Long time no blog! Summer is typically slow around here, last summer was verrry slow because I was growing a baby, but this summer is just slow because it’s hot! And there is so much to do in the summer! We did jet off to San Francisco for a week at the beginning of June. I met up with some sewing blogger friends for fabric shopping in Berkeley! I’ll tell you about that soon!

In the mean time, I’ve been doing a few refashion projects because it seems like we’re all in need of new clothes. Especially the baby! She is growing like a weed and it’s hard to find cute things for a good price. A few refashions are in the works and this is the first one, a little shoe redo! I used to do shoe makeovers all the time, I love them! You can check out my DIY ruffle shoe refashion, spray painted shoes, dictionary shoes, and lace refashion. (Yikes those posts are old! I’ve learned a lot with the camera since then!)

So, these shoes! I found these little boy shoes on clearance for $3.50 at Old Navy the other day. I wasn’t a super huge fan of the style, especially since Cohen is way too big for them. But, I was a huge fan of the price! $3.50 for brand new kid shoes is unheard of! So I bought them and ideas for giving them a makeover started brewing.

$3.47 for the win!

I was going to do polka dots but then I decided to draw little hearts all over. Who doesn’t love polka dot hearts! Then I replaced the laces with handmade polka dot bias tape (which Jess gave me at SNAP in 2012! Thanks Jess!). The red bias tape matches the red at the bottom of the shoe so it was perfect. And now I have a little pair of cutesy girl shoes! They are too big for the baby right now, but they will fit soon enough. This was a really fun and really fast project. You can make them, too. All you need is a blank pair of shoes!

DIY polka dot heart shoes

Materials:
Blank shoes
Fine tip permanent fabric pen
bias tape for laces

Instructions:

1. You need a fine tipped fabric marker pen for this. You can try it with a sharpie, too if you want. 2. Practice making a heart on the tongue of your shoe. That way if you mess up, no one will see it! 3. Make little dots with your pen to decide where to put your hearts. 4. Then make each dot into a heart. 5. Keep making hearts, following your pattern until your whole shoe is covered!

Then replace the laces with bias tape. Tie the ends of the tape into a knot and you’re done! 

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This post was originally shared at kojo designs way back last summertime for their Color My Summer series! I’m reposting it in case you missed it, and since summer is upon us, this is the perfect time for a boba drink recipe! 

Purple is my favorite color, but shhh… don’t tell pink! I thought it would be fun to make a summery drink. We usually go berry picking in the summer and are always looking for new ways to eat them. So today I’m sharing the Purple Berry Bubble Smoothie. Boba or Bubble Teas originated in Taiwan. They are typically made with tea and milk, with chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom that you suck through a really wide straw! It’s a really fun drink and you can make it all sorts of ways. 

In this (PURPLE) version, I made a berry smoothie sans tea and poured it over the tapioca pearls, for a fun and healthy summer drink. The tapioca pearls give it a little extra chewy dimension. They are sorta like gummy bears and kids will love them! You might have to make a special trip to a local asian market for some of these ingredients.

Recipe:
1/2 cup prepared Tapioca Pearls (aka boba pearls) (available at asian markets)
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh berries
sweetener, optional


Other supplies:
-Boba straws (available at asian markets)

Prepare the Tapioca Pearls according to package directions. You’ll just boil them in water for a few minutes until they float. Pour them into the bottom of your glass. Blend the yogurt, milk, berries and sweetener until smooth. Pour over the boba pearls. Add a boba straw and enjoy!

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I LOVE seeing projects you have made from my tutorials! It really makes my day! Thanks for adding them to the flickr group, tweeting, facebooking, instagramming (tag @seekatesew) and emailing them in! Here’s what you’ve been up to:

Cookin and Craftin made some sweet baby bloomers!

anita boeira  made her own version of the triangle quilt!

@ehayes1183 also made a  pretty version of the ombre triangle quilt!

Hecho con Amor made an envelope clutch during the sewalong, she stamped the inside! (I have that stamp, too!)

Sarah emailed me photos of her Aussie version of the scrap map! I love it. She joked that it was much easier than the US with it’s 50 states, hehe.

Susan from Sugar Beans made a gorgeous scrap map!

Once Upon a Sewing Machine made a sweet sugarplum dress.

My Handcrafted Home made this cute boy’s skinny tie!

Once upon a Sewing Machine also made the Surfer Slacks into shorts! Cute!

Sharon emailed in this sweet scallops tote, awesome fabric combo!

Thanks for submitting these, I love them!!

Tutorials featured:
baby bloomers pattern
triangle quilt
envelope clutch
scrap map tutorial
universal pacifier clip tutorial
sugarplum pattern
skinny tie tutorial
surfer slacks pattern
sweet scallops tote

The post see YOU sew features 2 appeared first on see kate sew.

Thank you for indulging me in this little series. I really had fun with Gingham Style and I hope you did, too! Here’s a wrap up of all of the posts!

Gingham Style Introduction
Gingham Sunglasses Case Tutorial
Ruffle Bum Diaper Covers
Two Tier Baby Dress
Knotted Pencil Pouches
Baby Jumper Dress Tutorial
Gingham Inspiration and Fabric Round-Up

I have some non-gingham posts to share soon! Until then, check out this Riley Blake video if you haven’t already! So funny!

The post mad for plaid: gingham style wrap-up appeared first on see kate sew.

I’ve been seeing gingham everywhere lately! It’s so perfect for summer and reminds me of things like picnics! Here’s a little gingham style round-up and links to gingham fabrics!

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

mint lilac bright yellow orange/yellow red dark purple hunter green brown turquoise

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You read that right!! Today I’m giving away a SERGER to promote my new newsletter! I asked you guys on facebook a little while back what you’re ultimate sewing giveaway prize would be and a lot of you said a serger! So it’s happening, I’m going to buy one of YOU a brand spankin’ new serger!

The Brother 1034D has been my little companion for about 3 years and I have loved every second of having a serger! This is a basic serger that is simple to use and will add so much flexibility to your sewing.

5 runner-ups will win the Aztec Hooded Vest Pattern!

All entries MUST be entered in the Rafflecopter giveaway widget below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The serger giveaway prize will be issued in the form of an Amazon giftcard for the current price of the Brother 1034D machine, not to exceed $235, not including shipping. Open to US and international readers. Giveaway ends June 30th, winners will be announced in the newsletter the first week of July. All entries will be verified. Good luck!! This giveaway is sponsored by see kate sew.

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I have a secret obsession with Japanese Kawaii. Kawaii everything! So cute, I want to go to Japan just to load up on it all! So when modes4u.com asked me to review some of their fabric, I spent DAYS scrolling through all the japanese cuteness and finally decided on a few fabrics to work with. I have a little cute stack of fabrics that you’ll see in the next little while. I got two boy prints and two girly prints.

I could not resist some adorable kawaii prints. The deer/rabbit/apple/floral is so fun and so happy! (I already used it in the pencil case tutorial.) And then I just loved this double gauze with cute little cows and things. I love that there is so much detail, I could stare at it for days! Anyways, modes4u.com is full of great fabrics, not to mention tons of bento supplies, animal characters and other things I would love to fill my house with. There is a lot of fabric on their site and even a boy and deer section. (A whole section for deer!)

 car fabric hippo fabric

I always see Kawaii prints paired with Gingham so for Gingham Style I put together this free baby dress pattern with the deer and rabbit fabric and mint gingham check. To finish off the outfit, I made a brown gingham ruffle bum diaper cover. Kawaii cute!

  two tier baby dress tutorial

free baby dress pattern download (size 3-6 m)
back, cut 2 main
cut 2 lining
front cut 1 on fold main
cut 1 on fold lining
spacer: cut 2
tier 1: 4.5 by 22, cut 2
tier 2: 5.5 by 22″, cut 2

Additional materials:
1 button
1/4″ elastic

Sew the shoulder seams together and repeat with lining fabric.

Stack the lining on top of the main bodice and pin all the way around. Right sides will be together. Make a loop with your elastic.

And pin in to one side of the back bodice, about 1/2″ from the top.

Sew all the way around the bodice, leaving the bottoms and side seams open. Press.

Sew the side seams together. Finish the seam allowance.

Attach the first ruffle tier to the top of the spacer. Distribute ruffles evenly and baste on.

Then sew both pieces to the bottom of the bodice piece with right sides together. 

Flip up the ruffle and attach the second ruffle tier to the bottom of the spacer, right sides together.

Finish the seam allowances.

The post gingham style // free baby dress pattern: gingham loves kawaii! appeared first on see kate sew.

This post is sponsored by Martha Stewart Jewelry. I seriously had a blast with this stuff and think you will, too! I might be addicted to epoxy buttons, now! 

I have always wanted to make my own buttons, it is so fun to make a completely custom piece of clothing! So when Plaid Crafts sent me a box of Martha Stewart Jewelry supplies I went straight for the custom mold kit!

The kit comes with silicone base, activator and a little measuring cup which allows you to make jelly-like silicone molds, like the ones you see for chocolate and ice cubes. You can use any object to make a mold with so I picked out some of my favorite buttons and duplicated them. Suh-weet, right!? These buttons are totally usable and durable! Real handmade buttons!

The process takes a while since you have to wait for things to dry, but it is pretty simple! Here’s how to do it:

how to make homemade epoxy buttons
Materials:
custom mold kit
epoxy clay
jewelry glaze

Mix 1 fluid ounce of base with 1 tsp activator until the color is all blended.
Drop your button into the liquid and push it down so it is level. Let it dry for at least 24 hours.

Then pull the button out and you’ll be left with a perfect mold of it.

Mix equal parts epoxy clay and activator and knead together. 

Then form it into the mold. Make sure you can see the button holes and make the back as flat as you can.

This will also take 24 hours to harden. I made some little birds and a lady bug from premade Martha molds while I was at it. (Why not!)

When it’s dry, pull it out and you have a button clone!

I had so much fun I made more! The coolest part is the silicone molds are reusable so I can make buttons over and over.

I used Martha Stewart glaze to give this button some shine.

Tips:
-Make sure to tap the silicone on a table or something to get out all the bubbles before adding your objects.
-If you’re making buttons, be sure that silicone goes into the holes of the button, otherwise you won’t be able to attach it to a garment

You can find Plaid Crafts on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. These Martha Stewart Jewelry products are sold exclusively at Michaels. I am almost out of silicone mold base, so I might have to take a trip there soon. Here’s what the kit looks like:

I sewed my shiny glazed button onto a little summer baby blouse. I’m kinda (really!) proud of it!

Have you ever made your own buttons?

The post how to make homemade epoxy buttons! appeared first on see kate sew.

I have a problem keeping track of pencils in my house probably because a certain toddler loves to pull out the eraser and chew on it while he dumps the lead and breaks them all one by one. So whenever I need one for pattern drafting they are so hard to find! I don’t mind sharing most things, but toddlers shouldn’t be playing with mechanical pencils anyways.

I made these cute pencil cases as an easy solution. First, they are the perfect size for mechanical pencils, I’m sure regular pencils or colored pencils would fit, too.  Now I can stash all my pencils in the same place.

This is a basic zipper pencil pouch tutorial but the pattern is a super weird shape to account for the cute bow knots at the top and/or bottom.

The weird shaped pattern makes it a yardage sucker, but it’s worth it! And you’ll have lots of scraps.

The construction of this pouch is pretty complicated. I would definitely recommend sewing up a basic zipper pouch before proceeding. It gave me a headache figuring out how to do this, so I hope that these instructions are clear enough!

You can make this pouch with a bow at each end, or just one end. Follow the dotted line on the pattern piece if you want just one bow end.

Materials:

free pattern download for the knotted zipper pencil pouch tutorial
3/4 yard main fabric
1/2 yard lining fabric
1/2 yard lightweight interfacing

Fuse interfacing to wrong sides of all 4 main and lining pieces.

Cut 1 of the main pieces and 1 of the lining pieces in half. I used a rotary cutter to make this easier. Leave the other pieces whole, this is just for the top to insert the zipper.

To insert the zipper, lay it face down on one side of the main (gingham) piece. Pin in place and baste. Then put the lining piece on top, face down and sew at 1/4″. Repeat on the other side of the zipper and press when your zipper is inserted.

To finish the lining of the pouch, pin the whole lining piece to the lining piece that were just attached to the zipper.

The bottom will look like this:

Now sew it up all around. When you get to the zipper part it will be a little tricky. Just pull the main pieces out of the way.

Leave a 2-4″ opening on one of the straight edges to turn later. (I forgot to do this and had to unpick one, so don’t look for the opening in the picture!)

Now turn it over so the lining is on the bottom and the zipper is facing up.
Lay the second main piece on top of the zipper and pin it on. If you have too much fabric, pin a little pleat over the zipper.

Sew it on all the way around. Don’t leave any openings. Sew the lining and main pieces together where indicated below.

Trim and clip the seam allowance and then turn. The corners will be a little tricky to turn, but you can do it! Push the lining into the bag. Now stitch up the opening you left in the lining with a topstitch or a hand slip stitch.

Tie the corners into individual knots or tie two together to make bows. I prefer the bow method.

If you make the version without the bows on the bottom, they will look like this:Fill it with pencils and you’re done!

I’m definitely a pencil person in the great pencil/pen debate, I am too indecisive for pens. What about you? Pencil or pen?

Fabrics used in this post:
lilac gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
brown 1″ gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
orange 1/4″ gingham, Fashion Fabrics Club
polka dot c/o Two Blue Birdies
kawaii deer c/o modes4u.com

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Lena has already outgrown all the tiny ruffle top diaper covers I made for her before she was born so I thought it was time to move on to the ruffle bum style! Little tiny ruffles poking out from a short dress (like the jumper pattern I shared on Monday) is my new favorite style for baby girls! I think it is very warm-weather friendly, too.

Ruffle Bum Diaper Cover Tutorial:
Materials:
-free ruffle diaper cover pattern (size 0-3M)
-3 strips 30″ by 1.575″ for ruffles
-bias tape

This is actually a pattern hack of the ruffle diaper cover. I’m going to show you how to put ruffles on the bum. The rest of the process is the same as the other tutorial.

1. First print off the diaper cover pattern and cut out the ruffle strips.
2. Serge the edges of the ruffles. I use my Brother 1034D but you can also zig zag stitch if you want.
3. Run a baste stitch through the middle of each strip and pull the edges to gather the fabric.
4. Pin to the top of your diaper cover (leaving about 1.25″ at the top). Distribute the ruffles evenly.

Once you have the ruffles even, pin it down and stitch on.

Pin the second row about 1/2″ above leg opening.

Then put the third row in the middle. 

Follow the rest of the directions from the ruffle top diaper cover tutorial. The only difference will be there won’t be a ruffle at the top when you finish the casing (although you are welcome to add one if you want even more ruffle!)

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