Boutique Giraffe Recreation

 

When a friend asked me to recreate a boutique outfit that her daughter wore in the early 1990's, I was a little skeptical that I would be able. I set about gathering materials to match the photo she had sent me (bottom of page) and finding sewing patterns that would work with little alterations as she needed a 12 months size. 

I located the woven cotton dot fabric first and then had issues locating a pink knit. After some searching I thought I might be able to find a tee shirt in the color pink needed. What do you know? Found one! Deconstructed it and used it as fabric for the top. 

Now onto the patterns. The children's Brynn Top pdf pattern by Sew A Little Seam  using the tulip sleeve option and the Lollipop Baby Girl Bloomer pattern by Puperita. Giraffe applique was from the sewing pattern Ellie Mae Designs K133. 

Gathered my materials and deconstructed the tee shirt being careful to remove the ribbed collar as I would need that for the new one. Cut out my patterns and prepared to applique the giraffe.

Appliqued, sewed and embellished the giraffe to match what I could from the original photo and finished.

Original outfit below. 

Rory's Baptism

This dress was made for my granddaughters baptism October 2019.

I used a white swiss batiste and a discontinued Children's Corner Pattern called "Marilyn"

T-Shirt Before & After Upcycle

I’m not much for crew neck tees and alter or upcycle to make them more flattering. 

On this one I used 2 xx-large shirts to accommodate the quarter length sleeves and the neck ribbing. 

The pattern I used was by Tilly and The Buttons “Romy” design.

Inside stitching for those who are curious to how I finished my seams with a regular machine. I used a over-casting stitch. 

Top Stitching 

Tee Shirt Crew Neck to V-Neck

Remove front neck edge ribbing from shoulder seam to seam. Leave attached in the back.

Fold shirt at center front. 

Measure down 1 to 1.5 inches and mark.

Using ruler or straight edge, mark fabric from center front mark to upper shoulder edge and cut.

Finding center of neck edge ribbing and cut. 

Your tee should resemble above photo now. 

Pin ribbing to newly cut v neck edge stretching ribbing as needed. 

Sew from shoulder seam on one side, stopping about 1 inch from v. Do again on other side stopping 1 inch from v. 

This part is kind of tricky. You will want catch the short edge of ribbing into the opposite side stitching. 

Pin this edge and play with it until you see the it line up correctly. 

Above is how the inside will look after you’ve sewn all edges. 

Use a over-casting stitch or zig-zag stitch to finish seam. 

Your v-neck should look like this. 

OCTOBER DRESS

October dress made for my granddaughter. Pattern is the older Children’s Corner Marilyn size 12 months. Cat fabric is 100% cotton from the Collection: Urban Zoologie by Designer: Ann Kelle. Purple fabric I’ve had in my stash and is unknown but it feels like velvet. Ribbon is also made by me (instructions in pattern)

Upcycle: Diaper Shirt Set Made from T-shirt

This was a fun upcycle using a Milwaukee Electric Tool T-shirt. The diaper shirt and diaper cover was made using McCall's pattern 6899. The baby booties were made using Michael Miller Fabrics free pattern available at this link: Michael Miller Fabrics Cloth Baby Shoes. Tip: I've made the booties a couple of time before and found them to be a bit large, so I shrunk my pattern by 5%. Print pattern pieces at 95% for closer to newborn size.

Post your links in the comments so we can view your upcycled, refashioned and reused items. Would love to see your creativity!

MAD HATTER - OCTOBER 2015

MY PROJECT: 6 Hour Mad Hatter Costume. My daughter made the hat using a online tutorial from Fleece Fun Website here: http://www.fleecefun.com/mini-top-hat.html. I used a childs size Simplicity sewing pattern #2069 for the Jacket and skirt with length adjustments only. Coat fabric is a home decor pintuck Taffeta that has a color changing quality to it when viewed from different angles. Skirt is a lovely yellow and red plaid cotton. Trim on jacket collar and front placket detail are left over from making the hat and I used it to turn into bias tape for the jacket details. It helps to tie it all together. Boots were bought at goodwill, tights were bought at Target Neck tie belongs to my husband.

1. Hat and Jacket bias trim is Ramtex Microsuede Apple:

https://www.fabric.com/buy/0374874/ramtex-microsuede-apple

2. Jacket is made from Diamond Pintuck Taffeta in Iridescent Rust:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/160336733/taffeta-pintuck-2x2-diamond-fabric-rust?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_supplies-fabric-yardage-low&utm_custom1=5f409259-2969-4672-86d9-069978fb653c&gclid=CNLh18up5sgCFUkvgQodb50IJw

3. Skirt plaid similar here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/250643503/yellow-black-white-printed-tartan-plaid?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=yellow+plaid&ref=sr_gallery_39

· Updated 56 minutes ago