Back to School Skirt

My niece celebrated her fifth birthday recently.  Well, we celebrated, she opened lots of presents.  I always like to give something handmade along with her 'big' gift in the hopes that I'm secretly brainwashing her and turning her into a future crafter/sewer.  I think it's working!

Her little add in gift this year was a cute skirt I threw together.  If you have little ones heading off to school this year, this is a great piece to add to their back to school wardrobe.

This is another project where I just took a couple of rectangles and made them into something cute.  So, to start, make a pattern out of two rectangles like this:
Remember, the skirt I made is for a 5 year old.  If your child is bigger/smaller, taller/shorter, whatever, just make some adjustments to your rectangles.  Mostly, it'll be in the skirt length that you'll adjust to make it longer or shorter (the larger rectangle).

Here's what you need to make your skirt:

Materials:
-lightweight cotton
-3/4"-1" wide waistband elastic
-scissors, pins, thread, ruler
-sewing machine

With your fabric wrong sides together, place your pattern pieces on your fabric and cut out.  You should have two of each rectangle.

Steps:
1) Pick up your two smaller rectangles.  With right sides together, sew a seam along each of the short ends, creating a large tube.  Do the same with your large rectangles while you're at it.

2) Finish your seams by serger or zigzag and press open.

3) With a long basting stitch, sew all the way around the edge of your large rectangle piece.  I like to stop and start again at the side seams.  This reduces the risk of breaking thread when you pull it to gather in the next step.

4)  Before you pull your threads to gather, mark off quarter sections of the skirt.  To do this, simply fold your piece so that the side seams are matching.  Now, on either end mark with a pin.  Now you know where each quarter is.  You can continue to mark off so that it's in eighths if you want to be more precise in your gathers.

5)  OK, now you can go ahead and begin to pull your basting thread to gather up your skirt.

6) Mark off quarters (or eighths) on your smaller rectangle piece.  This piece is the yoke of your skirt.  Once you've marked it, match to the pins on the gathered skirt piece (right sides together).  Start by matching your side seams and then go from there.  Move your gathers around so that they're even in each section.  Once you're sure everything's even, go ahead and sew the two pieces together.

7) Pull out your basting threads and finish the seam.  Press the seam allowance towards the yoke.

8) On the yoke, turn over 1/4" along the top edge and press. 

9) To determine the length of the elastic, just measure around your child's waist and cut a piece that is comfortable for them but will stay up on it's own.  This is usually the waist measurement minus 1" or so.  Don't forget to add in about a half inch to secure the elastic to itself.

10)  Next, measure the width of your elastic. Multiply that by two and add another 1/4". Turn that amount over and press again. Nothing fancy here, we're just making a casing for your elastic to go into.

11) Sew along the inside edge, making sure to leave about 2" open to insert your elastic.  I like to put a safety pin on each end of my elastic to guide it through the casing.  The second pin makes sure the end doesn't go flying into the casing, causing me to have to start all over again~

12) Once your elastic is in, overlap about 1/2" and secure to itself.  Make sure your elastic hasn't twisted!  Ease the elastic into the casing and close the casing.
13) Oh!  I almost forgot...hem the bottom of your skirt!  You can fold it over and secure or do a rolled hem.  Add some pretty lace if you want.  Anything goes~

That's it!  You're done.  So easy peasy.  I added a cute little tie to the front of mine but you could use buttons or other embellishments to make it pretty.

Can you believe summer is almost over and a whole new school year will be starting again?  Isn't it funny how even as an adult it feels like everything starts in September?

Same skirt with shorter yoke and skirt.
Obviously she just wants to go ride her bike.
Enough with the pictures already Auntie!

As usual, it seems like a lot of steps when it's all written out like this, but trust me, it comes together super quick.  There are so many ways you can jazz this up and make it your own.  Have fun and happy sewing everyone!

**UPDATE**
To see how this looks in an adult size click HERE.

This project was featured here:

Endless Options Bikini Top

I know most bloggers out there are already thinking about Halloween and Christmas but around here summer is pretty fleeting so I'm living in the moment and enjoying the hot sunshine for as long as possible.

With that in mind....today we're going to make a bikini!  Before you say, oh no, that's not for me, let me just say, if you want to wear a bikini you go ahead and wear a bikini!  I've travelled to a lot of different countries and I think it's only in North America that we're so uptight about these things.

Today's project was inspired by the bathing suits I found in Thailand, and let me tell you, EVERYONE was wearing them.  It didn't matter how old, what size, or how many rolls people had, we were all wearing bikini's.  Sometimes you just need to let it all hang out.

All right, enough lecturing, let's get sewing!

I'm going to break it down for you in two parts, making the pattern, and then sewing it up.

Here's what you need to make your pattern.

Materials:
- Craft or tissue paper
- Ruler or measuring tape
- pencil and paper scissors

Steps:
1) Make a rectangle.  This will be the body of your top.

2) Make a long lopped off triangle.   This will be the straps of your top.

Here are all of your pattern pieces:

Now, here's what you need to make your bikini top.

Materials:
- your pre-cut pattern pieces
- spandex fabric (something with two way stretch)
- scissors, pins, thread, and a sewing machine

Look at the glitter on my fabric!! hee hee!

1) Cut out your pattern pieces.  Fold your fabric, selvedges and wrong sides together.  Cut out the body once (you'll have two pieces) and cut the straps twice (you'll have four pieces).

2) With right sides together, sew your body pieces together by sewing the long edges.

3) You can finish the edges if you want and turn right side out.  (By 'finish the edges', I mean serging or zigzagging.  You don't have to do this though because the spandex won't fray.  You may want to trim a bit so there's no bulk though.)

4) Do the same with the strap pieces and only leave the wide bottom of your triangle open.  Sew all the other sides together (right sides together).

5) Trim the corners at the narrow end of your triangle and turn right side out.

6) Now, back to the body piece.  Run a long basting stitch along the short edges of your body piece and gather to the length of the open end of your strap.

7) Pin the body to one side of the strap and sew together.

8) Fold over the unsewn side, folding over the seam allowance, sew (by hand is best but you can do it with your machine if you need to) closed.

Tah dah!  That's it!  Easy peasy and it can be worn sooooo many ways.

Twist it!

Bandeau style!

Get fancy and add a brooch~

As for the bottoms, this you will need a pattern for.  I ended up using my trusty Kwik Sew undies pattern because I know it fits me perfectly.  I just made a few minor alterations to it and added some ties to make sure they don't look like undies.

I'm thrilled with the way this turned out.  Every other bathing suit I have ever made has never fit properly.  Usually the bottoms are way too big and the tops are way too small.  But guess what...this one fits just right!

Don't be shy.  Make your own suit and get out there and flaunt it girl!  And because I always like to practice what I preach, he's what it looks like in real life.

 

Have a great sunny weekend everyone!

This project was featured here:

Mini Me Shirred Dress

A few weeks ago I showed you how to make your own Shirred Summer Dress.  I didn't have it completed at the time, but I also made a mini me version for my niece:

I think what she likes best about me making clothing for her is that she gets to model it for me.

I usually direct the first half the of photo shoot and then she takes over with her own ideas. Here's her version:

She's even cuter when she's being a goofball~

Summer Versatility

At first glance I know what you're thinking...big deal, another tube dress.  Right?  But this is no ordinary tube dress.

I wanted something blousey and not so form fitting.  So, this is actually two separate pieces that will take you from day, to evening, to work, and back to day again!

I love the top on it's own with pants!

And the skirt can easily be worn to work with a slightly more conservative top.

But if you need something to wear to your next patio party, pair it with a contrasting top!
This would be an excellent addition to your vacation wardrobe too!

This is another 'beyond easy' project.  It's just two tubes cut from T-knit fabric that are slightly A-line instead of straight rectangles.  There's 3/4" wide elastic at the top of the skirt and the top and 1/2" elastic at the bottom of the top so that it drapes nicely.

I just whipped this up on the spur of the moment but if you guys want a step by step tutorial let me know.  I like this so much I wouldn't mind two!

Shirred Summer Dress

Since we seem to be on a bit of a super easy summer fashion roll lately, why stop now?  Let's add a really cute maxi dress to your halter and new purse to round out your hot weather wardrobe!

This project is so easy and can probably be completed in less than a couple of hours if you skip a couple of the mistakes I made.

Here's what you need:

-Cotton fabric (the length that you want your dress + approximately 4" for hems)
-scissors
-regular thread, elastic thread, wooly nylon thread
-pins
-sewing machine

Steps:
1) I used a light weight cotton print that was fairly narrow already, less than 45" (115 cm) I think. So,  I just used the full width of the fabric.  If you're using a wider fabric you may want to trim it back to at least 45" wide unless you want more volume.

2) Before you do anything you need to pull out your manual for your machine to learn how to do a rolled hem.  I used my serger and added wooly nylon thread to the upper looper.

Every machine does this differently so I'm not going to get into settings and plates and all that, just take a look at your machine manual and it will tell you all you need to know.

This isn't the perfect rolled hem.  On my serger I only use one needle for this stitch.  I didn't thread the other needle but I was lazy and also didn't remove it, which I should have.  If had removed it I wouldn't have the loopy bit on the inside edge.  In the end it's not noticeable because it ruffles but I know it's there, and unfortunately, I have to live with it now.  Boo hoo for me~

If you don't want to venture into rolled hem land, just do a regular narrow hem along one end of your fabric.
3) Hand wind your bobbin with your elastic thread, pulling just slightly as you wind.

4) Place your bobbin in your machine as usual.  If you have a quilting arm, insert that now to help you to space your rows of shirring evenly.

Sorry, my camera really doesn't like my sewing machine
or vice versa.  In any case, they don't get along,
so a couple of these photos are blurry.

Quilting Arm
attaches to my machine behind the needle.

5) Once you're all set up you can start sewing straight lines of stitching, 1/2" apart to create the bodice of your dress.

As you go along your fabric should start to gather itself up and look like this:

Inside of dress (wrong side of fabric)

6) Now, if you're more voluptuous and curvy than I am, you might be able to leave the stitching as is.  If you're shaped like a teenage boy, like I am, then we'll have to do an extra step.  Pull your threads along one side until your fabric width measures somewhere in the following ranges:

Small: 16-19"
Medium: 20-23"
Large: 24-29"

In all likelihood, you had some lines of elastic stitching that started or stopped in the middle of your line.  That's OK.  Just pull from the start of the stitching, making sure to knot it when you're done.

WARNING: Do not get carried away and pull your stitching way, way, way too much....like maybe I did.  Also, don't start pulling your threads until you've finished sewing ALL of your lines.  If you do, continuing to add lines will become more and more challenging....again, I may have learned this the hard way.  Come one, gathering is fun though right?  It's easy to lose control~

Also...DO NOT CUT your elastic bobbin thread until you are absolutely sure your bodice is going to fit around your body.  Yeah, yeah, OK, add that to my list of learnings from this project that I got the hard way.

 If you cut and you've pulled your gathers too far, there's nothing to let out after.  It's fixable, but trust me, just don't go there.
7) OK, now that you've not done all the things I did, and you're absolutely sure that your fabric will fit around your chest area, you can sew a seam down the open edge of your fabric.  This will be the back or side seam, depending on how you decide to wear it.

Make sure to leave an opening from about the knee area down (unless you're going for something ultra sexy and then you can go as high as you want you sexy momma!).  If you don't leave an opening, it may be difficult to walk in this dress, and you may end up looking a bit like a well dressed penguin...and that's just not so attractive in the middle of summer~

8) Last step, hem the bottom to fit your body.

And that, is that!  Whew!

I was hoping to show you the matching dress I'm making for my niece, but it's still sitting on my sewing desk, so that will have to wait.  It's going to be ultra cute though!

This really is beyond easy and it's a great project for a beginner sewer.  I bet all of you mommy to be's would find this super comfy too!  Use shirring on the waistband of a skirt or the arms of a blousy blouse!  The options are endless.  Once you get the knack of it, it goes super fast.

Examples of shirring from Wikipedia:

This cotton day dress of 1836–40
 features shirring on the upper sleeves.
Victoria and Albert Museum.

Here is a close-up of shirring done on the shoulder area during
 the garment construction from a 1925 vintage dress pattern.
Photo provided by Love to Sew Studio

Let me know if you give it a go.  I always love to see projects that are inspired by something you find here!

Also, if you're looking for more awesome, and FREE sewing projects and patterns, head over to Allfreesewing!  I'm sooooo lucky and have not one, not two, but three of my projects featured on their home page right now.  But that's not why I'm leading you there.  It's just a great community with loads and loads of ideas for all sewers and crafters.  Check it out~

This project was featured here: