Wonky Halloween Pillows Deux 🥴

 

Thanks to my Haulloween '24, Spring meant it 'twas time to clean out my Halloween pajamas drawer and turn my threadbare shirts into more Halloween Pillows! The sound upcycle idea, unfortunately, was better than the askew execution this time.

Previously, those retired shirts made for some cute, sturdy decorative pillows. However, like my dress turned Tie Dye Pillow, these shirts have seen their day – resulting in stretched seams and frustrating hand sewing. Working within their shapes took finagling, too. Preserving the fun Halloween designs while avoiding soil spots and the cat claw pinpricks that apparently proliferate most of my clothes was not easy, and I even resorted to matching material cut from the discard sleeves to disguise some of the tiny holes. Because of such threadbare inferiority, the plastic grocery bags and fabric scraps used in my Stuffed Pumpkins wouldn't do without a layer of smoothing PolyFil to hide these sheer when stuffed pillows. During this venture for me, I also recovered some of my husband's toss pillows on our me-made bean bag with some of his formerly beloved t-shirts. However those Pixar and Doctor Who pillow transformations turned out beautifully – perhaps a statement on the superior quality of men's t-shirts versus the fast fashion of women's Halloween cheapness. Typical!

An older bed pillow was also used to stuff the paw print material from one of my Joann Hauls for an easy cat bed – which true to the Attempted Cat Cushion, none of them like. Unfortunately, even I disliked my own Boo! Padded sign creation. I don't care for the causal Halloween adoption of “boo” and “spook” ignoring the previous inflammatory nature of these terms, and initially I was unsure how to re-purpose this design – if at all. The very old glow in the dark shirt lettering was the only salvageable portion, so I added a small black ribbon – mistakenly basted the wrong way inside first – before using some scraps from the Cheap Elsa Costume to pad the hanging rectangle. Although I may repeat this idea with better materials in the future, this was not the bemusing glow in the dark pop art I had hoped. It's a hideous, crooked little thing that can't even be excused as intentionally primitive or childlike or saved by it's glow in the dark fun. All I see are the stitching mistakes, and I actually wondered if it's even worth sharing such a shitty, embarrassing, waste of time project.

Fortunately, even failures teach a sewing lesson. These wonky Halloween pillows will float around my basement studio and my niece's kid station, so their potential to not survive and end up as inserts for the next round of Halloween pillows is okay. I'm the one who has to learn not to wear something low quality until it is falling apart and then try to upcycle it! I've carried numerous other pillows from house to house that have been recovered over time – including sports team t-shirts redone as lumbars with the $1 luxury fabric swatches from before the Pandemic when the nearest Joann by me had closed. Do I need more pillows? My husband would say I'm the lady in the insurance commercials that has left nowhere to sit for all the pillows. However, the easy upcycle preservation of a charming design or sentimental shirt remains paramount. This is great sewing practice anyone can do. I don't share my goofy sewing and craft adventures to be instructional perfection. Failed Halloween pillows such as these are more about inspiring a not what it is but what it could be ideology and making it happen. Even if that's not on this project.

For more sewing updates, join me on Blue Sky or for project photos follow Kbatz Krafts on Facebook or Instagram. Browse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for past projects including: 

The Orange Tablecloth Skirt

A Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron

Halloween Shoe Wreath

Mini Pumpkin Garland

Drafting a Nightgown Pattern

 

Before I completely gave a long thrifted, too big, paint stained, and threadbare nightgown over to being my official messy painting smock; I decided to cut it apart and take the pattern from it. Not only did I need to replace the downgrade, but this drafting exercise has become an invaluable lesson in flattering fittings and comfortable alterations.

Let us go back to Summer 2023, when I actually filmed several hours of footage documenting this process – from seam ripping the sleeveless source and tracing out the front, back, and two side pieces on scrap paper to the wearable mock up made from navy sheets and ultimately a nicer black satin nightgown. I was gravely ill and ended up having surgery, which expedited the need for these new post recovery nightgowns. Unfortunately, my poor health really shows in these videos from the time. It was a therapeutic process to focus on useful, necessary garments one stitch at a time, occupying my mind from all the bad things that happened that year. However the footage is too gaunt and depressing to share. It would also be a lot of editing, and now I much prefer single shot, chatty videos and Fun Hauls. My main takeaway from this footage is that the faded navy sheet attempt was for comfort when I felt bad, and the smexy black satin was for when I wanted to feel good. Fortunately, this worthwhile venture has lead to more lounge wear and hopefully nicer dresses in the future. I've posted on Blue Sky about the subsequent, long gestating brown dress and matching housecoat set also derived from this pattern. Alas, I will soon address how that shamefully sat on my dress form these past two years once I finally complete it presently. Hems!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️💪🏻

So far I have four different garments from this relatively simple pattern thanks to the princess seams in front and back. Along with the two side pieces, a variety of changes can be made for a loose or flattering fit as desired. I knew the original nightgown cut apart and sewn back together again to be the paint smock was already too big, so the mismatched navy sheets mock up could carry that largeness for post-surgery comfort and I didn't care if it got ripped or dirty. Here I pleated the side seam under the arms for a baggy, ye olde pinafore kind of ease. I'm not sure now why I used the leftover discolored sheets to make a ruffled hem at the bottom, as the ruffle is a gathered heavy that makes the nightgown hang somewhat rather than drape naturally. Indeed, hems have inexplicably been a constant problem with these projects – needing to redo the lining hem on the brown dress is what frustrated me into stopping back in 2023. The black satin poly nightgown went quickly despite changes to take in the side seams, shorten the shoulder, and make a V neckline with a small pinch pleat. This created a more fitted front with the larger ease in the back. I don't like the high-low dresses fad because they always seem mis-cut to me, and this nightgown suffers from a similar problem! It looks like the front hem is over inch or so higher than the back hem that touches the floor when there shouldn't be that much difference. My husband tries to tell me it doesn't matter, but I can't look at the nightgown or wear it without noticing, so actually, I don't end up wearing it as much.

As yet I'm in media res on perfecting this pattern with the brown housecoat set, and I intend to put some of the orange material from my recent Joann Hauls to good use here. Instead of costumes or crafty things, this is the practical sewing that my father always wondered why I didn't usually do. I needed garments. I made them. They are not de facto but useful nonetheless. This is a pattern copy that I know needs adjustments and customization every time, and it's okay to continually hone this basic princess seam design. Certainly, this may seem simplistic or too basic to advance sewers. However working from a throwaway garment with practice materials toward a preferred block pattern is a great place to start for beginners. Who needs the fear of a confusing commercial pattern and cutting an expensive fabric too small?! Although I turned my last threadbare dress into a Tie Dye Pillow, the cumulative practice here inspires me to take more patterns from my other nicer dresses also nearing the end of their usefulness.

Follow more sewing adventures on Blue Sky or visit Facebook and Instagram for more project photos. Browse our Kbatz Krafts Archive or read more:

The Cheap Elsa Costume

A Christmas Princess Costume

5 Skirts 1 Pattern Video

The Orange Tablecloth Skirt

The Orange Tablecloth Skirt 🍂

 

This $5 Salvation Army thrift tablecloth was an impulse buy several months ago due to it's rust color and tone on tone leaf design. I knew it was too big for my oval table and wouldn't match my red dining room. However, I also knew this fabric would be adorable as a charming fall skirt!

Rather than simply gathering the rectangle, I laid out my tried and true all in one pattern based on Butterick 6196 as seen in my 5 Skirts, 1 Pattern Video. This scrap paper copy of each piece allows for maximum swoosh without any Cut 2s or On the Folds. This fabric was delicate around the embroidered leaves and some directions frayed worse than others so I didn't want to make any more cuts or seams than necessary. This probably should be lined but I didn't have any matching fabric of the same weight, and obviously I'd rather save my blacks and oranges for more fun frocks. I spent a day finishing the seams all the way around the skirt – some with the usual turn unders and others with supporting bond tape. After doing the hem once and disliking the stitching, I folded it up again with more hem tape. I already have one floor length Shiny Orange Skirt so this hobbit tea length is perfect.

Saving my black binding, I instead used a giant roll of white bias tape from an old goodwill grab bag to reinforce the waistband. Some of the gathering encased in the waistband and the back seam feel a little bulky, but there's enough pleated flounce in this pattern that's actually now too big for me. Going from my earlier scrap paper measurements, I had to make the waistband a few inches shorter in length as well as move the button over a few inches. Top stitching on the waistband may have been problematic with a heavier material, but a tight running back stitch helped smooth everything. This project also felt like I went in a different order than I usually do with these skirts, but it all came together fairly quickly in four days despite requiring more hand stitching. With a pattern you know, each use becomes easier even with tender frayed spots on cheap material obviously not intended for apparel use. Then again, after having had trouble with my machine during the Cheapest Elsa Costume, I knew there was no way these fraying ends were going thru my machine.

I've entered my everything autumnity orange phase and a grab bag orange thread cone called “Brique” came thru beautifully here. Of course this skirt probably cannot go in the washer or dryer. Even if I line it in the future this also wouldn't survive regular wear. Hand button holes have never been my best work and getting my button through this buttonhole for the first time was the most painful part of this project! With a black petticoat underneath, this can be a fun fall festival frock, and I enjoyed the sewing practice – feeling the stitching routine even with secondhand, delicate supplies that could be challenging. Thanks to the fabric being so long and my being short, there's yet more of this tablecloth for a matching project! This skirt makes me happy, and again, my mantra of seeing not what something is but what it could be proved whimsical. My husband mistakenly said I was wearing a curtain and I had to correct him, “It was a tablecloth!” ☺️

Follow Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more upcycle adventures or browse our Facebook and Instagram for project photos. Visit the Kbatz Krafts Archive for previous sewing mayhem including:

Reversible Red Skirt

Another Halloween Dress

Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron

Sewing on a Budget for Search Magazine

Final Joann Haul! 🛒👋🏻

 

As Joann nears its end, the inspired Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz hits up not 1, but 2 Joann stores in this final sewing spree complete with measuring tools, fancy trims, buttons, ribbon, and of course, fabric. Thank you for Watching!

Visit our Sewing and Thrifting Playlist for all our Haul Videos or follow Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more pictures and updates. Previous project photos can still be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Peruse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more sewing and crafting adventures including:  

Bling Binge

Glam to Drab Lampshades

Christmas Princess Costume 

DIY at Search Magazine