what to do first...?

I've got a long list of projects I'd LOVE to work on this weekend.  I'm feeling pretty crafty right now and all these projects are all over the spectrum - knitting, sewing, hair bow making, jewelry making, etc.  I really should learn to focus on just one thing at a time.  Oh well. 

Also this weekend, We've got to get some progress made on de-cluttering this house.  We decided that we will work on the final touches of getting our bedroom back in shape - so mostly just getting the last of the clothes put away somewhere.  Next, we will tackle the kitchen.  My main project in there will be to get the table and shelves cleared off of all the junk that has gathered and maybe clean out the pantry.  There's so much stuff in there that we have likely forgotten about and is probably stale by now anyway.  Time to get it out of this house!

So on top of my house cleaning that has to get done, I'm wanting to do all sorts of fun stuff.  I'm being realistic knowing that it won't all get done... but I do want to at least accomplish something.  I should probably start with the netbook case that I've been working on... it's so not going well though.  I tried following the pattern, but it's not written out very well... because I'm totally missing something.  I'm going to be having to make some adjustments to not waste what I've done so far.  We'll see how that goes.

I also need to hem a skirt for a friend, and hem a pair of my own pants.

I need to make these earrings for another friend.

And I need to make some hair bows - a big sister/little sister combo.

I'd like to work on this dress that my sister asked me to make for her, but I haven't heard back from her about any plans to get together - so this probably won't happen.  I'd also like to make one for myself, so maybe I'll gather the materials for mine at least.

I had saved this pattern in my stash awhile back, and now would like to try making it for my girls.  I've got the pattern printed out... next I just need to cut and tape it together.  Then choose my fabric for the top. :)  We all know that's the tough part... ;)

I'd also like to make this skirt for myself... the pattern has been sitting around here for almost 2 years now.  I'm having trouble picking out which fabric to use as well.

Let's see what else...

I want to make some more progress on my Garter Stitch Swing Cardi.  It's kind of taking awhile because I keep laying it down to work on smaller, quicker projects.

And speaking of smaller, quicker projects.  I need to make another of these hats for a friend at work.  Also, I need to make some flowers to go on a few of the hats that I have already finished.

So you see, that's quite a long "would like to do" list and I know I won't finish it all - but maybe having this little list will help me work on things in the right order and get at least some progress made. :)

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...

Another dress and a trip to JoAnns (again)

Yeah! It's Saturday! :) I was so ready for the weekend to finally get here.

Anyway, I woke up early by the fault of a snoring husband and started thinking about what the plan was for the day, what I'd be able to get done, what we already had planned, etc. I remembered that the girls had been invited to a birthday party and their Aunt was brave enough to take them - both of them alone and without having naps. (that part of the day worked out surprisingly well at least)...

So yeah, I was thinking about what cute outfit I could dress the girls in and got the bright idea to make a new Kate dress for SQ to wear. I had it all cut out and ready to start stitching by the time anyone else woke up.

Cute huh?

I've had that flower print fabric for years now, and never could figure out what to really make with it. It turned out to be the perfect compliment to that awesome yellow shirt that the girls had gotten too tall for. :)

So, after getting everyone ready and going over to Mom's house... I sent the girls off to the birthday party and Mom and I ventured in to town to go to the new JoAnn Fabrics.  I've been a few times since they opened about 2-ish weeks ago and am so excited about their selection of fabrics.  I've been trying to avoid the place this week because it's their official Grand Opening - which means lines to the very back of the store (seriously, we waited in line for an hour today), but Friday I picked up a few new patterns for some new work clothes for myself.  Hobby Lobby doesn't really carry much in the lines of suiting fabric so that meant I would be making the trip to JoAnns. 

I did find some awesome fabrics!  A black-ish kind of print with a red lining fabric (for fun) to use to make a new dress, a brown stripe for a pencil skirt and a really pretty large flowered cotton print for an A-line skirt.  I'm excited to finally make something for myself.  More about these projects later!

It was a full day, but a good one :)  Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make my pencil skirt so that I can wear it to work this week. :)

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!