A First of Many - Peasant Blouse

When I found this tutorial for a child's peasant blouse at Prudent Baby I just knew that I had to make one for the girls.  If it really was as easy as it looks, then I'd make several.  I mean seriously... what a perfect addition to any little girl's wardrobe.

Well, I am happy to announce that it really was as easy as it looked.  I followed the measurements that were listed for the 18mo - 2T size because, conveniently, that was the exact size that I needed (it's always nice when you can follow the instructions exactly as written instead of having to do the math to make it a different size).  The instructions were perfect and super simple to follow.

I've been really needing some sort of project that could give me some instant gratification and this was definitely a great one for that.  It took me most of the day (between wrangling two toddlers, one of whom was sick) but could have easily been done in about an hour for those people who can sit for an hour and just work on a single project.

Of course, I made a few customizations myself though.  I did not add the waistband elastic piece from the original tutorial.  I might try it out on future versions just for some variety, but didn't feel like it for this one.  But, I did add some cute little pockets on the front.

I really like this fabric because it's almost got a vintage feel to it.  Nora actually picked it out herself when we were at the fabric store this past weekend.  It was cute and on clearance, so of course I couldn't say no.  :)

Another thing that is so awesome about this top... I really think that I could make it using 2-3 fat quarters (depending on the size).  I'll probably try that at some point and let you know how that turns out. :)

As you can see, my model wasn't really up for the job tonight - too busy watching Toy Story. :)

I like how versatile this type of top is.  You can wear it as a shirt, or as a dress.  With short sleeves, long sleeves, or even no sleeves if you wanted.  It's nice and cool when the weather is hot but can also be worn with a long sleeve shirt underneath during the colder months.  I definitely see myself making lots of these types of tops in the future - maybe even eventually one for myself!

my latest obsession: patterns

Once again, I've gotten hooked on finding new ideas of projects that I want to do.... I really have no need to ever look for another project or find new ideas, because my current "I'd like to do" list could seriously last me a lifetime.  That's part of the problem with having so may awesome resources, and ideas out there to find.

My latest obsession has been patterns.  I decided that I wanted to finally make something for myself so I started looking for ideas, which led me to the pattern books in the fabric store, and then of course I had to pick out just a few.  And of course, I can never stop at just one or two.  In the past 2 weeks I've bought probably close to 15 new patterns.  Most of them are for adult clothing (i.e. for me), but I did also get a new purse pattern, and a coat pattern for the girls (I'd like to make them coats for next winter I think).

This recent pattern obsession has been fueled a bit by some pattern sales, so at least I'm not paying full price.  Hobby Lobby has Simplicity patterns for $0.99 through Saturday, and JoAnn's has them for $1.99.

I've found lots of tops, a few dresses, skirts, even jackets and cardigans.  I'll share along the way as I actually make things.

One awesome tip I have found when it comes to buying patterns... or maybe more just picking out patterns... plan ahead.  If you know that a store has patterns on sale then that is definitely the time to buy them!  I mean, who really wants to pay $17.95 for a pattern when you can scout out the sales and get them for $0.99-$1.99 each? 

Another thing... get online and check out all the patterns and spend your time browsing through the designs at home.  I could honestly spend hours just looking through all the pattern catalogs at the stores, and of course I never actually have that much time to spend doing so.  If you browse the pattern manufacturer website and make a list of the patterns you are interested in then you can head straight to the pattern drawers at the store and save a ton of time. 

I've taken this a step further and will actually take a photo of the patterns that I like on my cell phone, that way if I am in search of a pattern then I can just flip through my phone till I find what I am looking for, and I've got all my info right away.  Or, on the chance that I do sit down and browse through the pattern catalogs, I take a photo of the page and then I have my info handy when I get to the drawers.

Oh yeah, and try not to get too stuck on a specific pattern - especially when they are on sale, the popular ones can easily sell out before you get there.  So be prepared with some alternatives.  There are so many similar patterns available that it's usually pretty easy to find another one that will work for you.

One little rant though - I am a bit disappointed by how a lot of the pattern sizes are limited.  I can find some great patterns but then end up disappointed that it isn't offered in my (larger) size.  Part of my whole reason for wanting to make clothing for myself is so that I can wear things that fit.  It's fairly easy to make things fit if you are able to make it from a larger (than accurate) size pattern and then adjust to take it in where needed, but I'm finding it quite a bit harder to make a pattern larger in the areas that I need it to be bigger to fit.

I'm thinking that maybe I need to learn how to customize pre-made patterns...

Valentines PJ Pants

I've been wanting to make some pajama pants for the girls for awhile now.  I had big plans to make some for Christmas but ran out of time... so Valentine's Day PJ's it is!

I stopped at the fabric store on my way home from work one evening and unfortunately there were some major slim pickings when it came to the Valentines holiday fabric.  Fortunately... I found ONE that I liked.  I was really hoping for two that coordinated but that wasn't happening... so this time I just had to make both pairs the exact same.

I'm not too big into making the girls stuff that matches exactly.  It's pretty rare that I dress them the same... although I do like when they coordinate :)

Anyway, here's the fabric that I came home with... the madras plaid is for a future project (I'm not 100% sure what it will be just yet... but I'm making something with it :))

I spent one evening washing and pressing the fabric to have it prepped to start working with. I also traced my pattern on to a large sheet of paper. Why? Well... the pattern I used had sizes 1/2 to 4... my kids wear the size 1 and I figure I'll make plenty of these pants over the years. No need to waste my pattern and cut the thin little pattern paper. If you trace the pattern to a more sturdy sheet of paper then you can re-use it over and over.

Oh yeah, the pattern... if you are curious, I used this Simplicity 2734. It says "It's So Easy" and it really is... These were super simple to make... just as I had hoped!

I began by cutting my pieces out then sewing the inner leg seams together.

Then I slid one leg inside the other and stitched the crotch pieces together.

That's it... there are only 2 real seams on these pants! How simple is that?

All that is left now is to put in the waistband and then hem the pants. Sorry... no pics of that - it's pretty boring and basic, you understand :)

And here they are!

I added a little tab of felt ribbon on the back side as a little detail and to also let me know which side was the back.

That's it! Cute huh? My little model was a bit too busy to be bothered by Mom wanting to take her picture... her eyes glued to Toy Story, of course :)

I actually made it through a project without any major issues... only one visible flaw too... have you seen it yet?

How about now?

Oh well... this was the result of my fabric being folded weird when I cut the pattern pieces out. I say it just adds a bit of character :) hehe

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Linked up today's post to:

the "Kate" dress

I have seen tons of tutorials all over the internet showing how to attach a skirt to a shirt and make a dress.  I've seen tutorials for girls of all ages and had been wanting to finally make one myself.  Today, I finally did!  I didn't follow any specific tutorial that was out there, just kind of made it up as I went along... so I figured I'd share my own tutorial on what I did.  And just for fun, I'm going to call this the "Kate" dress - just cause it's fun to name stuff :)

Supplies:

• Shirt
• Fabric for the skirt
• coordinating fabric for the band at the bottom and the optional belt/tie
• sewing machine
• matching or coordinating thread
• scissors
• measuring tape

Step 1:  Choose your shirt
The shirt you choose should fit your child, at least in the head/arms/chest area.  This is a great project for tops that are stained on the lower half or are a little short for normal wear.  Ours fell into the category of simply being too short.

Step 2: Measure and Cut
Figure out where you want the skirt to begin, and mark it.  Add a half inch to this mark (for seam allowance) and cut the bottom of the shirt off.  Since the shirt I chose was a polo shirt, I made mine fall about 2 inches below the bottom button.  In retrospect, I should have made it closer... maybe just one inch below.

Step 3: Measure some More

Lay your shirt out flat and measure across the bottom.  Mine was 11".  Take this measurement and multiply it by 2.  This is the width that your skirt fabric should be.  Now, figure out low long you want the dress to be, then add an inch for seam allowances - subtract the width of the band for the bottom (in Step 5).  It's easiest to measure the person who will wear it... but if they are unavailable, then you'll have to just wing it.  I measured, but still somehow mine turned out way longer than I intended.

Step 4: Cut your skirt using the measurements from the step above.  You'll need two pieces - one for the front, one for the back.


Step 5: Cut the piece for the bottom band.
Decide how wide you want your bottom band to be, then cut a strip of fabric the same width of the skirt piece but the height that you want it to be plus 1 inch.  You need two pieces, just like you did for the skirt.

Step 6: Sew the band to the skirt.  Make sure right sides are together.  Press.

** I like to zig zag stitch the raw edges together (or serge it if you have a serger).  It makes for a more professional look and is more durable as well.

Step 7: Sew the gathering stitch at the top of the skirt.

At the top of each skirt piece, make your gathering stitches - I like to make 2... one at 1/2 inch and one at 1/4 inch.  I'm not completely sure what the purpose of this is, but I've seen it lots other places.  It does always help me if I break one of the strings while I am gathering then I still have another to work with so that I don't have to start over.
Oh, and for a gathering stitch... you just need a really loose straight stitch with no backstitching at the ends.  This way you can pull the thread at the ends and gather your stitching.  I've also seen people make their tension on their machine really tight, and the stitch really loose and the machine can gather it automatically for you.  This has never worked for me... but try it if you'd like.

Step 8: Sew your skirt together

Place your front and back skirt pieces right sides together.  Stitch up the side seams making sure that your bottom border pieces match up evenly.  Zig Zag or serge the raw edges and press flat.

Step 9: Hem the skirt

Go ahead and hem the bottom of your skirt at this point. I like to fold the edge over 1/4" and press, then fold over again and press, then stitch.

Step 9: Gather your stitches

I like to go ahead and gather my stitches as tight as they will go... or at least pretty closely (be careful to not break your strings though).  If you gather it much smaller than you know it should be then you can always spread out your stitches to the actual width a little easier and spread them out evenly.
 

Step 10: Pin your skirt to your shirt

To start, you should make sure that your right side of your shirt and the right side of your skirt are facing each other.  Slide the shirt inside your skirt (right sides facing) and line up the edges.  I like to start pinning at the side seams.

Step 11: Stitch your skirt to your shirt.
Stitch your top ans skirt together and then Zig Zag the raw edges and press flat.

Step 12: See what you've got!
Turn your dress right side out and see how far you've come!  Looks great doesn't it?  Now, you can leave it as is and have a perfectly beautiful dress... but why stop here??

Optional:

Step 13: Do a little topstitching...

With your dress turned right side out, top stitch around where the skirt and shirt meet, also top stitch on the band.  The top stitching gives it more of a professional look, and also helps reinforce your seams a bit.

Step 14:  If you want, add a little belt/tie
I thought it would be cute to add a little belt to this... my daughter had other ideas and didn't want to wear it.  If you'd like one... choose your fabric (I made mine the same width as the original skirt pieces 22")  YOu'll need one piece twice the height that you want the finished belt to be... mine was 1" tall so I cut it 2".

Fold and press the fabric in half (right sides together) then stitch around the open edges - leave the ends open for turning.

Turn belt right side out and press flat.  Fold in the edges and press those in too.

then Top stitch.

Ta-Da!  You are done... now go find your favorite little girl and try it on!

I had a feeling that mine was a little long... and when I tried it on NK, it fit - but was definitely on the long side.  I wanted to fix it, but she had other ideas.  Apparently the dress was a hit because she didn't want to take it off.  She wore it all day long :)

She even let me take her picture :)  It's pretty rare that she'll allow me to take her picture anymore, so this was great!

Anyway... hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.  I hope this was helpful!  If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section.  If you make one... I'd love to see it!

No Sew (Adjustbale) Tutus!

Tutus... aren't they just the perfect item for any little girl's wardrobe? Perfect for photos, and playing dress up, even for wearing just to cheer yourself up? hehe You just have to smile when wearing one... or maybe that's just me - I can't help but smile when either of my girls is wearing their tutu :) It's just too cute!

Anyway, so I've mentioned all the snow we got here... I really wanted to dress the girls up in something cute and take them out for a fun photo shoot in the snow. I thought that a bright tutu would be the perfect accessory to their winter coats and hats. Right?

The only problem was that we only had one tutu and two kids. So, of course... I made one! I think my husband thought I was a little nutty - but he often does, so who cares?

And so is born this little tutorial for making a super simple tutu... for girls of all sizes! It can even be made so that it's adjustable - to grow with your little one... how's that for awesome?

I'll say this now... please forgive me for the awful photos. I was in a rush and just grabbed my little camera... I think you'll get the idea though.

Supplies Needed:

• elastic - a few inches longer than your little ones waist (mine was 1.4 inch width - but pretty much any width will do)
• tulle - I used 3 spools that had 15 feet of tulle each, you will need more or less depending on how big around your child is, how long you want the skirt to be, and how full you want it to be
• scissors
• a large book, bowl, cardboard piece, frame, box, etc to use to hold your elastic in place temporarily

 Start by measuring the waist of your child, then cutting your elastic about 1.5 -  2 inches longer than that measurement.  The extra length will give you room to adjust the waistband when your child grows.

Tie the ends of the elastic together a little smaller than the child's actual waist measurement.  This will make sure that the waistband fits snugly enough to not fall off, but not too tight.

Now, cut your tulle.  If you are using a spool of tulle (haha... say that 3 times fast! ;)), then roll out the pieces and cut.  The length of the strip should be twice the length that you want your actual skirt to be.  Mine was cut to approximately 22 inches.  Keep doing this until you have cut all of your strips.

I cut one spool at a time because I didn't know how many spools it would take to get my desired effect.  I recommend doing it this way to avoid cutting too much.

Now, find a book, piece of cardboard, frame, whatever you can find that you can stretch your elastic waistband around.  This will be helpful to hold everything in place when tying the tulle to the elastic.

Start by taking a strip of tulle and folding it over in half, then making a slip knot over your elastic.  You could also just knot it on there I guess, but the slip knot looks neater and is probably a little more comfortable on that little waist. You can even do multiple layers of tulle at once - this will make it more full of a skirt.

Keep doing this all the way around your elastic until it is as full as you'd like!

If the length of your skirt is too long or the lengths of your strips aren't even (and you want them to be even) then you can always just trim the bottom until its at your desired length.  There is no shame in letting it be different lengths either though... it's kind of fun that way.

Ta-Da!  Try the tutu on your child and watch as she has lots of fun playing in it and feeling beautiful!

Or head out in the snow for a fun photo shoot like I did!  Here are a few photos I took...

And this one (the tutu), I didn't make... but I couldn't leave my littlest cutie out of the photos!