What Was Old Is New Again

I've been called lots of things in my life and seamstress is definitely not one of them! Cheap, yes. Thrifty, uh-huh. Skilled seamstress-- I think not. That said, being the cheap, thrifty, and sometimes, semi-crafty girl that I am, I can hardly stand to throw something out-- especially when I think I might just be able to use it again.

A few years ago, my friend Sharla showed me a pair of jeans she had "embellished" for her daughter. I'm sure she wasn't the brain-trust for this idea [although she very well could have been, because she's just that crafty and I hate her guts for it! :)]. Like most kids, her daughter had grown out of the length of a pair of pants, long before she had outgrown the waist. You know, if they make adjustable waist pants, they really should make them in adjustable lengths, too. Maybe they could sew in like 3 different length hems or something so as they grow, you just let them out a smidge. I mean, my boys kids legs are so long, we have to buy the pants 2-3 sizes too big, then cinch them up until they look like the have ruffles around the waist, just so they fit. What is that about?! But I digress... So Sharla took a cute piece of fabric and ribbon and sewed it onto the bottom of her daughter's jeans to make them longer, because heaven only knows they weren't worn out. Genius. I took her idea and ran with it.

A few years ago, we moved. It caught me off-guard, when a friend asked me what colors I was going to use in our new house. I'd like to say my answer didn't sound smart-mouthed, but I'm certain it did. I said something along the lines of "the same colors I'm using right now. It's not like I won the lottery and got all new furniture... I just changed my address." That was bad, wasn't it? Bad, but true. Everyone was keeping their exact same bedding and everything, so why change the colors? There was one problem... the windows weren't the same height. Woops! Enter Sharla's jeans idea and problem solved.

I found some fabric I liked at Jo-Ann's and got a spool of ribbon to match. I sewed both onto the bottom of the existing curtains and called it a day-- or a dressed window, if you're being technical. :) If you are a seamstress, you're certain to guffaw at my creation. Go ahead and laugh at my lack of sewing skills... I laugh too every time I see them, but only because I saved so much stinkin' money on buying new curtains! If Plato's saying, "necessity is the mother of invention" is true, then I hit the mother lode with Sharla's idea.

Get creative, see what you can do to use something a little longer, and save on, friends! :)