Handmade Dress with Thrifted Sheets

I just had to write about this darling little dress - with cape - made by Mike for his daughter, Emmeline. Isn't she sweet!?
Mike is a stay-at-home-dad living in San Francisco. He let Emmeline select the fabric for the cape from his thrifted sheets supply. Read all about it on his blog, Cry it Out, but be prepared to stay a while because Mike is also a professional writer and his essays will capture you.

Pillow Case Dress Orange

Aren't the colors of this pillow case dress great? Very orange and very vintage 70s. I made the dress from a thrifted cotton pillowcase. I added coordinating ribbon ties and band at the hem and added the yoyo with button center. The yoyo can be removed for washing. Another recycled item.

Pillow Case Dress Red & Aqua

I just love pillow case dresses.

This one was made from a thrifted pillow case that originally started out as a white pillow case with gray flowers, a tone-on-tone. Pretty, but I wanted color. I hand painted the flowers and leaves in one of my favorite color combinations, red and aqua, and added the cute red polka dot ribbon (I'm madly in love with polka dots!).
Madison's not big enough to wear this yet but this is the type of thing she could actually wear for years. Because of the ribbon ties it can be adjusted and could even be worn as a top when she's older. Another recycled project - I never waste anything if I can help it.

Thrifted Ninepins

So here's my latest thrift store find.

It's a game of Tabletop Ninepins, made to look like a vintage toy. I have seen these for sale in history museum gift shops for up to $20 for the set. (I didn't pay near that, of course!).

But do you think I'm going bowling with these? Mais, non! What do you think those pins look like? That's right...you'll see these again but they won't look like this. Check back later, I have a great idea for these.

Red White & Blue Dress

Sewing again.

I absolutely love how this this dress turned out!

I made it without a pattern. It's just rectangles sewn together with a yoke. I made the bias bits for the straps from the same fabric.

My mom gave me the fabric and the lace ruffle trim came from a bag of stuff I bought at a thrift shop some time ago.

The trim was in a bag full of the most wonderful finds. In addition to this lace were vintage buttons, rick rack, a bodkin and tons of other stuff. I think I paid about $4 for the whole bag. Some of the trim was from Wright's and had a price tag of 45 cents. Can you imagine?

By the way, my very talented sister made the art doll in this picture.

Thrifting

Ah, thrifting.
Have you ever experienced that strange phenomenon where something you need just pops up somwhere?

I have been thinking about how much I would like to own an ironing ham because I sew small things, but they are expensive, so I've done without.

Today I found this brand new Dritz ham at a thrift shop. Wool one side, cotton duck on the other. What more could I ask for. Oh, yeah - it was $1.50.
'Nuff said.