Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Owl Circle Skirt with matching shirt

Since I had so much fun making the circle skirt here I figured I could pop out another one quick with the fabric Miss K wouldn't let me leave at Hobby Lobby last week.  It was the first time we were in there to look at the fabric and I was impressed!  We only have a Hancock and Hobby Lobby around here (both are an hour drive for me).  I plan on taking a day trip up to Eau Claire one of these days to visit Mill End Textiles and Joann fabrics to see what they are all about (however that is like a 3 1/2-4 hour round trip).
So at Hobby Lobby Miss K found this awesome fabric and she also grabbed some owl appliques.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them because the skirt is too busy for them.  After I made the skirt I was rummaging through her drawers to find a cute shirt to wear and happened upon a plain pink tee.  I felt it was too boring for the wild skirt so I added the appliques.  Boom!  Great outfit made :-)

I love the outfit.  It took Miss K a week to put it on though. She is burned out on trying things on for me.  On top of all that she is super sick from the rain this weekend and it's her last 2 days of school. :-( poor girl.  I managed to snap these super early this morning on our way out to school. I did make this circle skirt about 2 inches shorter than the first one here.  I like it better this way. This skirt is based on the amazing design by Dana over at MADE.



Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Working on this week...

Things I'm working on this week:
1. finish some things to put in the Etsy shop (it is severely neglected).
2. Take a pic of my new skirt I finished for SkirtWeek @ Crafterhours
3. Get Miss K to wear her new owl skirt and shirt to take pics of. . .  - she is so stubborn
4. finish up the owl plushie and tutorial (almost there!).
5. Start Miss K's Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress
6. Work on a Tank top pattern for me!


I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial weekend.  Camping was fun but rainy here in Wisconsin.  Sunday was H - O - T and muggy.  Spending time with the family was fun though!


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Halter Sundress for Miss K ~ McCall's 5419

I made a second dress out of the McCall's 5419 pattern, View F this time.  The first one I loved so much! You can see it here.
This one had the same issue with the amount of fabric it asked for and laying out of the pattern pieces.  I traced each of them onto freezer paper because I'm a visual person and I just can't flip the piece over to make sure that it is fitting.  Anyway, after that was finished the dress came together very quickly.  The fabric is a pique that I got from Hancock's at the sale last week and I paid less than $4 for it.  It is really cute.


The good:  the pattern is easy to follow and quick to finish. - I like that! I added bias tape to the bottom hem and neck tie because I wanted a contrasting color to pop on the dress.  
The bad: you need more than a yard of fabric which the pattern doesn't state.  The neck string was WAY to short and the elastic in the back was about 2 inches too big.  I would also suggest turning in and finishing the side sleeve openings BEFORE attaching the back to the dress. It just looked sloppy when it made me do it the other way. 


I'm not sure if I'll make this one again.  I know I will make view C though with the shoulder ties because I liked that one way better. I think I will try some of the tank tops and shorts next though.




Huge gap here that I don't like.  If you are standing behind her you can see straight down to her undies :(


On a side note, Miss K has 2 more loose teeth on top.  My poor girl is going to be totally toothless on the top soon!!! Ugh!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

** CLOSED ** Vintage Fabric for the Followers Giveaway!

**** CLOSED *****
Thanks for everyone who participated in Vintage Fabric for the Followers Giveaway Day!  Please stop back by the blog for many more giveaway's to come!  I appreciate you all becoming followers too!
There were a total of 49!  Lucky winner was determined by Random Number Generator and it is.... #32!!!
On my list of followers that would be Michelle H.!! Congrats!!!!  I will be sending you an email shortly :)




This morning I am adding a second giveaway just for the followers! :-)
Giveaway Week is in full force over at Sew, Mama, Sew! and I have another giveaway HERE (with no follower requirement) but I wanted to add a second one just for the followers of the blog.  

This beautiful fabric is Vintage!! There are two different ones.  The first one is a very soft white and red polka dot fabric which I believe is a rayon type?  I'm not 100% sure on that but it is very lightweight and as you can see from the second picture, skin shows through a bit.  There is 1 yard of 44 inch wide for this one. 

The second fabric is amazing.  It is also white and red dotted but the dots are raised on it.  It has a really cool bumpy texture.  It is lightweight and a tiny bit see through.  I tried to show that in the pictures.  There is 1 3/8 yard of this, and then a small 3 x 2 inch square cut out of it? lol.  And then another 3/4 yard after that. It is 36 inches wide.  
  
The fabric is vintage and has been washed once.  It comes from a smoke free home.  (I have one puppy but she is non-shedding).  You are winning a total of 3 1/8 yards of fabric. 





Specifics:

  • Must be a follower of this blog
  • Giveaway open to US residents only (sorry). 
  • Giveaway open until May 25th at 3pm central time 
  • Winner will be determined by random number generator
  • Winner will be notified via email on May 25th by 3:30pm and fabric will ship out May 29th

To enter: become a follower - that's it! no comment needed (but I am always interested in what you would make out of this).  Thanks! 

- (follow button is at the top right of blog)

*On May 25th at 3pm I will use a random generator to pull a follower from the list.

Monday, May 21, 2012

*** CLOSED *** Giveaway Day!

**** CLOSED *****
Thanks for everyone who participated in Giveaway Day!  Please stop back by the blog for many more giveaway's to come!
There were a total of 151 comments here!  Lucky winner was determined by Random Number Generator and it is.... #121!!! (1st winner did not respond so I had to re-determine) 


I'd probably make it into a dress for my daughter and some sort of bag with what's leftover. Love the fabric!



Giveaway Day has finally reached us!  I'm so excited to be participating in the fun this year.
For my giveaway I have a beautiful piece of fabric by Robert Kaufman from the "carnaby street" line
It is 100% cotton and 44 inches wide.  This fabulous fabric has dark blue, blue, and light blue scroll-like designs and is set on a bluish green background.  The fabric is new, never been washed and comes from a smoke free home.  (I have one puppy but she is non-shedding).  You are winning 3 yards of this wonderful fabric. 



Specifics:

  • Giveaway open to US residents only (sorry). 
  • Giveaway open until May 25th at 3pm central time 
  • Winner will be determined by random number generator
  • Winner will be notified via email on May 25th by 3:30pm and fabric will ship out May 29th

To enter: Post a comment below stating how you plan to use this fabric (please make sure you either include an email address in your post or in your contact info when you post so I can get a hold of you).

To have a second entry become a follower and add a comment stating you are a follower :) Thanks!
- (follow button is at the top right of blog)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Sweet Sundress for Miss K ~ McCalls 5419

I found the perfect pattern for the exact dress I wanted to make Miss K for our camping trip this coming weekend.  It is supposed to be hot and I wanted her to be pretty, comfortable, and cool.  This dress accomplished all three.
I used McCall's Pattern 5419.  I made a size 7 in View C which called for 7/8 of a yard of fabric.  I picked up this adorable mushroom fabric (you know me and mushrooms!) at Hancock's yesterday for less than $4 and I got a little more than a yard.  I came home, laid out the two pattern pieces and then spent a half an hour trying to arrange them to fit the darn yard.  It just wouldn't work and I was not happy.  First, for the 44 inches wide I had to use one side of piece 1 and 2 and then flip them to use the other sides for a continuous piece.  Well, I'm not good at flipping when I'm trying to visually see if the pattern will fit.  So I broke out the freezer paper and traced the opposite sides of piece 1 and 2 then lined them up to their counterparts.  Still no fitting.  I was extremely disappointed.  Eventually I just adjusted the way the pieces were (making them no longer straight in front but kind of at a tilt and then they JUST BARELY fit).  So if you are making this pattern and have a patterned fabric, BUY MORE than the 7/8.
Everything else went quick and smooth as a breeze.  Took me a half an hour to whip this up and cost about $6 total after fabric and bias tape.



 See how these sides above didn't match up :(  boo.  I was so disappointed.
The bottom picture of the other side miraculously did match up though. 
 Miss K told me the dress is perfect for swinging.  It didn't fly up! :)

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Circle Skirt ~ using design by MADE

I started this easy circle skirt the other day and then ran into the issue of not finding 2 inch wide elastic.  My local Wal-Mart didn't have any and I didn't' feel like trekking an hour to Hancock. Today we ended up being halfway to Hancock because Mr. T's friend moved over that way.  After we dropped him off Miss K and I went to Hancock.  Unfortunately they were having a huge sale and we went a bit overboard with the fabric..... but, one can never have too much fabric!  I did find the elastic too and came home to finish this.  Overall it would have taken me only a mere hour to cut and put this cute skirt together.

I love the length; I love the twirl factor.  Miss K likes how comfortable it is.  The fabric I used was a Pique (from Hancocks) and is a bit stiff but I'm sure it will loosen up.  Miss K picked out an owl fabric at the store today so I plan on making another one out of that (it's 100% cotton).  I'm so impressed with this skirt that I'm going to make one for myself!  Want to make one too?  Head over to MADE and try it out!








Thursday, May 17, 2012

Color-Block Skirt Tutorial

Color-Block Skirt

Final entry (#3) for the children's portion of Skirt Week over at Crafterhours

crafterhours



I had gotten this fabric a few weeks ago and knew what I wanted to make with it.  I just didn't know exactly how I wanted to make it so I waited and gave my mind some time to get creative.  Last night I couldn't sleep and all that was on my mind was this skirt!  I knew I wanted to make Miss K a color block skirt because they are so cute and apparently the coolest thing right now.  I can see why too; now I want to make one for myself!! Anyway, it took me only an hour to whip this little puppy up and I'm so excited that it turned out exactly like what I thought in my head!!!! (it doesn't happen that way too often so I'll enjoy it!)

Things you will need: 
2 different colors or patterns of fabric.  (the amount will vary based on the size of the child/or adult)
a ruler to measure the fabric
scisorrs or a rotary tool to cut the fabric
1 package piping (again, depends on the size you are making. for a size 7 child I used 1 package piping).
pins
sewing machine
3/4 inch elastic

Step 1: 
Determine the size of your rectangles.  (This step looks long and hard but it is not)
Here is how I did it. Miss K is a waist of 24 inches so I multiplied this by 1.5 to get 36 inches. Then divide that number in half for the length of the rectangles.  Mine were 18 inches long.  Next, I found how long I wanted the skirt to be on Miss K and added 1.5 inches.  I like Miss K's to be 14.5 inches long so I added 1.5 and came to 16 for the height of both rectangles.  Now I know I want one to be smaller and one to be larger so I adjusted the sizes.  Rectangles of orange I wanted 10 inches in height so I cut them to be 11 inches; blue I then cut to be 5 inches (11 for orange + 5 for blue was the 16 I wanted).  

OK now I know I am cutting 2 rectangles of 18 x 11 in orange and 2 rectangles in blue of 18 x 5.  


 You will end with something like above which I then lay out like below (because I'm a visual person)
Step 2:
Take your piping and attach to the top of the left RIGHT SIDE orange piece and the top of the right RIGHT SIDE blue piece.  Sew onto the fabric with your zipper foot and stay right up against the piping.  
Step 3: 
Lay RIGHT SIDE of left orange piece on to RIGHT SIDE top of left bottom blue piece. (sorry if this sounds confusing! refer to pictures to help explain) Sew them together using zipper foot and staying right next to piping.  
 You will end up with something like the below picture when done.  Repeat this for the other side but lay the top right blue piece RIGHT SIDES together with bottom right side orange piece.
 Step 4: 
Place piping on side of one of the pieces as shown below.  This will turn out to be the middle of the skirt. Sew this piping on using zipper foot and staying close to piping
 Step 5: 
Lay other rectangle onto the piece you just applied piping to, RIGHT SIDES together and sew using zipper foot staying close to piping.  You should now have just one side open.  
 Repeat steps 4 and 5 to that side so you have an entire skirt as below. (I serged my top and bottom raw edges here but this is not required.  You can zig zag stitch just as well)
 Step 6:
Fold top of skirt over 1 inch and sew, leaving an opening to put in the elastic.  Cut elastic the size of the wearer's waist minus 1.  So for Miss K her waist is 24 - 1. I cut the elastic to 23 inches. Insert elastic and sew the small opening shut. 
Hem the bottom, turn up the skirt 1/2 inch and sew.  

Step 7: 
ENJOY!!!! 




Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Pretty Pink Polka Dot Skirt with Puppy Pockets!


crafterhours

OMG that is a lot of P's!!! LOL.  This skirt is a tiny bit heavier cotton than I like to use in the summer but I couldn't resist.  It is hot pink polka dot and I added puppy dog pockets for all the little treasures my daughter likes to find outside. The skirt turned out great and is nice and full for maximum twirling by Miss K.

This skirt has actually been done for a week now but Miss K has been in a no trying on mood.  Much to my despair.  She loves wearing almost everything I've already made but I think she is tired of trying on new ones and posing for the camera.  This is my second entry to the children's category over at Skirt Week on Crafterhours.  You should really join in on the fun!  Plus it adds to the wardrobe too!





My kids very rarely get along so this bottom picture is golden for me. :D. Ignore the broken clothes line in the pic... we are replacing them this year lol.

How did I make the skirt?
It was really easy actually.  I cut out a rectangle of fabric that is twice Miss K's waist and her length + 2 inches.  I cut the 4 pocket squares out of the puppy fabric you saw on Miss K's pillow.  Sewed them wrong sides together, turned them right side out and placed them on the skirt.  Then I sewed together the sides; hemmed the top 1 inch; hemmed the bottom 1/2 inch and folded another 1/2 inch plus used my double needle for the bottom.  Then I inserted inch elastic the size of her waist minus 1 inch.  Ta-Da! Done.

Under the weather.....

Normal posting and sewing has come to standstill this week.  I've been feeling rather under the weather.  Plus, today I managed to spill my drink all over my keyboard, monitor, mouse, and desk so now keys are sticking and things are no good..... :( boo.
I do have several projects I've been working on here and there.  Cute cargo shorts for Mr. T. A beautiful skirt for Miss K.  2 Penguin stuffies. and a tank top for me that was going to be a skirt but didn't turn out that way.  Hope to finish them and post them soon!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Shirred skirt tutorial



Nothing says summertime to me like a soft flowing shirred skirt!  They are super easy to make and don't require too much time or fabric.  I'm making the one in the tutorial for Skirt Week over at Crafterhours!
crafterhours

Shirred Skirt Tutorial
Required Items:
Fabric (either one or two coordinating)
Scissors or Rotary Cutter (Cutter mat if using them)
Yardstick or some way to measure your fabric
All Purpose thread
Elastic Thread (can be found at Wal-Mart or any craft store really, by the elastic, not the thread)
Pins
Sewing Machine



Step 1. 
Measure the waist of the person the skirt is for (my subject was Miss K and I used a 24 waist)
Measure the length you want the skirt (for Miss K I chose 15 inches)

Step 2.
Cut two rectangles out of your fabric that is the length of your length plus 1 inch (mine was 16 inches)
and the width of your width minus 2 inches (mine was 22 inches)
** Note: in my skirt I added a different fabric to the top and bottom so I adjusted my length and width to allow for a 1/2 inch seam allowance to join fabrics.  My green top piece was 4 1/2 inches and my bottom green piece was 2 1/2 inches.  My middle red piece was 11 inches.  After the 1/2 inch seam allowance for each piece I would then have 4 inches top, 10 inches middle, and 2 inches bottom for a total of 16 inches, which is perfect! (See step 1 for length inch requirement). 

Optional Step if using 2 fabrics: 
Sew each piece together with 1/2 inch seam allowance.  I serged my edges but this is not required.  I would zigzag each seam though to prevent fraying if not serging.  After I sewed each together to get my 22 inch x 16 inch rectangle, I pressed both seams up and top stitched as shown below. 





Step 3.  
Pin together one side of rectangles and sew with 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Again, I serged my edges but this is not required; zigzag them if you don't have a serger.  

Step 4.
Now that you have one huge rectangle piece of fabric you are almost ready for the shirring.  First we must do the top hem at the waist.  Fold fabric over 1/4 inch and press and fold over 1/4 inch again.  Pin and sew. I chose to use my double needle for this step but again, this is not necessary.  

Step 5. 
Shirring!  Hand wind the elastic thread onto an empty bobbin.  Not tight, not really loose, just right.  Make sure you pull the elastic through the bobbin process as you would normally.  I started having weird looking loopy elastic and it was because my elastic was not through the bobbin tension feature. 
Set your stitch length to a 4 or 5.  Place the edge of your presser foot up against the edge of your waist hem you made and sew on the RIGHT side of the fabric.  You want the elastic bobbin thread to attach to the back, WRONG side of your fabric.  Back stitch when you start and finish. On the next line down, line up the edge of your presser foot to the edge of the line you just sewed.  You will do about 8 lines of this pattern. Stretch out your fabric as you go, you want to sew on flat fabric. Once you are done steam the shirring (hold iron an inch above! don't put directly on the shirring).  


Step 6. 
Pin the other side of the skirt right sides together and sew together (I used a full inch seam allowance here to make sure I got all the elastic shirring ends within my seam.  Then I serged the raw edges. (serging is optional, zigzag if not).
Step 7.
Fold bottom hem of skirt 1/4 inch up and press. Fold 1/4 inch up again and press, pin, and sew.  I again used my double needle here but it is not required. That's it! You are done!
This can be used for any size person, any length skirt or dress  (for a dress, simply add more shirring lines).


Miss K was not in the mood today to try anything on, hence the completely mismatched outfit and the sad panda face.