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.