The idea of buying clothes for Little Critter to wear for the next eight weeks is a bit daunting. Especially since back to school shopping looms just around the corner. (By the time Sept. 15th arrives, it’ll be too chilly in our part of Oregon for shorts!)
My options-
Go to Target and buy a few pieces from the $4 table and Costco to grab a couple pair of light weight jammies. (In doing so, accept that a minimum of $50 is gone on essentially disposable clothing.)
Or-
Chop up her old stuff. Now that’s an idea I like much better. I cut three pair of old leggings off (which were in the going to Goodwill pile) and zigzag stitched the hem. I also converted two pair of Carters Sleeper Jammies into sleeveless short jams. LC LOVES them. I adored the cute brown/white and pink/bright pink dots on the jams and didn’t want to part with them. This gives us more time to enjoy them. At the rate LC grows, they might also fit her next summer.
The only sewing I did on the jams was to zig zag stitch back and forth across the bottom of the zipper (since I had cut off the zipper stop). Then I took pinking shears to trim the legs.
I also divested several shirts of their long sleeves. Little Critter had a couple of shirts that were made to look like a long sleeve was layered under a tee… I simply turned those inside out and cut off the long sleeve portion.
Unable to skimp on shoes, I brought home an adorable pair of brown suede with pink trims Peanuts from the employee store yesterday. ($18 vs. $35 retail). These fabulous shoes, with Sensory Motion System built in is close to walking barefoot and yet provides a good amount of protection. Little Critter is still wearing her size 12-18 month Robeez (a good investment at $28 ) which I purchased well over a year ago, but she also needs a pair of regular shoes since she is an active 3 1/2 year old! Oy, I am excited to see on the Robeez website, the booties now come in sizes 2-3 yrs and 3-4 yrs! We have been lucky that they ran on the big size and LC is small… but this is great news as she is about to wear out the pair she has.
Today’s Green Tip- Repurpose your clothing whenever possible. (Think beyond what I have posted, quilts or blankets out of favorite baby clothing that was stained- just use the unstained pieces or using a little RIT dye like Tenille over at GFF. I’ve also seen appliqués placed over stains and there is always the option to tie-dye.) What you cannot repurpose or reuse donate to a shelter or second hand shop so they don’t end up in the landfill. My jeans are on their way to Denim Therapy for repair and will come back with a whole new life, without the price tag or addition to the landfill. Jeans also make great skirts and bags.
5 Comments
July 16, 2008 at 10:02 am
Cute jammies and ADORABLE kiddo!
July 16, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Ok you are SERIOUSLY crafty. I’m impressed. SERIOUSLY.
July 16, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Or just have another kid!
July 16, 2008 at 7:02 pm
That is such a cute idea! I really love it, we have so many of those old footed jammies left. We need to try this!
July 16, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Good idea about the jammies!! You can also contact your friend in MN and see if she’s got any clothes her kid has grown out of (wink wink)!
You are so crafty and creative- where’d you learn all this stuff anyway????