The Fabric Floozie

This weeks recon project was admittedly a very easy one. Not only is the design I used the obvious choice given the original style of the shirt.. it was also one item in my recon basket that i was REALLY looking forward to working on.

Here is the before

It was a size medium tie-back top from Motherhood Maternity. I purchased it back in 2004 when I was pregnant with my son and wore it for work with a black suit. Since I wasn’t working while pregnant with Lily, I never wore it during her pregnancy as it was too dressy for my taste.

The after was much cuter, and obviously more flattering.

Since the style of the shirt was so similar to the intended style of the dress, I kept most of the shaping similar and utilized the bottom hem as the skirt hem and neckline as her neckline. I also saved the ties to re-use at the back of the dress near the waistline.

In the chest area, there was an abundance of gaping fabric that would have looked strange on a 2 year old. So I simple pinned in 2 pleats per “side” , facing inwards, creating a faux-pin-tuck look. It was very easy and took all of about 3 minutes, but gave the dress a much more fitted look for her tiny body.

So that was this weeks recon. Hope you enjoyed it. IF you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section and I’ll do my best to respond.

If you have not done so already, sign up for the 2010 Recon A Thon challenge. No cost to enter, just the chance to win some awesome fabric. All experience levels welcome. Learn more HERE.

Hello, my name is Jackie. And I have a recon basket.

Sometimes admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

So today, for all of you to see, I’m admitting that I not only tuck stuff away to be reconstructed for the kids… I actually have an entire basket dedicated to items waiting to meet their fate.

The basket isn’t huge, but is isnt small either. It can hold upwards of 20 items at a time, and I’m finding that I’m starting to experience a bit of… “overflow”.

I do have a selection of items in the basket that are my “favorites”. That I’m actually excited to get to work on. While I have others that I’m just baffled with how I can possibly re-use them.

So over the next several weeks, I hope to recon at least 1 thing a week. We’ll see how long it lasts, but you can’t work towards a goal if you don’t set one, right?

If you have not done so already, join the TFF & Spoonflower Recon A Thon 2010, by grabbing the button on the right column of the blog, and commenting on this post with a link to your site.

Now, let me start by saying I don’t YET own pinking shears. Notice the Yet. So while my Ravioli do not have the fancy little pinked edges, they will whenever I get around to buying a pair.

The other day I used this tutorial on Frugal Family Fun Blog to make some ravioli that the kids could use with their new kitchen. I used some extra pillow stuffing I had, some gold-ish felt I had on hand, and cream thread.

But since I’m a bit anal about toys being contained most of the time, I had to find some kind of packaging for them. That’s when I realized we had run out of Nestle chocolate powder. I quickly checked it for size and sure enough, all the pasta fit.
So I headed up stairs to make myself a label for the Nestle package that would make it look more pasta-ish, and less rabbit-ish.

What you will need to make the matching label for these cute little pasta pieces is:
1 Nestle Container (10.2 ounces was the size I do believe)
1 sheet of printer paper
colored ink cartridge
mod podge

Just print out the template provided here:

Fold on the grey lines
Mod podge the front and sides of the nestle container
line up the label and stick down
mod podge the back of the container
apply rest of label.
LET IT DRY.
Then apply a light coat of mod podge to the front/sides of the container as a “clear coat”.

Now, yours will look different than mine. While I did measurements for the sides thickness and the fronts width, i did NOT take into account the curve of the container. So yours will be lined up much better than mine, and will be without grey lines

So all in all, yours will be much cuter than mine

Enjoy!

Well, Hello my pretty…

I’ve been waiting for you…

I have big plans for you.

This is going to be too much fun.

Follow this project on flickr via vintagedresserredo@TheFabricFloozie

(though out this post will be photos of past reconstructions. click on a photo to learn more about the project)

Since we all know that one of my favorite things is reconstructing clothing, I’ve decided to commit to hosting a semi-annual Recon-a-thon. That means in January and July(or August), each year, I’ll host a Recon-A-Thon open to ANYONE that wants to participate.

I’m pleased to announce that the first Recon-A-Thon is just right around the corner and with Spoonflower as the fabulous sponsor for this contest, you can not possibly go wrong!

If you’ve never been to Spoonflower… well, first, Shame on you. Second, go there right now. They are a fabulous up-and-coming website where you can not only order some of the coolest fabrics on the net, you can also… brace yourself… upload your own designs and have them printed to high-quality fabrics for… brace yourself again… LOW prices, with NO minimums! No, I’m not kidding. Yes, I swear on my childhood-pet-goldfish’s grave. The prize for the RaT10 will be a fabulous addition to your fabric stash, from Spoonflower.

So go on, lovely readers. Go dig in your closets and grab out anything you can find that you’ve been wanting to try to recon. I’ll post all the nitty gritty details later, but for the time being, know that you can use up to 2 items from your home/thrift store/corner dumpster (i’m only kidding… sort of), so dig around and set it aside. The rest of the details are coming soon!

If you plan to participate, please grab the button from the right column, and comment on this post with a link to your blog

After a lovely break for the holidays, I am back and here to announce the Pamper Me Contest Winner!

While I think everyone who entered really needs to take an hour out of their schedule this month and invest some time in pampering themselves, This week I’m only giving away ONE home-pampering package. And it goes to….

Krysta says:

December 19, 2009 at 9:43 am

The last time I… What…? I don’t understand that word. I can tell you the last time my HUSBAND was pampered! Ha!

Congrats Krysta!

winner chose by RANDOM.ORG

Yesterday I posted about that pretty little craft supply organizer I made.
Today I’m going to tell you how to make one of your own

Since I hadn’t intended to do a tutorial, I’m going to break it down step by step for you, but there will be no photos of each part. If you’re confused, ask a question in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer within 24 hours.

So here we go:

You will need:
Sewing Machine
Scissors or rotary cutter
Stiff sewable interfacing
A durable fabric for the main panel.
Print fabrics for the pockets (you could do ll 1 print, or even up to a different print on each pocket). Each print you will need less than 1/4 yard.
Solid for the insides of the pockets.
Crochet hook*
Dowel*
Cuphook*

* indicates an item that is optional, but necessary if you want to make yours the EXACT same way I did.

First, let’s make our pattern:

1.) Measure the wall space that you want your organizer to cover. Mine was 14″ wide by 33″ long.

2.) Add 1 inch to the width, and 1 inch to your length. Using these new dimensions, cut out one piece of interfacing and one piece of your main panel fabric. (this inch will be your seam allowance)

3.) Using your original measurements (ie: 14×33 in my case) subtract 2 inches from the width measurement. (ie: it’s now 12″). This will be the width of your pockets.

4.) Consider how many pockets you would like to use. For the sake of discussion, we will say you are going to use 4, just as I did. Take your original length measurement (ie: 33″) and subtract 3″. This will allow a 2″ space at the bottom, below your lowest pocket, and a 1″ space at the top, above your highest pocket’s space. (notice that in the image, the grey area is what we have determined will remain unused)

5.) With your 33″ – 3″, you now have 30 inches to work with. If you are planning on doing 4 pockets, simply divide that by 4. 30 divided by 4 is 7.5.  So each pocket space will need  approximately 12″x7.5″

6.) With 7.5 inches of space for each pocket, you will need approximately 2 inches of space between each pocket. This leaves you with pockets that are 5.5″x12″. (again, the grey areas are unused space)

Now let’s actually MAKE it:

1.) If you have not yet cut the interfacing and main panel, so do now. They will be the measurements provided within the first 2 steps earlier in this post.

2.) Cut 4 pocket pieces that are 13″x6.5″. This will give you a 12×5.5 pocket, plus a .5″ seam allowance on each side.

3.) Cut 4 pocket pieces out of the “pocket insides” fabric at the same sizes.

4.) pair each pocket outer with a pocket inner. Place pieces right sides together, and stitch all the way around, leaving an opening for turning. Repeat with each pocket, then turn all pockets.

5.) Select a fabric to use for the loops the dowel will attach to. Cut 2 pieces, each 2″x5″. Fold longwise and stitch up the longest side. Using a safety pin, turn right side out. These are your “dowel loops”

6.) Place main panel fabric face down on the interfacin. Starting half way down one long side, stitch down the rest of that long side, across the bottom, and up the other long side, pausing before sewing the top.  Take 2 dowel loops, fold them in half and pin them in place for sewing. Be sure the loop is hidden, sandwiched between the 2 panels, and the tails are facing out towards you. Continue to stitch across the top. When you get to the corner, turn and go back down the first side. Be sure to leave a space for turning. Turn

7.) top stitch the main panel, sewing the turning hole closed.

8.) Using the measurements above, pin pockets into place (with turning holes pinned shut) and sew in place.

9.) Using a straight edge and a washable fabric marker, mark where you would like your pockets to be closed. My pockets are as follows:

Top: Small, wide, small.

2nd: Extra wide: small

3rd: Wide, wide

last: small, small, small, small.

This allows for lots of different sizes of gadgets to be held securely.

Sew along the lines you’ve created.

10.) Insert dowel

11.) cut 4 long pieces of fabric that are approx 1/4″ wide (doesn’t have to be exact) using one of the pocket fabrics. Using a zigzag stitch, sew them together, end-to-end. Using  large crochet hook, crochet through this fabric as if it were yarn. This will provide you with a sturdy “rope” to hang the organizer.

11.) Tie “rope” to ends of dowel and hang using a cup hook

Be sure to post photos of your proect on the TFF Showoff Flickr Group

My sewing area is painfully small. All jokes aside, it’s approximately 4 feet wide by 4 feet deep (including both the sewing table, and chair space). It has 2 walls surrounding it. One is the full 4 foot width of the sewing table. The other is about 1.75 feet  (along the left side of my sewing table). This area houses my thread collection (mounted to the wall in front of me), my serger (to the far left of my table) and my sewing machine (to the far right of my table).

It’s cramped, to say the least.

Since space is a hot commodity when it comes to my crafting area, I knew I needed someplace to sort all my small stuff. My scissors and measuring tapes.  Rotary cutters and tracing papers. My elastics, buttons and empty bobbins.

Since wall space is pretty much all I have left, I set out to create a hanging organier for my crafting area with only one rule: I could ONLY use what I already had on hand.

And so my pretty organizer was born

Check back for a tutorial later this week

The TFF page is live on Twitter. Follow me and I’ll be sure to follow you.

http://twitter.com/FabricFloozie

Here is the tutorial you asked for: How to make a Super Hero Cape

Last night I started working on Lily’s. Overall, these capes take just a bit less than the length of the average football game. How’s that for precise?

What you need:

3 Colors of Satin (* indicates which color I’m referring to on the images below)

Primary Color: 2 yards (*yellow)


Circle/Accent Color: 1/3 of a yard – 1/2 yard depending on how big the kid is (*lt pink)


Decoration Color: 1/3 of a yard (*raspberry)

3 colors of thread to match satin color

Sharp scissors

Lots of pins

sewing machine

washable ink fabric marker

Measuring tape

Spare Fabric for design template (felt works best!)

Directions:

Measure from the nape of your childs neck, down to where you want the cape to end. Start with something around 20 (for small toddlers) to 22 (for bigger toddlers) inches and adjust as needed. This will be called distance A. (For Reference: Lily’s was 19.5″)

Measure around your childs neck from the throat, around the back, to the throat again. This is so you know how big to make the neck opening.

Lay out your primary color satin, right sides together. Place a pin 2.5″ from the bottom of the fabric panels.

Measure up distance A. Place another pin.

Take your measuring tape and place the 15″ tick on the bottom pin in your fabric. Mark at the 1″ tick with a pin, and the 30″ tick with a pin. This give you an approximate width for your cape. You can make it smaller (for smaller kids) or wider (for bigger kids) as necessary. (Lily’s was 29.5″)

Measure up  from top pin, 5-6″ (depending on how large you want the neck opening to be. Mark with pin.

From halfway up that small section, measure across the same distance and pin on each side.

Sketch a circle with your fabric marker. This is the neck hole opening.

At “nape of neck” measure across 15-16.5″ inches based on cape size. mark with pin.

Measure up 1″ from very top  pin. mark with pin.

Using pins placed, sketch out the overall shape on the cape using your marker.

Move pins to inside the lines to hold 2 panels of satin together. Stitch along sketched line, except for a opening at the bottom, big enough for turning. (red area shown)

Now on to the real photos

Now that you have your cape edges sewn, go ahead and trim off the excess fabric, leaving 1/4″ seam allowance.

Turn

Topstitch

Now for the design.

For the circle, decide how big you want it. Brendan’s was 10″ exactly. Lily’s was about 9.25″ I used a cake pan for Brendan’s

Outline the cake pan

Sew, leaving an area for turning

Turn

Set aside.

Using some scrap fabric (I like felt, it’s sturdy) sketch out the design you want for your cape. We had to do this 2x with Brendans, so I made 2 designs for Lily’s to see which I liked better.

Cut out the shapes and place them on your cape to be sure you like the shape/scale.

Place 2 pieces of design color, right sides together. Place template over fabric and outline

Stitch, leaving an area open for turning

Cut out and trim on curves

Turn

Place both smaller pieces on cape to check for placement

Pin circle down

*Load machine with accent color on your spool and primary color on your bobbin. (ie: Light pink on top, yellow on bottom)

Sew circle down

Pin design down

*Load machine with design color on your spool and primary color on your bobbin. (ie: raspberry on top, yellow on bottom)

Stitch the design down

Option: Using primary colored thread (yellow), do a decorative stitch all the way around the design. I did this on both and it adds a nice touch.

The reason for the primary color on the bobbin is because it will blend in with the main panel, and not show very much on the underside:

Add velcro to neck tabs

Wrap it up and place it under the tree

If you love this tutorial, please take a moment to utilize the “share” button to post it on facebook, twitter, or whatever social site you use

If you USE this tutorial, please send me a photo when you are done (or a link to your blog post about it). I’d love to share it on the site

Thank you so much!