy

Buttnumbered pants GIVEAWAY

 Hi all!

Thanks to Dana from Made this little project of mine became very popular in the last few days.

And since my little guy wore it twice before he grew it out I decided to give it away.
If you have a 6-9 months old and you like these, enter now:)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

KCWC Fall 2012: Day 2 - Another fixer uper

There is a lot going on on the blog at the moment. I am mingling with the KCWC crowd and it is really fun! 

I did make another little pant wearable. I don't have a 'before' photo for you, but they were very funny. Ugly sort of baggy pant. I fixed the crotch line and added little white studs to the pockets. And that is that. I am pretty happy with the result. It is not a sewing goddess type of project, but it is useful:)

If you'd like to mingle, please let me know!

Last minute floorbed

P is in last minute swimming camp since today morning. We weren't home for the weekend, and before we left I had no idea he will be going to the camp. One of the things kids needed to bring with them was a foam pad, for their afternoon nap. Whaaat? How is he supposed to sleep on that? Plus, I don't have one!
What I did have, was a big chunk of 3 cm thick mattress foam my brother wanted to throw away (his new sofa was packaged in it) and I, as a major hoarder of junk stuffed in my storage area.
I also had fabric..I always have fabric.

Oilcloth tablecloth on one side, Ikea Saralisa on the other. Sew 3 sides on the wrong side, turn out the fabric, stuff the foam in neatly, sew one side from the outside, not at all easy at 1 o'clock at night and with foam pulling the whole thing out. But I did it!

Morning testing...
Yes, I made one for his friend too, while I was at it.

Hm, not to happy, is he?:)

Happy B Day Dr Seuss - My Two Things

Read more ovear at Budapest Moms.


Linking to: Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

KCWC - Day 3

Before

                                                                               

After

You can check out other entries here.

Hope to see you soon!

Petra