Breaking the Rules - Upcycling Challenge

I'm breaking one of my own personal rules here today and showing off my child, I felt these photos just turned out too cute not to and she was the perfect model.  This being said, what is going on here you ask?  Well I stumbled across a competition on the Michael Miller Instagram page that was being hosted by Candice Ayala.  The challenge was to recycle/upcycle an existing garment into a new wearable item and to use a new piece of fabric also.  The above photo of my three year old is her standing in a pair of size 14 ladies pants that were given to me by my Sister-In-Law as she no longer wanted them.  Draped around her neck was a 1/3 yard cut of new grey knit fabric that I had in my stash. 

I actually have a bucket of clothing items that are my future "recycle" projects each with a different idea in mind.  These pants weren't really on my radar, but when digging through the bucket an idea popped into my head that just couldn't be quieted down and I ran with it.

I made my little girl her first pair of bibs!  Starting with a Vintage Simplicity overall pattern that was two sizes too big, I created a pattern based on the vintage pattern and on the overall design of the Burnside Bibs by Sew House Seven Sewing Patterns, just a miniaturized version.

Look at that sass!  I was able to use the original front pockets of the pants as functional pockets on the bibs.  I used the original waist band as the waist band here and the bib and straps were cut from the legs of the pants.  I reused all of the belt loops from the original pants onto the back to create the look like the Burnside Bibs.

The new grey knit fabric became a top made from the Melanie Maxi Dress and More Pattern by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop.  I made the top with the flutter sleeves and lengthened the top by 2 inches, making it just a shirt and not a dress.   Using the leftover scraps from the knit I created this big bow headband to make my little girl look a little more girly. (It's hard to look girly when you have so little hair!)

Once I was finished I started picking up my scraps from the pants and realized I still had a pretty good chunk of the legs left and decided to make my little one her own tote bag, perfect for some books and small toys.  I used the back welt pockets on both the front and back of the bag, making two usable outside pockets.  I then lined the tote with Peacock Lane by Violet Craft for Michael Miller Fabrics (an older fabric line that I've been hoarding.)

What do you think?  Successful?  I'm thrilled.  They turned out exactly as I had envisioned and the fit is spot on.  The best part of bibs like this is since the waist is so adjustable she will be able to wear these for a few years and there is nothing better than that.  I can pair them with lots of different tops and this color scheme is something we have very little of as my little girl is very girly and very into all things princess.  It's nice to have something so sophisticated.

I could not get over how "into" modeling she really was.  Quite the personality this little girl has.

This last photo shows the interior of the bibs.  I reused as much as I could from the original pants.  The waist lining was the back waist lining from the original pants. label and all.  You can see the pocket linings as well.  The thing about this upcycling challenge that was really surprising to me is how fast it all came together because I was using elements that were already created.  Didn't have to make pockets, waistbands, waistband linings, belt loops, none of that, recycled it all.  i now have upcycling fever and want to upcycle all the things!!!!

Now I have the fun task of narrowing down these photos so I can enter just FIVE into the challenge.  Wish me luck!