Refashion/Upcycle Archives

Arm Warmers from Brassy Apple

September 5, 2014 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Fall Fashion is my favorite time of year! Over on Brassy Apple I love upcycling and RE-fashioning items for me and my kiddos to wear! Take the chill off of the winter season without over roasting your kids in a bulky sweater or too many layers. Or if you kids are like mine they are cold one minute and “So HOT” the next they are running to change into a tank top! Here’s the solution – pair a t-shirt up with some inexpensive arm warmers made from tube socks! So easy to slip them on and off quickly.

The basic shape and construction are SUPER easy to do and anybody can do it!

DIY arm warmers REfashion - BrassyApple.com

SUPPLIES:

A pair of long socks (or tube socks) Pick out your favorite pattern/color, etc
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Thread
measuring tape (optional)

EMBELLISHMENTS:

Buttons

Rhinestones

grommets

scrapbooking brads

ribbons – all different widths

lace

rep gathered ruffles

tulle

ric rac

zippers

pre-made appliques

faux fur

jingle bells

rosettes

snaps (if you want to change out your embellishments)

etc., etc., etc.

Step 1: Pick out your favorite pair of socks. They can be Holiday, solid colored, patterned etc. Make sure to buy the Knee Length or Tube Sock style.

Step 2: Measure the length you want your arm warmers to be. You can measure out how long you want them to extend up your child’s arm by placing the sock on their arm and eyeing it out. You want the sock to reach to or just past their first knuckles. Or you can measure with a tape.

diy arm warmers - BrassyApple.com #refashion #fashion #kids

Step 3: Measure and cut off your socks to the desired length. Be sure to cut from the toe end. We want to keep the other finished end intact.

Step 4: Turn your socks inside out and find the “heel” spot. *(note: some socks are made without a built in heel. If yours do NOT have a rounded heel in them please proceed to step 7)* Pull the heel up as shown in the picture making sure the other sock fabric is separated. We will be sewing and cutting the heel out to create one long tube.

Step 5: Pin the heel area as close as you can to the “bottom” of it to create a straight “tube” when it is sewn together and cut off.

Step 6: Sew a straight line across the bottom of the heel to close this section and cut off the excess.

Step 7: Turn your socks right side out and lay them flat placing the “heel” seam on the underside. This will ensure that the seam isn’t on top of their arm when they wear the warmers. Cut a small slit for the thumb. **One slit on the right inside and one slit on the left inside.

Cut your slits on opposite side of each other so the heel seams remain on the underside.

The basic shape and function of the arm warmers is done. Now it’s time to EMBELLISH!!! (if you want to) You can add embellishments to any part of the arm warmers you’d like to – the top, the bottom, along the top or all over!!! Just have fun with it! This is a great project to do with your girls or a group of girls too! Here are photos of some I created to give you a jump start with your own ideas! If you create some – tag me on Instagram (@BrassyApple) so I see your creations!

Make them Different lengths too! Full length, 3/4 sleeve and even wrist cuffs!

And these make great baby LEG warmers!

Your girls will be the trend setters and look adorable in their chic yet inexpensive new accessory!

Check out my other RE-fashion tutorials plus lots of NO SEW options too on BrassyApple.com!

Iron-on Version Shirts for Father’s Day or New Dads

May 27, 2014 By Michelle Barneck 6 Comments

Product was provided by Expressions Vinyl.

It seems simple to shop for the Dad who loves fishing or golf. But, what about those of us married to computer geeks? They already have their laptop, tablet, and accessories. And even if they didn’t, sometimes it is hard to know what would be best with all the tech lingo specs that can confuse even the most savvy. We love to make Dad something special for Father’s Day and involving the kids is a total bonus. With a new little one on the way I wanted some coordinating shirts for them to sport so what do you do with a Computer geek dad and soon to be three boys? I introduce the version shirt.

Hubby is a software developer and is always talking about how they are getting the next version ready for launch so I thought how perfect to incorporate that into shirts with our brand new version on his way in August!

I wanted our version shirts to look like the old school command prompt screen so I chose green apple on black for the heat transfer vinyl. The process is so simple!

1. In the Cricut Design Software find a rounded rectangle and using Bookman Old Style font place the letters v 1.0 for Dad, v 2.0 for the first child, and so on in each rectangle. I sized the rectangles and letters according to the size of shirt. Now you are ready to cut.

2. Be sure to flip the letters horizontally before cutting so they won’t be backwards! Cricut Design software has a check box to remind you of this on the cut screen. Select the iron-on setting (I use a Cricut Explore so mine is on a dial on the machine) and you are good to go. Load the heat transfer vinyl shiny side down and cut.

3. Weed your vinyl removing all excess from between the designs.

4. Cut apart the rectangles and version groups to prepare for ironing. Preheat the iron on it’s hottest setting with the steam turned off. Place a black rectangle down 1-3 inches from the neck of the shirt (depending on size of shirt) with the shiny side up. Place a clean cloth over it (I use a tea towel) and press firmly for 30 -40 seconds. Let it cool a bit and check for adherance. If it lifts up try 20 more seconds. If it is stuck remove the clear sheet and place the letters in the center of the rectangle. Cover with cloth and iron as before.

That’s it! You have a personalized gift for Dad that appeals to his fabulously geeky nature!

These version shirts are a huge hit with the hubby and I can’t wait for version 4.0 to arrive so he can don his!

Our little family just keeps getting better with each new version!

Fun Patches for Boys Pants

April 16, 2014 By Michelle Barneck 7 Comments

Anyone else have little boys who go through pants like wildfire? They look perfectly fine one day and the next you are pulling them out of the wash with holes in the knees? Well, I am expecting boy number three and poor kid is going to have a wardrobe full of hand me down hole in the knee jeans, so I went on a quest to find fun ways to patch those knees and stretch the clothing dollar. Check out these creative patching solutions!

See the whole post.

Criss-Cross Patch from My Poppet

Sew-on patches for jeans

Flash and Captain America from The World Spins Madly On
She has lots of ideas including the Punisher, Chicago Bears, and more superheroes!

Band-Aid Patch from Muddy Mouse Iron Ons

Band-aid cross iron-on patch for kids clothes

X-ray Patch another favorite from Muddy Mouse Iron Ons

Hip iron-ons for kids clothes. To patch them up, or just for fun!

Pinstripe Patch from Craft Whatever

Painted Patches from Ricochet and Away

Pocket Patch from Having Sufficient

Outer Space Patch from Knee Caps by AliJoy
An etsy shop with lots of options from dinos to skulls.

Outer Space Jean Repair Patch for Boys

UK Flag Patch from Make It and Love It

Flag Patch could not find source, but please let me know if you know I’d love to give credit!

Distressed Patch from Katie’s Secret Blog
How to patch Holey Jeans
Batman Patch from A Little Tipsy

I needed a quick patch for my little guys pants and decided to see what my Cricut could do with it. I found a Batman image from an old cartridge, altered it just a bit and tried cutting it out with some store bought iron-on denim patches on the canvas setting.

Next time, I would use the heavy stick mat and possibly cut twice to get it perfect, but with a little trim it did the trick. Use a bit of fray check on the edges to keep them crisp for future washing and iron on according to the patch instructions.

The no-sew is definitely a short term fix. If you want the patch to last, sew around the edges of the symbol.

Anyone else’s little guy like to wear one glove? Sometimes we call him Michael.

So there you have it. Twelve creative patch ideas for active little boys. Which one was your favorite?

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DIY Faux Wood Picture Frame

September 10, 2013 By Michelle Barneck 2 Comments

Hello again Friends! It’s Aly from Entirely Eventful Day. I hope you love Fall like I love Fall! Today I am sharing a project perfect for Fall, or anytime of the year. It’s a faux reclaimed wood picture frame. We all know how “in” reclaimed wood is right now. But I don’t have time to go out and reclaim wood, do you? Didn’t think so. That’s why I created this little beauty for you.

If you would like to fill your DIY wood picture frame with this cute I “leaf” Fall printable, come on over to my blog and download it!

Start with any ol’ picture frame. Mine was painted red from this Valentine project.

You will also need wood printed wrapping paper, Mod Podge (I used gloss), scissors, and a brush.

The first thing I did was apply some scrap pieces to the corner. I wanted a miter cut look and it was apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to get the perfect in the corner. So I cheated. It worked perfectly, couldn’t tell at all.