Basic Gathered Skirt

 Some time ago, I bought some remnant fabric from Joann. It was about 3/4 yard, and maybe $3-4. Years later, I rediscovered it in my stash and decided to finally make something out of it.

The fabric is a linen-look (with a tiny bit of stretch!) with olive flowers - some printed, some embroidered. As a redhead, I wear mostly autumn colors, so it was perfect. It just took me a while to figure out how to use it. So I finally just made a simple, gathered skirt. Want to know how?

All you need is fabric, elastic, and coordinating thread. My fabric is about 50" wide, which goes around me at the largest part (hips) with a little to spare, and the length is approx 30", which is plenty of length for a casing and hem, landing below my knees. Your finished width and length can be whatever you choose, depending on your preferences. Also, I used 1" elastic, which I think is just right for an adult waistband. To make a child's skirt, I would probably use 1/2".

Plan to use about 1 1/2" of the fabric length for the elastic casing and 1" for the hem. So add 2 1/2" to the length of skirt you want and make the cut.

If you are using the full fabric width, sew the 2 selvedge edges together and press open. You won't need to serge or zigzag since the selvedges are already finished and won't fray.

For the elastic casing/waistband, fold down and press 1/4", then 1" (plus a smidge to let the elastic go in easily). Note: if you're using a different width elastic, make the width of your second fold accordingly.

Sew the waistband all around, close to the first fold, leaving about 1 1/2" open (indicated by arrows). Cut a piece of elastic the circumference of your waist plus 1". Put a safety pin through the end of the elastic and feed it through the opening you left, all the way around.

Before the end of the elastic gets pulled in all the way, secure it to the skirt. If it gets pulled in, you'll have to start over, and that's never fun!

Overlap your elastic about an inch, then pin it and let it be drawn in to the waistband. Try it on for fit and adjust as needed.

Pull the elastic back out and sew the ends together. I like to sew a box around the overlapping section to make it extra secure. Hopefully you can see that in the picture. Draw the elastic back into the waistband and sew up the gap you fed the elastic through, being careful not to sew into the elastic.

The next step is optional, but I like to sew through the skirt and elastic in a few spots around the skirt (front, back, and sides). I hate it when I either wear something or wash it and the elastic gets twisted up within the waist. This will prevent that from happening!

All that's left is the hem! Fold up and press 1/2" all the way around, then another 1/2". Sew close to the first fold, and then you're done!

There you have it - a basic gathered skirt. I think this skirt took me an hour to make, and that includes stopping to take pictures of each step! I'm on the large side, so my skirt fits fairly straight. If you're a skinnier gal (lucky you!), your skirt will gather more tightly on the elastic and wear a little more a-line.

The possibilities here are pretty much endless. With just a few simple changes, you can have several different looks. Just a few off the top of my head: make it longer or shorter, fuller or straighter, add a ribbon or other trim near the bottom or maybe a solid-colored fabric band. You could make two side seams and sew in pockets.

If you're intimidated by sewing, I hope this simple project - no pattern, straight-line stitching - will give you the courage to give it a try.

Happy crafting,

Julie

Quick & Easy Gift

I direct the 1st-2nd Grade Children's Choir at my church. Every Christmas and spring I like to give my adult helpers a little gift to say Thanks! for all their assistance that year. (Good help is hard to find, and I've had some GREAT help in the 10 years - yikes! - I've been directing.) So last week I gave them this super easy and quickly-decorated frame. I'll tell you just how easy it was.

I started out with these way-cheap 4x6 unfinished wood frames from Ikea ($1.99 for a 3/pack - awesome!) and music note scrapbook paper from JoAnn's (about $.60 cents a page - I used two). Everything else - paint, mod podge, cardstock - I already had on hand. That's less than $5 for three gifts!!!

The only music-themed paper I found was bright white, but I wanted something that looked older. I tea-dyed the paper, which was really easy. I steeped one tea bag in about 1/2 cup of hot water, then used the tea bag to "paint" the tea onto the paper. The paper dries a little wavy, but if you're going to decoupage it, it will straighten out then.

I painted the bottom and sides of the frame in two coats of brown acrylic paint for a more finished look.

Then I traced the frame onto the paper, cut it out, and mod podged it on. Before I mod podged over the paper, I painted on a little glimmer - thicker on the frame edges, and just a little on the front. (I used DecoArt Dazzling Metallics in Champagne Gold.) I followed that with two coats of mod podge.

For the framed quote, I used part of a song our choir learned this spring for their May concert. I just typed it in Word and printed it on plain cardstock. Nothing tricky here!

So that's it. A quick and easy way to let someone know you appreciate them. You can easily adapt such an easy project to any theme or occasion by changing the paper and quote. You could use it as a picture frame, too - imagine that! Until next time...

Happy crafting,

Julie

I'm Ba-ack!

I'm not great at posting ultra-regularly... But good grief, it's been almost 40 days! We've had a lot going on since my last post on April 15. We had all the family in our home for Easter, then we were out of town the next week for vacation (Universal Studios Orlando - super fun!), and had my parents in town again for Mother's Day weekend. My crafting space is usually the kitchen table, so with all that company, I had to keep the table clear for actual meals! Well, the company is all gone, so it's time to junk the house up with crap crafts again!!!

Speaking of Mother's Day, I only had one request for a gift from my husband. I found a book called Making Children's Clothes by Emma Hardy, and desperately wanted it. And yes, I got it! Here's a brief look inside, along with my first completed project.

 There are only a few projects sized for infants, including these cute bloomers, and several accessories (a bib, knit cap, and shoes). Most of the clothing items are for toddlers and preschoolers, sized by age 2-5 - the title is Making Children's Clothes, after all.

The author has two daughters of her own, so it's no surprise that most of the clothes are for girls. But there are three items designed for boys. Of course, they can be adapted for girls, too, depending on the fabric and trimmings used.

In all, there are 25 projects: 3 babywear patterns, 4 shirts, 4 pants, 3 skirts, 3 dresses, 3 sleepwear patterns, and 5 accessories. When I saw the skirt below, I fell in love, and knew I had to make it one day for my daughter. How gorgeous is it!?!

I chose a simple project to start with, this reversible hat.

 The book includes full size patterns, on two double-sided sheets. Rather than cutting them out, you need to trace each piece you want to use.

I found a pad of 11"x14" tracing paper for $5.99 at Hobby Lobby. It was easy to see the color-coded pattern pieces to be traced, and the tracing paper held up well to being repeatedly pinned to fabric.

My fabric is from Joann's. And I always buy iron-on interfacing 2 yards at a time, so I have it when I need it.

Everything cut out and ready to sew.

Here's one side:

And the reverse:

I did make one slight change to the original instructions. I stitched additional rows to the hat's brim. The striped fabric I used was a little flimsy after it was washed, and I felt it needed just a bit more stability. Plus, it's just cute!

And of course, my almost 18-month-old wiggle-worm is not a fan of cooperation these days. Here I am trying to get her to pose with the hat on. A bit of a losing battle.

I did manage to get one shot of her in the hat, even if her hair was everywhere! The next day, she wore it around the house for about an hour, but was the camera handy?

I have a few more project in the works. Next up is a skirt for me! And I've decided to do some hand stitching on a dress for Annelise. It's taking a while, so I'm hoping it's finished before she outgrows it!!! In the meantime...

Happy crafting,

Julie

Baby Name Banner - Tutorial

I've hinted at a sweet baby name banner for about a month now. The shower for the beautiful mom-to-be has now happened, so I can finally show you the banner and tell you how to make one.

What you need:

Coordinating fabric (I used 5 fat quarters, which was plenty for 6 blocks)

Batting (I used scraps from another project)

Binding - wide double fold (The store was out so I had to buy single fold and iron it in half myself.)

Felt

Embellishments (I used buttons)

The "Jude" banner is approximately 42" long. My finished blocks are approx. 7" square. Your finished banner - and the exact amount of fabric you will need - depends on the number of blocks you need to spell your chosen name. Since Jude is a short name, I added two "picture" blocks. For a 3-4 letter name, I suggest adding 2 blocks; 1 block for a 5-6 letter name; and for any longer names, just the letters should be plenty long.

1. Cut a 5 1/2" square for each block. The center panel of each block is 5" finished.

2. Cut 1 1/2" by 5 1/2" strips - two strips per block.

3. Cut 1 1/2" by 7" strips - two strips per block.

(Pretend not to notice the strips in the picture are actually 6 1/2" long. When you're making something up as you go, mistakes are really easy to make.)

4.Cut 7" squares for the backs of the blocks.

5. Cut 7" squares of batting.

6. Sew a 5 1/2" strip to opposite sides of each 5 1/2" square block center. *All seams are 1/4" unless otherwise noted.* Press the strips away from the square.

7. Sew a 7" strip to each side of your block, opposite the sides you sewed the previous strips. Press each strip away from block.

8. At this point, it's time to cut your letters and any other shapes you want to add. I used Word Art in Microsoft Word to make my letter templates. I used Arial Black, typed one letter at a time, and formatted the Word Art size to 3"x4". This way all my letters would be the same size. I printed each letter twice, then free-handed a line about 1/8" larger than one set of letters. Cut out the smaller letters from your main color of felt, and the larger letters from the letter background color.

For any pictures you want to use on extra blocks, you can use clip art, Google images, cookie cutters, whatever you can find.

9. Arrange your letters and shapes on the blocks and stitch close to the edge of each. I layered my main letter and background and stitched through both at once.

10. Layer your batting, block front, and backing piece as shown (the block front and backing piece should be right sides together).

11. Stitch around the square, leaving about 1 1/2" on the top edge open for turning. (If I made another banner, I would only stitch around the sides and bottom, leaving the top completely open.)

12. Turn the blocks right side out and press. Use a point turner or dull pencil point to poke out the corners. Don't worry about stitching up the opening you used to turn the square out. This will be enclosed in the binding later.

13. Stitch "in the ditch" between your main block piece and the borders.

14. Decide where you want to use your embellishments and stitch in place.

15. Lay out your blocks (I spaced mine 1" apart) and cut your binding that length plus 24". Leave 12" of binding at each end (for tying) and pin your blocks, enclosing the top edge in the fold of the binding. Fold each binding end in about 1/4". Sew along the full length of the binding, removing the pins as you go.

16. Cut two 13" lengths of binding. Fold in each end 1/4". Sew along the length of both binding pieces. Place at the ends of your banner, overlapping the beginning or end block about 1". Sew in place at the end of the binding and at the edge of the block.

And that's it! You can tie the banner to the front of the crib, a shelf with pegs, or decorative knobs on the wall. I believe every baby should have something that was handmade just for them!

 

I hope my instructions were clear enough to follow. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'd be glad to elaborate on any of the steps.

Happy crafting,

Julie