This beanie used to be a skirt!

It's true... This beanie used to be a skirt!

My sweet friend Jess, in Seoul, is just weeks away from having her 1st baby, which I KNOW is a boy!  (She and Mayo have chosen not to find out the sex, but I just know it's a boy!)  So, when we were in Seoul a couple weeks ago, Jess asked if I could sew a baby beanie out of this knit skirt she doesn't wear anymore!  I though, sure, why not?!  I was thrilled to have a project to work on and even more excited that it would be for the lil' one!

So, here's the original skirt I worked with.  Cute, huh?!

First, I measured the bottom and cut at the 13 inch mark.

Then I measured 7 inches from the bottom to the top and cut across, making a 7 inch by 13 inch rectangle.

Then, I took one of my own beanies and laid it on a piece of paper and traced the shape. I made sure to lay it 6 inches from the bottom of the paper, because that's how tall our lil newborn beanie will be.

Then, I folded the striped fabric over and laid my paper template on top.

I took a blue marker and traced a line around the paper template and then stapled the fabric together, so it didn't move when I was sewing along the line.

Then, I took some white thread and went to town, sewing along the line.  SO EASY, right?!

After I was finished with the original stitching, I cut all of the excess fabric off.  Then, I folded the beanie so that the two sewn edges were touching at the bottom and sewed a + shape into the top of the beanie.  This is imperative!!  If you skip this step, it'll fit really funny on the baby's head!

Then, I turned it right side out and wala - I had myself a newborn beanie, made from a knit skirt!

But wait, you can make it even MORE adorable!  Jess asked me to adorn it with a pom pom, which I thought was genius!  So, I cut these three strips of blue fabric (about a 1/4 inch wide and about 1 1/2 feet long.  They don't have to be perfectly straight. YAY!

Then I wrapped those strips around 3 fingers.

.... And gently pulled them off my hand, laid them on the floor, took some matching thread and tied them tightly in the middle.  Then, I cut the ends of the loops, fluffed them up a bit into a ball shape, and wala!  I had myself an adorable pom pom.  I grabbed the same blue thread, turned the beanie inside out and sewed it right on.  That's it!  I was finished!  How easy is that?!

Remember that original beanie I used to create my paper template?  Well, I cut that one down and created another newborn beanie for the lil'one!  This was perfect because I can knit, but not this type of pattern, so I could give him a knitted beanie without ever knitting anything! haha!

Last buy not least, I was going through my clothes, since Aaron and I will be finally leaving Korea next month (after 4 years) and found some Thai wrap around pants that Jess, Mayo and I all bought when we were in Thailand together back in 2009!  I have a couple different pairs, so I grabbed the blue ones and went to town, using the fabric to re-create a smaller version for the lil' one!    I think they turned out pretty darn cute! There's a draw string trype of thing under the fold over, so they'll fit him for at least the 1st year!

So, the next time you're pitching your sweaters, knit skirts and beanies, think again!  Everything can be recycled - or "up-cycled" as they say!  You just need to use your imagination, a little needle and thread and  a bit of patience! :)  

A's Custom Sweater Beanie!

Last weekend, Aaron and I sifted through our closets and got rid of some stuff we knew we wouldn't wear anymore.  As we were stacking the give-away clothes in piles, it dawned on me that a lot of them could be recycled and used as scrap fabric for other crafts I've been wanting to make!  For one, Aaron has been on a mission to find a comfy - saggy light gray beanie, so when I saw that he was getting rid of his light gray sweater, I snatched it from the pile, because I knew I could make a beanie out of it that he would love!  Luckily, he did! 

I forgot to take a picture of the sweater before I cut it up... but here's what it looked like... just your average Target Merona wool sweater!

I laid Aaron's dark gray beanie, that he LOVES and wears 24-7, on top of the band at the bottom of  the light gray sweater. (It's important to use the bottom of the sweater for the bottom of the beanie, to give it a more finished look).  Then, I cut a square out of the sweater material, about an inch larger than the beanie.

Then, I grabbed a sharpie marker and drew an outline a little bit bigger (maybe 1/4 inch bigger) than the beanie I was using as my example.

Then, I threw it onto the sewing machine and sewed along the marked line.  Then, I cut the excess fabric off.

In order to not have the beanie poke out on the top, you need to make a cross stich at the top. (basically make a + at the top).  In order to do this, fold the beanie in half, pinch the top and draw a line with a marker, making a + shape, then sew on that line.

Once you're done with that + stitch, turn it right side out and it's ready to go!  Aaron is a huge critic when it comes to beanies and how they fit him.  I'm happy to say, he was VERY pleased!  

He actually wore it ALL day! 

I grabbed the leftover scraps from the bottom of the sweater and quickly stitched up some baby mittens!    They're not perfect, but that's the point with any handmade thing, right?!  It's all about the character! 

    Hope this inspires you to re-think your clothing giveaways next time 

and to create something new and handmade out of them!