Here's a peek at a few outfits I gave my big girls for Christmas. Finding modest looking and modestly priced clothing is no longer as simple as it was in their Lands End and Hannah Andersson dress days, but I've been having fun altering some finds from the thrift stores. It's amazing what nice things can be found for so little at these shops, and it's fun and easy to refashion things for a cute, trendy and unique look (okay, Josiah alters his stuff for a unique look that is cool, not cute). Thrifting, 'upcycling' and everything vintage are all very popular right now -it's a great way to save a ton of money, exercise creativity, and 'go green' as well by giving new life to old castoffs.
For example is this fun jumper-
This was one of those looong relatively straight jumpers, down to about ankle length and with a simple back vent. It's a pretty pattern and of quality fabric ('Woolrich' brand) so for a couple of dollars I thought I'd give it a try. I cut off the bottom twelve inches or so, cut the trimmed strip in half length wise, pieced the two parts together and gathered it along the long edge. I sewed it back on as a perky ruffle, and pinned on a flower made of felted sweater scraps for added flair. We both think it's super cute!
Next we have some wool skirts that I got for a song. Like my gray skirt seen here, these are 100% wool skirts in classic styles that cost just a few dollars each. I thought they would be perfect for a Betz White skirt trick.
We have quite the stash of felted sweater scraps, so I was able to pick out colors to match the skirts quite nicely. I followed Betz White's directions, bonding the flowers on and them embellishing them with buttons and a bit of embroidery. Again, we all think they are very cute!
You can tell how they love posing for these bloggy pictures! :-)
(Hoods and swords by Josiah, and that will have to be another post!)
