dress into skirt

I've found it very frustrating to have plenty of cute skirts, but not be able to wear them cause I'm pregnant or still haven't lost my baby fat.  Now you could say to me, just buy new skirts, but I can't seem to find any I love the way I love what's in my closet.  So I've sent myself on a quest to find the solution.... and here it is in all its glory!

I had this dress, size 8, that I had my bridesmaids wear when I got married.  My sister hated the way it looked on her and gave it to me. I liked it at the time, cause I was smaller.  I grew out of it with my first pregnancy and then shrunk back into it between my two kids.  This time, though I thought I had shrunk back into it, but broke the zipper when I tried to put it on.

Now what do I do I thought? Trash it?  No, if Pintrest has taught me anything it has taught me try to recycle it before you trash it, what could you lose? I thought, why not make it into a skirt.  So I bought a new shorter zipper and attempted to put it in.  It was too hard for me.  I'm an amateur sewer at best and that was beyond me.  Then as I was looking for ideas for the young women in our ward for DIY skirts, I came across a skirt that used a t-shirt fabric to make a stretchy waist band and mixed with a tutorial on how to make maternity pants with an old t-shirt, I had an epiphany.  No zippers! A waist band that grows and shrinks with you!  Genius!

Now I'm not the kind of person who always remembers to take pictures along the way of crafting, so I only have pictures of the final product.

 yes I'm standing on the tub.  I don't have a long mirror.  So that's what it looks like on.  Long enough that I'm not tugging when my kids sit on my lap at church, and to hide my ugly knees.

 laid out so you can see kind of what I did.  I cut the dress at the waist.  I cut an old t-shirt at the arm pit. And sewed the raw edges together.

 see how I have the t-shirt inside out? wrong side to right side.

 that's so when you fold it down the right seam is showing.

 Like this.

My before picture, with my sister wearing the dress.

Back Log

 

 Chocolate Chip Cookies:

No, I did not get these on Pintrest and I'm not giving out the recipe, I just wanted to show how I've perfected my own cookies!  I think I nailed it this time, and I documented the changes and we are good to go.  My best tasting and best looking.  I'm excited.  I gave these to the new neighbors who move in across the street.

Kid towel with built in head towel:

I made one for Kendra and I used a rag not a hand towel, it seemed kind of small as she's getting older.  The hand towel is a little big but still better.  I got these towels from Ikea.

 Step one-
place hand/head towel in the center right sides together, pin in place. Sew along edge.

 step two-
fold towel in half, right sides together and pin top of hand/head towel, and sew.

 Walla!

Hem Shorts:

I saw this for just making long pants fit you, but I had a pair of pants that the knees got holes in.  I cut them off above the hole, the cut off and inch and a half of the bottom. I sewed them together and got this.  Now someone more experienced would be able to do a much cleaner job, but this works for me.

Menu Frames:

I actually saw a smaller simpler version of this at my neighbor's house and looked it up on Pintrest and was disappointed to not find many ideas/recreations.  So I went to Ikea for some cute cheap frames and got out my cricket. I gave one to my other neighbor as a thank you gift and her friend saw it and bought two from me for gifts, then her Mother saw it and wants three.  I'm selling them for $20.  I love them and it helps with the weekly problem of "What do you want for dinner?".