Would you ever guess these leggings were made from my old maternity shirts?!? Join me today as I upcycle new clothes from old for my daughter.
My daughter Peyton is about to turn 6 years old, is as tall as a 7 year old, and as slim as a 4 year old. This makes it INCREDIBLY hard to find pants that fit her in the waist AND length!
I bought Peyton new Fall/Winter clothes back in August. I had to buy a size up to get long enough pants and immediately took in the waist on every pair. By last month she had already outgrown the length of every one.
In the past few months I’ve been thinking about the current overabundance of textiles and throw away culture it has created. I talked more about it in THIS VIDEO. We have more clothing (specifically cheaply made clothing) available now than ever before. This means clothing is cheaply made and sold at a cheap price encouraging people to buy and buy a lot and when something starts to show wear it is thrown out instead of being mended or repurposed. It is a stark contrast to the make do and mend mentality of the WWII era and prior.
I love hearing stories of how clothing was taken in, let out, patched, redesigned, and even passed down to others. The clothes were made well and made to last. You can see examples of this on Abby Cox’s channel.
But, back to my frustration over ill-fitting store bought clothing, combined with a desire to cut down on textile waste. I was inspired to look through my old maternity clothes and do a bit of upcycling.
I found two coordinating shirts and used them to make a pair of new, perfect fitting, LONG ENOUGH, leggings for Peyton!
Now obviously a maternity shirt alone isn’t enough material for a pair of leggings. So I did a bit of creative piecing giving the leggings contrasting cuffs.
Come along and upcycle with me as I transform two maternity shirts into the perfect leggings! Watch the full video HERE!
I still have an entire box of leftover maternity clothes, so I’m planning even more upcycling projects! Let me know if you are interesting in seeing those as well.
Make sure you’re following me on Instagram for more sewing updates. Until next time, Happy Sewing.
It has become a yearly tradition here on Whitney Sews to share a Handmade Holiday Gift Guide. It’s a video full of ideas for handmade items you can sew and gift this holiday season. Since this is the 10th year of the gift guide I decided to share my top 10 favorite gifting ideas (along with a BONUS idea)!
The guide covers ideas for wearable gifts, reusable gift wrapping, and more. The make times range from 15 minutes to an entire weekend and scraps to several yards of fabric, so there really is something for everyone!
Think of everyone on your Christmas list then watch the video below for handmade gift ideas.
All the links mentioned in the video are found in the video description box on the youTube page.
I would love to see what you end up making! You can share pics with me on Instagram or Facebook (after the holidays so the surprise isn’t spoiled!)
Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) and Happy Sewing!
It’s a little funny for me to say out with the old about anything. I tend to embrace old things – old sewing machines, old (style) clothing, old books, old technology (until I’m absolutely forced to update), etc. But in this case it truly was time to be done with the old. The old I’m referring to is actually THIS website.
I was using hosting that was beyond out of date and it was causing all sorts of problems with my site. I had to make all the listings in my shop FREE a few months ago because my plugins (including the one my shop is through) were out of date and no longer communicating with paypal. If I updated the plugins my entire site would crash, so cutting paypal out of the equation was the short term fix. Two months ago my daily backup and a few other features quite working. I wasn’t able to post anything new without risking a crash. So it’s been two quite months here on WhitneySews.com.
But, I’m VERY HAPPY to announce that my site is now up to date! A lot of money and many phone calls later things are up and running as they should! Hopefully you won’t even notice much of a change other than smoother, faster loading and the little lock symbol on the address bar showing my site is safe and secure. Over the next few weeks/months I hope to make a few more updates and changes that will continue to improve the function of the site.
Now that you’ve read all that boring website stuff, I wanted to share some of the things you may have missed while I was unable to post here on my site.
First up is my Instagram page. I have been challenging myself to share beautiful, curated photos showing off my handmade projects and thrifted style. My long term goal on Instagram is to reach 10,000 followers. That is when Instagram allows links to be included in stories which would make promoting new videos and linking to favorite supplies a lot easier. If you aren’t following me in Instagram I would love for you to click HERE and give me a follow!
So, what I’ve been up to…during October I had the idea to recreate the Urban Outfitters ghost pillow.
It is adorable and super easy to DIY. I made my version using only items left from other projects. The faux sherpa was a thrifted pullover I had used to make a costume for Skyler and one sleeve of the original shirt was left over. The backing fleece was a scrap left from my Totoro Kigurumi. The black felt came from making the girls’ poodle skirt costumes. Even the stuffing was left over from my days of making custom memory bears.
You can watch my ghost pillow video HERE and see just how easy and cute it is!
After that I jumped right into another project that uses only repurposed materials. My youngest daughter had a cute cat shirt she loved, but it was way to short for her to keep wearing. I knew I had to come up with a way to refashion it for her. I had pinafores on the brain, so that’s the direction I went.
I used her shirt and a thrifted curtain to make an ADORABLE pinafore dress! The dress turned out EXACTLY how I wanted and Skyler is so happy with it and wears it often. You can watch the making of vlog HERE!
In the video I talk about the idea of make do and mend which was a phrase that really represented the WWII era. Because of textile shortages people were forced to make do with what they had and find ways to mend or repurpose things to work as long as possible. We obviously do NOT have a textile shortage in this day and age, we have the opposite problem! There are so many cheap and cheaply made clothes available and when they fall apart it’s easier to toss or donate and buy more cheap clothes than to repurpose or mend them.
I decided to challenge myself to make do and mend what I own. Does that mean I’m never going to buy new clothing or fabric ever again?? No. But before running to the store to buy something new I’m going to take an honest look at what I have. Is there something I already own that can be repaired or mended? Can I repurpose another item into something new? Could I find what I need at a second hand store? If all of those answers are no that is when I will invest in a new item.
So when I got the idea to make a hooded neck warmer (a variation of my original neck warmer tutorial) I began to think of ways to use what I already had. Six years ago I worked at a thrift store and while I was there I thrifted some faux fur fabric. I had some left in my stash. I also had a cozy hounds tooth fabric I thrifted a several months back. I put the two fabrics next to each other and they looked good together so that’s what I used. The hooded neck warmer turned out really great and I don’t think I could have picked fabrics at the store that worked together so perfectly!
You can watch the hooded neck warmer tutorial HERE and learn how to make your own!
Wow, that was a lot to share! I hope you enjoyed hearing my updates and will check out any of the videos you may have missed. I pray that you are all doing well and staying safe! Until next time, Happy Sewing!
Pockets. POCKETS. POCKETS!! They are definitely the most requested part of any tote bag tutorial I create. This week I am fulfilling that request with a big tote bag, complete with two LARGE, ROOMY pockets and two regular size pockets inside. You can learn how to make your own tote bag with huge pockets using the step by step video tutorial and PDF linked down below.
While designing the bag I thought it would be fun to show off two different fabrics on the outside of the bag. I chose a large scale print and a much smaller print for mine. Then inside are all those wonderful pockets!
I call this my All Day Tote because it’s large enough to hold all the supplies and activities I might want to take for a whole day out of the house with my kids (and it may or may not take a whole day to make too).
There is a PDF to accompany this tutorial and it is currently FREE! Actually all my PDFs are FREE right now! I was having trouble with PayPal and decided to bypass PayPal by not charging for my patterns until further notice. So head over to my shop and pick up any PDFs you’ve been wanting to try. To help me out please keep sharing my videos, pinning my posts, and leaving comments on youTube. Those things really are a huge help in getting my tutorials in front of more people.
I hope you will make your own version of the All Day Tote and share a pic with my on Instagram or Facebook! If you are interested in even more tote bag projects you can find my playlist full of them HERE! Until next time, Happy Sewing!
Ever since I started dabbling in vintage style I have been trying to put together a Women’s Land Army inspired outfit. The second world war is my favorite time period to read and study about so of course I want recreate the fashion!
I have been on the hunt for the perfect green sweater for a few years…this means I’ve ended up with a LOT of thrifted, not quite right, green sweaters in my closet. Good thing I like green… I finally found a couple that really fit the look. During all that time I never thought much about what I would be wearing WITH the green sweater.
Today I was looking through my closet and noticed a pair of pants I made a couple of years ago. They were a practice pair to test a pattern to make sure the fit was right. (I later used the same pattern to make THESE dungarees). I used this horrible orange-y brown fabric that I had picked up SUPER cheap at a thrift store. I didn’t plan on finishing the mock up pants so I didn’t want to use anything nice. Well, the pants ended up looking pretty good, but were still made from that horrible orange-y fabric.
I decided to give the pants one last chance…and apparently the one color they look ok with is dark green. The same dark green as my Women’s Land Army inspired sweater! I added my vintage inspired lace up boots (which also hids the fact that I never hemmed the pants) and the outfit was complete. I absolutely love the entire look!
I will definitely be wearing these pants again now that I know what to pair them with. Glad I didn’t get rid of them awhile back like I had considered. Hope you enjoyed! Happy Sewing!
Last week our weather in Oklahoma dropped 30 degrees and now I’m dreaming of all the cute outfits I can finally wear! I grabbed this skirt out of my closet on a whim. I made it two years ago from a vintage tablecloth. I have always loved the skirt, but wondered if it was a bit much for a non-costume outfit.
I now know why the skirt never seemed to look just right…I was trying to style it for Spring when it is really a Fall skirt! It needs a sweater and boots to balance it out. Now that I’ve figured out how to style the skirt I know I’ll be wearing it often!
You can see how I made my skirt (and make your own along with me) HERE!
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse at my Fall inspired outfit! If you want more daily DIY ideas and inspiration make sure you’re following me on Instagram. Until next time, Happy Sewing!
On occasion I’ll be working on a video and realize a portion of it needs its own dedicated tutorial. This week I’m explaining how I use two rulers to accurately measure and cut fabric when I don’t have physical patterns to use. I had a couple of questions recently about the process and had plenty of footage from my upcoming tutorial so it made sense to make a video detailing everything. Get all my tips and a sneak peek of my next tutorial HERE.
I hope you find the video helpful and until next time, Happy Sewing!
Back in March I started making masks from my fabric stash. I ended up making over 650 masks and was left with a HUGE pile of scraps! I wanted to make a project with the scraps to remember these crazy times in a positive way (and to keep the scraps from hanging around forever). I kicked around a few ideas, but none of them seemed right. Then one day I was scrolling through Instagram (you can find me HERE) and THIS PHOTO was recommended to me. I instantly fell in love with it!
Thankfully the lovely lady who shared it (you should follow her BTW) had also shared a tutorial showing EXACTLY how to make it! This meant for once I didn’t have to design the project, calculate measurements, etc all on my own! I skimmed through the tutorial and set to work making my own version of an ombre puff quilt.
I will be 100% honest with you; this project is NOT HARD. BUUUUUT it did take a lot longer to make than expected. It took me two months from start to finish.
Anyway, check out the video HERE to see how I made the quilt!
https://youtu.be/-s3xrkWl-8k
I hope it inspires you to take a look at your scraps in a new light! Until next time, Happy Sewing!
A few years ago I set a challenge for myself where I would first shop my stash when starting a project before purchasing anything new. I invited my awesome viewers to join in on the Sew Your Stash Challenge. Every quarter (or so) I share progress updates on sewing through my stash.
Due to some failure on my part it has actually been 9 months since my last update, so I have a LOT to share! I managed to use about 50 yards of cotton fabric and every last bit of several apparel fabrics.
Check out all my sewing wins and stash busting HERE!
I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the many projects I have been working on.
Last year I was looking through the children’s books at the thrift store and came across a cute book from the 1950s called Rackety -Boom.
I have a weakness for vintage illustrations, so I bought the book, even though it wasn’t in great shape (it was only 28 cents!). After I got home I flipped through the book some more and noticed the cute outfit the mom wears. She is only shown on two pages of the book (both shown above) but I instantly fell in love with her outfit!
Last Fall I made two different pairs of dungarees from a 1940s reproduction pattern (you can see more about that project HERE).
The top of the dress in the illustration reminded me so much of the dungaree top, so I immediately started making plans. I wanted to “Frankenstein” the dungaree pattern with a skirt pattern, along with self drafted pockets, to recreate the outfit from the book. I already love recreating costumes to wear to cosplay events, so why not recreate vintage clothing too?!?
You may be wondering why I made all my big plans for this project last Fall, but am just now sharing the project. The fabric. I was waiting and waiting to find the perfect fabric. I wanted a nice brown fabric in a medium weight that had a bit of a texture to it…and at a great price!
I never found that “perfect” fabric. But last week I did find two Pottery Barn curtains at the thrift store in a medium weight with a bit of texture…and at a great price! The only thing missing was the prefect brown color. I made the decision that the material was close enough (and at $2.50 it was DEFINITELY the right price!). So I finally got to start my dream project recreating a 1950s book illustration!
I vlogged the entire process so you can come along with me while I make my project. See how I altered the patterns to closer represent the original inspiration and how I drafted and sewed the pockets (my first time making this style).
Click HERE to watch the video! Make sure to stay to the end to hear what parts I love and what I didn’t like as much about the final dress.
I would love to know if you also find style inspiration from unlikely sources. If you enjoyed this style of video please let me know! It is very different from other videos I’ve made, but I really enjoyed making it. Until next time, Happy Sewing!
