Patriotic Panache

Remember this? I was in love with pom pom trim in the early '80s, and I could barely contain my excitement the other day when I saw a skirt edged with the delightful stuff at a swanky children's boutique. I snatched up some red trim and found the perfect glitzy, but not too glitzy fabric for two patriotic ensembles for my daughters.









I used the Warhol Dress pattern from Made to make the top and the Simple Skirt tutorial from Made as well. What can I say...Dana always has amazing tutorials!









I used the same tutorial for this top, but instead of sewing a long strip of fabric across the top, I made an oval that overlapped itself on one side. I lined it and added two pearl snaps so it's easy for my daughter to dress herself. I tucked the red fabric inside and top stitched all the way around. I was leery to try this neckline at first, but it was easier than I thought. I love how it turned out!

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day. Aren't we lucky to have brave, unselfish people who are willing to serve America and risk their lives to protect ours? Thank you, veterans, for sacrificing so much. God bless America!

This post is linked to Delicate Construction and Tatertots and Jello.

Tutorial: Cheerleader Bow

This style of bow is my most-requested product for cheer teams. It's perky, easy to make, and the material combinations are endless! I usually make mine from polyester satin fabric and polyester ribbon, but you can use pretty much anything you'd like. So, gimme a B-O-W and what does that spell? Cuteness!

Cheerleader Bow

Materials:
12x5" piece of fabric
12" piece of ribbon (any width)
3" piece of ribbon or fabric (for bow center)
Fusible webbing (I use Heat 'n Bond Extra Strength )
Wire (24-28 gauge)
Hair elastic or alligator clip
Pliers
Scissors
Glue gin and glue
Fray Check Solution, wood burning tool, or clear nail polish
Iron and ironing board

1. Cut three pieces of wire about six inches long. Bend each wire in half to look like a hairpin. Set them aside and iron your fabric piece so it's nice and smooth.

2. Use a ruler to cut a 2.25x12" piece of fusible webbing. Lay your fabric piece on the ironing board face down and place the strip of webbing right down the middle.


Iron it down (use the dry heat setting for your fabric. Since I used satin, my iron wasn't very hot) And let the fabric cool. Remove paper backing from webbing.

3. Carefully fold one edge of your fabric toward the center of the webbing strip. Iron it down, but be sure that your iron doesn't touch any exposed webbing. If it does, you'll have a gooey mess all over your iron (I learned the hard way...not fun). Repeat on both sides of fabric.


4. Cut a strip of fusible webbing that is 12 inches long and slightly narrower than your ribbon. Iron it to the back of the ribbon and let it cool. Peel off paper backing.

5. Place your ironed fabric piece seam side up on the ironing board. Position your ribbon on top of your seam and iron down.


After it cools, trim off any extra threads. Cut the whole stack half, so you end up with two 6-inch pieces.



6. Grab those hairpins you made earlier and bend one of them into a hooked shape. If you're using an elastic, slip it onto the hook like this:


Lay it to the side for another minute.

7. Take one of your fabric pieces and fold it in half like a book to gently crease the center. Pinch the edges toward the middle along the center crease and secure it with another one of your wire hairpins.


Make a lark's head knot by slipping the straight ends through the loop.


Use pliers to create leverage to get a nice, tight knot. Wrap the extra wire around the center of the fabric piece in the opposite direction to secure. Repeat with the other fabric piece.


8. Use the last hairpin (with the elastic threaded on it) to tie the bow halves together. Use a lark's head knot again, and gently wiggle the bow streamers to arrange them Nicely while you tighten the knot. Wrap the loose wires around in the opposite direction like before.



9. Put a small blob of hot glue on the front center of the bow. Stick the center of your 3-inch ribbon to the glue and let it dry. If you're using fabric, fold each long side in toward the middle. Glue it to the bow with the raw edges facing under.





Wrap the ends around and hot glue them in the back.



10. Trim off any extra threads or stray pieces. Trim the ends of each streamer into a notch, taking care to even up the length. Apply Fray Check or clear nail polish tithe cut ends to prevent fraying (or melt the edges carefully with a wood burning tool).


Ta da! You're all done. Now pull up your hair into a high ponytail and rock your cute new bow with a head nod and spirit fingers.

Tutorial: The Americana Hannah Tutu Skirt

I love to dress my two daughters in seasonal, holiday-inspired clothes. It's fun and festive, the girls get very excited to celebrate, and I think it makes the holidays even more special. Since I'm all about saving a dime or two, I was looking for a penny wise way to create a star-spangled tutu like the one I saw in Gymboree a few days ago. To make matters even more fun, my dear friend was visiting the States from Denmark. She has a daughter named Hannah who is 4 years old just like mine, so we went to work to make some truly American tutus.

Sorry the photo is bad! A new camera is on my list of things I really need.

I've always wanted to compose a tutorial for my projects, but I get going with the scissors and the thread and I forget to take photos along the way.
Here's my best (and first!) effort at instructions on how to make this cute skirt. I'm very sorry it doesn't include photos. Please leave a comment if you have any questions. I'd love to hear from you!

We hit JoAnn Fabric and purchased two navy blue fabrics from the Casa Collection, both in shimmery smooth and glittery finishes. Our original plan was to add red tulle between the layers of blue, but that ended up looking a little freakish. At the last minute (oh, how I despise those long lines at the cutting table at JoAnn...but it gives me time to think of more fabric that I just have to buy...a ploy, perhaps?), we saw some completely gaudy, red-white-and-blue-striped mesh complete with silver foil stars. I had my doubts at first, but my very stylish friend convinced me we could add a few random strips of it amid the navy blue and it'd look cute. We bought that too, and soon we were on our way. After stops more stops at Walmart and Hobby Lobby (I'll drive all over town to find a good deal...ha!), we were all set.

Two hours later, we had a super-cute, inexpensive tutu worthy of a 21-gun salute.

Here's my kind-of tutorial for the Americana Hannah Tutu Skirt in a size 4/5. The pattern is very forgiving, so it's easy to adjust for waist size and length.

Fabric (all 45" wide):

1/2 yard satin

1/2 yard tulle

1/4 yard shimmery smooth Casa Collection fabric

1/4 yard glittery Casa Collection fabric

1/4 yard stars and stripes mesh

Notions:

1.5 yards 3/4" knit elastic

3 yards single row sequins

Thread to match fabric and sequins

Cut the piece of satin from 1/2 yard down to your desired finished skirt length plus 2.5". Since I wanted my skirt to be 12" long, I went with 14.5". Serge the short edges together to make a big loop, and serge around the entire top and bottom to make sure there is no potential for fraying. Once finished, you'll have a loop that is 14.5"x22" when laid flat.

Next, lay out the tulle (folded in half to make a 4-layer strip of 9x45" tulle). On top of that, lay the shimmery, smooth fabric. Then add the mesh, and finally, the sparkle fabric. You should have yourself a great looking stack of fabric.

Serge along the long top edge of the whole stack, then bring the ends together (right sides facing each other), and serge the short ends together to make a loop like the satin one. Turn the loop of layered fabric right side out and add the single-row sequins to the very top layer of sparkle fabric. Be sure to sew in the same direction the sequins lie or you'll have a big mess on your hands. It should be looking fabulous already!

The tricky part comes next: Take the satin loop and iron one of the serged seams so it folds inward, toward the wrong side of the satin. Then, iron the other seam the other way, so it folds toward the shiny side of the satin. Confused? Sorry! Basically, one seam folds to the wrong side and the other seam folds opposite. Hem the seam that was folded toward the shiny side and that becomes the bottom of the skirt. Then, fold the other seam (folded toward the wrong side) down two more inches and iron. This becomes the shiny, satin waistband of the skirt.

So, this means that the exposed waistband (the two-ish inches that were folded down and ironed) are shiny. The rest of the shiny side is on the inside of the skirt. This is okay because the layered fabric covers the exposed dull side that ends up facing out. As a bonus, the skirt feels silky against the skin, which all three girls loved!

Add the layered fabric to the satin: First, lay the layered tube on the table with the seam toward you (this is the back of the skirt). Take the satin tube and place it inside the layered tube, also with the seam toward you. Line up the seams and the bottom of edges of both tubes. Then, carefully fold the pre-ironed waistband portion of the satin tube over the serged top edge of the layered tube. Pin it down in several places and use two pins on either side of the seam to remind yourself to leave an opening for the elastic to be threaded through the casing. Top stitch around the tube to secure all of the layers together, being sure to keep your needle about 1/8" from the edge of the folded portion.

Once finished, move your fabric over 1 inch and sew another seam right through the middle of the waistband, thus dividing the whole waistband into two almost-1-inch casings. Measure the waist of whoever will wear the skirt, cut two strips of elastic to that measurement, and thread it through both casings. Sew the ends of each strip of elastic together (be sure the elastic isn't twisted inside the casing), then stretch the elastic to smooth out the fabric while you stitch the casings closed. Ta da! All finished! I recommend hand washing and hanging to dry to preserve the crisp nature of the tulle.

Now put your tutu skirt on an adorable, sparkly, and patriotic little girl. She'll be Yankee-Doodle dandy and all set for Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day.

Good luck and happy sewing!

I'm linking to the

Spring Bunting from Diaper Box and Egg Carton

Here's my latest creation born from items in the recycle bin: a happy, vibrant bunting made from a diaper box and an egg carton. I let the kids paint the elements before assembly and I think it turned out to be adorable. The best part is that it was free! Even the ribbon is recycled from a previous craft. We had a blast making it and it makes our family room feel extra Spring-y.

First, I cut the triangles, letters, and flower centers from a diaper box. Then, I sliced the egg carton right down the middle and across the dividers to make separate egg cups. I tore each cup four times to make petals and let the kids paint them to make blossoms.

Once everything was dry, I finger-painted a little dark brown paint around the triangles' edges to give them some character. After using my glue gun to attach all the parts, I punched a hole in each of the top corners of the triangles and threaded the pennants on a stretch of yellow grosgrain ribbon.

I added some bows to the ends and voila! A fun, easy, and cheap project that really makes me smile. Leave a comment if you have any questions. Happy crafting, everyone!

These shabby little blossoms are so cute and easy to make!

I'm linking this post here (check it out!):

Mini Aprons Tutorial

If you're like me, you see something and think to yourself, "I could make that SO easily!" Well, here are instructions for the rectangular Mini Apron. It's fairly simple, doesn't take too much time, and looks adorable. So...make it!

Fabric and notions you'll need:
1/2 yard 45" wide woven fabric for body (black with white polka dots in the photo)
1/2 yard 45" wide woven for straps and ruffle (yellow in photo)
1/4 yard 45" wide woven for pocket and waistband (red gingham in photo)
thread (I use one color on the whole apron because I like contrast stitching, but if you don't, use a thread that matches each of your fabrics)
Fray Check (gel that prevents fraying), optional

Tools you'll need:
rotary cutter
fabric ruler
cutting mat
iron
ironing board
sewing machine

First, pre wash and iron your fabrics. To be truthful, I never do this, and once in a while I regret it. If you're short on time, don't pre wash. If you want to be a real old-school seamstress and be sure your fabric won't shrink in a strange way once it's sewn, pre wash, tumble dry, and press.

Lay out your body fabric. Fold it in half with right sides facing in. Using your trusty ruler and cutting mat, cut a rectangle that is 10 inches wide (from the fold to the edge) and 9 inches tall. When finished, you'll actually have a 20" x 9" rectangle.

Cut another rectangle from the body fabric the same way, but make it 5.5 inches from the fold to the edge and 8 inches tall. The resulting rectangle should be 11" x 8".

Next, lay out your ruffle and strap fabric. Fold it in half width-wise, so the two bias edges are together. Use your ruler to cut a strip that is 8 inches wide (it should be around 43-45 inches long when unfolded). Then, square up the remainder, and cut it in half across the middle. You should end up with two pieces of fabric that are roughly 21 inches long by 3 inches wide. These measurements don't need to be exact.

For the pocket and waistband, fold the fabric together with bias edges touching. Cut one 3-inch wide strip. Then, cut the strip in half so you have two pieces that are approximately 21" x 3" (just like the straps above). From the remainder of your pocket fabric, cut a rectangle that is 10 inches long and as wide as your fabric. Make sure it's square. Cutting is complete!

Break out the iron...my least favorite part of the sewing process. As much as I hate ironing, though, I love how easy it is to match and sew a crisply-ironed edge. So, roll up your sleeves, prepare to get warm, and do the following:

On all pieces except the ruffle (the 8" x 45" piece), lay the fabric face-down on the ironing board. Fold one edge over 1/4 inch and iron flat. Continue around all 4 edges until you have a nice, even margin. On the straps, waistband pieces, and pocket, fold in half with right sides facing out. Then, iron down flat. You should end up with 4 pieces of fabric that are about 1.25 inches wide and 21 inches long, and a pocket that's about 5 inches long and 5.5 wide.

The ruffle is the easiest part to iron. Just fold in in half lengthwise and iron flat. You'll end up with a piece that is 4 inches wide and 45 inches long. Easy!

Now, for the sewing. If you have a serger, use it! If not, don't fret. Select a zig zag seam and stitch around each of the body pieces, securing the folded and ironed edges. If you're using a zig zag stitch, make sure that one edge of the zig zag meets the raw edge of the fabric. This will prevent fraying. Go all the way around the small body rectangle and the large rectangle. Clip threads.

Find the center of each rectangle by folding in half and marking with a pin. Line up the centers with the bottom edge of the small rectangle touching the top edge of the large rectangle. Use a wide zig zag stitch to connect the two pieces. Make sure that half of the zig zag is on each of the pieces and that there's no space between them.

Next, attach the pocket. Make sure the folded edge is up, because you won't be sewing this edge. Center it on the front of the apron and pin down. Use a straight stitch to sew around the three edges (side, bottom, side). You'll be sewing through four layers of fabric on each side (because of the folded-under edges), so be careful and you may need to go slowly.

On the straps and waistband pieces, you'll follow the same step. Sew down the long edge where the folded-over edges meet. Then, turn the corner and sew the end shut. Clip threads.

Attach the straps to the edges of the top rectangle of the body by pinning the unsewn edges to the back (let them overlap by 1/4 inch on the back). Sew them to the body with a straight stitch. Use the same process to attach the waistbands to the edges of the large rectangle.

Change your machine to a long, straight stitch. Sew along the raw edge of the ruffle piece, but don't back stitch. Gather the ruffle until it's 19 inches long, or the same length as the bottom rectangle of the body. Don't worry about sewing down the short edges of the ruffle; they should be bias edges and won't fray. Pin the ruffle to the back of the bottom edge of the large rectangle, being sure to overlap the ruffle far enough to hide the gathering stitch on the front of the apron. Now, use a regular stitch to attach the ruffle to the body. Clip threads.

Ta da! Your apron is complete. Try it on your little chef, and cook up some ideas of how to make your next apron even more fabulous. You can add multiple ruffles to the bottom, appliques to the pocket (before you sew it to the apron), cute accent buttons...the possibilities are endless. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask me any questions you may have. Bon apetit!