I’ve had these warm grey pants in my upcycling pile for a very very long time now. I originally tried to make them into skinny jeans, but didn’t sew them correctly the first time and ended up ripping a giant hole in on of the legs with a seam ripper. Oops. So I made them into shorts instead! Read on to see how to make them!
First, put on the pants. Using chalk or a fabric marker, mark on one leg of the pants where you want the shorts to hit. Take off the pants, and use a ruller to mark 2 inches below that line and draw a line across the leg. The 2 inches will become the cuff. You can alter this amount depending on if you want a thicker or thinner cuff. 
Cut along the line you just made. Fold the pants in half and use the leg you just cut as a guide for cutting the other leg.
Now, fold the pant leg up one inch and press. Fold up again another inch and press again. In the picture above, the left leg is folded once and the right leg is folded twice.
Now all you need to do is choose a thread that matches the stitching on your pants and topstitch along the top of the cuff! You’re done! 
I’ve LOVED these shorts so far! I’m on the short side, so all the shorts I try on tend to hit me at an unflattering part on my leg. I’ve never really enjoyed wearing shorts because I thought they looked funny on me. After making and wearing these shorts, I plan on altering a few more pairs of pants. I love that I can control the length of my shorts with this super easy alteration!
I’ve always been the type of person that carries a weekly planner that I can jot down to-do lists and all the things I need to remember. When 2013, rolled around, so did the final week of my weekly calendar. With a new year, I decided to give the electronic calendar thing a go, planning to keep track of everything on my phone and tablet. It ended up being a terrible idea. I hated not being able to add the personal handwritten touches to my schedule and by March, I stopped using my new system together. A couple weeks ago, I decided to purchase a new planner for me. I found some really great ones, but they all either started at the beginning of 2013, leaving less pages for me to fill, or the insides weren’t what I was looking for. After looking at planner after planner and beating myself up again and again for not buying one at the beginning of the year, I decided to dive into the craft of bookbinding and make my own! I’m so glad I did! I love how it turned out!
This planner is 100% my own. I designed the cover, the pages inside, and bound it myself. There is plenty of room to jot down notes for each day of the week. I also added a “this week” area to write down to-do lists or some inspiration to get me through the week. I love having that extra little space. In the back, I have some blank lined pages to add whatever random notes I need through the year: contact information, lists of new places to eat, important dates, movies I want to watch, etc. This simple little weekly planner means so much to me now! I don’t think I’ll ever buy one again!
Last week I showed you the Laurel blouse I made. This week it’s the dress version! Do you ever have a vision in your head of something you’re creating and it actually turns out exactly how you planned it? That was this dress for me! That moment seems rare for me so I was super excited when I finished sewing! I love the bold colors!
To create the red block of color, I traced the pattern out in my size on paper. Normally you one place the front on a fold to cut it out, but for this, it needs to be all laid out. On the pattern, I drew a diagonal line on the front pattern piece where I wanted the red and turquoise to meet. Then I did the same for the back pieces, making sure the diagonal lines met at the side seams. I had to create two different back patterns. Then I cut the pattern along the diagonal and added seam allowances along the cut. I cut the bottom pieces out in red and the top in turquoise and sewed all the pieces together. Then I continued to follow the original directions.
This really is a great pattern for beginner sewers and for those are wanting to start altering their own patterns. You can get the Laurel pattern by Colette Patterns here. Have you made anything from this pattern? How did it turn out?
Life has been sweet lately. Filled with cuddling this little boy and working on some great upcoming projects. I’ve also begun let things move a little more slowly around here. There’s only so much cuddle time left with this boy and I’m going to soak it up! Projects can wait. Motherhood is now. But I still have those golden nap times to work on my fun projects. I’ve finished making my purse pattern!!! Now I’m working on the directions and overall design. I believe this part will take forever! Illustrating the steps is fun, but tedious. I’ve also been working on a re-design for my blog. I’m so excited for the new look! My goal is to launch it in June. We will see about that…. I did sign up for Alt For Everyone! I’m so excited because there are three graphic design classes! I’ve never taken any graphic design courses and have always wanted to, and as I’m currently working on blog graphics and a purse pattern, the timing for these classes couldn’t be better! I’m counting down the weeks until it starts. Plus, Alt in my pjs? I don’t think it cold get better. Are any of you signed up for Alt For Everyone? What classes are you excited for?
Recently I purchased the Laurel pattern from Colette Patterns. It’s a super simple pattern. A shift or a top can be made from it. If you want to start playing around with altering patterns, this is a great one to start with! There is even a free downloadable booklet on variations for the Laurel. For my top, I added buttons up the front and a collar. Normally there is a back seam, and the front is cut on a fold. To make my version, I cut the back on the fold, taking out the seam allowance in the pattern first, and cut two bodice pieces for the front, adding a few inches in the middle to make a button placket with. I have the dress version all cut out right now and am going to sew it up over the next couple days! I’m excited to see how it turns out!
Have any of you tried this pattern? What did you think?
