I Delegated....You Created- The Pleated T Shirt Dress!

I'm in awe of the next two ladies who made the pleated t-shirt dress.

Becky at Realynn has been featured on several other blogs I read, for her version of the pleated t-shirt dress (I did a little happy dance for you every time!)
She pushed the envelope by using t-shirts intended for a more "mature" audience, but what she ended up doing is starting a new trend in this household.  I spent 2 hours at the local goodwill today looking for t-shirts.  I did score an awesome green "Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky" shirt!

You can also check out Becky's Etsy Shop here.

Jen from jj and jojo made this stunner! Love that flower.

As I was writing this post up, I visited Jen's Etsy shop, and found some really awesome designs.

I'm really loving this one!

Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!

Necktie Applique with Download

There are a lot of necktie applique's out there, I'm adding to the mix.

This is my first attempt at adding a pdf file you can download.  If you have any problems, contact me.  Your page scaling should be set to "print to fit area".  The downloadable size is appropriate for a toddler sized shirt.  If you wanted to put this on a onesie, you should scale it down.  You may share this download, print it, and create a product for either personal use or for profit from this download.

Click on the picture below.  If your download doesn't show up, try clicking here.

Instructions:

You will need:

Fabric of your choice

Wonder Under or Heat and Bond

Iron
Shirt

Basic Sewing Supplies

Iron Wonder Under/Heat and Bond onto wrong side of fabric.

Cut out your template.  Flip your template so it is backwards and trace it onto the paper side of the heat and bond.

NOTE:  If you are going to zig zag around the applique after it is ironed on, you don't have to cut each piece of the pattern individually.  You can leave it as one big piece, and when you are putting on your zig zag stitch, stitch where all the lines are shown on the template.  

Take the paper backing off and flip your pieces over.

Arrange your pieces on your t-shirt and iron it.  Zig zag stitch all the way around the applique and where there are lines on the template to create separation of the pieces.

If you are not going to stitch a zig zag around the applique, iron it onto the shirt, but you should cut out each piece and place the pieces slightly separated from each other.

I will be sharing this with several of the outstanding link parties listed at the bottom of this blog page.  You can also visit them in the "Linked To" button of my navi bar.

Coming Soon...Necktie Applique Template

 On Sunday morning, look out for this swanky necktie applique.

(my first) PDF download INCLUDED!

Tutorial: The Pleated T-Shirt Dress

Any adult sized t-shirt will do for this dress.  

Cut it a little shorter and make it a tank instead!

Tutorial:

Materials:

T-shirt

1/4 in. elastic (forgot that one on the pic below)

double fold bias tape

basic sewing supplies

I made this dress to fit a size 3T.  The t-shirt I used is a size small, so I didn't have to sew any side seams.  There is banding at the bottom of this t-shirt, but it is not a requirement for this tutorial.  I just liked the way it looked.  

You will also need 1 package of double fold bias tape in your color choice.

Lay your t-shirt out flat.  Measure your child from where you want this dress or tank to end up to just below the neckline. Transfer these measurements to the t-shirt.  That sounds a little backwards but you are using the existing hem of the t-shirt for your bottom hem.  There is no need to add extra for a hem allowance.  Cut across the t-shirt.

Fold the t-shirt in half.  Free hand or use something circular to mark your armhole.  My favorite arm hole marker is a roll of tape.  (The big cans of baked beans works well too.)  

I am always tempted to make my armholes deeper.  It never looks like it's going to be big enough, but trust me, it will be.

When you open your shirt, it should look something like this.

Working with the front of the t-shirt:  Find the center of the top.  Moving about 1 inch to one side of the center, make a fold and move the peak of that fold towards the imaginary center line. Pin it in place.

Move to the other side of the center and repeat.  Now you have two folds of fabric that fold towards the imaginary center line.

Repeat two more times on each side of the center.  You will have a total of 6 pleats.  Make sure your pleats always fold towards your imaginary center line.

Sew a straight stitch 1/4 inch from the top to hold your pleats in place.

Cut off a piece of double fold bias tape the length of the front of your t-shirt.

Turn your t-shirt inside out.  Unfold one side of the bias tape.  Line the edge of the unfolded bias tape to the edge of your t-shirt.  Pin it.

Sew the bias tape to the t-shirt with a straight stitch.

Fold the other side of your bias tape over the top of the shirt so your top of the shirt edge is encased in the bias tape. 

Sew a straight stitch across about 1/8 of an inch from the open end of the bias tape.

Repeat the process for the back side.  Your piece of bias tape should be much longer than the front because there are no pleats.

Cut your elastic to be about half the length of the back of the t-shirt.

Thread your elastic into the bias tape opening.

Don't pull your elastic all the way through yet.  When the end of the elastic and opening meet, pin it in place to hold the elastic.  Sew a zig zag stitch or multiple straight stitches down the side of the bias tape to hold the elastic in place.

Now that one end of your elastic is secured, continue pulling it until the other end of the elastic is stretch to the other end of the bias tape.  Pin it in place and sew either multiple straight stitches or a zig zag to hold in place (these stitches are getting covered up, so if they are not perfect, you won't see it)

Cut two pieces of bias tape of equal length.  They should be long enough to cover the armholes and serve as tie straps.  Attach the unfolded edge of your bias tape to the inside raw edge of your armhole. Stitch it across.

Fold the other side of the bias tape over the edge to the right side of your t-shirt so your armhole is encased in the bias tape.

Starting at one end of your long piece of bias tape, sew a straight stitch about 1/8 inch away from the edge.  Continue down around the armhole to the other end of the tape.  Repeat for the other armhole.  I like to finish my straps by folding the ends of my bias tape and stitching it.

Put it on your girl, tie the straps and your done!

If you make this dress, please share it with the rest of us on my Flickr page.

I will be sharing this tutorial with some of the outstanding link parties listed at the very bottom of this page.  You can also find their buttons in the "linked to" section on the navi bar.

Shutter Love Tuesday @ Trendy Treehouse

The theme at Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Link Up is "Faces".  I unexpectedly was able to snap a few photos of my little girl napping on the couch last week, and thought this would be a great chance to share it.

I Delegated...You Created!

Whew.  I've been a little MIA, I worked 2 overnight shifts in a row, and I gotta tell ya....I am not cut out for all nighters anymore.  I still don't feel right.

I looked on Flickr and what do I see???  A stunning upload of 3 different dresses!  The account to these pics are from CASHR1903, but I don't know who you are!  Claim your awesomeness!

This dress is WILD!  Love the zebra and hot pink together!

That is a great picture, and a great dress.

I have to find that fabric.

Nicole from The Pish Posh Dish  emailed me this photo.

Beautiful!

I can never say it enough....these uploads and emails are why I keep at this!  Thanks again!

I Heart Faces Fix It Friday #62

Sometimes I like work on my photo editing skills and there is no better way to do that than to participate in I Heart Faces Fix It Fridays.

Original

 

 My Fix

 

Tutorial: The Pick It Up Skirt

This such an easy skirt!

Just 2 panels, and 3 pick ups on each side.

She will jump with joy when wearing it!

Materials:

1/2 yard of fabric for child size

1/2 inch elastic for the waistband

basic sewing supplies 

Tutorial:

First we need to take some measurements.  This skirt can be made into ANY size, woman or child, by following these guidelines.  

Two panels of equal size are needed to make this skirt.  

To find the width of your panels, measure the circumference of the natural waist.  Use this number as your width for each panel.

To find the length of your panels, measure from the natural waist down to where you want the skirt to end.  Take that number and add 2 1/2 to 3  inches (for hems and pick up allowance)

Pin your panels up both side with right sides touching, and stitch it up.  I used a 5/8 in. seam allowance, and trimmed the excess with pinking shears.  (this pictures looks like an a-line skirt, but it's just camera angle)

Working with the top hem:  Turn your skirt inside out.

Fold over 1/4 of the fabric all the way around and press it.  Now fold over 3/4 inch and press.

Sew your elastic casing closed by stitching it 1/4 inch away from the edge.  Leave an opening to thread your elastic.

Thread your elastic through the opening, and join the ends with a zig zag stitch.  Pull it taught to stretch out your elastic evenly, and sew  the small opening closed.

We are going to start placing our pick ups.  The easiest way to do this is to hang your skirt.  (side note: in case you noticed, my skirt looks really long.  After I hung it up I realized that I mis-measured by 4 inches!  I guess I didn't look at my tape measure or something.  Anyway I chopped off the 4 inches and carried on!)

To place your pick ups:  Skirt should be right side out, hanging up.  Place your hand under the skirt and grab a pinch of fabric where you want your pick up.

Attach your pinched fabric about 1/2 inch up to the fabric above it by pinning it.  

Repeat 3 times randomly to the front and then repeat on the back side of the skirt.  You are not limited to 3 pick ups, but however many you use, they should be randomly spaced out.

Carefully turn the skirt inside out with pins still attached.


With your needle and thread, place 4 or 5 stitches where the fabric meets on the pick ups.

Now all your pick ups are stitched, we need to finish the bottom hem.  The easiest way to do this is to hang your skirt back up.  Start folding the ends inside so you have a straight hem, and pin it as you go along.  

On the left side of my hand you can see the inside looks uneven.  You can make this look better by removing one pin and tucking in the uneven end (make sure you don't move the bottom of the hem) then re-pin it.  Move on to the next pin and repeat the process until you have a nice hem all the way around.  


Sew all the way around the bottom to finish your hem.  I debated using a blind hem, but ultimately I decided to use a double line because I wanted a more casual/nautical feel to this skirt. 




All done!  This skirt can also be made for a special occasion by using an appropriate fabric and a blind hem at the bottom.
Enjoy!  If you make this skirt, upload it to my Flickr pool.

I will be sharing this tutorial with the awesome link parties listed at the bottom of this blog page.
You can also visit them by clicking on the button at the top of my page "linked to"