Sewing

1. Girly style wardrobe . pattern i, 2. here, 3. 018 copy 2, 4. summer dress, 5. Untitled, 6. Gingham shirt 2, 7. Anthro Dress button and top detail, 8. Two Summer Sundress9. here

I’m getting geared up for another week of frenzied sewing sponsored by Meg. She hasn’t actually announced her Kids Clothing Week officially, so perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit, but I’m really looking forward to some time sewing for my girls again soon. I’ll likely make more dresses this time, since that’s what the girls seem to grab from their closets more often. I’m also hoping to try my hand at sewing more knits. They wear so well and both of my girls seem to prefer their comfortable fit over woven fabrics. I’d also like to make some some unnecessarily frilly night clothes, as I know that would make them both immensely happy. :)

I’m happy to say that I finally put together a tutorial for that skirt I made a few months ago! Actually, this version is slightly different but with the same basic look, so I’ll leave it up to you which way you’d like to do it.

Here’s what you need:

• main fabric
• contrast fabric
• waist-band elastic (I used 3/4” no-roll elastic) measured to your child’s waist
  

Note:  Your main and contrast fabrics should be the same weight and they will need to measure the same length from selvage to selvage.

To determine the amount of fabric you need. First decide how long you want the finished skirt. I chose 9 1/2” and 10 1/2” for my 3 and 4 year olds, respectively. You also need to know how wide you want your bottom band. Mine range between about 2” and 2 1/2”. Nothing really has to be precise on these, though.

The total width of the contrast band (CB) is found by doubling your desired finished width (FW) and adding 1/2” for the seam allowance.

CB = 2(FW) + .5

You can calculate the width of the main fabric (MF) by subtracting your desired finished width (FW) of your contrast band from the total length of the finished skirt (FS) then adding 2” for the waistband casing and 1/4” for the seam allowance.

MF = (FS – FW) + 2.25

If you’re a little mind-boggled by the math, don’t be! It’s really not nearly as confusing as it sounds once you start plugging in the numbers. Plus, you could probably also just eye-ball it and still come out with a great-looking skirt!

Here are my own little darlings showing off their new wares!

This is my first sewing tutorial and I tried my darndest to make sure everything was clear. But pleeeeeease let me know if you have ANY questions at all about the construction of the skirt. I’ll try my best to answer any questions!

Oh, yes….I almost forgot.  If you want a slightly different look, you can add a tuck so that the main fabric hangs over the band a bit.  Just add about an inch to the amount of fabric you’ll need for your main fabric. The look is very similar and it’s actually probably hard to tell the difference in the picture here:

To achieve this effect I folded over about a 1/2” of fabric over the bottom band (after Step 6 above) then pressed it into place all the way around the skirt.

I then stitched from the wrong side of the fabric over the seam allowance. I’m sure you could top-stitch it as well, but I did it from the underside to make sure I was keeping everything straight. :)

So, there you have it!  Either way you have a *very* simple little skirt. Now, off you go. Go make something cute!

I love making skirts. They’re so simple are perfect for all occasions. Plus, my girls look adorable in them. :)

I made these skirts in one evening, and then completed the outfits with matching headbands the next night. At their most basic level, the skirts are simply two rectangles sewn together with an elastic casing at the top and a hem on the bottom. It really doesn’t get any easier! For a great tutorial you can check out the lazy day skirt pattern, or just check back here in a few days and I’ll show you how I made the bottom one. The hem is a little different, but it’s still super-easy!

For the headbands I used pattern from a Japanese sewing book. And I know I always say I’ll put some pictures up, but this time I really will try to get some up. The book is full of really cute dresses, so I’ve been meaning to show you anyways.

On a related note, Meg from Elsie Marley is hosting another Kids Clothes Week challenge. I got so excited thinking about how fun the last one was I went ahead and signed up, but truly I doubt I’ll have the time. Even one hour a day can be hard to scratch out sometimes.

However, if I don’t get a chance to participate, I’ve loved seeing all of the inspiration she’s been posting and I know it’ll be fun just seeing what everyone else is making. Hope you can join in, too!

Be back soon!

Well, so the first stack isn’t really a stack per se, but it will be once all of these pillowcases are laundered one last time. Then they’ll be folded neatly and secured in a ziplock bag while they make there way to my local ConKerr Cancer drop-off location.

I made the pillowcases for Craft Hope’s latest project and it was one of those really simple projects where you just wish you had more time to just keep making and making and making. The good news is there are still a few more days until the project deadline, but really you can make these anytime for the ConKerr Cancer group. In fact, you can even sign up to attend one of the sponsored events for their “Miles of Pillowcase Smiles” campaign going on all of this month!

Hooray!

The next stack has been hanging around my craft room for at least a month. I love this Wildwood print from Free Spirit (top piece). The other two are previously thrifted pieces that have been sitting around for a very long time. The bottom piece is a rather large remnant and the middle one is a wool tweed sports coat. I love the combo (although I’m disappointed in the dullness of the colors in the photo), and I really hope they look as good as I want them to when they’re sewed up into a messenger bag. I’m also hoping that the sports coat yields enough fabric to complete the bag. :)

FYI, you’ll be seeing that top print again very soon! As in, days…hopefully. You all know how this whole time thing works, I have no doubt.

See ya soon chicas!