Creative Sewing and Frugality

I accomplished quite a bit of sewing this past week and surprised myself at how cheaply I accomplished this task. Let me explain a little about that. Normally, I would have to use fabric to accomplish my sewing goals that had been purchased at the fabric store or elsewhere. This time I created almost an entire spring and summer wardrobe for my toddler and didn't use my store bought fabric unless you include the scraps that I used out of the scrap bag. As you know I have been going through my oldest childs clothes for the consignment sale next month. She had several really nice shirts that were almost like brand new. One or two had a small stain and so couldn't go through the consignment sale and a few others had some imperfections that would not be accepted. So, I got to thinking how easy it would be to turn those shirts into cute little dresses for a toddler. That is exactly what I did. I will post some photos soon, if I can get my camera to work. I will try to explain some of what I did. On one shirt that had cap sleeves, it made ties for the "dress" out of some scrap material. I then attached the ties to the bottom of the armhole and tied them in the back. This made the armhole smaller to fit a toddler and added a cute element to the "dress". It also had a small stain which I easily covered with rosettes made from the same scrap material and some decorative buttons. Then I did some embroidery around the collar, just a simple blanket stitch and rosebud in the corner. One dress, nothing spent.....totally cool. Another shirt turned dress was a tank top. So, I shortened the straps which made the armhole and neckhole smaller to fit. Where the front and back panels were now joined at the neck I tied a ribbon in a bow that lays across the shoulder on both sides. Since that shirt was multicolored, I chose to leave the adornment simple and just stuck with the ribbons at the shoulder. It is a cute little summer dress and I actually had two of them in different colors that I did that way. I had a polo type shirt that I gathered the sleeves with elastic, which closed up the armhole. The neckhole was just fine since it had buttons. The I looked through my scrap bag and made several ruffles for the bottom of the dress out of scrap fabric in a couple different prints to give it some pizazz and interest. I then lined the joining stitch between the ruffles and shirt with a ribbon trim and a flat buckle type bow. Another dress done and nothing really spent. I also made some more pantaloons out of some linen curtains that had once hung in my art gallery. When I closed the gallery, I simply washed the curtains and put them aside for later use. I have been using them to make pantaloons and bloomers for quite some time. The linen is wonderful and they wear well. I make them a little big so that they last longer and I can simply put in longer elastic to get a little more time out of them. So, I think all in all my toddlers new wardrobe cost a couple dollars in ribbon and notions that I already had on hand. She now has a cute boutique style wardrobe for the upcoming warm seasons and I certainly did not spend 40 to 60 dollars on each dress. With a little creativity and imagination so much money can be saved in clothing your children. Like I said I will try to get pictures of the dresses up this week. My camera is old, worn out and temperamental so we will see if it decides to work. Happy sewing.