Festive, Easy, Fourth of July Skirts

Tonight I finished 3 skirts in 3 hours! (Less if you count that break for checking Facebook). I used an awesome tutorial for a simple skirt from Dana Made It, and it couldn't have been easier! I'll walk you through some basic steps, but head over to her site for the low-down on how to make an easy skirt in less than an hour!

My girls and I switched up our playroom yesterday, and moved my sewing stuff into the room, and moved about half of their toys out (and into a friend's garage sale---yes!). Since 4th of July is next week, I thought it would be the perfect time to try out my new space and finally put this fabric to use (it's probably from last year, not gonna lie). 

So festive! 

I'm pretty sure I bought this as a remnant, and I had just enough for 2 skirts for the big girls!

And (so proud of myself for this), I actually ironed and
added little touches like the top-stitching on the top of the elastic casing.

Double stitching on the hem (you can see where I started using up a bobbin of white thread here!).

After I finished those 2 skirts, I found this starry fabric quarter and decided to make a little skirt for my little daughter. She's 2 and I cut the fabric quarter the long way, so that I'd have a little extra length for her. 

After cutting 2 equal pieces with a pinking shears, sew together to form a large tube and press out your seams. (and I used my iron this time around too!)

I then ironed the bottom hem up a little bit.

I then used some leftover bias tape for the bottom hem.

To make the upper casing for the elastic, I first ironed down the top a small amount (like I did with the bottom already), then ironed down enough to cover my elastic. I ironed down about an inch because I used 3/4" non-roll elastic for this project. For the 2 skirts up top, I used 1" elastic.  Don't forget to leave a space in your casing so that you can pull the elastic through! 

Sewing the bottom of the casing.

 

Sewing the top of the casing.

Finally, I used a safety pin to pull the elastic through the casing.  I left it open for now, since I will measure the skirts on my daughters tomorrow, and then finish the skirts by sewing the elastic together and sewing the casings shut. Easy, peasy! 

And, it always helps to have a hot mug of tea to keep you company on late nights!  This is my new favorite mug, that I found while cleaning my house. It was a gift from a good friend, and the verse always reminds me of her! 

One of these days I'll have to do a post about my latest (and I think last) organizational method, the Konmari Method. I have gotten rid of so much junk that was just cluttering up my house; it's been amazing! 

Thanks for reading! Follow along to see the big reveal tomorrow and for other fun crafts and ideas! You can enter your email (look in the right sidebar on desktop) or "like" me (and a few posts) on Facebook! 

~Patricia

DIY Designer Frame

Do you love a quick easy project?

I do! I do! 

While browsing on Twitter, I found this awesome tutorial for a DIY Kate Spade-inspired frame that cost her less than $2! 

And I happened to have the exact same frame at home! (but it cost me $2--wha??)

So last night I got to making one of my own, and I can tell you that it is as easy as it looks. :)

For the full tutorial, check out the original post here: modpodgerocksblog.com  The original contributor writes over at Crafts by Courtney.  It's a pretty cool blog, check it out! 

Then run out to JoAnn's or Michael's and get yourself some supplies to make this cool frame.  You just need a frame, some polka dot scrapbook paper, a little wooden word or figure, extra fine glitter, some craft paint and modge podge to glue it all together--easy, right?

 I'm going to put it up in my freshly painted bathroom, can't wait to show you all that when it's finally ready! 

And now that I have some new gold glitter, I'm going to have to make something--stay tuned!

~Patricia

PS--If you're not following me on Twitter yet, you're missing out!  Click here to follow me!

Wordless Wednesday: t-shirt upcycle: The workout shirt

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

(Am I doing this wrong, since I'm including words?)

Anyways, here we go!

Ta-da!!

Thanks for following along!

~Patricia

Easy T-shirt Bag Tutorial

Hey Y'all! 

The other day I was at our local natural parenting store, just browsing, scoping out the toddler carriers, when I saw these interesting bags made out of t-shirts. The concept is to basically cut off the sleeves and neck of the shirt, and to sew up the bottom.  The idea was so simple and easy, I decided to make one myself!

Last night I had an hour to spare, so I dug a t-shirt out of my upcycle bin, grabbed some scissors, and got to work! 

Got your t-shirt? Let's begin! I got this one from my mom, and while I love the color, it ended up in the upcycle bin.

I started by cutting off the sleeves individually. I then folded the shirt in half so I could make sure the sleeves were cut evenly.

I then lined up the arm holes, folded the shirt in half and then cut the sides down so they sloped.  I was aiming for an Envirosax shape, which is this awesome brand of reusable bags that roll up that I've admired for years. 

I sewed the bottom together.  I saw a cool version on my Pinterest that uses fringe from the t-shirt as  the means to the shirt together.  You can check that version out here.

I decided to add some bias tape to the edges of the arm holes and around the other edges, just to give the bag a little more structure and contrast. I didn't even pin it on first, just opened the bias tape and sewed it on.

I think it turned out super cute!  I also decided to match up the arm holes and sew the t-shirt from front to back, instead of from side to side, like is usually shown.  I just like how this looks better!  I'm excited to try it again with a shirt that doesn't have anything written on it, I think it'll be awesome!

And there you go--ta-da!!

Super easy and fast! I think this took under an hour to make, and that includes stopping to adjust my Stitcher radio podcast and trying to find the box where I store all the bias tape. :)

Don't forget to follow along and thanks for reading!!

~Patricia

Easy DIY Knee Patches

Hello all!

Today I am so excited to give you a brand new tutorial:

I don't know about your kids, but my daughter G loves to wear leggings. So much so, that she is constantly ripping holes in hers! That girl can play hard. I was searching around on Pinterest for ideas, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted...mostly because I couldn't think of exactly how to describe it. This is a problem I have quite often on Pinterest and it mostly leads me to finding a lot of other cool stuff that I wasn't really looking for.  It's kinda like shopping at Target, am I right?  You don't need anything, yet you end up getting a cart full of stuff! 

So, after figuring out the easiest way for me to patch up my daughter's leggings, I thought I would share it with you!  Here's what you'll need:

Items Needed:

Leggings with holes (or just leggings, if you want to jazz them up a bit)

knit fabric to cover the holes 

Sulky Totally Stable (Amazon link, or you can get at JoAnn's)

Iron

Sewing machine

Scissors

Coordinating Thread

Ready? Let's begin!

Let's start with the knit fabric you'll use to cover the holes.  I think it's important to use knit on knit leggings, as they both will allow stretch.  I tried to fix these pants before with a piece of felt, and it did not last one wear.  This particular fabric came from a pair of Wonder Woman PJs that my sister and brother-in-law got me for Christmas one year!  I cut the bottoms off the pants to make them into insta-shorts and used one of the legs to make an awesome grocery bag holder. (You can read about that here.)

If you don't have some cool printed fabric laying around (this is a great project for using up all those scraps!), you can use a cookie cutter or just freehand a cool shape on some knit fabric or an old t-shirt.

Next, you'll want to cut 2 pieces of your Sulky Totally Stable , making them a bit larger than your shape. BTW, this stuff is awesome for keeping your knits in place while sewing them and it's under $2, so it's worth it to pick some up. I've had mine for a long time, and use it mostly when doing monograms and applique. 

Using your iron, iron the first piece of Totally Stable over the hole, following the directions on the package.  Then place the fabric patch on top of the Totally Stable and place the other piece of Totally Stable on the very top and iron it down.  You'll be sandwiching the fabric patch between the two pieces of Totally Stable, and since they are ironed down, you don't have to worry about using any pins! 

I then took a pen and outlined where I wanted my sewing line to be. I basically traced over the black lines of the stars.  If your fabric patch doesn't have distinct lines like mine, you might consider tracing the fabric patch on the Totally Stable before you iron it down, and then match up the lines while ironing. 

Don't worry, the Totally Stable is tear-away, so when we're done sewing, we'll rip it off and it won't show!

Sew!  I sew with a vintage Singer Featherweight machine and it only has a straight stitch, so I went over the star twice to really secure it.  If you are sewing with a machine where the arm can come off, take it off and sew that way, because it's a bit of a pain to have to scrunch up your material the way I have to.  But it's worth it!

Don't forget to trim your threads from the front and back!

Now it's time to tear away the Totally Stable.  I tore the outside first, then gently pulled at the inside of the star to tear off the Totally Stable on the inside of the star.  I did not tear off the Totally Stable on the underside of the hole, since I thought a little extra something would help to prevent future holes.  You can also trim back the hole on the inside so it matches the shape of the fabric patch.

And then......

Here's a close-up! 

So there you have it!  Easy DIY knee patches for your leggings! Let me know if you have questions, or if you try this method and it works for you, please let me know!

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest by clicking here! 

You can also follow my blog by signing up for updates and new posts by filling in your email on the right, or by adding me to your blogger dashboard. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Patricia

Cloth wipes-easy DIY!

A while back I was invited to a baby shower and when I found out the mama-to-be was going to be doing cloth diapering, I just knew I had to sew up a few of these awesome cloth wipes!  They are super handy, have so many uses and are a cinch to make!

They are basically 9 in squares with a "decorative" top-stitch. My sewing machine is from the '80s, so it doesn't have any cool stitches. Correction: it has cool stitches, but I don't have the discs to make them. Boo!

Anyways, I just did a bigger zig-zag top-stitch to finish them. And then ironed them, because it made them look so much better! I tied them with a pretty bow, and popped them in my gift bag, along with this cute monogrammed baby gift. 

I've got to make some more for myself now!

Although I didn't get to plan this baby shower, it brought me back to this one that I did get to plan!  Check it out for some great game and prize ideas. Pin the Sperm on the Egg, anyone? Gotta love it. 

~patricia

Freezer paper stencil state t-shirt

This is such a cute idea and so easy!
Freezer paper stencils are a favorite of mine, because they are an easy way to personalize any t-shirt.
If you are unfamiliar with freezer paper stencils, here's a brief how-to:
1. Print out any shape that you want, animals, states, hearts, holiday stuff, etc.
2. Trace it onto the non-shiny side of freezer paper and cut out the inside of your object, in my case, the state of Minnesota. 
3. Iron the stencil you've created onto a t-shirt. Put some cardboard directly behind the surface you're going to paint on.
4. Using fabric paint and a foam brush, paint 2 coats of paint over your stencil. Let dry overnight.
5. Carefully remove the freezer paper, then set a cloth over your creation and iron it to set.
6. Wear and enjoy! Easy!!

Never heard of freezer paper or don't know where to get it?

Click here to buy Reynolds Freezer Paper from Amazon.com or look for it at your local stores. I found mine at wal-mart near the aluminum foil.



Have fun!
~ patricia

DIY Plastic Grocery Bag Holder

Want a simple easy, project that leaves you feeling like you've accomplished something?

Of course! Enter the easy DIY Plastic Grocery Bag Holder. This project took me maybe 15 minutes to complete, and it's so useful, I felt really good about myself afterwards. And that's really the reason that I love to get crafty and sew.

Basically, you sew a dish towel into a tube, put elastic at one end, and a piece of twill tape at the other end so that you can hang it up. And it's kinda fun to stuff it full of plastic bags too. Bonus!!

I used a scrap piece of flannel that I had in my scrap pile, but how cute would it be to use a coordinating dish towel in your kitchen to tidy up all those unruly bags? Love it!  I also made another one from a leg of a pair of pajama pants I shortened!

What are you waiting for? Get sewing!

~ patricia

Sheet bag up-cycle

For my daughter's birthday, I got her a set of sheets from Target. They had little horses all over them and were just darling!

I decided to add some ribbon (as a strap) to the bag the sheets came in, and voila! A super cute messenger-style bag!

If you don't know how to sew, you could use some glue to secure the ribbon, or even hand sewing would work for this. It's just too easy not to do!