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We all have a fabric stash, right? Maybe it's scrap leftover from previous projects; maybe it's supplies you purchased for a project that you never got around to making; or maybe it's a small collection of "better snag this while it's on sale, I'm sure I can use it for something!" I've got...all of those. I've also got an ever-growing stash of clothing that no longer fits either myself or my husband but which is still in excellent condition. Now, I should probably consign or donate this clothing, but something about each piece makes me want to upcycle it instead.
When I was pregnant with my first baby, I was a tiny, cute pregnant lady who wore tiny, cute maternity clothes. By the time I was pregnant with my third baby, those tiny, cute maternity clothes were too small for my massive belly, so many of them entered the upcycle stash because I was still sentimentally attached to them. This white sweater is one such piece- I wore it for our Christmas card picture where we formally announced my second pregnancy:
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| Christmas 2016 |
In the week between Christmas and New Years this past December, when no one was quite sure what day it was and the world was a haze of wrapping paper and cookie crumbs, I picked up this sweater and decided to give it new life.
I used the Delaney Dress and Tunic pattern from Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. I had already used this pattern once when making our 2022 Halloween costumes so I knew it was easy to follow and produced a cute, comfy, well-sized garment. Plus, upcycling generally comes with some shortcuts along the way (at least, the way I do it) so I knew I could throw this together in an afternoon.
I used the dress-length pattern with long sleeves, a regular banded neckline (no hood), and no kangaroo pocket in a size 2T to turn my maternity sweater into a simple A-line long sleeved dress for my toddler who was wearing size 2T in typical retail clothing. Because I wanted to take advantage of the cuffs that already existed on this knit sweater, I cut the sleeve pattern short by the length they would have been hemmed (3/4", per the pattern instructions). I used the sweater's original neck band to create the neckband for the dress and didn't need to worry about folding it in half because there was only a raw edge on one side. In the original pattern, the front hemline of the dress (or tunic) curves upwards in the middle, and the back hemline curves downwards, so that it is slightly shorter in front than it is in the back. I wanted to take advantage of the knit band that already existed around the bottom of the sweater, so I opted to not incorporate these curves. Instead, I cut both the front and back pieces so that they were the length of the shortest point of the front pattern piece. This resulted in a simple A-line silhouette with a straight hem all the way around (that I didn't actually have to hem!) and the whole dress came together rather quickly. Of course, a serger would have been the ideal machine to construct this garment with, but I don't have one yet, so instead I used a good ol' zig-zag stitch.
While I don't have step-by-step pictures of this make, I did create a little reel on Instagram that shows the construction (and some action shots of the finished product!) which you can see here.
The Delaney Dress and Tunic pattern is for sizes 3 months - 12 years and has many different options- dress or tunic lengths; hood or banded neckline; short, 3/4, or long sleeves; and an optional kangaroo pocket.
Have you upcycled anything lately?
Much love,
The Geeks
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