Little Pleated Plaid Skirt

       The other day I had a garage sale at my place, and I needed something easy to do while keeping an eye out for cars. I used up a remnant of flannel plaid to make this little skirt.

       The only difference between it, and regular gathered elastic waist skirt, is that I pleated the fabric before sewing on the waist band. I started with two rectangles twice the width that I needed. I added an inch to the length.

          Find the center and mark it.

       Then I just folded an inch of fabric over to make pleats.

      I kept making pleats until the width was just a tad larger than what I actually need the waist to be.

     I ran a stitch across them to hold them in place before I sewed on the waist band.

      I did the same to the back. I just made sure there were the same amount of pleats in front and back. I sewed up the sides of the skirt, wrong side out.

     I used two inch wide elastic for the waist. It needs to be the width of the waist minus one inch. I sewed the ends together like so.

       I opened up the elastic, and sewed the seam down flat.

      Next, I sewed the elastic to the skirt.

       Hem, and it's finished! It's not a huge obvious thing, but I think the pleats make it a tad more sophisticated.

     I did just a simple gathered waist one for the little sister...which is super, super fast and easy!

      Perfect little skirts for cooler weather.

       I just love that picture with them holding hands...I was thinking about hanging this version of it on a canvas in their bedroom after we move. Maybe decorate with more of a vintage toy room feel? Opinions?

     Happy sewing!

Psalms 138:6   Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly:

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Button Baby Dress Tutorial

    Getting ready for a move has its advantages. I have to sort through my belongings for one...and that means I find all sorts of bits and bobs I didn't know I had! (Which probably means I didn't really need them in the first place...uh hum moving on quickly!) I found this fabric in my stash, and whipped it up into a simple little dress for my littlest lady.

     You might recognize it from this tutorial, the tie top dress, that I published quite a while ago. As you can see, this version uses straps and a button instead of ties. Here are the measurements for up to 5T. These are made to be ankle length, so you might want to shorten it a bit, based on your little one.

Size	Bib (L x W)	Dress (L x W)	Arm hole (across x down)	Straps	Final size ( chest x lenth)
0 – 3 Month	5 x 2.5	11 x 15	1.5 x 1.5	11	17 x 11.5
3 – 6 Month	5.5 x 3	13 x 17	1.5 x 1	12	17 x 14
6 – 9 Month	6 x 3	14 x 19	1.5 x 1	13	19 x 15
9 – 12 Month	6.5 x 3.5	15 x 20	1.5 x 1	14	22 x 16
12- 18 Month	7 x 3.5	15 x 21	1.5 x 1	15	22 x 17
2T	7.5 X 4	20 X 25	2 X 1	20	24 x 22
3T	8 x 4	21 x 32	2.5 x 1	20	26 x 26
4T	8.5 x 4	22 x 33	2.5 x 1	20	28 x 26.5
5T	8.5 x 4	23 x 34	2.5 x 1.5	20	28 x 30.5

     You'll need to cut out a rectangle for the dress part.

     Those little arm hole notches are important, so don't forget that part!

      And you'll need four smaller rectangles for the "bib" of the dress.

      And for this version, you need two rectangles for straps. For a 12-18 month size, my rectangle was 5 inches long by 3.5 inches wide.

     Sew up the sides of the straps like so.

       Turn the seam to the center of one side, and then sew across one end.

       Turn it inside out, and press. Do the same to other strap. Lay the two straps one of the bib rectangles, with the ends slightly over the edge.

      Sandwich the straps by laying another rectangle on top.

      Sew up the side, across the straps, and down the other side. Leave the bottom open. Flip it right side out, and it should look like this.

       Do the same to other two bib pieces, just minus the straps. I serge finish up the bottom edges with my serger.

      Next sew up the sides of the dress portion. If you have a serger, go ahead and finish the raw edges too.

      Sew a gathering stitch across the tops of both sides of the dress. Gather them to match the width of the bib sections. Hem the arm holes.

      Sew the bib sections to the dress.

     Select the largest buttons you can find, (Ha! ok you don't really have to get the largest, I just like big buttons!) and sew your button holes into the front bib. Mine look mysteriously moist because I like to douse my button holes with fray check just for good measure.

       Sew on your buttons, and hem the bottom.

      Go find the cutest little girl you can find, and try it on!

       This particular little lady was quite pleased with her new dress. Yes, her hair is always that crazy. I've given up on taming it, I love it like that anyway!

     This girl loves her teddy! There's nothing in the world that a teddy or a blanket can't fix.

       Have a happy weekend!
P.S. I'd really appreciate if you used this tutorial for personal use only. My work is not intended for commercial reproduction.

Deuteronomy 32:4   He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. 

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Sweater Dresses and the Dangers of Sewing

      We have a had a few brief snaps of cold (ish) weather around here, and it has put me on a winter wardrobe kick. My toddler still has the waist size of a 12-18 month old but the length of an almost 3 year old...so that poses a real problem for finding clothes to fit the child. We do a lot of dresses and leggings, but I really need to make or alter some pants to fit her before the weather turns cold for keeps.When I saw this tutorial from Make it and Love it the other day, it reminded me I had thrifted a few sweaters last year to make into little girl dresses, and had never got around to doing it. Her tutorial is super good, so I didn't take pictures along the way when I did it. The basic idea is to use as much of the finished edges on the original sweater as possible when you resize it.
     I didn't take a picture of my sweaters to start with (I know, bad blogger!). One was just a basic, short sleeve, white sweater, and the other was a long sleeve cream colored sweater. I used the white one to make this dress for the toddler.

     It has a draw string (I just used ribbon) neckline, and a peasant style cut. Here is a vary candid, unprofessional shot of my model.

      I used the cream colored one to make the baby's. It has regular sleeves, a chunky neck, gathered skirt, and a little belt to finish it off.

      These are super simple to do, and great way to use up old sweaters. I think I might see if I can find some more colors to do more for them. I think sweater dresses are so cute!
       So why is sewing dangerous you may be wondering? Well, let me just tell you! While I was working on these, I dropped my pin cushion on the floor and forgot about it. I ended up stepping on it at just the right angle and managed to drive a sewing needle up my foot! Half of it broke off in my foot with just a tiny bit sticking out. I tried to get it out with tweezers, but they weren't strong enough. I grabbed some needle nose pliers and that did the trick for me. Lest you think I exaggerate, here is the proof.

     I'm slightly traumatized, but I think I'll recover. Let that be a lesson to you, wear proper foot protection when sewing! (Ha! I'm sure I won't be trading my flip flops in anytime soon!)
      Anyway, go check out that tutorial and have fun!

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

How to copy-cat sew

      Sewing can be tons of fun, however, it can be super exasperating as well. I'm all about simplifying the process, partly because I don't have a lot of free time, and partly because I'm not that smart. One way I make things easier and faster for myself when sewing clothing, is to use a garment I already have as my pattern rather than using a typical paper pattern. I actually have never made anything using a real pattern, but I do plan to learn at some point. Anyway, I saw this idea a while ago somewhere, don't have a clue where, of how to make a pattern off of a piece of clothing. It works super fabulously and its relatively painless. You need to make sure that you use the same type of fabric as the original.
      Grab a piece of parchment paper or freezer paper and lay the garment you plan to copy on top. Lay it on something slightly soft that you can stick pins into, like an ironing board. I used a simple, knit, peasant style, newborn size dress.

      Use the pins to poke holes in the paper along all the seams. Make sure if it has elastic like this dress does, that you stretch it out tight as you poke so you get the true width.

      Do each section of the garment separately. I started with the body of the dress first.

     Once you have a complete outline poked in your paper, draw it out with a marker.

     Make sure you mark where the fold goes on the sleeve.

     Next, cut out your fabric. You'll need to add seam allowances. I used knit fabric just like the original, however, if I were to use cotton, I would need to add enough for an elastic casing and hemming. I did add a bit of extra length to mine.

     Sew the sleeves on to the top first.

     Put right sides together and starting at the end of the sleeve, sew down the sides.

     Since this was knit fabric, instead of hemming it, I lettuce edged the raw edges. (Lettuce edging is just doing a tight zigzag along the edge while stretching out the fabric.)

   
     Last of all, I sewed elastic thread around the neck and arm holes.

     Here is my version next to the original, store bought one.

      I have to admit, usually when I copy something, I just trace it right onto my fabric and skip all this...however, this way is a whole lot more accurate. This little dress fit the littlest lady perfectly.

      Happy sewing! =)

 "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty." Psalms 104:1

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