Up-cycled Bermuda Shorts

Up-cycled Bermuda Shorts 

So the other day I noticed my daughters jeans were ripping up the back of the leg, super odd place for jeans to rip, and even more odd is the fact that I have a pair doing the same thing. I have no idea why. Guess its just in the jeans...... I know, terrible joke.  

Anyways, it's getting warmer here, today we are having record highs, so i thought I would chop the pants off and make some shorts. Not wanting the typical stringy, ratty looking cut-offs, I wanted to try to make some cute bermudas.

 

And I thought girls were supposed to be easier on clothes....guess not.

So I folded the jeans in half so that both legs would be the same, and then cut a bit below the knees. I think it would work even for whole-y jeans because you just fold them up. 

Then fold both sides up, play around to see what looks good, I liked a fatter fold. I actually practiced on the cut off part to see how my stitch looked, how my machine worked, and the best way to do it. I found it easier to sew one fold at a time. I folded it up once like the above picture, sewed it, and then folded the top and sewed that. It also helped to snip off a bit of the seam where it would be turned under so that it was not as thick......I'm really sorry if that doesn't make sense.

Stitch the top, and repeat on the other leg

I used a cute flower stitch with contrasting thread, but you could do it in blue or something to make it less girly, but I knew my daughter would love the pink flowers. I also did a little stitching on the pockets, it was a pain, and there is a reason I didn't post a close up, but I thought it was cute!

And there you have it, up-cycled bermuda shorts! I might have to do the same to my jeans 

(sans the cutesy flowers).

Quick, cute, awesome burp cloths!

Quick, cute, awesome burp cloths!

My friend is adopting a little baby girl, I am super excited and I wanted to give her a little present. I just added baby number three so shopping doesn't really happen (even typing is a bit harder than typical, but on the plus side i'm getting pretty quick typing one handed!). But sometimes I can get a (quick) sewing project in if the boys are sleeping- plus, handmade things are way better presents.
 Now my first two babies both had acid reflux, and number two also had a severe milk sensitivity ( I ended up cutting ALL dairy out of my diet) needles to say, the foofy little burp cloths people usually make just didn't cut it. Then I found these beauties- cloth diapers! They are not the cutest for sure, but to solve that my sil showed me this little trick that I will share with you. 

*Full disclosure- I am not trained at all in sewing, everything that I know is from lots of trail and error, and many, MANY youtube tutorials!

What you need-
~Package of cloth diapers- you can get them at Walmart or Babies-R-Us for a 12 pack, they are cheaper at Wallyworld, but they don't always have them.
~A fat quarter quilting square (this will do 4 burp cloths)
~Contrasting thread
~Scissors
~Sewing machine
~Iron

Cut your fabric into four equal strips

Fold over and iron down all four sides of each strip, 

Lay the strip in the center of the diaper with each end overhanging evenly on both sides

Pin the fabric to the back side of the diaper on one side, not both because the diaper pulls different from the fabric when you sew it, so its better to just leave the other end free (the cloth diapers are not super square, so no worries if its not even- its for babies to spew all over, not a couture dress :).

Sew all four sides (I used a cute scalloped stitch, love my new machine!) making sure that when you get to the ends the back side of the fabric is tucked nicely. 

And that is it! Quick, cute, and awesome. It doesn't get much better then that. Now you have a present for that baby shower you totally forgot about.

I did two rows of scallops because my ends weren't totally sewed under, but it looks cute!

*Full disclosure- I am not trained at all in sewing, everything that I know is from lots of trail and error and many, MANY youtube tutorials! If you have any suggestions, or if i'm doing something totally wrong please let me know!