New Shirts From Old Shirts

The kid is growing so that only means one thing - he is in need of new clothes! I bought him some new shoes over the weekend and got a couple of shorts on cheap clearance at Target for him. But I couldn't find any shirts in his size that I was willing to spend the $$ they wanted for them. So instead I got busy making him some shirts. 

I don't do real patterns, my mind just doesn't work that way, so I always draft my own and put together whatever I am sewing how it makes sense in my head (which is why I am only a so-so seamstress and don't do anything extremely hard).

To draft your own pattern all you need is a current shirt that fits (or even is just a little small) and some kind of paper to trace it on (I use brown paper bags from the grocery store that I get when I forget my reusable bags). In case you aren't sure how to go about this Made has a tutorial showing you how...it is for a lap tee but the basic idea applies to any t-shirt and she even shows you how to make a pattern from a smaller shirt.

After I cut out the pieces I simply sewed them together the way a shirt should go together. Make sense? If not, maybe I'll get around to making a tutorial one day. If you're lucky ;)

There is nothing fancy about these shirts but they fit and are cute. But do you know what the best part is? They cost me absolutely nothing (other than the gas to drive to my mom's to use her sewing maching since mine is acting up again)! I used a couple of old t-shirts of mine to make the blue and grey one and a polo that the husband didn't like the collar on to make the other one. This is what we call repurposing and upcycling.

I really like using old shirts to make shirts for the kid because 1) it saves me money,  2) it gives new life to something that would have otherwise been thrown out, and 3) I cut it out so I can use the shirt's existing hems. I hate hemming! 

If you have any kind of sewing skills,  you could whip one of these up in no time!

Free Dinner!

Have I mentioned before how much I love Earth Fare? They send out the best coupons for FREE items all the time. Usually it is something small like a bag of blueberries or a box of truffles, but this time it is for a whole dinner! They just redid their website and now when you sign up for their weekly emails, which includes an interactive section on their site called "Welcome Home", you will get a coupon for a free meal with $10 purchase. The meal includes mashed potatoes from the deli, organic baby carrots, and either a box of veggie burgers or a prepacked fresh whole chicken. I don't know about you, but I think that is a great deal considering one of their chickens can be close to $10 on its own!


Even if you have signed up for emails before you must do it again for their new Welcome Home program. Taking 1 1/2 minutes to sign up to get free food? Count me in! Please note that the coupon is only available immediately after you sign up and is valid for a week. This program will also continue to offer free items every week.


So if you have an Earth Fare in your area, don't forget to sign up!