DIY The Easy Bralette Nursing Top

How to rafashion an maternity tank into a nursing top

 This is an easy top to make out of a few items you probably have laying around. Because of the shape of this nursing top I think it is a perfect one to make with one of your old maternity tops. With this you can turn a maternity tank into a nursing tank that will cover your belly right after delivery.  If I could go back in time I would make this nursing tank in my last month so I would have it as soon as I got home from the hospital.

The best part about this top is that you can nures with it from two different positions  You can easily pull the  top down reveling the holes in the bralette, for baby. Or you can lift from the bottom of the tank section reveling the bralette to nurse, shown in the  photo below. Either way your breast will be covered while nursing. (I am wearing a burgundy undershirt to keep this page PG)

This is a diagram of how you lift the top portion to nurse

Or Pull down to nurse

The thing I used to make this top. You also need basic sewing supplies. 

Step 1

I cut two holes in the bralette located at the nipple. The best way to find the best location is to try the bra on and use chalk to make a small mark, then cut the location that you marked. This fabric did not need to be hemmed to prevent fraying.

Step 2

Cut the large top above the arm holes, leaving room for a hem if you want. I just cut at the arm holes.

Step 3

Attach the original hem of the large t-shirt to the bralette. Pin and stitch using a zig-zag stitch. Bunch the T-shirt so that it will fit and this will create pleating on the shirt.

After the two pieces are attached the top should look like the photo below.

 *Note I still have the bottom pinned in this photo; I had planned on hemming it. Then I changed my mind and decided to create a different hem line as well as not hemming the shirt.

Step 4
I cut the t-shirt at an angle to create a high-low hem.

Step 6
Next start working on the tank top. Cut the top part off, this will become the part that covers the bust. The length of this will be different for everyone. The best way to determine the length is to try the tank top on and mark with chalk the location to cut. Keep the top portion for this project and save the bottom for another day.

Step 7
Pin and stitch the strip of fabric along the bottom of the tank top. Only attach it 1/2 to 3/4 way around the tank. This leaves the strip unattached at the back. *NOTE you can see a better picture below of how this should look when the fabric strip is attached.

I told you I would have a better picture. The tank top should look somthing like this after you sew the strip of fabric on.

So at this point in the project you will have two parts. One part will go under the other. The gray tank will go on top of the bralette, covering the nursing holes. 

When layered they will look like this 

NOTE; you can attach the gray tank to the bralette, but for this post I left them unattached. I think this makes washing easier.

Then you are all done. Now you have a fabulous nursing top. This is how it looks on! I hope you like it.

I am Going to Dress For Change

A Project raising funds to make dresses for unprivileged girls in Africa

I stumbled across this Dress for Change project and I was instantly intrigued. What was it I thought? Well I looked into it and found out that it is a brilliant idea that a young woman named Sheyanne Root has come up with. She needed to do a High School senior project for graduation(fun) Because she likes fashion and helping others she came up with the Dress for change project.

Pick your black dress now!

Now she started a Dress For Change Blog and you can read all the details there. However I will sum it up for you. She is asking for us to first sign up with her and donate $5. The hard part is you commit to wearing the same black dress for a week (the week of April 1st-7th). Now the best part; for each woman who signs up for this challenge Sheyanne will make a dress for a little girl in Africa who is in need.

New house :)

I will be moving that week into a new home. So some how I just don't think wearing a dress all week will be appropriate in anyway. So I am going to opt for pants and a top. Then I will blog about all my adventures in my  black dress black pants and top on my blog! I hope you will all do the same to help promote this challenge Sheyanne is doing, because I believe it can help a lot of girls.




Recap, you need to donate $5 to the Dress for a Change Project, rock a black dress for the week of April 1st-7th and this awesome young woman will make a dress with your $5 and send it to a little girl in Africa who really needs it! Awesome right?

This is what my outfit will look like  plus 40 lbs

So I want you to now go to her blog, sign up for the challenge and help save little girls one dress at a time!

Baby PJ refashion

Baby Sleep N Play Refashion

Spring is coming soon so I think its time to refashion sleep n plays and refashioning is a great way to save some money on you little ones. This tutorial is a very easy no -sew, how to refashion a sleep and play in to shorts. This works with the button down type. If you use a jersey cotton then this is also a no-sew project but if you want to finish it off to look a little more polished then you can sew a few hems. I did not bother sewing mine since the baby grows so fast and I have not had any problems with unraveling.

Just look how much he love his outfit.

This is the Before and after

Step 1 You Will Need

What you will need for this project 

Sleep N Play

Shirt with sleeves that are a length you like on your little one

Cutting surface

Scissors 

Lay out your Sleep N Play on a cutting board

Steep 2

Lay the shirt you like on top of the Sleep N Play, line it up so it will work as a pattern for your new sleeves.

Step 3

Then cut right along the place you want the new sleeve to end at and in between the snaps on the leg. You should cut right under a set of snaps if you can.

Step 4

This is how it will look after you cut the sleeves off and the feet.

Step 6

Put your new outfit on the baby!

and see how cute he is! I mean seriously! Just look at that wittle man! 

I hope you have enjoyed this little baby refashion! If you make this I would love to see some pictures of your baby in their new spring PJ's. 

I will be partying this week at a few fine blogs listed below. Go check them out if you have some free time. They are all great places to hang out in your free time when you are not looking at my blog.

:) Kasey

Make a Rainbow Makeup Brush Set with Matching Container

Recycle Baby Snack Containers into a Make Up Kit  

Step 1
Get your supplies, below are the ones I used.  I had some issues, so keep reading and I will discuss what you should use in order to get the best results with the least amount of effort.  Let me repeat "Best results with least amount of effort!" How all crafts should be.

You will need a primer or paints made for plastic.  This is discussed more in step 3, make sure to read that step

Step 2
Remove the label from you snack container

*Tip                                                                                               Important  that you pick a snack container that will hold your make up brushes well.

Step 3(the way I did it)
Tape and paint. 
You have to do some math to figure how many stripes will work with your container and the tape size your working with. *Tip- if you can't make the rows work out even with the size of your tape then work form middle out, leaving the top and bottom white.

The tape paint process.
(the way I did it)

After each stripe is taped off 
1) Remove every other row of tape then paint.  Let dry, repeat, let dry.(two coats)
2)Next if you have a good hand you can then remove the tape that is left on the container.  Then free hand paint the next set of "every other" unpainted stripe.(this is how I did it)

or

2)If you don't have a good hand at painting steady lines. Re-apply the tape(covering the now painted stripes) then remove the tape off the unpainted rows. Paint them... let dry and repeat.

That is how I did it but as promised I had some issues with this project, bad issues.  

What went wrong? My paint was not sticking well, actually it was a very huge disaster.  I am surprised I was able to make it work out. Every time I moved tape or even painted the paint pealed off.

Why?

I needed to use paint that was for plastic or prime this item!(with primer that works on plastic)

      STOP! READ THIS SO YOURS WILL WORK!

I don't want you to have to deal with the issues I had to make yours look good

You have options to avoid having my pealing paint issue.

(Your options are)

1.Use paint made for plastic(test a hidden area first)

2.Prime the area to be painted first,with a primer for plastic.(test hidden area first)

3.Eff the paint and use paper and Mod Podge for the stripes (this is what I wish I did)

So if you want to paint yours you need to do it different. You must prime it it okay? Or use paint made for plastic.   OK?Got it? Good. Then... moving on

Step 4
Seal it!

Paint it all over with a god coat of Mod Podge.  I like the Gloss look so that is what I used

When you apply the Mod Podge it will look foggy and white, have no fear it will dry nice and clear.

Step 5 Now take care of the brushes
Now you need to pay attention to your makeup brushes.  I wised up and primed my brushes.  Even thought they were wood, I figured better be safe and use the primer this time.

Okay then the same step apply to the makeup brushes.  One more time those steps are
1)Prime
2)Then Paint
3)Then Seal with the magic ingredient to crafting, Mod Podge!

Step 7 Dry time
I think this is the hardest step of all, also the most important.  They need to dry a long time until the mod podge is good and clear and hard. I can't tell you the exact time that it will be.  It depends on the temperature, humidity and some other things.  The minimum dry time for this project is going to be overnight.  For mine it  took about two days until everything was dry, hard and clear!



And then you are finished! You have some freshly painted makeup brushes and a nice little case you can toss in your bag.

How to Make a Sippy Cup

How to make a sippy cup for baby

See this monkey...  He loves water... A LOT!  He has a hard time drinking it

This is a shot and simple little DIY sippy cup tutorial  Fallow along and you can have a home made water bottle. for you monkey

He is kinda obsessed whit water.  I don't know why but since about 4 months he has had an obsession with water bottles and sippy cups.  We give him sippy cups but they end up getting tossed out the car window, over the side of the stroller, over the side of the toilet and any other place you can think of.  Don't ask me how the sippy cup gets in these situations but if you have a baby I am sure you know about this. 

When we are in public and the sippy cup is in a precarious situation and the monkey wants water we use to try to give him some out of our cups, water bottles and even our straws.  These methods work ok.  Then one day when we were trying to give him a sip out of one of our disposable water bottles his father had a brilliant idea.  I love his idea so much! It works so well and the Monkey absolutely loves it too!  So I am going to show you our little water bottle into a sippy cup invention.

Step 1 Get your supplies

1) disposable water bottle

2) Thumb Tack

3) Baby

Step 2 Poke Hole

Use your thumb tack to poke a single hole in the top center of the lid on your water bottle

That is! That is how easy it is to convert a water bottle into a quick sippy cup. This is great for at home or on trips.  You know how your normal sippy cup can often mysteriously vanish when out and about.

Look at my happy monkey drinking out of his new water bottle.  He can also hold it and suck the water out. He really like this because he feel more like us drinking out of a real water bottle.

And that is all it take to make a happy Monkey baby 

See

Happy Baby!

If you have a baby you know that you will pay anything to make them stop crying, all you need is a water bottle and thumb tack!

* SAFETY NOTE You should never leave a baby unattended with a water bottle with a cap as it posses a choking hazard. You should never leave a baby unattended at all. This item should always be used with adult supervision. This item should only be used if your Dr has approved that you baby can drink fluids other than breast milk. Breast is always best!  I am not responsible for anything that may happen to any one as a result of drinking water from a water bottle.

How to Refashion a Night Gown into PJ's

How to Make This  Tank and Shorts Set From a Night Gown

Want to make this cute little PJ set?  Sure you do, because it it super easy and I am going to show you how.  Step by step with huge photos.  SO you hardly have to do anything, just scroll down this little blog page, look at the pretty pictures(well the color is actually really bad) and absorb all the info into your huge crafter brain.  Then grab an old OR thrifted night gown and CHOP IT UP!

So I made it out of a cute little night gown I got at the Goodwill.  I was excited at first when I found it because it was new and very soft.  The brand is "simply vera vera wang".   So I thought it was some expensive brand. I swooped it up for a few bucks not sure what I was going to do with it.  Now since I felt like a Kardashian, owning some Vera and all, I looked it up on line to see where this little number came from.  Well friends let me tell you, Khols was not what I was expecting.

Moving on from that embarrassing moment...  I am not really a night gown gal.  However I am TOTALLY a tank and short set gal.  So I figured why not fix it up so it is more my style? I know that is what Vera would have wanted.

Ok lets get started.

Step 1 Get your Supplies 
The first thing you need to do is get your supplies toghter and it is likely that you have them all at home right now... so what are you waiting for?  Oh yeah, the directions.
You will need a
1) Nightey
2) Waist band from old yoga pants
3) Basic sewing supplies
*TIP The fabric that I used on this project did not need to be "finished" to keep from unraveling and/or fraying.  I used a cotton with a little spandex(T-shirt type fabric).   My tutorial is for this type of fabric.  If you want to work with something else then you will need to finish the edges in a different way than I did as well as leaving a seam allowance to hem the bottom of the tank
Step 2 Measure

The way that I like to measure this type of project is very easy and it works on all types of sewing and refashioning projects.  This is another example of how I used this same way to measure a refashion. Since I want to make this gown into a tank top and short set, I used a tank top and pair of shorts I own that fit in a way that I like.

To take the measurements place the top and bottom(that fit) on top of the gown. Another example

Step 3 Pin and Chalk
With your sewing pins and chalk mark in between your top and shorts where you want to make your cut

Step 4 Make your cut
Cut along the chalk line(its hard to see in this photo)

After you make the cut you will have a "top" piece and a "bottom" piece that looks like a skirt.  I am leaving my top as is(with out hemming it); so the top is done!  Now I only need to make the bottom portion into shorts rather than a scarp of fabric.

Step 6 Get a new waist band
I used a waist band of some old yoga pants.  So I just chopped the waist band of the old yoga pants. Make sure to save the pants for a future refashion.

Step 7 Pin and Stitch
Pin the new waist band, to the bottom portion of the gown.  (The part that dose not look like a tank top)  The bottom piece was(and should be) much wider then the new waist band so I pinned folds into it that will give a slight gathered or pleated look.

I wanted to leave raw edges on the waist band because I love that look and how that fabric will curl up when left this way.  To do this I pinned the gown fabric on top of the waist band fabric, right sides down.

You could fold it under to give a clean finished look, if you like that look more.

After its all pined then stitch with a zig-zag stitch with your machine or by hand if you must,(YUCK)

This is how it will look after the waistband is stitched to the bottom section of the gown. To give the raw edges that "curled" look, just pull on the fabric to stretch it for a few seconds and it will curl under on its own. I did not stitch too close to the edge so that some of the fabric will curl under.  If I would have stitched right along the bottom then stitching would be viable and not curl up like it did.

Step 8 Make Shorts
Ok this is how you make the skirt into shorts.  Fold the skirt in half and make a cut down the center.  I had a section of silk fabric and decided to make my short legs as long as the silk.  You will have to do what is best for your size. Then unfold and you will have a skirt with a slit down the center.

Then pin and stitch the legs shut to create the shorts.

TA-DA! this is how mine looked.  I just LOVE how they turned out!  I folded the yoga waist band down, but it can be worn up as well.

*NOTE You can see where I pressed the fabric before I stitched it and how that created slight pleats in my new shorts.  It also made the fabric color look funny, but that will go away after I wash the shorts.

The whole set is so cute.  I am very happy with how this refashion worked out,  I have already worn it a few times.

So are you going to try and make this? let me know if you do I would love to see pictures of how your night night set worked out.  Thank you so much for looking at my Refashion today.  I would love to know what you think.

Why I love Labor Day!

Well friends and readers who are yet to become my new friends I probably don't need to tell you that it is Labor day  ...Again.  I am sure that a lot of you have a yearly ritual you do each year for this 3 day weekend.  I bet it's something fun and summery.  I imagine that you do something along the lines of taking your boat out on the water or going camping at a fabulous place with your family or best girl friends.

I also have an amazing annual ritual I look forward to each Labor Day.  I love my annual ritual so much that I actually feel happy inside just typing this out.  Why is it so wonderful?  Well I am about to tell you... just in case you don't know.  Around theses parts also know as the Divide.  Labor Day is also 50% off day at the thrift stores!

I LOVE THRIFTING! This is my thrifing Haul, I spent about $55.00! Not much for what I got, would you concur? 

I got some short dresses

I LOVE the the little metal things happening on the blue dress. What do you think?  I agree that its too much for a dress... I am going to need to refashion. That is why I used this image for my art at the top of my blog post. 

I got some long dresses too.  The black one is some fancy brand... I will be chopping it up

I got some tank tops too!  The yellow one is made by Guess, it is too small so I need to work on that.  I think the orange one is my very favorite and I am sure I will be leaving it and wearing it(out) just how it is. I actually HATE the purple one because it is made by Old Navy and I don't like them.  I didn't look till I got home, but I am sure it will make a lovely refashion. :)

Guess tops are always such nice fabric 

I would say these are my faves.  The dress fits me really well and the top is just a perfect casual top.  It has sleeves that button so I can wear it up or down.

I got some jeans! They are kinda mom jeans or more totally mom jeans but I need them now to hold my post baby belly nasty stretchmarks weirdness in, that no on warned me about by the way.

That is not it but I got tired of taking pictures and your probably tired of looking so I just stacked it all up and took this photo! This pile has some really great stuff in it too! It has a weird Liz Claiborne sweater, a Banana Republic shirt that I totally love and some fun weird wood things. Also some plain T-shirts that I will be dismantling very soon.

So that's about it friends now you know what I do every Labor Day here on the Divide.  I load up on a bunch of stuff that I will be refashioning through out the rest of the year.  I am sure you will see many of these items again in DIY posts to come.

Thanks for reading, I would love to know how your Labor Day was!

Kasey