SewMona – Page 27 – A slice of my Florida life

Homemade Christmas Gifts – Recycling Too Small T’s

My kids have been having so much fun making gifts for family members. It’s so nice to see them working on something for someone else. They do it because they want to – I didn’t suggest it. It’s inspiring! So, I’ve been working on some gifts for them. First up is a “new” t-shirt for my six-year-old. His beloved armadillo shirt is two sizes too small and beginning to show it’s age.

First though, a funny story about how we got this shirt. One time when we came to Florida to visit for a week, I discovered that I hadn’t packed any shirts for my youngest son (mom brain at it’s finest!). How that happened I’ll never know, but Goodwill was one of our first stops. I found this shirt and a couple others that were the right size and in decent shape. For some reason this one caught his eye and he was so bummed when I mentioned that it was getting too small and worn. So, on with the resizing.

I used the t-shirt as a pattern to cut a new, bigger body from some brown knit that I had. I cut the armadillo out of the front and then, I cut sleeves from the back of the old shirt. Except when I went to put it together I remembered that I didn’t cut the sleeves a little bigger. So, I added a brown stripe to the underarm.

The sleeves are hemmed with green thread to add a little color. I did the same thing with the neck binding. The patch is sewn on using a feather stitch, but you could use your favorite decorative stitch or even just a zigzag. I did a rolled hem with my serger (one of my favorite things to do! It’s just so easy!). You could also do a narrow hem – turn under 1/4″ and then turn under 1/4″ again and sew.

I’m sure he’ll be happy to see his new armadillo shirt! Hopefully it will fit him for a bit longer!

Do your kids enjoy making gifts for people? Have you ever remade a shirt or other beloved article of clothing?

Boys Christmas T’s

I love making my daughter’s Christmas dress each year. There are so many fun things you can do with girls dresses and my daughter usually has a few ideas of her own. Boys, however, are harder! My boys are NOT into suits and ties. They’re happiest in shorts and t-shirts. On Sundays, they will grudgingly put on a polo shirt and some “dressy” shorts (aka not knit gym shorts). So, a couple years ago, I made them Christmas shirts with ties attached.

I used a turtle neck for my youngest.

I used a long sleeve T for my middle child.

Last year, I cut the sleeves off the long sleeve T to make a shirt for my youngest and I’m not sure my middle child had a Christmas shirt…bad mom. *blush* This year, I decided to do the same thing, except I made T-shirts too.

I made a simple tie pattern and then made sure it wasn’t too long/short for the shirt.

Make sure you really pin the tie to the shirt. There’s nothing more frustrating than a crocked tie!!

I sewed them on using a decorative stitch on my machine, but a zigzag would work too. I personally like the slightly frayed look around the edges.

Comfy enough to play outside in, but still nice enough to get compliments.
Boys in t-shirts with ties – does it get any cuter or easier?

Cube Steak & Onions

One of the things I have a hard time with is using up leftovers. Some things can just be reheated – like soup. Other things don’t reheat so well. Cube steak is one of them. I normally try to make just enough, but sometimes I end up with leftovers. My father-in-law knew exactly what to do with them and it was delicious!! He fried up several onions in butter and then put the leftover cube steak (chopped into bite size pieces) in and heated it long to warm them through. Mmmm!! So easy! If you want a one dish meal, toss in some veggies with the meat, cover it and let it simmer for about 8 minutes.

Do you try to use up leftovers? Do you just reheat them or remake them?

Seamingly Smitten Giveaway

Recently (in the past year), Ive discovered a couple shops that make and sell patterns for kids & adults. One of them is Seamingly Smitten. Last year I found her when the Love Me Knots dress came out.

More recently, she inspired me to try my twin needle.

Jenny recently made her 10,000th sale on Etsy (how awesome is that?!?!) and is celebrating by having a giveaway! If you sew, you don’t want to miss this. Hop on over to her blog and start entering!

Using a Twin Needle

A couple months ago I read this post on how to use a twin needle. It looked so easy! When I got my machine (over 15 year ago!), I noticed that it came with a twin needle.

Still in it’s original, unopened package!

So, I decided that since it looked so easy, I was going to try it out.

It really was easy to thread it!

It sewed just like a regular single needle. Since it was my first time trying it and I was sewing a school skirt for my daughter, I didn’t want to try thread that was too contrasting. After seeing how nice and neat it looks, I’m thinking of all the different ways I could use it and with different colors!