Sweater Dresses and the Dangers of Sewing

      We have a had a few brief snaps of cold (ish) weather around here, and it has put me on a winter wardrobe kick. My toddler still has the waist size of a 12-18 month old but the length of an almost 3 year old...so that poses a real problem for finding clothes to fit the child. We do a lot of dresses and leggings, but I really need to make or alter some pants to fit her before the weather turns cold for keeps.When I saw this tutorial from Make it and Love it the other day, it reminded me I had thrifted a few sweaters last year to make into little girl dresses, and had never got around to doing it. Her tutorial is super good, so I didn't take pictures along the way when I did it. The basic idea is to use as much of the finished edges on the original sweater as possible when you resize it.
     I didn't take a picture of my sweaters to start with (I know, bad blogger!). One was just a basic, short sleeve, white sweater, and the other was a long sleeve cream colored sweater. I used the white one to make this dress for the toddler.

     It has a draw string (I just used ribbon) neckline, and a peasant style cut. Here is a vary candid, unprofessional shot of my model.

      I used the cream colored one to make the baby's. It has regular sleeves, a chunky neck, gathered skirt, and a little belt to finish it off.

      These are super simple to do, and great way to use up old sweaters. I think I might see if I can find some more colors to do more for them. I think sweater dresses are so cute!
       So why is sewing dangerous you may be wondering? Well, let me just tell you! While I was working on these, I dropped my pin cushion on the floor and forgot about it. I ended up stepping on it at just the right angle and managed to drive a sewing needle up my foot! Half of it broke off in my foot with just a tiny bit sticking out. I tried to get it out with tweezers, but they weren't strong enough. I grabbed some needle nose pliers and that did the trick for me. Lest you think I exaggerate, here is the proof.

     I'm slightly traumatized, but I think I'll recover. Let that be a lesson to you, wear proper foot protection when sewing! (Ha! I'm sure I won't be trading my flip flops in anytime soon!)
      Anyway, go check out that tutorial and have fun!

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;