Clothing swap and pants for the little man...

I participated in a clothing swap this past Saturday. My closet was getting harder and harder to fit things in when I was trying to put clothes away. I knew there were some great pieces that someone would really enjoy. I pulled out quite a few items and managed to overflow a XL laundry basket. I had a large shopping bag full of shoes and purses as well. I headed to my friends house where I added my goodies to a large walk-in closet full of clothes arranged by size. Another friend who couldn't make it dropped off some maternity pants and shorts and the hostess had 2 huge tubs of maternity that I was welcome to borrow. With the clothes from my previous pregnancies and these new to me items, I certainly won't need to buy any maternity clothes! I've only bought 1 top this go round and I still manage to look stylish (enough!). Fortunately, I can mix and match some maternity and non-maternity in my wardrobe.
When everyone had finished their shopping, I headed into the closet to see what was left. I pulled out some of my items remaining and started "selling". Sometimes it's hard to picture something on when you see it on the hanger. I pulled items out and targeted them based on fit/size/style to the other ladies. I only came home with 5 pieces!

At the end, we still had a bunch in the closet. Everyone was going to stuff a few bags each to cart off to Goodwill. That's when I put on another lens. I spotted some long corduroy skirts and asked if anyone would be upset if they were refashioned. I could get a pair of pants or 2 out of the fabric for my little man on the way. I ended up with 3 long skirts to refashion. I'm going to go through my Burda magazines and Ottobre magazine and find some patterns. Then, I spotted some well worn t-shirts. I saw comfy knit pants. Someone else pulled out a halter top. I told my friend Tiffany that she should shirr the back and make it into a top for her 4 year old daughter. She laughed and said she'd take it back home (it was hers) and try it out. I found a couple more t-shirts to make into pants. I double-checked that it was okay to refashion. Everyone seemed fine with the idea, so I added them to my basket of goodies.

Sunday afternoon after church, lunch, and a nap, I slipped down to my sewing room and made these:

I took advantage of the hem that already existed which made these super speedy to put together.

The black and white stripe are supposed to be 6m and the red and navy are supposed to be 3m. Since I serged them, I probably didn't remove all of the seam allowance. I also left extra length since I didn't use the facing for the cuff. I wanted to be a little generous in the seat to accommodate a cloth diaper. I have a feeling these are more like 12m and 6m. I went ahead and put the elastic in keeping it and just sewed it to my estimated length. I will adjust when they are ready to be worn if need be. I have 2 more t-shirts to refashion. One shirt has great slits on the side that I want to preserve for the outside of the leg. The other has sleeves. I think I'll get a pair of pants and a pair of pj bottoms out of that one! Can't wait.