Cinch Halter Dress Tutorial

How to make a cinch halter dress.

Like many of you who found this tutorial, I scoured the internet looking for a pattern/tutorial for a dress for myself. I wanted it backless so that it wouldn’t look like a pillow case style dress which is not flattering on my body type. I am short and athletic. I was hoping the backless option that I included would give it a sexy appeal. Well, my form stayed true and it looked like I had a baby pouch. My 7 year-old is almost as tall as me but a good 10″ narrower around the waist. So after I had completed this but not hemed it yet, I took the back out and made it tighter and criss crossed the back straps. So you are now looking at a size 8-10 kids dress. This tutorial is fine for a kids dress or a womans dress.

This was actually a very easy project to complete. I am bummed that it is not my style. Oh well. I’ll find a more form fitted dress to make for me.

This can be completed by a beginner sewer. It will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete.

Materials you will need:

1. 1-2 yards of fabric (depends on your size)
2. thread
3. sewing machine
4. thread
5. scissors
6. tape measure
7. elastic
8. iron
9. pins

Directions:

Getting materials ready to sew:

1. Measure widest point on body, add 7″ and divide by two (say 34″ is the measurement then it is 41″/2 = 20.5″
2. Cut piece of fabric, 20.5″ x 36″
3. Cut 2nd piece 4″ x 36″ (will become your strap) – longer is needed if you want to tie in a bow across the neck.
4. Cut third and final piece 20.5″ x 24″ (10″ less than your  longest piece)

Back of the dress:

1. On the shorter back piece, fold over the top 1″ then 1″ again. Stitch the bottom of the fold making a tube pocket, this will be where you put your elastic through.
2. Cut the elastic to 1/2 your widest point 17″.
3. Feed the elastic through, sew on both ends to secure.

Both pieces of the dress:

1. Face the front and back pieces together and stitch along both sides.

Front of the dress:

1. Fold over the top 1″ x 1″ and press the seam with your finger to leave an imprint of where the fold ends. Unfold.
2. Where the top of the back of the dress meets the front. Fold in the sides of the front of the dress about 1/8″ or as small as you can fold and then fold again. Press with the iron. Pin to secure.
3. Repeat of the other side.
4. Fold over the top fold again, the sides of the dress now have a clean edge.
5. Stitch the sides of the dress from below the “tube pocket” down to where the top of the back of the dress. Repeat. hint: don’t stitch over the side of your tube or you won’t be able to get your string in.
6. Stitch your tube pocket at the bottom of the fold.

String:

1. Fold your string into a bias tape. Fold in the ends to meet in the middle and then fold again. Stitch shut.
2. You can make this string as wide or as narrow as you want.
3. You can also use a ribbon or a rope.

Final Steps:

1. Feed string through front tube, gather, stitch ends to secure.
2. Hem to desired length.

YOUR DONE!

Fabric used in this tutorial is Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom, Free Spirt Collection – Bell bottom Print

The Simple Skirt Tutorial

I wanted to title this blog post ”well it is about time” but figured I’d probably get more blog hits with “The Simple Skirt Tutorial”.

I’ve wanted to make a skirt for myself for a long time. I think partly I was afraid and secondly if I don’t have time to make my girls dresses then I certainly don’t have time to make myself a skirt.

Today was hot and humid. I haven’t had time to do the laundry so my sundresses and one skirt were in the wash. It was really too hot for shorts today. I don’t mind the heat, I just like to dress appropriately. So after some morning chores, the little one was quiet and I sat down to make this skirt. Now that I’ve done it, there is no stopping me. They are much more comfortable than shorts and alot more feminine. They also go great with graffic T’s. I really think the 1950′s had fashion right and they always wore skirts. Cozy.

So here is my quick tutorial on how to make a care-free simple skirt.  This project should take a beginner sewer about 1/2 hour. I will give you some simple instructions, just like my recipes…simple steps, no cut outs, and no patterns. If you don’t have time, you love the idea and want one of your own, of course I’d be happy to make one for you. The cost is $25 if it is one of my 100% cotton fabrics in stock.

This size for this skirt is what I call a mini. Not ”Spears” short but I like to wear my skirts on my natural waist line which is my hip bones and this skirt falls right above my knee. If you want a longer size, just add yardage to your cut. So instead of a 1/2 yard, maybe 3/4 of a yard.

I hope these instructions help and thank you for stopping by!!

My best, Jen

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Here are the materials:

1. 1/2 yard of fabric, you will use the whole piece.
2. 1 package of “waist band” elastic band
3. thread
4. pins
5. sewing machine
6. iron

Steps:

1. for this step you need to find the cut (rough) edges not the selvage edges, the top and bottom of the fabric where it was cut
2. take each rough edge separately and overcast/serge
3. then fold in half and seam/overcast the selvedge edges together one on top of each other
4. fold over top 1.5″ press, then again 1.5″ – press again with iron
5. sew all the way around the skirt at the fold leaving 3″ opening where you will put the elastic through
6. sew the hem or bottom repeating step 4 and 5 but with no opening.
7. I also like to add one extra stitch all the way around at the very bottom of the skirt so when you wash it stays flat and doesn’t bunch up.
8. measure your natural waist, this is the size of your elastic (not bigger as the elastic will stretch)
9. attach a safety pin to each side of your elastic and push all the way around the top of the skirt coming out the otherside through the opening (be careful not to lose the other side)
10. stitch the elastic ends together, tuck inside
11. stitch the opening closed
12. your done

Quick how to…Jammies, Dads Work Shirt – Upcycled Birthday Pillow

My friend wanted to preserve the Jammies that all three of her boys had worn and adored. The jammies were torn where it was appliqued. She wanted to make it into a pillow. When I think of pillows, I think of making it into a pillow cover, especially with kids. So I got the idea of asking her for one of dad’s worn out work shirts to use as the backing of the pillow. She loved the idea. While I was cutting it out, I thought wouldn’t the patch be so cute as a pocket. They could put little notes inside, birthday cards or even as he gets older a remote.

So here is what you will need for the project.

• Jammie top
• Dad’s work shirt
• Interfacing
• thread
• sewing machine
• scissors
• pillow form

And here are the steps:

• cut jammie top into a square both front and back together (knits are thin – this one had some tears too).
• measure dads shirt with pillow form inside his shirt and mark with chalk, remove pillow and cut into square outside the pins, leaving at least 1/8″ around the outside of pillow for stitching
• sew jammie top into a pocket using both sides of jammies as one piece, a piece of interfacing, and a piece of dads shirt for the back side.
• attach pocket to dads shirt not button side
• sew shirt all the way around, you will be able to open and turn inside out with the buttons.
• turn inside out
• insert pillow form
• Done!

Time to complete, about 2 hours.

Gone to the dogs…collars.

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Well if it hasn’t been a year then it might be two years….

Hubs bought me the supplies to make my own dog collars. We have a real hard time finding ones that fit our mini doxies. Our biggest doxie weighs about 12 pounds. So typical collars are way to big and bulky and we are usually stuck with the basic boring nylon ones. The really nice fabric ones are always so heavy, they are weighed down with heavy cotton webbing meant for big dogs, resulting in the collars weighing almost as much as my weenie dogs. LOL.

Well hubs must have had a talk with the baby puppy Moxie who kept trying to take his nylon collar off by the tab (by himself). When he couldn’t chew on his, he would chew on his brothers. My eldest dog, Bayley has had very bad food allergies and we always struggled with his diet until we found the right balance and he finally gained some weight…his collar no longer fit. So we took the one good collar and used it on the puppy. The puppy likes to go under fences. Suffice it to say, I’ve had anxiety about the dogs getting loose with no collars on or an emergency evacuation from our house. I am a worry wart.

Today I had to take the boys to the vet and what do you know… I had one good collar. I’ve had it on this weeks to do list, but with an hour to spare, crunch time, I made all three this morning before their vet appointment.

My goal was to create a good-looking collar that is light weight, not adjustable (adds to scratching and unnecessary weight), and would fit their name tags which slide on to their collars rather than hanging down to their knees. It isn’t easy being Itty Bitty. I used a designer weight black and white paisley fabric, grosgrain ribbon to back the collar, plastic clips, metal D rings, and their slide name plate.

To complete this project you’ll need to create a single sided bias tape out of the fabric, slide the name plate on, place the grosgrain ribbon over the back side of the bias tape, fold the edges through the plastic clips, slide on the d ring and then stitch away! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!! Not really. I made quite a few mistakes because the fabric is a high quality but also very thin, so I should have adjusted the tension a bit more.

Not sure that I want to add them to my shop but I love trying new things and I love being able to say I can do something new! Very fun project. Hope you enjoy the pics too. I love my dachshunds more than chocolate. And my boys are loving their new collars.

Bayley 10, Tucker 8, Moxie 10 months

My best, Jen

Knitting for Kids – How to make a scarf

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My 7 year old daughter is very crafty. It is winter vacation, so my shop is not all about me. I try to take some time to do some fun projects with the kids. She has wanted to knit for a long time. I sew and was never taught how to knit. This is a great project and all it requires is yarn and your fingers. We got the idea from the American Girl website, unfortunately, they no longer have the video on their site or at least we couldn’t find it. So thank you American Girl for showing us this great technique.

Supplies: Yarn, fingers

Cost: $5 for yarn

Time: 2 hours (if you need to take a break, use a pencil to hold your spot).

Step 1: You start with the end of the yarn wedged between your thumb and forefinger, then you weave over and under your fingers wrapping around the pinky 3 times until 2 strings appear on each finger.

Step 2: Starting at your pinky and moving back toward your pointer finger (forefinger), you take the bottom string and pull it over the second string leaving just one string on that finger.

Step 3. Then you take the long part of the string and weave it again, so that two strings appear on each finger and repeating step 2 until you have the desired length.

She has made scarfs, belts, bracelets and necklaces. Very easy to do and she has a lot of fun. We’ve heard of others who sell them for $5 a scarf which is pretty cool for 7 years old.

On the purple pink one, she added some tassels to make it a little bit fancy.

I hope you enjoyed our tutorial.

Our best, Jen & ASJ. 

Sewing for Kids – A Knotted Fleece Throw

This week is winter break and even though we’d rather be sunning in Florida, some quiet time with my 7-year-old is needed. The 3-year-old still has school 3 days this week so it is giving us some alone time. Well when you’re a crafty mom, you tend to have crafty children and my 7-year-old loves to craft.

You’ll need the following materials for this project:

• 2 yards of fleece
• fabric scissors (sharp)
• yard stick or ruler
• The project took approximately 2 hours, depending upon how fast you can tie a knot, and if you can sit still that long.
• cost approximately $15 for 2 yards of fleece

Fold the Fleece in half so that the salvage edges are on the sides and the part that was cut meets at the fold. Cut the one piece into two pieces. The soft fluffy sides should be on the outside with the undersides of the fleece now touching. Then cut 4″ x 4″ squares out of each corner. Along the entire edge of the two fleece blankets measure 1″ increments and cut toward the center 4″ to create a fringe effect. After you’ve cut all the way around, take each 1″ strip top and bottom (so 2 fringes) and tie it in a knot with the adjacent 2 pieces of fringe. Just do that all the way around and you have a knotted fleece throw.

Crafty Girl Valentines

Have Extra Fabric in your shop?

You’ve made all the yo yo’s you can, but the small pieces of fabric just accumulate. They are perfectly fine but like me, your addicted and more fabric comes in before it goes out. And lets face it, our customers want to see something new. So what do you do with all the little pieces of fabric? You can hold onto it taking up valuable space in your shop or you can do a yo yo/fabric square listing. I’ve wanted to do a listing like this for some time now. I thought Valentines day was the perfect holiday to do it. If you have a crafty girl in your home or you yourself are a crafty girl, these fabric squares are fantastic. They are also perfect for making cards, scrapbooking, bookmarks, beginner quilting, applique and oh so much more! I used all the left over fabric from my designer collection. All of these fabrics have been used in making my bags. If you use fabric in your Etsy shop, this is a great way of being green and not just throwing away scraps of fabric. I also have some other fabric that is not as big as a square that is available for purchase if you do collages, prints or other type of fabric art. I have a geat you tube video on how to make yo yo’s but I think all the other ideas are pretty self explanatory. My 3 and 7 year olds love using my small pieces of fabric. Fabric is fun to hold and playwith.

Heart Fabric Yo Yo Box

Heart Fabric Yo Yo Box

Great tutorial on making a french knot

I was struggling with my french knot. It wasn’t coming out great and after a quick search I found this you tube video, so now I have to share.

Mary Corbet also has an amazing website. Be sure to check it out, I am sure I will be back often!

http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11/french-knot-video-tutorial.html

Upcycled Designer Tie Pattern

Here is a great idea. So your husband has a favorite tie but it just like a good pair of stockings may get a snag or a pull in the silk fabric. Hubs loves my coffee cozies and key fobs but my fabrics are often too girly for him. So he handed me his izod tie and asked me to be creative and make something for him and to use part of it for a mini key fob. It worked out perfectly and the result is just gorgeous. So I thought, wouldn’t it be cute to use the fat part of the tie for a coffee cozy. I measured it up and it came out way better than I thought it would. I know silk is not the best when it comes to coffee stains but it does give this tie a second life, it is eco-friendly, and with the tie padding is perfect for not burning your hand. Feel free to use this idea to give life to an old object. I have a few other ties that I may do this to but this may result in me opening a second etsy shop to fullfill my “green” side of my personality. Would love to hear your thoughts on the upcycled tie & whether I need another shop or just a shop section?

Upcycled Tie

Holy “Custom Order” Batman Capes!

This was a fun project. I love when I get the opportunity to make itty bitty clothes. I haven’t had much time to make my pretty dresses for my girls, I have been so busy with custom orders. It is as they say, the cobblers son doesn’t have shoes to wear. This custom order was for 5 batman capes, and is for 3-4 year olds, so adjust the measurements if the child is larger. It is better to have a shorter cape for safety and no strings. But I thought I would share this fun pattern with all of you. There is no copyright on this. I made it up in my head and happy if share if you want to make them all day long and sell them. I am ok with that.

You’ll need:

• 1 yard of black fabric (medium weight)
• velcro self adhesive 3M brand
• black thread
• yellow felt
• fabric glue
• scissors, sewing machine, pins

For the body of the cape cut a square that is 22″ x 22″, then use my D pattern and cut two pieces in this pattern, the top part of the D will be cut, then you’ll use the batman cutout on the felt, if you want it to be symetrical I recommend folding the pattern in half.

For the body fold the left over and then over again about 1/4″ and stitch, repeat on the right, then repeat on the bottom, leave the top unstitched, we’ll get back to that.

For the top part of the Cape think of the D being on it’s back more like a mountain, the top of the mountain should be cut so that you have two symetrical sides which will be where you close the cape with velcro. Stitch the big half circle, leaving the bottom of the mountain open. Then stitch the inside of the circle. Turn it inside out. Press flat. Top Stitch leaving the the bottom open.

Piece the bottom of the cape and the top of the cape. Fold in the top part about 1/4″ all the way around the opening, put the top of the bottom of the cape in between the two pieces by gathering as you go, and pin closed. Probably best to stitch twice. Check the back side to make sure. Attach the velcro to the two tabs. Attach the Batman felt cut out with permanent waterproof fabric glue.

This is just a quick tutorial but this is a pretty easy project once you know the steps. Enjoy!!