Upcycling: From Sloppy Joe to Genie Pants

Sometimes you buy stuff that's not really suitable for you, or the person you intended it for...like the cotton knit sloppy Joe (above) which I purchased many years ago for Mr HP.  It's just too big and too sloppy and the hems had - well, no hems, and were just over-locked giving the garment an unfinished look!

So after having had the top floating around in the wardrobe for at least a decade and not wanting to throw it out, I decided it was time to give it new life by re-purposing into a pair of soft genie pants for Little Miss Seven. 

I used the main body of the top to cut out the pants using a girl's pyjama pants pattern. 

From the sleeves I cut cuffs for the pant legs and a band for the waist, using the fabric in reverse.  The knit fabric is grey on one side and navy on the other which works well to give the effect of having used two different coloured fabrics. 

I used another pair of Little Miss' track pants to measure the width of the the bands for the cuffs and waist, allowing extra for the seams.  The height was double the finished piece. I folded them over and stitched straight onto the pants using a stretch stitch on the sewing machine. 

Because the pattern used is for standard cotton fabric and not stretch/knit fabric and no elastic is used in the waist, the pants are nice and lose and my Grand Daughter just loves to lounge around the house in them.  She especially loves the fact that there is no elastic in the waist.

bend the rules

with FABRIC.

Just love, LOVE this little book by Amy Karol.

I found it at my local library and I must admit, I've been hogging it a bit.  I think I've had it out on loan four times already.  It's due to go back today.  Hmmm...Mother's Day not that far away, perhaps I can start sending out some vibes...

I like to bend the rules a bit too and this bag  I made in February was inspired by a lunch bag from the book. I use the bag to pack my onions into when I go to the Blue Mountains Food Co-op, (yes, I'm member there), and I keep them stored in until until next time...

The next thing I would like to try is her whole cloth quilt right down to the art work.

So much to do, so little time....

Hexagons

I'm working on a scrappy quilt at the moment, made from small rectangles of fabrics left over from previous projects.
On the right you can see the completed animal quilt waiting for a label.

I love playing with colour when making a quilt.

Addiction or is it compulsion to group my pieces as completed is difficult to resist.