I've been so lazy recently. I have a gigantor pile of clothes next to my sewing machine that are begging to be mended, refashioned or updated. I also have an enormous pile of laundry to be folded and put away from my trip to the East coast. That pile has been sitting there for the last 8 days. YUP. I've got practically zero motivation, currently.
Yesterday, when I had a
short burst of energy, I thought I'd go through my old maternity clothes & see if there was anything I'd like to reintroduce to my wardrobe. I might reuse a couple of things, but it's so hard to think I'll look cute in something that only conjures up memories of an elephant waddling like a duck with a full bladder. Among those maternity clothes, I came across a few geometric maternity tops from Target. I like these shirts but they fit horribly. They're huge in the arms, too wide in the neck & far too short for a growing belly (darn my dryer!). Thankfully I can still appreciate these tops if I refashion them into something Penelope might wear.
I love this print & the fun jewel-toned colors. Penelope's pretty happy about the dress, but she doesn't like the sash I made her wear. Whatever. Here's what I did in list form:
- cut off the bottom for the skirt & set aside
- took in the sleeves & bodice about 6 inches on each side
- pleated the hem of the sleeve (3 inverted box pleats) to take in the sleeve even more
- pleated the back of the shirt (3 inverted box pleats) to take up the neckline
- took in the front of the shirt about 3 inches & turned it into a V neck
- pleated the shoulders to take up the neckline (1 inverted box pleat)
- attached the skirt to the bodice
This project took me 5 hours because I didn't measure, the fabric is a little squirly and I watched 4 episodes of Friday Night Lights. That show can be pretty distracting. The dress turned out cute, but it's about a 4T rather than a 2T (her actual size). I think it'll fit a lot better as she gets older.
I've got two more versions of this exact same shirt which I plan to recycle into clothes for Penelope. I think I might do a skirt or a jumper. What are your thoughts? Do you like it? What should I do with the two other shirts?