Tee Shirt Nightgown Tutorial

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Our Crafting Hope group is going to be making summer pajamas for kids that are staying with their Momma's at the county Women's Shelter.  I posted earlier about the generous pattern donation from Peek a Boo Patterns. I think those will be awesome pj for the kiddos. But I wanted a less intimidating option for those with a bit less sewing experience so I drafted up this tutorial for a quick nightgown out of an adult tee shirt.

This is my friend, Jessica's daughter. Isn't she adorable? Jess is an amazing painter and awesome seamstress with great style and an even greater heart. She's been my partner in crime in this Crafting Hope venture from the start. Thanks Jess!  If you haven't ever, check out her blog and her Etsy stores, k?

Here's what you need to make this quick little nightgown:

• One Adult sized tee shirt. I used a mens 2XL. You could probably get away with using a smaller shirt if you have a smaller kiddo.  The nightgown I made was a girls size 8 and the length from the 2XL was just right.
• Matching thread
• A ball point needle -- it's not a deal breaker if you don't have one but it will make sewing the knit fabric that much easier for you
• Your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies
• A tee shirt that fits your child (or a basic bodice pattern)

Cutting out your pieces:

1. Fold your tee shirt in half. Do your best to make sure all of the wrinkles are out and everything is good and even. This can be difficult if you are using a tee shirt that is worn and stretched out. Just do your best.  It's a nightgown, so it doesn't have to be perfect. I bought this tee for my husband in his early days of youth ministry when we were lobbying for a 15 passenger van to haul the students around in. It says, "Church vans move me" and it still makes me chuckle. Don't judge.
   
2. Once your adult tee is folded in half, fold your kids tee in half and place it on top of the adult tee. You are going to use this as a template for cutting out your nightgown.  You can see, I put the collar of the kids tee right under the collar of the adult tee so I could take advantage of the entire length of the shirt.
   
    
3. Take a deep breath. . . you are going to cut a basic A-line shape from the bottom of the tee shirt up to the arm pit area of the kid's shirt you're using as your pattern.  If it makes you feel better, you could use a marker to mark the line before you cut but again, this is a nightgown and doesn't require perfection.  You can make a wide A-line or a narrow A-line. That's all a matter of preference. I made mine fairly narrow because I don't like the idea of a lot of fabric flapping around. But that's just me.
   
4. Now, tuck the sleeve of your tee shirt up and get a feel for how the arm hole is curved. You are going to cut a very similar line from the arm pit up to the shoulder. 
   
5. Cut across the top of the shoulder following the shoulder line of your tee shirt.  Give yourself about an extra 1/2" above the tee shirt shoulder so that you have room for your seam allowance.
   
6. Finally, cut from the top edge of the shoulder down in a gentle curve along the kid's shirt neck hole. Give your kid back their tee shirt.  Separate the front of the nightgown from the back.
   
   On the front neckline, cut a slightly deeper arch.  You do not need to account for seam allowances along the neck or the arm holes because you will be binding them.
7. Very carefully, cut the ribbed neck band off of the adult tee. You could take the time to pick out the stitches to remove it if you prefer but I didn't want to take the time. You will use this around the neck of your nightgown.
8. Cut two strips of fabric that are 1 1/2" wide from the widest part of the adult tee sleeve.  You will use these to bind the arm holes.

Sewing things together:

1. It is best to use a ballpoint needle when sewing knits. Also, you will want to use a very narrow zig zag stitch. This will allow the stitches to move and stretch with the fabric.  A normal straight stitch will break. With all that in mind, put right sides together and sew the nightgown front to the nightgown back at one of the shoulder seams.
   
2. Lay the nightgown out flat, right side up. Take the collar binding that you cut off of the adult shirt and pin it to the right side of the nightgown (raw edges together). Sew the neck binding onto the nightgown with a 1/4" seam allowance. Cut off any extra binding. Press the binding up.  
   
   Top stich the neckline just under the binding seam.
   Make sure you use your small zig zag stitch since this is the one place on the night gown that will get the most stretching.
   
   
3. Pin, right sides together, at the second shoulder seam. Be sure you match up the edge of the neck binding and the neck binding seam. Sew the shoulder seam.
   
4. Take one of your 1 1/2" strips and fold it in half, wrong sides together. Iron.  Pin the binding on one of the arm holes, raw edges and right sides together. Sew the binding on with a 1/4" seam allowance. Trim excess binding. Repeat for the second arm.
   
   Iron seam bindings flat.
   
   Top stitch.
   
5. With right sides together, pin and sew up the side seams of the nightgown. I use about a 1/2" seam allowance. Turn rightside out and you are done!
   

Since you used the hem of the adult shirt as the bottom of your nightgown you have no hemming. And because knit doesn't fray you don't need to worry about finishing any of your seams.  Once you've made one of these and learned the process you should be able to whip them out pretty quickly.

Please let me know if you have any questions or any points need clarification.  If you leave a question in the comments, make sure you are not a no reply commenter or leave an e-mail address where I can answer you.

~Lindsay

Tee Shirt Dresses

I've been in need of quick projects lately.

Minimal time. Minimal thought.

It's all I have to give right now.

So I dug through the Bug's dresser drawers and came up with a couple of tee shirts that show her belly. Rather than relegate them to the basement bins I decided to sew simple skirts on the bottom and extend their life.

This one was a quick bubble skirt with some navy blue knit.

It's my favorite but doesn't have the spin factor the Bug loves.

She does still enjoy being silly though. Apparently no spin is required for that.

And yes, I did take these photos about a month ago.

The Bug has short hair now and there is no snow on the ground. In fact, it's been way too warm for long sleeved dresses and tights lately.

This one is the Bug's favorite though she refused to be photographed in it.

Hello Lowes cart and static electricity hair! You'll just have to use your imagination to fill in the dress details.

The skirt is a black and grey sweatshirt knit.  I just cut the length I wanted from the width of the fabric, sewed one seam, gathered and attached it at the shirt hem. I didn't even hem the bottom of this one since it curled up nicely on it's own. Quick and easy.

It's a fun way to extend the life of those favorite tees. Or to actually get your "dress only" wearing kiddo to wear the plethora of tee shirts in her drawer.

~Lindsay

Thanksgiving dress

I may have been on the ball with the Christmas dress, but the Thanksgiving outfit was an 11th hour decision.

I wasn't going to make anything, but then I saw this orange and brown floral knit in my stash and it just seemed so darn Thanksgiving-y

. . . and then I tore a hole in one of my favorite orange striped shirts (it was an accident, I promise!)

. . . and then I spotted another orange stripey knit in my upcycle pile that just went well enough to be funky.

You see how it all snowballed, ultimately leaving me with no choice, right?

I used a shirt pattern from my favorite kids clothing book and made some pretty significant alterations to make this little dress. The leggings were made by tracing an existing pair of her leggings onto my fabric. It came together pretty quickly and easily even with the pattern adjustments.

Unfortunately, photographing the Bug in it was no where near as easy.

She was in a goofy mood.

What is this? The monkey pose?? Who knows.

When I asked her to act normal she got all offended.

So I let her wander and took pictures of her from behind, when she wasn't looking and I cut her pouty little head off.  That'll teach ya!

You can see I took some details from the two original shirts I was upcycling and re-used them on the dress.

First, the button placket from the polo. . . I just cut it off of the polo and sewed it right onto the neckline of the dress. It's just decorative, not functional. But it doesn't need to be functional since the neckline is nice and stretchy.

I also took a small pocket off of my favorite shirt and sewed it onto the short sleeve of her dress.

The long sleeves were cut from the original shirt sleeves so I just used the existing hem.  Hooray for short cuts!

The cute yellow rick rack was a super lucky find at my favorite thrift store.

It is straight out of the 70's I think. It's a real nice stretchy double knit sort of thing. I've never seen anything quite like it.  

I didn't have much so I conserved by adding it only to the front panel of the skirt. 

And then just to be fun and funky and unexpected, I added it around the hem of just one leg of her leggings.

Can we talk about the leggings for a minute?

They fit perfectly.

I have never made a pair of leggings that fit her the way I like them to.

And I didn't make a paper pattern, so I probably never will again.

Dumb.

This is the lone "good" photo I got that shows the entire ensemble.

And I only got this because I informed her her posing was not up to par for receiving the promised candy reward.

Hey, I do what I can and I take what I can get.

Ultimately, it's a cute and comfy little outfit that the Bug loves which is a huge accomplishment considering there isn't a lick of pink or purple or sparkle.

I think she will actually wear it again!

Hooray!

~Lindsay

Christmas Stockings Updated

Last year Michelle made these awesome stockings for our family out of Grandpa's old over-alls.

They are such a treasure. Really, I think they may be my favorite new family Christmas tradition.

We ran out of time last Christmas season, but we always had intended to embroider names on the wool cuff.

So a few weeks ago, realizing the Christmas was sneaking up on me, and that my Mom would need these to begin filling them soon, I dug into this little project. . . . the whole time thanking God for our small family! ha! I only had seven names.

I love the stockings at the Purl Bee. That font rocks. Slick and modern.

But in the end, I decided to just use my own handwriting as our "font".

That and a simple split back stich just felt down right homey to me and I think ultimately, that fits us well.

We are not so much a "slick and modern" group of folk.

This was a quick, fun little project. Just the right size to take along to work on in the waiting room while those little Princess Ballerina's do their thing.

I super duper love these all together like this and I am so excited for the holidays!

~Lindsay

Dresses for Christmas

I could not find a single store bought dress I liked for the Bug's Christmas dress this year. I am afraid this is the beginning of a dangerous trend where I look at everything in the stores and think, "I could do that myself".

Dangerous because what mother of a two year old has the time to craft an entire wardrobe? O.k., maybe some do but I don't.

So I found this sweater in my pile of clothes that just don't fit right and it looked so nice with this Figgy Pudding print I had. . . . and my brain started envisioning a cute little bubble skirt. . .

Here's the results.

My reviews are mixed, to be honest. I don't hate it, but I don't love it.

I've been fighting with this dress for over a month. I finally just surrendered, finished stitching the lace on the collar and called it done. I really can't put my finger on what I don't like about it. I guess it just doesn't quite live up to the picture I had in my head.

I do like the little pleat in the front and the puff to the sleeves.

And the bubble, while not as bubbly as I'd hoped, is cute. I still really love that fabric. Very festive and fun.


The sweater fabric is soft at least and should be quite comfortable IF I can get the Bug to wear it.



Moving right along. . .
I've been wanting to try my hand at an upcycled tee shirt dress for a while and when I saw this circus tee at Goodwill I knew I had found my muse.

I based this loosely on the dresses made by Lil' Blue Boo. She is amazing and so stinking creative. And she has a daughter who actually poses for pictures. . . but I digress.


Here's the back. I love that the picture is just a little different on the back than it is on the front.


The Bug adores this one. She wanted to put it on the moment she saw it, which just happened to be last night after her bath (thus the wet hair and bare feet).

She thought it was just perfect for a little Wii time with Daddy. So comfortable and easy to move around in.

(Don't worry, I fixed the issue of the too long sleeve by just turning it up a bit and stitching it under. It now fits perfectly.)

Hooray! I finally have a hit with this discerning critic!! Her Daddy approves too. Said it's his favorite thing I've made for her so far. I'm glad they both like it because I have a huge pile of old tee shirts that could stand to be upcycled!