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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Someday Crafts

Easiest Skirt Ever - Bubble Skirt Tutorial

      My little lady is going to be having a birthday, and I knew just the thing to whip up for her. See, she has this thing for polka dots, or "pokey dots" as she calls them. If I don't dress her in "pokey dots", she'll change the second I'm not looking until she has them from head to toe. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Have you ever made a bubble skirt? You should, easiest thing ever, and little girls love them!
      Start with two strips of fabric 2 or 3 times the width you actually need, and about twice the length you need. Sew it up the side so it's a big tube.

        Fold the bottom up to the top with the right sides out.

       Sew a gathering stitch across the top and gather up the skirt so it's just a bit larger than you actually need it in the waist. Sew a strip of elastic into a circle for the waist.

       Sew the elastic to the top, stretching it a little as you sew. Step back and smile at your fluffy new skirt.

       Lots of leg room for the littles to run and play to their heart's content!

      And enough "polkey dots" to please even the pickiest of toddlers. Check, check and check! Have a happy week!

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

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

Linking to:
TaterTots and Jello

smocked maxi skirt tutorial revisited

       Do you remember this skirt?

     I gave the tutorial for it in this post. I took a look at that tutorial again, and made a few more. However this time I tried it in mini sizes.

      It works...right down to a tiny little newborn size!

         I tried it with cotton, knit, and seersucker. The knit fabric has less flair to it, obviously, because of the nature of the fabric.

     I did find that I liked it better adding 20 inches to the width, rather than 10, like the original tutorial says. Extra fabric isn't too flattering on adult figures, but on little folks, it just makes it cuter. You can see the difference between the pink skirt on the left and the paisley on the right. The pink has the extra width added.

         I didn't add the ruffle bit on the bottom of these, but instead sewed ribbon around the edge. Ruffles would be cute too, it is just more time consuming.

       If you've not experimented with elastic thread before, you seriously need to! It can get addicting though, I'm warning you!

"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." Psalm29:11

Linking to:
Home Stories A to Z
Sugar Bee Crafts
Not Just a Housewife
Goodbye City Hello Suburbs
Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom
Someday Crafts
Free Pretty Things For You
Tea Rose Home
Fabric Bows and More
My Girlish Whims
Sew Much Ado
Sew Woodsy

Iron Violet Designs

Michella Marie

Sun Scholars

Simple Home Life

Freckled Laundry

Tiered T-shirt Dresses

     Happy Fourth of July weekend! If you are looking for a quick outfit for a little girl in your life to show off some patriotic colors, this is it! These are easy and can take on any look you want depending on the fabric you choose. 
     Start with a basic t-shirt or tank.

     Ignore the onsie, I haven't used that one yet. Cut off the bottom of your shirt a little below the arm pits.

     Cut a rectangle of fabric, I used knit fabric, that is twice the width of the bottom of your shirt.

     You can have as many tiers as you want and they can be whatever size you want. I sewed up the skirt portion first and then attached it to the top. Attach each tier to each other by gathering the top to match the width of the piece before it and sew.

     This little shirt already had a ruffle at the top so I added the blue and the red to finish it off. This will be a cute Fourth of July dress.

     The other one I did isn't gathered tiers, but short circle skirts sewn on top of each other. I sewed a bit of ruffled ribbon on the waist.

      I did a 0-3 month size using the bottom of one of the shirts that I cut. I attached this one using elastic thread so it pulled in the waist a bit. I sewed on more ruffled ribbon around the hem.

      And of course, no little lady can have new dress without a decent hair bow to match!

     This method could easily work for an adult size. I've been dying to try it, but with only seven more weeks of the baby bump to go, I don't know that I'll try it just yet. Then again, seven more weeks is a loooong time so we'll see. =)

Linking to:

Sun Scholars

Freckled Laundry

Tatertots and Jello