Reclaiming The Home

Sewing School Clothes (with tutorials)

Hello friends!  Its been much too long.  Things have been incredibly busy since Kevin has been on TDY to Ft. Knox.  We have been busy decluttering the house in preparation for the move, which has been such an encouraging thing for me.  I love looking around and feeling less burdened by the clutter, disorganization and an overwhelming amount of stuff.  Don't get me wrong, I can clutter-bug along with the best of them, but it is really refreshing to feel like things are where they should be and its less that I have to worry about.  *whew*.

We have been doing a decluttering challenge over at the Ravelry version of Reclaiming The Home.  If you are not a member of ravelry (or even if you are) feel free to to join us over at the Proboards forums for RTH as well for a decluttering challenge, or just write about your decluttering pursuits on your blog, and link it here so we can see what you're up to.  Photos of my decluttering successes to come soon. :)

A big part of getting everything ready for the busy upcoming months, as well as decluttering the stash, has been sewing up clothes in preparation for the girls to start school in the fall. 

Those of you who know me, know that I much prefer an open-ended tutorial to a rigid pattern, so that is generally what I work from. I find that they allow me a lot more freedom in interpreting things to my own design, and I feel less like I can fail at it, as well, since the instructions are usually pretty open and fluid.

This top for Anna was made using the peasant shirt tutorial over at Just Tutes.  I altered it a bit by not adding elastic to the sleeve. I figured that while things were still warm out it would give a little more ventilation, especially in this humid climate.

(excuse the wrinkles and the grass that needs to be swept.  With hubby gone i've let the yard work go a bit - oops.  Anna was also only sad because she couldn't find her shoes, and wouldn't believe me that they were in the car - which they were - about 2 feet away.  Tears ended instantaneously.)

To go with the shirt I sewed a ruffled skirt to match, from the tutorial over at Grand Revival Design.  I LOVE this tutorial.  I will be making a lot more of these in different girly fabrics soon.  This was my tester, and I used leftover scraps from the march quilt kit to make it.  Because I sold some kits using this fabric, the proceeds more than paid for the fabric so I'm considering the materials for this outfit "free."

Abbi's outfit started with the same peasant blouse tutorial, only I added the elastic to the sleeves this time.  It worked well with this particular fabric (an old, white sheet that I found at a thrift store for 75-cents!). 

The skirt was INCREDIBLY simple.  I bought an old valence for 99-cents.  The lace came pre-attached.  To create the skirt, I simply threaded elastic through the top casing and sewed the two short edges together.  Easy peasy, and now she has a beautiful linen and lace skirt to wear to school.  If you want to make something similar, but don't have a valence, the Twirly Skirt Tutorial over at House on Hill Road is *fabulous*.  We have used that tutorial several times for super-cute skirts for the girls (and will definitely be using it again!)

Total cost of the valence outfit? $1.74.

(oops - more grass to sweep! - sorry)

This outfit was made using a Women's size L tunic that I bought at the thrift store for 75-cents.  It fits about a 4T little girl (isn't she cute??).  The pants were made using sleeves.  Here's my tutorial for sleeve pants, as I did them.
 
The shirt was done without a pattern or tutorial as well.  I will be working on a tute for that coming soon, using the body of the shirt for the fabric, so keep your eyes out!

I also have two other tutorials in the works for clothes I made for Abbi recently, so those will be coming over the next couple days as well.  My hope is that others can feel inspired to make some clothes for the fall, and to not feel overwhelmed by the increasing prices of clothing for our kids, as school starts!  All of the outfits that you see in this post cost a total of $2.49.  One needn't break the bank to dress their children well.

Enjoy, and be sure to let me know if you use the sleeve pants tutorial !  I'd love to see what you do with it!

 

Bloomers Tutorial

1. For short bloomers, cut pillowcase in half.  If using the closed end of the pillowcase, cut open the closed end so that it forms a “tube”

2. Measure your child’s inseam (this would be from the top front of the diaper or undies, through the legs and around to the top back of the diaper or undies on your child).  Take this number of inches and divide it by two.  Then add 2” to that number.  With your fabric laid out flat, using the number of inches that you got from the inseam calculation, measure from the top of your “tube” down on either side edge.  So if you measured 12” at your final calculation you will measure 12” down and mark this with a pin.

3. With your inseam marked on either side, you will need to cut a short bit from the bottom of your tube on the sides, in a line up to the pin.  Do this along the outer edges/seams.  This will determine the crotch/leg areas.  Once you have this part finished, its on to the sewing machine! 

4. If you have a serger, it would be a good time to go around and serge all of the cut edges so that they don’t fray.  If you don’t have a serger, zig-zag stitch the cut edges.  I do have a serger, but for this project am showing it with the zig-zag stitch.   If you prefer, you can iron over a ¼” hem and sew that  over all of the raw edges.  I just prefer this method, as it is faster and usually leaves me with a little more fabric.

5.  Pin the cut bits together that you cut in step 3.  In this step you will be sewing the front & back of the legs together, and giving the bloomers a “crotch” area so to speak.   Please note that you want to make sure that the seam from the pillowcase is on the *outside* at this point.  This will help your seams to all be on the same side of the garment.

When you are finished with sewing this area, it will look like a large pair of shorts.

6. Pin down the top of the “shorts” about 1”.  Sew about ¼ inch from the edge of the fabric, giving you about ¾” pocket.  Make sure that you leave a 1” opening for the elastic to work through because This will be the sleeve that your elastic will go in later.

7. Repeat this with each of the legs as well, making sure to leave an opening for the elastic to come through.

8. Measure your child’s waist (near or just below the belly button, all the way around the waist.  Cut a piece of ½” wide elastic the same size.

9. Measure around your child’s thigh (just below the crotch area, and around the entire thigh.  Cut 2 pieces of ½” wide elastic the same size.

10.  Next you need to feed the elastic through the opening at the waist, and to do this, you will want to clip a safety pin onto one end of the elastic to feed through the sleeve.  Then clip a second safety pin onto the other end of the elastic, and pin it to the fabric just above the opening for your elastic to go through.  This will help your elastic’s “tail” not to get lost inside the tube. You will need to have both ends once you feed it through.

To feed the elastic through the band, push the first safety pin through the opening, scrunching the fabric down over the pin as you go.  With your left hand, hold the tip of the pin.  With your right, gently pull the fabric so that some of the elastic feeds through the sleeve.  Continue this all the way through the sleeve until it comes out the other side, making sure it doesn’t twist.

11. Once the elastic is fed through, pull both ends taught so that you have several inches of elastic on either side.  Once again, make sure that you don’t twist the fabric in this process.   Place the elastic pieces on top of one another about 1” overlapping.

12.  Zig-zag stitch  in 3 different places over the overlapped elastic.  This helps to secure it very strongly so that it remains sturdy and elastic without separating.

13.  To re-insert the elastic into the  sleeve, gently tug on the waist, until all of the elastic is in the sleeve.  Adjust the bunched up fabric until it is fairly even throughout.

14. Using your sewing machine, stitch closed the little opening you used to insert your elastic.

Repeat steps 10-14 for the legs as well

14. Flip inside out, and enjoy your new bloomers!

If you like this tutorial, feel free to use it, and you are also welcome to link to it.  I would absolutely love to see any bloomers that you make using this tute!  It takes at most 90 minutes (if you're photographing and writing instructions along the way).  I would say it takes under an hour in most cases! :)

Enjoy!

**editing to add** - Lisa asked in the comments of THIS POST if I make all of the girls' clothes.  The answer is that I have not made all of them in the past, though I did always have something handmade in their wardrobe.  This year I have a goal of making all of their summer clothing, along with a few select thrifted items (jeans especially). 

I figure I only have a couple of years left where I can dress them however I like, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can, and hopefully it will help them to love handmade clothing too (which is of course not to say that new clothing isn't fun and super-cute - this is just something I personally really enjoy).

Big News!

Here at Reclaiming the Home big things have been going on behind the scenes.  The needles have been knitting, the sewing machine has been sewing, and bits of craftiness are showing up everywhere around the house, here and there.  Because of my cold, the only cooking that has gone on was done by the infamous Mr. Rose with some buffalo cheese dip that he was quite proud of.  I'll have to ask him for the recipe so that I can share it soon!

The big news though, comes in the form of the new public Reclaiming The Home forum! 

My goal for the forum is to be a community of people who care about their homes and the gentle home arts.  There will be tutorials, resources, and information that will help us all to learn to be better Reclaimers, while providing incentive and motivational games in a fun atmosphere where we share our love of the home with one another. 

It is a place of friendship that welcomes people from all walks of life, where we all get to be ourselves, get to know one other better, support each other, and share our joys as well as our sorrows.  You don't have to be a mother, a wife, or stay at home to enjoy homemaking.

I know you will find real community here, grow friendships, build each other up, learn new things, and just enjoy hanging out at the forum.

If you have a moment, stop on by and take a look. There is so much to be found there and so much more to come, including a big surprise event for all of the forum members that will begin within the week! 

This idea has been in the works for some time, and I am so pleased to say, has finally come to fruition.  So many people were involved in its creation.  A big thank you to Caitlin, Pam, Diane, Audrey, Rachel, Robyn, Danna, and SO many more lovely women who helped to make this part of my dream a reality!

Dinner Challenge! Southern Sausage Apple Bake

Over at the Sommer Designs blog, she has posted a 5 night Dinner Challenge! I’m going to take her up on it starting Friday night! I’ll be sure to post photos and recipes here.

Are you up for the challenge? If so, post here, and be sure to link us up (and on Sommer’s blog too!) when you do post your dinners! Photos are optional! Yum!

To start out, gather your ingredients.  You'll need:

~4 apples
~1 Tbs olive oil (not pictured)
~1 pkg of kielbasa (or any similar type sausage - turkey kielbasa works great and is low fat)
~2 pkg of cornbread mix (we used Martha White this time, but have also loved the Jiffy Mixes and they are also SO cheap!!)
~1 cup milk (can substitute for water if needed)

The first thing you'll want to do is peel your apples.  Be sure to keep your peels & your cores to make potpourri later (i'll post a pic & instructions at the end of this post!)

Once you have your apples peeled, you'll want to slice them into thin slices.  Put them in a pot that has been drizzled with olive oil, over medium heat on the stovetop.  Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.

While your apples are simmering, slice your sausage into 1/4 inch slices, and preheat your oven to 400*F.

In a medium bowl, mix your cornbread mixes with the milk, stirring well. (note: 2 year olds think this is the best part)

Once your apples are done, you'll want to pour them (and their juices) in a 9x13" baking pan.  Add in the sausage and distribute evenly throughout the pan.  Pour the cornbread mixture over top, gently spreading around with a spatula or back of a spoon.

Place entire thing in the oven, and cook for 20 minutes (or until top is lightly golden) at 400*F.

Makes 6 hearty servings!  (and always gets rave reviews around here!) :)

Now... to make the potpourri!  Use your apple peels and cores (dont worry about seeds, etc, its all fine).  Put them all into a pan, sprinkle with cloves (crushed or whole are both fine), and about 1/2 cup water.  Put on simmer, and enjoy!

Audrey's Knitting Needle Tutorial!

We have been very fortunate to have  a guest speaker today!!  Audrey, a dear friend, inspiring crafter, and world-class relcaimer, has agreed to share her knowledge and skill in creating her own knitting needles!! 

If you've ever wanted to give this fun craft a try, it is truly worth it, and with Audrey's instructions, completely doable for anyone at any crafting experience level! 

Here are Audrey's wonderful instructions!

To make my DPN’s: I used common household bamboo skewers. Sharpened both ends in a pencil sharpener, sanded the shaft and points until smooth, and then polished them with a white crayon and a sheet of notebook paper.

Materials:

Dowel rods or skewers (chopsticks could work too)

Sandpaper: 100 grit – 400 grit (3-4 different grits)

Plain paper

White crayon or wax

Knob or button to top the needles. (In a pinch a rubber band)

Pencil Sharpener

Choose Your Weapon

When choosing your dowel rod you may find it helpful to have some sort of measuring device. In this way, you can get exactly the size you want. I did not measure mine at all, so whenever asked, “What size needle is that?" I told people “skewer”. Please learn from my mistakes. It will make me feel better.

If you purchase your dowel rod from a large chain store, they can cut it to your specified length. I used kitchen scissors, and had to deal with splintering.

Getting to the Point

Once you have your rods cut, you will run them in a pencil sharpener. Do the same to both ends for double pointed needles, just one end for standard needles.

True Grit

Next is the sandpaper. In this step, you will sand the needles using progressively finer (higher #) grits. By doing this you will get the rid of the splinters and burs in the wood. Be sure to sand the shaft and the point, paying special attention to the tip. The tip and the point receive the most activity when knitting and it would be a shame if your yarn kept being snagged. I found out how frustrating it could be to have to go back and sand each of my DPN’s. I have already made all the mistakes for you.

The Debate

This part is optional. I have seen some who do not polish their needles, yet I cannot tell you which way is best. If you choose to polish your needles, here’s how. Rub the entire surface of the wood with a white crayon. Then use a sheet of paper to smooth the needle, just the same as when you were sanding the wood. Once again, pay careful attention to the point and tip. 

 

The End

This is the last step, unless you have made DPN’s. This must be my favorite part. Finding that special something, that tells the world “This is custom!” Make your needles as unique as you want them to be. Glue a river stone, glass bead, or drawer pull to the end. Shove on a plastic toy or pencil eraser. Let impatiens rule your life and twist a rubber band to it. I have done that.

Congratulations

You now own, custom, one of a kind, original, not to be found in stores anywhere, hand crafted knitting needles.

When I asked Audrey to share a bit about herself with you all, here is what she said!

Name: Audrey

Husbands Name: Brian

Age: 36

Occupation: Stay at home mom/Homeschool mother

Hobbies: Knitting, crocheting, cooking, gardening, and sewing

Number of Teeth: 28

Allergies: Cats, mold and people who don't cover properly

Favorite Food: Sushi

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Movie: The Wizard of Oz

Favorite Animal: Cat

Favorite Candy: Chocolate peanut butter cups

Her husband was able to add a bit more about her, so that you all can see a piece of the amazing gal that she is.

Audrey grew up in Brooklyn and Coney Island NY. As an adult her family moved to Hillside NJ where she attended Kean College. She earned a BS in business management with a minor in technology. She met her husband, Brian, in college and got married in 1995.

 

In college she worked for Adolph Gotcho as an assistant purchasing agent and later moved onto working for American Products as a purchasing agent and expeditor. She additionally held jobs as a sales rep in a sporting goods store, as a teacher’s assistant in a grammar school, as a worker in a laundry mat, offered a job making costumes for the renaissance festival and co-owner of an organized recreational camping business.

 

For most of her married life she has been a full time home builder (mom). Audrey began homeschooling her children in Kindergarten and continues to homeschool them today. The managerial skills she learned in college and her business life greatly help her run the home school.

 

Being a housewife and a homeschool mom she has taught herself how to hand sew, machine sew, crochet, knit, become computer savvy, repair almost everything broken in the home, cook like a short order chef, learned how to cut corners and save money, and much more.

THANK YOU Audrey!! :)  We surely do appreciate your contribution to the group!

(a few tips after trying this with the tutorial!!  You can find pre-cut dowels in some craft stores, so you may not have to cut them yourself!  You could also use candle wax or beeswax to finish off your needles if you would like to do that instead!)

Ladies (*and gents*), be sure to leave her a comment if you found this to be fun, informational, interesting, or any other number of adjectives!  :)  Thanks

Holiday Hoopla

About this time of year it really settles in on me that the holidays are just around the corner.   My mom and my husband both just celebrated their birthdays and for me that means it is time to start prepping for Christmas as I have never prepped before. 

I'm working hard to have a handmade Christmas this year.  We have agreed to get a few new things that we need, like underwear, and some things for the house.  The kids may get a couple of books or movies.  But 99% of what we do this Christmas is going to be from our own two hands. 

I've been gradually working my way through the gift list that I made up a few months ago, but there is still a lot left to go.  With a little elbow grease, and some Christmas music I know I can get it done in no time flat. 

I don't have any photos to show from this past week because I have been down with the flu, but I will update with some that are waiting on my camera just as soon as I get a chance.

In the mean time, here's a photo of a dress I refashioned for my daughter last spring.  It is one of my favorite refashions.  When I took this photo I hadn't yet trimmed off some of the threads, so my apologies for that.  Hopefully you can get the idea from this photo though. 

Blessings!

Refashioning & Sustainability

Who would imagine that a post about refashioning would derive from rubber tires?  Still, I woke this beautiful fall morning to the smell of Goodyear burning in the air.  Every week the tire plant here burns their excess rubber (and I think maybe has something to do with the asphalt manufacturing plant as well here - at least they smell similar LOL).  Ironically, this smell greeted me with a slap in the face when I went out to my driveway only to find a flat tire on my truck.  Not one to be easily discouraged, I determined that we could make do with what we had in the house today instead of heading to the grocery store as planned.  And that we did.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about how I live and what my ecological footprint is.  There are so many amazing ways that we can take small steps to stop adding to the problem of degrading resources and pollution.  Toxins emitted by energy waste and man-made chemicals not only effect the environment, but us individually as well.  From tire plants to car exhaust to the number of paper towels thrown out in a day, we all make an imprint on the land we live in. 

I spent a good part of the day making clothes for my children and for children who would otherwise be cold this winter.  One sustainable way that I do this is to only use second hand clothing, fabrics, or bedding to make clothes.  Some may lift their noses at the idea of "hand-me-downs" but truly there are so many benefits to giving new life to an old garment or sheet.  If you don't mind, I would love to share my love for this amazing craft with you too...

I am a member and regular contributor t the blog Wardrobe Refashion. 
I took a pledge not to buy any new clothing for 6 months, and to
instead make items from my own two hands, reusing, recycling, and recrafting to create my own garments.  Not only is this fantastic for my budget, but it is also wonderful for clearing out my crafting stash.  In addition to that, this continues to sustain myself and my family.  By honing my skills at fashioning clothes for my family, I am helping us gain independence.  I give the gift of love to my family through every moment I spend working on items for them.   

This also saves SO MUCH in terms of the global impact that I have on the sustainability of the environment.  By using only second hand items I am saving manufacturers the energy required to make a new garment.  Because almost all second-hand clothing is donated from locals, it also doesnt have to travel much, if at all, to get from "the store" (the thrift) to my home.  If I were to buy new, I would be using a great deal of energy in the delivery of the materials to the manufacturer, then the delivery of the final product to the retailer, and finally the delivery from the retailer to the individual local storefront where I would then go and pick up my purchase.  Even storage of these items is often more expensive retail than in a thrift store, which very often does not use air conditioning or heat.  Ours also uses natural light from the windows as much as possible to save on the energy bill. 

I am always floored at the beautiful items I can find.  I am currently working through a stack of natural-fiber sweaters that I picked up a few months ago from the thrift store, that I am trying to recycle back into yarn to use.  One sweater I did not look at closely enough when I purchased it originally and it turns out that it is one that cannot be unraveled.  Rather than re-donating it, or trashing it, I turned this 100% cotton, Ralph Lauren sweater (originally 75-cents) into "new" sleeve-pants for my youngest daughter.  She was so cozy running around in our yard tonight in her new sweater-pants.  I hope to make a matching jacket from the body soon.

Do you create your own clothes?  If so, share a link or a few pictures with me.  I would love to see them, whether made with "new" or "old" materials!! :)

Exercising the Imagination

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.  ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com

The crisp fall air smells of harvest time and that always gets me to planning for spring's sweet gardening. I have a running handwritten list here on my desk of beautiful and delicious plants I hope to grow up in my yard and share with friends and family next year.

I am also doing a lot of research on permaculture and square foot gardening so that I can maximize the health and production of my plants.  The mister has agreed to build me some square foot gardens before it gets too cold, so that they can start to get ready for planting as we compost and continue to plan.

Gardening is something truly special to me for a great number of reasons.  The first reason is personal to me and something that reaches in to the depths of my heart.  My grandfather was an avid gardener, and produced the most beautiful and delicious fruits and vegetables one could imagine from his little backyard garden.  He shared his skills and his passions with his grandchildren, and it has stayed as fresh in my mind as the  season's first ripe tomato.

In addition to my sweet memories and romantic ideas of a family garden, I also believe that growing your own food is an essential way to make a positive impact on the land God graced us with, even if only in a small way.  By eating food that is grown close to home, we are reducing the amount of pollutants produced by transporting food to the stores and to our tables.  We can also rest assured that there aren't any dyes or chemicals on the produce we eat since we are in control of exactly what goes into our gardens.  As a bonus, the new plants produce oxygen, which not only benefits the earth, but us as well, bringing a little extra fresh air to our area.

On a more personal level, not only do we get delicious, organic fruits and vegetables a-plenty, but we also save money by not buying produce from the stores in the quantities we can get from our home-gardens.  It encourages us to eat healthier when fresh produce is literally delivered right to our house by nature itself.  We also feel a bit of independence and self-sufficiency by having a way to feed ourselves without dependence on outside means.  And as a bonus, we get a beautiful landscape to look at. 

What's not to love?