Upcycled Doll Bed

Just finished this Christmas present for my little niece, Paiscey.  Other than the spray paint and some polyester fiberfill I already had on hand, this is made from all used materials.

The vintage doll bed was an empty metal frame when I found it at a flea market.  First, I spray painted over the rusty white.  Then, I made the bedding from sheets purchased at the Goodwill.  The mattress was a piece of foam from a former mattress pad stored in my attic.  So, what does this have to do with sweaters?  Well, look closely. 

The foam is covered in an old sweater! 

I knew the fabric from the old sheets wouldn't really cover the yellow memory-foam very well (as it wasn't exactly a high threadcount!).  So, I took a very soft acrylic sweater and stitched it into a pillow case of sorts.  The foam went in, and then I stitched the dust ruffle around.  The problem came when I put the mattress in and realized that this is more of a crib then a bed so I will have to make some adjustments. 

I seem to recall making a similar mistake when sewing a dust ruffle for my daughter's crib twelve years ago.  I guess we never learn!

Holiday Party Dress

I made this for my 11-year old daughter to wear to our holiday party. For those who have tween daughters, it can be a difficult time to find dresses that aren't too cutesie childish, but aren't too hoochie either!  This was my solution.

This started out as two adult sized tops.  One was a silvery gray angora blend sweater that I fulled (aka felted) in the washer,  and a the other was black velour pullover.   

I began by cutting a band off the bottom of the angora sweater, which I later used at the bottom of the skirt to give a slight "bubble" effect.

Because my daughter only wears a size 10-12, I needed to take in the sweater a little.  I used my serger to stitch in one inch on each side of the sweater.  I also took in the sleeves just a bit.

I cut the torso portion of the black velour top off to use as the skirt portion of the dress.  I attached it to the sweater using the serger, pulling tight to give a lettuce edge.  I left this serged seam on the outside of the dress.

I then attached the bottom band of the sweater to the skirt following the same procedure.  I used leftover pieces of the velour to make three roses that I hand stitched onto the front of the dress near the shoulder.  Voila!  Instant party dress that is totally unique.