Angelina's Ruffles Tutorial

Pin It

I finally got the tutorial done for the Angelina's Ruffles tunic top.  Whew.  I'll tell ya-- I love me some ruffle fabric, but that stuff can be time-consuming.  You really have to show those ruffles who's boss (You!  You are!!).  Oh, and it helps if you stick a whole lot of pins in them. :)

Materials:
3/4 yard of ruffle fabric
knit fabric in matching color
loads and loads of pins
sewing get-up

Instructions:
 Using a well-fitting shirt, create your pattern (like I do here... without sleeves) but do NOT cut out the neck hole.  Cut a front and back piece, shaped exactly the same.

Now this is a little unorthodox but this is the best way I've found to make the neckline and keep the ruffles in check.  Find the center at the top of one of your pieces.  Then mark two inches out from that mark with a fabric marker (or place a pin, if you prefer).  My marks are at the 3 and 7 inch marks.

Then, on both sides, sew your front and back pieces, right sides together, from the arm hole to your mark.  As always, make sure your ruffles are flat and how you want them before you sew.

Cut a 1-inch strip of your knit fabric.  I didn't measure it, but I made it overly long, so I could just cut it when I was done.

Now, on the top of your fabric, place your knit bias tape down, right sides together, starting at the edge of the neckhole.  

I just did this by sight... pin the bias tape in the shape you want for your neckline.  Keep those ruffles in check!  Overlap the beginning and end of your bias tape a little.

Using a stretchy stitch (like a zig-zag), sew the bias tape down just like that, closer to the neckhole side of the bias tape.  Use the edge of your presser foot to guide you.

Now take your scissors and cut out the middle ruffles.  They're now relatively under control. 
Nice trick, eh?

If you look at the right side of your fabric, it'll look like this:

Fold the bias tape to the inside, so it won't be seen from the outside.  Pin it nicely, again, so the ruffles stay put.  Here's the inside:

Here's the right side:

Using another stretchy stitch, sew the bias tape down.  

Now you're going to use the same technique for the armhole.  Pin the ruffles in place under the bias tape.  Sew it on.

Before flipping the bias tape to the inside, stitch up the side seams of your top, including the bias tape.  Then flip it to the inside, like you did at the neck, and stitch it down.  

You're done, and you have a super cute top that is PERFECT for spring and summer!

 

Polka Dot Shout-Out!

Pin It

You may have noticed that my last two projects both had polka dots.  That's because I just got in a boatload of the cute stuff, and I wanted to give a shout-out to the supplier.

I got both the periwinkle and lime dots...

and the green and pink ones...

... from Fabrics by Annie.  She's currently on vacation, but when she gets back, you need to give her little ol' shop a visit. 

Not only are the fabrics adorable, but I love the quality.  Plus, she's in Canada.  I was a little wary of this for shipping reasons, but you would not believe how quickly my fabric got to me!  It was kind of like she snuck across the border to avoid customs. :) 

I highly recommend.  She was so easy to work with, was great at communicating, and-- like I said-- I love the product.  You want to work with her; trust me. :)
 

Polky-Nots Dress Tutorial

Pin It

 I'm pretty excited about this dress for two reasons: 1) it has pockets, and my girls looooooove pockets.  And 2) it has a super-fun elasticized waist, made by using elastic thread.  If you haven't cinched your fabric up with elastic thread, you really need to try it now.  It's fun and very rewarding. :)

When I told Noelle I made her a new polka dot dress, she exclaimed, "Polky-Nots!?"  Thus, the name. :)

Let's get going, shall we?

Materials:
about 1 yard of fabric
1/4-inch elastic
elastic thread
fabric marker
other sewing gear
pattern pieces, if you want 'em! main piece, sleeve and pocket

Instructions:
    **Use a 1/2 inch seam allowance throughout.

First, you need to make your pattern.  The dress is really a modified simple peasant dress.  The nice thing about peasant dress patterns is that they are super forgiving.  I'll give you the general idea, so you can easily draft your own.  If you want to use my pattern, print off what's above.  It also contains notes on how to edit it. :)

I like my chest to measure about 10 inches larger than the wearer.  Noelle has a 20-inch chest, so I cut each piece 15 inches wide (7.5 inches out from the fold).  You can also see the basic shape for the top of the main piece (below).  This is why the peasant dress rocks-- those little curves don't have to be perfect.  They should just look roughly like this.  You're going to gather in that neckline, so it will seem uber-big.  The armhole will also gather in as you gather the neck, so that will appear sizable, too.  

From the bottom of your armhole, cut straight down 2.5 inches.  From there, cut it out on an angle for an A-line.

Here's what you'll have for your main body piece.  Cut two of these.

Your sleeves will actually look similar to your main piece, just smaller.   I place the top of my main piece on the fold of the fabric I'm going to cut for the sleeve, but I place the top of the armhole about 3.5 inches from the fold.  Then you'll cut the same curve that you did for your armhole but flatten out the top line a little (you can see my faint tracing of this below).

From the bottom of the armhole, cut straight down (parallel to the fold), 1.5 inches.

 That was really wordy.  I hope it was clear.  Let me know if you have questions.

Anyway, last but not least is the pockets.  Again, the shape just has to be close.  Mine look like this:

Now we are done with cutting (I hate that part).  We get to assemble!  This is much more fun!

Measure down 3.5 inches and place your pockets, right sides together, on the front and back main pieces.

Sew the pockets on.  Then zig-zag stitch just where you sewed, to finish that edge.  I forgot the zig-zag, doggone-it!  Learn from my mistakes.

Press the pockets out, so they look like this.

Now we focus on the neckline.  Pin one sleeve piece to one main piece.  Stitch and zig-zag.  

Then attach the other sleeve to the other side of that main piece.  Stitch and zig-zag.

Stitch the sleeves to the other main piece and-- from the wrong sides-- you'll have this:

Now you're going to turn your neckline in 1/4 of an inch then 1/2 inch and press.  I intentionally took a picture of the part below where it got a little wonky.  Again, the peasant dress forgives me.  See, this is all going to be gathered in, so you won't even be able to tell.  If you're a crazy perfectionist (I'm a recovering one), here's what I want you to say to yourself: "It's not perfect, but that doesn't mean it's crappy.  If I think my dress is crappy, I'm also saying that Heather's dress is crappy.  That's not very nice; that will hurt Heather's feelings."  Then you forgive your imperfections and get on with your life.  Whew.  Glad that's over. :)

Sew close to the edge, leaving a gap through which to run your elastic.  I put my elastic in right away, but you should WAIT!  Trust me.

You'll have this, though you're waiting to gather the neckline.

Put right sides together and sew up the sides, around the pockets and under the arms.  Finish with a zig-zag.

Now finish the arms but turning in 1/4 inch than another 1/4 inch.  You'll see it comes right up to the seam. Stitch close to the edge.

Then hem the bottom.

You have this, but again, your neck isn't gathered (like mine).  Man, your life is going to be way easier than mine was at this point.

Using a straight edge and a fabric marker, draw a straight line across the main piece, starting one inch from the armhole. This is easier for you since your neck isn't gathered yet.  This is the line you'll follow to cinch your waist.

With the elastic thread in your bobbin and your coordinating thread on top, stitch around that line.  Then stitch another line, using your presser foot as a guide.  You may have to pull your fabric a little, so it stays flat while you make your second line of stitches.  Then do it again for a third line.

If your elastic isn't as cinched as you'd like, place a hot iron on it, and it'll gather in for ya.

Then you have a cute and feminine waist on a lovely spring dress! :)

NOW finish that neck by threading 1/4-inch elastic through it (mine is about 14 inches long). Done and done! Woohoo!

Mmmm... green and pink.  Love it. Oh, and feel free to pair it with some sweet shades.  Show the world you're ready for the heat!!

I like big bows...

Pin It

...and I cannot lie... :)

I made this little dress for the same recipient of the Angelina's Ruffles tunic top with capris and shorts.  I went with a super large bow.  What do you think?  Too big?  I'm thinking of maybe minimizing it.  I love the periwinkle and lime combo that Angelina's grandma asked for.  So cute!

EDIT: I slipped the dress on Riley, to see what I thought about the bow with a real live child in the dress.  I think I'm sold.  Big bow it is. :)

Bubble It Up Dress

Pin It

I have major spring fever.  I mean CRAZY major spring fever.  Now that it's been warm for two whole days, I want to sew a bazillion spring skirts, pants and dresses.  Now if only my kids would sleep for 18 hours a day...  Oh, reality, you are hard on me sometimes.

I did get to complete one little dress today, however, and I'm pretty happy with the result.  I originally was doing a tutorial with it, but after I made some dumb mistakes, I had to scrap that.  Don't worry, though.  Riley will be getting a similar dress that will not have those same errors.  And THAT will be tutorial-ed! 

The back of this one turned out differently than I imagined, but I kind of fell in love with it.  It's a knot dress, and I put the hole through which to "string" the straps through way at the outside of the back.  Then I tied them together, pulling the slack of the back into a faux keyhole.  This way, it expands really easily and it looks super cute!

She got a little ruffle around the neck because a ruffle never hurt anybody. :)

You'll notice that, up to this point, you haven't seen Noelle's feet.  Well, I had to reveal her shoes.  Sure, they don't really "go", but she knows how to rock the Pumas.

And for good measure, some sister lovin'.  I love how the bubble flows all around Noelle when she sits down.  So lovely!

Tiered Skirt Tutorial

Pin It

I mentioned, a few posts ago, how I had forgotten how cute the tiered skirt is.  I think it gives you a lot of bang for what looks like more work than it is.  It's really not much more work that a simple, one-piece-of-fabric skirt, but it has a lot more flair. 

I had this yummy kelly green denim that I decided to use because, oh my goodness, I went outside with ONLY a t-shirt and pants on today... and I didn't freeze.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say I was COMFORTABLE.  If you live in some place like California, this isn't a big deal.  If you live in the Chicagoland area, though, you're with me... right?  But anyway, the kelly green made me think of the grass and flowers that are going to actually start appearing soon, and I went with it.  Plus, it's a nice weight for our getting-warmer-but-not-quite-hot weather.  However, you can pretty much use whatever you choose.  And you can mix up the prints.  And you can add more tiers or make them different widths.  Oh, the possibilities!! 

Materials:
About 1/2 yard fabric (more or less, depending on the size you want) for a 3/4T
1/2 inch elastic
Basic sewing get-up

Instructions:

One note, before we begin.  You'll see I used brown thread on my green fabric.  It actually won't show, except where you stitch your waistband and hem, but use a coordinating thread.  It's better.  I wanted you to be able to see my stitching, though, so brown worked well. :)

Now for real... Instructions, Take 2:
Cut your fabric into strips for your tiers. 

There's no exact science to this, but here's how I cut mine-- they're each 5 inches wide and the following lengths:
First tier: waist measurement + 12 inches
Second tier: waist measurement + 20 inches
Third tier: waist measurement + 28 inches

Also cut a strip that is the same length of the first tier (w+12 inches) but only 2 inches wide (not shown).

Run a gathering stitch along the top edge of your third (bottom) tier.  Gather until it matches the length of your second tier.

Stitch second and third tiers, right sides together.  Finish with a zig-zag stitch.

Run a gathering stitch through the top of your second tier.  Gather until it measures up to your top tier.  Once again, stitch them together and finish with a zig-zag.

Now (with NO gathering... whew) stitch your waistband (2 inch wide strip) to the top of your top tier, right sides together.

Didn't take a picture, but now your sew the short sides of the whole kit and caboodle together.  (So... through all four strips.)

Fold the top of your waistband down 1/4 inch and press.

Then fold the waistband down at the seam.  I tried to show you that that's where the top tier and waistband piece meet, in case you're wondering what I'm doing in the picture.  Press that, too, just for good measure.

Then sew close to the edge, leaving a 1-inch opening.  Using a safety pin, thread your elastic through. 

 
Close up the opening, hem the bottom, and you're done! 

 

Feel free to dig in the dirt that will soon be yielding flowers!  After a long winter, you deserve it! :)