Most of the baby clothes my son wears are hand-me-downs or flea market finds, but my very favorites are usually the vintage ones. They don't look like all the other baby outfits you see running (crawling?) around and they're usually better made, too.

The drawback is that they don't always have snaps in the legs. I loved this pair of 80s overalls, but there's no way I am putting on or taking off overalls more than once a day. It was an easy fix, though! I ripped out the old seam, made a new one along the edges of the legs, and sewed on six snaps. Now diaper changing will be a (dare I say it?) snap.



I turned the seam under for the length of the legs, but left the cuffs folded over so they weren't too bulky. If the pants you're modding are thinner, go ahead and turn the seam under all the way.



When sewing the snaps on, make sure to use strong thread and stitch a little more than you think you need to. You don't want those things popping off and ending up in your little one's mouth!



Here are all six snaps sewn on. Learn from my mistake and make sure you have the two sides of the snap in the right order (I accidentally sewed on two backs)!

Calli writes:

A cozy bed warmer is one of my favorite things. Put them in the microwave for a few minutes and they work wonders for cold feet, aches and pains, or plain old stress relief. Bed warmers make a such a wonderful gift. They are easy to make, inexpensive, and both pampering and useful.

If you have a question for Ask CRAFT, shoot me an email at becky@craftzine.com, or drop us a note on Twitter! We'd love to answer your crafty questions on any topic: technique, projects, crafty culture, or anything else! Each week the answers are here; include your name, where you're from, and your website or blog if you have one!

Eyela A. from Oregon writes in:

I love to sew, but am not quite at the level where I can design or modify patterns. However, I'm getting there out of necessity. My biggest problem is that the chest darts in dress and blouse patterns aren't sufficiently long to accommodate a larger cup size. It's also not useful to buy larger patterns since the rest of the proportions stop working. I've searched high and low for a good tutorial or guide for how to appropriately re-size a dart, but there's not much out there. I wonder if you know a good resource?

I can point you to two books and one website that will help you get the shape you want out of your pattern. You should read up on bodice pattern construction and learn all about the the bust point and where you'll need to move it on your pattern.

Here are my two favorite books about pattern construction/manipulation:

How to Make Sewing Patterns by Donald H. McCunn features a whole section on changing dart locations.

Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph-Armstrong is a substantial book containing almost everything you'd want to know about making sewing patterns, and has a large section on darts. If you want the book but don't like the high price tag, look for previous editions that contain basically the same information. This is a textbook that is continually revised, and is priced as such.

Lastly, have you heard of BurdaStyle? They have a bunch of free tutorials for sewing techniques (including pattern manipulation) created by staff and users of the site. Check out this fullbust adjustment for princess seams turorial, a trick for natural-looking bust darts, and the staff tutorials on turning darts into princess seams and constructing the basic bodice block.

Looking to add a personal and crafty touch to your holiday table? Be sure to check out this tutorial from the folks at ReproDepot. I love the effect of the trim around the edges. See how they create it here.

I'm exposing myself a bit here as I admit that I've never sewn a French seam in my life. They always seemed a little ... complicated and fancy. This tutorial on easy French seams from Sew to Speak, though, makes me want to finally give them a try!

Cathe of Just Something I Made shares how she transformed two cloth napkins (each under $1) into this handy arm rest organizer for her sofa. She's even provided the vintage clip art in case you want to decorate it like hers.

This ultra super cute sock monkey kit is on sale now at the Maker Shed. Blue, or peach? How could anyone decide?

If you're on the shorter side of average, like me, you'll notice that pants are always too long. Learn one method to hem them in this week's CRAFT Video! This tutorial is for the beginner; don't be afraid to make this simple alteration at home. Once you have the confidence to hem your own pants, a new world of style options becomes available to you when shopping for pants. Many brands don't make a dedicated "short" length, so you're left with rolled up cuffs, a trip to the tailor's, or 20 minutes of time in your sewing room! I know which one I'd prefer. This method works for casual pants and dark wash or solid-color jeans, not dress pants. If you have a different hemming method, share with us in the comments!

Subscribe to the CRAFT Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

Materials and tools:

• straight pins
• tailor's chalk (I actually cheated and used a white conte crayon)
• scissors
• ironing board and iron
• thread to match your pants
• sewing machine (I used my Singer Confidence 7470)

If you have a question for Ask CRAFT, shoot me an email at becky@craftzine.com, or drop us a note on Twitter! We'd love to answer your crafty questions on any topic: technique, projects, crafty culture, or anything else! Each week the answers are here; include your name, where you're from, and your website or blog if you have one!

Lauren Venell writes in:

I have a wool peacoat that has held up perfectly on the outside, but the lining is literally in shreds. How can I replace the lining in time for winter without having to sew the whole thing in by hand? I cannot for the life of me figure out how the lining was sewn in by machine without stitches showing on the outside of the coat.

Coat linings are sewn in with the coat entirely inside-out. Just like a plush toy, a small opening is left somewhere so that it can be turned right side out, then the hole is hand sewn shut. This hole is usually somewhere along the bottom edge of the lining. Open it up with a seam ripper and reverse the entire thing. You'll then see that the lining is sewn by machine to the outer layers of the coat. Use your seam ripper again to free the old lining, and even use it to construct a pattern for the new lining. Best of luck to you! As you can see from these pictures, I'm facing the exact same problem with my vintage peacoat.

Amber of Berlin's Whimsy shares how she created this reusable, reversible Swiffer mop cover from old towels.

This is my favorite scarf. That I bought last year.

I have several other favorite scarves. Probably about 10 or so that are favorites, and another dozen or so that I really, really like.

Favorites include the one I got at a thrift store in Germany this summer; the one I bought in San Francisco with my best friend Jenny on a Mom's Night Away; and the one Marie Kare (love ya!) knit for me a few years ago. So many fabulous scarves!

But back to my favorite scarf (that I bought last year).

I got it at Bazaar Bizarre in San Francisco from Lauren Brady, the woman next to the Craftzine booth where I was working. It's designed with quilted pieces on one side and a rust-colored, very soft corduroy on the other.

Besides the pattern and fabric choices, both of which I love, it includes two clever features. The first is the little embroidered bird on one end. So cute! The other is a button sewn onto the corduroy side about a third of the way down the length, and a corresponding hole sewn into the scarf near the other end. You can button your scarf in place! This keeps you super toasty and super fashionable, all at the same time. Such an awesome feature for a favorite scarf!

And I can't wait to find my next favorite scarf among the entries in the Me, My Scarf, and I contest. You're all clever, crafty, and motivated, so maybe I'll end up with 2 or 3 favorites this year!

Heather Bailey has created a free pattern for this cute bat doll that's made from a sock, wool felt and scraps of fabric.

Last month, Melissa of tiny happy shared an adorable needlecase she made after being inspired by a project she saw in a 1970s craft book. She's just posted instructions on how to make your own needlecase using wide vintage embroidered ribbon.

I've been loving the Scrap Busters month over at Sew, Mama, Sew! They have been featuring loads of great projects that can be made from handfuls of scraps, and this zippy wallet tutorial really caught my eye. Contributed by Anna from Noodlehead, it's got a great shape and the cutest little snap flap. I love it!

How-To: Rainskirt
Take an old raincoat and make it into the perfect garment to slip on over pants or skirts.
By Diane Baker

When I moved to Seattle I spent a considerable amount of time looking for rain wear for my lifestyle. The only gear that covered my legs were rain pants, which were not only hard to get on and off, but ugly, and incompatible with skirts. The solution turned out to be cutting up an old raincoat and making what I call, the Rainskirt.

How-To: Dinosaur Play Mat
By Holly Ramer

My 4-year-old son likes to play a game he calls "Dinosaur Party Truck." It's as adorable as it is involved (apparently Ankylosaurus, and only Anklyosaurus, has the necessary license to drive a backhoe loader).

He also likes to leave the dinosaurs scattered across the floor when he's done, which is not so adorable. And as someone who has stumbled over Stegosaurus and tripped over Triceratops more than once, I can assure you that even tiny herbivores are capable of attack. So in hopes of saving my insteps from further injury, I created this portable Dinosaur Play Mat.

Folded up, it's a lava-spewing volcano. Spread flat, it's a miniature landscape, perfect for a Tyrannosaurus rex tooling around in his tractor or a dump truck-driving Diplodocus.

One day I decided to put away all my deadlines and all my unfinished projects, and to instead design something just for fun, to please only the fiber-artist-fashionista within me. I dug around in a bin of wool sweaters and found a truly hideous gray knit poncho. I plugged in my sewing machine and started playing around with a method that I used in Feltique, where the edge of a knit sweater gets a ruffled edge. It's an easy technique that my friend Alix of Treehouse 28 taught me way back in the day. But I tend to be chronically unsatisfied and wanted even more ruffles. So I gathered the whole thing up on a long black ribbon. It was the perfect touch. I had made myself a scarf that really embodies who I am as a crafter right now. It's got pure drama, ruffles and ribbon, and a versatile look that can be altered on a whim. Plus, the whole thing is made from my current favorite material: recycled wool.

Crafting has major roots in self-expression. And contests are all about challenging yourself. I encourage you to listen to your own inner creative voice, and to really trust your personal design process. Submit your scarf, with a description of how it aligns with your personality, to the Singer Contest: Me, My Scarf, and I. The grand prize is an amazing Singer ProFinish Serger, and I know that's just what you've always wanted!

CRAFT and SINGER® present the Me, My Scarf, and I Contest. Fall is upon us, and what better accessory than a scarf! We invite all of our crafty readers to participate and create a sewn scarf that best describes your personality! All entries must have some portion created using a sewing machine.

The Me, My Scarf, and I Contest will run for 6 weeks, and the Prize winners will be announced by Monday, November 30th. Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. PDT November 23, 2009. Each entry will be judged based on the following criteria: creativity of design, description of how the scarf represents the creator, and the use of a sewing machine in the creation process. Please see Official Rules for more information on the Winner selection.

To submit an entry, simply take a picture of yourself wearing your scarf, include a description of how the scarf describes your personality, and submit it to the Me, My Scarf, and I Contest Flickr Group.

If you're joining in on the contest, here's the code for the badge to display on your site or blog.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1229922@N20/"><img src="http://cdn.makezine.com/make/craft/badge_singer_scarfcontest.gif" width="150" height="144" border="0" alt="CRAFT: Singer Contest - Me, My Scarf, and I" /></a>

Pictured above is our own Brookelynn Morris wearing a Ruffle Scarf she sewed up using recycled wool from an old poncho. Watch for her inspirational project in tomorrow's How-To Tuesday.

Fall is in the air, and I'm feeling a need to embroider. If you're like me, you have an enormous pile of yarn left over from other projects. In my case, it sits in my needlework bag and taunts me, daring me to dig into it and make something pretty. So, one early fall afternoon with Vivaldi's Autumn Allegro playing on iTunes, I took the challenge. Using one of the butcher linen placemats from my Felix Populi product line, I set about laying down some fall foliage in yarn.

These cozy felt mittens with knit cuffs from Molly at The Purl Bee are perfect for whipping up to get ready for colder weather!

Instructables user Doggie Stylish writes:

Martingale collars are a very popular choice for dog trainers. They are not a severe as a regular choke collar since they cannot infinitely tighten and choke the dog. This instructable will show you how to make a martingale collar from scratch.

I keep meaning to whip up a set of lunch box napkins for my kids to use at school, but can never seem to get around to it. This tutorial from Lisa at Polka Dot Creations reminds me how easy they are and has inspired me to tackle a set this weekend. I also love the little trick she's included to include the child's name on the napkin.

Pip from Meet Me At Mikes shares a brilliant tutorial for turning vintage napkins into gadget cozies in around ten minutes. Fantastic!

By now most of us have figured out our reusable bag system for going to the grocery store. I know in the back of our van we've got myriad choices for small, medium, or large shopping outings.

What we hadn't figured out, however, was what to do for our produce selections. We ended up using the plastic bags offered because we hadn't yet thought of a better choice. It would have to be something that breathed, could be easily washed, and didn't weigh too much. It seems these same requirements are in order for any kind of sporting apparel. So we turned once again to the modern day tech fabrics — this time in the form of a basketball jersey. We created these very cool, very utilitarian produce bags to be used over and over again, thereby kissing the plastic bags goodbye.

You can celebrate Oktoberfest in style, minus the fancy costume rentals by checking out this tutorial from Beth of stitch.rip.repeat for making a lederhosen-style t-shirt.

I had a number of formal weddings to go to this summer (and a few more to go!), and at first I wasn't quite sure what to put my then-four-month-old in. A quick search on Etsy brought up some adorable tuxedo onesies. I couldn't resist this one, although it would be fairly simple to whip one up yourself: just applique the bow tie and stitch some quick ruffles down the front with T-shirt material. (On the other hand, if you're a new mom whose crafting time is much more limited these days, check out Corduroy's Closet!)

How-To: Make a Fake Beard
By Erin Dollar

Not sure what to be for Halloween? Take the crafty mustache trend to the next level with this project on how to make a fake beard. An easy quick-sew project that will turn you into a lumberjack or any character you wish!