No cut, no hassle Pool Towel

My 10yo girl prefers to use her pool towel than the usual wrap ones after bath. Especially now that it is colder, it is easier to just get into one of these than the hassle of wrapping yourself.. 

*It is surprising that when I Google pool towel, none of the links were anywhere close to resembling the pic above.. apparently it's only in Japan (most likely) kids pool towel looks like the one I'm talking about. More pics on Amazon.co.jp

It is a quick and easy project, something that you can get done in under half an hour. 

Things you'll need: 

Towel - I got mine from the AS IS bin in IKEA many years back. It is SOMMAR (75cm x 150cm)

Wide elastic band - Mine was about 75cm

Of course the usual notions of thread, scissors and sewing machine 

1. Remove the tag 

2. Fold the towel in half

3. Sew straight down

4. Press the seam open and sew straight or zig zag stitches so that it will lay flat and not irritate your child's skin   

5. Wrap your elastic band (sew the ends to create a loop) around the top opening and slowly sew 

*It will start to gather half way through, with the presser foot and needle down, pull and adjust the towel and sew till the end.  

And you are done. 

These towels are sold in shops here in Japan, you can find a lot of them in summer, and not so much in the other seasons. Price ranges from RM40 - RM120 depending on size and brand

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Recycle project - Comfy indoor slippers

Over the long winter break last year, I managed to complete a pair of indoor slippers totally out of recycled materials in my stash. Since then I aim to slowly reduce the pile by making something  for the home every now and then. 

Half of the items waiting to be recycled

If you have made indoor slippers or baby booties before, you'd know that it is quite a straight forward process but let me share how I did it. 

I use pattern taken from a book in my collection. 

1.Trace and cut out pattern.

2. Prepare the pieces - I use knit fabric taken from my girl's baby jammies (puppy print) for the exterior, fleece taken from an old baby jumper (light green) for the back and another fleece (black colour) to add cushion in the slipper.  

*You can use felt, denim or anti slip fabric for the back* 

3. Sew the flap right side together - turn, press and topstitch 

4. Align the centre point, pin the flap to the body (I pin the black fleece together)

5. Sew 

View from top

View from the side

6. To attach the base (light green fleece) to the flap and body piece, sandwich the base on top of the body piece (right side facing). Align and secure with pins. 

7. Sew all around and leave small space for turning. 

8. Turn, press and stitch the opening close

You are done and the best part is no seam showing and it is machine washable.

However the next time I make another pair, I might insert a shoe insole in-between to have it retain it's shape better.   

Any recycle ideas up your sleeves..? 

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From an adult shirt to a little girl's shirt - Refashion project

A rather straight forward project and something you can do between projects or on a lazy afternoon. 

Here's a simple how to:

* Get one of your shirt - in my case, I got this Benetton shirt awhile back but didn't wear it much and it has been sitting there in the recycle box for quite sometime now. 

* Identify areas you need to alter: 

- narrow the shoulder

- cover the neckline 

- shorten the length

To make the shirt fit snugly on a little girl, you need to narrow the shoulder width. Measure it against your little girl's perfect fitting shirt, mark the excess and cut (sorry no picture). I took out a good 2-3cm on each side. I cut out the sleeves as well and reattach them (making them shorter) using the normal stitch and then using the zig zag stitch that comes with every machine. 

To cover the neckline, I got a strip of knit (in a darker shade) from my stash and sewed 3 rows of lace (remember to measure how much you need to cover). Align and pin onto the neck area, sew and cut excess.   

From the picture above you can see Sofea added her own flower brooch (she made them herself), which I think goes nicely with the whole look. 

At this point of the process I was already getting restless and just wanted to finish the project *roll eyes*

So instead of cutting to shorten the length, I added ties (again something I saved from another shirt or skirt) on the sides. You'll need 4 equal length ties, 2 on each sides. Sew the ties - one outside and another inside - it could be tricky, either pin properly or hand sew like what I did *grin*

And wallah you are done, I'm glad I didn't cut to make it shorter. The ties give a nice gather on the sides and it definitely adds to the whole girly lacy shirt look.. and the most important of it all is getting the approval of your 9yo when she sees her new old shirt *priceless* 

Coincidentally this shirt goes well with the skirt I refashioned earlier, and now Sofea has a matching outfit. 

Hope you are having a good week..

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From a dress to a skirt - refashion project

A 4T cotton dress bought many years back and has been dearly worn yet still in good condition only now the bodice is quite tight for Sofea (who is 9yo). It has been hanging in my studio for months (over a year actually.. *roll eyes*) waiting for me to get an epiphany... which I finally did (thank god) last weekend.

I turned the dress into a skirt *grin* 

The first step was to unpick the stitches. All I needed was a long drive to somewhere, and coincidently last weekend we did go on a road trip and I separated the bodice from the skirt (as pictured). The dress originally (as usual forgot to take a before picture) has a full twirly skirt with lots of gathers and is fully lined.

I wanted to maintain the gathers and the lining so after un-gathering the skirt, I gathered it again (check out this gathering tutorial). 

Next, for the top edge of the skirt, I decided to make a waistline casing for the elastic band using some fabric tape from my stash (see the how to here). Once you have the proper length, pin the tape to your skirt with the right side facing.

Similar to attaching a bias tape, sew on one side, turn, fold and sew again, only this time you need to leave a gap to insert the elastic band. Once threaded and tried on for sizing, zigzag the raw ends. Tuck the band into the casing and topstitch the opening closed by machine.  

And there you have it, a pretty simple refashion project.. I didn't stop there, went ahead to refashion a shirt to go with the skirt. Will post that up next. 

Do you have any refashion ideas? 

On another note, my giveaway is still on till the 10th.

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Refashion Bug

It is almost spring break for school kids here in Japan (and many other kids all over the world.. except for Malaysia..) which means new school terms in less than 2 weeks away. Sofea will be starting primary 3 in April.

It is time to reorganise her wardrobe and bring out the spring fashion line.. ehem.. more like clothes from boxes in our home.. And this is the time I realise how she has grown an inch or two and her old clothes, still good have all shrunk *sigh*

So, during the 3 day weekend recently, I managed to get a refashion project done for her. 

Project 1 - Adding length to skirt

1.I cut strips of knitted fabric from my old shirt (15cm width) and used the rolled hem foot for the hem - to get the wavy look. 


2.I also cut heart shapes from the same shirt and applique them on the skirt - I need lots of practice on applique-ing with knit as it reacts differently than cotton. Any tips on how to get a perfect finish when you applique with knit?


3.Pin the strip to the skirt and sew. 

It really is a fast project, that is if you do not spend hours rummaging through boxes full of waiting-to be-turned-into-something-else-clothes..Pin It

Refashion Tuesday

After the success of lengthening Sofea's jeans (here), I decided to try to refashion a top for her. I've kept all of her shirts since we came to Japan (which is not a good idea as Japanese houses don't hide clutters well..) 

Sofea in her 'new' top and miss piggy face.
p/s - she specifically instructed me not to include her face in the pic..
but well what are mothers for, if not to embarrass you in public.. *grin* 

First you'll need to identify the problematic areas. For this project, I needed to add length to the shirt and expand the sides. I've used 3 old shirts to create this new look.. 

Here is the How to

1. Use the seam ripper, or small thread scissors to rip open the seams (on the sides, the hem at the bottom and sleeves)

2. I used strips from a second shirt (yellow to match the middle yellow part on the main shirt) to add length to the main shirt. Sew with right sides facing. 

3. As Sofea is a big fan of ruffles, I decided to add few layers of ruffles on the front of the shirt.

4. Cut strips - about 4-5cm in width, length - maybe double the length of the shirt depending on how much ruffles you want.

5. I used my rolled hem foot to hem one part of the ruffles (you don't have to if you are using knit fabric, but I love the effect the rolled hem creates - adds to the ruffles)

6. Straight stitch the top of the ruffles, remember not to back stitch.

7. Pull the thread and adjust the ruffles

8. Sew the ruffles onto the fabric, making adjustment where needed

9. I used strips taken from a third t-shirt (white in colour) to add to the sides of the main shirt.

10. Measure the width you need and sew with right sides facing 

11. I originally wanted to add long sleeves to this shirt, but decided against it and just hemmed the sleeves. 

*I would hem the sleeves with matching bias tape next time - It gives a more professional finish to the whole shirt*

. And you are done.. put it on the child and ask them to prance around.. Though she is making faces, Sofea really loves the 'new' look, better than the original version *grin* 

How's your day looking..??Pin It

Adding length to kids' jeans - How to

Signs of autumn is visible around us, leaves changing colours, air cooler and daytime shorter. Change of season means change of wardrobe. It's time to bring out the winter clothings - long sleeves, long pants, coats and sweaters. However, it is also kind of a stressful time for me, mainly because many of Sofea's clothes seemed to have shrunk this time around..

However, instead of chucking them all out and buying new clothes, I've decided to refashion them, as most of them are still in very good condition. As my first project, I've added length to Sofea's old jeans (few summers ago, I added ruffles to Sofea's jeans here).

Here's how I do it

I'm using the black jeans as my guide for the length I aim to achieve

Measure the length you'll need to add, 

don't forget to add seam allowance

Cut the legs of the jeans below the knee

1 FE is enough (with some extra) for a pair of jeans

Cut the width you require

Sew a loop, it has to be the same size as the opening of the jeans

With right side facing, pin the fabric loop to the jeans

Sew all around

(To avoid fray, use a zigzag or other similar stitch) 

Open, repeat with the other leg

Now, we are going to attach the lower part of the jeans to the fabric

With the right side facing, pin the lower part of the jeans (the cut part) to the fabric

Sew all around and repeat with the the other leg

As you can see, the blue jeans on the left is now about the same length as the black jeans

I've also used the balance fabric from the FE and applique in onto the jeans 

I've used some Kitty fabric remnants for the other blue jeans

Hopefully the jeans would last her another year.. *grin* 

Any refashion ideas you'd like to share..?? 

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