Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Upcycling: Pillowcase Dresses

I have been on upcycling kick lately. It's almost an addiction actually. I have been making girl's pillowcase dresses from my old unwanted shirts and skirts. I love being able to take something that is destined to become "waste" and turn it into a new loved treasure.
Pillowcase dresses are fantastic, as they grow with the child. The dresses tie at the shoulder, so they are adjustable, and then as your child grows the dress goes from a longer dress to a shorter dress, and then to a shirt. So one item of clothing can potentially be worn for years!
Anyways, I have found that my small size shirts typically only have enough fabric to make a dress for a baby (3 month to about a year), so if I want to branch out on my size abilities, I may have to make a trip to the local thrift store. In the meantime, I have been going through my old-clothes stash and selecting fabrics that would make good dresses. I have made a couple for Phoebe, as well as some for my etsy shop.
What do you upcycle?

P.S.- Can you guess who is modeling the dress in the last picture? He was a very reluctant model....
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6 comments:

  1. JennyJuly 19, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    Ha Ha! Poor Fin. I don't think my Logan would have EVER let me do that. He freaks out at the suggestion of a pony tail for meal time to get his hair out of his face! Oh boys! I LOVE the dresses. I eyed them in your shop the other day. I need to make some for Felicity but never having made one, I'm nervous, which I know is silly b/c I hear they are easy and forgiving. Once I have my current projects out of the way, Summer will be over anyways. Maybe they'd still look cute with a long sleeve shirt on underneith. ???

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  2. Samantha Savage BreitJuly 19, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    HAHA. This is awesome! And how inspiring you are! I love upcycling and what a fantastic idea to make pillow cases dresses! Love the polka dot material. What was that originally? And what would we make for our boys? Mmm. You have sparked my creativity today! xo Samantha

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  3. sylviaJuly 21, 2011 at 5:36 AM

    Hi Tarin! I LOVE your upcycled pillowcase dress!
    Can I use one of the photos (maybe the top one?) in a post in our upcycling week with a link to your post here so readers can click on it and get to the tutorial here on your blog?? that would be great!
    if you have any further questions please just email me at merseybluff(at)gmail(dot)com

    thanks and have a great day!

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  4. UnknownJuly 24, 2011 at 5:44 PM

    I too upcycle!! I made my daughter a fitted cloth diaper to wear on Memorial day weekend. And I have some pillow cases to make a pillow case dress for her. Coming over here from yarn along.

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  5. This Brokedown LifeJuly 11, 2012 at 8:58 AM

    Very pretty. But I'll tell you what -- for safety reasons I don't like ties around or close to the neck on a little child. Too easy to get hung up on something with potentially dreadful results. I'd be more likely to design something slip-over, maybe something with a jumper type top, which is certainly do-able with a pillowcase. Delighted to have found your blog, it's great.
    Leslie

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    Replies
    1. Mama Gone GreenJuly 11, 2012 at 9:03 AM

      Thanks! Yes, these pillowcase dresses all have ties on the side, so that each tie is separate and it really isn't any different than having shoulder straps. I have seen them made where it is just one tie that goes around the neck, and that would make me nervous for a wee one!

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