The Train To Crazy

Make It Wear It Features

Looking for some fun inspiration? Here are some of my favorites from last week's Make It Wear It link party.

Top from left: Lisa from Country Kids made this adorable pink ruffle swimsuit, Mamabyrd made 4 pairs of these "saddle pants", Show Tell Share has a Slouchy Bag pattern for free!

Bottom from left: Delilah from Love Laugh Sew made this "one hour dress", Bree from McCoyalicious made these cute baby pants from her own pattern, Sewashley has an adorable tutorial for making boy suspenders!

Featured? Grab a button if you'd like!

Have you been completing any projects lately?? I can't wait to see what you link up this week! Stop back Thursday at 12:01 a.m. E.S.T. for Make It Wear It!

Maternity NO more! Tailor your maternity shirt to fit after pregnancy

Hello everyone from Cook, Clean, Craft! I'm so happy to be a part of Me Me Me Month!

Perhaps you're like me and you wish to burn your maternity clothes after you have your baby. Sick of those same 3 shirts that fit at the end of your pregnancy. Plan to either toss them or make them into dresses for your little girl. Well, maybe there is another option.

You can turn a big, frumpy, (ugly?) shirt into something that may just possibly be cute. Or at least work for you during those transition sizes.

This morning I took this awful shirt:

 

and stitched a seam on each side using a regular sewing machine and a knit stitch. A straight stitch or a small zigzag would work as well. If you have a serger go ahead and use that!

I used pink thread so you can see my seam easier. Notice that maternity shirts are usually wider in front than back. I evened out the front and back panels by taking in more on the front side (see photo above). 

Trim seams. Finish the edges if your fabric is woven. Knit fabric won't unravel so I left mine raw. I prefer to finish the bottom edge by pushing edges to one side and stitching it down.

It will look like this on the outside of the shirt:

Final step: attempt awkward self portrait in mirror instead of setting up tripod...

I left mine still pretty roomy because of the style but feel free to tailor your shirts as much as you want!

Do you have old maternity clothes to tailor?

Make It Wear It Thursday

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll take a few minutes to check out everyone else's projects they link up as well as link up your own! One rule: It must be something YOU made that can be worn. (no shops please) Grab a button if you'd like!

Also, stop by and see which projects from last week I featured! Maybe you'll be next!

Make It Wear It Features

**Make It Wear It is still open! Go link up!**

Here are some of the fabulous projects that linked up this week to Make It Wear It Thursday. Please go visit them and leave some comments to encourage each other!

Top from left: Babies, Paper, Song's silk skirt to top refashion, Life In Lists' "Hat the Third",  The Spare Time Continuum's Little Cap

Second row from left: Southern Scrap's shell & glass bead necklace, Kadiddlehopper's Vogue 1250 which I've renamed as the Va Va Va Voom dress, A Jennuine Life's Four Corners Nursing Blouse

Third row from left: Leafy Treetop Spot's piped pocket infant skirt pattern, Crafty Brooklyn Army Wife's wool coat, Secret Pie Shoppe's bird's nest necklace

Bottom row from left: Domestic Deadline's summer dress, Sweet Pea & Pumpkin's Oliver + S shirt, fil a l'agulla's Sweet Little Dress 

Featured? Feel free to grab a button if that's your style!

Circle Pocket Dress or Shirt

Welcome to The Train To Crazy! If you find this tutorial useful I hope you'll subscribe, follow me on twitter, facebook or Google+! Don't forget to check out Make It Wear It, the weekly blog party to showcase all those clothing items and accessories you've been making.

Hi everyone! I'm over at Celebrate The Madness today sharing my Circle Pocket Dress. Cute right?

It's a simple way to jazz up a favorite shirt or dress pattern. Or maybe the Go To Dress?

Make a few.

Go check out the Circle Pocket Dress tutorial!

Inspired by this shirt on etsy

Make It Wear It Thursday

Ready to be inspired? Link up and check out all the great projects others have completed! Anything wearable is fair! Grab a button for you blog if you'd like so others can come join.

So, what will you work on this weekend? Anything fun in the works?

Watching what I missed

We took a long weekend to San Diego. We put 6 people in one little hotel room and lived to tell about it! No really, it wasn't that bad. We had loads of fun.

I don't have a sister so watching my girls grow up together is so exciting. 

The bond and love shared gives me so much joy to witness. I can't wait to watch them grow up.

Make It Wear It

What a great week in the blog world for sewing clothes! I've seen so many wonderful creations! Please link up what you've made that can be worn so everyone can enjoy your creation.

The rules: 

• You project must be wearable. 
• Link back here if you wish. Grab a button or just type a text link so others can join up.
• Link to your specific blog post

Sewing Clothes Kids Love: Insa Skirt

I know I've mentioned before how much I love Sewing Clothes Kids Love: Sewing Patterns and Instructions for Boys' and Girls' Outfits. The Amazon reviews are quite amazing for a sewing book and I tend to agree with the glowing reviews. The patterns are have enough details and character to make them really stand out. I've posted a couple of the things I've made from the book. You might remember the Brooklyn Tank Top and Dortje Trousers. Each item I've made from this book has quickly become a favorite for it's owner. 

And this is the Insa Skirt

It's a double layered, elastic waist skirt with many suggested variations. I chose to do this one up "fancy" for my little fancy girl. The extra details take time but I think they really make the skirt special in a six year old's eyes.

The top layer has elastic to help create a fuller "pick up" look.

I think I'll make my elastic a bit longer next time so the gathering isn't quite as dramatic. Especially in light of how heavy that layer of fabric happens to be.

Pattern: Found in Sewing Clothes Kids Love: Sewing Patterns and Instructions for Boys' and Girls' Outfits

Fabric: Bottom layer and top band are gingham from JoAnn Fabric. The top skirt layer is a bottom weight from JoAnn.

You might remember the skirt from our lemon picking day. We juiced all those lemons by the way. Wow that took forever. A special thanks to my husband who did most of the work!

She proved that day that even though the skirt is fancy it is still great to play in!

The skirt is paired with the Brooklyn Tank.

Pattern troubles: I found the top layer of the skirt ended up being bigger than the bottom layer when I sewed them together. I'm not sure if that is because of me or a pattern issue. I made the skirt intentionally long for growth but it ended up being fairly narrow through the hips. Next time I'll make it a bit wider at the top.

Overall pattern rating?

 linking to Skip to my Lou

Spring Top- Butterick B4132

Did you sew anything for the Spring Top Sew Along on Made by Rae? 

This is my "Aloha Tank". I love it. There are things I'd do differently next time but on a whole this is a wearable, comfortable top.

Pattern: Butterick B4132 View A

Fabric: Unknown. Do you know who the designer is? I bought it at a discount fabric store and it wasn't labeled. I believe it is cotton but could be wrong.

Oddly, the pattern I have is a larger size than I need so I did some altering after it was put together. It was a bit wide and short. Notice I had to add length AFTER it was complete. Not cool. But the crazy fabric pattern makes it less noticeable.

On a whole this top came together easily and the instructions are correct. I don't like how low the cowl neck is. This photo doesn't show exactly how revealing it is (thankfully).If I had this pattern in a smaller size I'd definitely make it again. I'm guessing if I started with my correct size the extreme cowl issue would be fixed. Final top rating?

Summer Clothes Tutorials Roundup

That time of the year is upon us. Well, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere anyway. Time to sew SUMMER CLOTHES!! 

I hope this list will come in handy for those of you participating in Kids Clothes Week Challenge over at Elsie Marley. All of the tutorials listed below are FREE so enjoy.

Boys' Tops

Muscle Shirt by Zaaberry

Ringer Shirt by Crafterhours

Sleeveless Onsie by Omi Creates

Little Boy's Shirt from Men's Shirt by Made by Rae

Interactive Boy Shirt by Sugar Bee Crafts

Boys' Shorts & Pants

Hunky Pool Boy Shorts by Hello Marzipan

Dishtowel Shorts by Dollar Store Crafts

Basic Shorts by Ikat Bag

Fold-up Cuff Pants by Ikat Bag

Boys' Rompers

Summertime Romper by Pick Up Some Creativity

Shortalls by Ikat Bag on Made by Rae

Quick & Dirty Romper via Craftster

Girls Skirts, Shorts, Pants & Capris

Quick & Easy No Hem Skirt by Hickety Pickety Handmade

Couture Skirt by Aesthetic Nest

Ruched Leggings (made from t-shirt) on luvinthemommyhood by Made

Cuffed Shorts by Craftiness is Not Optional

Diaper Cover by Make It and Love It

Skirt with Built in Shorts by The Long Thread

Basic Shorts by Ikat Bag

Skirts Cheat Sheet by Ikat Bag

Ruffle Leg Pants by The Sewing Dork

Baby Ruffle Bum Bloomers by The Sewing Dork

Tulip Pants by Featherty Sews on Sewing In No Man's Land

Girls' Tops

Elliot Sunsuit (onesie with tie straps) by Savvy Stitch 

Playful Days Double Layer Top (or Dress) by From an Igloo

Apron Top by Everyday Chaos

Ringer Shirt by Crafterhours

The Scalloped Shirt by Craftiness is Not Optional

Sleeveless Onesie by Omi Creates

Summer Lovin' Top by Craftiness is Not Optional

Curious About Chocolate Top by Happy Together on No Big Dill

Little Girls' Tunic with Tank Top by Tea Rose Home

Easy Breezy Tank by Craftiness is Not Optional

Girls' Rompers & Dresses

Big Girls' Romper by Crafterhours

Front Tie Spring Dress by Make It and Love It

Ruffle Sunsuit by Little Betty

Mod Sailor Sundress by Happy Together

Swim Cover Up by From an Igloo

Terry Cloth Tunic & Bloomers by Samster Mommy

Summertime Romper by Pick Up Some Creativity

You might find my BEST Dress Tutorials list helpful as well.

Will you be sewing clothes for Summer??

Let's try this again!

Make It Wear It

Wow! Sorry for the inconsistency! My computer currently has a keyboard that barely works so I've been avoiding it. It should be fixed soon though! Sadly my poor sewing machine was broken last week as well. Ouch!

So, have you been productive?? Created anything to be worn? Link up!