School has started.Goodwill provided Audrey will several up-cycled outfits.
We really had fun adding to the jeans jacket.
Going Green is more than recycling empty soda cans. We have been "upcycling" for years in other ways but did not realize it. Exploring ideas on using something old to create something new. With the high cost of fabric,taking a thrift store find to a new level is financially and environmentally appropriate. Plus it's so much fun to create! We think of ourselves as saving the planet, one skirt at a time!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Mom's on Etsy and Back to School
School has started.Goodwill provided Audrey will several up-cycled outfits.
We really had fun adding to the jeans jacket.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Featured Treasury on Etsy with Free Shipping
This treasury on etsy features many of my friends items and shops. We are offering free shipping with this coupon code in our shop. Look at all the great items my fellow etsy sellers have,really some talented people.
Look at all the great stuff!
The code is: treasuryfreeship
Audrey modeled for a few shots of some new items in our shop. This corset vest was made from some vintage Hello Kitty Fabric that had been used for a canvas tote bag previously.
Miss Jess finished her skirt, Audrey needs to sew on her trim still. Jess looks so cute!
I am looking for anyone else who has blogs on how to do fabric dying, batiking,etc...
Would love to have some readers share their ideas and photos. I am working on some jeans skirts and a jacket from Goodwill. I have bleached one and added dye with fabric markers. Not sure what else I will do before I add the appliques.
Look at all the great stuff!
The code is: treasuryfreeship
Audrey modeled for a few shots of some new items in our shop. This corset vest was made from some vintage Hello Kitty Fabric that had been used for a canvas tote bag previously.
Miss Jess finished her skirt, Audrey needs to sew on her trim still. Jess looks so cute!
I am looking for anyone else who has blogs on how to do fabric dying, batiking,etc...
Would love to have some readers share their ideas and photos. I am working on some jeans skirts and a jacket from Goodwill. I have bleached one and added dye with fabric markers. Not sure what else I will do before I add the appliques.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Monthly Free Give Aways on Etsy, my favorite shops!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Pixie Fairy Skirt Pattern Instructions from old t-shirts, Goodwill finds Part 1
I just love shopping at Thrift stores and the Goodwill here in Monterey is so fantastic. Every time we go, Audrey and I find some great treasures. For $28 this weekend we bought 3 dresses, a jeans jacket and three skirts. They also have daily half price items. Today is half off dresses so I am heading back to get some more goodies.
Since Audrey started back to school today (sophomore year!), we were looking for school items. She and Jess also have been working to finish their skirts before the first day. (Only Jess got done so far, Audrey had required summer reading to finish for Honors English).
We started with two things for her big sister, Hillary that only needed stain removal. Sometimes really small stains can ruin an entire garment. I took the white print Banana Republic dress that had several yellow spots and rubbed in some oxcy clean powder after dampening the spots. I let is soak for about an hour, washed the dress and out it came!
This peach colored chiffon skirt had lots of potential. But the tacky brown sequins plus some yellow stains made it look really awful. The good news is, the stains came out and removing the sequins was super easy. However, it made a huge mess on the floor and the sequins kept sticking to the cats feet and legs. He did not appreciate that at all!
I made a simple belt out of a scrap of peach colored satin,with the wrong or "rough" side out for some texture and added a strip of antique lace from my vintage stash. It made a sweet little tie on belt and the skirt looks great now.
Our kitty cat, Lizzy got extremely thirsty watching us sew so he decided to drink right out of my water glass. Than looked at me like I got his face all wet!
I was inspired on etsy by a fantastic seller who does upcycled clothing. Her site is www.Creolesha.etsy.com. Check out her wonderful fairy pixie stuff. I won't become her competition on selling these and hers looks better but it was fun to make and I felt like I just saved the lives of several old shirts and things in the process.
The Fairy Pixie skirt was really fun to make. I took a pile of old knit shirts and "found" scraps as well as a lavender floral dress from Goodwill to make the skirt sections. You just need 3-4 shirts in various colors and some scissors to get started.
First figure out which piece will be the waistband. I used an old tank top that had bleach stains on it in teal green. I cut off the bottom of the tank top, 10 inches wide. I checked it around Audrey's hips and took off enough for the correct length. I sewed up the side seam and folded the band in half. Since I had another shirt to cut up with a purple narrow band on the bottom, I decided to add this to the teal for a more textured waist band.
I zig-zag stitched the purple band around the bottom of the teal band. Now it was time to cut up the other shirts and that dress.
I did not waist a single bit of fabric. I cut off all of the sleeves, and with them folded, cut kind of a petal shape with the top narrower than the bottom. You have to make enough pieces that are wide to make sure the girl wearing the skirt does not have her behind showing. So make sure you cut at least 8-10 pieces between 16-20 inches in length and 8-12 inches across the top. (these go on last)
Strips of fabric that are 1/2 inch and wider also work well and I think some ribbon would be pretty.
Take all the small pieces, strips, ribbon,etc...and sew them around the band every inch or so. I used a zig zag stitch for this part. After sewing the small pieces, gather the tops of the larger (wider) pieces and pin them around the band right over the small strips. Make sure they all overlap a bit so that the skirt has full read end coverage. And sew all of these pieces on also. I finished it off with my serger just to make the inside look better.
This made a cute little upcycled skirt and we spent about $5 on the material for the floral dress. All the old shirts came from our discard pile at home.
It took about 2 hours to make the skirt. Have any of you made anything with upcycled treasures that you would like to share? It does not have to be with clothing. I am interested in others ideas for furniture, housewares,etc....
Please remember to post on the Esty shop give away so you can be my first winner.
Happy Upcycling and Back to School!
Since Audrey started back to school today (sophomore year!), we were looking for school items. She and Jess also have been working to finish their skirts before the first day. (Only Jess got done so far, Audrey had required summer reading to finish for Honors English).
We started with two things for her big sister, Hillary that only needed stain removal. Sometimes really small stains can ruin an entire garment. I took the white print Banana Republic dress that had several yellow spots and rubbed in some oxcy clean powder after dampening the spots. I let is soak for about an hour, washed the dress and out it came!
This peach colored chiffon skirt had lots of potential. But the tacky brown sequins plus some yellow stains made it look really awful. The good news is, the stains came out and removing the sequins was super easy. However, it made a huge mess on the floor and the sequins kept sticking to the cats feet and legs. He did not appreciate that at all!
I made a simple belt out of a scrap of peach colored satin,with the wrong or "rough" side out for some texture and added a strip of antique lace from my vintage stash. It made a sweet little tie on belt and the skirt looks great now.
Our kitty cat, Lizzy got extremely thirsty watching us sew so he decided to drink right out of my water glass. Than looked at me like I got his face all wet!
I was inspired on etsy by a fantastic seller who does upcycled clothing. Her site is www.Creolesha.etsy.com. Check out her wonderful fairy pixie stuff. I won't become her competition on selling these and hers looks better but it was fun to make and I felt like I just saved the lives of several old shirts and things in the process.
The Fairy Pixie skirt was really fun to make. I took a pile of old knit shirts and "found" scraps as well as a lavender floral dress from Goodwill to make the skirt sections. You just need 3-4 shirts in various colors and some scissors to get started.
First figure out which piece will be the waistband. I used an old tank top that had bleach stains on it in teal green. I cut off the bottom of the tank top, 10 inches wide. I checked it around Audrey's hips and took off enough for the correct length. I sewed up the side seam and folded the band in half. Since I had another shirt to cut up with a purple narrow band on the bottom, I decided to add this to the teal for a more textured waist band.
I zig-zag stitched the purple band around the bottom of the teal band. Now it was time to cut up the other shirts and that dress.
I did not waist a single bit of fabric. I cut off all of the sleeves, and with them folded, cut kind of a petal shape with the top narrower than the bottom. You have to make enough pieces that are wide to make sure the girl wearing the skirt does not have her behind showing. So make sure you cut at least 8-10 pieces between 16-20 inches in length and 8-12 inches across the top. (these go on last)
Strips of fabric that are 1/2 inch and wider also work well and I think some ribbon would be pretty.
This made a cute little upcycled skirt and we spent about $5 on the material for the floral dress. All the old shirts came from our discard pile at home.
It took about 2 hours to make the skirt. Have any of you made anything with upcycled treasures that you would like to share? It does not have to be with clothing. I am interested in others ideas for furniture, housewares,etc....
Please remember to post on the Esty shop give away so you can be my first winner.
Happy Upcycling and Back to School!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Blog that you might love!
I found a blog with a connection to a great Esty seller, SewSweetPatterns. Her blog is has some great ideas. Check out her patterns. I bought one, and if I was a beginning seamstress this would be a great place to start. Her tutorials are really well done. Audrey is learning to sew a skirt now and I thought she might like to make one for her little cousin with this pattern.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
FREE SOCK DOLL PATTERN AND INSTRUCTIONS : Sock doll toy: Kitty Monster, Great for children
Great project for you and your children while there is still some summer left. Minimal supplies needed.
You will need:
Pincushion with straight pins and sewing needles for hand-sewing.
Matching thread
Purple disappearing marker or other fabric safe marker
scissors
Stuffing ( you can also use cut up old clothes, socks, dishtowels, etc)
buttons and embroidery floss for face
Optional ribbon for neck
This is a post about creating a KITTY CAT SOCK DOLL from a left over sock or sock that has the heel worn out. We start out by cutting off the foot and heel of the sock where it is worn out.
This project should take about 1 hour to complete with a parent and child working together.
This was a knee sock and the piece I have left is about 8 inches long but any size will work.
Turn your sock piece inside out so that the WRONG side is showing and lay flat on table in front of you. Get out your fabric marker pen and make a mark in the center about 2-3 inches long for his legs. Do not cut yet!!
This is going to be for your legs of your little sock friend.
Next you will sew very carefully in tiny stitches by hand along the bottom of the sock on the end you just marked all the way to the left of the line you drew.
You will next sew right up next to the line without touching it so that there is about 1/4 inch space between your stitches and the line.
When you get to the top of the line, sew across the line like it was making a letter "T" with 2 OR 3 tiny stitches and continue down this side of the line to the bottom of the sock or leg. You will stitch across the bottom to the edge on this side.
You should now have sewn the shape of both legs and your pen marked line will show in the center of the stitches. If you want to go back over the stitches to make sure the legs are good and secure, this is a good idea.
Now you can cut up the center of the "legs" on the line you drew, stopping just BELOW the "T" in the stitches.
DO NOT CUT THROUGH ANY OF YOUR STITCHES.!!!!
Now you can turn your sock doll back right side out and carefully extend each little leg right side out with your finger. You will now need to put stuffing into the legs. Get two handfuls of stuffing about the size of the palm of your hand and roll them up into log shapes similar to the legs. Both handfuls of stuffing should be about the same size.
If they seem too small, add more stuffing and re-roll the log. Or if they seem too large, remove some stuffing. You can use your fingers or a pencil (not sharpened) or chopstick to put the stuffing rolls into the two legs.
Your legs should look similar to this when done. They will be cute and full of stuffing with the body still limp and waiting for some attention and love.
If you want your legs stiffer or chubbier or thinner, now is the time to either add or remove some stuffing. The stuffing is very pliable inside your sock so you can squeeze it to get more of the shape you want and to make sure both sides match.
Now you will get a large handful of stuffing for the body. Just like the legs, you want to roll it up in your hands into an oval ball shape before inserting it into your sock. It should leave about a half inch of room at the top for forming ears for the kitty or closing it off if you decide to make another kind of sock creature. If you want a fatter tummy, give him a squeeze to get the shape you want or add some more stuffing.
Next after the body is stuffed, we will work on the little kitty ears and head.
You will need to thread your needle with matching colored thread.
Hold onto the top of your head and pinch the two sides together. If your sock has a cuff like this sock, you will not need to turn the fabric inside on the edges. IF, you have cut off both ends of your up-cycled sock ( and this is perfectly fine!) you will need to carefully turn the edge in 1/4 of an inch before stitching.
We will use a LADDER STITCH to close off the top. This will also become the kitty's ears. Insert your needle under the corner on one side so that the knot does not show. Stich 1/8 inch on the right side, cross over to the left side and do the same thing. You will go back and forth like a ladder all the way across to close up the top of the head.
When you are all the way across, tie off your thread. You now will have the top of the head. You can tug a bit on the corners to make the ears point up. The knit in socks is very pliable and helps make great shapes.
I like to run a string of thread through the fabric along the neckline by drawing with my special fabric pen in a line where I want the head. After running the stitches all the way around, pull tight to form neck and tie off. You can cover this stitching up with a ribbon or piece of yarn. You can skip the stitching and just tie a ribbon around to form a neck if you prefer.
Next, you can add two buttons for eyes and draw on a mouth to embroider. You can also use fabric pens or paint to make the face. If this is for a young child, the buttons are not a safe idea.
One of my favorite leftover sock creations is the little "Gangster Pet"on my Etsy site www.sew4fun114.etsy.com
Don't forget to comment and answer the questions on my post about the Monthly Etsy Give Aways. You could be our first winner!
Please let me know how this project worked out for you and your children.
You will need:
Pincushion with straight pins and sewing needles for hand-sewing.
Matching thread
Purple disappearing marker or other fabric safe marker
scissors
Stuffing ( you can also use cut up old clothes, socks, dishtowels, etc)
buttons and embroidery floss for face
Optional ribbon for neck
This is a post about creating a KITTY CAT SOCK DOLL from a left over sock or sock that has the heel worn out. We start out by cutting off the foot and heel of the sock where it is worn out.
This project should take about 1 hour to complete with a parent and child working together.
This was a knee sock and the piece I have left is about 8 inches long but any size will work.
Turn your sock piece inside out so that the WRONG side is showing and lay flat on table in front of you. Get out your fabric marker pen and make a mark in the center about 2-3 inches long for his legs. Do not cut yet!!
This is going to be for your legs of your little sock friend.
Next you will sew very carefully in tiny stitches by hand along the bottom of the sock on the end you just marked all the way to the left of the line you drew.
You will next sew right up next to the line without touching it so that there is about 1/4 inch space between your stitches and the line.
When you get to the top of the line, sew across the line like it was making a letter "T" with 2 OR 3 tiny stitches and continue down this side of the line to the bottom of the sock or leg. You will stitch across the bottom to the edge on this side.
You should now have sewn the shape of both legs and your pen marked line will show in the center of the stitches. If you want to go back over the stitches to make sure the legs are good and secure, this is a good idea.
Now you can cut up the center of the "legs" on the line you drew, stopping just BELOW the "T" in the stitches.
DO NOT CUT THROUGH ANY OF YOUR STITCHES.!!!!
Now you can turn your sock doll back right side out and carefully extend each little leg right side out with your finger. You will now need to put stuffing into the legs. Get two handfuls of stuffing about the size of the palm of your hand and roll them up into log shapes similar to the legs. Both handfuls of stuffing should be about the same size.
If they seem too small, add more stuffing and re-roll the log. Or if they seem too large, remove some stuffing. You can use your fingers or a pencil (not sharpened) or chopstick to put the stuffing rolls into the two legs.
Your legs should look similar to this when done. They will be cute and full of stuffing with the body still limp and waiting for some attention and love.
Now you will get a large handful of stuffing for the body. Just like the legs, you want to roll it up in your hands into an oval ball shape before inserting it into your sock. It should leave about a half inch of room at the top for forming ears for the kitty or closing it off if you decide to make another kind of sock creature. If you want a fatter tummy, give him a squeeze to get the shape you want or add some more stuffing.
Next after the body is stuffed, we will work on the little kitty ears and head.
You will need to thread your needle with matching colored thread.
Hold onto the top of your head and pinch the two sides together. If your sock has a cuff like this sock, you will not need to turn the fabric inside on the edges. IF, you have cut off both ends of your up-cycled sock ( and this is perfectly fine!) you will need to carefully turn the edge in 1/4 of an inch before stitching.
We will use a LADDER STITCH to close off the top. This will also become the kitty's ears. Insert your needle under the corner on one side so that the knot does not show. Stich 1/8 inch on the right side, cross over to the left side and do the same thing. You will go back and forth like a ladder all the way across to close up the top of the head.
When you are all the way across, tie off your thread. You now will have the top of the head. You can tug a bit on the corners to make the ears point up. The knit in socks is very pliable and helps make great shapes.
I like to run a string of thread through the fabric along the neckline by drawing with my special fabric pen in a line where I want the head. After running the stitches all the way around, pull tight to form neck and tie off. You can cover this stitching up with a ribbon or piece of yarn. You can skip the stitching and just tie a ribbon around to form a neck if you prefer.
Next, you can add two buttons for eyes and draw on a mouth to embroider. You can also use fabric pens or paint to make the face. If this is for a young child, the buttons are not a safe idea.
One of my favorite leftover sock creations is the little "Gangster Pet"on my Etsy site www.sew4fun114.etsy.com
Please let me know how this project worked out for you and your children.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Anime-Con: , Cosplay in Monterey
Carl and Audrey went to Anime-Con in Monterey last weekend. I made their costumes. Carl is Char Char Aznable from Gundam. His costume took quite a few hours and was actually made last Halloween. Personally, I think his looks better than any I found in photos on google images. More like the actual cartoon. But when I see some shows like the Spider Man movies, I always want to fix the costumes to look more like the artwork.
Tell me what you think? Does his costume look like the artwork? What about Audrey?
Audrey is Maka from Soul Eater. Audrey's skirt is a vintage piece that we have had in our costume stash for about 25 years.
Tell me what you think? Does his costume look like the artwork? What about Audrey?
Audrey is Maka from Soul Eater. Audrey's skirt is a vintage piece that we have had in our costume stash for about 25 years.
Green to the Seam: Etsy Give Aways
Green to the Seam: Etsy Give Aways: "Starting today, I will be giving away an item from my Etsy Shop once a month for the next twelve months. In order to be in the monthly dr..."
Etsy Give Aways
Starting today, I will be giving away an item from my Etsy Shop once a month for the next twelve months!!!! This month is a plushie and he will be pictured next week with directions for making him.
In order to be in the monthly drawing, you will need to post a reply in the comments column of my blog.Please post the following:
1.Please post your name, or subscribe to my blog.
2. Please look at my Esty shop: Sew4fun114 and tell me which item you like the most and why.
3.Please tell me which photograph you like the best and least. Constructive criticism is welcome. We just had our fourth item sell in two weeks so we are excited.
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