Recycle, Reuse…Refashion!

This is cute top that I bought while I was living in Spain, my sophomore year of college. Its been a long time since it fit, but I can’t bare to give it away. With my new post-partum mommy boobs, there is NO way it’s ever going to fit again, so I decided to cut it up and give it a new life through Penelope. Peter said to me the other day, “man, you really like cutting stuff up now, huh?” Yup, I do. I am not sure what has come over me, but every spare second I have I am in the dinning room sewing or getting ready to sew!

First I cut off the sleeves. Then I turned it inside out and took in the sides a bit to make it more of an A-line dress shape.

Then I sewed on hot pink bias tape to finish the armholes and make the straps. Here is a good tutorial on how to use bias tape. And Ta Da! Super cute toddler sized dress. I was so proud of myself for this one, I came up with the idea all on my own. In fact, I thought I was kind of a genius for turning a woman’s shirt into a toddler dress, but when I searched online I found numerous other women who have been doing this for a long time! Oh well, great minds think alike.
And then I made her a little bow to match! I used a fabric button cover kit from JoAnn Fabrics. Here is the tutorial for that.