Tutorial - How to Rework a Quilt

How to take a quilt completely apart and requilt, using the skinning method.

Tutorial at From My Carolina Home Blog

"I promised to show this some time ago, and I haven’t had a moment to do so until now.  For what it is worth, I don’t recommend this, but if you are just this side of totally insane like me, here is how to skin a quilt.  I will admit that using the longarm for this project made it a bit easier than usual.  This was the not the first time I have had to take out major sections of quilting, and this is by far the better way.  If you do not have a longarm, the concepts are the same, but you need a big floor space to tape down the backing edge.  First let me show you the ‘before’ of the quilt, and why I just had to fix it".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Shorten Knit Sleeves

Shorten sweater sleeves with a pretty hem

Tutorial at Solene Knits Blog

"I have a huge bag at home full of clothes that need fixing, and I always put it away because it's way more fun to concentrate on new projects rather than to fix the old ones. But it is also very sad not to wear the items you took a long time to make, so I decided to have a fixing day ! I knitted this raglan sweater a few years back for my girlfriend. She wore it a few times, but the sleeves were always too long. As the sweater is in reverse stockinette, I figured I could just fold them and sew them to make a stockinette hem. Here is how I did it".... Read more

Tutorial - Basic Book Folds for Beginners

3 simple folds to make altered books

Tutorial at Tin Tiara Blog

"I created an infographic for beginners interested in learning the basics of folded book art.  First, fold the edge of the page into the spine.  Repeat for every page.  Remove your cover.  Glue the edges together if needed to make the cylinder.  Suited for books longer than 200 pages".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Add Sleeves to a T-Shirt

Step by step tutorial to alter summer tees

Tutorial at Coffee +Thread Blog

"Kids Clothes Week is here! It's a friendly challenge to sew for children one hour a day for a week. My first project is for my oldest who is usually neglected when it comes to sewing. Putting his summer clothes away, I realized that he had a few short sleeve t-shirts that he never had a chance to wear. Between clearance sales at Target and Mini Boden he had more t-shirts that it was possible for him to wear. It was time to turn them into long sleeve shirts".... Read more

Tutorial - Sew a Blind Hem with a Sewing Machine

Video tutorial as well as step by step photo instructions

Tutorial at Easy Sewing for Beginners Blog

"Hemming pants can be one thing that we find easy to put off. You know, the brand new pair of pants that have been sitting around since last season because they’re too long and you haven’t quite gotten around to working out how to hem without completely buggering them up? A symptom of those born at below average height. Oh the inconvenience of it all!  Not to worry! In this tutorial I’ll show you how to hem pants with a sewing machine using the blind hem stitch".... Read more

Tutorial - Alter a Skirt for Maternity Wear

No zipper or interfacing needed for this alteration

Tutorial at Bobbins on My Mind Blog

"I think for about 8 months of the year my uniform is generally a moss skirt, tights and boots. I love it. It’s comfy, it goes with basically all my tops, it’s stylish but not too formal, and it uses barely any fabric. What’s NOT to love?! So naturally I had to find a way to continue this habit throughout being pregnant. And here is the solution I’ve come up with! Two different solutions in fact, depending on your preferences!  Making the Moss bump-friendly is a pretty simple adjustment, and if anything it makes the moss easier to sew than usual. But I’d mentioned it in this post, so I thought I’d explain what I done. So here we go".... Read more

Tutorial - Make a Shredded Heart T-Shirt

Shiny fabric underneath shows through

Tutorial at Roonie Ranching Blog

"I know Valentine's Day is still a month away, but I couldn't resist making Charlotte (my six-year-old) a new shredded heart t-shirt to replace the one she has just about worn to death over the past two years".... Read more

Tutorial - Resize Varsity Letter Sweater for a Toddler

Easy to sew this cute refashion idea

Tutorial at XOXO Grandma Blog

"Fold that sweater in half.  Lay on top of that sweater, a sweater or jacket that fits the child you're making this for. Using sharp scissors, cut around that article of clothing to size making sure you add at least 1/4" for seam allowances. When I cut the sweater for my granddaughter, I left as much of the ribbing of the original sweater, plus all of the bottom ribbing intact".... Read more

Tutorial - Refashion a Cardigan into a Tunic

Look for oversized cardigans on your next trip to the thrift shop

Tutorial at Makery Blog

"I've seen a few tutorials out there for converting sweaters into cardigans. Which I shall no doubt do at some stage. But what if you want to do it the other way round? Turns out it's easy peasy.  I started with this thrifted cardigan. (£2). It's a really nice fine knit but a little too boxy and shapeless as a cardi".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Fix a Broken Zipper Pull

Fix a broken zipper pull with ribbon

Tutorial at Apple Green Cottage Blog

"What do you do when a zipper pull breaks? Especially with kids clothing, attaching a paper clip or a safety pin does not work as it is not safe (Nor pretty, for that matter).  The solution is simple and involves a single piece of a ribbon.  You'll only need 10 cm of a ..say 5 milimeter wide satin ribbon. You know, the it's-soo-beautiful kind of gift wrapping satin-like ribbon".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Alter T-Shirts into a Maternity Top

Upcycle two t-shirts into a maternity top

Tutorial at Just Another Project Blog

"In Monday's post I showed you how to make a little more room in a t-shirt for a growing baby bump.  This is another T-shirt upcycle that is a little more fitted.  It combines the top part of a smaller T-shirt with the bottom part of a larger T-shirt with gathers in the front and ties in the back.  For this upcycling project you will need two T-shirts, one in your size and one a couple sizes larger.  I used a size small and a size extra-large, both which I got clearanced for $3 each".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Alter a T-Shirt for Maternity Wear

Take a regular t-shirt and add fabric to make room for a growing baby

Tutorial at Just Another Project Blog

"I am a stay-at-home mom.  I live in T-shirts.  Most of these shirts end up getting paint, cookie batter, dirt, and ketchup on them through out the day.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on maternity shirts that were just going to get stained, but the normal shirts I lived in just weren't covering my belly anymore (and this really bothered my two-year-old).  To buy a regular bigger T-shirt to fit over my bump, the shoulders, chest, and arms would be too baggy.  So I found some T-shirts in my size on the clearance racks at Walmart ($3 a piece) and added some fabric to them".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Alter a Favorite Dress

Simple alterations redeem a dress in a few hours

Tutorial at Whoever Has the Most Fabric Blog

"This dress, which I bought years ago, is one of my favourite summer dresses.  It is made of linen and the neutral colour goes well with a pop of colour, (such as red, yellow or hot pink) or with black or navy.  When I put it on this year, it was noticeably tight around the waist.  It had always been a bit long in the waist for me, but when I was slimmer, it could be pulled up a bit with a belt.  Inspired by 'This Old Thing', a programme about recycling vintage clothes, I decided to see if I could do something to make this dress wearable again".... Read more

Tutorial - Variation of a Peter Pan Collar

Will fit any regular bodice pattern for girls or women sizes

Tutorial at Straight Grain Blog

"If there is one thing I cannot deny, it is that I have soft spot for peter pan collars. Last week I've been experimenting a bit, and stitched up a little variation on the peter pan collar.  The collar is made from 3 different pieces, and it disappears into the shoulder seams. If you scroll down, you can find detailed instructions for drawing such a collar".... Read more

Tutorial - Add a Back Opening to a Shirt

Convert a regular shirt into an 'easy dress' shirt for the elderly or infirm  

Tutorial at Nanny Notes 2 U Blog

"My Dad is in a high care Aged Care Facility and recently, the staff asked me if I could get him some 'easy to remove' clothing.  Dad had some new flannel shirts so I set about 'converting' them and I thought I'd show you what I did. I just happened to see the shirts reduced to a few dollars in a sale, so decided to buy the same shirts that Dad already had to use in the conversion. My plan was to slit Dad's shirt at the back, so that it could be easily removed over the head, without opening the buttons. The size of the armholes did not allow the shirt to be lifted , so I  needed to add a piece, to enlarge the armhole".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Alter a Dress to Fit

Small alteration for a "too-tight" dress

Tutorial at Apple Green Cottage Blog

"Is there a dress in your closet, too, that doesn't fit anymore, but you like it too much to part with it? It could happen that it stays there forever, just taking up the precious storage space... Which means you might have nothing to lose if you try to alter it. Creatively. Just your way. Interested? I'll show you how it may go".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Refashion a Man's T-Shirt

Quick alteration of an oversized shirt

Tutorial at Miss P Blog

"Lately it's been a straight choice between either making OR blogging. My schedule isn't currently allowing me to do both....and at some points hasn't allowed me to do either. Well...that's about to change as I can't continue with that particular status quo any longer. But in the meantime...back to that backlog of makes... First up is this quick and dirty tee refashion. Nothing spesh. A simple tee reshaping that takes about 20mins. ALMOST not blogworthy at all, except that I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my little technique for ensuring I adjust both sides of a garment evenly and identically".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Hem Jeans

Hem jeans so they don't look hemmed

Tutorial at Simple Living Blog

"I had 5 pairs of jeans to hem. Kev is such a shortie.. nearly all his jeans need hemming.  I'm such a lucky girl, lol, I did a google on hemming jeans.  I new the look I wanted but couldn't find anything. The only ones I found were if they were only a little bit to long but as you can see in the above photo, they are way way to long so a little tuck wasn't going to be an option with these jeans.  I'm still chuffed with myself every time he wears them".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Alter a Thrifted Shirt

Quality fabric in a thrifted shirt can be re-fitted for your size and style

Shirt Tutorial at Sisters, Sisters Blog

"I love finding clothes at thrift stores because it's fun to find unique patterns and it feels good reusing something that is still in excellent condition. However, most of the time, the clothes that catch my eye are usually not my size. But, honestly I prefer it this way. Looking for clothes in any size gives me more options to choose from. Most of the time I just have to do some easy alterations to fit it to my size. Below is a shirt that I found recently. Yes, totally 90's but I kind of love it".... Read more

Tutorial - How to Lengthen Children's Jeans

Add extra length to extend the life of pants and jeans

Jeans Tutorial at Threading My Way Blog

"As kids grow, their clothes often become too short, whilst they fit everywhere else... simple solution; add extra length to extend the life of pants and jeans. Today's tutorial will show you how to easily add a band to the bottom of kids' jeans".... Read more