Summer skirt

It may be cooling off in other areas of the country, but here in Arizona it is still in triple digits. Definitely skirt season! We have been wearing skirts a lot lately because of the heat but also because potty training is easier that way! I love making these easy skirts (I think I've totaled 4 1/2-I helped my sister make one-now...). I hope you try it out too!

This is for a size 2T-3T so be a smarty-pants and adapt accordingly.

Materials needed:

1/2 yard fabric

Scissors

Pins

Measuring tape

Sewing Machine

1" elastic (or whatever you have on hand over 1/2")

Safety pins

Needle and thread

First, I apologize for these pictures; please remember I sew in my closet and have a point-and-shoot. And it was a crazy cloudy day.

Let's BEGIN!

1. Bust out your fabric and cut it in half (hot-dog style) so you have two loooong pieces.


2. Cut one of those looooong pieces in half again, this time hamburger style. This is the bottom tier of the skirt.



3. Cut the other looooong piece into two pieces measuring 27". I got this measurement from measuring my daughter's waist and then adding a couple inches for fullness when gathered. This is the top of the skirt.

4. Take the bottom pieces and sew a gathering stitch. I set my stitch length at the longest setting and go for it at about 1/8", without any stay-stitching (backstitching). You could also change your tension to be really tight (like, 10 or however high yours goes to) along with your long stitch (it will gather a little as it sews) but I prefer the slow, hard way. I'm like that.

I DO sew two rows of gathering stitches- the first row at 1/8" and the second at 3/8" because it helps keep the thread from breaking as I gather it.

5. Adjust your gathers so that it is the same size as a top piece.

6. Repeat with second bottom piece.

7. Pin a top piece to a bottom piece. Sew along your 3/8" gathering stitch. Remember to adjust your stitch length and tension back to their normal settings. Repeat. You now have a front and back piece.

8. Open up the front and back pieces and put the right sides together. Sew along the sides, making sure the gathered seam points toward the presser foot. This detail is important later. I also finish the sides with a serger but you can zig-zag stitch it or trim it with pinking shears if you like.

9. Now you have a rough-looking skirt. Time for a hem! Turn the bottom 1" and iron. Then, open it up again and turn the bottom up to the crease you made when you ironed it, and fold it so it makes a nice, 1/2" double hem.

Like so.

10. Sew the hem. I like sewing two rows because it looks less home-made that way. I sew it at 3/8" and right inside the 1/2".

11. At the top, iron down 1/4". You may be wondering why the top is sooooo darned tall. I'll tell ya!

12. Fold the top in half toward the inside of the skirt. You now have lining for the top part of your skirt- a must when your little one is in hot pink floral underwear and your skirt has a white background. Plus, I think it looks nicer! :)

Notice how the 1/4" ironed part covers the seam from the top and bottom pieces? No itchy knees from the seam!

13. This is where I do my elastic casing! I didn't have 1" elastic on hand, so I used some 3/4". I sewed my casing with a tiny bit of extra room so it wasn't hard to pull the elastic through. Stop sewing the casing about an inch away from where you started; this will be where you insert the elastic.

14. Cut your elastic according at the same waist size you are making the skirt for, plus another inch for overlap when connecting elastic. I cut this one at 19".

15. Safety pin both ends of the elastic so the end doesn't doesn't get pulled into the casing, and insert that elastic, threading it all the way through. I think baby safety pins are the easiest because they have such a huge top, it is easy to find it inside all that fabric.

16. After making sure your elastic hasn't twisted inside your casing, sew the elastic ends together using a zig-zag stitch. Make sure it is nice and strong!

17. Get all that elastic into the casing and sew your casing closed.

18. Finish the skirt! I typically hand-sew the lining down using a blind stitch, making sure I keep the seam covered.

Enjoy your new skirt! Make 2 so you have one for a friend!

Having a matching skirt with your best friend is what life is all about.

And that, my friends, is the summer skirt.

*** For another totally awesome skirt, lookie here. This woman puts me to shame.***

Mission Accomplished.

What do you do when a cute dress shrinks in the dryer?

You make a small dress out of it.

My cousin gave me the challenge of coming up with a dress for her niece with one of hers that no longer fit. It was fun! Thanks, Kendyl!

Easy-Peasy Hooded Kid's Towel

My cutie-pie munchkin hates for me to dry her hair with a towel after her baths. So, I decided a hooded towel was in order- that way I could half-way dry her hair without her realizing it. I told her it was the "fun way" to dry hair. She bought it too. Anyway, I took a few non-detailed pictures along the way so you could make one too!

Before I begin, let me beg sympathy from all of you by showing you the workspace I have to sew in. Yes, it is my closet. No, there isn't enough room. Yes, all those boxes are going to move out. I have my fabric in rubbermaid drawers on the right, you can barely see them. It works. I'm debating putting up a pegboard on the wall to hang scissors, embroidery hoops, thread, etc. What do you think?

Okay, let's begin. You need a full-sized towel and a hand towel (NOT a washcloth). My hand towel is folded in THIRDS in this picture. Cute huh. Thank you, Linen's n Things, for having sales before you closed your store.

(*notice the extension cord running under the towels... I don't have outlets in my closet. Do YOU?)

I cut the hand towel 10" from the end. The hand towel is only so wide, so I think any bigger than that would be a little funny looking. But you be the judge! This is my preview of what it will look like when sewn... I thought you ought to know what 10" looks like.

With the cut hand towel right sides together, sew along your cut edge. I finished mine with a serger, but you can use a zig-zag stitch or simply leave it be, whatever you want.

***at this point I was so busy taking pictures I forgot to turn my fabric right-side out again. I had to unpick a bunch, so just imagine these pictures right-side out!***

Fold your regular towel in half, hamburger style. Place a pin at the fold. This is the mid-point. TURN YOUR HAND TOWEL right side out, and place the freshly sewn edge at the mid-point of your regular towel. The non-folded hood edge should line up with the edge of the regular towel.

Pin at the center and along the sides to keep it in place. It will make a triangular shape as you pin.

Bop yourself on the head if you made the same mistake as me, unpick, and make sure right sides are together. Attach the hood to the regular towel by sewing along the inside of the pre-finished edge. It makes it easier to turn right-side out. Trim your threads and toss it on your kid's head.

They'll be so excited they'll plop their bowl of cottage cheese on your ottoman and dance around the living room.

Fabric Demons

I succumbed. You know that BFF, Kirsten, I mentioned in my previous post? Yes, well maybe I should disown her as a BFF because she told me about a fabric shop in the Valley, 35th Ave Sew & Vac that was having a sale today. Since it is like, oh, 40 minutes away from my place, I was out of the house before my husband even left for work. With two sleepy kids in tow.

I found Kirsten with her baby Zoey and her mother there. They quilt... so they knew what they were doing. We oohed and aahed over Amy Butler's Midwest Modern line, wept with joy over the Moda collections, and drooled over Michael Miller fabrics. And then we said good-bye (and good-buy) to our bank accounts.

I mostly got fat quarters because they are so darned cute, but also because the line for the cutting counter was a mile and a half long inside the store. I also got two Moda charm packs. Those are so convenient! Especially because I don't have a cutting mat and rotary blade and all that quilt goodness. Someday I will, but today is not that day. :)

I was going to make a quilt out of a Moda charm pack but realized I needed two charm packs for the pattern I was looking at. I only bought one. Ah, the mistakes of an ignoramous. I shall come up with something else equally as exciting using half the squares, I suppose! I just grabbed prints I liked... not really coordinating anything. I have plans though... big plans.

When my husband came home for lunch today (I love that he comes home for lunch!) he told me he was jealous that fabric had replaced him in my life. Since when did he get that idea??? hee hee. He just watched as his oldest child played with all my fat quarters, calling them "pesants (presents)" and "fabwiks (fabrics)" and making "trains" out of them. I think he had an inkling that fabric obsessions are genetic. And he worried.

So, to those fabric demons that got me today... congrats. Now go away until the next paycheck.

Until then, we're satisfied.

Trash to Treasure

My BFF Kirsten has the craft bug, and decided to give her Nursery trash can a little makeover with scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. This almost makes it fun to change diapers! Almost...

I'm thinking Mod Podge is the universal band-aid for ugly decor!

Picture puzzle

(Photo from photojojo)

I thought this was a great idea- I'm always wondering what to do with pictures, since I'm not into scrapbooking. I think this will keep memories alive for a while!

Unpack... or craft... is there even a question?

I started this project a while back, but then had a baby, moved, and took a vacation. It is the same idea as my kid stool but has paint involved in the party too!

First, I gathered my supplies. Here, the participants are black paint, paint brush, MDF plaque (someone custom-made it for me who advertised on Craigslist... they ended up giving it to me for free when they heard I just had a baby!), and sandpaper.


I sanded the MDF a little to get it smooth and then brushed off the dust.

Then, I started painting! I had this paint lying around from when I painted my dresser and headboard. I didn't paint the middle of the plaque because hey, I was going to cover it anyway!

After it dried for a while, I turned it over and had my daughter help me paint. I figured if I ever wanted it to be displayed on an easel or something instead of hanging on the wall, I better be prepared.

After the paint dried (and I moved and went on vacation) I got to the fun part. This is a print of the Mesa LDS Temple from my awesome photographer uncle. He gave it to me one night when we were over for dinner. Thanks, Uncle Bruce!

The participants in this part of the project were Mod Podge, a sponge brush, and a credit card. I hadn't pulled the card out of my wallet yet :).

A little bit at a time, I applied Mod Podge to the back of the print and stuck it to the MDF board. I then used the card to push out any air bubbles that formed under the print. No one wants a bubbly picture!

I just kept going, slow and steady...

...Until I was done. Then I let it dry for a while and played with my cute new baby. After it was dry (I guess both baby and print...), I put a layer of Mod Podge on the top to seal the print to the MDF.

Then I waited for it to dry again.

And now I have a beautiful new piece of art for my new apartment!