Farm Skirt Tutorial

 A trip to the farm just wouldn't be complete without a farm skirt, right !?!

Here's a tutorial on how to sew this farm skirt which was inspired by a 1970's prairie/peasant style denim skirt.

Farm Skirt (size 4-6)

Supplies needed:
:: 3/4 yard chambray
:: 21 inches 2 inch wide black elastic (or child's waist measurement plus 1 inch)
:: white thread
:: black thread

 Step-by-step instructions:
:: Cut the fabric into 3 pieces:
top piece: 7" X 25"
middle piece: 7" X 35"
bottom piece: 13" X 45"

 :: Fold bottom piece in half

 :: Press with iron

 :: Start with the white thread, gather at the top (which is where the 2 edges meet). I used my favorite gathering method which is zigzag over cording, but you can use your favorite gathering method. For zigzag over cording I used white cording I bought at Michael's, set my sewing machine to zigzag stitch, with the widest & longest stitch settings. Zigzag stitch with 1/4" seam (all seams allowances throughout are 1/2", so zigzag stitching at 1/4" won't get in the way)

 :: Gather the bottom piece which is 45" to match the 35" of the middle piece

 :: Pin together the bottom piece to the middle piece & sew together with 1/2" seam

 :: Pull cording out
:: Press seam with iron

 :: Topstitch seam

 :: Repeat the gathering at the top of the middle piece & attach it to the top piece, also press seam with iron & topstitch
:: Now that all 3 pieces are sewn together, fold in half with right sides together & sew together down the side (which will become the back seam) with 1/2" seam
:: Press seam open with iron
:: Switch to the black thread
:: Take the black elastic, fold in half & sew 1/2" seam, open seam & sew down both sides of the seam

 :: Attach the black elastic to the top of the skirt. I tucked under 1/2" of fabric under the elastic. I pinned it in 4 places, equidistant, I started by matching the elastic seam with the back seam of the skirt. I stretched the elastic slightly while sewing along at 1/4" away from the elastic edge (for the elastic waistband this is a great tutorial)

 You are done !

Have a great day on the farm !

PS this is another skirt being donated to the Skirting the Issue event ~ if you don't know what that's all about, be sure to check it out !

French Flag Skirt

 This skirt was inspired by Batille day (the French national holiday July 14th) & the French flag, thus the bleu, blanc, et rouge colors.

I sewed it following this layered skirt tutorial, using blue broadcloth, white seersucker, & red broadcloth. Simple in design & easy to follow tutorial, just a little tedious & time consuming.

Happy Bastille day !

PS This skirt will be donated to Skirting the Issue which has motivated me, by the way, to get some skirt sewing done. This French flag skirt has been on my mind for a few months, for example, so it was nice to finally make one... more skirts for Skirting the Issue coming up this next month...

Sew in Tune

I have an exciting announcement today... I was asked to guest post for a new sewing series with a musical twist. It's called Sew in Tune & will consist of sewing projects for boys inspired by songs ~ should be fun !

Sew in Tune will be hosted by Melly Sews (from Project Run & Play season 4) & Boy, oh Boy, oh Boy! and will run July 23rd through August 17th.

I'll be sewing something for my recently turned 9 year old son. That will be set for Monday August 6th, over at Melly Sews :)

Happy Monday everyone !

Le Tricolore Timbré

 Celebrate Bastille day (the French national holiday July 14th) by making a France shaped French flag with a collage of French postage stamps.

Supplies needed:
:: a square of thick white paper (I used a 12 inch X 12 inch piece of white card stock)
:: pencil
:: image of France
:: ruler
:: French postage stamps in blue and red
:: glue
:: black marker
***
Fêtez la révolution en faisant le drapeau tricolore timbré.

Il faut:
:: un carré de papier blanc
:: crayon gris
:: image de France
:: règle
:: timbres bleus et rouges
:: colle
:: marqueur noir

 First take the image of France & using it as a guide draw a France shape on your piece of paper using a pencil.
***
Tracez une carte de France (par exemple, en utilisant l'image ci-dessus) sur un papier avec le crayon.

 Take a ruler, make 2 vertical lines to divide your France drawing into thirds.
***
Avec la règle, faite 2 lignes verticales, divisant la France en 3 parts à peu près égales.

Gather blue & red postage stamps. With glue, attach blue postage stamps to the first section, leave the second section white, & attach red postage stamps to the third section.

With a black marker, draw over the pencil lines on the France borders of the white section.

Happy Bastille Day !!!
***
Replissez les tiers de gauche et de droite avec les timbres bleus et rouges respectivement, les attachant avec la colle.

Tracez le contour de la section du milieu de la carte avec la marqueur noir.

Vive la révolution !!!

For the Love series auction item

Are you familiar with Cherie from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar? She was the one who brought the blessing bags to my attention. She is hosting a series this summer called "For the Love." Every Monday during the summer there will be an item auctioned off & all the money will go to charity.

Today the auction item is my Purple Rose Party Dress that I sewed in size 4.

Be sure to visit her blog every Monday during the summer !

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day !

Purple Rose Party Dress Tutorial

 The Purple Rose Party Dress free pattern and tutorial is here !

I really enjoy creating/designing/sewing little girl party dresses like the Jingle Bell Dress & the Bow Dress. The Purple Rose Party Dress is another fun one. This gorgeous eye catching fabric is in a vibrant purple color with lots of texture. It is a sleeveless drop waist dress with a circle skirt. The sash which is attached at the sides of the bodice ties in the front. Bias tape is used for the hem of the circle skirt as well as the trim on the 2 arm holes & neckline. It has a v-neck back with an invisible zipper and hook & eye closure. It is just as pretty in the inside with French seams on the bodice pieces & bias tape on the bodice/skirt seam.

I designed this to fit my 4 year old daughter who is tall and slender, the finished measurements are: chest 24", waist 24", shoulder to bottom hem 24".

Fabric & Notions Requirements

:: 1 yard rows of rosettes fabric (width 52”)

:: 5” matching satin fabric (width 54”)

:: 4+ yards matching/coordinating bias tape

:: 7-9” invisible zipper

:: 1 hook & eye closure

 Pattern Pieces

Terms and conditions: when you agree to these terms, a non-transferable license to the pattern is granted to you to copy and print the pattern for your personal use and purposes. You may not redistribute the pattern. If you find it useful and would like to share with others, please direct them here so they can get their own copy. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me via email. I would be glad to consider broader usage allowances, but simply ask first.

By clicking on this link and downloading the Purple Rose Party Dress pattern pieces, you agree to the terms and conditions specified above. Yes, I agree.

 Step-By-Step Instructions

:: Print out the pattern pieces. Be sure to add 6 inches to the bottom of the bodices pieces, so that the side seams measure a total of 9 inches. The rows of rosettes fabric is quite thick, therefore difficult to cut when folded, so I recommend printing 2 copies of the front bodice & taping it together. I also recommend using a straight edge & rotary cutter to cut out the parts of the patterns that have straight lines.

:: From the 1 yard of rows of rosettes fabric cut out the pattern pieces on the back of the fabric: 1 front bodice, 2 back bodice pieces & 1 circle skirt. For the circle skirt cut out a circle with 3.5” radius, then 10” away from that cut out another circle (I used a black permanent marker & ruler), in the end you will have a donut shape with a 27” diameter.

 :: Create French seams (with a total of a 1/2” seam allowance) for the bodice pieces. Sew together the front & back bodice pieces first at the shoulders, then at the sides. To make French seams place wrong sides together, sew 1/4” seam allowance, with scissors trim down to 1/8”, press with iron, then with right sides together sew 1/4” seam allowance.

 :: With 1/2” seam allowance sew the back bodice pieces right sides together (where the zipper will go), most of this seam will be ripped out later to add the invisible zipper. 

:: Pin the circle skirt to the bottom of the bodice right sides together, with 1/2” seam allowance sew together.

 :: Sew bias tape onto the circle skirt/bodice seam.

 :: Sew bias tape onto the hem of circle skirt, then onto each of the 2 arm holes.

 :: With a seam ripper, rip out 7-9 inches on the back of the bodice & following the manufactures instructions install the 7-9 inch invisible zipper or follow this online tutorial.

:: To prevent fraying apply some liquid seam sealant to the back bodice seam.

:: Sew bias tape onto the neckline.

:: With hand sewing needle & thread, add the hook & eye closure above the invisible zipper.

 :: Now for the sash: from the satin cut out 2 pieces that are 2.5” X 54”. 

 :: Fold each in half, right sides together, with 1/4” seam allowance sew down each of the long sides. 

 :: Clip the corners & with turning tools (I use a smoothie straw & chopstick), turn right side out, press with iron. Tuck in raw edges, press with iron, & topstitch. 

 :: The end where you topstitched, place that just behind one of the side seams of the bodice & with zigzag stitch sew it onto the dress so that when when the sash is brought forward the zigzag stitch will be covered by the sash. Repeat for the 2nd sash. 

 :: When done put it on the little girl & tie the sash into a bow in the front of the dress.

If you have any questions please let me know. Also if you sew one, please leave a link to it in the comments section ~ I’d love to see it !

11 aprons

One of my sewing goals for 2012 was to do more sewing for charity.

So I was happy to discover that Craft Hope Project 17: Aprons for Haiti is currently going on. Haiti by Hand is accepting aprons until the end of July for women of Haiti. Nothing too frilly, ruffly or lacey, in fabrics that are very wash-friendly (quilting cottons are recommended).

After searching around for free apron patterns/tutorials, I ended sewing a very easy full apron following this idea.

Using quilting cotton fabrics from my stash & about $30+ in bias tape I cranked out 11 of these aprons in 48 hours !  I was able to get 2 aprons out of 1 yard of fabric & 3 packs of bias tape.

I think maybe I've become the bias tape queen !  Even though it was a lot of bias tape sewing, I really enjoyed sewing all these aprons.