Yes, he climbed in by himself.
At least he’s actually IN the pictures, unlike a couple of them from yesterday?
Happy 4th!
July 4, 2009 By 8 Comments
Pattern Review: Kirstin’s Skirt
July 3, 2009 By 5 Comments
by Olabelhe
Available for purchase here. I suppose this is more of an ebook, really.
I loved the waistband. I’ve never made one this style before, but I’ll definitely be trying it again. The way you finish the bottom of it before gathering and attaching the skirt practically eliminated the annoying mess of threads you usually get.
I’d also never hand pleated a skirt before, but I’ll be doing that again too.
The directions were clear and easy and the skirt went together quickly. I had to run out for thread (how on Earth did I run out of brown?) and ric rac and still sewed this up in an afternoon.
Hopefully it fits the recipient. Campbell wouldn’t hold still, so I’m not sure. :o)
$44 hooded towel tutorial
June 30, 2009 By 57 Comments
From an actual email exchange between my sister-in-law and me:
Her: I think you should make these ***insert link to cute but WAY expensive hooded towels here*** .
Me: You mean for my favorite (still gestating) niece?
Her: If you felt the need to make your favorite still gestating niece a hooded towel she would use it often and I am sure your blog readers would love to learn how to make them.
Her: If you felt the need to make your favorite still gestating niece a hooded towel she would use it often and I am sure your blog readers would love to learn how to make them.
And so, here goes!
Supplies:
Terry cloth, 38″ X 40″ (you could get by with a yard if you shortened the body of the towel 2″)
Decorative fabric, 38″ X 40″ (same spiel as above)
Matching thread
Pins
Pins
All seams are 1/2″
Cut 1 piece of terry cloth and 1 piece of decorative fabric 40″ W and 28″ L
Cut 2 pieces of terry cloth and 2 pieces of decorative fabric 10″ square
Get out a dinner plate. Place it on your 10″ squares of the decorative fabric like so:
Get out your fanciest Happy Birthday pencil and trace along one edge.
Cut along that edge. Use the decorative fabric as the pattern to cut the terry cloth squares to match. Here’s what you should have now.
Pin the curved edges, right sides together.
Sew curved edges. Make a few clips in the seam allowance along the curve to help things lay down nicely. DO NOT cut through your stitching.
Line center seam on back of hood up with center of body piece, right sides together. Pin. Do this with both decorative fabric and terry cloth. I left the crease in my body piece to make this easier.
Sew from edge of hood to edge of hood on both pieces.
With right sides together, pin decorative fabric to terry cloth. Match up sides of hood, seams, and corners.
You’ll want to leave a 6″ or so opening along the bottom edge for turning. I like to use a different color of pin to remind me to start and stop sewing there. I’m nerdy like that.
Sew all the way around the towel, leaving 6″ opening on bottom edge.
Make clips in the seam allowance where the hood meets both sides of the body of the towel.
Clip the corners.
Turn the whole thing right side out through the hole.
Press.
Top stitch all the way around, approximately 1/4″ from edge of towel.
Voila! Your own $44 hooded towel, for around $10.
***As usual: Make ‘em, gift ‘em, but please don’t sell ‘em!***
Last braggy mom post of the season (maybe)
June 30, 2009 By 4 Comments
Super easy apron tutorial
June 28, 2009 By 15 Comments
This is seriously THE EASIEST apron ever. There are similar tutorials out there, but here’s how I make them!
Supplies:
1 package extra wide double fold bias tape and thread that matches the bias tape
1 piece of fabric cut approximately 17″ W by 26″ L, edges hemmed
- or -
you can be super lazy (like me) and use a dish towel
template for the pieces you’ll cut off, which can be printed here.
See how cute that dish towel is? The 2 pack was $3! And I think I’ll save the polka dot terry cloth one for one of these.
Cut out your template. Place it on both top corners of the towel. I traced it. You could pin it. Whatever’s easiest.
Cut out along the lines you just drew (or along the edge of the template, if you’re pinning).
You can serge or zig zag the raw edges now, if you want.
Next, open your bias tape. Find the middle. Measure 7.5″ on either side and mark with pins. The pins should be 15″ apart. 7.5″ was a good measurement for 8-11 year old girls. Make it shorter for younger girls or longer for adults.
See how one side of the bias tap sticks out farther than the other side? The short side will be on top for the rest of this tutorial.
Line your pins up with the top finished edge of the towel on both sides.
Pin the bias tape in place along the curves.
If you’re making this for your kids to play dress up, feel free to skip the next step.
Open up the ends of your bias tape. Fold over the top edge. Fold sides back in. Press.
Starting on the end of the side that will be the right of the apron (your left side when looking at it), sew just onto the shorter edge of the bias tape like this:
Keep sewing and sewing and sewing.
And, you’re done!
Macy likes hers tied in the front, so we used the entire length of the bias tape.
Starting on the end of the side that will be the right of the apron (your left side when looking at it), sew just onto the shorter edge of the bias tape like this:
Keep sewing and sewing and sewing.
Remove the pins and continue sewing just on the bias tape.
And, you’re done!
Macy likes hers tied in the front, so we used the entire length of the bias tape.
If you want shorter ties, trim the bias tape accordingly before folding the ends in.
Washer necklaces
June 27, 2009 By 13 Comments
If you haven’t already seen this tutorial, you really should check it out. I bought the stamps from Harbor Freight a while back and finally got around to attempting this.
(Tangent: The first set I bought — on sale, under $4 — had no M’s and 2 P’s. And they were sold out everywhere in the Greater Salt Lake area. Darn Mormons. They finally got more in and I exchanged them. The N and S and a few other letters got flattened and were not useable by the time we finished our project. Worth $4? Yes, but if you’re doing this project with a large group you may want to buy more than one set or find better stamps.)
Macy’s class is having a “class store” to help them use the money counting skills they’ve been practicing in math. She and a friend decided that instead of, you know, selling Dum Dums or something that they wanted to make pillows. Thankfully they got over that and decided to make washer necklaces instead. The girls and us moms spent yesterday afternoon mass producing on behalf of M&M Washer World. The pay wasn’t great, but the memories were priceless. :o)
Dear guys that put insulation in our attic,
June 26, 2009 By 4 Comments
Finally!
June 25, 2009 By 6 Comments
Travel wipes case
June 23, 2009 By 9 Comments
You’ve seen these cute boutique wipes cases, right? My friend and neighbor Tam has a great tutorial for them. I haven’t tried it yet, but she swears it’s easy. And there’s no sewing involved!
Which is exactly why we’re making them for our next neighborhood sewing group project! July 1st…details to be announced.
I swear my apron tutorial is coming. I need to make a quick trip to the fabric store first, which is super fun with 4 kids in tow. Try it some time. I dare you. I’ll even let you borrow my kids.
I’ve got another tute half done, too.
Soon. Very soon.
