Lengthen a kid's Tshirt ( tutorial )...

Thing 2 has a birthday sleepover party tonight. She got up and dressed herself in a favorite T-shirt that is getting shorter every time she puts it on. Thing 2 is quite slender and only seems to grow in one direction...UP.  She is still able to wear clothes that she got when she was 4, but, of course, length is an issue.

I decided to tackle a project that I've wanted to try for a while now...lengthen a T-shirt. So, here is how ~I~ did it. I'm no expert and I'm sure there might be easier and/or better ways to accomplish this, but here is what I did...

 

 

 

1. Find another T-shirt to cut up and use for the extra length. I chose an adult T already on-hand (I'm trying to accomplish this project quickly and for zero cost ;)
   
   
2. Use the small T as a guide for how wide to cut the pieces from the larger T.
   
   I laid the small T on top of the large T (both inside out) and cut.
   
3. Next, I opted to serge the two long upper edges cut from the large T because they were starting to ravel a tiny bit. This might not be necessary on 100% cotton T material, but the large T was a stretchy poly blend, so serging the edges made it look nicer on the inside.
    
   
4. Then, with RIGHT sides together, serge both side seams. I stressed ~RIGHT sides together~ for my own benefit because I messed up the first go around and serged right to wrong side and had to rip it out and do it again ;0
   
5. Turn both small T and new lengthening band right side out and pin the band to the bottom of the small T. Since the band is stripey, I found it easiest to pin this way and use one of the stripes as a guide on where to pin. I made sure the upper serged edge of the stripey band was slightly above the stitching on the hem of the small T since I would use the old hem stitch as a guide for the new hem stitch.
   
   
6. Next, stitch the band to the small T. I would have chosen hot pink thread to match the original hem stitch, but I didn't have that on-hand and, as I mentioned before, I was attempting to do this project as quickly as possible and for no cost. So, I chose black thread and used a straight stretch stitch to attach the band. I sewed on the outside of the T, stitching through both the small T and the new band.
   
   
7. As expected, this method created a bit of a puckering effect when it was completed. I steam ironed the hem and it looked much better.
   
   
8. Done! Quick and easy and free ;)
   
   Again, I would have chosen thread to match the small T so the new hem wouldn't be so noticeable, but she's happy and she can wear her shirt for at least another season. I could cover the stitching with some cute trim or add a ruffle and I might add some more of the striped fabric and make the sleeves a bit longer because I think that would look cute, but that's for another day. Right now, I just need to get her to brush her hair and find some pants that match and we'll be ready to head out to the birthday party!

So, of course, I couldn't leave it well enough alone...

We LOVE our Teachers!

This past week has been TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK. Thing 2 adores all her teachers and wanted to make something nice for them. I found a few fun ideas and we finally decided on bottles of hand sanitizer (which weren't all that easy to find due to the Swine Flu Panic) featuring a special picture that Thing 2 drew for each of the 3 teachers she wanted to give a gift to.  This project was inspired by Giver's Log.

This was an easy project that turned out very nice...

1) Choose some hand soaps or sanitizers that are clear. Giver's Log said sanitizer did not work for her, but we haven't had any problems yet. We put these together yesterday and this morning the images were still intact and looked great...I hope they stay that way :0) I also chose bottles with clear sticker front labels and back labels that were opaque inside the bottle.

2) Remove the front labels and any remaining sticky residue. I left the back labels showing the ingredients and the opaque back of the back label (the part that shows inside the bottle) helps the transparent drawings show up better once they are inside the bottles. I had to resort to some GOO GONE for that large bottle. The smaller bottles in front are GERM-X and the labels came right off with no remaining sticky gunk.

3) Have the artist create some special drawings.

I opted to leave any misspellings because I think it's cute and from the heart ;)

4) Scan the drawings, resize and clean up as needed, add a border, and print. I use PhotoShop for all my graphic work. I chose to keep everything black since I wasn't sure how color ink would hold up when submerged in sanitizer.

5) Take the print to a copy shop (I used Office Depot) and ask for the print to be copied onto a transparency sheet.

6) Trim transparencies, roll into a slender tube shape that will fit into the neck of the bottle and slip in. The transparency should unroll itself nicely into place, but you may need to help it a little with the stem of the plunger top.

7) Replace plunger, tie a pretty bow around the neck and VIOLA!

8) Send your creations off to school with adorable child (who likes to dress herself ;) ....