Cut-up Couture

Have you seen the price of toweling lately?
And there is a big fat zero choice of colours. I wanted to make an after-swimming dress for the She-Who-Worships-Pink but you cannot buy them.
Except in England. Because of course the weather there is so much better year-round swimming...

So I've had this basic pattern for yonks (that's Australian for 'completely ages') and since my little cherub

was in need of something warm to pull on after swimming lessons, I headed off to the fabric store. And headed right back out when I was asked to pay $16 per meter for plain toweling of dubious quality. And only white or a not-quite-pretty-enough-to-be Baby Blue.

Disgusted, I headed to old faithful - IKEA to buy a nice fluffy towel to cut up.

For an average five-year-old the HÄREN bath towel is plenty big enough: 1.4 meters long and 70 cms wide (1.53 yards by 271/2 inches). It's made from lighter weight, soft towel- exactly what you need for sewing something that wont have your kid walking around stiff armed like a zombie. Also you don't want to break your scissors, develop carpel tunnel or destroy your sewing machine making the thing.

You might be wondering by the picture above why my pink worshiper is clad in turquoise. Well HÄREN didn't come in a 'nice' pink, and since I was shopping alone, I thought hey, what 'she' doesn't know... I've bought a lovely sunny yellow towel too-don't know what I'll turn that into maybe drawstring track-pants??

Anyway, IKEA also had these little gems (LUSY Crochet Flower decoration set ) in the fabric department for around $5. They come complete with embroidery thread which I used to decorate my pocket with a blanket stitch, after sewing on the flower.

Unfortunately the pattern I used (New Look 6822) is no longer available, but any basic hooded sweatshirt pattern would do the trick - just lengthen it and nip it in at the waist a bit. There is one available for download here from PeekabooPattern Shop. Check out Etsy as well.

IKEA has loads more towels to give the cut up for couture treatment. The velour towels are really nice for this, like the SVALEN bath towel with it's cute fish print. 

For more close encounters of the IKEA kind...

Wild wild West

Take It Outside