Day 22 - Pillow case plus old beach robe = funky little dude

About 2 years ago I bought this African print pillow case at my local op shop for 50 cents. A little while later I also bought a giant chenille beach robe/caftan that was quite old and worn through in a few places and sold as a dog blanket - also for 50 cents. I am still able to find parts of the robe where the chenille has life left in it. I am loving them both to bits.

The pillow case was first used to make a pair of pants for my son Aidan. He is wearing them in this picture below and the back of the pillow case was different from the front which made a lovely contrast. People often ask me where I got them when he wears them.

I love making a wide legged style for my kids because they grow so fast and when the pants become too short they also look great as 3/4 pants and long shorts. These have been worn by my son from age 1 and he still wears them now  - he'll be 3 in July. I find my kids slim down a bit during this time so the waist doesn't change much. I still had a little bit of this gorgeous pillow case left and really wanted to make another pair of pants that were similar but different for my baby boy who is now 4 1/2 months old.

Craft cupboard materials

 

- leftover pillow case scraps

- old beach robe parts

Here's what I started with......

And the finished product. I have made these in a size one to eventually be worn by my youngest son but they're being modelled by my 2 and 3/4 year old so you can see how they can keep wearing them as they grow.

Day 12 - A jar of buttons.

When you were little did you love going through an old jar of buttons? Since I've been trying to do my daily craft activity my 2 year old son Aidan has enjoyed playing with a big jar of reclaimed buttons, most of which were part of my Gram's craft cupboard. She passed away last year at the wonderful age of 90 so they have a lot of sentimental value too. One of the wonderful things about this is that my Gram used to sew for us all the time when I was little and I actually remember some of these buttons being on the outfits she made me. Discovering things like this is part of the beauty of my 365 day challenge.

My five year old daughter also enjoys looking at the buttons and spent the afternoon yesterday finding what she called the 'interesting ones'. This inspired today's project. It's a collaboration. It's a top with a bit of a lace collar and lots of buttons sewn on. It's all hand sewing so anyone can do it. The top we just got from Juliet's wardrobe.

Craft cupboard materials.

- assorted buttons
- lace doily/collar

The result is quite striking and makes a plain (and cheap - I think this top was about $3 at best and less) top look a lot more interesting.

Happy camper...