I was thinking about one of those neck cooler ties, or maybe a battery operated fan? At this market we are going to be near tons of food booths, so I know it will be really hot this time. Tips???

bWell, I wound up making it a spanish style peasanty dress. Let me know what you think! Oh, and the up close shot is before sewing, hence the pins.



b
 
Original skirt




I just got back from the thrift store and found this great broomstick type skirt for $6 (a little expensive for me for a thrift store, but it has it's vintage tag with a price of $180 so I feel like I got a good deal Grin). It is a long skirt with an elastic waist and a few buttons down the front. It is not my style right now as is. I am looking to keep it around knee length. Any ideas for a recon? I was thinking a fun summer dress, maybe a halter, but I don't know where to start.

Thanks!

a new craftster, Melissa

I went to a local thrift store yesterday. They had half off of everything so who could resist? My daughter LOVES the Wiggles, so I bought a Wiggles fitted sheet and a few tie dyed shirts (among other treasures). Last night I made her this dress. I just cut the shirt sleeves off, folded the openings inside and stitched around the new sleeve openings. Then I gathered the shirt using fishing line (super easy technique, I swear! I can get a tute up on that if anyone is interested). Here are action shots of the little one, front and back. It is just a really fun summer dress for her, and it truly only costs around 50 cents to make. Can't beat that!

First, let me say that I just found this site yesterday (where have you been all my life???) and I have already made 2 recons and had 2 trips to the thrift store. Addicting.

Here is my take on the shirt dress, the first pic is without the trim, and the second pic is with (so much better). And yes, these are the best pics that I could take of my little busy body.



Before eyelet trim



ADDITION:
***Here are some capri type pants that I made with the sleeves from my shirt to match the dress. I basically took the sleeves, laid them side by side and overlapped them on the inside a bit and then cut straight up the center of the crotch to the top. Then I stitched the middle of the legs together, added elastic to the waist and voila! They do fit my daughter but next time I will make them out of a bigger shirt and make them a bit longer.

Let me know what you think!

Front

Back



Here is my new tute:
Okay, for the pants/ capris you will need the 2 sleeves that you cut off of the dress. The bigger the sleeves the better if you have  a chunky monkey like I do:) I found this ladies shirt so the pants were a bit short, but still cute nonetheless.
1.Cut off the sleeves.
2.Cut off the tops of the sleeves, you will need these for your flutter sleeve straps on the dress.

3. Use your pinking shears to cut off the very tips of the sleeves. I do this so that they won't fray as much and so I only have to fold my edge once as not to compromise any of the rise for my tall baby.  Then overlap your sleeves enough so that where they meet in the center it is long enough for their rise plus around an inch for the foldover. Cut straight up this line to the top.
4. Pin the inside of the pants together right sides facing (inside out) and sew. Flip right side out.

5. Iron down the inside about an inch and sew leaving yourself enough space to accommodate the width of the elastic you are using. Leave a small opening so that you can insert the elastic of course:)
6. Insert elastic and sew closed.
7. Your done!
Voila, you have pants/ capris to match your dress!

Note that my pants are too loose in the waist for her. It helps to have her awake and not in the crib when measuring!

Ok, so loreleiariadne inspired me, as I am sure that she inspired many of you too. Here is my take on the halter dress. Oh, and the things I did different are: I only used one sleeve for the chest pieces and cut the sleeve in half to reduce bulk, then I just buttoned the "cuff" together as my neck tie (excuse the strings, I have yet to snip them). Hope that made sense. Any way, this project kept me up too late tonight, but I needed to post this right away. I am quite proud.

Another thing, I may wear a tank top underneath as this is a bit low for me as is. It needs some tweaking.

Well, I wound up making it a spanish style peasanty dress. Let me know what you think! Oh, and the up close shot is before sewing, hence the pins.



 
Original skirt




I just got back from the thrift store and found this great broomstick type skirt for $6 (a little expensive for me for a thrift store, but it has it's vintage tag with a price of $180 so I feel like I got a good deal ). It is a long skirt with an elastic waist and a few buttons down the front. It is not my style right now as is. I am looking to keep it around knee length. Any ideas for a recon? I was thinking a fun summer dress, maybe a halter, but I don't know where to start.

Thanks!

a new craftster, Melissa