Misfits to Outfits

Those who know me understand my limits with patience. That being said, when I sew, I don't always measure, iron hems or use pins. I never do special seams, zippers, buttons or anything fancy. So, if I ever share a sewing type project (which I'm about to), the super detailed instructions will be missing. I will, however, try to provide helpful links that will make things less murky.

It seems that taking unwanted adult clothing and turning them into toddler clothing is all the rage lately. It's all over Etsy.com. It's now considered boutique (aka:pricey), one-of-a-kind sassy cute and of course, environmentally friendly.  It's too bad that when my mom made my clothing as a child (out of necessity), it was considered 'dorky'...at least that's what all the other kids told me. Okay, moving on...

I had this nautical style shirt that my husband someone accidentally shrunk (in defense of 'someone', there was also an ink stain on the sleeve...I think.).  :)P

 I thought it might make a cute little dress for my girl, especially since our family beach vacation is just around the corner!

 I just put it on her,  marked it, pulled the shoulder seams higher, cut it and sewed it. I used leftover fabric from the dress to make easy hair ties.  This took me less than 2 hours and it was free. I'm sure a professional seamstress would find great fault with this dress, but hey- I made it and it passes for cute!

This didn't turn out to be clothing, but it started that way. We were given this bunny dress. It was a garage sale find and while it was cute, it didn't fit.  

Rather than get rid of it , I cut out the little bunny face from the bottom and used it to make this quirky (but lovable) bunny for my girl . She's had it since she was 6 months old and it's her favorite. Makes me feel great to have made her something she loves so much.

Look at this adorable dress made from a man's dress shirt!
These are from Make it and Love it (check out the awesome list of DIY re purposed clothing projects like this)!

Or how about these little leg warmers made from a sweater (works with scarf too)!

Shirts to skirt and leggings...(all available at Make it Love it blog).

There are also lots of boy and adult clothing ideas on there too. In addition, they have bibs, stuffed animals, pillows, hats... Make it and Love it.

Give your duds a second chance before you toss them!