cool kid's clothes made from upcycled t-shirts and such

It was this jacket that first drew me to lilygiggle. I was searching for recycled boy clothes. Time passed and I found the site again, with a similar search. Destiny? Must be. Beth makes all kinds of great clothing patterns, and has the cutest little models! Want to stay in the loop? Check out lilygiggle's facebook page and a FREE pattern when you "like" her page.

And right now for you, my faithful blog readers, she is offering a 25% discount in her etsy shop, just use the code REVAMPED until August 13th.

Turns out that Beth is friends with Jay from chickenhill! Wouldn't be great to sew with these girls?

Thanks to Beth for taking time to answer a few of my questions.

How did you learn/who taught you to sew?
Originally I was a self-taught fashion design wanna-be teenager. I had grown up around very talented seamstresses, both grandmas were amazing at it as well as my own mama so there were always sewing machines around. My grandma would take my goofy 8 year old "fashion illustrations" and create the garment just by looking at a child's sketch. One day I just decided I was going to figure out how to sew and made myself pants that I wore all the time even though they were technically sewn completely incorrectly. Maybe that's why I don't mind sewing a bit "out of the box". It's great fun to experiment. Later I was taught to be a proper seamstress at Savannah College of Art & Design while I was completing my major in Fashion Design.

What was your first sewing machine?
An old Kenmore...good machine...wouldn't mind if I still had it.

How did you start upcycling/recycling?
I would love to say it was because I am so sensitive to the environment (which I do try to be) but, honestly, it was out of being desperately in need of a creative outlet after leaving my job and being home with my children. With one income there were just not enough funds to keep myself in lovely fabrics. The local "by the pound" thrift store became my fabric store of choice. I find that much of my creativity has been sparked first by necessity. I think that people who don't think they are creative probably just never really had to be.

Thank you so much, Beth, for sharing your thoughts with us!

Such sweet flowers and a gorgeous photos too.

This serendipity dress is so cool! It is named with one of my favorite words, so how could I resist? I really want it in my size, but maybe I'll have to settle for making one for my niece... The detail on the waistband is so nice and I love the bows, especially since they are purely decorative, so they can be sewn down once tied.

And this is the perfect gardening skirt! You might already know that I adore pockets. All shapes, sizes and in many places. The buttons on top are like the icing on the cake.

Hope you are inspired to do more sewing!

camping in recycled+revamped style

Earlier this summer I went to a women's retreat and camped in our van. It's a 1988 Ford van and it has been decked out with curtains and pockets.  There's a bed in the back and it's just perfect for us right now. Of course, I wore my tunic and hoodie b/c they are so comfy. And for those mornings when my hair is crazy - the hat I made at the recycled hat workshop! What am I holding? The last bit of last year's strawberry jam. Since then I've made a whole new batch.

Where is your favorite place to camp?

{this moment) boating on glen lake

{this moment}

an extraordinary moment that I want to savor and remember

inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at soulemama

Hope you have a wonderful summer weekend! Enjoy the water if you can!

hooded sweatshirt to hoodie revamp!

As I work my way through the ever growing to-do stack in my studio, I discovered this hooded sweatshirt that I got a few years ago at hoxeyville. While nursing, it was a challenge and I came up with the idea of adding a zipper. I tried it on another sweatshirt, adding a 7" zipper at the top, which was not quite enough. So, when I came up on a fleece vest with just the right size zipper, I cut it off and sewed it onto this!

Cutting a straight line up the middle of the sweatshirt was the challenging first step, but I was feeling gutsy and I really wanted a hoodie, so I started with cutting the ribbing from the sleeves and then went for it. Sewing it on was a little tricky and you can see that it bunched a little where the printing stuck to my presser foot. I lined the hood by tracing it out onto the cotton fabric, cutting it out and sewing the pieces together. Then I ironed the edges under 1/2", matched up the seams and sewed the lining to the hood.

Of course, the sleeves were too short, so I added the sleeves from another shirt to make arm warmers. It's super cozy, my favorite "old" sweatshirt now!

What are you revamping?

recycled chef hat

While we are talking about kitchens and hats, I thought I would show you the hat I made for little f at the hat workshop at the community sewing studio. It is made from a white dress shirt and a t-shirt.

Basically, I used a large dinner plate to cut out two large circle pieces. Then I took a smaller plate and cut it out of the center of one of the large circle pieces and then sewed the two large circles together.

Guessing at the size, I cut a strip of t-shirt about 5-6" wide and long enough to go almost around my own head. After stitching the short ends together, I folded it in half, so both raw edges were together. Matching this up to the inner circle in the hat, and stretching a bit to fit, I sewed the band onto the hat and ta-day! It looks great with his wood-grain apron too.

My little chef was so excited, he made me some vegetable stew and tea while baking some cookies. I even helped him reorganize and clean the upper shelf in his kitchen. We added a strong, shallow basket tray underneath to contain some of the extra stuff that was stuffed into the "refrigerator" under the sink.

hat workshop at the community sewing studio

We "hat" a great time at the workshop yesterday! Amy, Nadia and Sonja came to the community sewing studio and taught us about using the color wheel to choose colors. Then we followed the instructions on from Anna Kata. We used dress shirts, pants and t-shirts for their fabric and cut out circle for our hats. It seemed that stretchy fabric made the best hat band. Then we added some circle flowers and vintage buttons. They turned out great! Thanks girls, for fun day in the studio!

this weekend...

Sporting his recycled cashmere hat, hand-me-down jean jacket, mama-made fleece-lined cords and converse sneakers, this little guys is ready for another weekend of biking. We did end up with training wheels on since I relinquished the athletic activites to papa, who is far more agile than I can ever dream to be (who needs coordination when you're creative?). But I don't think they will be on for long!

{this moment}

a moment from this week that I want to smile, savor and remember

inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at soulemama

feel free to leave a link to your moment in the comments.

 

have a wonderful weekend! 

cashmere balaclava

Here it is on my little f...

The dresser in the first photo was one of my first projects up here. The drawer fronts are covered with maps showing all the places we traveled in our first year together. After repainting the dresser, all I needed was a little mod podge to hold the maps in place!

kid's cashmere balaclava

While I adore the woolens in Nova Naturals, I found this solution fit my time frame and my budget, as well as my incredible desire for making it my own.  Using my husband's fleece balaclava, I made a pattern on a paper grocery sack, drawing the lines in about 1/2" or so, to make it smaller. Then I cut it out of a brown cashmere sweater, using the bottom of the sweater and part of the side seam up the back. The face hole in front I made pretty small, thinking I could always trim if needed later.

A few minutes later I was off to my serger to stitch it up!

Found this hold and realized I need to do something about it, even though I really like the plain brown cashmere. So I found a groovy scrap and stitched on a little peace sign.

dog days of summer

Aah, summer is here! We went to our favorite beach in elberta, which is dog-friendly! F brought his snacks in a drawstring bag made from vintage fabric. His sun hat used to be T's shirt. It was a Ben Sherman shirt that T bought in the first week we were dating. T's brother and friend went shopping with us and helped him pick out some new clothes, and he spend hours in the fitting room. Amazing. Good memories, in the past and in the making!

What are you doing this summer?

Sweet things for boys from We choose joy

This little guy is so cute in his orange beanie! I fell in love with the name of this etsy shop, We Choose Joy. and love that they use recycled yarn for their hats.

And how about this formal attire? I love the sofa too, but that's not for sale. Just the shirts and onesies with these little ties. One of my friends asked me to make one when her guy was tiny, and I never did, but now, I don't have to! Stop by and check out the shop!

recycled wool newsboy cap from simpleup

Such a great hat pattern and tutorial from Trish over at simple up. I found her blog one day while searching for recycled wool sweater projects. It was even featured on Craft (which used to be a magazine, one of my absolute favorites!)

Someday, my work will be featured there.

There were a couple of additions here - a recycled t-shirt lining and a cashmere band on the inside. The warmer the hat the better, so I used the same hat pattern pieces and cut them out of cotton jersey (nice way to say old t-shirt) and sewed them together. For the hatband, a recycled cashmere sweater cut out in the same size as the band and stitched to the outside band at the bottom. Then it was like the bread in a sandwich, with the hat and lining for the sandwich filling. I left the top edges raw. Oh, the brim also has a little stabilizer, cut a bit smaller than the sewing lines, so I didn't have to stitch through it when sewing it to the hat. Which I did with my machine, as well as the trim, since handsewing takes a little more patience that I have for sewing these days. I need immediate results that can be obtained within a nap's worth of time.

For some reason, the pattern only calls for five hat pieces. Mine could have benefitted from a sixth piece, even though I have a very small pea sized head. I used about 3/8 seam allowance, so a little more than recommended, only because it's tricky to sew anything with a 1/4 seam allowance. And that is coming from someone with years and years of machine time!


In closing, let me just share with you this amazing blog by Anna Maria Horner. I want to be her.
Selling my signed book and designing gorgeous lines of fabrics, doing crafts with other artists.


Well, her and about thirty other people, but I digress... here's the hat in action, right in front of my newly folded fabric stacks!

the cutest little elfin hat I've ever seen!

This hat is almost enough to make me learn to knit!

sesame seed designs recycled cashmere!

These little caps are so sweet! I wish I had discovered them when Fyn was tiny. They would be a great for a baby gift. Hmm, two of my friends are pregnant right now... There are more fantastic recycled gifts here...

While I'm not a coffee drinker, I love this idea for my chai! I need to make a bigger purse, so I can fit it in there along with my nylon shopping sacks.

Little Sapling's recycled, organic and reusable goodies!

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Betsy, a fellow etsy artist. She is responsible for my stuff making it to the front page of etsy! So, I want to show you what she does that I think is cool. This organic cotton hat is so sweet, with the little leaf on it!


I love the tassels on this recycled hat!

Six things that make me happy...

so, Sixpence and a Blue Moon, you got me thinking...
And, since I couldn't stop at six, there are seven...

I love sun on the water, especially Lake Michigan. Like the shore, only fresh! This is in Empire, at Sleeping Bear Dunes, on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.

I love this hat, worn by my friend, Mia, on a showshoe trek to the river.

Pancakes! even for dinner. Last time Tommy made them for me, he whisked coconut oil, almond milk and egg together before adding the flour and they were amazing! Friends made the maple syrup too...

I love my little sister's homemade pearapple pie on Memorial Day at the lake (Green Lake this time...). She's an incredible cook!

I love living on the end of a dead end street, with my husband and little boy. This was at the opposite end of the street one morning this past winter.


I love the first greens of the year! We've been especially enjoying Pac Choi and Mibuna greens. Our dear friends at Ware Farm lovingly raised these babies, warming the greenhouse with a wood stove, then planting in cold frames.


I love chocolate, handmade by a local artisan, and I love her title "chocolatier".

What do you love?

brown cashmere/merino sweater & hat

Finding cute clothes for baby boys is tough! I love things that have woodland creatures in rich earthy browns, mossy greens and warm autumnal oranges. Elfish hats make babies look so sweet, which is how I started recycling and revamping wool sweaters. Then I realized that I could make all kinds of toasty things for him.

My friend, Rose, makes even more recycled designs for big and little people. You can find them at www.consciousclothing.etsy.com.