Upcycling: A New Look for an Old Sweatshirt – and a Contest!
We do a lot around the house to try to be more green – composting, recycling, using the backs of old envelopes for grocery lists and such, but when it comes to clothing, I never really got into the reuse side of things. Clothing is usually worn until it is outgrown or just worn out. Taking apart an old shirt to make it into something else seemed like more work than just creating it from a length of fabric in the first place. But, I recently found a little love for upcycling clothing.
My husband and I are Wisconsin transplants living in Minnesota, and our youngest insists that he is from Wisconsin even though he’s never lived there. Finding Packer gear here can be difficult, especially in kids’ sizes. My husband had tossed a sweatshirt in the giveaway pile not too long ago. It was one of those items that should have been returned when purchased because the sleeves were never quite right, but he’d kept it instead. Now it looks like this:
Using Kwik Sew 2894, I cut new sleeves from a fuzzy green fleece and cut the front and back from the body of the sweatshirt. I moved the kangaroo pocket up, but kept its original size because Jack was happy to have a huge pocket. The waistband was removed from the original sweatshirt as well. I made it smaller and then re-attached it. I turned the hood inside out and made it a little smaller by changing the seam at the top of the hood and cutting some of the base.
Do you love to give old clothing a fresh spin? If so, we have a new contest that will be right up your alley!
Pop over to the forums to get all the details and sign up!
Happy Upcycling!
Kelly
Kwik Sew #2894 – boy’s hoodie
- At November 04, 2013
- By Kelly
- In Sewing For The Kids
- 2
This is a size medium, which is a kid’s size 7/8.
With the exception of the side seams, everything is done with the ladder stitching on the serger that I posted about here. The red thread is Pearl Crown Rayon in cranberry. The fabric is Polartec lightweight WindPro.
Happy Sewing!
Kelly
Kwik Sew 3275 – Girl’s PJ Pants
- At September 02, 2013
- By Kelly
- In Patterns, Sewing For The Kids
- 2
Happy Day! I started and finished something!
These are Kwik Sew 3275 in size 10. I took 2″ off the rise and added 2″ to the inseam, which made them the same length as the size 12.
I used 24.5″ of 1″ non-roll elastic for the waist. The pattern calls for 21″ of 3/4″ elastic. The non-roll seems to be a little less stretchy, and Zoe wears her pants a little lower than her natural waist. 21″ of elastic would not have been comfortable.
Since it was such a wacky day, I even got out my iron and pressed my hems before coverstitching. Check it out!
I’ll subject you to one more closeup just because it looks so pretty! That iron thing really does work.
Kwik Sew patterns are some of my favorites for their consistent sizing and ease of use. This is a one piece (cut 2!) pattern, super easy. The pattern also includes a top and both the top and pants are designed for knit fabrics with at least 20% stretch across the grain.
If you are playing Stash Game, this pattern used 1.25 yards of fabric and gets two notion points – elastic and size tags, so 12 points!
But wait, there’s more! I was so excited to actually finish something, and equally pleased to have used up good a chunk of this fabric that has been curing in my stash forever, that I decided to make a second pair.
Happy Sewing!
Kelly
Kwik Sew 2918 – 4t pants
- At February 27, 2010
- By Kelly
- In Patterns, Sewing For The Kids
- 0
Paul is taking the kids to see a play today, Jack was looking for something nice to wear with his pants. Please note, we have a loose definition of nice around here. When you’re four, nice = not sweatpants. His nice pants were in the laundry pile and the washer was already running a load of towels. Since they were planning to leave in two hours, there was not enough time to get his pants through the washer and dryer.
Luckily, I had enough corduroy on hand to make a pair of pants. These are a bit of a repeat of the pair I made before, Kwik Sew 2918 in a 4T. I added an extra 1.5″ to the length and took an inch off the top. I sewed the corduroy completely and then sewed each leg in flannel. I put each flannel leg inside the corduroy, right sides together and then pulled them through and sewed the flannel leg pieces together at the crotch. I folded over the waist about 1.25″ and zigzagged it down with the elastic loop inside.
One pair of pants, ready to go!
Another run through KS 2912
- At January 03, 2010
- By Kelly
- In Patterns, Sewing For The Kids
- 0
Good news is that the sweatshirt I made my nephew fit him! Bad news is, he really doesn’t know who Snoopy is! He did like Jack’s Tow Mater shirt, so I made another one of those in his size. It’s all set except for the fusi-knit on the back, but I’m waiting for it to dry after I washed off the water soluble stabilizer from the front. I’m hoping to get it in the mail Monday or Tuesday.