T-shirt dress

We love re-purposing. What's more fun than making a whole new outfit from an old one?! Usually the honor goes to my old clothes that get converted to some form of the girls' outfits. But this time, we added a new element to one of Big Sister's t-shirts and made a t-shirt dress.

I found this long strip of fabric while rummaging through my scrap box. This a leftover piece from a dance costume I made a couple of years back. The dimension was perfect to be added on as a low skirt....so that's what we did.

Read on for my step-by-step on making this t-shirt dress....

Flower Tin Can Caddy

The past few months Big Sister has been very vocal about saving the Earth. Once the weather got better, she insisted we walk or bike to school to prevent air pollution. She helps putting away the newspapers and milk cartons in the recycle bin. And has been pointing to many things I throw away and asking if we can use them for any projects. That made me a very happy scrappy mom indeed!

So here is another tin can re-purposing we did this past week. This was also part of an end of year school gift to her teacher. A fabric covered tin can flower caddy.

Read on for our step-by-step....

Wedge Panel Flared Skirt

OK. Maybe my search phrases are bad...but I just couldn't find what this skirt is called. I modeled it after one of my own Gap skirts. So I am just naming it the Wedge Panel Flared Skirt...because that's what it is!

The type of material you make this with, changes the look of the skirt. I used a thick khaki denim and that made the skirt flare out a little stiff. If you use a lighter material, the flare will be more subdued...

Want to make one? Read on for my step-by-step including pattern making.

Simple Shirred Dress

Now that spring is here (here in Colorado, we had a teaser spring and then 2 days of snow! in MAY!!!), time to get the sundresses out. And finally step out in what you wear at home and not add on all those layers! So time to make some dresses.

I am starting this season with a very simple sundress. Remember when I said I am shir-crazy now....I meant it. Here is the how-to for a simple shirred dress.

If you need help shirring, refer to one of the tutorials below, depending on the type of machine you have.

• Shirring using a machine with a metal bobbin case
• Shirring using a drop-in bobbin machine

Read on for the step-by-step on the dress making...

Finishing Hems - Using folds and Bias Tapes

When a sewing project is almost done, all that's left is to finish the hems. The bottom hem, neckline and armholes (if sleeveless). There are many methods to go about this...based on the fabric and what you are comfortable with. Here are a few of my preferred methods for finishing hemlines...

• Simple single fold: Ideal for knits and selvage ends
• Finished single fold
• Pinked finish single fold
• Double fold
• Inside finish using single fold bias tape: Ideal for necklines, armholes and rounded bottom hems
• Outside finish using single fold bias tape: Ideal for necklines, armholes and rounded bottom hem
• Using simple bias tape: Ideal for necklines, armholes 
• Using double fold bias tape: Ideal for necklines, armholes and rounded bottom hems

Click on any of the above methods to skip to that section or read on to see them all...