Tied Front Shift Dress Tutorial

I had Ironman 2 playing on Netflix the other day while Mike and the girls were out, and although I was only half watching it, I did look up long enough to see a dress that served as inspiration for this one. I thought it looked simple enough, and when made with a knit, it would be nice and comfy, too.

Cutting the pieces:
Grab a dress that fits your little lady, to use as a pattern piece. Fold the dress and your fabric in half and line up the folds. Trace to the bottom of the armhole. From here, you want to trace it out on an angle because you want to have plenty of room, so when you tie it, it will gather for ya.

Now, for your other pattern piece, you need to cut the ties. You're basically going to make a rounded off triangle.

First, cut four isosceles triangles that are 6 inches by 16 inches or so. See my tutorial on cutting shapes.  Super easy.

Once you have these cut, place them together and round off the pointy tip.

For the side of your triangle that's going to hit the side seam of the dress (the short side), you want to get that angle. Place the triangles you just cut up against the side of the bodice and cut that angle.

You'll end up with this:

Put the pieces right sides together and pin them, so they're all ready to sew up.

Here are all your pattern pieces.

Sewing this dress is pretty darn simple.  First sew the ties of your dress, leaving the slanted edge (that will be on the side seam) open.  Turn right side out, press and top stitch.

Pin the shoulders, right sides together.  Also pin the sides of the dress, but make sure you sandwich the ties in between.  Place them 1-1.5 inches below the armhole.  Sew up the shoulders and sides of the dress.  If you'd like to serge or zig-zag stitch to give it more finish, go for it.  (But knit won't fray, so it's not necessary.)

Now since you cut a generous A-line, and you'll be tying the front, we need to cinch the back somehow.  On the back of the dress, measure 2 inches down from the arm hole and mark.  Do this on the other side, too.  Then measure 1 inch up from the bottom of the tie and mark on both sides.

 Now draw lines across the back that you'll follow to cinch some elastic.  Sorry, they're tough to see.

Cut two pieces of 1/4-inch elastic to half of your recipient's waist measurement (for my daughter, that's 10 inches).

I didn't take pictures of this next one, but you want to put a mark at the middle of each piece of elastic and in the middle of the dress.  You're going to zig-zag stitch the elastic on, stretching it as you go, lining up the mid-points.  Then stretch the elastic to the other side while you zig-zag.  It will gather in your fabric, so you'll have this:

Now to finish up the neck and armholes, you'll want to finish them off with bias tape.  If you need help with that, check out this tutorial from kitschycoo.  I like how she gives her rational for everything.  Very helpful. 

Then just hem the bottom!

  I like how the neckline is a little boatneck-like... a little. :)

Try it on, give it a tie, and there you go.  Fancy schmancy!  And perfect for summer.  Oh, summer... when will you return?

Math and shapes

Dear math teachers,
I'm sorry I ever thought (or voiced aloud) that I would never use math in my daily life. Sure, I'm not sitting around, doing proofs, but I am using math. Forgive me.
Sincerely,
Heather

So yeah, this is probably stuff you know, but I thought it couldn't hurt to include some tips on cutting shapes.

I actually was inspired to do this post because I got an Accuquilt Go! Fabric Cutter for Christmas! It was one of the only things I asked for, and I'm so excited! What that means is that I will be able to make perfect circles every time (oh boy!).  But not everyone had a rockin' Christmas like me, so here you go.

Since we're on the subject, let's talk circles.

Circles:

First determine how wide you want your circle to be (the diameter). Divide that in two (to get the measurement of the radius). I'm going to cut a circle with a radius of 3.

Now use a fabric marker to make a mark. Take a ruler and measure out from this the length of your radius (for me, 3 inches). Make a little mark. Shift your ruler slightly and make another mark, also 3 inches from the center. 

Keep doing this till you get back to your original mark. Now you have a dotty circle to cut!

Well, hello, beautiful!

Isosceles triangles:

Yeah, I'm using super cool math language. Word.

In case you've forgotten, though I'm sure you haven't, this is a triangle that has two equal sides (and angles). Here's a really (REALLY) easy way to cut those...

First decide the width and height you want for your triangle. I'll make one 4 inches wide and 5 inches tall. Fold your fabric in half. First, you'll cut the side that is not equal. For this, cut half the width perpendicular to the fold (the little purple line to the right side in the second pic). Measure (along the fold) your desired length. Make a mark and cut to there. Open it up and...

 

 Voila!

Equilateral triangles:

Remember this equation: a^2+b^2=c^2 ? You don't? That's ok because I jest...  we don't really need it, but did your algebra anxiety hit you for a moment? :)

It's way easier than that if we cut our triangle on the fold. How long do you want your triangle's sides? I'll make mine 4 inches. First, I want to cut the side that's perpendicular to the fold. Since its folded, I'll cut it two inches. Now I just take my ruler and place the end at that spot. Then just move it around till that side's going to be 4 inches.

Ta-da!

Ain't they just lovely?  And so easy to do. :)

beginning of an adventure

On my other blog, Green is the New Black, I have a couple different readerships... or at least I hope I have a couple different readerships.  First, I have the family.  I haven't done an official poll, but I'm thinking they like pictures of the kids and stories of all our exciting adventures.  They may even enjoy a picture or two of Mike and me... though those are probably not the biggest incentives.  But I also hope that I have people who like to see what I'm creating, sewing-wise.  I'm not sure if those people exist, but by-golly, I really want them to.  However, I have a feeling that my sewing stories can be a little yawn-producing to the fambly-types.  And if nothing else, they're not always in the grandfathers' wheelhouses.  So here we are, at a new blog address.  And speaking of the address, YES.  It is super cheesy.  Am I afraid of a little cheesiness?  No.  So you better watch out. That kind of thing can happen around here.

It's probably a good idea for me to lay out a few goals for this here blog, so let's get started:
1. share different clothing I've made for the kiddos
2. give ideas for fun activities/crafts/art projects to do with little ones
3. be super entertaining, so that I attract everyone who has a sense of humor, crafters/sewers or no
4. realize that it's ok not to be too entertaining; settle for recording things I've made, just for the sheer joy of it
5. post tutorials for different articles of clothing, so those reading can make them, too

That shouldn't be too hard, right?  It may be slow-going, but we'll try to make it work.  I'd love for you to join me.  Really.  Please?

I love love love sewing; it's my happy place/get-away.  It's fun and satisfying, and it's also a stress-release for me.  I'm hoping there are a few people out there who feel the same way and will want to read these little blurbs I type.  I even have my first article of clothing to share.  So with that-- on to the first non-intro entry!!