Tops to Bottoms

As much as my husband appreciates all of the patching of pajama pants that I've done for him, he keeps asking me for a pair of sleeping shorts.  With the recent heat wave that we've had, it makes sense!  The simple solution would have been to simply shorten a pair of pajama pants.  But as I had just finished fixing his last pair I didn't want to waste all of that effort and cut up a perfectly good pair of pants that he will be begging for come winter!  So I used a little creativity and something else that he had in abundance in his dresser drawers:  T-shirts!

We have so many T-shirts that are splattered with paint, old and ripped, or are simply the cheap, freebie kind that we never wear anyway!  Also, I had some old patterns for men's and boys' pajamas (Simplicity 9499) that I had found at a thrift store and I figured that now was a great time to use them.  Sure enough, the men's shorts pattern fit perfectly on some of our old T-shirts!

The directions that came with the pattern were very straightforward and simple.  I made sure to reinforce all of the seams with a zig-zag stitch so that the shorts would be nice and sturdy.  In no time at all, my husband had a new pair of sleeping shorts!

They are wonderfully comfy and the T-shirt material is so soft!

Next project:  making a pair for myself!

A Bottle of Sunshine!

Summer has definitely come to Western New York this past week.  It has been HOT!  I've spent the past few days doing nothing but sit and sweat in front of a fan.  It's important to stay hydrated in such heat and the perfect beverage for sunny days is Sun Tea!

I scrubbed out a large juice bottle, filled it with cold water and added four teabags.  I set it out in the sunshine for a few hours and voila!  Refreshing sun-brewed tea!  Poured into a glass with a few ice cubes it is the perfect beverage for beating the heat!

Patriotic PJs

Well, he did it again!  Another pair of my husband's pajama pants with a huge hole in the knee!

They desperately needed patching, but since these pants were a red-white and blue plaid, I decided to make them "patriotic"!  Using some of the leftover blue plaid from my first pajama project, I made star-shaped patches.

For the large star over the knee I used the same reverse-applique technique that I used for the Father's Day T-shirt.  This time however, I used a zig-zag stitch in addition to a straight stitch to add some reinforcement.

The zig-zagging will also keep the fabric from fraying apart and creating another hole.  For the little decorative stars I simply sewed them onto the top side of the pajamas much like a traditional patch.  In keeping with the rustically casual feel of reverse applique, (and because I'm lazy) I didn't bother to turn under and hem the raw edges of the little stars.  Instead I just zig-zagged around the edges.

Sewing stars onto pants turned out to be much more annoying than I thought it would be!  Because the pant legs were narrow they kept bunching up around my sewing machine.  As I turned the pants to sew the sides of the stars the machine kept catching material that had folded up underneath the seam!  I'd then have to rip out a bunch of stitches and start again.  I sure learned the value of going slowly on this one!

But hey, they turned out rockin' anyway!

Fun Stuff: Paper Fashion

For most people, the idea of wearing paper clothes brings to mind awkward doctors visits and drafty, shapeless smocks that rip with the slightest movement.  However, during the height of "mod" style in the mid 1960s, paper apparel was on the forefront of clothing innovations! 

These garments were made out of paper-like cellulose reinforced with nonwoven rayon so that they would be more rip-resistant and hang naturally.  They were easily trimmed to fit or painted to achieve a customized look.  Best of all, they could be simply thrown away if they got ripped or stained.  No laundry was necessary!  Young people loved the convenience and saw disposable paper clothing as a step closer to the space age of the future.

The Scott Paper Company unexpectedly began the trend in 1966.  For mailing in $1, they advertised, housewives could receive coupons and a simple yet colorful "Paper Caper" dress.  When over half a million orders came pouring in did they realize what had been started.

Red Paisley "Paper Caper" by the Scott Company

Soon, soap companies and department stores alike were selling lines of paper garments.  The Hallmark company created "hostess" dresses that coordinated with paper napkins and tablecloths. 

"Holly" Party Fashions Dress by the Hallmark Company

Kits were sold that allowed housewives to make their own paper clothes with just a few simple seams.  High end fashion designers created couture paper looks that sold for as much as $1000!  Pop artists such as Andy Warhol were also quick to embrace paper clothing as it was yet another facet of mass consumerism. 

"The Souper Dress" by Campbell's Soup, inspired by Andy Warhol

But as quickly as the trend began, so it ended before the 1970s.  Not only were the paper garments fire hazards, but the hippie movement was turning attention towards environmental concerns.  As cool and "space-age" as disposable fashion had seemed at first, the novelty paled when the reality of wastefulness set in.

However, paper garments did maintain their appeal in several fields such as medicine.  While not quite as fashionable, paper hospital gowns and surgical garments are still being made and used.  Recycled materials and "greener" processes make them more environmental friendly while still offering convenience and quick disposability.

...perhaps next time I have to go to the doctor's I'll bring along a marker and draw a can of soup on the paper dress they give me...

For more vintage paper fashions visit:  http://www.designgallery.wisc.edu/exhibits/paperdresses/crazyman.html

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/003291.asp

http://www.vintageconnection.net/PaperDresses.htm

The Laundry Monster Cometh...

Growing up with three younger sisters meant that there was always a LOT of dirty laundry waiting to be washed!  Often my mother would refer to the ever-growing pile as "the Laundry Monster" whom she could never permanently slay.  Now that I have a family of my own to take care of, I too have a "Laundry Monster" ever present!  But what better way is there to do battle with a monster... than with another monster? 

Behold!  I give you the space-saving Laundry Monster Hamper! 

This vicious beast will happily eat and conceal all of your dirty clothing until the next laundry day!  A convenient zipper along the bottom of the monster then allows you to quickly transfer your stinky socks to the washing machine with minimal effort.  The shape of the monster is based on the shape of the hanger he has in his head, which allows the monster to be hung just about anywhere.

The monster is made from blue fabric and black lining fabric that began 36 inches long and 20 inches wide.  I angled the top of the fabric pieces to mimic the angles in the hanger that would form the monster's head. 



Using paper, I created some templates and played around with the monster's face until I found a look that I liked.  I then traced the mouth onto the wrong side of the blue fabric and cut out the eyes and teeth from white fused plasic bags.  The first tricky part came with arranging the teeth within the mouth backwards in preparation for sewing.

I had to sandwich the teeth between the blue and black fabric facing out from the mouth.  I made sure to pin them in place in such a way that as I sewed along the mouth outline I would sew through them.

After sewing on my outline, I cut out the center of the mouth and clipped the curved edges.  I also bent some wire into the shape of the mouth outline for some reinforcement.  The moment of truth came when I turned the fabric right-side out!

Ta Da!  The teeth ended up facing inside the mouth and all of the raw sewn edges are neatly hidden.  I then slipped the wire ring between the fabric and the lining and sewed again around the mouth to hold it in place. 

After embroidering the eyes on, all that was left was to sew on the back of the monster, leaving openings at the top for the hanger and the bottom for the zipper.  Once those were in place the beast was finished!



...just remember to regularly brush and floss to prevent sock build-up.

Father's Day High Five!

On Sunday my husband, Zach was able to celebrate his first Father's Day as a new dad!  Our son, Mordecai, is only two and a half months old, but he was still able to help me make a special gift for his daddy. 

The first tricky step was getting a tracing of Zach's hand without him suspecting or knowing too much.  I then traced the hand outline onto some freezer paper and ironed it shiny-side down onto a new, plain blue T-shirt.  This gave me the pattern for a reverse applique design.

I had an old, paint-splotched green T-shirt that I cut up and pinned to the inside of the blue shirt, behind the hand pattern.  This way, I was able to sew directly along the hand pattern through both layers of T-shirt material.

After doing a simple machine straight-stitch, I carefully peeled away the freezer paper.  Then came the tricky part!

I had to carefully trim the blue T-shirt away from the design to reveal the green T-shirt material underneath.  This had to be done without accidentally snipping the green material!

The end result turned out well, though.  I really like how the reverse applique gave me a casual, textured edge around the design. 

Last but not least, I added Mordecai's handprint to the center of the hand cutout.  Have you ever tried to get a handprint from a two month old?  It's not easy!  I waited until he was asleep so that he wouldn't wiggle as much... but the paint still got everywhere!  In the end I had to paint in his handprint a little since the true handprint was too light... and Mordecai had blue fingers for a week!

The end result:  priceless!

Fusing Plastic Baggies

A while ago I was given a really cool change purse that was made out of plastic shopping bags:

The bags were fused together to create a thicker, more durable plastic material.  However, it wasn't until recently that I discovered how to do this myself with my own shopping bags.  It really is quite simple. 

In addition to an iron, all  you need is waxed paper, scissors and a bunch of plastic baggies.

Cutting off the bottom of the bag and the handles allows the bag to be opened up more, creating a larger finished piece.

You'll want to turn the plastic inside out so that the ink from any printing on the bags stays contained and doesn't get all over your iron.  Using two bags folded in half (about 8 layers of plastic baggie) gives you a nice thickness.

Sandwich the stack of baggies between sheets of waxed paper and iron each side (on a medium/high setting) for about 20-30 seconds each.  You may have to play around with the iron setting and the length of ironing time.

If you can feel the sheet "crinkle" or can feel the baggie layers sliding over each other, simply iron it again.  The final sheet should feel like one thick layer.

Peel back the waxed paper to reveal your fused plastic sheet! 

Ta da! 

Hmm... I wonder what kinds of patterns I can make with different bags from different stores...