Make your own: kids' pants

Ok, as promised, here is the tutorial for making a pair of upcycled pants using the waistband from an existing pair of adult pants. They also feature a flat front waist and adjustable elastic waistband at the back.

You will need:
-  A pair of thrifted trousers
- Some fabric for the pants if you want them to be a different colour/ fabric
- Some adjustable elastic (also called maternity elastic, the one with the button holes)
- two buttons

First cut the waist, about 1/4" below the actual waist bit.

Cut out your pants, either from a pattern or from a pair of existing pants. For a great tutorial for making flat front pants check out Made here, or for basic pants here.

Sew your pants together. If you have an overlocker, serge around the waist.

Take the waistband and place the front of it to the front of the pants. If you need to, pin them and go all the way around until you get to the back. Pin the two back ends together and cut the ends off allowing for about 5/8". Serge the bottom of both ends, then serge the ends you just cut. Sew the ends right side together.

Pin the waistband around the pants' waist, right sides together, and sew. Make sure the seams around the back are folded back on each side, as they will later be sewn to hold the elastic together. Turn the waistband out and sew around where the waistband joins with the rest of the pants.

Now comes the fun part: the elastic! Pinch the fabric on the inside of the waistband at the back of the pants as to separate both sides. The hole should be hidden by the seam. You want to put your elastic in the casing without making a visible hole outside. Once you've got the inside fabric only, cut a small hole with some scissors. Repeat for the other side.

Next decide where you want the elastic to go. I leave about 2/3 of the pants at the front to be flat, which determines where to put the second cut. Once both ends re cut, you're ready to put the elastic through.

Cut the elastic slightly shorter than the length inside the casing. Insert it through the back and when you get to the end, fold the seam over and sew it all together. Then sew a button that will fit through the buttonhole at the front end, pull your elastic through and attach it to the button. Repeat for the other side.
And you're done!

My creative space

This week I'm updating from the past few weeks really, and I have been very creative, yes!
I made more singlets, this time out of the beautiful organic fair trade tee shirts KowTow kindly donated me.  This one is for a friend's little boy who just turned 3! Perfect for summer.
I also made some sun shading tops out of light cotton, but no photo yet, soon soon. My boy hates sunscreen...

Pop over to Kootoyoo for some creative goodness!

Headband giveaway: the winner

Congratulations to NorraSud by ROROISM! Please contact me to claim your prize: pioupiounz@gmail.com


On another note, I've been (very slowly) working on some new women's clothes, so stay tuned! You can see a preview here (I will slowly be adding photos as well as updating my shop).

A goodnight post

It's 11.41pm and I've got a market tomorrow, so I should really be off to bed soon, but before that I felt like posting a couple of photos a loving dad sent me of the dress he bought for his lovely finnish elf.
They look great and I am always stoked when customers send me photos of their kids wearing my clothes!

Photo shoot

I've spent the last few days taking pictures of all the stock left over from the markets. I had to model the adult clothing, so Josh helped me out and put his eye behind the lens. We shot everything on our front porch, the sun was setting and Tahi was running around. I didn't realize I'd made so many yoga pants! There were a few funny moments, like the one where Tahi imitated my "model-like" poses... very cute.

Back home

We've been back from Splore for about a week, I was straight back into my sewing room to get more stock ready for Womad in two weeks... unfortunately didn't get many pics from the festival or our stall. We had a great time though, people liked my craft, the yoga pants were a hit and we were blown away by the festival. The setting couldn't be more idyllic, the music was great and the food super yummy. There was also an art trail and lots of activities for kids and adults alike. Tahi and I made a peace flag that was then hung on a pohutukawa tree along with many others made by festival go-ers. We saw a bit of a drumming workshop and there were so many more! Definitely would consider going again in a couple of years (with more stock this time!).
It was nice to be home though, and we've been very busy catching up with friends and going to birthday parties! I made those pants for a 4 year old friend of Tahi, I was pretty happy with the result, they fit her perfectly and look quite funky!

Market prep

Only 10 days left before heading off to Splore , I'm in panic mode, running around like a headless chicken. It never feels like I've got enough stock and there are so many logistic matters to take care of (including looking after my 2 year old!). All of a sudden I wish it was xmas again and I had more time!
Luckily, the latest World Sweet World magazine has got a good article on how to be ready for craft markets and what I love best: a check list. This is only my second market, so a little help is more than welcome.
My range of kids' clothing has been selling quite slowly, I'm blaming it on my love of non-classic designs (maybe too different???) and the fact that people like to spend money on themselves... So I decided create a new range for adults and also get more into fused plastic accessories. Because I get so little time for myself to actually put that into practice, it' a very slow and painful process but I am seeing the fruit of my labour! Here's a sneak preview:

Patchwork style fisherman's pants (also called yoga pants), knee length. Those are great to make because you don't have to worry about sizes, one size fits most.

Fused plastic wallet and pencil case. I have also made a whole lot of box pouches, they're my favorite! 

MAKE YOUR OWN: pillow cover

     This is the first time I've published a tutorial, so any comments, feedback and tips on how to explain things are more than welcome! I've chosen an easy one to start with, there are probably hundreds of patterns for pillow covers online already but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. 

     I love old woolen blankets, so much that I have a (very) long term project of re-upholstering our couches with them. It's so easy to upcycle (i.e. take a second hand object and find a new purpose for it) them, they are basically one big sheet of fabric just waiting to be used. Here's an idea on how to refresh the look of your sitting room without spending too much and in an eco-friendly way!

      -       Level: easy

-       Time: 45mn

-       Material: woolen blanket, thick cotton (upholstery or similar in weight), thread, buttons (everything can be found in second hand/ thrift shops or gathered from friends and family)

-       Tools: sewing machine (with buttonhole and button attachments), scissors, measuring tape

     1-    Cut out a 45cm square in the woolen blanket for the front panel, a 45x28cm and a 45x34cm panels in the upholstery fabric for the back. If you wish to put an appliqué on the front panel, cut it out as well (I usually draw it on some paper first, then cut it out and draw the outline on the fabric.

 

2-    Sew on the appliqué (for the one shown, I used the front of a jacket so didn’t sew an appliqué on). Sew one edge on both back panels: measure 4cm from the edge, fold wrong side of fabric on wrong side. Measure 1cm from the edge and fold under. Pin down and sew along the edge.

3-    Make buttonholes: fold the smallest back panel in half lengthwise; make a mark with a pen. Fold the half in half and make another mark, repeat for the other side. Measure the size of your buttons. Then make the buttonholes parallel to the width of the panel.

      4-    Sew buttons on: match the big back panel with the small one, sewn edges facing. Mark with a pen where the buttons are going to be sewn. Sew buttons on.

5-    Button up the back panels and then sew on the sides where the sewn edges meet. This is so they don’t move when you sew back and front panels together.

6-    Place the front panel on a flat surface, right side facing up, then place the back panels on top, wrong side facing up. Pin together and then sew. Undo the buttons, turn it inside out, et voila.