Matariki Crafting Blog-hop : Upcycled merino tops.

I wanted to make something for this blog-hop, that would be used a lot. I'm so busy filling orders, that I felt a little guilty sewing something non-Croutons - the only way I could justify it was by sewing something that we genuinely needed.

If there's one item of clothing that never goes astray over Winter, it is merino tops. Am I right? They are pretty much the perfect item for layering, for both adults and kids. Not too heavy, but nice and warm.

I decided to my project would be a semi-tutorial on upcycling secondhand merino, into tops for kids.




With merino tops becoming more and more popular, the op shop racks are starting to have a greater population of them, too. If I see an adult's merino top, especially in a larger size, in good nick, then I nearly always snap it up. I generally pay no more than $5. This way, I always have a good stash for upcycling into clothing and hats for kids and babies.

For this project I used the 'Flashback Skinny Tee' pattern by Made by Rae, but you can use any t-shirt pattern you like. You can also make your own, by tracing around a tee your kids currently wear. There are some great tutorials for doing this on the net.

I cut the pattern pieces from the garments. I tried to use some of the details from the existing garments - the puff sleeves on the grey, and some seaming on the back of the red. I though that was a bit of fun.

Once I had cut out the arm and body pieces, I cut out some bands to use cuffs and bands around the bottoms and around the necks. For the red top, I also cut out a little collar (and a pocket I didn't end up using!)

 I used my overlocker to put the garments together, but you could do it with a regular machine (using a appropriate stitch and a ballpoint needle, of course!)

With the grey top, I added two little hearts cut from Tiny Happy fabric. I was really pleased with how it turned out. Love those sleeves!

The red top, though, was a bit of a fail.
I was one of those people at high school, who did their projects on the very last possible night. I always send swaps at the last possible minute, and I leave birthday presents until the day I need them. I tell myself it's because I work well under the pressure of a deadline - but, really, I'm just not very organised.

This top was a victim of that disorganisation - I left this project until this past weekend to do. And, in the rush to get it done, I cut out the wrong size pattern for the tops! Silly lady. The grey mernio was much finer, with a lot more stretch, so it's small but wearable. This red one is just too tiny.
(When she says 'skinny tee', she means it!)

Oh well, I'm sure I'll find a little lady to gift it to. As I said at the start, merino tops never go astray!

Thanks for joining me today! If you'd like to see some of the other posts in the craft-hop, head over to Tartan Kiwi for the full list, and more info.