Sewing for Less - Repurposing #2

In my previous "Sewing For Less - Repurposing" post I showed you how I turned a $0.29 men's dress shirt into a toddler dress. This time, I'm starting with a $1.00 curtain panel I purchased at a yard sale last week.


Curtains can be a fantastic source of yardage at a great price. Especially for embroidered eyelets, or other bordered fabrics. Some pre-made curtains are very poor quality, however, so it's helpful if you can develop a "feel" for good fabric. It just takes a bit of practice.


This fabric is a polyester/cotton blend, not fantastic quality, but it was the embroidered eyelet border that really caught my eye. I knew I could do something with that. It was a small valance panel, approximately 16 1/2" long. Eyelet fabric by-the-yard usually retails around $5.99/yard and can go up over $12/yard, depending on the detail and weight of the embroidery. This particular piece was heavily embroidered, and I only found one place where the stitching had come loose. The plain part of the fabric was slightly discolored, but for $1.00, I was willing to give my trusty Biz a chance. I'm making bloomers, so most of it will be hidden under a skirt, anyway.


The first step (after laundering) was to remove the rod pocket stitching from the top of the valance. I needed to do this to gain enough length to accommodate my pattern pieces. The stitches were rather large, so this only took a few minutes.


I used as my pattern. I cut a size 4, a bit bigger than my daughter is now, so her wearing time would be extended. Using the eyelet border means I don't have to hem the bloomers when I'm done...the finished edge of the eyelet will be the hem. Accordingly, I had to subtract the hem length from the pattern piece. Here is a pattern pinned on and ready to be cut. This is a multi-sized pattern, so you can see some of it is hanging over the edge of the fabric.


Here are the fabric pieces cut and ready to assemble.


I don't usually pin...(especially when serging)...but I wanted to match the eyelet at the bottom at the seam line, so pin, I did.


My serger made quick work of assembling these bloomers. Sewing, trimming, and finishing the edges in one step!


After serging the leg and crotch seams, the only remaining step was to turn the top down and apply some soft lingerie elastic to the waist. I prefer this method to making a casing and inserting the elastic; it's faster, and it is softer against the skin.


First, I measured the elastic by stretching it around my daughter's waist until comfortable. I stitched the ends together, then divided my elastic loop into fourths. I marked each fourth with a pin, then matched up the pins to the front, back, and side seams on the pants. Stretching the elastic to fit, I zig-zagged the elastic to the underside of the waist. It gathered the top as I applied it. I could have made the elastic loop a bit smaller...lingerie elastic is very soft, and did loose a bit of stretch after application. Mental note for next time.


And, Voila! One pair of lacy and feminine bloomers...for $1.00 plus thread and elastic from my "stash." Your cost may be slightly higher depending on your resources, but, still a very economical project. (Don't you just love those curled-up toes?)

By the way...does anyone know if you can even BUY bloomers anywhere? I'd be interested to know the cost.

REMEMBER: The key to successful repurposing is training your eye to look past what the item is...to what it could be.

Sewing for Less - Repurposing

Sewing for your family can be expensive. Purchasing fabric, patterns, notions, and thread at full price can easily cost you more than buying ready-made clothing on sale, and much more than gently used yard sale clothing.

But, it doesn't have to be. There are a lot of strategies I use to sew things for less. One way I save money on supplies is to look for materials to repurpose. Adult-sized clothing (especially women's skirts and dresses) usually contains enough material to create a child-sized garment. I can always find high-quality clothing at our local Goodwill store for pocket change. The key is training your eye to see past what the garment is...to what it could be.


One of the internet fads right now is repurposing men's shirts into little girls' dresses. I found this shirt at our local Goodwill store for...$0.29. It is a high-quality, 100% cotton shirt. I chose it because this color is flattering to my daughter, the material was sturdy and stain-free, and, of course, it was cheap.


I decided to use New Look 6844 as my pattern. The first thing I did was position the pattern pieces to take advantage of the existing buttons and buttonholes, eliminating the need for a back zipper. I also had to re-draw the collar front to allow for the width of the shirt's front band. I see now that I could've extended it a bit so that the collar fronts would almost touch, but it's cute the way it is. I added some decorative stitching down the front, but I don't think it adds much.


This adorable eyelet trim I picked up at another local thrift store...a friend of mine tipped me off to a huge load of sewing supplies they received, and I came home with hundreds of yards of lace and eyelet trim for $17. Some was discolored from storage, but hot water and Biz brightened it up nicely. The collar, back tie, and sleeve band I made from a tone-on-tone cotton fabric in my stash, so it was essentially free. I removed the breast pocket, carefully, added a strip of eyelet, and repositioned it on the skirt.


The sleeves turned out Snow-White-ish, but Girlie loves the dress so I'd call the whole project a success.

So, here's the breakdown:
Men's shirt used for fabric...$0.29
Eyelet trim for pocket and sleeves...$0.10 (it's probably less)
Collar, belt, sleeve band fabric...FREE from my stash
Pattern...$3.50...but I will use it several times...maybe 4...$0.63
Thread...$0.50
And, Voila!...a toddler's dress for about $1.50!*

*Note: One thing I never do is factor in my time as a cost liability. Opinions vary on this aspect of frugality. Some people believe that large amounts of time should only be spent on the activities that are going to provide the greatest cost savings...things like home repairs, oil changes, haircuts, etc. The truth is that I can purchase toddler dresses at yard sales or thrift stores for a few dollars. So, why spend a few hours to create something that is only "saving" a dollar or two?

Mainly...enjoyment. I enjoy the creative process and bringing an idea to life.

Modesty is also an issue..I like my daughter in LONG dresses...they're hard to find!

I think it sets a good example for our children, to look for creative solutions instead of running out to buy what we want or need.

And, I also believe creativity is a gift from God, and that He is pleased when we use our gifts to serve and bless others.

I hope to explore some other areas of frugal sewing. I have several projects in the works and I'll try to post them as I get them finished. Please stop back!

More Label Ideas...

I made some fancy labels for my jelly jars last week...like the labels I made for my spice jars a few weeks ago. I had to enlarge them slightly to fit snugly inside the canning rims. Now that I have them perfectly sized and formatted for the jars, it'll be a snap to label all my preserves this way. I created the image with a circle surrounding the olive branches as a cutting line. I had my younger sons cut them out...accuracy is not critical because the rim hides the cut edge. (Some people take the rims off after sealing, but I don't.) Besides looking pretty, the labels make a nice presentation, and I can place a few jars in a basket with a pretty card when I need a quick hostess gift.

It's "Mint" to Be

My mother loves recipes. No magazine or newspaper boasting culinary instructions is safe from her recipe-clipping passion. My grandmother and I kid her about her binders and card boxes jam-packed with decades of delicious offerings...but WHO does everyone go to when they need a recipe? Exactly.

Mom also loves to garden. This week her mint was ready to be harvested...and after my boys helped cut it, we had filled a bushel basket! Now, what to do with it? We quickly decided to concoct a summertime family favorite drink...one of her fabulous recipe finds...Mint Orangeade.

Mint Orangeade
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C fresh mint leaves, lightly crushed
1 tsp shredded orange peel
2 C orange juice
1 1/4 C lemon juice
Ginger ale or Club soda, chilled

MAKE AHEAD PREP: In saucepan, combine 2 1/2 C water and sugar; bring to boiling. Pour over crushed mint leaves. Add orange peel, orange juice, and lemon juice. Cover. Let stand at least 1 hr. Strain, cover, and chill.

FOR EACH DRINK: Pour 1/3 C fruit mixture into tall glass, over ice, if desired. Fill with chilled ginger ale or club soda. Garnish with mint sprig.

Makes 6 C drink base.

Better Homes and Gardens, July 1981

But, wait...the recipe only requires 1 cup fresh mint leaves, and we had much, much more than that. Our solution? Make mint syrup. Here's how (using the preceding recipe):

Mint Syrup
In a saucepan, combine 2 1/2 C water and 1 1/2 C sugar; bring to boiling.
Pour over 1 C crushed fresh mint leaves. Cover, let stand at least 1 hour. Strain.

While mixture is standing, prepare quart canning jars, lids and rims. Then pour hot syrup (reheating if necessary) into hot jars, add lids, tighten rims until secure; invert jars. Jars are sealed when you hear lids "pop." Leave inverted until cool, then store until needed.

10 batches yielded 6 quarts of syrup.

Use Mint Syrup to make Mint Orangeade, or as a flavoring for hot or iced tea.

Enjoy!...It's delicious!

Mommy's Little Helper

Girlie loves to help out in the kitchen...and, for that, I am thankful. Today, she insisted on filling the ice cube trays, a seemingly constant job this time of year. (We like A LOT of ice in this family). She let the water fill each little cube space before moving on to the next one...I think her expression here demonstrates her level of concentration. (Of course, as soon as she filled it, she dumped it into the sink, she was wet and cold in a matter of minutes, and still, I had to do the job, anyway...but she had fun "helping.")

The dress she's wearing came from Goodwill earlier this week. It's about 3 sizes too big, but she loves it. I've been letting her wear it as a nightgown.

The June Couple

This is a bridal shower gift I recently finished. In my post here I mentioned looking for a poem for a young friend of mine who will be getting married on my anniversary in June. While looking through an old copy of the works of Edgar Guest, I came upon the poem, "The June Couple." Thankfully, the poem was fitting for the young couple, and conveyed the proper sentiments, so I set out to find a way to present it to the bride as a gift.

I was able to find this lovely frame at a thrift shop...it had a Nolan Miller dress design print in the center which I discarded. The frame was originally a tacky, silvery/goldish color, so I used one of my favorite trash-to-treasure tricks and painted it with black acrylic paint, making sure to get it into all the crevices, then wiped some off with a cloth, just leaving highlights of the original color showing through. It set off the intricacy of the frame's carved design, and toned down the harsh metallic finish. Black paint is a bargain-hunter's best friend!

Next, I formatted the poem on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cream paper, which I trimmed down slightly. This was mounted onto a sheet of pumpkin-colored mulberry paper which was then trimmed to fit and glued into the inner frame. I added a strip of taupe velvet ribbon and a paper flower I purchased from Michael's scrapbooking section.

I washed the glass and reassembled the elements and used a reproduction victorian floral wrapping paper (a previous find from the thrift store) for the backing.

This was one of those projects that I didn't feel particularly inspired about, but I am pleased with the finished product. I hope the bride and groom display it in their new home and that the message of the poem will speak to and encourage them often.

(You can click on the photo to enlarge it and read the poem.)

Variety Is The Spice of Life

Here's an idea that's been rolling around my head now for months. I've been wanting to move all my spices out of plastic containers into glass canning jars. I dislike the variety of sizes of containers that spices come in...it's visually disturbing to me. Looking at the ingredients themselves is so much more pleasing to the eye than brightly colored commercial labels. I like the way these jars look lined up on the counter...reminds me of an old-fashioned general store.

I used wide-mouth quart jars for ingredients that are spooned out, like most herbs and spices would be. Also for flaked coconut, which I keep in the fridge. For things that I will pour out of the jar, like dried beans, I used regular-mouth jars.

A quart jar sounds large to hold spices, but with a family of 6, I do a lot of cooking, and will have no trouble using them up before they lose potency. I always try to replenish my spices from the bulk food store, which is much, much cheaper than buying them in the supermarket. The few flavorings I use just a bit of I put into pint jars.

If you haven't tried the plastic lids available now for canning jars...they are great. I've seen the regular mouth lids in the grocery stores and stuff-marts, but I had a hard time locating the wide-mouth lids locally, so I purchased them here.

I designed the labels using Print Shop software, formatted an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet with 20 olive branch circles, then typed the names into a text box inside each circle. I cut them out, laminated them, and tied them to the jars with thin elastic. I used elastic because it will not come unintentially un-tied, but can be stretched and pulled off easily when I need to wash the jars.

This project took several hours over two days to complete. Because the labels are laminated, they will last a very long time, and I know I'll enjoy my kitchen so much more now that a lot of visual clutter has been eliminated.

How have you enhanced your home's beauty by reducing visual clutter?

Improvement...by Edgar A. Guest

The joy of life is living it, or so it seems to me;
In finding shackles on your wrists, then struggling till you're free;
In seeing wrongs and righting them, in dreaming splendid dreams,
Then toiling till the vision is as real as moving streams.
The happiest mortal on the earth is he who ends his day
By leaving better than he found to bloom along the way.

Were all things perfect here there would be naught for man to do;
If what is old were good enough we'd never need the new.
The only happy time of rest is that which follows strife,
And sees some contribution made unto the joy of life.
And he who has oppression felt and conquered it is he
Who really knows the happiness and peace of being free.

The miseries of earth are here and with them all must cope.
Who seeks for joy, through hedges thick of care and pain must grope.
Through disappointment man must go to value pleasure's thrill;
To really know the joy of health a man must first be ill.
The wrongs are here for man to right, and happiness is had
By striving to supplant with good the evil and the bad.

The joy of life is living it and doing things of worth,
In making bright and fruitful all the barren spots of earth.
In facing odds and mastering them and rising from defeat,
And making true what once was false, and what was bitter, sweet.
For only he knows perfect joy whose little bit of soil
Is richer ground than what it was when he began to toil.

My first acquaintance with Mr. Guest's work was a poem entitled, "Only a Dad." While searching for an idea for a Father's Day present from my children to their dad, I discovered this piece and was drawn to it immediately. Later, I found his work, "Imagination," and those of you who know me well, know just how well that poem describes me. It has become a theme for me throughout our home-building process. While some may find him a bit too sentimental for their tastes, I find that Mr. Guest excels at revealing the nobility of the commonplace. Of giving words to the silent struggles of the heart. Of championing the underdog. I can't help but think that he must have been a very good friend...a great encourager...a wonderful listener...because his capacity to understand the human condition is evident in the tenderness, bordering on reverence, he exhibits towards domestic life.

A few months ago, I purchased a beautiful, old book of his poetry from Ebay, and while searching it for a poem to share with a young lady about to get married, I found the poem above. Again, it seems that Mr. Guest has been privy to my thoughts, writing something that I could've written...had I his talent.

Poetry is part of our life, as I will frequently share passages with my children, and I will assign them poetry for copywork on a regular basis. Being boys, I must admit, they don't always jump for joy when I head towards the poetry shelf. Secretly, though, I think they enjoy our discussions...and I enjoy those "A-ha" moments...when something we've talked about in a poem comes up somewhere else in prose...and they remember and make the connection.

Poetry adds beauty to everyday life. Elevates our thoughts. Lightens our load.

I'm grateful to God for the gift of language, and for the gifting of wordsmiths like Mr. Guest.

Beautiful Moment

Potty training is a family affair!

Beautiful Moment

Yes! Yes! Yes! She wants to sew!!! (The machine was unplugged, for all you worry-worts out there!)

Beautiful Words

I've been playing Scrabble with the boys in the evenings (while trying to keep Camryn from running off with some of our letter tiles) and once in awhile we manage to use ALL the tiles.

Beautiful Moment

Ian and Camryn mixing up the "sponge" for our homemade bread...notice who is doing the work and who looks like she's supervising (hands on her hips, even!)

Beautiful Expressions

Handcrafted Beauty

Here's a sachet I made for my Mom's birthday last month. I hand-embroidered the initial in the center, added a floral fabric border, and attached ribbon embellishments with small pink pearly buttons at the middle of each side. The inside sachet consists of an organza bag filled with rice that I scented with vanilla fragrance oil. The monogram is from a book of iron-on embroidery transfers that I have used for many of these sachets. Each design can be used many times.

Hand embroidery is something that I've started doing just in the past few years. By learning only a few basic stitches, it is possible to create lovely and unique gifts for very little money. This project probably cost me less than $5. Had I used fabric from my stash, my cost would've been almost nothing. Just the time involved.

Frugal CAN be beautiful!

Beautiful Moment

Once in awhile, Tobin sits still long enough to read Sissy a story. "Mister Putter & Tabby" is a favorite series around here these days.

Beautiful Girl

Guess I shouldn't have let her try my disappearing wrinkle cream!

Frugal Beauty

Look what my husband brought home for me today! (I keep telling him that I really am a "low maintenance" wife).

University salvage is a treasure trove for those with well-trained "what-can-I-do-with-these? eyes!" (In this case...my husband!) He called me today from work asking if we could use some sheets. "Sure," I said. Sheets do come in very handy, even if you don't use them for bedding. What I found, however, when we opened the huge bags, were not sheets, but tablecloths! Now, they are not in perfect condition...hence their presence at salvage. Most have small holes, stains, rips or tears...but all are usable in some form.

Because I'm a seamstress at heart, I always think in terms of "price per yard." Fabrics come in differing widths, and is purchased in linear yards or fractions of yards. So, one yard of fabric is a piece of fabric 36" long, by whatever the given width is. For example, 45" and 60" are common fabric widths. But there are many more, depending on the type of fabric.

For the sake of calculations, I took the sizes of tablecloths and converted them into widths of 54"...a common width of home decorating fabric.

OK...here's the fun part.

The bags contained the following:

54"x54" tablecloths...quantity 8,
54"x120" tablecloths...quantity 17,
90"x90" tablecloths...quantity 21.

Converting the "fabric" contained in the tablecloths to 54" wide fabric yields a whopping 173 yards of fabric!

My husband paid $5.00 for this haul. If my math is correct, that means that he paid $o.o3/yard. Pretty good, I'd say...actually only FREE would be better.

Not all the material is usable...but a quick look-over of all the articles yielded many pieces that will be suitable as tablecloths, after some holey or ripped areas are removed, and the edges re-hemmed. The other ones will be used in various ways...to be determined as ideas come to mind. Some initial thoughts are nighties for me and Camryn, cloth napkins, the really bad ones will become drop-cloths for our new building project, summer dresses embellished with different trims, totebags...any other ideas?

I thought it would be fun to document all the uses I find for this stash, so I will post projects as they are completed. How far can I stretch $5? I'll keep you posted.

Added: There were actually 6 other tablecloths in the bags...4 very large oval ones and 2 large round ones...they are heavier polyester and I'm not sure what I'll do with them...perhaps cut off the bad spots and use them as intended.

Literary Beauty

from my read-aloud time today with the children...

"Now I began to construe the words mentioned above "Call on me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called deliverance, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in: for though I was indeed at large in that place, yet the island was certainly a prison to me, and that, in the worst sense in the world; but now I learned to take it in another sense. Now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God, but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort. As for my solitary life, it was nothing; I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it, or think of it; it was all of no consideration, in comparison of this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction."

- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Beautiful Food

One of my goals for the down-time I anticipated this winter was to learn to bake bread from scratch. I've had a bread machine for years, and while it turns out decent bread, I don't like being limited to making one loaf at a time. There's something so impersonal about dumping the ingredients into the metal pan and pushing the start button...it seems like just another task to be completed.

Maybe it's just me, but there's something deeply satisfying about baking bread the "old-fashioned" way...something organic and comforting about kneading the dough, something rhythmic about waiting for the rise, something enjoyable about the PROCESS, itself, that modern technology has failed to reproduce.

Here's a picture of my first attempt at 100% handmade, hand-kneaded bread.
It is 1/3 white, 2/3 whole wheat. The recipe took a total of 12 cups flour, and kneading that amount of dough took some muscle! Besides the fact that I did not have my dough divided perfectly into thirds, and the large loaf had an air pocket in the middle, it turned out really well for my first try...and even the boys said it was the "best bread they ever tasted!" If I can please them, I'm happy.

I have two loaves of white bread rising as I type this...I'll pop them into the oven tonight, and we'll have fresh bread for breakfast tomorrow. We've almost finished off the first three loaves above, so I'll be baking whole wheat again in the next day or two.

Does anyone else cringe at the price of bread these days? Good whole wheat loaves around here usually start at $2.79/loaf and only go up. I'm pretty sure I can make this recipe for under $3 for 3 loaves, it might be less. Definitely less if I was buying my flour in true bulk form. I love it when the healthy alternative is also healthy for the budget!

Handcrafted Beauty

When I was young, my mother made a cloth doll for me with yarn hair and an embroidered face. It had a wardrobe of dresses, pajamas, and even blankets to keep it warm. I had a little crib in my bedroom where she lived. I still have the doll and all her accessories, but her yarn hair is well frazzled and her clothes washed and faded.

I have to admit that I never really played with dolls. So, when we discovered our 4th child was going to be our first girl, I wondered...would she? I found myself hoping that she would. I found myself with uncontrollable urgings to make her things. Dolls, booties, fancy dresses. Things that would set her apart from her rough-and-tumble brothers. I wondered...would she embrace her God-given role as nurturer? Or would she, like me, prefer books to Barbies? How long would we have to wait for these traits to emerge?

To my delight, I have not been disappointed. She is ALL GIRL, and there is no question...she WILL play with dolls. She loves dolls, and, thanks to Christmas, her collection is growing.

But she needed a SPECIAL doll. A cloth doll with yarn hair and an embroidered face like my mother had made for me. So-o-o-o...

Here's the doll I made for my daughter for Christmas '08. I used Butterick pattern #6993 (it's an older pattern - may be out of print?) I hand-embroidered the facial features using DMC perle cotton. The pattern called for the embroidery to be done after the head was stuffed, but I preferred to do the work on the flat piece in a hoop. (You can click on any of the photos for an enlarged view.)

Another view of the face. I love the eyes. The shading is very realistic. I tried to match the doll's colors to my daughter's features. I used Homespun yarn for the hair...almost a whole skein...it ended up being a lot of hair, but I wanted good coverage over the entire head. You can see a little bit of the dainty cotton lace trim I used on the collar...also on the sleeves and hem.

View of the entire doll. The dress is made of white cotton tone-on-tone print I had in my stash, and the pinafore is a medium-blue fine-wale corduroy with tiny fuschia flowers from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I made my daughter a matching jumper. The pocket is from a pink wool sweater that I felted. I found a tiny bunny at a large chain store that fit perfectly in the pocket. The cream sweater was an infant-sized sweater I found at Goodwill. I crocheted the fuschia blanket using Carefree Cotton yarn that I found on clearance at Wal-Mart. The blanket pattern was originally for a dishcloth, I made it 1 1/2 times the size, and because I used a heavier yarn, the finished piece is quite a bit larger. It is very soft and just perfect to keep dolly's lap warm on these cold winter days.

To complete her outfit, I will be making her some slippers from the pink felted sweater. I purposely made her dress plain, so that we could change her look with just a new pinafore. And I'm sure we'll make more matching outfits in the years to come.

I have a new appreciation for playing with dolls, and my favorite is a newly-turned 2-year-old real-life "dolly" with her daddy's blue eyes and dimpled chin. She's the most precious doll of all!