Tag Archives: girls

60s Flower Child – Sewing Through the Decades for PR&P

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“If you’re going to San Francisco,
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
If you’re going to San Francisco,
You’re gonna meet some gentle people there.”
– John Phillips 

The theme for Project Run & Play this week is “Sewing Through the Decades.”  The assignment was to pick a decade and design a children’s outfit based on the fashion trends of that decade.  I just took a look at the Flickr pool to see some of the other entries and there are some fabulous outfits!!

I had a hard time coming up with this week’s outfit.  There wasn’t one decade or style that was screaming out at me.  I considered doing a popular 50s girls dress with the poofy skirt and all.  At one point I wanted to recreate one of my mom’s outfits from the 50s.  Or do a 60s mod dress.  I love 20s style dresses, but I didn’t think the ones I really liked would look good on a toddler’s body.  I even considered an 80s Madonna tribute.  It’s pretty random how I ended up picking this style.

I chose this 60s hippie/flower child look because of a picture of a flowy top I came across while doing some research.  It looked so pretty, so I drew a sketch of it and though I kept looking for more ideas, I kept coming back to that sketch.  I wanted to do a hippie look – but not like the tie-dyed, super bright and colorful peace signs and big flowers exaggerated hippie look, but the bohemian flower child, super earthy, war protesting, barefoot kinda hippie of the late 60s.  It’s probably because I could kinda see myself as one, had I lived during that time.  I didn’t realize that San Francisco was the epicenter of the hippie subculture in the mid to late 60s.  It made me want to take my little hippie child down to Haight-Ashbury or Golden Gate Park for our photo shoot to recreate some fun scenes.  It may seem a little inappropriate for a child, considering drugs were such a huge part of the culture, but that part aside, it was a really fun style to try.

I had a few goals in mind for this week:
1. Sew something new and different (this is kind of a goal that I always have).
2. Keep it simple.  I knew I couldn’t go all out and pull off 5 pieces like last week.
3. Make something that fit the theme (was inspired by a past decade), but was something that Yuki could wear again as part of her regular wardrobe.
4. Blog about the outfit before uploading my pictures to flickr by Friday at 8am.

I’d say I was about 75% successful.

I accomplished the first and last goal!  I did attempt something new with both the top and the bottom.  Both pieces were completely new to me.  And look, a blog post before the deadline (barely, but still)!

As for keeping it simple, I tried.  I didn’t have the time to make a super elaborate outfit this week – nor did I have the inspiration.  So I thought I’d do something really simple this week and maybe start a little early on next week’s challenge (didn’t happen).  I wanted to do 2 simple pieces, a top and a bottom.  I made a fairly simple blouse pattern with no real crazy details or embellishments.  I hit a few rough spots when I was constructing it, but I was able to finish it in half a day and once it was done, it didn’t need any altering (thank goodness)!  I kept it pretty simple!

The bottoms however are a different story!  Originally, I made some denim cut-off shorts.  I spent a decent amount of time adding a lot of detail to the shorts to make them look like real jeans (I was inspired by all the great pants made by the contestants for Boys Week).  After they were done, Hideko said that she didn’t think it went with the top and the overall hippie look (she loves to give me her opinion AFTER I’ve finished making something :)).  She thought I should make bell bottoms!  I wasn’t planning on making anything too “hippie” because I wanted her to be able to wear it again.  But I gave in.

I had a pair of my old jeans that I thought I could use for the bell bottoms.  Since I was quite sure Yuki wouldn’t be wearing these again, I didn’t want to spend a ton of time on them.  But they ended up being the most time consuming part of the outfit, BY FAR.  I hacked apart my jeans trying to make them fit my 16 month old and make them bell bottoms.  When I tried them on her, they didn’t look bell bottom-y enough, so I decided to add the triangles of fabric to really exaggerate the look.  Why not go all the way!?  They certainly look the part now!

I didn’t hem the bottoms, so they’ve have a bit of a tattered look – I just zig zag stitched the edge.  I hope to have a tutorial relating to these pants next week, so look out for that, if you’re interested!

So, I was able to keep the top simple, but spent too much time on the pants.  She’ll definitely wear the top again, but probably not the pants (unless we have a costume party to go to).  Overall, I’m not THRILLED with how the outfit came out.  I do like the top, but it looks a little oversized on her.  The bodice is perfectly fitted, but the sleeves and the body probably could have been a bit shorter.  The pants are also too long, so I’m afraid the whole outfit looks a bit sloppy.  Maybe accurate, but still a little sloppy.

I did have fun putting together a few accessories for the photos though.  I just bought some cheap wooden beads and strung them randomly on some string for her necklace.  I got a yard of leather and added some beads and glued a few feathers that I already had at home to the ends for the headband.  I also took a fake daisy and glued it to a clip for her hair, though it fell off half way through the photo taking.

I had a lot of fun on this photo shoot!  It was a chilly morning on the beach, but my crazy child wanted to go IN the water.  The FREEZING water.  She kept walking towards it and though it would have made for some cool pictures, I did not want to lose my child in the ocean while I was snapping away on my camera!  We did both get our feet wet though.  I think I do have a little hippie child.  Take a look at her dirty wet little feet.

After we finished taking these pictures I put her in some dry clothes and had a little cracker treat.  She was quite a trooper!

You like my dirty, hippie, photo-shoot-is-more-important-than-showering look?? 🙂

Next week’s theme is Outerwear!  I THINK I know what I want to make, but it’s going to be quite a challenge.  Have you ever looked at jacket construction?  It’s complicated!  What I probably SHOULD make is a raincoat – it’s finally started raining and it looks like it’s not stopping any time soon!

What have you been up to?  Hope you’re staying warm and dry!

Yuki’s Holiday Dress

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Ok, ok, so I’m finally posting the last of my holiday projects.  Am I the only one still talking about Christmas?  Yes, I’m quite sure most people are already talking about Valentine’s Day projects.  Oops, I’m quite behind.

Anyways, I wanted to make Yuki a new dress for Christmas and New Years, and we had recently seen one in a boutique that Hideko really liked.  So based on that, I made this dress.

Only problem is that it was TOO BIG.  Yuki wore it anyways, but I didn’t get any pictures of her in it and it didn’t look very good on her anyways.  But hopefully it’ll fit her in a few months and I’ll try and get some pictures then.  It’s a bit more on the conservative side, in fact, the first time I tried it on her I thought she looked like an old church choir lady. No offense to anyone.  I added the bow to try and add some youth.  I dunno though, I still feel a bit indifferent about this dress.

I DO like how the pleats in the front came out though.  And the fabric covered buttons!  Oh, what fun!  It was my first time making fabric covered buttons and I’m hooked!  Maybe I’ll show you more about how to make those later (once you try it, you’ll be hooked too!).

I made the sleeves quite long with elastic at the wrist so that you could actually fold the sleeve over for a bubble look.  I think I like this better.

That’s it for holiday projects, I swear.  And yes, we’ve taken down our tree (though all our holiday stuff is still sitting in a bag in our bedroom).  I’m making more kid’s clothes for Project Run & Play’s sew along the next few weeks, but I’ll be trying to get other projects in there as well.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Winter Romper – Junebug Remix for PR&P

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It’s the first day of voting for Project Run & Play! If you didn’t catch it, you can see my breakdown of the competition here or go to the PR&P blog to check it all out yourself!

This week’s theme was a remix of the Junebug dress by Jess at Craftiness is not Optional. Here’s a picture of the original pattern:

You should go see the 8 competitors entries. They are so great, I really can’t decide which one I like best. It’s amazing how different each designer’s visions are!

And yet, one of them looks really similar to what I came up with!!  This season they’ve added a sew along portion for “viewers at home” to participate too.  Here’s my design, the Winter Romper.

It took me a really long time to figure out how I wanted to remix the original pattern.  I decided to go with shorts because I love this other denim romper that Yuki has.  The gray wool was my sister’s idea, which I’m so glad I went with.  It’s actually a wool gray and blue herringbone, though the blue is subtle.  The wool makes it perfect for the winter in California!  Warm and good for layering.  I lined the romper bodice with some fabric I had left over from another project I’m working on.  I didn’t really think it was going to be such a big part of the romper, but at the last minute I decided to use the same fabric to cover some buttons.

Oh, the buttons!  I couldn’t decide what buttons to use, so I bought 4 different kinds at the store.  I knew that the buttons would be such an important part of the outfit, so it was a big decision!  I finally decided to go with the fabric covered buttons and I’m not positive that I made the right decision, but overall, I think it gives the romper a unique and well put together look.

I made the entire bodice a little longer to meet the high waisted shorts.  I added pleats in the front and the back, pockets and a button cuff.  It gives it kind of a newsboy look.  I was going to add a thin belt or bow at the waistline, but when it came time to take pictures, I forgot to put it on.  I think it looks fine without one though.  Overall, I’m pleased with the way it turned out!  I love when things turn out the way you imagined, even though you had no idea what you were doing!  🙂

My poor daughter is really sick right now, so we didn’t get to take many photos.  I’m just impressed she let me put her in the clothes (and she didn’t throw up on it!).  Usually I can’t get her to stay still, but this time she would only stand there with her stuffed dog and hand up to her mouth.  Poor baby 😦

I finally got her to smile!  Kind of . . .

If you want to see the other entries for the Sew Along, you can see them all at the PR&P Flickr pool.  They have 2 judges who are going to pick one winner over the weekend and it’ll be announced on Monday!  I’m not too hopeful, but I’m excited to see whose design is chosen!  The winner gets $25 at fabric.com.

Next week the theme is BOYS.  It seems like it’s always been a challenge to come up with great clothes and other arts & crafts projects for boys, so they often get neglected.  Well all next week is dedicated to boys clothes, so hopefully we’ll see some great ideas.  What do you think I should make?  Any great ideas for a boys outfit??

Tutorial: Classic Jumper

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This post is long overdue!  I made this jumper for Yuki for Thanksgiving (along with the Herringbone Short Coat) and I’ve been wanting to share this tutorial ever since.  I hope you keep in mind that I just kind of make this stuff up as I go along, so I don’t know if this is actually the best way to make a jumper.  It’s just the way that I did it and in case you’re curious – here it is!

I’d been wanting to make a jumper for Yuki for some time.  It’s just such a fun and classic style.  And there is this super colorful plaid flannel (that I’m kind of obsessed with), that I thought would add a bit of a non-traditional, yet still holiday, feel to this piece.  Here is the sketch of the jumper I wanted to make.

You will need:
Main fabric
A little bit of fabric for lining
2 buttons

For this 12-18 month size jumper I probably used 3/4-1 yard of the main fabric and 1/4 yard of the lining material.

So first you need to draft your pattern.  I used a small jumper to get the pattern shapes, and a dress that fits Yuki to get the pattern size.  If you need help drafting a pattern, there are plenty of great resources out there like this one or this one.

The red lines are alterations I made as I was sewing, when I realized the size/fit was all wrong.  If you’re using this to get general shape ideas, make note of those changes!

The pieces you’ll need are:
Bodice front (1 main, 1 lining)
Bodice back (1 main, 1 lining)
Body front
Body back
Pocket (2 main, 2 lining)
Pocket edge (2 main)

Let’s start sewing!

First we’ll do the pockets.  Take one main fabric pocket and one lining pocket and pin them together right sides together.  Do the same with the other pocket fabrics and sew the curved edge together.  Keep the top (straight edge) open!  Flip them right side out and press.

Now we’re going to gather the top of the pocket.  If you need help with gathering, here’s a great gathering tutorial.  I do it the way Dana calls the “proper” way, except I usually only do 1 line instead of 2 or 3, like you’re supposed to.

Sew a straight line across the top edge of the pocket with your machine set to the longest stitch.  Do not backstitch at the end or beginning!  Pull on one of the threads to gather the top edge of the pocket.

For the pocket edge, fold it in half along the long side with the right side in.  Sew up the short sides and leave the long edge open.  Flip it right side out and press.

Then fold the edge in about a 1/4 inch and press.  Now you have this little pocket to stuff the top of your pocket into 🙂  Confusing enough?

Slide the top of the pocket into the opening and sew around the edge.

(why does one pocket look bigger than the other in this picture? 😦 )

Position your pockets onto the front body piece and top stitch around the pocket.  Make sure to leave the top of the pocket open and also sew back and forth several times at each end.  The top corners of pockets get pulled the most, so these extra stitches will make sure the pockets are securely attached.

Now lay the front and back body pieces together with right sides together and pin up the sides.  Sew up the sides and then press these seams open.

With the side seams opened up, serge or zig zag stitch along the arm hole.  Fold the edge down a 1/4 inch, press and sew.  If you can’t serge or zig zag, just fold the arm hole edge down a 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch, then sew (like you would a hem).

Now we’re going to gather the top part of the body piece.  Just like before, set your machine to the longest stitch and sew a straight line across the top of both the front and back of the body piece.  Pull one thread to gather the fabric (both front and back).  Set the body of the dress aside while we work on the bodice.

Pin the bodice pieces together: main fabric and lining of the front bodice piece and the main fabric and lining of the back bodice piece, right sides together.

Sew around bodice pieces, leaving the bottoms (straight edges) open.  Trim excess fabric, corners and clip curves.  Turn right side out and press.

(I also added a label at this point, in the center of the back bodice piece.  I just used an iron on transfer that I printed on my inkjet printer).

Turn about a 1/4 inch of the bottoms in (the same way we did with the pockets) and press.

Now you’re going to slide the gathered edges of the body into the bodice pieces (just like we did with the pockets)!  Make sure to put the front of the jumper into the front bodice piece and the back of the jumper into the back bodice.  Pin and sew along the straight edge and continue top stitching around the entire bodice piece (both front and back).

You’re almost done!!  Sew button holes in the back bodice piece and buttons onto the front bodice piece.

Hem up the bottom by folding up a 1/4 inch and pressing, then folding another 1/4 inch, pressing again and top stitching.  You’re done!!!

I hope this wasn’t too confusing.  I’m still learning how to write and photograph for tutorials, so I know this wasn’t perfect, but I’m working on it!  In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

I love the jumper style because it’s so versatile.  Depending on the fabric and how you layer it, it can be appropriate for pretty much any season or occasion!

(It is getting harder and harder for me to keep this one still for photos!)

Pair it with a little coat and she’s all ready for the holidays!

Are you all done making holiday outfits?  I’m not!!  I only have 2 days left, so I better get sewing!

Sew & Tell: Herringbone Short Coat

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  I hope you are all able to spend some time with loved ones and remember all the things you are thankful for.  As for me, I have so many things that I am grateful for.  I feel extremely blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing, loving, and inspiring people and feel so lucky that I have everything I need and more.  I’m thankful for my beautiful, healthy and brilliant daughter and my too-amazing-for-words life partner who gets me, accepts me and loves me though anything and everything.  And I’m so grateful that I get to do things that I love like sew, take pictures and blog and that people are encouraging me to pursue one of my dreams.  Thank you!!

I have been able to be super productive recently because I’ve had some rare time to myself (another thing that I’m thankful for!).  After working on a lot of things for other people, I wanted to take some time to make something for Yuki.  I’ve had this image in my mind of a simple coat and I finally had the chance to try it out!!  I’ve never made a jacket or coat before because it always seemed so intimidating.  I’m glad I finally gave it a shot and I learned A LOT from this experience.  Although I’m pleased with the way it came out, I’d definitely do a few things differently next time.  Anyways, here it is – the Herringbone Short Coat!

It’s lined with some super soft flannel.

This is my first Peter Pan collar and it did NOT turn out as I expected (more on that later) and a random button that I found in my button jar that I LOVE.

I used a wool blend herringbone fabric that I picked up out of the remnant bin at Joann’s.  It was only 1/3 yard!!  So I didn’t have much to work with.  I love the slightly dressy look, but it isn’t very practical since I can’t just throw it in the wash.  It’s also a very loose weave so it unravels like crazy!

The original design for this jacket had a hood, but I decided to nix that for this coat.  Yuki has so many hooded jackets and she doesn’t even like wearing the hood (plus, I probably wouldn’t have had enough fabric for that anyways).  I’m glad I went for the Peter Pan collar, but it sure was harder to do than I thought.  The collar turned out way smaller than I’d hoped and I didn’t know how to attach it, so that resulted in some creative (sloppy) sewing.  If anyone can help me with attaching a collar to a lined jacket/top, PLEASE share!

The other problem with the jacket is that it’s SNUG on her!  Which means that she’ll grow out of it by next week!  And you better believe she’s going to wear it every day until then!  I definitely want to make this coat again, but with some adjustments.  What kind of fabric should I try next?

Here’s some pictures of the coat in action.  She’s wearing it with a jumper that I also made so she’d have a complete outfit for Thanksgiving.  I’m going to share all about the jumper in another post.

Oh, how we love the fall!  I hope you all enjoy the long weekend filled with delicious food and good company!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Tutorial: Double Layered Simple Skirt

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I’m so excited to share this skirt with you!  It’s kind of a Sew & Tell, Tutorial and Repurposed Project all in one!  I wanted to do an add-on to the Simple Skirt Tutorial to show you an easy way to add another layer and get a fun new look.  I also had some fabric laying around that needed repurposing, and this was the perfect way to use it.

I started off with a tank top that had a stain smack in the middle of it.  I was ready to let go of it as a tank top, but I loved the unique scalloped eyelet bottom.

I thought I’d be able to use the material for a skirt for Yuki.  Since it has large eyelets I knew I needed another layer underneath so it would be appropriately modest for my little one 🙂  Luckily I had this old bed sheet I had bought at a thrift store for about a dollar.  I’ve used it to make lining for a pillow case, a mock-up for a jacket, and now this skirt and there’s still tons of fabric left.  What a great deal!  The sheet had a ruffle of eyelet fabric on the bottom that I thought might add some volume and why not add small scalloped eyelet to big scalloped eyelet?  Wouldn’t that be fun??

So let’s make the skirt!!  Like I said, this is variation of the original Simple Skirt Tutorial.  The first tutorial includes more information about materials, measurements, and hemming, which is NOT included in this tutorial, so please refer back to that one if you have any questions.

Materials:
Fabric – You can use two different fabrics, or the same fabric for both layers.  You can also repurpose something or use new material.  It’s up to you!
Elastic – I used 1″ wide elastic and you’ll need it to be as long as the waist measurement plus 1 inch.  If the kid’s (or adult’s) waist measurement is 17 inches, cut 18 inches.

You’ll also need the essentials – sewing machine, iron, thread, scissors, pins, and though it’s optional, a safety pin is super handy.

Let’s get started.

First (and always), wash, dry and iron your fabric.  Then it’s time to cut it.  For more details about measurements, see the Simple Skirt Tutorial.  For this project, I wanted to keep the width of the skirt fabric the same as the tank top so that I wouldn’t lose any of the eyelet and I wouldn’t have to re-sew up the sides (basically, I didn’t cut the tank top yet).  For the bottom layer of the skirt (white) I folded it in half and measured the same width as the top (blue) material plus a 1/4 inch for seam allowance.

For the length, I measured the bottom layer first.  I cut it at exactly the length I wanted the finished skirt to be.  The great thing about using these fabrics is that the bottoms were done and required no hemming!  And yes, you do need a bit of room for seam allowance on top, but you’ll see later why I didn’t add any length to the bottom layer.

For the top layer (blue fabric) I laid it on top of the white fabric at the length I wanted it to be.  Then I added about 1/2 an inch to the top and cut it.

If you are using fabric that needs to be hemmed at the bottom, be sure to add another inch.

Here is my cut fabric:

Make sure the white fabric is folded in half with right sides together, pin and sew up the short end.

If you are using new fabric that is unfinished on all 4 sides, you will need to sew up both short ends on both fabrics.

Turn your fabric right side out and press the seam.  Now you should have two tubes of fabric that are the same width.

Now, with both fabrics right side facing out, you’re going to insert the top layer inside the bottom layer.  So in this case, the blue tube was inside the white tube.  Line them up on the top and pin all the way around.

Sew along the top edge around the entire waist, using a 1/4 seam allowance, back stitching at the beginning and end.

When you are done and you pull the material out from inside, it should look like this.  On the left is the bottom layer, right side up, and on the right is the top layer, wrong side up.

Flip the top layer down over the bottom layer.  I did not want any of the white fabric to show at the top of the skirt, so instead of pressing it open right on the seam, I made the fold with about a 1/4 inch of the blue fabric on the inside of the skirt.  This is why I didn’t add any seam allowance to the bottom layer fabric when cutting the length, but I added an extra 1/2 inch to the top layer – a 1/4 inch for seam allowance and another 1/4 inch to fold over to the inside of the skirt.  Does this make sense??

Press all the way around and pin.  Now we’re going to make the casing for the elastic.  Leaving about a 2 inch opening, sew all the way around the waistline, making sure your casing is wide enough for your elastic.

In the picture above, I was using the elastic to make sure I was sewing my casing wide enough.  After you’re done, you should have a 2 inch gap that is open for you to slide the elastic through.

If you have a safety pin, insert it into one end of the elastic.  This will help you guide the elastic through the casing.

Pull apart the two layers to find the opening for the elastic.  Using the safety pin, pull the elastic through the casing.

Pull the elastic all the way around the waist and back out through the opening.  Make sure the elastic hasn’t twisted at all and is laying flat the entire way around.  Overlap the elastic by about an inch and sew them together.

Finish sewing up the casing and you’re done!!

Now, I don’t know if you noticed this, but in the original simple skirt tutorial, I said you needed about double the waist measurement for the width of the fabric.  So for a 17 inch waist, you need 34 inches of fabric.  For this skirt, I didn’t want to cut any of the blue fabric away, so I left it at it’s original width, which was at least 42 inches.  All the extra fabric, plus the extra layer made this skirt really full!!

This skirt reminds me of something you’d wear to a tea party or something.  But all our lil’ tomboy wants to do is climb things and play with dirt and rocks.  That’s our girl!

Luckily, we live in California where an outfit like this might still be appropriate for November.  But it won’t last long, so I promise I’m going to start focusing on more winter-ish clothes soon.  Fleece, flannel, and sleeves, here I come.

As for this tutorial, I’d really like some feedback.  When I’m trying to explain the steps, I feel like I’m not being clear and that it’s too confusing.  If you have any suggestions for parts that need clarifying, I’d really appreciate you letting me know.  Or asking me questions if you need help.  I want to help!  🙂  I hope you try a Double Layered Simple Skirt.  And if you do, please send me a photo!!  Have fun!

Tutorial: Simple Skirt

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My first tutorial!  The first few tutorials I’m going to put up are very easy projects and are nothing unique or original.  I figured we should start with some really basic items and then we can get into more add-ons, embellishments and complicated patterns later.  And this is also really good tutorial writing practice for me.  I would LOVE feedback on things that I missed or things that need clarification.

Although I’m starting with a really simple project, I am not starting from the very beginning.  I’m assuming that you already know the basics of how to use your machine and use some of the basic stitches.  If not, that’s ok!  Just search the internet for some sewing 101 info and I’m sure you’ll find TONS of helpful tutorials.

So today I’m going to show you how to make a simple skirt for a toddler.  This is probably one of the most basic pieces of clothing you can make.

If you haven’t already, take a look at the supplies I consider essential for almost any sewing project.

Here’s what you’ll need:
Fabric (a lightweight cotton or cotton blend should work nicely)
Matching thread
Elastic
Safety pin (optional)

And that’s it!  First (and always) wash, dry and iron your fabric.

The amount of fabric and elastic will depend on the size of the skirt you are making, but I’ll try to help you figure that out.  You’re going to be cutting 2 rectangles of fabric.  It’s easiest if you fold your fabric in half and cut them at the same time.  Here’s how you figure out what size to cut your rectangles.

First, measure the child’s waist.  This will be the width of your 2 rectangles.  For example, if the child has a waist size of 17 inches, you’ll want 2 pieces of fabric that are 17 inches long.

If you can’t measure the child, find a pair of pants or a skirt that fits them and measure the width and then double it.  In this case, the pants measure 8.5 inches across, so if you double that you get 17.  Again, you’ll want 2 pieces of fabric of this width.

For the length, measure the desired final length of the skirt from the waist and then add 3 inches.  It’s always better to have extra fabric that can easily be shortened when hemming, than to cut it too short.  I wanted the skirt to be 8 inches long, so I cut my fabric to 11 inches.

You’ll want enough elastic to go around the waist and then add 1 inch for sewing the ends together.  This will leave plenty of room for your little one to grow into the skirt (longer wearability)!  I cut my elastic to 18 inches.

Here are my two rectangles: 11×17.

Now we’re ready to start sewing!

Place your 2 rectangles on top of each other RIGHT sides together (The right sides refer to the side of the fabric you want to show when finished, the wrong side is the side that faces in when finished.  Most fabrics have a right and wrong side which you can tell by the print.  Some don’t).

Pin up the sides and sew a straight stitch about a 1/4 inch from the edge.  Back stitch at the beginning and end (always!).  If you want, you can zig zag stitch the edges to prevent fraying.

Press the seams open.

Now we’re going to do the waist.  Fold the top edge down about a 1/4 inch and press.

Now fold the fabric down again and make sure that your fold is slightly larger than your elastic. Press and pin in place.

Sew along the folded edge.  I like to start in the back about 1 inch right of the center.   Sew all the way around and stop 2 inches from where you started leaving an opening to slide your elastic through.

Attach the safety pin to one end of the elastic and push it all the way around the skirt back through the opening.

Overlap the two ends of elastic about 1/2 an inch and sew them together.

Close up the opening by sewing along the edge.

We’re almost done!!  Now we just have to do the hem.  Fold the bottom of the skirt up about a 1/4 inch and press.

Make another 1/4 inch fold and iron again.  Pin and sew.

And you’re done!

Now step back and admire your handy work and how cute your little one looks.  Take pictures and then show them to me!

Phew, for a simple project, that was still a lot of directions.  I hope you were able to follow along, but if there is anything that needs clearing up, please let me know!  And really, if you make this project, I’d love to see your pictures.  For the next tutorial I’ll show you a few ways that you can spice up your simple skirt!

Sew & Tell: Yuki’s Dresses

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For some of you who have been following my sewing adventures for awhile, this post may be old news.  But in an effort to archive some of my older projects, I’m going to post it anyways.  Over the summer, I got on a dress sewing kick.  I suddenly had ideas for simple dresses and wanted to see if I could make them for my daughter, Yuki.  I based them off of dresses I’d seen, or something similar that Yuki already owned, but I didn’t use a pattern so it was really trial and error sewing.  I learned A LOT from each of these projects.  So here they are and some of the lessons I’ve learned.

Dress #1: Earl Grey Summer Dress (Hideko named this one!)

I had actually bought this fabric to make my friends M&M some cloth napkins for their home.

I had some left over, so I decided to use it for a simple (and a little sophisticated) dress for Yuki.  (I love how little fabric you need to make baby clothes!!)

Lesson #1: Make sure armholes are big enough.  I had to squeeze her arms through from even the first time she tried it on, so she didn’t get to wear it very much.

Dress #2: Sailing Dress

I based this dress off of the popular elastic waist skirts and dresses I’ve seen around.  I topped it with a stretchy striped knit.

Lesson #2: Be sure to measure your model before you cut and sew.  The first time I put together the skirt part of the dress it was WAAAAAAY too big for Yuki.  Instead of taking it apart to fix it, I decided to just sew it up in the back.  But this meant having 3 seams instead of 2 or even 1.  And the side seams were not even on the side anymore, they were pulled towards the back.  Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.  Luckily, you can only tell if you look real close.

Lesson #3:  Knits are great if you know how to sew them.  If you sew regular stitches on a stretchy material, it will either look bad, lose all of it’s stretchiness, or both.  I had originally made this dress with a normal neckline in front and back, thinking it would just stretch over her head.  But it did not stretch after I had sewn it.  So it would not fit over her head.  So I had to cut the back open and do more sloppy stitching and add a button.

Dress #3: Neapolitan Wrap Dress

Yuki had another wrap dress that we loved her in, so I thought I’d try and make her another one.  The colors on this fabric remind me of neapolitan ice cream.  Yummm!

Lesson #4:  I don’t actually know what the lesson is here.  All I know if that the dress doesn’t fit her too well on the top.  I guess I just need to try things on Yuki as I sew instead of finishing the dress and then realizing that it doesn’t fit.  The problem is, I only sew when she is asleep.

Dress #4: Birthday Dress

I wanted to make Yuki a special dress for her birthday.  When I went to the fabric store I saw this beautiful material with the most precious print and soft feel.  The shop owner told me it was double gauze from Japan.  When I came home I read all about it here.  It. is. dreamy.  It’s really the only word I can think of to describe it.  When I washed and dried it, it had gotten even softer!

Anyways, I’m not really one to dress my daughter in pink dresses with a bow, but I could not help it.  I used a style very similar to the Earl Grey Summer Dress, but used a zipper in the back instead of buttons and added a waistband (that ended up being covered by the ribbon) AND made sure there was more room in the bodice to put the dress on easily (no more too small armholes)!

Lesson #5: Every time you make a mistake, make sure you learn how to avoid it next time.

This 4th dress was by far the easiest and least mistake ridden dress.  I’m happy to say that I have learned so much about sewing and dress making from these projects and I’m very excited to make more!  And I have some lovely polka dot double gauze waiting to be sewn up!

Sew & Tell: Repurposed Tank Top Turned Girl’s Halter

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This was a fun project because I got to take something old that I wasn’t quite ready to part with and turn it into something new for Yuki!  I’ve had this top for years and it was one of my favorite summer tank tops.  It just screams “let’s hang out at Golden Gate Park on a sunny day!”  But unfortunately, I grew out of it (literally).  Here it is before:

And you can see that it’s already too small for me 😦

And one year later!

Looks the same, huh?

This was an extremely easy project because I kept almost everything the same.  I didn’t touch the front and I kept the back the same except I tightened the elastic a bit.  I removed the straps and moved them closer together.  The original straps criss-crossed in the back and were attached with buttons.  I decided to skip all that and just tie them like a halter.  Then I sewed up the sides and cut and hem the bottom and I was done!  Easiest top I ever made!

This project has really inspired me to start looking at things differently.  There is so much old clothes (and bedding, towels, etc.) that I just toss or donate, even if it has just a tiny hole or stain.  Now I look at old things and try to imagine what I can make with the fabric to turn it into something fresh and new!  It’s good for me, good for Yuki, and good for the environment!  The only one who loses out of this deal is my sister, who, as an adult, has come to embrace the hand-me-downs. 🙂