Last week at the Goodwill I found a couple of pretty linen shirts, and thought maybe I could cut them up to make little girl dresses. This is my first effort, and I’m so happy with it (and the process), that I am thinking of adding another line to my donated fashions. First there was Retro Girl “Fashions from Vintage Patterns” — now there could be Recycle Girl “Fashions from Rescued Clothing”.
This dress didn’t require too much imagination — the darts were taken out; the front, back and sleeves were cut to make a simple a-line dress; the collar was removed and turned into a neck ruffle; and a tiny pocket with vintage hanky corner was added. I like to imagine I’m on one of those weird Project Runway episodes where you have to make something from old clothes, although I’ve noticed the designers don’t seem to enjoy those challenges very much.
A few months ago I bought this doll quilt top on Etsy. The yellow fabric was a sort of cheater applique print with printed stitching on the little animals. In the original top, the quilter cut the fabric animals in groups of 4, set the blocks with this icky cotton blend fabric, and then didn’t finish it. I loved those little animals, though, and bought them thinking I could make something better.
For my 17″ quilt, I cut all the animals apart and added some floral triangles to the blocks. The quilting pattern in the alternate blocks is an enlargement of the little flower in the print, and the animal blocks are quilted inside each piece. Both the quilt and the dress are headed to the Life Spring Thrift Shop.
