Completed Misc. Projects!

As usual, I've been busy making things while also working on other interests.  Here's a few of the projects I was working on.

I made some patriotic bloomers for my daughter's first Fourth of July.  I was actually going to make her a full outfit, but her Granpappy bought her a onesie from his visit to Washington D.C.  So I figured I'd make shorts to match the onesie... and I just happened to have the perfect remnant for it.  Actually, the pattern I used called for slightly more material, but I worked with it and the end result was adorable.  I also used stretchy cotton bias tape for the elastic casing; the bias tape was from the dragonfly onesie I partially unpicked for the oufit in my last post.  I plan to get a better picture, but this worked.

For my son, I was planning on making at least a pair of shorts for the holiday and to find one of the patriotic t-shirt hand-me-downs we have.  My mother's boyfriend (Granpappy) had also bought my son a shirt from Washington D.C., so I ended up making shorts to semi-match the shirt.  This outfit had a few firsts for me.  My first use of seersucker fabric.  My first applique. My first attempt to temporarily size down a t-shirt.

Here's the story... The store Granpappy was buying the onsie and t-shirt from only had this t-shirt in a size 4 and a size small (usually size 6).  Since my son is currently wearing size 4 to 5, my mom suggested he buy the size small.  The shirt was huge for him, but I figured that I could figure out a way to size it down, while allowing me to later undo my alterations so he can wear it for years more.  (If you click on the photos, you'll be able to see the alterations more clearly.  Just another case of an outfit I hope to take more pictures of!)

I didn't get any "before" pictures, but the "after" pictures show how well it turned out.  My mother said it looked like it was bought that way.  And her boyfriend was impressed enough that he came home with a shirt from the Monster Truck Rally he went to and said, "You can work your magic on this one!"  :-)

As for the shorts... my son loved them!  He actually wore them again a couple days ago with one of his Star Wars t-shirts.  I plan to make him a matching vest or shirt.  Either would be adorable.  (Maybe a matching hat?)

As a side, I made some really cute Fourth of July hair clips out of scraps (pictures later) and tried to rework a blue striped maternity top I love. I want it to be more flattering to my non-pregnant figure. This first attempt was a little rushed. I wore it on the Fourth of July, and though it looked less "maternity", it wasn't up to my standards for fit or quality, so I will be working on it more. Possibly even take it completely apart. We'll see.

Also, for a Refashioning Co-Op that I'm part of, I made a collar headband.  The group was having a book giveaway, and the theme was using scraps.  My husband likes to make Victorian style shirts, and if he's converting a modern shirt to be one, we end up with the collar, sad and lonely and begging to be used.  It seems happier now.

Before:

After:

I will probably put together a tutorials, with more photos, when I make another one.  I really liked how it turned out.

What's now on the list of "Try To Make"?

*  Rework the blue stripe maternity top

*  Alter pink stripe maternity top

*  Fried marble pendants and lace chokers

*  D&D dice pendants

*  Alter brown polkadot dress (into a top and skirt)?

*  More seersucker stuff for my son, daughter, possibly me and my husband too

*  Possibly convert small onesies into tanktop dresses for my daughter

*  Sketch jellyfish steampunk gown

*  Start work on Xmas gifts?

*  Build my photography portfolio (for my new artist facebook page)
*  Post about the Star Wars birthday party!