An Array of Texture Tuesday, Bib Tee

Last week I was going through Sawyer's plethora stuff, as I do every week for things he's outgrown (a little sad, right?), when I came across this...

 

 

I'm 99% positive it's a bib, but I've always been a little curious as to how this hand-me-down worked and I've come to the conclusion it's missing a piece or two.  But to throw it out would just be silly.

 

I know I've recently done a bib cover tutorial, but I didn't want to have to wait to use this.  So I'm taking a simple tee, particularly this burgundy one (I feel manly in this color), and I'm dressing it up for a more feminine look.

 

 

First, I carefully took off the trimming, so I just had one layer to work with.

 

Then I shaped the top of the bib to match the neckline of the t-shirt

and

attached it to the shirt with a zig-zag stitch.

 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  ...I know, most of the work was already done for me, but hopefully I'll enjoy it a little more!

 

If you were wondering...Bryan and I had a great time last night, kiddo free!  We spent the evening enjoying the new country band, Florida Georgia Line, singing and dancing till our voices and feet hurt.  They rocked the house!  I was hoping to post a few pictures, but sometimes I forget I have a cell phone to take pictures with; when you have zero cell service at home and mainly use a house phone, it's bound to happen.  But here's Florida Georgia Line's new single, Cruise, if you want a peak at what we relished in last night.

A special thanks to my Aunt Carla for watching our little monster!

 



 

An Array of Texture Tuesday, Sweater Boot Socks

Well, another late post tonight; what's new, I know.  Sorry for the lack of anything exciting this week.  "Summer got the best of me" as my mom would say, not because I lost inspiration, but because I was having too much fun in the sun!  And it did it again.  With very few warm days remaining, we took that camping trip.  And boy was it fun!

 

My boys enjoying the river.

 

Not to worry!  I made it back in time for another textured Tuesday...

 

After months of asking Bryan for items from his closet, he finally made a gracious donation, a sweater, for this week's An Array of Texture!  Although, I was very hesitant about cutting into it; he's not the sweater type but he did like this one and it always looked so good on him.  Sadly, it just doesn't fit, his shoulders are too broad anymore.  So for now, I will only be taking the sleeves for a warm pair of boot socks, who knows, maybe I'll turn it into a sweater vest for him!

Cut the sleeves off of the sweater.

To fit my leg better, I turned the sleeves inside out and sewed a straight line up to the cuff.  Trim the excess fabric.

Turn the raw edges under and sew two rows for a clean finish.

Accessorize if you desire!  I left these plain because I enjoyed the simple look.

Ready for fall; a cozy pair of boot socks!  Although, wearing these with boots cover up the design, so another option...

 

A fun pair of leg warmers!

An Array of Texture Tuesday, T-shirt to Tank

Yes, we will miss the warm weather and the sun, our golden tans and the clothing.  Those simple pieces of an outfit that make you happy, such as a pair of sandals and a tank top.  So to inspire the last few sunny days of summer I am turning a simple t-shirt into a fun and flirty tank.

Before

After

Again, I apologize for the lack of pictures and I promise to improve on it...

To start the transformation from t-shirt to tank, cut off the sleeves of the shirt on the inside of the seam, leaving the raw edge.  Note:  The raw edge look is intentional and most t-shirt fabrics won't fray, just make sure your cuts are smooth.

Next, cut off the hem of the t-shirt, leaving the raw edge as well.

With the leftover fabric from the sleeves, sew together smalls strips, 1/2 inch wide, long enough to make a ruffle all the way around the neck hole and attach it to the shirt.

To add a little more flair, attach a small yo-yo to the side of the neckline.

There you have it.  A simple tank to show off those golden arms (okay, mine not so much) a few more times!

An Array of Texture Tuesday, Bib Cover

Welcome back to another Tuesday filled with layers and layers of texture!  Today I will be using some fabric scraps to change the look of a dress, so that maybe I'll want to wear it.  I received this dress as a hand-me-down over a couple of years ago (I also have one in black).  I love the style and fit of the dress but never wear it because I try to avoid wearing anything with a label and as you've probably noticed, I'm not much of a skater.

The style of this dress reminds me of relaxed summer fashion and a nautical look is what came to mind, so I just went with it.  I knew to cover up the label I'd need to put a bib style of some sort on it, but I also wanted to add character to the dress, so pleats were a must:

 

I frayed all of the edges of the fabric, then I pressed the pleats into place, and sewed right above the fold for a crisp look.

At this point I thought it needed something more...sailorish!  I grabbed some navy blue scraps and whipped up a small ruffle to line the bottom with (sorry about the limited pictures).  The tricky part was attaching the bib to an elastic neckline.  I pinned the bib to the fabric right under the elastic as it was stretched out and sewed it into place.  As you can see in the picture below, it shapes with the elastic when it's relaxed.  However, when it's being worn you don't notice it because it's stretched out.

To finish the look, I attached two buttons on one side of the bib.



Here is the finished look!  Now, if someone could navigate me towards the ocean...

I found my way to the ocean once before, nine months pregnant:  here is the same dress in black, worn as a maternity dress because it was super comfy!  If only I had thought of this before.

A Beautiful Disaster

That's what I would refer to my motherhood as...

When we leave the house Bryan always laughs at me because I have a whole mess of stuff neatly packed into my diaper bag that never seems to be big enough.  "We'll only be gone for 20 minutes."  Being the overly prepared mother that I am, I know better than that.  You never know when you're going to need a change of clothes for a dirt lovin' toddler, or if the weather changes from 90 degrees to freezing (evidently I'm prepared for natural disasters too), or even when you'll need to change a diaper.  Then there's snacks for baby, mom, and dad, along with a sippy cup and a water bottle; Bryan is always lecturing us on the importance of hydration ("My leg hurts..."  "Drink Water.").  You can't forget the fundamentals; wallet, keys, phone, and sunglasses (that go into a case that's way to bulky).  I even have hand sanitizer, lotion, a pen and notepad, a few First Aid items, because you never know when dad will need pain killers, ointment, and band aids, and how can you forget a few basic beauty essentials for mom; chapstick, lipgloss, bobby pins, and a manicure set.  Besides, it's better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it, right?  Please tell me I'm not the only obsessive compulsive parent out there...

After having gone through many diaper bags over the past year, it's obvious, I'm picky.  If it lays wrong, if I don't feel organized, it just doesn't work out.  So I took to making them.  The most recent one I made lasted for well over 6 months and I wonder how.  With no zipper, drawsting, or cinch, it was open for the world to see what I carried around with me and worse when it was placed on a flat surface.

Before:  Open for all eyes to see

New and Improved!  A cinched tote with room to spare, and it's reversible!  My husband called it my Santa Bag, I guess it's pretty big.  The tutorial I used for this oversized tote I found at This Big Oak Tree.  Although it doesn't say it's reversible, it's pretty easy to make it.  All you have to do is flip it right side out and weave the belt back through the button holes on the outside.  Just make sure to use two different coordinating fabrics, that you will enjoy!  In my case, I've been looking at these two silk pillow cases for a couple of months now.  Mark it up to my frugality!

After:  Privacy

An Array of Texture Tuesday, Tuxedo Blouse

Welcome to the very first Tuesday of  An Array of Texture!  I thought I would start this Tuesday off by the use of my trusty closet.  After rummaging through all of the forgotten items that have been lost in the dark over the years, I came up with my first exciting piece...

A white button-up shirt with three quarter sleeves.  Not a vintage piece, but in dire need of a textile lift.

I decided to take this plain button-up and attempt to transform it into a tuxedo style blouse.

Step 1:  Using a lace trim, I sewed it into place on both sides of the button holes and buttons running the length of the shirt.

Step 2:  With the same trim lace, I sewed it around the opening of the sleeve.

And with these two easy steps, I created a beautiful tuxedo style blouse.  Success!  What do you think,  does a little texture go a long way?

Fourth of July

Yesterday we celebrated our Independence Day!  It was a beautiful day for friends, fireworks, and food.  It was even warm enough to break out the kiddie pool...here's Sawyer taking a dip with all of his little girlfriends.



For a warm patriotic feel, I decided to make a 1950's inspired high-waisted circle skirt.



I made this skirt out of two king sized pillow cases I had stuffed in my linen closet and since I didn't have a zipper on hand, elastic was used for the waistband.  A total makeshift skirt but I am pleased with how it turned out. 

To finish the look, I wore a white shirt and made a simple, red yo-yo hair piece.  I didn't like the look of an elastic waistband so I covered it up with a belt and matched a pair of flats to it.

The Scrap Weeks.14 Throw Pillow

Last but not least, the Boston Red Sox.  Sawyer's bedroom is all about baseball and the Sox, so this pocket pillow will only be fitting...

The logo was cut out from leftover material I used to make his quilt and hand stitched on.  The blue material used was cut from a pair of scrubs around the utility pocket.  What better place to stash bedtime goodies than right next to your head!

You Will Need:

Scrap Fabric

Stuffing

Sewing Machine, Needle & Thread



Cut:

Two 16" long by 10" wide for front and back.

With right sides facing each other, pin, and sew 1/2" seam around two long sides and one short side.

Clip the corners.

Flip right side out, push out corners, and press.

Fold open end under and press.

Stuff and hand stitch closed.

Voila!

...and that's all she wrote!  Thanks for hanging in there for fourteen fun filled days!

The Scrap Weeks.13 Bracelet

A little late posting for day thirteen, but I promise I have a good reason...

My nephew, Gage, turned 10 this year.  For his Birthday he got tickets to go see his favorite band, Nickleback.  Since his dad found out he had to work, my sister, Casual, asked if I wanted to go, "Hell...Yeah!" was my answer.  I just want to say that if you ever have a chance to go see them, Do It, they are amazing entertainers.  Bush(!!!), Seether, and My Darkest Days were the opening bands and they rocked just as hard!

For the concert I wanted to punk out with dark makeup, a crazy hair-do (which was a pinned back Mohawk!), and a funky bracelet.  So here I am, a day late to talk about the scrap bracelet I made to rock out in.

You Will Need:
Scrap Fabric
Sewing Machine or Needle & Thread
Button

For this project I used a long scrap of silk which was ripped on the straight of grain that didn't cause fraying on the raw edge.  If you are using a fabric that frays and you want a clean edge add extra width to press under and topstitch or purposely fray your raw edge.

 My fabric was 3" wide, but you can cut your fabric however wide you want to.

For the length measure around your wrist and double it, adding a few inches for breathing room.

Mine measured 6" so I cut my fabric 15" long.

 Press both ends under.

An inch in from each side, ruffle your fabric.

Remembering to backstitch at the ends.

At one end, center a tight zig-zag stitch and with a pair of scissors cut down the middle for a button hole.

On the opposite end center and attach a button.

Done!

The Scrap Weeks.12 Napkin Rings

I absolutely love the look of burlap and would love to incorporate that into our dining room; maybe placemats, curtains, a table runner...then I found this great tutorial at Living with Punks for Napkin Rings and thought burlap would be perfect and it would go with the Fabric Coasters I made the other day!  Lucky me, my parents have a great stock of old burlap bags from their past business, Jack E. Glyde, where they sold sportsman's hanging systems.  My mom has been playing around with the burlap a lot lately, so I've decided to raid her stash before she gets too crazy and it's all gone!  So for my next burlap project, I'm thinking a table runner would go great with our new table.

I added a loose knot at the top of the loop for a little something extra.

Okay, you're probably thinking, "A stock of burlap bags isn't scraps...".  I know, I know, but first napkin ring I made today was made from my scrap stash!  I just really wanted to show you the burlap napkin rings first :).



The Scrap Weeks.11 Hair Bow

Funny, I bring my sewing machine with me on vacation for fun projects and I turn into the town seamstress.  Like I haven't been keeping myself busy enough with a scrap project and sharing visiting time with three siblings, their children, and my parents, let's just add hemming pants, mending holes, and patching skirts to the mix.  So today, since I'm feeling a little worn out, I'm going to keep it simple.  A mix of two things I've already done; a baby headband and a bow tie...

I couldn't help myself, again.  This little niece of mine just needs all the accessories I can give her!

You Will Need:

Scrap Fabric

Interfacing

Sewing Machine & Thread

Hair Clip

Cut:

Two 6 1/2" by 3" for the Bow.

One 3" by 2" for the Center.

One 4 1/2 by 2 for the Interfacing.

Iron the Interfacing onto the back of one of your pieces.  Lay both pieces with right sides together and pin in place.

Sew 1/4" around two long sides and one short side.  Clip the corners.

Flip right sides out, making sure to push out the corners.  Fold the open side under 1/4" and press.

Fold in half, which ever side you want facing out, towards each other.  Sew, then press the seam open.  Flip right side out.

With the seam at the back, fold in half and sew 1" in the center of the bow.

For the Center, fold in half lengthwise and sew 1/4".  Flip right side out and press the seam to the back.

With the seam at the back, fold in half, sew to where the hole is just big enough to fit the bow through.  Press the seam open and flip right side out.

Slip the center onto the bow.

At that back of the bow, add the hair clip.  I used an old clip that was just lying around, but an alligator clip would work much better.