Blue Bay Cottage: Basic Clothing Repurposing & Alterations: Toddler Edition

Spring is coming, which presents a bit of a clothing challenge (at least in Ohio). The weather is typically still chilly, but not cold enough to wear sweaters (and besides, if you're like me you loathe the sight of sweaters come March). But it's also not warm enough to wear summery clothes like shorts, tank tops, dresses, etc. I end up wearing a lot of t-shirts and lightweight cardigans with cropped jeans--not too warm but still springy.

I went through Charlotte's bin of warmer weather clothes and noticed that most of them were shorts, sleeveless shirts and dresses. Much of what is currently in her closet is long-sleeved tops, a lot of sweaters, and several pairs of heavier weight long pants--like fleece and corduroy. Hmmm. Many of these items still fit and probably will for at least a few more months, so buying new clothes for spring seems silly and unnecessary. So it was time to get a little creative.

Maybe I'm the only one with this problem, but I noticed that her long-sleeved shirts tend to fit just fine as she grows--except in the sleeves. I don't think she has unusually long arms, but the sleeves on all her tops get too short before she outgrows the rest of it. And her knit leggings, which she wears most of the time, end up getting too short way before she outgrows them in the waist. I decided to take some of the shirts (the ones with a color palette and/or pattern that wasn't wintery or holiday looking) and cut and hem the sleeves to make a short sleeved shirt and do the same to the leggings to turn them into capris.

First, the shirt. Love this shirt and it fits her wonderfully--except for the sleeves. They're too short, plus the elastic at the bottom digs into her little arms and leaves marks. :(

I took the shirt with the too short sleeves and found a short sleeved shirt with a sleeve length I liked. I put the short sleeved tee on top of the long sleeved one and measured the sleeve length from the shoulder seam to where I wanted the sleeve to end (keep in mind that if you want the same finished sleeve length as the short sleeved top, add a bit at the bottom to account for seam allowance. I added 3/4").

Using a fabric marker or chalk, mark the top and bottom of where you'll be cutting across. Make sure to angle your line--cutting straight up and down will end up looking a little awkward when finished. Cut the sleeve off and repeat on the other side. When I did the other side, I folded my shirt in half so that I'd match the angles of the two sleeves exactly and made sure it wouldn't look off balance once it's finished. Much easier to make those changes now than later.

Next I turned the whole shirt inside out and folded the ends of the sleeves in about 1/8" and pressed. I folded them under again another 1/4" and pressed, then pinned around and stitched in place close to the folded edge of the seam. Working with such small seams is tricky, and if you'd rather give yourself more leeway then just cut your sleeve longer so you have more room.

Ta da!

Okay, onto the pants. They fit fine in the waist and legs but have become too short. When she first got these pants, I didn't think they would get worn much because of their bold grassy green color. I've since been proven wrong and these pants go with a surprising number of her tops, so if I can keep them in rotation for another few months I'll be a happy mama.

I took a pair of capris that had a good finished length and laid them on top of the leggings, I marked a line and again paid attention to the angle of the seam to make sure they're not just chopped straight across.

The beautiful thing about working with knit is that it doesn't fray. My original plan was to fold the bottoms under and use my double needle to sew the hem. Unfortunately when I sat down to work on these I realized I do not own any green thread. Since the purpose of this project is to alter clothes and create new outfits for free, I had to come up with a different plan. Also, I didn't see the practicality in driving to the store and spending a few bucks on an a spool of thread when I only needed a tiny bit, in a color I'll likely never use again.

Since knit doesn't fray, I just chopped off the bottoms and called it done. Oh--this step isn't necessary but you may want to consider sewing a few stitches on the inside seams to reinforce the bottom part where you cut. Can't hurt. If you end up making yours with a finished hem, just make sure to add some length for the seam allowance.