In November of last year we were headed to the Dominican for a wedding. At that time, most Canadian stores don't have any kind of summer clothing for sale, so I rounded up most of little's wardrobe on buy and sell pages. It wasn't until we only had a few hours before we left for the city that I realized her fleece one-piece jammies might be a bit warm for Punta Cana.
Immediately I thought of my box of too-dear-to-toss t-shirts. These could be an answer.
Of course they're not dear to toss, but I did save them because 1) I once cherished them (they were mostly staff shirts from my old summer camps), and 2) no one would ever want to buy them from a second hand store. So instead of relegating them to rags, I jammed them in a box for a time when I could figure out how to give them a death with honour.
The first tutorial I found said that I would have a new nightie in 15 minutes - about the same amount of time it would take me to drive to the mall, one way. Sold. I decided that I would cut a shorter sleeve and forego the elasticized cuffs, which would cut down on time even more. From my discards box I pulled out two t-shirts that had some drape to them, leaving the "crunchier" shirts for a more fitted project.
I traced a shirt that fit her fairly well, estimated a sleeve length to give her a bit of a cap sleeve, then sewed the sides and arms up again on my regular machine. I was surprised to find that a one year old's neckline isn't too far off an adult's. Kids have crazy big noggins.
After we tried it on I hemmed it. I didn't bother to hem the sleeves. I love that the major construction work is already done in this garment (sleeve setting and neckband), so you get to reap rewards after 2 easy seams.
And my beloved staff shirt lives on.
