Ruffles and Roses

Christmas Ornament + Star - Tutorial

2011-12-17T17:19:00.000-08:00

Love this so much. This would work on a full size christmas tree in addition to other ornaments, or a small stand alone tree... To see how to make the ornaments AND the star, click here.

Candy Cane Garland

2011-12-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

I know I said I'm not a fan of felt, but this has actually been hanging out in my "I should do this..." project queue for a while. It would be really cute draped on a tree, around garland, or pretty much anywhere! Also, it looks REALLY easy... check it out here.

Speaking of trees... when I was a baby, I LOVED pulling ornaments off the tree. I'd imagine that's a situation a lot of new parents face. You can't really just have a naked tree, but at the same time you don't want broken ornaments and broken babies. My parents solved this problem by making a bunch of red bows and putting those on tree instead (and we still put some on their tree every year). I think that this is a great addition to that - a pretty felt garland with some bows. It'd make a really festive tree without anything fragile (also really, really low maintance... decorating and undecorating would take two minutes!).

Christmas Tree Tutorials - A complete set!

2011-12-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted the felt ruffle tree tutorial by Mel over at Bliss Bloom. What I failed to notice was that she had tutorials for all of her beautiful trees. I can't wait to make the pearl one! Head over to her blog to find out how to make your own beautiful christmas tree collection.

Christmas Tree Tutorials - Felt!

2011-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

I think felt always gets a bad rap in my mind. It reminds me of tacky kid crafts and tacky do it your self projects and ...well, tacky. However, I found some felt trees that definitely make the non-tacky felt argument!

By the way.. can you tell I love Christmas trees? Don't worry... I have some other Christmas things to post too.

I love these felt glitter trees from Lorajean, but even more I love her whole mantle!! How amazingly beautiful is that? But back to the trees - these look pretty quick, easy, and beautiful. I actually made some trees similar to this but used rose petals instead of felt - I'll be posting a tutorial of that soon!

This is a really awesome and unique idea... I almost made some of these, but honestly I HATE cutting out circles. Which is unfortunate, because there have been a lot of really cool circle-felt tutorials lately.

I really love the pointy texture to this one - I think it might look cute next to some of the more rounded ones for a little variety on a mantle. You could do this in any color too.. I really like the idea of doing a gradient in the color. Never would have thought of that!

And last but not least - the ruffle felt tree! I've seen these in previous yars and always liked them.. they're so cute and fluffy! As a bonus, looking at this tutorial will also teach you how to make a ruffly wreath.

Christmas Tree Tutorials - Ruffles!

2011-12-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Most fabric-based tutorials seem to be based on ruffles... what a perfect idea! Ruffle trees are quick, easy, and can be made with scraps you have lying around. Also, they're ruffles... so they are awesome. Here are two similar but slightly different ideas:

This one uses ribbon and chair railing (which is optional, for flat, un-topped tree). Check it out here.

And one that uses fabrics and odds and ends as bases here.

Christmas Tree Tutorials - Tissue Paper

2011-11-29T19:21:00.001-08:00

I've been saving up ome ideas for post-Thanksgiving/beginning of Christmas, so I'm excited to finally post them. I am super into Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year, and I LOVE it. Especially Christmas decorations, which can unfortunately be expensive. Since this is our first year in our own place without roommates, I really wanted to go crazy decorating... but without spending a fortune. So, I turned to the internet in search of crafty Christmas tutorials.

And I sure wasn't disappointed... I found some awesome ideas that I'll be sharing with you over the next few weeks - including a couple of my own tutorials slipped in which my camera man cooperates (are you reading this? You need to take pictures for me!).

This tutorial is great, because it uses the cheapest thing ever - tissue paper! Tissue paper is awesome, because not only is it practically free (seriously, get it at the dollar tree), but it is fluffy and soft and can be used in all sorts of ways. This tutorial planted some tissue-paper tree ideas in my head... I might have to make a few of my own tutorials! Check out Halsey's tutorial on these trees here.

Annndddd... I'm back!

2011-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

So... Once again, I've deserted you all. In six months I haven't posted, and I feel terrible about it. Gone, without a warning! What makes me feel really, REALLY terrible is seeing all your comments and questions that were unanswered. Let me catch you up briefly on where I've been... I've graduated from college (miraculously), am now working as a software engineer at a major company, and no longer have a gallbladder. Before I left for my surgery I set up a few autoposts, but after those ran out I just simply didn't have the energy for sewing- the rest of my life was just taking up too much of me.

I'm still not quite sure what the future of this blog holds; I haven't touched my sewing machine in months, but recently inherited a serger and am trying to get both that and my sewing machine back into workable condition. After that, I have a few projects in mind. In the mean time, I would really like to continue the collabarative environment I was trying to encourage earlier in the year. For readers who value this blog and would like to see it continue, please comment and tell me what you want to see from it. Do you enjoy viewing tutorials I've found elsewhere? What about guest posts - would you be interested in doing those? Out of almost 900 (OMG) followers, and I know many of you are talented and creative, surely some of you have tutorials or projects you'd like to share with us! Please please please, keep talking to me and sending me emails. I'm making my way through the ones that came in while I was gone, and have been encouraged reading your kind words!

Ruffle Cardigan Tutorial

2011-04-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Have an old boring sweater sitting around that could use some sprucing up? Check this out for a super quick and easy update that will make your cardigan look super sweet and feminine!

Bow Shoulder Shirt - T shirt remake tutorial!

2011-04-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

I love love LOVE this, and can't wait to make one! I especially like the stripes - they set the bows off perfectly.

To see how to take a cheap long sleeve t-shirt and turn it in to this, look here.

Want to be featured on my blog? Round 2!

2011-04-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

As you know, when I'm in school I don't have time to sew or post at all, which is sad and unfair! But, I really liked what I did in the past - featuring other bloggers in posts! So here's what we're going to do... I'll troll around and find tutorials that I like and repost them, AND post guest tutorials from my readers as they're submitted!

So, here's the deal. If you want to be featured on this blog, come up with a great tutorial and send it to me! It should be something new that hasn't already been on your blog, but if you want me to feature something you've already done send that too! Make sure you send it to the addresses listed under the 'about me' section.

New CSN project - customizing rugs!

2011-02-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

Obviously I haven't been sewing much lately; school and health problems have taken over my time. However, I will be done with school in June and will be moving into a beautiful apartment then - and of course I already know what I want to do to decorate. I like cruising the CSN website for ideas - whether creative office desks for my boyfriend, and rugs!

I really like using rugs to make a space interesting, and I've been wanting a zebra rug for my entryway. However, I'm having trouble finding one I like, so I'm thinking about getting a zebra rug fron CSN and using paint or dye to personalize it! And, of course, teaching you all how to do it as well :)

What do you think? Has anyone else ever customized a rug?

Here are some of the ones I'm looking at!

I really don't like all the stuff going on in this rug, so I'd probably try to make the whole border black.

Same with this - I like the zebra print itself, but the pink would obviously have to go!

Giveaway from Jerusha Hawkins - French Film Purse!

2011-02-12T00:25:00.000-08:00

[Unrelated to this post news: Guess who just had her gallbladder removed? That's right, that means I've lost 2 organs in less than a year. Gaggg....]

Jerusha from Jerusha Design emailed me a while ago wondering if I'd like to giveaway one of her creations, and I jumped at the chance! She makes some super interesting and creative purses out of old film, and will be giving away one featuring an eiffel tower to one of my readers!

(I had to have a black and white picture of this purse - the combination of film and paris just screamed old theatre to me. You can scroll down to see a color picture at the bottom!)

Here is what Jerusha has to say about herself:

Hello! my name is Jerusha Hawkins. I am a full time wife and full time mother of one beautiful 18 month old girl named Nazarie. When i was 16 i got my first job at a movie theater in my town and i fell in LOVE with cinema. Everything about it! It was an amazing first job. Well, when we would have old film they would just THROW IT AWAY!! And i remember thinking what a waste it was because to me it had some real beauty to it. I started taking the film home and for a little while it just sat under my bed. Finally i really decided i wanted to put it to use I started by making a film purse it took forever and and wasn't anything too special. Over the years, im now 23, i have come up with a design that I love and really excited about and i hope you are excited about it too!

Here are some other examples of her awesome work:

And here is another picture of the giveaway prize! You can also see more of her work in her etsy shop.

Also, a quick note: I LOVE hosting giveaways for other new bloggers. If you're interested in me hosting a giveaway to you, send me an email with your ideas!

Now, how to enter:

1) Follow my blog if you don't already

2) Follow Jerusha's blog (use the link at the top)

3) Leave a comment with your name and a way to contact you

Also, for one extra entry, visit Jerusha's etsy shop and leave a comment with your favorite item!

12 Days of Christmas ~ Eight Maids a Milking

2010-12-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

...in these adorable milkmaid aprons!! These beautiful aprons can be worn two ways; a standard apron and a more 'milk maidish' version. To make, see here.

12 Days of Christmas ~ Seven Swans A-Swiming

2010-12-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

Still need the perfect gift for a little one? Whip up one of these adorable swan softies! This is so adorable and cute it could just become that baby's "blanky" - you know, the blanket/stuffed animal that they carry around until college (or even throughout. I still sleep with my blanky, shhhh...). Although you may want to use fabric instead of felt for the beak in that case!

Bundt Pan GIVEAWAY!!

2010-12-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here it is - the bundt pan giveaway!!

I used this pan last night to make an amazing pumpkin cake.. it was the easiest thing ever and delicious. I absolutely LOVE this pan - it worked better than any bundt pan I've ever used!!

From now until Christmas Eve I'll be posting recipes, along with my reviews of them, to be used with a bundt cake pan. I've picked ones that are perfect for the holiday season, so hopefully they'll be good for Christmas baking.

For more info on this pan, check out this post.

The giveaway will end on Christmas day - think of it as my Christmas gift to you :)

Now, for the rules. Read carefully!

You can enter 1, or 2 times.

For 1 entry: Leave a comment and follow my blog! If you don't have a blogger profile for me to find your email address on, leave your address as well.

For 2 entries: Leave a comment, follow the blog, and link back from your blog!

12 Days of Christmas ~ Five and Six!

2010-12-18T23:43:00.000-08:00

I got behind yesterday, so today will be a two-fer!

...so no one's wine glasses get mixed up!!

A set of these make great gifts! They're super easy to make, very customizable, and beautiful. If you are super creative, you can even combine them with the next tutorial as well...

Find out how to make these here.

This was a super tough one. Just like hens, what can you really do with geese? Ah... eggs! More specifically, golden eggs. So I guess it should really be 'On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a laying golden eggs.."

I made one of these necklaces for my mom for mother's day with birthstones of her kids in it. However, I think the idea of simply gold eggs is also beautiful. I'm not super fond of the nest in the above picture, but the tutorial I found for you (I was going to make one, but thought that maybe there'd be one out there - turns out there are tons!) makes beautiful, more realistic nests, like below:

These would also make amazing gifts - find out how to make them here.

12 Days of Christmas ~ Four Colly Birds

2010-12-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

I knew right away what project I'd have to post for this one!! For any crafter who hasn't made some of these bird softies, try them out! They're super easy, fun, cute, and make great gifts. There is a link to the pattern for them here.

12 Days of Christmas ~ Three French Hens

2010-12-15T23:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I couldn't think of a good 'hen' project that didn't involve chicken in the form of food, which seems... wrong. So, I decided on something that hens produce - eggs! French eggs, to be precise. I also have an extension on this tutorial that I'll be posting tomorrow, so check back then for something to do with your eggs!

What you need:

- 3 plastic easter eggs, wood, or styrofoam eggs

- Print outs of 3 different types of french writing (I just googled french text and french handwriting and found some jpegs to use, or if you want I can post the ones I have - just leave a comment if you want them!)

- Mod podge

- foam brush

For Tomorrow:

- glass container, like a candy dish, that your eggs will fit in

- ribbon

- florist moss

Step 1: Rip up your french text! Tear the print outs into strips that can be decoupaged onto the eggs.

Step 2: Spread some mod podge on the egg where you want your first strip to go. Put the strip of paper down, and put another layer of mod podge on top! Continue this way, slightly overlapping the different pieces of paper to get a layered look.

Step 3: Do this with each egg until you're finished! Be careful of spreading the mod podge too much; depending on your printer you might have some ink bleeding if you mess with it too much.

And there you have it - three French eggs.

You could put them in a bowl, in a clear container, anywhere you need an extra filler decoration! Any other ideas on what to do with these?

12 Days of Christmas ~ Two Turtle Doves

2010-12-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

...in the form of napkin rings!

What you need:

Note that you can get the birds and nest in the floral department at most craft stores - I got mine at Michael's. Sometimes you can even get the birds already in the nest!

- A napkin ring

- A small bird nest- small enough so it doesn't look funny on the napkin ring.

- Two any-color birds, preferably with brown wings

- A hot glue gun

- Bleach

- A couple Q-tips

Step 1: Glue your birds into the nest. I did this first; in retrospect it might have been smarter to do step two first!

Step 2: Now, obviously we don't want orange birds for our turtle doves. In fact, until I actually looked it up I thought they should be white! Then I saw this picture:

I was pretty happy, because I wasn't able to find solid white birds at the craft store and the only ones they had had brown wings made out of pinecone pieces, which would be hard to bleach or paint!

SO, dip your Q-tip into some bleach and dab it along the birds. You should see the color start to fade almost immediately. Keep dabbing and rubbing until all the color has faded (you might need to wait a couple minutes to see the complete results).

This is what they looked like partway through:

Step 4: Grab your napkin rings. I would personally use skinnier, more organic looking ones, but there were all we had in the drawer so I used them.

Now, hot glue the bottom of your bird nest to the napkin ring. Pull your fancy napkins through (once again, I would probably use a more organic cloth for this, but purple damask was all I had on hand!) and voila, two turtle doves and a holiday napkin holder.

Check back tomorrow for 3 French Hens - I'm really excited about this one!

Bundt Pan Specs

2010-12-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

I realized after posting last night that I should've given some more info on the cake pan I'll be using for my recipe reviews and giveaway, so here it is!

Part of the reason why I chose this particular pan was because it was inexpensive. I hate it when I see bloggers review things that they have gotten for themselves or for a giveaway that is out of a normal person's price range. Really, who'se going to go buy that after seeing the review? And then you get so excited about something, only to go to the website and find that to get that item you'd have to sell your house/car/kids. So, I wanted to pick something that was reasonable.

How reasonable you ask? $14.99. Not bad, eh?

Here's the rest of the info on this pan:

Nordicware Natural Commercial 2 Piece Angelfood Cake Pan

Made of even heating, rust proof aluminum and galvanized steel wire around the rims for added strength, bakers agree that aluminum is best. A removable bottom for easy cake removal.

Features:

Constructed of aluminum
Cooling feet
Lifetime warranty
9.4" x 9.4" x 4.25"

Tell me what you think - do you like this idea? How would you use this pan?

Have Holiday Baking to Do?

2010-12-14T06:19:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while; school has been eating my time and soul. I am on break for the holidays now though, and have a few projects planned!

A while ago I mentioned that I was approach to do a giveaway for the CSN stores. I decided to get 2 bundt cake pans, as I've been wanting to do more baking for the holidays. That means one for me to test and review, and one to give away to one of you!

I've been collecting a set of recipes (I'm thinking 3 to 5) that I will try making, baking, and reviewing, and then after all of the reviews are in I'll do the giveaway.

ALSO, here's the most important part. If you have an amazing recipe for a bundt cake that you love, send it to me at the email listed under my about me section with the subject 'bundt recipe' and I'll feature you on my blog!

Here's the pan I'll be giving away:

12 Days of Christmas ~ Partridge in a Pear Tree

2010-12-13T23:53:00.001-08:00

I thought a partridge in a pear tree seemed like quite a difficult way to start... what could you possible make out of that? But then I found this absolutely gorgeous tutorial and fell in love. I want to make a million of these as Christmas ornaments to give as gifts!

This tutorial was created by For the Love of Laundry, and can be found here. Enjoy!

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Christmas. I loved Christmas time growing up, and my family has many traditions and rituals that really define the season to me. It is hands down my favorite time of year - partly because my birthday is December 12th. Because of this, I was a bit confused when I was young between the two holidays. I got presents wrapped in santas and snowmen for both, there was a Christmas tree for both...can you see where the confusion was? Most of all, the 12 Days of Christmas song confused me. December 12th, 12 days of Christmas... is it really a huge stretch that I thought that song was about my birthday?

The picture at the top is a cover of a book I had (and still have!). I used to read it every year; the illustrations were beautiful and it only increased my fascination with the song

Anyway, I really wanted to do something special and Christmas-y this year, so I decided to do a twelve days of Christmas set of postings. I don't know if I"ll be able to do it or not, but each day between now and Christmas I'll try to find or create a tutorial that corresponds with the appropriate number. Wish me luck!!!!

Beaded Pin Epaulet Tutorial - Guest Post!

2010-11-10T22:05:00.001-08:00

I LOVE this awesome tutorial made especially for us by Sew Petite Gal. This adorable tutorial is just a peek at the awesomeness that she creates! Check out her blog for some stylish tutorials!

I just want to first say how honored and thrilled I am to be guest-posting on Ruffles and Roses! This tutorial will show you how to create your own beaded pin for use as an epaulet or pin for cardigans, tees, blazers, headbands, etc.

First, here’s a look at my inspiration: ROCKSTAR Sushi Striped Embellished Epaulet Tee, Neiman Marcus, $121:

I love this shirt! It combines my favorite elements of nautical stripes, beading and shoulder/sleeve detail. I had a similar striped tee from Old Navy already and so I set off to make my epaulets since I really didn’t want to spend the money to buy the tee if I could make a similar version. I didn’t want to worry about the beads falling off in the washer so I decided to make it a pin instead of sewing it directly to the tee.

Materials:

Felt

Sheer Fabric

Invisible Nylon Thread and needle

Paper

Misc. beads – I used pearls, tubes, crystal-esque and silver beads

First, you’ll want to create some kind of template on scrap paper. I made kind of bulbous Saturn-esque shape that is approximately 5” wide by 3.5”. Using this template, cut this shape out from your sheer material. I used the solid border of the above fabric. Using your fingers, gently fray the edges.

Then you’ll want to cut out a smaller shape in felt. I decided to go with a leaf type shape since that was how I envisioned the bead distribution.

Center and place the felt piece behind your sheer fabric. Start sewing your beads on. (You can technically also glue your beads down but I was afraid that it would make it too stiff to lay flush against my shoulder.) I alternated different sizes and bead types. This is the tedious part but it’s worth it at the end! J

Once you’ve achieved the look / distribution of beads you’re going for, go ahead and secure the pin backing to the felt with a few stitches.

Voila! You’re finished. This pin is ready for your t-shirt/cardigan/blazer/headband/etc!

Here’s how I wear mine:

Help me!!!

2010-11-05T13:33:00.001-07:00

I need more of your bright ideas for some guest tutorials!! If you've sent me one and haven't heard from me, send it again - I get a little unorganized with my inbox :)

Also, as soon as I pull out my camera I'll share an adorable little present sent to me by one of you!

Dying Elastic

2010-10-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Ever wish that it was easier to get ahold of elastic that wasn't boring white or black? I know I sure have!! So many things right now are made with the elastic showing (and don't even get me started on wide elastic belts, which are my favorite thing ever).

So what do you do when you want some beautifully bright hued elastic for your project? Be like Dana from Make and dye it!

How amazing would some dyed elastic look on the tank dress?

Kid's Flower Pot Halloween Costume - Guest Tutorial!

2010-10-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Anyone with kids who don't have their halloween costumes yet, check this out!! This is such an adorable idea (sent to me by Jessica from Copycat Crafter) for a quick costume that looks great. Don't take your kids to the picked over halloween costume isle in walmart - make them a super cute costume like this!!

Hi there!

I am so honored to be invited to guest post here at Ruffles and Roses today! Normally all of my posts are about copying free tutorials online, but I decided to try my hand at writing my own for the first time. The idea is still copied from a site with ideas for unique costumes, but since there wasn't a tutorial, I got to write it up. It is so incredibly easy. The only "tool" you really need is a glue gun! I hope you'll take the time to try it or even just make up your own unique costume to share. I'm banking on my kids really appreciating the homemade costumes when they are adults and right now they are young enough to enjoy anything I make them. It's a great place to be! Thank you Amber for the opportunity to present this tutorial! Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone!

I LOVED this costume. In all honesty it will forever be "THE" costume. You know, the one that all others will be compared to. It's just so stinkin' cute. AND EASY. Are you sensing a theme to my posts? I only do easy things. I don't have time (or brain cells) for difficult. My kids have sucked away my time and brain cells and you know what? I'm totally ok with that. They are worth it. So here is a fun idea for a costume...

(Ok, so I'm a freak. It stresses me out to have my kids face all over the internet...as if there are millions looking at my little blog. But still. I'm a freak, so you have to look at a creepy pic of my kid with a blocked out face. It's how I roll. )

Want a tutorial FROM ME??? OK!

What you will need:

1. Green shirt and skirt (or leotard)

2. Green tights

3. Green shoes

4. Dollar store flowers

5. green ribbon

6. hot glue gun and glue sticks

7. Wooden bucket thing and saw

8. cheapo plastic headband

(Note: I glued the flowers on the front and back of the shirt plus a strip down the top of the sleeves.)

What to do:

1. Cut out the bottom of bucket with a saw

2. pop the flowers off the stems and hot glue them on the shirt and headband

3. tie ribbon on the bucket handles so they cross, to use them like suspenders

4. Put it on your kids and go door to door for some candy goodness!

(Note: I believe my husband just PUNCHED out the bottom because it was easier than sawing it out!)

Now because I'm a big fat copycat I must tell you...sigh...I did not make up this idea. I found it here...but there isn't a tutorial...sooooo I got to do one myself! Whoot! Now go make a unique costume for your kiddo!

PS...my son was the cutest bee you ever did see...we are theme halloweeners...snicker snicker ;)

Military Pencil Skirt - guest tutorial!

2010-10-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here is our second guest post! I asked Shauna if she could do a guest post for me after seeing some of her other projects - she and her sister do amazing stuff over at their blog! Check it out here! I am sooo in love with this tutorial - this skirt just got bumped to the top of my to do list.

Hi Ruffle and Roses readers! I was so honored to be invited to guest post here!

My name is Shauna and I am one of the Shwins behind Shwin & Shwin. My sister and I started the blog to share our ideas with each other and with anyone else who was interested and it has been a ton of fun. Today I am going to share an inspired by the runway look.

A few weeks back I made a skirt for my daughter inspired by this look from project runway. It was from the team challenge, from team millitary lace.

This is the skirt I made for my daughter tutorial found HERE

Today we are going to make a few adjustments and make one for a grown up.

So let's get started!

You will need:

Fabric

Piping

Buttons

Zipper

The pattern for this skirt is really easy. Here are the basic shapes. All straight lines so I cut it free hand. Then length of all the pieces is the same and that is the desired length you want the skirt (plus enough for hemming and finishing the top edge so add an inch or two) To get the width Measure around the widest part of your lower half for me it is around my hips and behind. Divide that in half this is the width of the front piece, then cut a back piece the same width plus 1 inch and cut that in half the long way so you have two rectangles (pictured on the right in the picture) With your front piece fold it in half and cut away the space for the side panels. How big you make them is up to you. I measured from where I would wear the skirt on my waist down just past my hip bone and that was how low I cut, as for width, I did about 5 inches. Again it's up to you and how you want it to look in the end. Then with the width of what you cut away (so for me 5 inches) cut two rectangles that width and the length of the skirt. Then you are done. Easy right?

On to sewing. First sew under the top edge. (you can do this now to all of your pieces, it will save you time later)

Then you are going to take your piping and pin it along the edge of your cut out. (on the right side of the fabric) Pin it piping facing in, and when you get to the corner as shown above you can put two little slits in the edge of the piping to help you round the corner. Once you pin it sew it in place following the stitching line that is already on the piping.

Then turn the piping so the flap is in the wrong side of the fabric and your piping should neatly outline the cutouts and top stitch in place.

This is what you should end up with. Do it for both sides of the cut out.

Then take your long narrow rectangle and with the basting stitch sew along both long sides of the piece.

Then pin your ruffled piece in side the cut out.

On the back now. First sew the zipper in place. (follow the instructions on the zipper you buy)

Then sew the two back pieces together below the zipper.

I thought I got a picture of this next step but I didn't sorry. Next you are just going to sew the right sides together along the side seams, sewing together the front and back pieces.

If you tried your skirt on at this point then you probably noticed it is a box that is a gapping mess all around your waist. If for some reason it it not and it fits your perfect then skip this next part. So to pleat the top of the skirt so that it fits your body this is what I do. Measure around your waist where you will wear the skirt. Subtract that measurement from the measurement of the skirt. This will tell you how many inches you have to take out of the skirt. Starting in the middle back I place one pleat on each side of the zipper, and then another pleat and so forth until your measurement becomes your waist measurement. To make these pleats, fold the fabric over so right sides are together and place a pin how narrow or wide you make the pleats depends on how much you are taking in. Then measure from your waist down to where your widest point is, this tells you how long your pleats should be. I pin the whole pleat and then Try the skirt on inside out o see if it is a good fit.

Then sew your pleats. The bottom of your pleat needs to taper off real gradually so your done have a weird pucker on the outside so make it a gradual slope (like pictured above)

When you are done pleating, you re done with your skirt. After this I added a few buttons to the front, but that is optional, do what you like.

Try it on

Jump around

And Enjoy!

Pioneer Reverie Headband Tutorial - Guest Post!

2010-10-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here is our first guest tutorial!! I am super excited about it - I asked Sabrina a few days ago after seeing another one of her headband tutorials. She makes the cutest stuff, and this one was specially made just for us. Enjoy! :)

Hello, my name is Sabrina from Honor Roll and I am so excited to be guest posting for Ruffles and Roses today! Fall is my very favorite time of the year. Its colorful and cozy and invites all kinds of texture into your wardrobe. Pretty silky camisoles and skirts from summer can still be mixed in with the chunky knit sweaters, scarves and tights of winter. Leather, corduroy and wool replace raffia, cotton and linen. With this headband, I hoped to recreate that autumn feeling - a sturdy leather base softened by a flower of silk and chiffon. Would you like to make one too? Gather some supplies:

3 yards suede cord

scraps of silk/satin/chiffon/tulle (a combination of any of these)

8-12" 1/4-inch elastic cord

2 shank buttons

scissors

needle & thread

sewing machine

iron

hot glue gun (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut the suede cord into 6 strips. They should each be 18 inches long. Tie a knot in the end of three strips, secure down with a pin and loosely braid the length of the cord. Again, tie a knot. Now repeat with the other strips.

2. The braids should reach to the back of your ears. Using the elastic to measure, cut a piece of elastic that wraps around the back of your head from ear to ear. Mine is 8 inches long.

3. Cut your scraps of fabric into various sized squares. Fold the square in half and cut to make a circular shape.

4. Layer the fabric circles on top of one another from largest to smallest. Position the button in the center or slightly off-center and sew through to secure. Loop the thread around at least 3 times to make sure the button won't come loose. Repeat to make 2 full and lovely flower blossoms.

5. Next cut two strips of fabric that are at least 3 inches longer than your elastic. Iron the long sides toward the center (starch helps a lot if you're using a silky fabric). These pieces will make up the elastic casing.

6. Sew the two strips together, facing one another, keeping the elastic piece in the middle. It should stretch to fit on your head and the casing with bunch up in the back when its not on. This did not turn out beautiful and thankfully it will be hidden by my hair. I didn't realize how slippery and difficult silky fabrics are too work with!!

7. Now we attach the leather braids to the elastic strap. If you have a leather needle, you can do this on your sewing machine, otherwise you will have to sew it by hand. Hot glue might work too if you have a steady hand. I kept the knots on the outside of the headband, so you can see them behind the ear.

8. Try on the headband to find the flower placement. Hot glue or hand sew one flower to each braid strap. If you sew together the petal edges that touch, this will help keep everything in place when you're wearing it.

9. Voila! You are finished. Wear and enjoy!

2010-10-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was contacted a while back by a representative from CSN (that online store where you can get pretty much anything - a bar stool (which I want for the breakfast bar I will someday have in my post-graduation apartment), other furniture, clothing, baking stuff, you name it!), asking if I'd be interested in reviewing a product of theirs on my blog. I was told I could either get a free product from them or pick something to give away. Well, I couldn't just pick something for myself of course, but I thought it'd be kind of boring to just do a giveaway.

So, here's the deal. I'm getting 2 of something from CSN - one for me to review and do some tutorials with, and then one to give away!

What is it you ask? A bundt cake pan. Sounds kind of weird for a sewing blog, right? When I originally started this blog however I wanted it to be a mix of different creative pursuits, and I've been getting the baking itch lately. So, I'm going to come up with a series of tutorials/recipes of awesome and yummy things you can make in this pan, and then after I show you all how to make them I'll hold the giveaway!

What do you think? Interested?

I already have some awesome guest posters lined up, so keep checking back - the first one will go live on Wednesday!

The Sewing Technique Library

2010-10-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wow. Eva Marie from Couturier Mommy has COMPLETELY outdone herself. She has a set of video tutorials that teach the basics of sewing that you have to check out. Unless you're a professional seamstress, you could probably learn something here! This is a must-visit link for beginning sewers; from hemming to interfacing to piping and invisible zippers, she's got a video for almost anything! Click here to see it!

Want to be featured on my blog?

2010-10-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am. With more excuses, of course, and a little more realism as well. My laptop hinges broke the day before the first day of classes (awesome for computer science student...), so it was gone along with all my pictures and partially completed tutorials!!! Booo. But, now I have it back, AND i finally have my sewing machine set up.

But even though I have it set up, I just know I won't be able to get in nearly enough sewing to suit me or to keep you guys inundated with tutorials! I'm trying to graduate at the end of this year, so I have a really heavy class load that keeps me busy busy busy!

SO, here's my idea to help this along. I'd like to feature a few of you dear readers on my blog. I remember when I first started blogging I really, really wished I could guest post on a blog that was a little more established, so here's your chance! And while I'm in no way a super blogger, maybe I could help someone get just a little more exposure. I know you guys have awesome ideas and tutorials because I've visited some of your sites, and I'd love for you to share that with the rest of my readers!

Here's how I'd like it to work: write up a snazzy tutorial, or even just an idea for a tutorial you've been thinking about writing, and email it to me (rufflesandroses at gmail.com). The tutorial shouldn't be one you've posted on your blog (although you can link to my posting of it!), but a brand new one to share! If you're sending me the tutorial itself, make sure you attach pictures! You can either send me the html or just let me know where you want the pictures to go.

What do you guys think? Are you interested? Comment and let me know!

I'm a bad little blogger.

2010-09-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for being so naughty and not posting in FOREVER. I was moving and spending some relaxation/vacation with my family before school starts again. I'll be moving again this weekend, and after that things should calm down a bit..hopefully! I'll announce the winner of the Hera giveaway then, and I also have some tutorials almost ready to go. So keep checking back and don't give up on me!

Salsa Skirt - Summer of Skirts

2010-08-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my absence; I just moved back to Oregon and was very busy packing and wrapping things up! There is (probably) only 1 more summer of skirts post after this one, as summer is sadly coming to an end.

This skirt is quite similar to the blue ruffle skirt as far as construction goes, but it is simpler and has a very different look to it! I thought it looked like a mix between a pencil skirt and a flamenco skirt, and then I realized it reminded me of a salsa dancing skirt! Hence the name :)

What you need:

- About a yard of knit fabric, depending on your size (see step 1 for details).

I made this skirt have a half lining to it because the knit was so thin. So, I had extra fabric along the inside.

Step 1: Measure around the widest part of your hips. Add 2 to that measurement. This is w. Also, measure how long you want the skirt to be, and how long you want the extra lining material to be - usually just enough to cover your rear is good- and add it to itself. This is L. Next, cut out three strips measuring 2 inches by w.

I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of this part. If you have questions let me know!

Step 2: Mark where your length measurement of the skirt ends (so you should have a mark between the extra lining fabric you added and the actual length you want your skirt to be). Fold the fabric at that point, so you wind up with a fold at the waistband, the normal skirt on one side, and the lining part on the other. Do this on both pieces of fabric, and then pin them together so the lining part is on the OUTSIDE.

Step 3: You might want to curve the top of the skirt, depending on where you want your skirt to sit. I wanted mine to sit on my waist, so I curved it along the hips a bit - with the lining still pinned and the skirt folded (because you'll want the lining curved as well). If you need help with this, go here. Now, simply sew the sides together on your two pieces of fabric, and you'll wind up with your main skirt piece. Now turn the skirt right side out, and you're onto the ruffles!

Step 4: Gather each of the three ruffles. Pin the first one to the bottom of the skirt, so the edge lines up with the bottom of the skirt. Sew it on!

Step 5: Repeat with each of the other ruffles, laying each on top of the previous one so that the seam is covered. I just had my top ruffle's raw edge exposed, but if you don't like that you can do the following:

Sew the top ruffle on about an inch above the second one, put facing the opposite direction. Then, press it down flat over the other ruffles, the way it's supposed to be. This will hide the seam. You may need to do a topstich over the ruffle though, as it may poof out a bit.

Ta da!! Time for salsa dance lessons!
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Summer of Skirts - Pinwheel Skirt Tutorial

2010-08-21T09:29:00.001-07:00

How adorable is this skirt? I think it's my favorite skirt tutorial I've featured yet! Leanne from Elle Apparel put together this tutorial for a guest post on Ucreate - learn how to make it here!

The Hera Shirt GIVEAWAY - Closed

2010-08-11T20:32:00.001-07:00

Here is my latest giveaway!

I am REALLY excited about this shirt, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

This one-shoulder, greek-style top is named after the greek goddess Hera, who for very complicated reasons I won't go into is associated with peacocks. Hence the beautifulturquoisecolor.

This beautiful, very comfortable shirt can be worn 3 ways (shown below) and can fit a size xs to a large.

There is one difference between the shirt I'm giving away and the one in the picture. The giveaway shirt has a band of the same fabric around the bottom, because I felt it was a little too short. If you don't want that band there, you can simply cut it off!

Now, for the rules. Read carefully!

You can enter 1, or 2 times.

For 1 entry: Leave a comment and follow my blog!

For 2 entries: Leave a comment, follow the blog, and link back from your blog!

Guest Tutorial - Sewing Basics!

2010-08-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

I was so very honored to be asked by Chris of Pick Up Some Creativity to do a guest post as part of her Sewing 101 series. I chose to share a tutorial on pintucks, as I use them all the time and I think they are one of the coolest ways to add a little shaping and detail to a project!

Check out the tutorial here.

Summer of Skirts - The Cupcake Skirt

2010-08-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

This skirt didn't turn out quite as planned. I didn't intend for it to be so... cupcake-y. And I guess by that I mean poofy. Part of the reason why the top is so puffy is because I used muslin for the whole thing. If you want to avoid that, get some cotton gauze for the top part or an equivalent fabric. Anyway, here it is - the cupcake skirt!

What you need:

- bleached muslin: I used a yard and half, but it depends on your size.

- unbleached muslin: 1/2 yard

- enough elastic to fit around your waist

Sorry about the horrible pictures; my camera died so I used my roommate's and obviously had no idea what I was doing.

Step 1: Cut out the main skirt piece. For this you'll want to follow the basic skirt tutorial, but you'll want the skirt to be less full and puffy. Also, it helps to contour the skirt a little so it's more a-line (so, make it a little narrower on top). This will keep it from being to puffy on the top around your hips.

Step 2: Now, measure the bottom of your main skirt piece (just one of the pieces). Multiply that by two, and then again by 1.5. Cut out 2 ruffles each from the unbleached muslin and the bleached muslin measuring the above by 2 inches.

Set aside the remainder of your bleached muslin - you will use this for the upper ruffle part of the skirt later.

Step 3: Sew the sides of the main skirt part together. Gather each of the strips you cut out to the width of the skirt, and pin a bleached ruffle on to the bottom of the skirt -about an inch away from the edge of the skirt. Now, sew the ruffle to the skirt.

Step 4: Repeat with each of the ruffles, alternating bleached and unbleached. Make sure you sew each ruffle on low enough so that it covers the seam of the previous ruffle.

Once all 4 ruffles are on, your skirt should look like this:

Step 6: Now for the upper ruffle. Measure the length between the top of the last ruffle you've sewn and the top of your skirt, and add half an inch. Cut out a piece of bleached muslin that measure that by 1.25 times the width of the skirt. You don't want much more than that; otherwise your skirt will be super puffy like mine was. Once again, you might want to cut a bit of an a-line to this piece to help with the puffiness. Sew the sides together and gather the top - it should look like it's own little skirt now.

Step 7: Finally, sew the top ruffle to the skirt! Make sure you pin it well first and check to make sure that it covers the top ruffle seam before you sew it.

Step 8: Sew the skirt onto the elastic. If you haven't done this before, basically you stretch the elastic as you sew it to the fabric. You need to pin it all together first though, so you know how much to stretch each section of elastic.

Ta da, you're done! I wore mine with a belt, because I thought it looked kind of funny otherwise. If anyone has any variations on this skirt that turned out a little better I'd love to see them!

Summer of Skirts - Anthropologie Ruffled Skirt Tutorial

2010-08-02T20:19:00.002-07:00

Here it finally is - the anthropologie inspired skirt tutorial! There are two ways to do this. One is to make the whole skirt yourself using a knit fabric, and the other is to take an existing pencil or slim a-line skirt you already have and add the ruffles to it. If you choose to do the latter, simply skip to the ruffle steps below.

What you need:

- About a yard of knit fabric, depending on your size (see step 1 for details). This will be the main fabric - mine was grey.

- Two contrasting fabrics, about 1/4 to 1/8 each.

I made this skirt have a half lining to it because the knit was so thin. So, I had extra fabric along the inside.

I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of this part. If you have questions let me know!

Step 4: Cut contrasting fabric number 1 into strips that are 1.5 times as long as the skirt is around (you may need to sew multiple strips together). Gather this strip, pin, and sew along the bottom of the skirt along the right side. Don't worry, the raw edges will be hidden by the next ruffle.

Step 5: Cut a strip of contrasting fabric #2 so that it is the same length as the skirt width (all around). Gather it, then pin it starting about 1/3 of the way away from the side seam. Pin it all around the skirt, stopping about the same distance from the seam on the back side. Sew it in place.

Step 7: Now cut a strip 1.5 times the skirt (I'm just going to call the measurement around the skirt 'the skirt' now... ) of the original skirt material. Pin it onto the skirt, slanting it up over the contrast ruffle you just did, like shown in the picture below. You want to make sure it still covers all of the seams of the lower ruffle but slopes up subtly. Sew it on!

Step 7: Next is another partway ruffle! Ruffle a strip of contrast #1 that is about the same length as 'the skirt', and sew it on starting a little closer to the side seam than the white ruffle was. Once again, slope it up so it follows the line of the previous ruffle.

Step 8: Here is your final ruffle! Get another strip of the original skirt fabric that is 1.5 times the 'skirt length' and ruffle and sew it around. However, this time you will pin it facing UP, as shown in the horrible blurry picture below. Make sure you pin it quite close to the previous ruffle, as it will fold over (to hide the seam) and lose some of it's height.

Now, just flip the top ruffle down and iron. Ta da!

Summer of Skirts - Anthropologie ruffle pencil skirt tutorial!

2010-07-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Eeek, I'm late. So sorry!

As I said before, no original summer of skirts post this week, but only because I have some AMAZING ones coming up and am just waiting for some equally amazing pictures! I'm still giving you guys a tutorial though - and an awesome one at that.

Check out Communing with Fabric's anthropologie skirt tutorial!

When I saw this tutorial, I knew I had to share it with you guys- I thought it was an impressive undertaking, and turns out well! I am so bad at pattern drafting - I cut first and think later. So it's good for me to have some master pattern-drafters featured here, I think :)

Next weekend, check back for a tutorial for this beautiful thing:

And if I do say so myself, my version turned out pretty wonderfully. And it was very easy!!

Red Skirt Giveaway Winner - and more!

2010-07-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for entering the red skirt giveaway! The winner this time is Jenn from WestSacHoney. Congrats to Jenn!

Keep checking the Giveaways page - I have an awesome, awesome shirt I'll be giving away soon. I'll probably start the giveaway next weekend, after I have some pictures taken of it!

Also, here is a picture of Allie (who won the dorothy dress giveaway) in her dress - isn't it cute on her??

Finally, one last thing - I was contacted by the website Giveaway Scout. They wanted me to add my blog! Giveaway Scout is an awesome site - here's what they say about themselves:

"Giveaway Scout is a giveaway search engine. Our users subscribe to receive updates on the latest giveaways on the web. Add your blog and your giveaways will be exposed to our large network or users."

If anyone is interested in entering their blog on this awesome site, visit here !

Red Skirt Giveaway -Ending soon!

2010-07-21T17:00:00.001-07:00

My current giveaway will be ending this Saturday at midnight, and the winner will be announced on Sunday!

Enter while you can :)

Up and coming tutorials!!!

2010-07-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have some AMAZING things coming up!! I am so excited, I just have to let you know what I'm working on!

First, some bad news - I won't be posting a summer of skirts tutorial next weekend. The good news is that I will still feature someone's skirt tutorial next weekend, and also I have some really cool skirt tutorials coming up! The reason why there's not tutorial next weekend is because I'm waiting until my photographer is here to get some good pictures for you.

First, there's this skirt:

I got such a big response from this when I posted it, that I realized I had to make it! I've been looking for just the right fabric for it every since, and I just found some yesterday! I'm so excited :) This tutorial should be out in a couple weeks.

And here's another skirt I already made - it's pretty awesome and is a bit of a cross between these two skirts (I'll let your imagination try to figure it out!):

I also have a couple other shirt and dress tutorials coming up - one of which will turn into a giveaway!

And I've saved the best for last.... I made a convertible/infinity dress! You know, those awesome knit dresses that can be worn a million different ways? Take about the most versatile little black dress! I will be giving you a tutorial on that soon (also as soon as I get some pictures taken!) Here's an example (from the Butter by Nadia collection - she's amazing!) of some ways this dress can be work. Worried about being able to duplicate these? Don't worry - there are tons of videos on youtube that walk you through it!

Summer of Skirts - Men's Dress Shirt Refashion Tutorial

2010-07-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

I've been noticing that there are a lot of skirts right now that look like they were made from button down shirts, and it gave me an idea. I had a skirt from my grandpa that was a really nice light cotton, and I thought it'd be perfect for a skirt! Here's some of the pictures that inspired me - and might give you some ideas!

I decided to keep my buttons in the back though - although the skirt could pretty much go either way! There was a placket that went over the buttons on this shirt, so the buttons wouldn't be exposed anyway. This tutorial is going to be really simple, because it is pretty much the same thing as the red bow skirt.

What you need:

- A men's dress shirt (or a woman's - it depends on how big or how long you want your skirt to be)

-Interfacing for the waistband

Step one: Cut the collar and sleeves off of the shirt. Decide how long you want your skirt to be, and trim the shirt down from the top (so you can keep the hem on the bottom of the shirt). Trim the sides so they smoothly go up to the top in one line.

Step Two: Follow steps here to complete the rest of the skirt, but omit the zipper.

There are three options for this skirt: Have the tie and buttons in the back, like I did, have the tie and buttons in front, or have the buttons in front and the tie in back. If you do this last option, you'll need to add a zipper - the buttons are what allow you to put the skirt on and off without a zipper!

So go hit the thrift store and find some awesome men's shirts, and if you make one I'd love it if you send me the picture or link! If I get pictures I'll post them with a link back to you :)

Also - my camera died and I lost the charger, so I'm borrowing my roommates camera which I obviously don't know how to use... I don't know why my background is in focus and I'm not! So sorry about the blown out pictures.

"Aphrodite" - Greek Goddess Shirt Tutorial!

2010-07-14T22:26:00.001-07:00

Ok, I have to warn you. I'm kind of on a grecian kick. I've always loved it when fashion infuses the 'ancient greek' look, but this summer the one-shoulder trend has taken off and really inspired me. Also, I scored a ton of poly-mesh fabric at the store for $2.50 a yard, and it lends itself perfectly to this type of thing.

So, you have some major tutorials to look forward to... I've already made several things - one of which will be an awesome giveaway - and have tutorials almost ready to go. However, I will be waiting to post them for a couple weeks, because I'll be seeing my photographer briefly and am hoping to squeeze in a photo shoot :)

What you need:
- A square of knit (stretchy) fabric
- an extra strip of fabric - about 1 inch by 6 inches
- 2 shank buttons (optional, but definitely more fun with)

First, some measurements. Measure your shoulders, and add 10 inches (or more!! This will give you longer flowy sleeve things). That will be the width of your fabric square Then measure from your shoulders to the desired length of your shirt. Add a couple inches to that, and that will be the length of your fabric square.

Step 1: Put a two pins in the top (the width side) of your fabric, about where you think your shoulders wil go. Try it on, putting your head in between the two pins, and adjust as needed.

It's hard to see the pins in these pictures, I know. But basically, you should be able to put it on like this:

Step 2: Stitch your fabric together where the pins are - about an inch of a seam.
Then, put it back on and pin it down the sides to your body. You probably don't want it super tight or super loose - somewhere in between is good. You want to make sure you pin beginning beneath the armpit where it will be comfortable for the shirt to be sewn together.

Step 3: Then, take it off and lay it down. Here's the the tricky part .Trim about an inch away from the pins along your shirt, until you get to the topmost pin. At this point, look carefully at the picture below. You want to cut at an angel (about 45 degrees, if that helps) back away from the armpit to the edge of the fabric.

I know the picture is bad, so here's a little drawing that might help clarify (but is equally bad). The gold line is the fabric, the red is the pins (yours will probably not be a straight line though and will probably be more curved), and the black is the line to cut on.

Step 4: Turn your shirt right side out. Now, it's time to add the buttons. Grab a little sliver scrap of fabric - preferably the one you're using, and it has to be a stretchy knit or something. Thread it through the button hole (this is why you need shank buttons).

Step 5: Tie the fabric around the shoulder seams you made, bunching them up. If this doesn't make sense, look at the finished pictures below and it should be more clear.

Step 6: Now, there are two ways to do this next part. One involves sewing, one doesn't... i'd recommend the sewing method, but either way works.

Try your shirt on and decide how low you want the neckline to be. Take it off and fold it in half (only the front part, let the back part just hang out) with the shoulder buttons lining up. Put a pin along the fold (the middle) about an inch below where you decided you want your neckline to hit.

Method 1: Very carefully make a little slit in the fabric there. Make sure it's small! Then, thread your extra strip of fabric through the hole (through the front of the fabric). One end should wind up on the inside of the shirt. Take the other end and look it around the neckline, pulling the neckline down. Then tie the two ends together tightly (they should both be on the inside of the shirt now). If your fabric stretches too much you might be able to see the whole - either put fray check on it or stitch it closed.

Method 2: Pin the extra strip to the front of your fabric about an inch lower than you want your shirt to go. Have the long end going down towards the bottom of your shirt, and the short end facing the neckline of your shirt.

It should look like this: (note, I did the first method first, then decided i wanted a lower neckline so I redid it like this)

Then my camera died, so I don't have any pictures of this next part. But you pretty much just do the same thing, take the long end, pull it up over the neckline, and into the inside of the shirt. Then, making sure your thread is the same color as the shirt, pull it tight and sew it down on the inside of the shirt, right near where it's sewed to the front on the other side. Does this make sense? If not, post a comment and I'll clarify! Looking a the pictures below should make it make more sense as well.

I also added a belt - it's the one I made for my Cabo dress out of an old T-shirt, and is super comfy because it stretches. For the tutorial, check here; I think it's linked from that post.

New Look!

2010-07-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

It was time for a change... what do you guys think?

Summer of Skirts - Pencil Skirt

2010-07-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

Since I'm cheating this time, I thought I'd cheat twice so we can have something for the grown ups too. I was going to do a pencil skirt tutorial, but then I saw this amazing one through sewing.craftgossip.com. By the way, if you've never been there, you're missing out big time.

Anyway, here's the awesome tutorial on drafting a pencil skirt pattern!

Summer of Skirts - Ruffled Skirt Tutorial for little girls!

2010-07-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm cheating this week. I won't be posting my own tutorial this week, but will instead be featuring someone else's. I'm doing this for 3 reasons: 1. My skirt for this week flopped (bummer...), 2. I have no kids and therefore no projects for them, but I know that those of you with kids are probably interested in making something for your little girls, and 3. This skirt is adorable. Seriously, it makes me want to procreate immediately.

So, head on over to Grand Revival by Tanya Whelan and make one of these unbelievably cute skirts.

Also, give me feedback - do you guys want to see more child - sized stuff? Because I have seen a ton of really, really adorable tutorials for little girls lately that I would be more than happy to share with you! Just say the word and they're yours :)

Tank Dress Tutorial

2010-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here it is finally - the tank dress tutorial I've been promising! Thanks to one of my lovely followers who gave me a little kick in the seat when she asked if I was still planning on posting this! Sorry it took me so long... It's been written for a while.

Also, don't forget to enter the Red Skirt Giveaway!

Anyway, here is the tutorial - enjoy!

What you need:
- 1 yard cotton fabric
- A ribbed tank to pin your size
- 2" wide elastic - enough to fit comfortably around your waist

Step 1: Make the skirt. You can make it really easy (like I did with this blue on) and make a straight forward skirt, or you can make an A-Line shape which isn't much harder but I think gives it a better shape (The pink and brown dress has an a-line skirt). Whichever you want, click on the appropriate link and follow the instructions up the the point where you start the elastic casing, then stop.

Step 2: Try on your tank top and decide where you want it to end and your dress to begin. Mark it, and cut about an inch below that across. Be VERY careful - it will look funny if it's crooked!

Also cut your elastic if you need to - it really depends on what your comfort level is. You might want it a little tighter, or you might want it to barely stretch. Whatever works for you!

Step 3: This is optional. Depending on the length of your elastic and width of your skirt, you may need to gather the skirt. Stretch your elastic as far as it can go. Can it stretch as long as your skirt is wide? If not, you're going to have to gather the skirt a little.

Run a gathering stitch all along your skirt - the end you want to attach to the waistline, not the hemmed edge. Now, gather it so that your elastic reaches all the way around it when stretched.

Step 4: I didn't need to gather mine, so I jumped right to this step. Now, technically you should probably pin the skirt to the elastic. But since you'll have to stretch the elastic while you're sewing it, it would be difficult to pin it in the right spot. I'll leave it up to you; if you don't pin it you'll have to be very careful that you're stretching the elastic the right amount as you sew.

Sew the skirt to the elastic, with the raw edge of the skirt behind the elastic. This shows me sewing it from the back end, but it usually looks better if you flip it over and sew along the elastic. It is harder to make sure your fabric is being attached that way, though.

As you sew, you'll need to stretch the elastic (how much depends on how your skirt matches up to it; this is something you'll need to figure out before hand and approximate). This can be a little tricky at first, because it will try to move around when you do this. Just go slow, hold the elastic firmly in place, and don't get discouraged!

This is how I hold/stretch the elastic to keep it from moving around too much. Holding it taut in the back helps a lot!

As you sew, the elastic will pop back to normal behind you and the skirt will be gathered up.

Step 5: Once you get all the way around, leave a little bit of elastic to overlap the beginning of the elastic. Do a tight zig zag (set your stitch width to a high setting and your length low) down the overlapped elastic to secure it.

Step 5: Next, draw a line on the tank top where you want your elastic to hit. Pin the elastic and skirt carefully to the tanktop so that the seam in the elastic faces the back of your dress. You may need to stretch the tank top or the elastic a little bit, but it shouldn't be nearly as much as the previous step.

Now just sew! It definitely is a good thing to stretch these as your sewing - the top and elastic should still line up in the same place,

You can also add ruffles, pleats, or whatever embellishment you want to the top of the dress using your left over tank top fabric! Here is the one with the A-line skirt:

Any questions? Leave a comment!

The Red Bow Skirt Giveaway!!! - CLOSED

2010-07-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Who'se ready for another giveaway? I must admit, when I first completed this skirt I wasn't so very fond of it. It's grown on me though; I love it for it's bright cherry redness, it's cuteness, and oh my - it's comfort. Most skirts that you wear on your waistline seem uncomfortable to me- too tight in an area that wants no tightness. This skirt is great because it has the wonderful tie - it makes all the difference!

We took pictures of this skirt the morning after a friend of mine's wedding. It was held in the most beautiful location; I knew we had to go back to that area for some pictures. It was my first time being a bridesmaid, and it was such a beautiful wedding with a sunset reception!

I'd like to make a little shout out to my wonderful photographer. You can definitely tell when I take the pictures and he does. Frankly, I suck and he's pretty much awesome. Unfortunately, for the rest of the summer you're stuck with me and my photography. Long distance...sigh....

Anyway, to my photographer: Thank you, and I love you.

Now, for the rules. Read carefully!

You can enter 1, 2, or 3 times.

For 1 entry: Leave a comment and follow my blog!

For 2 entries: Leave a comment, follow the blog, and link back from your blog!

For 3 entries: Do all of the above, and make a guess as to where I'm living this summer! Here's your hint:

Summer of Skirts - Waistband Bow Skirt tutorial

2010-07-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here it is - finally! A swingy red skirt just in time for the 4th of July. Sorry it took so long to get this tutorial up - moving and internet problems delayed me. As always, if you have any questions at all or if I didn't explain things well enough, leave a comment and I should get back to you within the day. Or, send me an email!

Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot - I'll be giving this skirt away to celebrate my 100 followers. Yay!

What you need:
- The measurement of around your waist where you want the skirt to sit. We'll call this number w.
- 1 1/2 yards of fabric (less if you want a less poofy skirt)
- 9 inch zipper in the same color as your fabric
- A piece of interfacing measuring 2" by w

Step 1: Cut your fabric.
First, for the waistband and tie: Decide how long you want your ties to be (I made mine the same as my waist measurement for simplicity). Then, multiply that number by two - one for each tie- and add it to w. The result is your waistband length, l. You need one strip of your fabric measuring l wide by 3 inches tall. Cut these out (you'll probably need to sew multiple strips together to make this work). MAKE SURE that when you cut these out you cut along the SHORT end of the fabric- the one that measures either 45 or 60 inches, not the selvage edge. Otherwise, you are cutting away your skirt's length.

For the skirt, we're going to be using the same pieces that we did for the elastic A-Line skirt, so cut your main skirt panels out following steps 1-6. I wanted my skirt a little puffier, so I actually cut another diagonal (hence buying 1 1/2 yards instead of 1 yard) and wound up with 6 panels instead of 4. You can pretty much just use how every much fabric is left over from the ties and get a skirt similar to mine. Sew each of the panels together, so you wind up with one big skirt panel (leave the two ends apart though!).

Here are the pieces (including the interfacing, not including the sleeping dog) you should have:

Step 2: If you had to sew your strips to get ones of the correct length, make sure you press your seams flat. Then, fold your strip in half lengthwise, with the WRONG sides facing out. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but that's what you want. Iron the strip like this.

Step 3: Next, open the folded strip, wrong side facing you. Find the middle of the tie and the middle of the interfacing, then line them up. Line up the edge of the interfacing with the edge of the strip and the fold. Iron the interfacing down.

Step 4: Refold the strip, so that the wrong edges are on the outside. Now, starting at one end of the strip, sew the edges together until you get to the interfacing. Stop there, and repeat on the other side. You should have the waistband with the interfacing ironed in in the middle of the strip, and then two ties sew shut on either side. Turn the strip right side out.

Step 5: Now that the ties are right side out, fold the waistband edges up INSIDE the waistband along the seam. Do this one at a time - it is easier! Here's a picture of it done partway:

And all the way:

Step 6: Here's the part I didn't document - putting the zipper in! Zippers can be complicated and intimidating, but if you follow the instructions that come with the zipper you should be able to put it in with no problem! After you put the zipper in, leave it unzipped for this next step.

Step 7: Gather the skirt, and pin each end to the place inside the waistband where the interfacing ends. Note that the waistband should be like a little 'pocket', with one side open. The gathered skirt will be pinned INSIDE this little 'pocket', so no raw edges will be showing.

Step 8: Fold the ends of the ties in so the raw edges don't show, then press. Stitch all around the ties, stopping once again at the waistband.

Step 9: Sew the skirt into the waistband where you've pinned. You'll want to make sure you're sewing low enough so that your stitches catch the fold on the waistband (so the waistband raw edges are firmly stitched under). Since you won't be able to see both sides of the waistband as you sew, be careful you don't run off one of the edges!

Now you're all done! You should have a zippered skirt with a waistband that merges right into the tie. Zip it up, tie a pretty bow, and you're ready to go!

"Dorothy Dress" Giveaway Winner

2010-07-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

First of all, I am SO sorry for the delay here. I just moved into a new apartment and couldn't get the internet working! But it is up and running finally, so thank god for that (and thank my wonderful boyfriend who actually made it work!).

The winner of the "Dorothy Dress" is Allie from ice pink stars.

Congratulations Allie!

Also, I do have a new summer of skirts tutorial - look for it tomorrow! Here's a little sneak peek:

Even better news: I will be using this skirt as my next giveaway!! This means that you can win this skirt!

Summer of Skirts - Circle Skirt Tutorial

2010-06-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Some announcements first: The Dorothy Dress Giveaway will be ending Sunday (6/27) evening. Check the post for rules to enter- but remember, if you don't leave a comment you aren't entered in the giveaway!

Circle skirts are awesome. They provide that perfect fit that flares at the bottom without creating icky bulk at the waistband. I don't know about you, but when I usually think about circle skirts I think about poodle skirts and vintage, long, 1950's skirts. Like this:

However, you obviously make them whatever length you want (and by the way, can you imagine buying a pattern for anything like this? Talk about a waste of money...)! There are a lot of them out right now in knee length and above for summer, and they are really cute and flirty looking.

Also - I don't know why I never though of this before! But they make AWESOME skirts for dresses! Any pattern you have where the top and bottom of the dress are different pieces, you can substitute a circle skirt for a whole new look. A quick modcloth search yielded the below circle-skirt dresses:

Now on to the tutorial!

Before I even tell you what you need, we need to do a little math. Super easy math, I promise! The steps on this tutorial will be a little out of order, because you need to see how to do it before you can figure out how much fabric you need.

***If any of this doesn't make sense, leave a comment and I'll clarify!! It may look scary, but it's really simple, and any confusion is just becuase I may not have explained it well enough.

There is one decision to make first though: You can either make this with an elastic waist or a waistband with a zipper.

Measuring steps:

Step 1: If you are making a waistband, measure around your waist where you want your skirt to sit. This is the circumference. Subtract 4 from it (to counteract bias stretching). To get the number we want, divide the result by 6.28. This number = w.

If you decide to make an ELASTIC waist, measure the widest part of your hips and add 5 inches to that. Divide the result by 6.28 This measurement = w.

Step 2: Decide how long you want skirt (an exact length, starting where you want your skirt to sit on your waist). This measurement = L.

Now here's the key to the whole skirt: how you cut out your fabric. This 'pattern' assumes you have four pieces of fabric you are cutting through. What you want to do is draw the two curving lines shown on your fabric. For the smaller line, make two marks on the fabric at the point shown: the w you got earlier. NOTE: DO NOT USE W/2. That is a mistake in the diagram; simply use your w measurement. For the larger arc, measure out from the smaller line mark and measure L as shown. If one of the L's is on the fold when you're cutting, that's fine! Fewer seams to sew later.

At this point you can figure out how much fabric you need. I'll give an example: Say my w is 36 inches and my L is 30 inches. I would need a total of 4 squares measuring (30+[(36-4)/6.28] = 30+ 5.01 = ) 35 by 35. OR, you could have two rectangles measuring 35 by 70, each folded in half.

So, here's what you need:

- Fabric of the dimensions calculated above

- Bias tape to match your fabric

-Elastic

- waistband materials: extra fabric, interfacing, and a zipper. If you don't know how to make a waistband, hold tight for a few days - my next skirt tutorial has a waistband in it.

Now, simply sew all of the panels together at the sides, so you wind up with this:

**If you are making a waistband, do not sew the last seam all the way up - leave room for the 9" zipper.

Next, sew the bias tape around the outside edge. If you don't want to use bias tape you can just hem it, but I'll warn you that's pretty ambitious if you don't have experience with curved hems (which I HATE). They're kind of nasty sometimes.

Finally, if you are using elastic, sew an elastic casing around the inside circle and insert the elastic (Go here for help). If you are doing a waistband, have at it - or wait until next week for further instruction!

Don't forget the enter the giveaway! I already have the next couple week's skirt tutorial made; I just need to get some good pictures!

Summer of Skirts - Elastic A-Line Tutorial

2010-06-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

This skirt is great, because it is almost as easy as the 20 minute skirt but is more flattering and versatile. I plan on making many more of these! It's also worth noting that my current giveaway (enter to win if you haven't already!) dress features this type of skirt.

What you need:
-elastic - enough to fit around your waist; i prefer 3/4 inch for skirts
-1 yard of fabric if you normally wear a small/medium, maybe a little more if you are large and up
- a yardstick or newspaper or something with a long straight edge

Step 1: Cut along the fold of your fabric, so you have two pieces with the cut fold on one end and the selvage on the other. Then put the pieces back together as they were before you cut them, with the wrong sides together.

Step 2: Now you have a little bit of math to do. Measure the width of your fabric and divide it by three. Mark off the 1/3 point on the top of the fabric and the 2/3 point at the bottom. This is important to make sure your skirt fits: Take the 1/3 measurement and multiply it by 4 - that is how many skirt panels you will have. If this measurement is not at least a few inches bigger than your hips, you will need to do closer proportions. That is, mark of the points at 4/10 at the top and 6/10 at the bottom, for example. Keep trying different proportions until you have something that will fit you - the important part is to keep some of the angle in though.

Step 4: Then, put your yardstick/newspaper/whatever at each of these marks, so you have a diagonal across the fabric. Using this as a guide, cut along the diagonal through BOTH pieces of fabric.

Step 5: You should know have four pieces of fabric. Two should look like the picture below, and two should look like the mirror image of those.

Step 6: This part is optional, but it will make hemming a whole lot easier. Fold the straight edge of each panel over to the diagonal edge, making sure the top corners line up. Mark where the straight edge hits the diagonal edge.

Now, trim the panels with a curve so that the diagonal edge is the same length as the straight edge.

Now I got really bad about taking pictures, but the hard part is behind you!

Step 7: Sew the skirt panels together. It is best if you keep straight edges to straight edges and diagonals to diagonals, but if you did step 6 it won't matter too much. I used french seams (tutorial here) to make mine look more professional. Make sure you press your seams!

Step 8: Now hem your skirt and put the elastic casing in (tutorial here).

What I really love about this skirt is it's pretty versatile: you can wear it up on your waist with a cute belt like this:

Or wear it lower on your hips like this:

Now celebrate your new skirt with some bunny kisses!

Coming up next in the summer of skirts tutorials are a men's button-down shirt to skirt tutorial and waistband a-line!

Summer of Skirts - Simple Elastic Skirt tutorial

2010-06-14T20:11:00.001-07:00

So, it looks like today is going to be a twofer. I had planned on doing a tutorial of the most basic skirt on the planet. However, after doing some research it looks like many people have beat me to it! I found a tutorial that I really like via Grosgrain (and by the way, if you've never visited this site you are REALLY missing out...she's awesome!). So, I'll put up the elastic A-line tutorial tonight as well!

Not only does she give a great tutorial of how to do this 20 minute (or less!) skirt, but she shows how to do a basic elastic waistband, which is something I always forget to take pictures of. So, this little link will double as an elastic waistband tutorial, I think :)

Check out the amazingness of Grosgrain and her 20 minute skirt here!

Heart Corsage Shirt - Tshirt refashion tutorial!

2010-06-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't have a few boring t-shirts laying around? Here's a really easy and fun way to breathe some new life into your basics.

What you need:

- plain fitted t-shirt (this works best on one with a scoop or v-neckline)

- jersey/knit/tshirt scraps in desired colors (ones that will complement the t-shirt. I used 3 different colors)

Here's the t-shirt I started with in white (mine is blue):

Step 1: Cut heart shapes out of the knit scraps. If you don't know how, here's the short cut for cutting a heart (in the middle image, the fold is on the right edge):

I think I used about 20 hearts, but it really depends on how big you want your corsage to be and the size of your t-shirt. Also, I originally didn't cut enough and had to go back to make more, so don't worry too much about the exact number. You can always add or subtract some.

Step 2: Lay the hearts out along the neckline or wherever you want them on the shirt, overlapping and imperfect. You have two choices here: you can pin them to the shirt, which will take a lot of pins but ensure you get the exact design you want, or you can get an idea of what you want and then free hand it (which is what I did). Sorry, no picture of this one. Look at the completed picture for guidance.

Step 4: Staring at the shoulder, stitch the hearts down. Make sure you fold and twist them a little as you go to give them some structure and dimension. Also: I used white thread, and didn't want to sew over the navy and grey hearts I had with the white thread. So, I kept my white hearts mainly on top and placed my colored ones so that sewing on the white hearts would take them down as well.

Step 5: Sewing the hearts down can be a little tiring, so take a break and chat with a friend. The furrier the better.

Step 6: Finish tacking down your hearts. Then, try the shirt on - you'll probably realize that some spots look a little bare or that you didn't go up or down far enough along the neckline. Easy to fix - stick a few more hearts on where needed.

And here you go! The fun thing about this is you can do as much or as little as you want, in whatever color combinations you want.

Here's a better picture of the detail (the only full length one I had obviously didn't turn out so well!)

Don't forget to enter in my giveaway for a cute summer dress - there aren't many entries so far so the odds are looking good!

Also, the first summer of skirts tutorial is coming tomorrow! I also have a few more in progress, so keep checking back.

Sewing Basics - Hem (no raw edges!) Tutorial

2010-06-10T14:15:00.001-07:00

I know this one is pretty obvious, but I went a long time simply folding up the raw edge of what I wanted to hem and then sewing it. This winds up with a lot of fraying and looks icky, so I just wanted to put this tutorial out for the beginners!

Step 1: Iron the raw edge up about 1/4 inch all the way around where you want to hem.

Step 2: Fold the fabric up again, so the raw edge is tucked inside and iron.

Step 3: Stitch along the hem - sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the end. But it's pretty obvious...

That's it, you're done!

The "Cabo" Dress - version 2!

2010-06-09T15:46:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love this dress! It is super comfortable, and unlike the original Cabo dress it isn't see through at all!

With this dress, I followed the same steps as the original Cabo dress tutorial. Then, I followed Disney from Ruffles and Stuff 's instructions (the link to these is on the cabo tutorial) to make the braided straps and belt. I used t-shirt scraps left over from the original Cabo dress from that.

For the ruffle on the front of the dress, I cut strips from a ribbed tank top (the same one I used for the Dorothy Dress!) I gathered a small amount, and the sewed over the top of the navy ruffle. Make sure you do this before putting the elastic in the top!

The possibilities for this basic t-shirt dress are endless! Post links if you make any!

Also, sorry about the weird pictures... I don't know how but it looks like I screwed them up a little!

A Summer of Skirts - TUTORIALS!

2010-06-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

I love skirts. They're so cute and comfortable and easy, and perfect for summer - especially if you're feeling a little too pale or flabby to wear shorts. I always forget how awesome skirts are... and so, here's my new project. I will be making and posting tutorials of every different type of skirt I can think of - with the exception of all skirts frumpy or requiring ridiculous amounts of fabric.

I'm hoping to do a new one a week for the whole summer, but as we all know life sometimes gets in the way of good intentions... and I'm a little concerned about running out of ideas (although I already have like 6, so that's not bad I guess...). I've already got a basic elastic A-line almost ready to post up for you, and some others lined up behind.

So - who is interested in sewing along with me for a summer of skirts? I need your help here - post ideas of types of skirts, and I'll figure out how to make them!! I'm also thinking of setting up a flickr pool so people can post their creations. What do you think?

Sewing Basics - French Seam Tutorial

2010-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing for years, but I never knew how to do a french seam until recently. They're so easy and offer that perfect finishing touch on a project, yet I never took the five minutes to learn how to do them. I bet a lot of people are in the same boat, so I thought it might be a good idea to make some 'sewing basics' tutorials for people who are beginning sewers or who have simply not learned some sewing skills (like me!!). Are there any specific requests??

So, on to French Seams. Don't be scared by the number of steps - they're quite simple and after you do them once you'll remember how to do them forever :)

What you need:

- fabric (whatever your project is)

- an iron!

Step 1: Put the WRONG sides of the fabric together where you want the seam, and stitch. This will seem counter-intuitive, but I promise it will work out in the end :)

Step 2: Trim the seam down as far as you can (further than my picture shows, if possible), and then press the seam open.

This shows the backside of the fabric.

Step 3: Fold the fabric along the seam and press, wrong-side out.

Step 4: Stitched down the length of the seam, with the fold you just pressed at the edge of the foot ( once again, the fabric should be wrong side out).

Step 5: Open the fabric up and iron along the seam, so the 'flap' you created will lay flat.

Step 6: Now, your final seam: stitch the edge of the flap down. Make sure your seams are straight and even, otherwise it will look funny!

You're done! This is what the wrong side of the fabric should look like:

And here's what the right side of the fabric should look like:

No raw edges!!

Tank Dress Giveaway!!! - CLOSED

2010-06-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

Finally, here it is-my very first giveaway item!! I'm so excited about it and hope you all love it as much as I do (I was so tempted to keep it once I finished)!

I call it the "Dorothy" dress. :)

This tank dress features a white ribbed-knit top and a gingham skirt, attached with wide white elastic. It has a gingham bow attached to one shoulder and white pleats decorating the front of the top. The skirt is french-seamed, so there are no exposed raw edges in it.

It should fit a small to a medium. I am modeling it in these pictures, and the elastic sits around my waist without stretching. It fits me very comfortably, though it might be a bit to large on anyone smaller than me. The tank top part of the dress is sized a medium, if that helps.

The measurement of the elastic unstretched is 27 inches, and FULLY stretched (note, this would not be very comfortable to wear!) is 44 inches. My waist measures 25 inches, so I believe it will fit a waist of 24 - 40 inches. HOWEVER, this is simply my estimate - it depends on your comfort level.

Here is a close up of the bow on the shoulder - I realized that the full-length pictures didn't show it off very well. Also, a close up of the pleats before they are stretched.

Rules for Entering:

There are 3 easy things you need to do to enter the giveaway:

1) Become a follower of my blog

2) Create a post linking to it on your own blog.

3) Leave a comment with your email address and the link to the post on your blog that has the link to my link (ha ha, does that make sense??)

This counts as one entry. You can get one extra entry by adding a picture of the dress to your link!

If you have any questions or difficulty with any of this, send me an email or leave a comment and I'll get back to you within the day.

The duration of this giveaway is somewhat flexible. I'm thinking a week or possibly even two, but you can enter as long as the post heading says ACTIVE instead of CLOSED.

Good luck!!

Giveaway update and sneak peak at a new tutorial!

2010-06-01T23:57:00.000-07:00

The tank dress that I'll be giving away has been taking me a little longer to complete than planned - partly because I can only sew in 5 minute increments with resting periods in between! But I recover more and more each day, so hopefully I will soon be back to sewing for hours :)

The dress will be finished tomorrow morning, and I will be taking pictures of it then if I can find some models. I tried to make it a size that I thought would fit the most amount of people, while still being able to wear it myself (to check that all is right as I go along). Therefore, it is sized a 'medium', but can also fit a small and can stretch to fit a small large, possibly. I'll have more exact measurements when I post it.

I'm excited to hear what you guys think of it!

Also, the tank tutorial is still coming (I'm thinking after the giveaway), as is a new tutorial on a dress I'm calling the "seaside" dress. It is inspired by this dress I saw at Modcloth:

What do you think?

The Romance Novel Blouse Grosgrain Giveaway

2010-05-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Head over to Grosgrain and check out her beautiful blouse giveaway: The Romance Novel Blouse Grosgrain Giveaway. It is beyond lovely!

Tank dress tutorial & giveaway

2010-05-29T10:26:00.001-07:00

So, I wrote the tank dress tutorial last night, and was planning on posting it. However, then I thought... maybe I should wait until after the giveaway? I'm not sure- I'd like some input! I taught my sister, who has done some sewing but not a ton, how to make one yesterday and used it for the tutorial. Here's a picture of how it turned out:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the aqua tank top picks up the colors of the aqua flowers in the skirt beautifully. Guess what her favorite color is??

The "Cabo" Dress Tutorial - T shirt refashion

2010-05-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

I came up with this dress quite a while ago. It was so easy and cute, I decided to make a tutorial but I never got around to posting it. After seeing Disney's from Ruffles and Stuff adorablebeachcomber tutorial, I thought I would post it since it is essentially an adult version of her dress!

What you'll need:

- The biggest T-shirt you can find - at least XL

- elastic to fit around your ribs under your armpits

Directions:

1) Start with your T-shirt. It's very important that you get a giant one!

2) Cut the sleeves and collar off the shirt. Cut as little as possible off the top, or the dress will be too short!

3) Cut along the seams of the sleeves so they open up.

4) Now, sew the ends of the sleeves together to form a tube. This will be your ruffle! Also, sew up the sides of the shirt where you cut the sleeves off. Make sure you taper your seam down the bottom of the arm hole though, so you don't have funny puckers where your sewing ends.

4) Here comes the slightly tricky part. You need to attach the tube to the inside of the shirt so that it is inside of the t shirt, and so that you can flip it out and have both right sides facing out. Basically, we are attaching it and making an elastic casing with it.

Here is a close up (sorry it's sideways..) of the correct way to do this. If you pull the ruffle out from the shirt after you sew it (so it isn't inside of it anymore), the seams should look like this.

5) Now, pull the ruffle down over the right side of the dress. The right side of both the ruffle and the shirt should now be showing. Next, stitch along the top of the ruffle, leaving room between your stitch and the seam attaching it to the main dress for the elastic to be threaded though. Stop your stitch about half an inch before the place you started.

6) Through the gap you left, thread the elastic through the casing. Sew the ends together once it's through all the way.

7) Now, here's the creative part! You can leave it as is, like I did with this one, and pair it with an awesome belt. Or, you can make a casing around the waist and thread some elastic through.

Or, make braided straps and a belt like Disney did in her beachcomber dress!! I'm going to have to try that next :)

Check out this awesome fuchsia vintage belt - I got it for 2 bucks at a thrift store! I think it looks pretty great with the dress!

I think this dress would be especially cute in a navy blue, with a striped sash and braided straps like in Disney's tutorial. What do you guys think? If you make this, post your links!

Tank Dress GIVEAWAY teasers ;)

2010-05-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hello ladies!

I'm still confined to bed, but tomorrow morning I am taking a little outing to the FABRIC STORE!! And I am beyond excited about it.

This also means I will be picking out the fabric for my upcoming tank dress giveaway. I am so excited about this, but am a little concerned about getting people interested in it. So, if you're interested, comment and let me know!!

Here are some pictures of 'tank dresses' that I've been seeing in some awesome places (modcloth, anthropologie, etc...) that I will be keeping in mind. Which one is your favorite??

Grandpa's Shirt refashion - Tank top dress (tutorial!!) & GIVEAWAY??

2010-05-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

I knew I had to wear one specific shirt of my grandpa's in Hawaii. It's very tropical and he wore it there often. However, I have very pale skin and orange tends to totally suck the life out of me. So, I didn't want to make a shirt or anything that would be close to my face with this particular hue!! I wore it as a bathing suit coverup (hence the black underneath!), so I didn't get the best pictures. But oh well.
After thinking on it a while, I decided that maybe pairing it with white would result in something wearable - and it was! Not only that, but I found the easiest, best way to make a quick dress on the cheap!
I am so, SO excited about this dress because of the potential it holds. As soon as I've recovered enough to start sewing, I think I'm going to make about 10 million more of these dresses. And, to share the love, I'll be posting a tutorial of the very next one I make! I promise, you'll absolutely love the easiness and comfort of it! So check back soon!

ALSO - I'm thinking about making one of these as my very first giveaway!! I've always wanted to do one, but since I don't have an incredible amount of time for blogging I never got around to it. If I can get enough people interested in it, I'll do it! Comment if you'd be interetested in entering! :)

Fabulous summer news

2010-05-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going to be spending the summer working in research and a university in California, and have my apartment lined up and everything. However, I won't have a car, so I've been contemplating how I'll make my near-weekly fabric store runs. Finally I decided to actually look up if there was one in the area, and guess what - there's one 3 BLOCKS AWAY!!! I am so excited! Not only that, but it looks very, very cool - lots of moda and other designer fabrics. I have so many projects planned for the summer, so this is perfect! Yay!

Tropical Sweetheart dress - finished!!

2010-05-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

I posted a while ago about this dress i was working on to take to Hawaii - it is based on this

Unfortunately I didn't get as many/as good of pictures of it as I wanted to - especially of the back. I added a ruffle down each side of the zipper, which had the double benefit of looking pretty awesome and hiding the zipper a little more! Here's a crappy little picture of it:

I did the dress in a cotton watercolor print with a hot pink satin for top lining. I used the same lining fabric to make a one shouldered bow. I've been loving all the one shouldered designs that are so popular now, and that seemed like a good way to easily incorporate the effect!!

The other modification I made to the dress was that I didn't include the sleeves - easy change :)

I have a bachlorette party coming up in a month or so, and I'm thinking of using this same pattern to make a strapless or one-shouldered red dress with big rosettes on it or something, kind of like one of these:

What do you think??

Home from vacation, and on to surgery

2010-05-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

I just spent some time on vacation, so I didn't post much because I was so busy sewing to prepare! I have almost all of my grandpa's shirt refashions finished, and I'll be posting pictures and tutorials of them as soon as I get them downloaded! I also finished the sweetheart neckline dress I was working on - pictures of that are coming as well.

Unfortunately, I'll be going in for a major surgery on tuesday, so I won't be doing any crafting for a few weeks, probably. I do have one project that I'll be working on - it's a wedding gift for a friend. She recently got a sewing machine but hasn't done a lot of crafting in the past, so I'm making her a sort of beginners 'kit'. Any ideas for stuff to go in??

Grandpas Shirts - Refashion # 3 - Another dress!

2010-04-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

This dress is technically still in progress. I'm not too happy with how it is right now; it's a little shapeless (it looks better in the pictures than in real life, I think..). I'm thinking of maybe tightening the skirt a little bit - making it more pencil skirt-ish to give it some shape.

Basically, all I did with this dress is cut the top part of the shirt and the sleeves off so I had a long tube, just like with the blue dress. I sewed the sides up, made armhole shapes, and then pleated the top. You can't see it very well, but the neckline is 3 big pleats that are are also pleated at the waistline.

I ran some elastic through the waist , then created a 'sash' out of the leftover material.
I have super narrow shoulders, so this bar across the back became a necessity after adding the straps...
I liked the buttons in the back for this one!

Pintucked Cotton Shirt

2010-04-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

I love love LOVE this shirt! It was made out of remnants of a shirt my grandpa had made for him (I never found the actual shirt though...weird). Luckily, my grandma always buys way more fabric than needed, so lots of remnants!

The fabric is absolutely beautiful - you might not be able to tell in the pictures, but the flowers are all rimmed with gold. I knew I had to make something that I would wear a lot with it, because the fabric is just too pretty to waste!

I started out just cutting two squares out with the selvage edge (yay no hemming) at the bottom. I sewed them together making a tube big enough to fit around my hips with some room to spare. Then, I made a little yoke - that was the tough part, since I didn't really use a pattern and just made it up. I used some plain black fabric for the 'strap' part in front, and made the 'straps' in the back out of of the same fabric. Quite frankly, I did this because I was running out of material!

Then came the fun - pin tucks! I was going to use this as a tutorial for pin tucks, but once again no camera. I'll be making a shirt with tucks soon though, so look for a tutorial on them coming up! I did tucks along the front of the shirt to help shape it.

The black straps in front were looking a little plain to me, so I added rows of stitching to give it some texture. I like the effect!

I then made a lining for the top yoke part, and attached it to the main shirt piece. At this point I had a shirt with a yoke that didn't actually connect at the shoulders - I kept the two straps seperate. I wasn't sure what I would do next, but I knew I wanted to do something cool. I was cleaning out some crafting drawers at the same time as making this, and remembered something I saw earlier... black bias tape remnants! Aha!

So, the two straps are connected with three bias tape strips each. I really like that detail, and was pretty impressed with myself on that one! :)
Unbelted, the shirt has a swing, trapezy look to it. For the pictures (and for most of the time I wear it), it's belted with a stretched out braided headband I scored at forever 21 for a buck.

Ta da!

Grandpas Shirts - Refashion # 2 - dress!

2010-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

My grandparents own a timeshare in Hawaii, and every couple years we go with them. My grandpa had numerous 'tropical' shirts that he'd wear to Hawaii, so I'm going to be making shirts and dresses out of those to bring this year as a tribute to him.

This is by far my favorite refashion so far. I kind of made it up as I went along, and if I could do it over again there are somethings I would do differently! But overall I like it a lot. The color is bold and beautiful, and I just lOVE the big graphic chrysanthemum type flowers on it!

I started taking pictures as I went with this, but then my camera died and I lost my charger. So no pictures along the way :(. I'll try to describe what I did though!

First, I removed the sleeves and the very top of the shirt (mainly the collar), so I had a tube with some armholes cut in it. I straighted the edges out (trimming where the armholes end, if that makes sense) so I had two trapezoidal shapes. I used these for the skirt.

Then, I cut the bodice part out of the sleeves. This is where I really wish I had my pictures, as it's hard to explain! Basically though, the shape I cut out was about the same as what it looks like, only a little bigger. I gathered down the middle of the bodice, and then here's my favorite part - BUILT IN BRA! I always save old crappy bras for projects like this. I cut the bra apart so I just had two attached cups, then hand-sewed it into the front of my bodice. I then sewed a cotton lining over the top of it. Next, I smocked the whole darn thing from the bra all the way around the back, and even a couple rows on the very top of the bra (which give it that ruffled look).

I attached the top to the skirt and did some more smocking around the bottom of the bodice because it was a little too maternity-ish for my taste.

Finally, I added two straps of just plain white elastic. And they tuck down easily if I want to go strapless. I know this is a pretty crappy tutorial - let me know if you have any questions or comments :)

Tropical Sweetheart Dress - in progress

2010-04-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

As you probably already know, I don't often use patterns. I usually prefer to draft my own (without much success) or to just start cutting and cross my fingers (also not so successful). However, sometimes even I am realistic and realize that without a pattern my idea probably won't work.

So, I am using a pattern for the first time in a while, and hoping it works! I love the style of it, so if it works out I will definitely use it again. For this one I'm doing it without the sleeves, as it's kind of a tropical print. Here it is: McCalls 5971

I also wanted to post a picture of the cotton fabric I got for it - it's a lovely tropical watercolor kind of pattern, with big turquoise and fuchsia flowers on a white background. I couldn't find it on the Joann's website though, so you'll have to wait to see it :)

Grandpas Shirts - Refashion #1 continued

2010-04-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, I FINALLY have some pictures to put up of some refashions I've done! I have several completed ones that I'll be posting when I have time, so keep checking back.

Here's a couple more pictures of the last one I posted forever ago, belted with jeans version!

Grandpas Shirts - Refashion # 1 !

2010-03-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

So, I did this refashion super fast the night before my grandfather's funeral, because I wanted to wear it to the service! Therefore, I don't have any in progress pictures, but I pretty much followed my button up ruffle shirttutorial for it. I didn't add the smocking around the waist however, and I didn't shorten it - didn't have time to hem! I also wound up with the neckline a little too wide, so I added some pleats in the back along the shoulders to take it in a little. So I wound up with a very blousy, long, tunic-like shirt. I wore it with a pencil skirt for the service:

I also love wearing it with skinny jeans, boots, and a wide black belt - it's really comfortable and chic! I don't have any pictures of it like that yet, but I'll put some up.

By the way, I have three kidneys...

2010-03-04T21:30:00.001-08:00

and they frequently make me sick. Thanks to kidney infection #5, my meal plans got a little screwed up in the last few weeks. HOWEVER, I do have some awesome men's dress shirts refashions coming up!

My grandfather passed away last week, and I inherited a wealth of his old shirts. He was probably one of the very few men in the world who could pull off anything from pastel lavendar suit jackets to brazen, colorful mickey mouse ties to brightly colored floral shirts with glitter running through them -- all while looking very intimidating. I have remade his shirts before, so I know they are very suitable for this. And what better way to pay tribute and remember someone so flamboyant than to wear his beautiful clothes (in a new form, of course)?

I already have one shirt finished and more in progress, so keep checking back for pictures and possibly tutorials, if I find the time :)