Sweater Conversion

Update! I made the Top 10 on the Iron Crafter! Go here to vote for me... pretty please?


There are fewer things that I love more than refashioning, or as my husband puts it "cutting apart perfectly good clothes... blah blah"

I knew he wouldn't mind this project though, 
because he {hates} this cardigan!

I'm a redhead, and I'll admit that it's not my best color, but his dislike of this sweater seems totally irrational to me!


anyways...

I love, love, LOVE sweater dresses on babies! 

and I have a baby girl...

I saw that the Iron Crafter's "Secret Ingredient" was sweaters... 

and I am so in love with the end result I could {die}!!!

First I got a knit shirt that is a bit big for my girl to use as a pattern

I cut out 2 pieces to use as the front and back, the whole length of the sweater.

Then I sewed them together along the sides and at the shoulders

the sleeves of the original cardigan had this super cute button detail that I totally wanted to keep

so I lined up the sleeve of the baby sized shirt, with this along the top

and cut out the sleeves.

I sewed the sleeves into a tube, and attached them to the dress

here it is inside out...

Lastly I made the neck. I took the last piece of trim from around the bottom of the sweater and sewed it into a tube

and sewed it to the dress to make a little turtleneck!

I hand-sewed a few of the buttons from front of the old sweater onto the turtleneck to keep it from rolling up

I had to restrain myself from waking up the baby to try it on her...


(she woke up on her own eventually...)

I think this is my favorite refashioning project EVER!


p.s. I used a women's size Large for this project, and the end result is about 9-12 month size with very little left-over. If you make a sweater dress from this tutorial, please link it to our flickr group; I would LOVE to see it!

<3 AmberLou

sharing at a few of these parties

and

I Was Framed!

I <3 mirrors. 

Not that I am especially {foxy}, but I love the way they brighten spaces, and I especially love having mirrors close to the floor so my kids can see themselves without getting Mom or Dad to pick them up and hold them to a mirror!

This is the mirror that has served that purpose in my house since we moved in

kinda plain. You know what would make it super high-impact?

A frame!

I went to Home Depot and bought 2 8' sticks of trim, and 2 8' sticks of rectangular wood (this wood doesn't appear to have a name. This is the label...)

It is simply a rectangular stick 1" x 1/2". 

(Baby girl plays with wood stake, ready to drive it into the {heart} of any vampires who try to sweet-talk her!)

I measured the mirror, it was 22 x 68. I cut the wood to fit around the border and mitered the ends. Then I painted the outside edge all around ('cause it will show!) and used the nail gun to attach it on all four sides. 

(like my hairy wrists? I actually fear nailguns more than I fear the oven, so Herr Handsome did this part)

Then I measured the outside corners to determine how long the trim pieces should be. Hubby cut and I painted the wood, and then he nailed it up.

(Make sure you paint both sides of the trim, since the back side will be reflected in the mirror, and if it is plain, unpainted wood, it will look cruddy!)

here the mirror is framed on 4 sides with wood and one side with the trim

Once the trim was all hung, I filled the nail holes with spackle, then sanded it a tiny bit to smooth it out, and painted over the holes. 

Finished! It looks like I hung a lovely framed mirror! 

And my kiddies like it too!

<3 AmberLou

Extreme Highchair Makeover!

In honor of the show "Extreme Home Makeover" being in my hometown, I give you... EXTREME HIGHCHAIR MAKEOVER!!! 


 When my son was born, I received a hand-me-down high chair from a co-worker. You will only very occasionally catch me saying "no" to {free} stuff, and this high chair was in great shape! Yippee!

Fast forward 4 years... my new baby girl doesn't love the blue boyish theme, and I don't love the additional 4 years of wear put on this high chair by my son, cousins, houseguests, and sitting in storage. 

My solution?

A $4.99 vinyl tablecloth from Ross. 

I'm not {loving} this pic... the cover is a bright orange, but it looks red... grrr!

I put the old cover on top of the tablecloth folded in half, and traced it with a {sharpie}, leaving about an inch gap. Then I cut it out.

I cut out 2 half circle thingies to match the part that originally went over the back

Sewed along the bottom of the circle, right sides together

Then turned it inside out. 

For obvious reasons, you cannot iron vinyl, but I used the weight of my iron {turned off} to "press" the seams on this. It seemed to help. 

Then I made a layer sandwich: 

Body (rightside in), half circle thingy, body (rightside in) and sewed it all together, leaving the bottom open. 

I stuffed the old one inside, (it fit perfectly! the 1" cutting and 1/4" seam allowances were just right to compensate for the padding) 

I sewed up the bottom using a zig-zag stitch, and didn't bother tucking in the edges, since that part doesn't show.

Very last, I zig-zagged around where the safety belt pokes through (I marked it when I was tracing) and cut the hole out. 

I found it helpful to use a long-{ish} stitch, and I made sure to put the side that will be the back facing down, since my machine's teeth was a little rough on the vinyl. (Even though this is pretty heavy duty. My machine must be hungry...)

I am so happy with how it turned out! 

I honestly don't think my baby girl noticed. 

p.s. Drove by the construction site looking for Ty... no luck!

<3 AmberLou

Sharing at some of these parties

1. Do you prefer to write in cursive or print?
A mixed up medley of both...

2. Do you prefer to shop online or go out and actually 
go to the stores?
I love both; shopping is shopping!

3. Would you prefer to go camping or stay in a motel?
Camping! Old School, with a tent!

4. Do your prefer going to the movies or staying 
home to watch one?
With a new baby, prefer isn't really the right question... but we definitely watch more movies at home.

5. Do you prefer a shower or a bath?

Bath... long with bubbles. Been awhile.. :)

Suit Yourself! {and a GIVEAWAY!}

Happy {MONDAY} everybody!

I recently acquired an {old}, 

smelly men's suit. 

It was a men's size 42 that had been altered

to fit someone about 4'10". 

I liked the pinstriping though, and decided
it would make a FABULOUS newsboy! 

I made this hat for my son from 
this great pattern and just loved it! 

I washed the suit in the washer. 
On warm. 
{Explicitly} ignoring the tag instructions.
 It made the fabric nice and soft to work with. 
(And got out the yucky smell)

De-constructing a suit can be tricky. 
Here are a few pointers:

1) Get a pair of scissors
2) Cut that mother up!

I got quite a bit of fabric,

(I'm not loving this picture, but the material
is charcoal with burgundy and copper pin-striping)

And I got a nice chunk of lining

lovely, {shiny} polyester!

And I had more than enough fabric 
to make two newsboy caps.


Important tip: When you're refashioning or 
deconstructing an item, be sure to salvage all the notions 
you can! I got 14 buttons off of this bad boy!


{So}, my intention was to make two 
newsboy caps, but wouldn't you know it, 
there was enough material for three! 
That means {of course} that we're having a giveaway!

There are a few ways to enter:
(Please leave 1 comment per entry!)

A. Become a follower 

2. Tell me your favorite kind of {cupcake}

D. Link this giveaway to your blog. (Include the link!)


And lastly, tell me the name of the 1990s movie where I got my very special numbering system. 

The {winner} will be chosen via random number generator, 
and the giveaway closes at midnight MST on July 3rd.


Winner will be announced Monday, July 5th!


Good Luck!

P.S. I need to say a very special {Thank YOU!} to my friend Louise, who lent me her spare sewing machine while mine is being serviced. Thank you, Louise! You'll probably never get it back, because it is waaaaaay nicer than mine! I don't think I can go back to my Singer after using your White!!!

<3 AmberLou

I shared this link at these parties