Green Toddler Outerwear

Sometimes it pains me to pack away Fiona's outgrown clothes.

There are always a couple of outfits or pieces that are so sweet on her I can barely stand to see them go.

This sweater was one of those things for me.

It's really not that special but there was just something about the colour and detail that appealed to me.

So, I decided to give this sweater another life.

It has been reincarnated as Fiona's newest hat and mitts.

Here's how we did it.

This process involved a lot of toddler involvement so the pics took a backseat.

When the toddler doesn't feel like being involved it takes some estimating.

{If you know me well you already know I'm the master of estimating, at least I think I am.}

1. Measure.

Put the end of the sleeve over the toddler hand and see how far up their fingers go.

Cut about an inch above this point {please remove before cutting}.

Turn these pieces inside out, lay their hands on top and mark where their thumb would be.

{I used pins but a fabric pencil or chalk would be safer if you have a fidgeter.}

Yes, those are Halloween tattoos, no we didn't make these at Halloween.

Fiona found them in her sticker box and insisted they would be great.

Cut those pieces into mitten shapes.

Turn the body of the shirt inside out.

Put the hem over their head and see how tall it needs to be to cover their ears.

Once I had 2 hands I actually marked the shape of her head {more or less}.

I also marked how much it would need to be taken in to stay on her head.

{This picture shows the shirt on right side out. I actually did turn it inside out after but this little miss was done posing.}

Always a ham.

2. Sew.

Around the edge of the mittens {keep them inside out}, I tried to only leave a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

For the hat, sew on the markings then cut the seam allowance after.

This way you have some room to play if you need to adjust the shape or size.

I tried Fiona's on a couple of times before I cut the rest off.

I wanted to keep the whole bow from the shirt so that's why it ended up not perfectly shaped.

I was still so happy with the result and she loves them.

"Mommy makes a spesho hats for Fiona."