Sewing Day

My twins have been in need of a few clothing items due to just wearing out after being handed down a few times. I could just go to a thrift store and try to find things in their sizes, or I could use some of my abundant stash of material that has been given to us to make them a few items.

Jaina received a new skirt last month when one that Allyn made Tissa for her birthday was too big for Tissa (Allyn made another the correct size for Tissa), but she still needed a shirt to go with another skirt as the original shirt was too stained.

Excuse the not so great clarity as I used my iPad and
haven't learned how to take great pictures with it yet.

Martha needed more items. First, she had a dress that she didn't like wearing because the snaps would come undone very easily so I sewed the dress together up to the top four snaps. Second, she had a skirt that was made for another sister and handed down that was coming apart at one of the seams so I fixed that as well.

I don't know why this one is blurry.

The bottom 3-4 snaps would always come undone.

Next, we had a nice jumper that I had fixed the buttons on multiple times when an older sister wore it. I guess I did a good job the last time because instead of the button popping off, the jumper tore! I cut off the top part of the jumper and turned the bottom into a skirt for Martha.

Lastly, I made a dress for Martha as her favorite dress is on its last thread. It has been a favorite for three girls now and I have resewn the ties multiple times, fixed the zipper, and re-hemmed, but it is stained getting thin so it needs to go. Martha picked out the material, but I chose the pattern. The pattern I chose is the Pretty Peasant Dress by Squiggly Twigs Designs. It is the same pattern I used to make the shirt above for Jaina. I really like this pattern as it is simple to adapt to what material I have and the desires of my girls. Also, it is simple (and I've used it so much) that it is a quick sew.

She liked it so much she wanted to wear it today!

My  girls are now excited to have "new" clothes to wear. I'm excited because I didn't spend a dime (all thread, elastic, and ribbon we already had). I'm also excited to use some of our material stash as I really need to use it to make room for other things in the house.

I'm hoping to do more sewing this summer since we don't have a garden this year and I will have some extra time. I should get my girls busy helping me use of that stash of material, too. I also hope to either learn how to use the camera on my iPad better or borrow a camera from one of my girls (they have nicer cameras than I have!).