Guest blog: T-Shirt refashion to Yoga Pants

T-Shirt refashion into Yoga Pants

First of all, thank you Casey for giving me the opportunity to do a tutorial for Stellar Mother.  My usual blog www.mywaterjar.blogspot.com is very different from clothes refashioning, but this is definitely one of my loves.

This refashion is not my original idea, but if you haven’t come across it previously make note of it today because I think it is one of the most ingenious t-shirt refashions I’ve seen around -  and if you are preggers and looking for something comfy for your bump, these are perfect.

If you are an experienced sewer it will probably take you about half an hour or less to throw together, but even if you are only new to this glorious hobby I would consider this an easy project.

What you will need:

T-shirt

Scissors

Sewing machine (you could make it by hand, it would just take a bit longer)

First, get yourself a men’s t-shirt, I got mine for $1 at the op shop (that’s Australian for second hand store).  I used a size medium (although it seemed large for a medium) and it came out about a size 10 so keep that in mind when you find yourself a t-shirt.  If you get a shirt that has a colour accent or some pictures on it like mine does, remember that will be in your finished shorts (which can be good or bad)

You will need to make 4 cuts: cut the sleeves off along the seam, cut the neck off – straight across and cut what is left in half (make sure this cut is even on each side otherwise you will end up with different sized legs.)  You can throw away the neck part, but keep the arms because these will become your waist band.

The arm holes become the crotch, so next you need to turn the ‘legs’ inside out (right sides together) and pin/sew up the outside (if you are a confident sewer you can skip the pinning – but you’d know that already).  I sewed from the bottom up because I won’t be hemming the pants so I wanted to make sure they were even on the bottom.  Also, leave a minimal of seam allowance so that you can make sure the shorts are big enough.  Once you’ve sewn the crotch you can try them on and fit them to yourself however you like.

Next comes the most ‘complicated’ part - sewing the crotch.  This part was what kept me away from making pants/shorts, because I thought it was really complicated, but just do it once and you’ll see it’s very straight forward.  First, turn one of the legs right side out.  Then, in order to sew the crotch, the two legs need to be right sides facing...sooooo....take a deep breath and put the leg that is right side out inside the leg that is inside out so that the crotch lines up, then pin the two crotches together (it’s sort of ‘U’ shaped)and sew.  It really is that simple. 

And hurrah!  We’ve got shorts!! 

Now you can try them on inside out and make sure you like the fit.  If they are too big or you want to shape the legs a bit, use some pins to make adjustments where you want them and resew as needed.  I left them as is, partly because they were a little on the small size (next time I’ll use a bigger shirt) and also because they are just for lounging so I don’t mind the straight leg look.

Now to finish them off we will need to make a waist band for them.  This we will make with our cut off arms.  The waist part can be done in a various number of ways.  You can use elastic, or a tie, or as I did, you can just sew it on as is and it’s tight enough to stay put.  You could make a ‘v’ front for a bit of a variation (also good if you’ve got a baby growing). 

First we need to cut them open along the seam, and cut off any leftover seam. 

Then cut the arms so they are nice and even. 

Then we sew the edges (right sides together) on both sides to make the waist band.

Next we need to attach the waist band to the shorts.  I’ll just show you what I did but obviously feel free to do it however you like. 

First I pinned the raw edge of the waist band (right sides together) to the shorts (notice the shorts are tucked into the waistband at this point.)  You could fold it over and sew the waist band on in one go, I just wanted to make it a bit neater on the inside.

Next, fold the waistband over (wrong sides together) so that the inside half comes a bit lower than the first stitching and pin.  Then ‘stitch in the ditch’ to use a quilting term (except that I don’t quilt).  I sewed on the outside (right side) of the shorts in the little ditch that that first stitching made. 

And you’re done!  They are a bit tighter on me than I like, but they do the job.  You could do just about anything you like to them to suit your style and I would imagine you could use different shirts besides a t-shirt as long as it had stretch to it.

ENJOY.

***

Thanks Shawna for the excellent tutorial - I love comfy clothes & I have heaps of t-shirts... I think I know what my next refashion project is going to be...

MistleTOES Christmas decoration for kids

I saw these cuuuute "Mistletoes" from funhandprintart and love the idea!

And they were a big hit with the grandparents, too. 

My kids loved them, too.  They didn't take long to make, and I already had the 'ingredients' needed for it.

First get some posterboard (or if you want to use a tile, plate, etc, to make it a permanent gift.  I am trying to reduce the 'stuff' in my house, so I didn't want to do a 'thing', but was trying to capture their small feet.), and trace a large plate for a circle.

 Using craft scissors with a designed edge (or regular ones), cut them out.  Use your child's shoe to make sure the size is right.

Before you get out the paint, you must do some PREP.  I put a little bit of water in the bath, and had a rag next to me at all times.  I used both of them.

In fact, we did the painting next to the bathtub.  It saved me from worrying about getting green footprints  all over the floor.

Practice the footprint-on-paper before you use real paint, so your child knows what to expect.

Using a paint brush, paint your child's foot (one at a time) - you can use acrylics or Crayola finger-paints.   Beware - it tickles!

Then, use a few other colors - red, blue, purple, and gold for us - for the lightbulbs, using little thumbs to make them.

Don't forget the cluster of berries at the heels!

 Hang them on the Christmas tree.  Perfect & easy Christmas memory.

My 3 year old loved these so much - I can see these "MistleTOES" being a tradition in our home.

Merry Christmas xoxo

Quick coin purse refashioned from Jeans

Need a last minute gift idea?  Or do you need a project for a young girl to make these school holidays?

I refashioned this coin 'purse' from a jean pocket.  Grab an old pair of jeans (I used these jeans for my baby girl jeans refashion), and cut out bum pocket.

Add velcro to the inside flaps.  I'm not worried about fraying because I sewed the velcro... hopefully  that will prevent fraying?

Time will tell!

And that's it.  I thought about embellishing it with felt, bias tape, buttons, paint, applique.  Perhaps even a long ribbon to make this a purse??

But to be honest, I was happy with it plain.  As it is.

And now this refashion jean pocket is in my purse holding my coins.

Merry Christmas!

Couch to 5K - here I come!

My good friend Tash told me about "Couch to 5K", a worldwide movement getting people off the couch & into exercise.

Me? I'm active - I run around after my kids & walk the dogs - and I love the idea of being fit, but find it hard to fit it into my schedule. 

So I looked into this "Couch to 5K" program & the idea is this: In 3 months, you will go from the couch to running 5 Ks (3 miles). There is a plan & a whole network of support. There's even an app for your phone!

Tash & I are doing this program starting January 2012. 20 minutes for 3 days a week. The program starts at walk/jog/run intervals. Again, it's designed for the couch potato, NOT the marathon runner.

Sound good?

The hardest thing about working out (getting off the couch...) is having the support.

And that's why I'm inviting you.

We can be each other's support. Or maybe you want to invite a friend to do this with you, too. Or maybe you're already SUPER FIT... in which case you can support me :)

Tash & I are doing our walk/jog/runs at 6 am. Not only is this the best time for us before the kids wake up, but it's also the coolest time of the day in our North Queensland summer.

So I'm getting a new pair of running shoes for Christmas. I'm excited for this! I've never run 5 Ks... maybe one day we'll be able run them together.

Merry Christmas, xoxo

Casey

Frilly No Sew T Shirt Refashion

I'm thinking of trying a new weekly feature: "T-Shirt Tuesdays."  Because I (and you?) seem to have more t-shirts than I can wear, I'd love to have a weekly feature on how to upcycle, recycle, and refashion a t-shirt.

Your thoughts?

Here's the first one:

 I'm not a Hello Kitty fan.  But someone out there is... or was.

I found this long sleeve tight-fitting shirt at the thrift store & picked it up for 20 cents.

Refashioning it was very easy.  

First, I cut off the sleeves.  Then, I put the shirt on again to measure where I wanted my new armpits to be.  You can easily do this yourself - just a pin or chalk and mark on yourself (while wearing the shirt) where you want them to be.

From this armpit mark, draw a straight line from the mark to the bottom of the shirt.

 Then, up along the front/back seam.

Cut little fringes from the outside of the shirt to the straight line you drew earlier.

 Tie them in little knots (make sure they're secure or OOPS! your top will come unravelled.  This isn't the look we're going for...)

You can also cut off the bottom hem if you want.  I did.

Find a hallway mirror & take photos of the shirt.

 This one was very easy, and can easily be done in less than 20 minutes.

Good luck!!  If you do this refashion, I'd love to see your photos!!  Post them on the comments or email them to me & I'll post them (with your permission).

Check in again next Tuesday for another t-shirt upcycle, recycle, and refashion.

Refashion baby jeans with reverse applique & bum ruffles

It's summer and stinkin' hot in Port Douglas.  The kids & I spend days in the pool, and wear t-shirts and shorts when we leave the house.  The air con is on most of the time - and when it's not on, we wish that it was.

But I know my Northern Hemisphere friends are feeling the cold.

So, this one is for you, my NH readers.

Ruffle bums are very popular in Australia, and I thought I'd try to make some ruffle bum jeans - refashioned, of course.

These jeans were a great thrift store find - they are practically new and in great condition.  I loved the stitching on the leg, and decided to keep the external stitches for awesome style.

 Using a pair of pants, trace the legs onto the jeans with a piece of chalk.  Again, I lined up the outside of the leg with the existing jean leg.

 Cut it out.  (you can put the top part of the jeans aside - perhaps to make a pair of capris?)

 Ruffles: I cut some strips about 3 inches wide & 2x the length of the bum.  You can use different measurements to your preference.  Use a long stitch and gently pull them together for a ruffle effect.
Make sure you fold & stitch the sides under.  Put the strips aside for now.

 Applique: cut a piece of matching fabric.

 Pin it to the inside of the jeans, with the right side of the dot-fabric facing the wrong side of the jeans.

 Using a fancy stitch, sew the dot-fabric to the jeans in your desired pattern.

 From the outside, it will look like this:

 Using fine scissors, gently cut the denim between the decorative stitching.  DON'T cut the dot-fabric!!

 Add a cute button for a little pizzaz...

 ... And it should look like this:

 Adding the ruffles:
Measure equal markings to ensure the ruffles are evenly spaced.  Again, use chalk.

 Add a ruffle.  Sew it as shown, with the bottom of the ruffle facing up.  Iron the ruffle down, and stitch along the top to hold it down in place.

 Repeat with all your ruffles.

Turn the waist down, making casing for the elastic.  Thread through - and you're done!

I put the jeans on my daughter for the photos - air con blasting, of course.

 I also refashioned a red & white polka-dot pair from one of my well-loved & too-small jeans from years ago.

 I love the frayed hem on the foot!

Jeans are on my Etsy Store... they are fun to make, but not practical for our climate.  And by the time we visit Grammy & Poppa in Colorado, Cate will need a larger pair...