Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Upcycling: Daddy's Swimsuit to Little Boy's Swimsuit


What to do with your husband's old swimming suit?
Turn it into a swimsuit for your little boy!

This summer my husband got a new bathing suit and was going to get rid of his old one. Of course the sewer in me screamed, "I'll take it!" and I added it to the ever-growing fabric bins in my sewing room. I loved the plaid and the material is a bathing suit material so I decided to upcycle (or in this case downsize) it to be something for our son.
I used the tutorial found here: Dana Made It Tutorial - Kid Pants and it even came with a downloadable pattern. I downloaded her pant pattern but shortened it to match a pair of his shorts. When I cut out the pattern I lined up the hem of my husband's swimsuit to the hem I wanted for my little boy's swimsuit. This was already hemmed!! Easy peasy!
Right after my little boy's nap I told him I made something for him. When I showed it to him he said, "I'm so proud of you! I love you!" Seriously, only our 3 year old would say that because we say that to him every night before bed. But I do know it made him happy. He even wore it to go feed the ducks (oh yes, orange striped shirt and all and don't forget his Woody cowboy hat) and then wore it to swim this afternoon.
I even used the old drawstring and just sewed it on to look like it gathers it, but really it's just knotted in bow. I used an elastic piece for the waistband.
It had a really cool zipper pocket and it just happened to make the "cut" when I cut out the pattern. It adds some "boy-ness" to it, don't you think?

2 comments:

Emily Thompson said...

Wow, really great. My little guy needs a new swim suit... wish my hubs was getting rid of his so I could cut it down :o)

Sarah @ This Crazy Blessed Life said...

Those are awesome! I need to thrift & see if I can find a pair :)