Come On Already! Cut it Out!!

For the first time since, since? Oh gee, I don't know, I can't remember.  Isn't that bad?  So how about this?  We'll say that for the first time in a long time the sun is finally shining here in Connecticut.  As it's light illuminates all the spring blossoms, it reminds me that summer is not far away.  And this means thoughts will soon turn to lighter-weight crochet projects.

As I surfed the Internet looking for summer crochet ideas, I came across an article by Ardeana Hamlin for the Bangornews.  In her article titled, "Currently in fashion, crochet is always in style," she discusses taking grannies crocheted goodies and creating new summer fashions with them.  I think it's a great idea as even the non-crocheter can get in on the crochet craze doing this.  Why I recall doing just that about two summers ago when I chopped up some doilies ... 

(No, I wouldn't chop up grannies' doilies, nor mine for that matter!  I bought some at a local craft store that was selling them for a buck each.  They were not well done -- thus the reason for it's price -- so I had no qualms about hacking them up.)

I took a child's T-shirt and chopped off the sleeves.  I then cut about a third of the T-shirt's length off and then set it aside.  I took the largest of the doilies and cut it in half. Then I pinned one half of the doily to the T-shirt to create an "angel sleeve" (that's what my daughter called them) and then repeated for the other side.  I chopped up more doilies, pinned them in place and then sewed them on to create the bottom of the T-shirt.   

I was pleased with my creation but wanted to take it a step further.  I rolled and twisted the shirt up and then tye-dyed it with a merriment of colors.  It came out looking like a fantastic fashion for a hip little girl! 

(Note to self:  next time you try this be sure to use cotton thread for sewing on the crochet.  That polyester thread DID NOT take to the dye!)

She's grown since then; the top is beginning to look like a belly-top.  I guess that's my cue to pick up some more inexpensive doilies and do right by them: chop them up to create my daughter a new summer top!  And maybe, just maybe, one for me too.