Grace: Hey Mom, look! My favorite play-dress from last summer!
Mom: Yes, thats nice honey, but look how short it is on you now.
Grace: Its not too short, Mom. See? If I crouch down it covers my knees.
Mom: Crouching doesn't count - look how high it goes when you stand straight or dance or twirl.
Grace: But Mooooom, its my faaaaaaavorite. It can't go in the Too Small Pile. Puh-leeeease can I still wear it?
The thing is, Grace has grown 3 inches just since November. So they are really really too short.
Mommy sewing skills to the rescue! If you chop off a play-dress right underneath the armpits and then add a waistband it miraculously turns into a longer skirt.
Like this, see?
Before: Faaaaaavorite twirly dress from last year
After: Faaaaaavorite twirly skirt for this summer
(Side note: This photo makes the skirt look wonky and not straight, but its just the way its laying on the table - apparently I didn't straighten it before taking the picture. I assure you the hem/waistband are straight lines...)
Before and After (forgot to take a picture of the whole dress, but I bet you get the idea)
Before: Way too short
After: Just right for twirling
People often ask me if I save money by sewing my girl's clothes. I always respond that its FAR more expensive to sew clothes from scratch than to buy them, (especially since I'm a garage sale, thrift store kind of girl) but that I certainly save money by KNOWING how to sew and mend. Here is a great example. Grace has a bunch of 'new' skirts for the summer that cost me nothing more than a couple of hours and the cost of fresh elastic. Considering they are all hand-me-downs or thrifted to being with, have now been worn by two girls at their proper sizes and their getting a third season as skirts, I'd say thats pretty great!
Sewing the binding on the big quilt. So. Close. To. Being. Done.
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