Bethany Sew-and-Sew

My "World of Dinosaurs" Skirt (w/easy Tutorial)

2012-05-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

This is me wearing my newest skirt. It is an incredibly basic skirt, so I wrote up a quick tutorial, but I'm mostly here writing about my love of the fabric. I bought this fabric several years ago after finding a bolt of it in a going-out-of-business clearance frenzy. My husband loves dinosaurs, and I made him a paintbrush roll-up out of it (FYI here's a tutorial for a roll-up). The rest of the fabric sat on my shelf over the years and I never could decide what to do with it. The dinosaurs were painted by James Gurney and used on a series of postal stamps called the "World of Dinosaurs" that came out in 1996. James Gurney illustrated the Dinotopia book series, and is obviously quite skilled at dinosaur painting! Here's his blog. I wanted to make a skirt out of it in the past but kept hesitating because I couldn't see myself wearing dinosaurs around town. But now I'm more awesome, so I can see myself wearing dinosaurs around town. A lot of people don't notice it's dinosaurs at first (or at all), thinking it's just an earth tone print, but I like it when it hits them that yes, it is a T-Rex looking at them.

So here's how to make yourself a simple elastic waist skirt out of some quirky fabric. If you make a really quirky skirt, email me a picture because that would make my day!

1. Cut out two pieces on the fold that are this shape. Since it has to slide over your hips, use your hip measurement for a guide on how wide to make the waist. The bigger the fuller the skirt will be. I made mine kind of big. The wider you draw the angle of your skirt also affects the fullness. This picture is honestly just an eyeball, which is how I cut mine. Okay, now you are almost done :-)

2. Unfold the two skirt halves, lay them on top of each other right sides together and sew up the sides. Iron the seams open.

3. Make the casing for your elastic. To do this, iron down the top of the skirt about 1/4" or so, then fold it down about an inch (or however wide your elastic is) and iron it again. Sew it down all the way around the skirt, leaving a gap somewhere to insert the elastic.

4. Optional--Add a ruffle edge to the bottom. This is just a long strip of fabric gathered on top to fit the bottom of your skirt. I cut two long strips and sewed them together to form a ring. I lined up the two seams on this ring to the two seams on the bottom of the skirt and then gathered up the top of my ruffle until it fit. Sew it down.

5. If you haven't already, hem the bottom of your ruffle and/or skirt.

6. Use a safety pin to insert the elastic into your casing (measure it by holding it around your waist where you want it to sit, pulling it as tight as you feel comfortable), sew the ends together, then sew closed the gap you left open.

Bam. You have a skirt!

Pattern Review for Butterick B4176 with Photos

2012-05-02T15:33:00.001-05:00

Yay for another Pattern Review! I bought this pattern a few years ago to make a top for my daughter, and decided to pull it out again to make her Easter dress this year. The fact that I used it again is a plus for the pattern. I would never reuse a difficult pattern!

This dress was made using Butterick's Fast and Easy pattern B4176. The beauty of it is that it requires very few pieces. The dress I made was view D, although as you can tell in the pictures, I added cap/flutter sleeves as a personal preference. The pattern includes puff sleeves with an elastic casing. I also chose to make my own bias tape to finish the neckline and did a scant hem to finish the armholes rather than use any trim or ric-rac.

I appliqued a purple shark on the side, as opposed to daisies like in the illustration, because my daughter is awesome and loves sharks. :-)

I like the pattern, and if you are comfortable with doing pin-tuck pleats, there really isn't anything too technically difficult about this one. It makes a cute, simple, easy to fit and wear dress. To make the top, you just make it shorter! (I think they do a decent job of explaining the pleating process in the directions, but if you are reading this blog because you are confused about this pattern, leave me a comment with your email, or email me, and I'll help you if I can!)

The shorts and pants pictured are basic pattern pieces with an elastic waist. Very simple and good stock pieces to have in your pattern library if you don't already.

Here is my daughter when she was two wearing the top I made. I chose to just hem the neckline and armholes on that one, which is really hard. I recommend using bias tape.

Arthur's 1st Birthday Shirt!

2012-04-27T11:39:00.000-05:00

As is my tradition starting with my daughter's 2nd birthday, I make my children birthday t-shirts proudly showing their age.

For Arthur's #1 shirt I made a large 1 sitting in the grass, with some sunshine and friendly bear. The bear has button eyes and a button nose. The grass has a bit of a 3-D effect but you can't really see that in the pictures.

All the parts are made with basic craft felt and sewn on with my machine. I hand sewed the first one I made for my daughter using embroidery floss, but it took forever! Click here if you would like to see my daughter's #2, #3, and #4 birthday shirts.

Happy Birthday Arthur!

In case you are wondering, yes he got the shirt coated in chocolate cake and icing, but it came out of the washing machine sparkly clean. I've never had any problems washing my birthday shirts. The felt holds up nicely.

Pattern Review of McCall's M5430 with Photos

2012-04-10T13:00:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile since I've posted a pattern review, but that doesn't mean I've stopped using them. My favorite patterns are "1 Hour" or "Express" patterns that declare, minus cutting time, they can be completed quickly. The reality is that the actual time to complete these, even for a more advanced seamstress, is usually greater than 1 hour, but they can be completed in one afternoon. The skirt I'm wearing here is a wrap-around skirt created using McCall's pattern M5430 -- The 1 Hour Skirt.

I used the pattern for view C. Instead of the illustration's modest khaki look, I decided to do something a bit funkier by using red and white stripes, with a boldly contrasting blue. Both fabrics came from re-purposed bedsheets. I use bedsheets and other clothes I cut up for about 50% of all my sewing.

This pattern is a great beginner's pattern. The skirt uses very few pieces and is easy to assemble. This type of pattern is a great staple in any pattern library. This skirt can be both casual and formal depending on the type of fabric used and the view selected. I chose to size it to fit on my hips rather than my waist, which for most people can be done simply by going up a size than what you usually wear.

I love the versatility of a wrap-around skirt, and I like the feminine touch the bow adds. The other 2 views do not have pockets, but I love the pockets on this one, so view C is definitely my favorite. I recommend playing with the colors! It's more fun that way! View B has a decorative trim, and View A is cut so that the open edge ruffles. All three views have the same waistband. Because of how the pockets line up, the skirts without the pockets have more room for error, so if you're a true beginner, view A or B might be easier, but not by a whole lot.

Avant-Garde Skirt made from Men's Shirt #2--Tutorial!

2012-04-03T19:47:00.006-05:00

My last post was a more funky skirt made from a men's shirt, so this time I decided to make a more traditional, yet still unique, skirt from another one of my husband's old shirts. This skirt was made from an XXL short-sleeved khaki button down shirt. Unlike the other skirt I made, this one was made entirely from one shirt, but is similar in that it is super comfortable and wearable. There are a lot of steps, but that doesn't mean it's a difficult project. A lot of the steps are only necessary because you have to be creative with your fabric when you're limited to one shirt. I love these skirts!

1. Select your shirt. I think this skirt style works best with a solid color, but the choice is yours. I used the chest pockets in this design, so a shirt with chest pockets would be necessary to make it exactly the same, but you can mess around with it to make it work! :-)

2. Cut off the sleeves and collar. Don't throw away these items though--you'll use them later.

3. Cut the shirt in half right below the chest pockets. This is the body of your skirt.

4. Cut the front from the back of the top half of the shirt. Then cut a rectangle from each half of the front of the shirt by removing the buttons/buttonholes (leave a little fabric on the edges of your button plackets so you can use them later in step 14), and straightening up the top and outside edges. This picture shows one rectangle cut out and one half still waiting to be cut.

5. Cut the back of the shirt as shown in this picture, cutting just below the yoke, then evenly splitting the remainder of the shirt.

6. Cut the shoulder seams from the yoke, and then split it in half. This will give you two sections of fabric. Straighten these out into rectangles as best as you can. The outside of the yoke may be lighter than the inside due to fading, so keep that in mind when deciding which side will face out on your skirt. I chose to put the slightly darker edge outside for the subtle effect it caused.

7. Sew the strips you cut from the yoke to the bottom edges of the pocket rectangles you cut, forming a band consisting of fabric strip-pocket-fabric strip-pocket.

8. Pin this band to the top of the body of your skirt (the bottom half of the shirt). This is where it gets interesting. Depending on the size of shirt, the length of the yoke, etc..., this may fit exactly, or the band may be a bit smaller than your skirt. If so, gather or pleat the skirt to fit. I placed two small pleats on each side under the pockets. You can see these in the side shot of me wearing the skirt at the bottom of this post.

9. Sew the band to the skirt. When you lift it up it will look like this. Weird. We'll fill in the gaps though, don't worry!

10. Get the other two strips you cut out of the back of the shirt in step 5. Measure above your hips (or where you want the skirt to sit), and then cut those strips, including seam allowance, to that measurement. Sew them together to form a band. This band will be smaller than the circumference of the skirt. Gather the top of your skirt between the pockets, in front and back, to fit this new band. This picture shows the band already sewn in.

11. Fold down the pockets towards the outside of the skirt to get them out of the way. Pin the band to the skirt, right-sides together (except over the folded down pocket--see illustration). Sew the band to the top of the skirt once it's gathered to fit. Do not sew this band to the pockets. Skip over them. The band will go behind the pockets. You could cut down your strips and sew them to the edges of the pocket pieces, or a variety of other ways, but I found my method to be easier.

12. Flip up the pockets and being careful to fold under the raw edges on each side of them, pin them down to the top band. Top stitch them in place. If your waistband doesn't fit as nicely as you want, tuck darts behind the pockets before you sew them down.

13. You're almost done! Now we have to make a "fly" so you can get this thing on. Cut the skirt open above the existing buttons. The button plackets from the top of the shirt are laying on the skirt in this picture because I'm going to use them in the next step.

14. Get the button plackets you cut off the top halves of the shirt in step 4. Sew them to the raw seams at the top of where the buttons/buttonholes stop on your skirt. Measure these to ensure that the buttons and buttonholes will line up once your done! Then sew them up the remaining raw edge of the skirt.

It should look like this when you're done.

15. Button the skirt closed, then sew it shut up until wherever you want the fly to start. For me that's about 6"-ish from the top.

16. Now for the waistband facing. You don't have to finish the top edge of your skirt this way, but I think it makes for a much cleaner edge. I cut the bottom seams off the sleeves to get the fabric for this. You'll need a strip as long as the top of your skirt, so you may need to cut some from the rest of the sleeves or the collar and piece it all together to make it work. I like using the sleeve edges because it's already nice and hemmed!

17. Sew the facing strip to the top of the skirt, right-sides together, all the way around, from one front opening of the skirt to the other.

18. Fold the facing into the skirt, press, then top stitch all the way around.

19. The finishing touches are to add extra buttons and buttonholes to the top if you are uncomfortable with the distance between the existing buttons, and since my skirt didn't end with a button at the very top, I added a hook and eye there.

Notice the pleats under the side pocket that I mentioned in step 8.

Avant-Garde Skirt made from a Men's Shirt--Tutorial!

2012-03-28T10:58:00.005-05:00

I'll admit it--I'm very proud of this skirt. I love it. I wear it often, which is the true test of whether or not you are truly satisfied with something you've made. I made it using a men's XXL short-sleeved shirt, and another men's shirt for the contrasting plaid, although you could use any scrap fabric for that part. If you're skinnier than me, you could probably do this with an XL or L shirt, because I did have some fabric leftover. But bigger is always better when reconstructing shirts because it gives you some room for error and more fabric to work with, which never hurts! This tutorial has a lot of wiggle room because this is an avant-garde project that requires creativity and a bit of filling in the blanks. This is mostly to show you how to maximize what can be done with a shirt, and how I personally transformed it into a skirt. The detailing is up to you. Here is another example of a skirt made from a button-down shirt that you might want to try.

Step 1: Locate the appropriate shirt. For this type of "cargo-ish" skirt, not just any shirt will look right. Try to find one with pocket flaps, in an earthy tone, and if it has little button flap thingies on the shoulders-yay! I'm using an old shirt of my husband's.

Step 2: Cut the shirt in half, below the pockets.

Step 3: Place the "skirt" (the bottom half of the shirt) on yourself or a dress form your size and start pinching. There was a lot of excess fabric in the back, so I chose to make pleats there, but you can gather it up however it suits you. I used darts in the front.

Step 4: Cut out the pockets from the top of the shirt, cutting closely around them.

Step: 5 Place the pockets where you want them on the body of your skirt and sew them down. I chose to place them on the side seams at the bottom of the skirt. You'll notice that this shirt has a curved edge at the sides, like many button-down shirts do, so this led me to the next step. (skip to step 10 if you're satisfied with the length and don't want to bother with anything else on the bottom. You could also at this point just add a simple ruffle all the way around and ignore the sleeves stuff I did below)

Step 6: Cut the sleeves off your shirt top, snipping closely to the seams, then cut the sleeve open. You'll be left with a piece of fabric this shape.

Step 7: Gather the top of the sleeve (the rounded edge) and pin it into the curved edge of the shirt under your newly located pocket. Do this on both sides obviously (if that's where you put your pocket and if you want to!--I did this next part because I wanted my skirt a little longer and I like to use as much of the shirt as possible) Sew this in place, using your judgement for the gathers. I left the straight edges of the sleeves untouched, as shown in the picture, because I am going to sew them to the ruffle made in Step 8.

Step 8: Using a contrasting fabric, or another shirt, make two long strips (at least 75% longer than the gaps between the two weird sleeve ruffle things you just made! The height of the strip should be about the same size as the straight edges left on the sides of your sleeve ruffle). Cut one strip in half and hem the two short ends that you just created. Why you ask? Because in the front of your skirt, there are two sections because of the buttons. I wanted my ruffle to continue this split. You don't have to though, since it won't affect anything really. Also hem the entire length of the bottom of your strips.

Step 9: Gather the top of your strips and attach them to the spaces between your sleeve ruffles, sewing the edges together where they meet on the sides. It should look like this once it's attached.

Step 10: Make the waistband. Cut the yoke (the top part of the back of the shirt) from the rest of the shirt. Split it open. Cut 2 equal strips from this fabric and sew them together at the short ends on one side. For me, the 2 sections of the yoke weren't long enough to make a waistband at my natural waist, so I used scraps from other parts of the shirt to make the strip long enough. Then cut the bottom part of the shirt top in half long-ways and make a facing for your waist band. Basically, make another waistband the same size and everything. You want your waistband a little longer than the top of the skirt so that you can finished the ends in the front for more buttons or whatever type of closure you want. You may have to get creative to make the waistband and facing, or use fabric from somewhere else.

Step 11: Sew the facing to the waistband (basically you're sewing two strips of fabric together long-ways that are the same size) Fold it over, encasing the seam inside, and iron it down. (I cut my waist band and facing straight across, rather than having any curve to it. So I will be adding darts later to conform it to my body. You can cut a curved waistband if you'd rather not do darts later)

Step 12: Attach the waistband and facing to your skirt. I sewed the facing around the top of the skirt first, wrong sides together, then pressed a nice edge on the bottom of the waistband. I then flipped the waist band over the skirt and stitched it down, hiding the raw edge inside. It's a good idea to then top-stitch around the top of the waistband, just for a nice finished edge. (Note: I later decided to add a "collar pocket" to the front of my skirt. It would have been better to add this before sewing down the waistband so I could have tucked the top of it into the seam.)

Step 13: The Details. Your skirt is mostly done now, but there are a few things that need done. For one, if your shirt is like mine, the buttonholes are too far apart for comfort. I added buttonholes between the existing ones and used buttons from the top of the shirt. I sewed some hook and eyes into the front center of the waistband to close it at the top. I also sewed a few darts into the waistband to get it to hug my body better, and sewed the skirt shut along the buttons up until the last couple so I won't have to worry about weird gaps around the buttons. I used the little button flaps on the shoulders of the shirts to hold up the sleeve ruffles I made. I used some raw seams I cut off the shirt and scrap fabric from the contrasting shirt to make fun details on the front. My favorite part of the front though is the collar pocket!

The Collar Pocket: I cut the collar and the strip of fabric under it that it is sewn into off the neckline of the shirt. I folded it in half and cut it into two parts. I then sewed these two sections together creating a "square" with vertical seams. The natural curve of the collar makes a great opening for a pocket. I then just top-stitched the pocket onto the skirt, lining up the straight-edge with the buttons. I love this pocket!

I love this skirt! It's very comfortable, but the best part is that I made it from a recycled shirt without a pattern. Sometimes just grabbing a shirt and a pair of scissors is the easiest way to make what you want. No cutting out tissue paper!

Easy Pillow Shams to show off Grandma's Quilt Blocks!

2012-03-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

My great-grandmother, like many great-grandmothers, was a crafty lady. She hand-pieced several quilt blocks that my mother found many years ago. I decided they had been laying around in her basement long enough! There weren't enough of them to actually finish the quilt (and hand-sewing a quilt just isn't in my schedule!), so I decided to make pillows out of them! This tutorial can be used to set off anything, not just vintage quilt blocks, and the squares backdrop I used can be changed as well. I did one for my mother and on hers I did 3 stripes behind the flower and a smaller border around the edge. Forgot to take a picture of it though!

1. Select your fabric and cut out 4 squares of it. The size will be determined by the size of the pillow you are putting in it, and how large a border you want. Remember your seam allowances! I used a 14" pillow, and wanted a 2" border, so adding in my half inch seam allowance on each side (1"), plus a seam allowance for center seams (1"), my square needs to be 20" when placed together unsewn as in this picture.

2. Sew your 4 squares together. The way to do this and get the corners to line up nicely in the middle is to sew the top 2 together, and then the bottom 2. Line up the center of these 2 sections and then sew the 2 sides together. Make sure you press open your seams as you go.

3. Applique your quilt block onto the center. Appliqueing can refer to several different processes. I zig-zag stitched around the flower then went back over my zig-zags with a straight stitch to really lock it down.

4. Now to make the back of your pillow! You will need to create 2 rectangles that when placed one above the other (like in the picture), is a few inches taller than the front part of your pillow, but the same width. This is because you will slide the top part down over the bottom part about 2" so that it overlaps, creating an opening to put your pillow inside (see step #5). The inside edges should be hemmed. I sewed some gold and blue together to make my two back panels, but you can just as easily use one fabric.

5. With the right sides together, lay your two back panels on top of your front panel, overlapping them a couple inches. (As you can see in this picture, I didn't overlap mine that much--which is an error. Trust me, you want a bigger overlap so that it stays shut after you put your pillow in it). Sew around the edges.

6. After sewing around the edges along your accounted for half inch seam allowance, turn your pillow case inside out and press. At this point you will make the sham border (not sure if that is what it's actually called!). I wanted a 2" border, so using my measuring tape, I placed my needle down 2" from the edge. Sew all the way around the pillow 2" in from the outside.

7. Here is the finished sham. Now you just need to put your pillow in it!

I also made a red one. I really love them! It's wonderful to have my great-grandmother's quilt blocks not go to waste since she spent so long putting them together!

Girl's Easy-to-Wear Summer Dress Tutorial

2012-03-12T14:16:00.001-05:00

Spring-like weather always finds me ready to make summer dresses. They are my favorite thing to sew because they are simple, cute, and practical! This dress is my rendition of a dress I saw a picture of, but needed some adjustments (a ruffle on the bottom and to tie at the waist instead of around the chest). This dress used less than 1 yard of fabric for the main print, and some scrap pieces of the solid (enough for a couple long strips 3-4" wide). You will also need a piece of fabric to make a casing for the waist ties that will go around the inside of the dress (see step 6).

1. Start by cutting two equal-sized rectangles of fabric.
The Height = how long you want the dress to be from the chest to the bottom (not including any ruffles you might put on the bottom) + seam allowance. The top seam allowance needs to be big enough to fold over for a casing for elastic.
The Width = your child's waist measurement + seam allowance

2. Sew up the sides of the rectangles, right-sides together, and fold over and press the top edge approx. 1.5". The fold at the top needs to be big enough to sew down and channel elastic through, so this measurement may need adjusted to fit the width of the elastic you're using. You may also want to fold over the top 1/4" and press before folding it over again if you want the bottom edge nice and finished off looking. It's inside the dress and won't show, so that's up to you and how much work you want to do!

3. Sew down the folded over top edge along the bottom, leaving a small gap to feed your elastic through later.

Optional 3.5. Sew around the top of your casing about a 1/4" from the top. (This is just to create a little ruffle above your elastic and is purely decorative)

4. Measure your child to determine how far down from the top of the dress you want to put the waist ties. Find the center front of the dress and mark this spot. Mark 2 spots, equidistant from this center front mark on either side of it. This is where your button holes will go for the ties to come out in the front. Use your judgement to determine how far apart to put them.

5. Make your buttonholes. I used the largest buttonhole size I could make!

6. Make a casing strip for the waist ties. I cut a strip of fabric (longer than I needed), pressed under both of the raw edges, pinned it around the inside circumference of the dress (right over the buttonholes--where the waist is), and then cut the strip a couple inches longer than where it met. I then sewed the two ends of the strip together, creating a loop the exact same length as the dresses circumference.

7. Sew the casing down on both the top and bottom, going all the way around the dress. Leave a small gap at the buttonholes through which you will feed your waist tie through later. Technically you don't have to leave a gap because you can feed the tie through the buttonholes themselves, but I found this easier.

8. Create a ruffle for the bottom of your dress. This is of course optional! To make a ruffle, cut a long strip of fabric (the circumference of your dress doubled works well for a full ruffle), the width being how tall you want the ruffle to be (approx. 2-3" works well) + seam/hem allowance. Sew the ends together to create a loop (be careful not to twist it!) Hem the entire length of it on one side, then sew a gathering stitch through the other side (a long stitch you can pull to pucker up the fabric).

9. Attach the ruffle to the bottom of your dress, right-sides together, pulling up your gathers until it matches the circumference of the dress, then sew it down.

Once it's sewn, this is what it should look like!

10. Insert your elastic into the gap left at the top of the dress. The elastic should be measured and cut to fit your child snugly (but not too tight--there will be straps to help hold the dress up!). Feed it through using a safety pin, sew the ends together, and sew the gap shut! (If you want to put a decorative strip at the top--see step 12--do this before you put elastic in...it'll be much easier!)

11. Do the same in the casing behind your buttonholes, except feed your waist tie ends out the front of the buttonholes. I originally just made one long strap, using my daughter as a guide. Another option is to make two straps attached together using a length of elastic, for a more stretchy comfortable fit (I later went back and did this, although it doesn't change the look of the dress whatsoever)

11.5 Making a waist tie/shoulder straps--cut a rectangle of fabric twice the width you want the finished strap to be. Fold it over and sew the raw long edges together. Turn it right-side out and iron it flat. I then like to top-stitch down both edges of it to make it look crisp and finished, but that's up to you.

I also went back and added a strip of green to the top just for decoration.

12. Attach your shoulder straps. This picture shows them pinned to the outside, but I obviously sewed them on the inside. That's just how I pinned them while fitting it on my daughter :-)

Here's the finished dress! My daughter loves the ruffle and bow!

Easy-Peasy Zippered Pockets Tutorial

2012-03-01T09:31:00.001-06:00

This is by far the EASIEST way to put a zippered pocket on anything. The one thing to keep in mind with this technique is that your zipper will be very visible, so use a color that matches well or contrasts just how you like it. The zipper becomes part of the design. I put one of these pockets on the back of this bag using a yellow zipper. This is my "fishbowl" pocket. I would have liked to use a yellow zipper inside too but I didn't have big long yellow zipper in my zipper stash and I was too lazy to go buy one the color I wanted...so for this tutorial, weird blue it is.

Here I have a big blue pocket I'm wanting to put inside a tote bag I'm making. I want it to have a zipper enclosure at the top. Here we go!

Step 1: Pin one side of your zipper directly to the top of your pocket.

Step 2: Sew the one side of your zipper to the top of your pocket--right on the front of it! Both the right side of your fabric, and the right side of your zipper should be facing you.

Step 3: Pin the pocket where you want to sew it.

Step 4: Sew the top half of the zipper down to the fabric you are attaching your pocket too.

Step 5: If necessary, sew the sides of your pocket down. I didn't need to do this because this pocket is the same width of my bag and will be sewn into the side seams of the completed bag.

Step 6: Enjoy your easy-peasy zippered pocket.

How to make Lined, Insulated Oven Mitts

2012-01-23T20:15:00.000-06:00

Making oven mitts is pretty darn easy, and it's a good way to ensure you have some cute ones in your kitchen! As you can see from this picture, my old pink one was looking pretty sad. I've even caught it on fire a couple times. But an old oven mitt that fits well is the best place to start when cutting out a new one.

1. Lay your old oven mitt on your fabric and cut around it (making two pieces), remembering to allow for your seam.

2. Use this as the template to cut out your lining fabric (cut two).

3. Now use your cut out fabric to cut out your insulation. I used a product called "Insul-Bright" that is designed with a shiny layer to reflect heat, as well as a couple layers of cotton batting for extra insulation.

4. Sandwich each half of your oven mitt with the batting you cut out, and quilt your fabric to it. My picture here shows that I quilted my mitts by top-stitching around the various shapes in the fabric's design. Once they are quilted you should have two opposite halves like in this picture.

5. Put the two layers together (right-sides together) and stitch around the them, leaving the wrist edge open. Trim edges and clip curves. Do the same thing with your lining pieces.

6. Turn your lining right-side-out and insert it into your quilted mitt (which should be inside-out) as in the picture.

7. Stitch the lining to the mitt around the wrist perimeter, leaving a small gap to turn it right-side-out.

8. Turn your mitt out and top-stitch around the wrist, closing the gap you turned it through. Yay! I made a dinosaur one for my nerdy husband too.

Queen Bee Apron!

2012-01-18T12:18:00.001-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a long time, but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting away. After making tons of projects for Christmas, including a quilt(!), I've gotten back to apron work. This is an entirely new concept for me--not really a specific character, but an abstract idea of "Queen Bee." The owner of this apron wisely suggested thick stripes, so I actually pieced the fabric together using French seams. She also liked the sash on the Phoenix apron, which really did add some royal flair to this bee, with a nice rich purple. It wraps around the back and actually ties on the hip. I used the same purple for the straps and to line the inside of the matching oven mitts.

The crown applique on the chest is lined in the back with black to give it a little definition against the yellow stripe. I debated putting a black stripe on top, but that made the apron's bottom stripe yellow and for whatever reason, it needed a black stripe on the bottom to "ground" it. My OCD demanded this be so. There are two pockets on the skirt that are camoflauged. The sash itself can be functional for carrying items, or drying hands on since the entire thing is 100% cotton and machine washable, and although super cute, is allowed to get messy.

Oven Mitts! These things are fantastic. They are lined on the palm side with "Insul-Bright", which is a batting that has a shiny layer in it that reflects heat, and have regular cotton batting on both sides, making them heat resistant, and I'll be honest, really cozy. I plan on wearing mine around the house to keep my poorly circulated fingers warm. These mitts were pieced together black and yellow and quilted along the stripes, and then lined with matching purple.

Here's my original sketch ideas. I thought wings on the back would be cool, although not particularly practical. I'm such a good artist, no?...

The Purple Tuxedo Chef Apron

2011-12-01T09:18:00.001-06:00

This is the first apron I've done with a faux tuxedo style. The colors were selected via a custom request and I think the finished product is really fun! The apron has a lapel with a flower, as well as a faux shirt front with buttons and a faux vest, also with a matching button. All of this is topped off with a large comical green bow tie. The neckstraps and waist ties are green to contrast with the purple. The "jacket" has tails that hang loosely in the back, which I really love. Since this apron has a clownish appearance, I put a picture of my other clownish apron below, which I am calling "the Court-Jester." That one is just for the ladies :-) (and don't make fun of my pajamas...I couldn't put the project down and it was late and that is really how my hair looks most of the time!)

Crochet Hook Storage Problem--Make a Roll!

2011-11-07T12:06:00.001-06:00

I recently accepted that I had a crochet hook problem. I kept losing them and was tired of trying to keep them organized. If you have the same problem with knitting needles or paintbrushes or anything else long and skinny, this crochet-hook-roll tutorial would work well for those too! See the finished product all rolled up below.

1. Cut out two rectangles (a front and back) wide enough on the short sides for all your hooks. I put two pockets on mine, one on top of the other, so this kept it from getting too wide. The height should be about 150 - 175% of the length of your tallest hook. (Mine is approx. 16" x 13.5") Cut out your pockets, the same width as your rectangle. The height of your back pocket should come up about 3/4 the length of your longer hooks (keep in mind you will hem the top and need seam allowance on the bottom, mine was 5.5") and the smaller top pocket about 1/2 the length of your shorter hooks (mine was 3"), if you want to add this pocket at all. You will also need a strap to tie your roll together once it's finished.

2. Hem the tops of both pockets, then use your hooks to figure out how wide you want your slots to be on the smaller pocket (approx. 1") and pin there. Sew the top pocket on to the back pocket along these lines. The plaid helped me keep my lines really straight.

3. Place the joined pockets onto your larger rectangle front, lining up the bottoms. (Ignore the excess plaid at the bottom because I decided my back pocket was too tall, 5.5" is what I cut it too). Sew down the same lines you sewed for the short pocket to attach the back pocket. In some places I skipped a line to make some bigger slots in the back pocket (2") for my big crochet hooks. I also left space at the ends, as shown in this picture by the folded back piece, for bigger things like rulers or scissors.

4. Make a strap or find an existing strap to tie your crochet hook roll together and attach it on the lower left-hand side of the large rectangle back piece. The exact measurements for where to put this depend on how large the roll is, but about 4" in from the long side and 4" up from the bottom worked for me. My strap is just under 2' long, but if you want to tie a bow, you'll need to make it longer.

5. Place your back rectangle onto your front rectangle, right sides together, lining up edges and making sure your strap is tucked inside so you won't sew over it. Sew around the edges leaving a 3" gap on one side to turn it out.

6. Top stitch around the edges to close the gap and make it look nice and neat. Now you can put your hooks in it!

7. If you were wondering why it was so tall, that's so you can fold over the top before you roll it up. This keeps your hooks from falling out if you turn it upside down or throw it in a bag when crafting on the go!

8. Roll it up and tie it! Now you have a cute, functional way to keep track of your crochet hooks!

How to Make a Fleece Viking Hat

2011-10-26T13:42:00.001-05:00

So you want to make a Fleece Viking Hat for your little barbarians? I posted an entry about doing this a year ago, but I never really showed how I did it, so here's my best attempt at doing so. All images can be seen larger by clicking on them.

First, make a hat dome!!! This tutorial is using the dome top of a basic fleece hat. I wrote a tutorial on how to make it here. This pattern does something different with the hat band though.

1. The Hat Band and Center Strip: Cut out a band the circumference of your child's head by 4", and a matching strip that is the length of your hat from the back center to the front center (going up over the crown of the head) by 2". Also cut out a total of 9 (or however many you want) 1.5" circles that will become the rivets on your hat. The number of circles really doesn't matter. If you want one in the center front, make sure to line one up in the dead center of your hat band.

2. The Rivets:
Sew 4 circles to your top strip, evenly spaced, about 3/4 of the way around. This opening will be where you put a pinch of stuffing into the circle. You don't really need much stuffing to make them look 3-D. After each circle is stuffed, sew closed the gap. Do the same thing for the hat band except that since the hat band will be folded in half, sew your circles to top (or bottom) 2" of the band only. I spaced my rivets so that one would be placed on the back center seam of the hat band once it was sewn together. Sew the two short ends of the band together and (if necessary) sew your last circle on top of the seam and stuff. You can now fold your band in half. You should have one side with rivets and one side without.

3. The Horns:
Cut out 4 horn pieces (2 for each horn) the size and shape you want. Don't make them too long or they won't stand up very well. Cut out 2 circles (1 for each horn) that will be the base for the horns. These circles need to be about an 1" bigger around than the base of your stuffed horns. Sew two horn pieces together, leaving the bottom open, and stuff. There are a few ways to sew these to the circles. I demonstrated one in this graphic. Another way, for a cleaner finish, would be tuck in the bottom of the horn and hand sew it to the circles.

4: Final Assembly

Now that you have all the parts made, sew your top strip over the center seam of your hat dome. Sew the circle bases of your horns to each side of the hat, centering them over the seams on the sides. (the circles help support the weight of the horns more than sewing the horns directly to the hat). Lastly attach your folded hat band to the base of your hat dome. I show how this is done in my basic fleece hat tutorial.

Here are some photos--more can be seen in my original blog post here.

These hats vary slightly because I was experimenting with the design and construction when I made them.

Basic Fleece Hat Tutorial plus Flower Embellishment

2011-10-21T13:34:00.001-05:00

This is the same basic fleece hat I used to make my Viking Hats, which now belong to my friend's son and my nephew. I decided that I too needed a warm fleece hat but I wanted mine to be a bit more girly. This project can be done with scraps, but if you buy fleece, you'll just need about 12".

1. Cut out 4 pieces for the top with the dimensions written on my super high-tech graphic, plus one long strip to be the band. The band will be folded over so keep that in mind when deciding your heigth. My head is 23" so I divided that by 4 and got 5.75" for the base of each top piece. I rounded this to 6 for seam allowance. I made my band piece 4" tall for a finished band of about 2".

2. Sew two of your top pieces together along one of the curved edges. Do the same to the other two pieces. You should now have two "half-domes" as I'm calling them.

3. Pin the two halves of your hat together and sew around the entire length of the curve. Line up your seams in the middle.

This is what you should now have (it's still turned inside out in this picture)

4. Sew your band together along the two short ends and flip right-side out.

5. Fold this in half length-ways like in this picture, encasing your seam inside. This is the hat band.

6. Pin your hat band to the dome of your hat, right-sides together...technically there is no wrong side to your folded hat band, just make sure you pin it to the right-side of your hat. I put my hat band's seam in the center of one of the top pieces instead of lining it up with a seam because I didn't want a seam running down the middle of the front of the hat. That is up to you.

7. Sew around the hat attaching the band to the dome. Turn right-side out and there you have it. A simple fleece hat.

Okay, so if that isn't enough for you, here's how to make a simple fleece flower.

1. Cut some circles the size you want your flower to be. The more circles the fluffier the flower. I used 4 bigger ones with one smaller one on top (the little one isn't in this picture)

2. Sew them together in the center and fluff up the edges. A button works nicely. Or you can sew a bead or something.

3. Put it on your hat. You're done. Yep, that's all there is to it.

My bambino wearing mommy's hat.

How to Quickly Crochet a Clutch or Wristlet Purse

2011-10-17T14:40:00.002-05:00

Here are my two finished purses. I crocheted both of these pretty quickly. The clutch is for my daughter and the wristlet is mine! I love the vintage look of it.

First, how to crochet a quick clutch purse:

1. Crochet a rectangle that is about twice as long as you want your finished purse to be (because you will fold it in half) and as wide as you want it. I think smaller ones are better since they aren't super stable. I use Double or Single Crochet because this purse isn't lined and I didn't want big gaps in it. Once you reach they height you need, it's time to make the flap. There is no need to cut off your yarn.

2. To make the flap, with your working yarn, make a row of single or double crochet (whatever you're using) in the BACK LOOPS across your rectangle, then proceed to make single crochet rows (or decorative stitching) once again in the front loops for your subsequent rows until the flap is as long as you want it. There should just be one row of crochet in the back loops. This will make a crease that lets it fold over nicely.

3. Fold up the bottom of your rectangle having the edge sitting just about an inch or two below your back loop row (the beginning of your flap). Whip stitch the sides together.

4. (Optional) You can add a decorative edge to the top of your folded over piece to make it look prettier. You can also add decorative stitches or a fun edge to the flap. I put a button that my daughter picked out on mine to hold it closed.

The Granny Square Wristlet:

This project will be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. You don't even have to use granny squares. The picture to the left is a mirror image because I took it on my webcam :-)

1. Make two rectangles of equal size for the walls of your purse. If you want to use granny squares like I did, make your two granny squares (one for each side) the same size then add rows on either side to make it a rectangle. I used a different granny square on each side. One has a 3-D flower on it. The pattern for this 3-D flower square can be found here. I added another row around mine in the dark blue because I wanted it a bit bigger. On the other side I wanted another flower but I wanted it flat. I made a "daisy" square. You can find the pattern for the Daisy square here. I used a "crossed double crochet" for the rows on the sides of my squares because I like the texture.

2. Whip stitch or crochet your two rectangles together on the two short sides and one long side.

3. Attach a wrist strap to one of the top (open) corners. I don't like to use just a chain because it stretches too much so I made my strap about an inch think and used both of my colors on it.

4. Make a zippered pouch. This is a really good tutorial on how to make a zippered pouch. This can be tricky even if you know how to sew, but zippers are so convenient! If you don't like to sew you can buy a pouch to put in it or make an open pouch that can be closed with snaps, magnets, buttons....whatever. Granny squares tend to have lots of holes in them so for functional purposes this bag needs a liner.

5. Place your pouch in the purse and sew around the top to secure the two together. I also sewed the bottom corners of my pouch to the corners of my crocheted purse so that the lining is more stabilized.

How to make your Child a Simple Tunic for the Renaissance Festival!

2011-10-06T11:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I showed how to make a Renaissance style "flat cap" so today I'm showing how to make a really simple tunic to go with it!

1. Take your folded fabric and fold it in half. (You should have 4 layers with the folded edge on top as pictured on the left.

2. Take a shirt or, in this case, jammies, that fits your child and lay them folded in half along the fold in your fabric.

3. Cut around them. I made the sleeves wider at the end and the base of the tunic wider as well. I wanted this tunic to go to my son's feet since he's a baby and wouldn't be walking in it, which is why I used footie pajamas as a guide.

4. Unfold your now cut fabric and using the neckhole on your child's shirt, cut a neckhole in the top of your tunic. I didn't make mine very big because the next step will make it slip over your child's head easily.

5. Cut a "V" in the front of the neck. It's up to you how to finished your seams. I decided to hem the sleeves and bottom and do a blanket stitch around the "V" to make it look a little more finished but still homespun.

6. Poke 3 holes on either side of the "V" to thread a lace through. I used some scrap suede I cut into a strip. You can use whatever you want! This little lacing detail makes it look less like a nightgown and more like Renaissance garb in my opinion.

And you're done! See my other tutorial for how to make the hat you see my son is wearing!

How to make your Child a Hat for the Renaissance Festival

2011-10-05T11:05:00.001-05:00

This year my family went to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. I wanted to dress my children in costume, but since I was short on time, it had to be pretty simple. I decided to start with a hat for my son. This is my rendition of a period "flat cap," such as that worn by Henry VIII. This tutorial isn't really how to make a professional/traditional/period one, but it looks good :-)

1. Measure your child's head and using that dimension, figure out the radius needed for a circle that size. Yes, this is math, and I apologize about that :-) Here's the formula using 17" for the head circumference (sub in your child's measurement where you see 17):

17 ÷ 3.14 = the diameter, so the diameter of this hat is approx. 5.5".
The radius of a circle = diameter ÷ 2, so 5.5" ÷ 2 means the radius = 2.25"

2. Draw a circle on the material you are using for your brim, such as cardboard, stiff interfacing, a cereal box, plastic...whatever you want. I used a manila folder! Use a compass to draw your circle, setting it to the radius of your circle + approx 1" for ease so the hat fits comfortably. Add more if you want it looser and less if you want it tight (in this case 2.25" + 1" = 3.25"). This is the center hole for your hat (I didn't add that extra inch the first time I made one and it was too small). Extend your compass 2" or however wide you want your brim to be, and draw another circle. This is the outside edge of your brim.

3. Use this piece you just cut out as a pattern for cutting out two donuts of the fabric you've chosen for your hat. I chose a blue suede. Cut loosely around your brim piece so that you leave about a half inch seam allowance on the outer edge and the inner edge.

4. Right sides together, sew around the outer edge of the two fabric donuts you just cut out and turn them right side out as pictured here.

5. Slide your brim piece into the fabric O you've just made. It's okay if it fits loosely, because you can pull the fabric tight to the inside when you finish it if you want a more fitted brim. I didn't mind it being loose personally.

6. Cut out another larger circle of fabric, this time with no hole in the middle! You can use your compass again and add about 5-6" more inches to the measurement for the outside of your brim, or be like me and just lay that brim piece on your fabric and cut around it not caring if it is perfect :-) The larger you make it, the floppier the hat will be, so if you want it to hang over the edges of the brim, you should cut it even larger. I'll be honest, I just guessed on this part and didn't measure it too accurately, but it worked out okay.

7. Gather up the outer edge of the large circle you just cut.

8. Pin the gather edge into the center hole of your hat and sew it in place. I hand-sewed this because it was just easier than trying to get my sewing machine into this tight space.

9. Attach feathers, plumes, or whatever decorations you might like to your hat!

10. (Optional) You can finish the inside edge of your hat with bias tape or some other edging. I didn't do this since you can't see the inside and this is for a 5 month old.

Here are the two I made:

Me and my son at the festival! He is wearing a simple tunic I made and there will be a tutorial for that soon to follow!

I made my daughter's dress as well, but that one was assembled too hodge-podge for a good tutorial!

The Easiest Crocheted Baby Hat Ever Tutorial

2011-09-30T09:36:00.001-05:00

Don't tell me you can't make your baby silly hats. As a matter of fact, this is the easiest baby hat I have ever crocheted. Of course I made it more difficult than I had to by mixing up the stripes, but you don't have to do that. This hat is just a crocheted rectangle.

1. Crochet a rectangle that measures the length from one temple to the other around your child's head. Make it as tall as the length from your child's chin to the crown of their head. You can use any crochet stitch you like, any hook, any guage...that's up to you. (I bet you could make this out of fleece too if you aren't much of a yarn person)

2. Fold it in half as pictured.

3. Sew the top seam closed. You can crochet it closed as well, but I prefer to whip stitch.

4. Add a decorative stitch to the front edge (if you want) and add the ties to go under the chin. I attach my yarn at the corner then chain down the length I want them to be and then single crochet back up to the hat to make them a little thicker.

5. Try it on your child and take pictures. I love the point in the back on this one!

Link and Princess Zelda

2011-09-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

These are my last two brand new designs for a while. I have been asked to make Link and Zelda aprons more than any other character, so I'm glad to finally have them completed. Zelda is made using 100% cotton, a gold polyester fabric, purple satin, and a sheer chiffon that has a color fade in it of both blue and purple. I used this because the decorative element on Zelda's dress fades/changes color a bit and I wanted to create that effect. I had to leave out a lot of the detail on her dress for practicality, but I tried to keep the general look of it and of course the tri-force. This apron is machine washable, warm, on the delicate cycle. There is a pocket behind the hanging decorative element. It is hidden, but is accessible through the gap between the belt and the top of hanging piece in case you want to hide away any rupees.

I put this apron on the floor because the chef style men's aprons just don't look right on my petite hour glass lady mannequin. Link was harder to give a distinct look since his usual garb is pretty simple. I copied the general idea, but put a tri-force on his pouch to set this apart from Robin Hood or Peter Pan. The belt, straps, and pouch (which is lined) are all made from suede and have a leathery look. The gold is polyester and the top is made from 100% cotton. I put an additional piece of suede by each appliqued buckle to give the illusion of a functional belt, with the flaps hanging out a bit. The green fabric is twill, which is a light canvas like material. This apron needs to be cold washed and line dried.

Fleece Baby Bunting Sewing Tutorial

2011-09-26T10:13:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I've had time to do a project for my kids, so I'm really excited to post this tutorial! This is a fairly easy project, although I put a zipper in it, which might be a little tricky for beginners. I have an alternative to putting a zipper in though if that scares you!

1. Get an outfit out that fits your child loosely. It needs to be longsleeved and have legs on it. Lay this on your fleece (double thickness so you'll be cutting out two) and cut around it. Make it quite a bit longer than where the legs of your outfit actually end because you want a lot of kicking and wiggling room for your little one's feet. It should look something like this picture on the right.

2. Cut a slit down the middle of the front piece the same length (or a little shorter) than your zipper, and then sew in your zipper. Zippers are not my favorite thing but they are really convenient! Here is a a good zipper tutorial. I didn't "hide" my zipper like in this tutorial because I liked the red contrast. My alternative to using a zipper is to leave the bottom of your bunting open, in essence making a gown that you can slip on over your child's head. You can add a drawstring or elastic to the bottom to close it up after you put it on your child (or snap closures or buttons...you get the idea).

3. Once your zipper is installed, pin the two pieces right sides together and sew from the neck down the top edge of the sleeve on both sides. Then sew from the bottom edge of one sleeve all the way to the bottom, curve it around and back up the other side to the bottom edge of the other sleeve in one continuous line (where the red lines are in my awesome graphic!). After this you can fold back and hem the cuffs of your sleeves.

4. For the hood, use an existing hood that fits your child (or guess...which is a method I use quite a bit!) and cut around it to get the basic shape. Measure this against the size of your neckhole and make sure the bottom will fit nicely into your bunting. Put your two pieces right sides together and sew around the curved edge to form the hood, then fold over and hem the front opening.

5. Lastly, attach your hood to the inside of your neck hole...and there you have it! (Here is a tutorial for this process if you want some more detail about how to get the hood in there)

6. Put your baby in it and take cute pictures!

Apron Orders

2011-09-10T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hello, just a quick post to say that I'm currently not taking any more custom orders. I'm going to be working on Halloween costumes and then creating all sorts of random things with the insanely large stash of fabric I've accumulated over the years. I've been dying to carve out some time to use it up, and to do some cross-stitch and crochet and other things like making more kilts or kids' viking hats...I wanna learn how to make rugs, and do some more quilting...and you get the idea. I'll be putting some of these projects up on Etsy, but won't be doing much custom stuff for people in the mean time. I will be posting more tutorials and pictures of different projects here though because I love to share what I'm doing and any cool tricks I learn along the way. Crafting is only as hard as you make it, so I try to make it as easy as possible!

The Tiger Apron with Claws

2011-08-29T10:59:00.002-05:00

I am calling this apron "The Tiger." Technically it wasn't finished when I took these pictures because it is missing its belt buckle, but other than that, this is the finished product. I put the belt buckle on after I took the pictures. This apron features some super cool pockets with claws, which is why I love it very very much. I didn't even want to make it without incorporating claws on it, and the only place to logically do that was on the pockets. It is made from twill and canvas, and virtually all the details on it are appliqued. This project was time-consuming, but seeing the finished product was totally worth it. And now I can grill shish-kabobs without bringing along extra skewers.

Baby Peachy Princess Apron

2011-08-20T16:51:00.003-05:00

I'm a little bit too excited about this apron because it's adorable factor is sky high. This is for a 1 year old for Halloween, so it measures only 15" high from the top of the bib to the bottom of the skirt. The light blue and white apron it is hanging by is for a 4-5 year old girl. This one is just so cute! I want to see a toddling child wearing it!! I just don't have one handy at the moment :-)

This project has inspired me in such a way that I now want to make baby versions of all my aprons. It was so much fun!

Easy Tiered Skirt Tutorial for your Little Princess

2011-08-15T20:08:00.000-05:00

My daughter is a girly girl, so for her birthday, besides her annual birthday t-shirt, I thought she needed a fun tiered skirt. This is a really easy project. If you can sew a straight line, you can do this!

1. First, cut your three layers of fabric. These are going to be 3 rectangles. The length and width is up to you and varies on the size of your child, but I generally use 3 times the waist measurement to get it to gather up nicely, with the length of the longest tier being the distance from her waist to her knee.

2. Next you will sew each rectangle into a loop by attaching the ends together, and then will hem the bottom of each one.

3. Layer your 3 loops onto each other with the shortest loop being on the outside and the longest one on the inside. Stitch around the top to hold the three layers together.

4. Fold over the top edge (turning it to the inside) and sew it down to make a channel for your elastic (leave an opening to put your elastic in!). Measure the elastic on your child's waist. Threading elastic is easy if you put a safety pin on one edge and then push the safety pin through.

5. Sew your elastic together (sew it well! You don't want it snap apart!), then sew the opening closed. Ta-da! You have a cute skirt.

Okay, so I also made her a dinosaur birthday cake. Cake decorating is not my expertise (even though I used to do it at a bakery back in college!) but I tried my best. My daughter seemed pleased.