Upcycled Pants

I have had a few hours with just one child today, sadly that one child is sick but luckily he is somewhat happy enough to go on my back while I sew (for a little while anyway).I bought some clothes from the fill a bag for $2 rack at my local Samaritan store a while ago, I made sure I got a few pairs of large men's pants to make into shorts...or longer pants as these turned out.

The first pair, made from cotton cord with light weight cotton hem and pocket, are ummm.....dodgy. I added the green before I made them up which made the side seam sewing go all the way to the edge, iykwim. Not perfect and sewn with white thread as I have no navy thread and by black is MIA (I am sure I will find it later today). They fit my youngest, who is 19mths old as pants.

The second pair, made from light weight cotton and a men's dress shirt, are much better. I added the cuff at the end which is much nicer although still not perfect. The pocket, which was picked off the front of the shirt, looks great. These all fit as long pants, good for keeping the sun off, they will also fit my 3.5yo as long shorts.

The pattern is one that I have been working on......I am trying to draft a pattern that fits a wide range, say from 9 mths till 4 years.....very ambitious I know for an amateur but hey its fun (if a little frustrating).

A Beautiful Chair

Have a look at this....



Isn't it stunning! I picked up this at our local Samaritan store for $60, which I think is a total bargain, I have a feeling DH wont be so sure, lol.....



There are a couple of small tears in the fabric...and it is a little marked, I plan on getting it re-upholstered some time in the future but for now it will sit in my room near my sewing machine.

I think that it will end up a textured grey.....maybe charcoal, maybe a warm mid grey, maybe damask.......with all my planning for our home renovations (that will start when council gets their ass into gear) I am dreaming about colours.

TAFE - Applied Fashion Design and Technology

I am considering doing a certificate II in Applied Fashion Design and Technology (following on to Cert. III) at TAFE next year....well technically not AT the TAFE, I would be doing it by correspondence.

From the course information:

This course is for people who want an introduction to basic design and development skills and knowledge to prepare them for work in a creative and production oriented environment within the fashion industry.
Depending on the electives selected, you will learn about different aspects of the fashion industry, including:
- basic sketching
- identifying design processes
- identifying and selecting fibres and fabrics
- a limited range of product development processes such as basic pattern modification, machining, making and finishing of a simple garment and dyeing and printing techniques to produce Aboriginal textile designs.

I really just want to increase my sewing skills, be able to draft patterns better and get a little more knowledge....it sounds great to me.

It is not overly expensive, as we are a lower income family, the course fee is $51 and the fees for the specific course (Cert II) are an additional $135. I already have everything here that is required in terms of machines, threads etc, I am sure I will need to buy some fabric etc, but hey, I do that anyway ;).

I would actually prefer to do this at a TAFE, but it is not offered locally and I don't want to put my youngest in care yet. I think face to face teaching in this subject would be beneficial, there is the option to join in classes with prior notice but with a 4 hour drive to the campus its really not going to happen,
lol.

So thanks for reading my ramblings....not much sewing happening during the last month, its school holidays at the moment so things are fun at home, today we are gardening and doing laundry. I have a few things I want to sew, some shorts for DS#3, and a library bag for DD to take to school next year. I should start a project list.