Bandana Sweatshirt

Since the weather isn't exactly warm yet, I decided to refashion another sweatshirt. 
Inspiration: Anthropologie Bobbie Pullover

I had an XL sweatshirt that I knew would be perfect. I ripped the sweatshirt completely apart. I decided I wanted a sweatshirt base under the bandanas.
Before pictures:

I had some trouble with the stitching. It reinforced the importance of using good needles. Mine were pretty dull. I also had a hard time deciding on the lace embellishments. The picture on the left is a close-up of the details on the Anthropologie version. Mine is on the right, but not what I decided on for the final product.

My final version:

As usual, I have some criticisms of my work. The sleeves are a little short, the top is pretty loose and the bottom is a little tight. I could made alterations, but I would have run into more issues. If I took in the top, I would've lost more length on the sleeves. A sweatshirt with 3/4 length sleeves would drive me crazy! Making the bottom a little wider would have required a lot of seam ripping and I didn't want to rip out any more! (Maybe I should just make MY bottom a little smaller- ha ha!) It looks best on the hanger:

A Hoodie For My Jayhawk Big

Last year my sister gave me a hooded sweatshirt. I refashioned it into a skirt for myself and a pair of pants for Mayer (post). Since I'm a hoarder, I kept the hood just in case I needed it. I have quite a bit of fleece and microfleece fabric leftover from the Christmas and birthday pajama pants I made. Tate is hot-blooded and is usually okay in the winter with a hoodie and a down vest. But I feel like a bad mom and I wanted to make him something a little warmer. I decided to use up some of the fleece scraps to make him a fleece jacket. It also provided the perfect opportunity to use the hood!
Inspiration:

When I took it home for him to try on to measure the sleeve length, I wish I would have had my camera ready! His face lit up and he was so excited to have a new jacket. Reactions like that make the hard work of something handmade worth the while. (I used one of his t-shirts for the pattern, which is why I needed to measure the length of the sleeves.)

Finished product:

The body of the sweatshirt is fleece and the sleeves and trim pieces are microfleece. The hood is a little big, but it works, especially since he usually wears a stocking cap too. By the way, he's practicing his blocking out skills for the picture... although this move would probably be considered a flagrant foul. We'll have to work on that if he wants to play as for KU. He's always been tall for his age, so maybe he'll end up 7 ft tall like two of his favorite Jayhawk bigs: Jeff Withey and Joel Embiid. Hey, a mama can dream BIG for her babies, can she?! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! :)

Sweatshirt Refashion

I am a cold blooded person-- I am always cold! I love the coziness of hoodies, but I hate the bulk and I am always looking for refashion ideas. All of my hoodies have logos on them, so it's tough to find ideas. I was looking for inspiration, found this picture and knew exactly what I wanted to do.

The good news- there was also a free pattern (click the picture for the link). The bad news- it was not in English. Although I didn't really need it, thank goodness for Google translate.
Old sweatshirts are the comfiest. I have had this sweatshirt for about 10 years. It's an XL and HUGE on me. Seriously, it's so big Tate can fit inside with me! (This picture is over a year old, but I'm betting we would still fit!) I was about 40 lbs heavier when I got it and it was big then.

For my second color, I used some leftover pink microfleece from a pair of pajama pants I made my mamaw for Christmas. The fabrics were different. I knew it would be a little tricky since the microfleece has a lot more stretch than sweatshirt knit. I completely deconstructed the sweatshirt with my seam ripper for two reasons. #1-  It made laying out the pattern easier and #2- I was going to use some of the other pieces- part of the hood, the pouch and the knit ribbing from the sleeves and bottom.

I did make a few pattern alterations. I couldn't decide if I wanted to add the pouch or not. In the end, I left it off. It may have looked better, but honestly I didn't want to try to line it up. Instead of adding the full hood, I cut it off and made... well, I'm not exactly sure what you call it- boatneck, maybe? Whatever it's called, it is my favorite part. It was not part of the pattern. It was an experiment I hoped would work and got lucky. I also made it a little longer. I am a little disappointed I didn't quite get it long enough to wear it with leggings.

 Today is a cold day so I'm glad I finished it!

Patched Lace Sweatshirt

Wow, I've been a little negligent in posting lately! It's time to play catch up and post what I've been working on.

I have a lot of scrap lace from garage sales and my various refashion projects, so I am always looking for ideas to use them.

My inspiration:

My version:

 

I had a cheap white sweatshirt. It was an emergency purchase before participating in the color run because it was so cold! There were still a few light colored spots that didn't wash out- not that I tried very hard. I may have worn it once or twice on runs since then, but it was mainly just taking up closet space. Now I wear it a lot more often!

Elephant Sweatshirt

Mayer's favorite animal is an elephant. I saw the cutest sweatshirt on Pinterest and I knew he would love it. The problem is he doesn't need any more clothes. The boy has plenty of hand-me-downs! Luckily I found a sweatshirt in his drawer that would work for a refashion. I also had a grey sleeve and some sweatshirt scraps.

I ripped the sleeve off the sweatshirt to use it as a pattern. I drew out the elephant (technically I modified one from clip art) and then cut it into 2 parts. I couldn't quite get the portions to fit exactly along the sleeve, which is why I decided to add a small tusk.
His birthday is in less than a month, so I have to wait to give it to him. I am so excited about it, I had to share early! I will try to remember to update when I have a picture of him modeling.
Updated picture: 

 

Sweatskirt and sweatpants

My family and friends have been giving me clothes to refashion. In one of the bags my sister gave me, there was a KU hoodie. My upcycled sweater skirts are so comfortable that I decided to try a sweatshirt skirt. It didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, but it was my own fault. I got too excited to start refashioning, that I didn't have all of the tools I needed. I should have known better than to cut without  a straight edge. As you can see, it is a little lop-sided, but I will still wear it. I may fix it and I might not.

Most of the size 2T hand-me-downs Mayer has are jeans or summer clothes. He doesn't have many sweatpants or athletic pants. He can still wear most of the size 18 month pants, but some are starting to get a little short. The sleeves of the sweatshirt were the perfect length for a pair of 2T sweatpants. The bottoms of the sleeves became the waistband of the pants.

Mayer loves them! He says, "Tay-Tay shirt, Mayer pants!"

 I didn't use the hood at all, but I have a plan for it.