First Refashioning!

I’ve been itching to “save” some garments and turn them into others. There are so many great ideas out there for refashioning clothing and I’ve been observing the trend. As a fabric junkie, I can’t deny the lure of the variety of fabrics and finishes that come with using a factory-finished garment. So I finally put my toe in the water and tested this idea. You see, I had this lovely pair of “sweat” pants from Ann Taylor that looked cute and were of a lovely knit…they just didn’t look good on me anymore. 😉 But I knew someone that they might look good on.

First Garment Refashioning

So I cut off the bottom of the pants and used the lower pant legs to create new pieces for mini pants for the little gal. I used a pair of pajama pants that fit her currently as a pattern of sorts and just winged it. I was able to keep the hem of the pants and the side thread details for her new pants.

First Garment Refashioning2

It only takes a couple of quick seams with the hem and side seams already there to finish the pants. Most of the time was probably spent making the waistband…which is just a simple elastic waist with about an inch wide elastic.

First Garment Refashioning2

It’s hard to get an active little gal to stand still so you can photograph her waistband, so believe me when I say that it’s not as wonky as it looks in that picture. Diapers and activity move clothes around. I’m pretty pleased with how the pants turned out with a couple of disclaimers. Next time around I need to make the waist a little bit larger so that there is more stretch. My little girl is skinny mini, so it doesn’t matter too much on her now. But it’s definitely a good habit to get into, especially if I want to try anything like this for myself. Also, it is definitely the case that this method does not account for a curved rear end. 😉 That’s something that MY body will definitely need.

First Garment Refashioning

This whole thing was also an experiment for me because I was working with knit fabric. I actually made my very first garment in grade school with a knit…and I’ve never done it since. But it is a much more reasonable choice for garment sewing usually, so I’d love to feel really comfortable using knits. I finally realized that my machine has a “stretch” stitch or knit stitch and decided to give it a whirl. I think that part went swimmingly. I would definitely tackle knits again! I pulled on those seams a lot and there was NO issue. They stretched and popped right back.

First Garment Refashioning

And she was certainly pleased as punch to wear the pants. She’s only 22 months and not a huge talker, so I’m not always sure what she is aware of…but my husband told me the next day that when he was putting her to bed that night while I was out, she patted her pants and said “mama!”
Yay! She’ll definitely be getting more things from me. (Like she could avoid it!)

First Garment Refashioning

16 thoughts on “First Refashioning!”

  1. Oh she's so cute!!!
    Great job making her a mommy pants.
    Don't worry about her talking…when she does, it will shock you what she's learned and then you can't get her quiet!!! Not that that happened here or anything.

  2. She's just darling, Angela! Good for you to try sewing with knits again. For some reason I assume it's scary but I haven't really tried it before.

    My five year old loves what she calls stretchy pants soooo much better than jeans so I probably should learn.

  3. She is such a cutie pie! My daughter wasn't a big talker at that age either – she didn't start putting two words together in simple sentences until she was over 2 and didn't start creating simple three-word sentences until she was about 2.5. My son, on the other hand, is turning 2 this week and he talks a lot more at this age than she ever did. It really showed me that they understand so much of what's going on around them at this age, even if they can't express themselves well yet. 🙂

  4. Adorable!! I love it when our kids love what we make! Keep up with the re-fashioning… I think kids clothes are definitely easier, since they have less shape to try to hide/enhance.

  5. She looks very cute in them. I've only sewed with knits once, years ago, and didn't follow any of the stretch rules – it's amazing I could even get the things on! I have, however, seen the error of my ways, and I have a yummy pile of knits waiting to be turned into something, hopefully sometime soon…

  6. So so so adorable. I especially love that picture with her little belly and diaper hanging out – you just want to smooch it! I never really got into making clothes until I had a little one either, but I just love repurposing my old wardrobe (and super cheap clearance rack finds 🙂 into things for my daughter – especially because she'll look adorable no matter how the clothes turn out!

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