freesewing

i'm making up a new word. freesewing. it's similar to upcycling, but the difference is that you're making something new from new materials, not reusing old ones. in freesewing, you cannot have purchased anything to make the item (fabric, pattern, and trims) except for notions. fabric you use, if you purchased it, must have been purchased at least 12 months ago. long enough ago that you probably won't ever get around to that project you had originally planned for it. (although, i did once use fabric for its intended purpose, ten years later - this dress that i wore to a friend's wedding in 2007.)


freesewing is more like this blouse or this blouse or even this blouse. this weekend's projects were more upcycling than freesewing, but i just wanted to get that out there.

first i cut down and recreated a tee shirt. i generally don't wear those oversize, unisex tee shirts; i just don't like how i look in them. so i cut them down if i care enough. this one is a promo shirt from last fall's life campaign at work. i'm welcome to wear it on casual fridays but i never had. (partly because i got knocked up, but still.) so for a year it just hung in my closet taking up space. it wasn't even a painting shirt.


now it is something i'll actually wear on casual fridays. i've also done this with old tees of brian's that i like and are still in good condition. for example, this giants tee:


total cost to me: $0.

i also made this little blanket for hannah. we've been hauling her nice quilt to mommy group each week, but it's kind of big. and because i take it back up to her room each week, sometimes i forget to bring it altogether. i know, i'm a bad mommy. what kind of mother forgets to bring her daughter's blanket to mommy group? one who hates her child, OBVIOUSLY. so this one is a small convenient size and i can just keep it in the car.


we had received these cute receiving blankets as a gift, but we just had so many blankets. i tried to return them but babies r us would not take them back. said they didn't carry them. LIARS. so i took them home, washed them, and hoped we'd use them. we didn't. and now here is where brian says my snob is showing: do you see how much those COST?? all they are is a piece of flannel with the edges serged. man, i should sell those. i could make me a killing. each of those i bet cost the company no more than $1 to make, and they sell them for $15 for four. ROBBERY, I TELL YOU. i could make better blankets for cheaper. so i did. her blanket is two of those pieces of flannel with a leftover piece of batting from alice's wedding quilt, quilted randomly, and bound with strips from a third blanket. total cost to me: $0.

now, what do i do with the fourth blanket? more burpies?