More Upcycled September Sewing

So I have been pretty busy sewing baby and toddler clothes again the past few days.  I am making matching skirt/blouse sets for the little girls of some friends from Church.  I have the skirts done so far, and am still planning the blouses.

Here's the skirts:

They started out life as the ruffle for a bed.  I still have enough left to trim both shirts and to make a skirt for Sofia and Elise. 

This skirt is a bit big for Sofia, Purple Tie-Dye and Black Lace...

I picked up the purple tie-dye sheet at a thrift store.  Not sure if it was that way originally, or if someone dyed it at home.  I still have the middle of the sheet, that I think I am going to make a circle skirt out of.

I also put together a skirt out of two cloth napkins.  I just sewed the sides up to make a tube, cut about 5 inches off the bottom, in two 2-1/2" strips, and made 1 super long tube, which I gathered on the sewing machine to make the ruffle on the bottom of the skirt.  Then I folded down 1/2" of the top and put some elastic in and we have a cute paisley skirt.  Who would ever guess it was made from 2 napkins from the thrift shop?

So....I have been learning a lot as I create this week.  It's hard to put into words what exactly I learned.  Mostly just "be careful" stuff.  Like having to take a waistband off 3 times on one skirt I made earlier this week made these skirts' waistbands go much more smoothly.  As always, never give up, and don't expect absolute perfection.  It's been awhile since I have been sewing regularly, so it's going to take me a while to remember all of the tricks.and tips. 

I am having an absolute BLAST upcycling, recycling and repurposing!  It's fun to take something which was discarded or at least seen as having no value, and turn it into something beautiful!

Happy recycling!!
Fran