My sister in law gave me the coolest Christmas presents EVER. Tons of vintage patterns. I have adored looking at them, dreaming of all the possibilities, hoping that I had the skills to pull them off. Well, I finished the first of hopefully many today, and I have to say that I am (a little bit) proud. I just love it. I don’t really have anywhere to wear it, but I LOVE it. I got the fabric (about 6 yards) for 4 bucks at Goodwill. I got the trim at Jo-Ann’s. I actually wasn’t planning on using the trim, but ended up needing it to cover a few of my mistakes.

And for those of you who love vintage patterns like I do, Reachel recommended this amazing site to me. I’ve been staring at it for hours since then. Those Vogue Couture patterns are simply beautiful, really, I believe they are patterns for creating a work of art. Which one is your favorite?

And I apologize for the non-creative background. I need Brittney to take all my pictures for me!

You can make a quick and easy little girls dress out of one of your old skirts. This is how:

Take the skirt ( mine were flowy, tiered knee length skirts) and cut it down the back or side seam, so that it is one long rectangle.

Put it around your daughter, neice, friends daughter, whoever you intend to make the skirt for, and measure how big you want it. Cut the excess skirt away so that you have enough to make a 5/8th inch seam or so. (but don’t make the seam yet)

Find or buy a scrap peice of fabric that is the same length as the waist of the skirt. Make it the thickness you want by folding it over and pressing it. You can make it thin or thick, depending on the look you want. Both are cute.

With right sides together and raw edges of fabric next to waist of skirt, sew them together.

I just sewed the open seam up, the one that you cut. You can make buttons or put in a zipper if you want, but I just left mine to be a slip on dress.

For the shoulder straps, you can use ribbon or lace or trim of any kind. I used some lace trim that I thought was really cute. I just put the dress on the girls and measured how long to make the staps, then sewed them on.

It took about and hour to make both. I hope these instructions make sense, if you have any questions feel free to ask. I will take step by step photos next time.

My girls love these dresses.

Here are 3 things that I love about Brittney:

She loves to shop at Thrift stores and antique stores. I LOVE going with her to Goodwill.

She is the best person to talk with on the phone. We can talk forever. I can tell her anything.

While growing up, we decided to run away. Our plan was to steal some horses and high-tail it to Oregon. Needless to say, it was never carried out.

She makes AWESOME drinks with her juicer. I am still craving this one: Watermelon raspberry with fresh ginger and mint. YUM!

We went through our last pregnancies together. I have difficult pregnancies, and I cannot tell you how much it helped having her to confide in/complain to/relate to/prepare for. Our sons are 2 weeks apart exactly. That is special to me.

She is as good as any sister I could ever have.

Oops, that is more than three things. I could keep on going and add dozens more, but I’ll let her take it from here.

Here’s how I made it…

The pants are made of an old t-shirt. I just made a simple “drawstring pj’ pattern from one of his other pair of pants. To do that you just turn them inside out and trace on a piece of paper

I used one of Drew’s old dress shirts to make the shirt. I used one of his long sleeved shirts for a pattern. I cut down the front to make the “V” shape. Then a sewed strips of the extra fabric on in rows and frayed to make the ruffles.

The vest is made of extra curtain fabric, and once again, I just used one of his t-shirts for a template (took off the sleeves). I cut down the center and folded the corners to make the lapel. Then I painted it and put some felt on for a belt and buckle.

The hat is just extra t-shirt material with a felt skull I stitched on. I also made one for his baby brother who will just wear a onsie.

Pretty easy (FREE) and fun!

And so so cute. Brittney is also a photographer and has her own business. She does amazing work and has the most reasonable prices you’ll find. Check out her site HERE.

Cute hat.

Measure the head of the person who is going to wear the hat.

Cut out this shape out of the fabric, making the base 1/2 of the head measurement plus one inch.

make sure you make the top skinny part long enough to tie a knot in.

Sew the two pieces of fabric together, right sides together.

Hem the bottom edge as skinny or thick as you want. I thought thicker worked better.

Turn inside out. Tie knot in top.

Your done! Put on child. Smile.

Jenny's Skirt

I lucked out (yet again, how I love Goodwill) and found a faintly striped white sheet and a beautiful embroidered sheer-y curtain that I thought would be perfect. (For those who are not into second-hand stuff, I am sure you could find something beautiful at Jo-Ann’s). What is nice about using a sheet, is that you can use the side that is hemmed already, cutting out some work.

I cut out a large rectangle out of the sheet and the curtain, then sewed the top of them together. I then sewed some pretty vintage lace along the bottom edge for a little added pop. Then I just sewed the back together, put in some elastic, and it was done. I made it in about 45 minutes.

Even after I let the hem out on this dress it was too short.

But I love love love this dress!

I think this is the perfect solution!

Since it was so easy, I threw together another one that was not quite as fancy, but just as pretty, I think. I used some more of the sheet and some eyelet trim that I had from another sewing project.

I love how it turned out. I always loved the old movies where girls had those pretty white eyelet petticoats peeking out, and wearing this makes me feel like I am one of them. Plus, I feel more comfortable in my dresses, they are interchangeable, and can be pulled up higher or down lower depending on the length I want. You can make them as fancy or modern as you like, in whatever color that you like. I think I might make black next.

My next sewing project will consist of this pattern (from goodwill) I just love it. Hopefully I can wing it, I’ve never sewed a dress for myself before.

Here is the fabric that I found (also at Goodwill) it is about 4 yards that I got for 2.99. Can’t beat that. I think it is so cute. Navy blue with pink polka-dots.

Wish me luck, the dress looks a little complicated. But if it turns out it will be my favorite dress ever!

Every year since then I have made the girls costumes, pretty much the same way. Looking for bargain patterns and fabric, and splurging a little bit on the details. Of course, you don’t have to use a pattern at all to make your own costume. You can improvise with things found at secondhand stores, or even old clothes in your closet. I love the look of home-made costumes, they are filled with charm and character and all the things that I love. Plus, every year the girls get so excited as they help me to pick out the pattern, fabric and accessories for their costume and see it slowly come together.

Rory as Dorothy

Ella as Glinda the Good Witch

As Tinkerbell and Snow White

This year Rory wanted to be an Indian and Ella a cowgirl. (we went pattern browsing shortly after they watched the Disney movie Spirit for the first time- ha.) After convincing Jared that it would be okay and not completely politically incorrect for Rory to be dressed in Native American garb, I started my bargain hunting. I got one pattern on sale at the new Hobby Lobby (LOVE IT) for 99 cents. I lucked out and found the Cowgirl skirt/vest/chaps pattern t(hat was not on sale) for 25 cents at Goodwill. Then the Wal-mart near my home decided they were not going to sell fabric anymore and put all of their stuff 50-75 percent off, so I again lucked out and got most of the fabric I needed (and trim) to finish the costumes for super-cheap. Today while the girls were at preschool, I cut out all the fabric and got it ready for sewing. I will post the costumes’ progress and the finished project, I am so excited already! Plus, this year Hudson gets to join in the fun as a ‘lil buckeroo. (I am just modifying Ella’s pattern to fit him.)

Here are some sites that offer really good ideas for Halloween costumes if you are looking for something cheap and easy to make.

Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas

Martha Stewart Online

Rookiemoms.com

And of course, I’d love to hear any ideas or things you’ve done in the past to make a homemade or semi-homemade costume!