A quick refashion - romper into shirt

Now that I'm addicted to sewing, I spend time (probably more than I should) looking at other sewing and crafty blogs and see what other people are making.  A big thing is upcycling or refashioning - taking something old and creating something new out of it.  It's a great idea, as you can get a lot more wear out of your existing clothes (a definite plus with kids clothes that they grow out so quickly!), or you can take something not-so-pretty and create something totally new out of it.  It takes a bit of a mind-shift though, to start looking at things and not just seeing what's there, but what could be there.  I'm slowly learning, though.

So here's my first refashion project.  It's fairly simple, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I loved this romper on Emmett (not sure why, maybe it's the little tie), but unfortunately, the weather turned cold before he even grew out of it.  With girls' summer clothes there are ways to extend their lives into fall (e.g. add some warm tights and a shirt underneath a summer dress), but not so much with this romper.  I don't think Emmett would look good in tights, and I think Carey would probably kill me if I attempted it!  So rather than pack away this little romper with a sigh, I found a way for him to get more wear out of it - I turned it into a shirt.  Here's how I did it (it's very simple!).

Take the romper...

Cut off the legs (use a shirt that fits to check for length)...

Hem the bottom and you're done!

I thought about trying to sew on sleeves (cut off from a long-sleeved onesie that doesn't fit anymore) for the faux-layered look, but I gave up on that idea, and decided to just layer it over a long-sleeved shirt instead.  Pretty cute and now we can get a few more wearings out of a fav!