Purposeful Repurposing

...and Updated Upcycling...

Remember these knit t-shirts I picked up at the Goodwill last week?

Well... I used patterns from Ottobre Design issue 1/2009 to make some cute shirts and pants.

I'm not totally happy with the fit of the pants so I'm going to have to work on the pattern a bit. Pattern alterations are not exactly my strong suit. I think the center panel needs to be in more of a "V" shape like Dana's lounging pants from MADE.

 I like that these pants have a long rise which accommodates cloth diapers. I even shortened the rise a bit, but will shorten it about 1 more inch on my next try. I also made the front rise lower than the back which worked out nicely. I wanted a bit of a flare leg and widened the pattern a bit, but not enough.

The outside cover stitch look actually started as a mistake but it looked super cute and I made it a part of the design. When attaching the center panel I accidentally had the serged edge on the outside of the pants. Instead of unpicking (a task I hate so much I've been known to abandon a project never to return to it) I left the serge stitching on the outside and top stitched the seam down. It gives it a bit of a lap seam look. Almost like a cover stitch. In the photo of the red and white striped pants it looks wavy but it actually lays quite nicely on the baby's bum.

Since these are so quick to make and comfy I'm thinking the baby will be wearing this style for the next three years. It's also fun to repurpose old smelly clothes into cute cuddly baby wear.