Create and Delegate

Giveaway!

2011-06-21T18:12:00.000-04:00

Hi All! When things slow down with my photography business, I will be getting back to some new tutorials. In the mean time, I have reached 200 fans on my facebook fan page!
If you like my headbands in my etsy store you are going to want to visit THIS LINK for all the details on how to win a $50 gift certificate to my etsy store!!

photo copyright of Nicole Barr Photography

Tutorial: Fabric Lotus Flower

2011-04-04T20:21:00.002-04:00

It's been ages since I posted a tutorial! I love how this turned out, I just had to share! I made this HUGE fabric flower today to perk up my outfit for our upcoming family portraits. It turned out to be a huge lotus looking flower. Well, my edges are little more rounded than a lotus, but it was the first thing that popped into my head looking at it. I went around the house sticking them on everything.

Make a bold statement by adding it to a scarf...

I even put one on the wreath of my front door....

Materials
1/4 yard of georgette fabric
basic sewing supplies (sewing machine, thread)
hot glue/hot glue gun

Optional: broach pin, hair pin

Tutorial

Start with about 1/4 yard of georgette type fabric. It's a sheer light weight fabric with a dull finish.

Measure out 3 inches on the selvage edge and make a small cut.

Rip the fabric the rest of the way. You will end up with a long strip.

Fold fabric over itself with a 2 inch width.

Continue to fold all the fabric till the end.

Round off the top by starting the bottom of your cut 1 1/2 inches down. Unroll your fabric.

Set your sewing machine to the tightest tension, and the longest stitch length.

Sew 1/4 inch from the straight edge. Your fabric will start to produce a tight ruffle. I think it's a good idea to backstitch at the beginning an when you get to the end so none of your ruffle comes loose.

Add a dab of hot glue to the beginning of your ruffle, and start rolling, gluing as you go.

Try to keep the edges as even as possible when wrapping.

The bottom of your flower should look like this when you done gluing.

Glue or sew the backing of your choice!

YOUR DONE!

I'm going to share this tutorial with these awesome link ups:

It's been a while!

2011-03-10T18:37:00.000-05:00

Hi, I miss this soooo much! I have been busy getting my photography business off the ground..Nicole Barr Photography If your in the DC/Baltimore area, I photograph families, children, newborns and pets! I am shooting my first wedding in June, so we will see how it goes.

I just wanted to share some of the newborn props I just made. I will also be listing some like these in my etsy shop next week!

Long time coming....

2010-12-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

To all the wonderful people who have followed or read my blog, I'm sure you figured this was a long time coming, but I'm taking a big step back from the blog for a while. I'm not giving it up, but I won't be stressing out like I previously was to get a project out. Maybe I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed because of the holidays, or maybe I have the winter blahs...I don't know. I just don't feel creative right now, and I don't want to give you crap:) I am working on a really cool fleece vest, but I'll post it when ever it gets finished.
I will still be following all my other favorite craft bloggers! Maybe I can pull some inspiration from them!
Happy Holidays!!!

FREE Holiday Bokeh Textures

2010-11-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

From me to you.....
Free Holiday Bokeh Textures/Overlays!
These are copyright free, so you may use them as backgrounds for your blogs or textures and overlays for your photos.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Easy (and cheap) Christmas Swag

2010-11-28T22:23:00.002-05:00

The most wonderful time of the year is here!!
I know, I know, it's been a while. I'm swamped, what can I say. I'm sure you can relate.

The other day I was pricing out Christmas decorations, and I have to say, maybe in past years I wasn't paying attention to how pricey some of this stuff actually was. I wanted some pine swags over the doors in the house. Indoors I go for artificial. I don't want to risk getting sap on the woodwork. Outdoors, is real all the way! (Next week, I'm going to tell you how to make a wreath for you door, and about a hundred feet of garland, all for around $30.)

Anyway, I was at Joann's looking at the swags, and even with 50% off, the dollar signs were adding up because I wanted 4 of them. Then I found these....I don't know what they really are, I would assume they are "stems" of pine for making flower arrangements. They only cost $2.50 each!

I only used two for each swag and a little jewelery wire I already had.

I overlapped the stems in the back. (front view)

(back view)

Secure the stems in the back with the wire. I used 3 pieces of wire, one in the center, and then on each end.

Luckily, I didn't have to put up any fasteners, there was already a small nail that I was able to use. If you don't already have a hidden nail on your doorway, command hooks are the greatest invention of all time.

I will be sharing this project with these awesome link parties!

I heart...I HEART FACES!

2010-11-13T19:28:00.000-05:00

I am very proud to be one of I Heart Faces Featured Members this week!!

You can see my feature here.

Thank you I Heart Faces!

Tutorial: Anthro Inspired Regal Bearing Headband

2010-11-02T11:53:00.003-04:00

This is an easy no-sew project inspired by the Anthropologie Regal Bearing Hat. This hat retails for $228.00. Not really in my budget and I don't think I could pull off the little felt cap perched on the side of my head...at least not in this town. But I love velvet and feathers, and I thought this would make a great holiday headband.

Materials:

Velvet Ribbon (at least 1/2 inch wide)
Grosgrain or Silk Ribbon (at least 2 inches wide)
Feathers
Bead
Headband
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors

Tutorial:

Glue the feather(s) onto the headband so they shift slightly off to one side.

Fold the ribbon into 3 loops stacked on top of each other. Glue each layer together.

I glued my layers just slightly off center of each fold.

Fold the bottom center into itself, and glue it to hold.

Glue it in place, on top of the bottom half of your feathers.

Tie your velvet ribbon into a bow, and trim the ends to taste.

Glue your bow to the bottom of the ribbon. Glue your bead at the top of the bow.

Go spend the $200.00 you saved making this headband on a new dress to go with it!

I will be sharing this tutorial with these link ups:

GiveawayWinner!

2010-10-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

Oh dear, I posted this on my other blog, and it took me 2 days to realize it! SO SORRY!!

Thanks to everyone who entered!
Random.org chose number 22 as the winner........

Liz, love.

Congrats! ( I sent you an email.)

Ok, if you are still reading, you may have noticed I haven't posted anything all week. My apologies. I haven't disappeared, but I have been insanely busy. Something just had to give. I've started building my portfolio for my part time gig as a photographer. If you are in the DC/Baltimore Metro Area, and need a photographer cheap, visit my website (domain name still pending) at www.nicolebarrphotography.smugmug.com

I have a few cute tutorials coming up! Don't abandon me forever!

Giveaway Time!

2010-10-16T10:22:00.001-04:00

There is nothing like giving a child a gift that you put your heart and soul into. Handmade gifts become such keepsakes, they are treasured for years to come.

My friend Kate has put her heart and soul into creating this lovely tutorial for an A-Z animal felt book.

Each template is beautifully hand drawn by Kate, and includes step by step instruction and stitching guides, making this a perfect tutorial for crafters of all skill levels.

It includes basic stitch instructions for all of the stitches used in the book! Customize the template designs to your liking or use the brief guide describing how you can design your own pages and make your book completely unique.

There is one page for every letter of the alphabet, PLUS 5 additional vowels!

You can visit Kate's Etsy store here!

And for one lucky winner, Kate is graciously giving away one copy of her tutorial!

(due to the size of the templates, you will recieve a copy on cd-rom. You must have adobe reader installed to view and print the tutorial.)

Giveaway Rules:

All you have to do is visit Kate's Etsy store Growing Laufey and leave a comment telling me which letter/animal is your favorite from the tutorial.

(one entry per person please!)

Giveaway ends on midnight, October 24th. Winner will be selected by random.org and announced on Monday, October 25th.

Knitting.....the easy way.

2010-10-12T14:13:00.002-04:00

I am pretty good at crochet. I suck at knitting. I've tried and tried, and it just never looks right. Then I discovered circle looms.

Now I'm making knits in no time. I finished this hat in about an hour.

Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of circle looms.

Provocraft makes plastic circle looms called the Knifty Knitter. This is a good economical choice if your a beginner. They are inexpensive, and easy to find at you local craft stores. Provocraft also has links to free projects to make with your looms. Your not limited to just hats. Make purses, scarves, blankets, and gloves. Each looms comes with detailed instructions to get you started and there are also full instructions on the how to of the different knit stitches on the website. I recommend the Knifty Knitter if you are using bulky yarns. Also, the better quality your yarn is, the better your hat is going to turn out. I used Tahki Montana pure new wool in Slate.

image via decor accents inc.

Decor Accents Inc. makes some of the finest quality looms I have found. These looms are recommended for every gauge and quality of yarn. The looms are all handmade, and different sized gauges are offered from a fine gauge to a regular gauge along with different sizes from newborn to adult. Decor Accents also offers a line of plastic looms and economy looms. You can also find links to projects on the website.

Happy Knitting!

I'm sharing this project with these awesome link parties:

{Keeping It Simple} {Making The World Cuter} {The Girl Creative}

{Sumo's Sweet Stuff} {Mad In Crafts} {Creative Itch}

{Sugar Bee} {Sew Much Ado} {Fireflies and Jellybeans}

{It's So Very Cheri} (Seven Thirty Three} {Someday Crafts}

{Blue Cricket Design} {Somewhat Simple} {Trendy Treehouse}

{The Train To Crazy} {Fingerprints on the Fridge} {Lit & Laundry}

{Finding Fabulous} {A Little Lovely} {Tatertots & Jello}

{I Heart Naptime} {Under The Table and Dreaming}

Ready...Set...Action!

2010-10-09T13:17:00.000-04:00

I've been busy playing with the actions I just purchased from Florabella's Luxe Collection. These are definitely going to be my all time favorites.

Guest Posting Today!

2010-10-04T07:09:00.000-04:00

Today I'm guest posting for....

I'm so excited!! Check out my tutorial for this easy sweater bag!

Make a Sweater Better......as a pillow cover!

2010-10-02T19:02:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh....it was in the low 60's today. That is weather I could live with all year round. Is there anywhere in the U.S. that I can move to that never get's below 60 degrees and never higher than 79 degrees?

Anyway, it was perfect SWEATER weather. I must be honest and say that I had intentions of making all the tutorials myself for Make A Sweater Better event. But life happens. I never had a seasonal allergy in my life until after I gave birth. No kidding. It's been really bad this year. I'm sorry to all of my family and friends who I would roll my eyes at when they would complain about their allergies.

Anyway....I am in love with sweater covers for pillows. But the price tags on some of them make me laugh out loud.
Still, they are very beautiful......

via Pottery Barn

via Apartment Therapy

via Country Living

via Martha Stewart

I knew if I wanted to find a good tutorial on making these sweater pillows, all I had to do was visit Ashley at Make It and Love It. Go here for the tutorial!

Make A Sweater Better......into a The Cardigan Hat!

2010-09-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share one of my favorite tutorials from last year, created by Disney from Ruffles and Stuff! This masterpiece was a guest post at Thirty Handmade Days.

The Cardigan Hat

Click on the picture or here for the tutorial.

Guest Post @ Sew Chic & Unique: How to Make a Sweater Better.....as Handwarmers!

2010-09-27T02:00:00.007-04:00

Today I'd like to welcome the readers of Sew Chic and Unique to my little corner of the blog world. I wrote this tutorial as a guest post for the Inspire to Create event going on there right now.

I thought this was a perfect opportunity to tie in my Make A Sweater Better tutorials, so I decided to make fingerless handwarmers made from the sleeves of an old felted sweater!

(ok, I needed a model, and I was the only one around. Everyone keeps telling me I look 13 in this picture instead of 33. I guess that means everyone should have a picture of themselves in B&W!)

Materials:
All you need is an old wool sweater. Felt it by washing it in hot water and drying it on high heat. The sweater I'm using is 90% wool, and 10% acrylic, and it felted nicely.

You also need embroidery floss, but a lightweight yarn would work well too...maybe even better!

Tutorial:

Cut both sleeves off of your felted sweater. Try them on with the cut end toward your fingers. Locate where you want your gloves to hit on your fingers, and mark it.

Take the sleeve off, and cut straight across where you marked.

Cut a deep slit for your thumb.

Then cut a bit off the thumb to make it shorter than the rest of your handwarmer.

Thread your embroidery floss or yarn into a needle with a head that will accommodate the size your your floss or yarn.

Start your stitch in the back layer corner closest to the thumb. If you don't already know how to do a blanket stitch, go to this great tutorial.

Stitch around the opening of the hand. When you get all the way around, you will blanket stitch BOTH pieces together, down the inside of the index finger and up the inside of the thumb.

When you get to the opening of the thumb, blanket stitch around the opening.

Enjoy your toasty hands!

Find other great projects along with mine at these link ups:

The Girl Creative
Making The World Cuter
Motivate Me Monday
Creative Itch
Sew Much Ado
Someday Crafts
My Repurposed Life
Tatertots and Jello
I heart naptime

Make a Sweater Better .....into a Dog Sweater!

2010-09-23T10:18:00.001-04:00

I really thought "summer" was winding down for us, but because I decided not to put my daughter into 3 year old preschool this year, we are finding lots of trouble to get into these last few hot days.

I've been working on 2 new tutorials for Make A Sweater Better, but they are for guest posts, so I can't post them right away. They are coming VERY soon!

I stumbled on an awesome tutorial today from Kris at

I loved the idea of making a dog sweater, but my dog already has a built in fur coat (part chow). So I'm going to leave it to Kris to give you the how to on this outstanding tutorial.

Click on that adorable face in the picture to find out how!

Have a reclaimed sweater project in mind, but just can't find the "right" sweater? You can find it in Resweater's Artfire shop!

Purse Week @ A Lemon Squeezy Home!

2010-09-20T10:14:00.000-04:00

There is an awesome contest getting ready to start over at A Lemon Squeezy Home....Purse Week! It's a contest to show off your purse making skills! There is an amazing panel of judges and equally impressive prizes. AND....I'm super excited to be guest posting!

Tutorial: Make a Sweater Better as a......Shrug

2010-09-16T19:40:00.000-04:00

Make a Sweater Better as a......Shrug!

Remember the leftover sweater from the last tutorial?

If you didn't make the legwarmers from the last tutorial, all you need to do to get started is cut the arms off your sweater, leaving enough to form a short sleeve!

Cut the band off the bottom of the sweater.

Put the band aside we will be reattaching it shorty.

Find the middle of the front and cut open just the front layer.

Try the sweater on and decide where you want the bottom to reach. Don't forget to include the added length of the bottom band we are going to reattach. Cut your sweater, and you might as well save this piece too because I will probably think of something to make with it later.

Reattach the bottom sweater band back onto the sweater. To do this, place the band upside down so cut edges are touching the cut edge of the sweater. Right sides should be touching.

The best way to sew this back on if you don't have a serger like me (but I'm saving my money!) Use a zig zag stitch first. Then, when both pieces were attatched, I ran a straight stitch down the length really close to the outer points of the zig zag stitch.

It should resemble something like this. If you have a lot of lumps and bumps they will usually iron out nicely as long as you sewed a straight line.

Find some coordinating ribbon and cut 4 strips the length of the front of your sweater plus 2 inches.

Sew the ribbon strips onto the front opening of your sweater by pinning one on the right side and one on the wrong side and sandwiching the cut edge of the sweater in between. Tuck the ends inside themselves. It's important to not stretch the sweater when you are pinning or stitching. It will cause you to have lumps and bumps that you can't iron out. Stitch down both edges of the ribbon.

To finish the arm holes, measure your bicep. If your bicep is bigger than your sweater arm hole opening, cut 2 ribbons the size of your bicep plus 1 inch. If you sweater arm hole opening is bigger than your bicep, cut 2 ribbon the the size of the opening. (my sweater was bigger than my bicep, arm curls anyone?)

I'm only finishing off the outside of the sleeve, because you aren't going to see the underside, like you possibly could with the front opening. But if you are so inclined to finish it on the inside too, it's your choice.

Pin your ribbon onto the arm opening starting at the armpit.

Continue pinning around the arm opening, and finish at the armpit. Fold your edge under. Careful not to pull and stretch the sweater or you will get unwanted lumps and bumps.

Sew around both side of your ribbon.

All done! I think this would look lovely with a pin made out of repurposed leather. Gonna write that one down for another time.

I will be sharing this tutorial with the awesome links located at the bottom of this page, or you can find them in the navi bar under "linked to"

New in my shop!

2010-09-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Make a Sweater Better WILL resume tomorrow! I've had a lot of obligations this week. I have to work and overnight shift tonight, and after I get a few hours of sleep tomorrow, I will put up the next tutorial using the rest of the sweater that we used for the legwarmers.

What I really wanted to share was what I did this past weekend! I attended an engagement party, and of course, that day, I decided I needed a necklace to go with my dress. So what does any self respecting crafter do??? Drive my husband crazy and make my own! It turned out so well, I decided to make a few more and put them in my esty shop!

Tutorial: Make a Sweater Better as....Leg Warmers!

2010-09-08T06:30:00.003-04:00

I'm kicking off Make a Sweater Better event with....
Leg Warmers!

They say if you wait long enough, long ago trends eventually come back into style. I'm so glad this one is coming back with a vengeance.

Simply made out of the arms of an old sweater, this is a fast project to whip up, and can be made with a light weight sweater for a softer look, or a heavy weight sweater (like me) for an in your face, bold fashion statement. (ok, that might be a little extreme, but my husband thinks these are a little over the top)

Materials:
1 sweater
1/4 elastic
basic sewing supplies

Grab your sweater and lay it out flat (unlike mine, go figure)

Cut the arms off the sweater. LEAVE ENOUGH ON THE SWEATER TO MAKE A SHORT SLEEVE!! We are going to use the rest of this sweater next time!

Use a serger, or if your like me and don't own one (yet) use an overcasting stitch on the cut edge. Make sure your stitch is wide enough to catch onto the unraveled part of the sweater.

This is what you should be going for.

If your sleeve isn't already turned inside out, do so now. Fold over the top edge, and pin.

Sew your fold edge closed using a zig zag stitch, leaving a small opening to thread your elastic.

Measure the circumference of the leg right above the knee. Cut your elastic from this measurement.

Thread your elastic through the channel of your leg warmer and pull the ends out. Sew the ends together approx. 1/4 inch away from the elastic ends.

Sew the hole closed and enjoy rocking your new leg warmers!

I'll be sharing this tutorial with the awesome links at the bottom of this page. You can also find their buttons in my navi bar "linked to"

Tutorial: Custom Logo Key Fobs

2010-09-05T17:48:00.002-04:00

Need a personalized item for your fundraiser, or maybe just a small thank you gift for the employees of your small business?

You can make custom printed key fobs with your logo!

Several times a year, I make these custom key fobs for different small companies or organizations, wanting an item they can resell for a fundraiser or to give as a gift to the employees. People are usually surprised that I can print logos onto fabric, but I'm going to teach you how easy it really is.
After all materials are purchased, the cost per finished piece is usually less than $1 each, making it a great fundraiser because they are fast and easy to make, and can be resold for $5-8 dollars each.

Materials:

1 1/4 inch cotton webbing (click here to purchase best price on web @ mamashecrazy.com)
key fob hardware (click here to purchase best price on web @ mamashecrazy.com)
PhotoFabric in the orange pack/cotton twill (can be found in your local craft store like Joanns)
Invisible thread (optional)
Basic sewing supplies

Tutorial:

Cut your cotton webbing into 10 inch strips

Print your logo onto the PhotoFabric following the instructions for printing on the package. (I'm using the logo from a local chapter of the national Mommies Network)

The easiest way to get your logo ready for print is to open a blank Word document.

Set the orientation to Landscape.

Click on "insert image" scroll down and click on "from file"

Resize your image so that the height is no bigger than between 3/4 to 1 inch. Right click on the image and select "copy" then right click again and select "paste" That will give you another image the same size. Repeat that until your logo is evenly spaced across a row.

You should be able to put 6 rows on each paper with approx. 1 inch space between rows.

Fold the edges under and iron. The easiest way to fold the edges is with a bias tape maker!

Put the printed fabric on top of your cotton webbing and sew down each side. You can use any color top thread, but I like to use invisible thread in the bobbin and white thread on top because I usually end up making multiple colors at once and don't want to change out my thread for every color change.

Sew across the bottom to secure the ends together. Trim off any hanging threads or printed fabric.

Clamp on the hardware with pliers or a hammer. MAKE SURE YOU PROTECT THE METAL WITH A PIECE OF FELT OR PLASTIC SHIELDS ON YOUR PLIERS!!!!! You will scratch the metal if you don't.

I will be sharing this tutorial with the awesome link up's located at the bottom of this page. You can also find them in the navi bar "Linked To"

Make Your Sweater Better!

2010-09-05T11:11:00.001-04:00

Make A Sweater Better is a 4 week supply of tutorials on repurposing your old sweaters into something awesome and usable!

Starting on September 8th, I will be sharing over 10 tutorials throughout 4 weeks, using your old sweaters. Get ready to dig around the bottom of your closet or raid your local thrift store!

My Vacation in Pictures

2010-08-29T13:01:00.000-04:00

I'm back! Vacation was a blast, but hectic. I'm too exhausted to get into detail about each photo, and I don't want to bore you...but here are some pics.

Just Checking In!

2010-08-22T02:14:00.000-04:00

Because I just can't stay away.....
I thought I would post a few pics of the dresses I made right before we left.
I found the tanks at Target on sale for $2.00 each. The gorgeous skirt fabric is Amy Butler's Love Collection.

All I did was make a skirt and sewed it onto the tanks. Total time: 20 minutes for each dress.

Be Back Soon!!

2010-08-18T21:56:00.000-04:00

I'm on my favorite old school.....

in.....

Be Back Soon!

Free Pattern & Tutorial: The Anyday Banded Shorts

2010-08-12T20:43:00.000-04:00

I am so ready to get started on Back To School clothes!

My family and I are taking a much needed vacation soon, so this will be the last tutorial until I get back at the end of August. (although I might find something to share)

I really felt like I was running out of inspiration this last leg of summer, but my head is swimming with ideas for the fall and winter. Since you can wear these now into the fall, I thought I would go ahead and share them now.

I'm calling these shorts the AnyDay shorts because you really can wear them any day, and type of weather. I wanted to show you a picture of them with a sweater and tights...but typical model behavior was in effect this morning. And trust me...they looked adorable with the sweater! We also couldn't take any pictures outside because we had some seriously dangerous weather this morning. So crappy lighting in my daughters bedroom was our backdrop.

Some things you need to know about this pattern before you download:

1. I suck at converting my hand drawn pattern into a pdf file. I scanned it in, realized my mistake, wanted to recan it, and then my scanner stopped functioning. SO...when you print, you have to set it to "print to fit page". The pattern still came out in the correct size, you just have a big empty border around the edges.

2. I placed arrows on each page. After each page is printed, the arrow orientation should be top right corner.

There are also color coded shapes on each page. That is just to help you line up the papers correctly. So the red square should line up directly over top another red square, before you tape it in place.

3. This pattern will fit a range of sizes. The green line fits sizes 2/3. The red line fits sizes 3/4. The blue line fits sizes 4/5. But in reality, these are such roomy shorts, there is not a major difference between the 2/3 and the 4/5. It's all in the leg bands.

4. The seam allowance on the pattern is 5/8 inch. EXCEPT when attaching the leg band. The seam allowance for the leg band is 1/2 inch.

5. I forgot to include in the pattern on the leg band, that you cut on the fold. I will remind you during the tutorial.

6. This is the first time I've uploaded my files to Media Fire. The files are out of order, but I guess it really doesn't matter because you need to download all of them anyway.

7. Finish your seams how you like....pinking shears, serger, overcasting stitch, etc. I won't be covering that in this tutorial.

LET'S GET STARTED!!!

Materials:

DOWNLOAD PATTERN

1/2 yard of material for shorts

1/4 yard of material for the band

1/2 inch elastic

basic sewing supplies

Print out all pattern pieces. Before cutting them out, arrange them. There are arrows on each page. Every arrow should point up in the right corner of the page. That will help you with page orientation. You will also notice colored shapes. These shapes should line up on top of each other for proper alignment of the pattern pieces.

Cut out your pieces. Cut 2 for the front and cut 2 for the back part of the shorts.

The leg band should be cut on the fold because it needs to be double the width of the pattern piece. You need to cut 2.

Lay out your cut pattern pieces, they should resemble this.

Start with the back pieces. Line them up with right sides touching. Pin in place and sew 5/8 inch away from edge. Do not sew the front of the crotch yet.

When you open it up it will look like this. Put this piece aside for now.

Repeat process for front pieces. Right sides should be touching. Do not sew the crotch.

Take your completed front and back pieces and with right sides touching, align the crotch and sew it across.

Now that the crotch is sewn, line up the sides of your shorts. They should look like a pair of shorts now. Sew up the sides.

Turn your shorts right side out.

Gather the edge of the leg openings by setting your tension low and setting your stitch length long.

Take your leg band pieces and fold the length in half with right sides touching. Sew each one separately 1/2 inch away from the edge.

Fold your band in half so wrong sides are touching.

Press flat. Yes, I have red crayon on my cutting mat...doesn't everyone?

Slip the band over the the gathered opening of the leg. Raw edges should line up with raw edges. The outside of the band that is facing you now, is going to end up facing inside (just an FYI in case you preferred one side and need to flip it.)

Now sew 1/2 inch away from the raw edges. Finish your seams how you like (pinking shears, serge, overcast)

As you can see here, I could really use the serger that I entered to win from Sew Mama Sew.

Almost done!

The waistband in simply finished by making a casing for the elastic. You can either serge the raw edge and fold over 3/4 inch and press, or you can fold over the fabric 1/4 inch and press it, and then fold over again 3/4 inch and press it. Sew around 1/4 away from the open edge, leaving a small opening for you to insert your elastic.

Sew the elastic ends together, and close up the small opening.

All done!

As with any of my work, you may share, and reprint this pattern and tutorial, but credit must be placed with Create and Delegate. You may not sell this pattern, but you may sell clothing made from this pattern.

I will be sharing this pattern and tutorial with the fun and awesome link parties found at the bottom of this page. You can also find them listed in the "linked to" button on my navi bar!

Trendy Treehouse Shutter Love Tuesday

2010-08-10T09:23:00.000-04:00

The theme this week at Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Tuesday is

"VACATION"

Our family vacation doesn't start for another 2 weeks, so I thought I would post one of my favorite photo's taken a few months ago while I was on my "girls" cruise with my best friend Hills.

This picture was taken at the port in Cozumel. I think it's a pretty decent picture considering I took it with my point and shoot.

I Delegated...You Created!

2010-08-08T15:18:00.000-04:00

My friend LeAnn posted a few pictures to my Flickr group of her beautiful girl and some of the projects she finished.

a covered headband

aww, she looks so pretty in pink

a j.crew inspired wildflower dress

LeAnn made this out of a sheet! I love using sheets when making dresses. It's yards of soft cotton fabric on the cheap.

She's also one heck of a carpenter!

She's made a lot of projects with the help of Anna from Knock Off Wood.

Thanks LeAnn for sharing your creations!

Sew Mama Sew Back To School Giveaway

2010-08-06T11:34:00.002-04:00

(CLICK HERE to enter the giveaway..I am NOT the one hosting this giveaway, I am just entering:)

Sew Mama Sew is giving away one of these.....

Husqvarna Viking s21 Serger

You can be the lucky winner of this incredible prize if you answer this one question.

How would your life be better with a serger?

Well, that isn't hard for me to answer at all. If I won this serger, I could only imagine all the extra time I will gain to ~~sew more~~ spend with my family. 1100 stitches per minute is no joke. No more meticulously folding my seams over and over again and burning my fingers with the iron. I wouldn't have to walk around with a little pair of scissors in my purse, to cut the stray threads that fall from my child's clothing after it's washed.

Wouldn't you love to see this little girl be happy and carefree, instead of sad and embarrassed that her mom took a lighter to the chiffon on her skirt ruffles in an attempt to keep them from fraying? (oh yes I did, and I don't recommend it)

A Must See Blog! The Aesthetic Nest

2010-08-06T06:43:00.006-04:00

There is a lot to sift through on my Google Reader on a daily basis. I try to take the time to read all the posts from the blogs I follow, but sometimes, I find something that stops me dead in my tracks.

Like this....

Photo via Aesthetic Nest

Photo via Aesthetic Nest

A handmade heirloom cut chenille blanket by Aesthetic Nest
Go to the tutorial, and make your own gorgeous blanket. Annelise gives you detailed and easy to follow instructions.

After your done drooling over the blanket, take a look around at her other tutorials and patterns. You will be so glad you did.

2010-08-05T14:08:00.000-04:00

It's peach and blackberry picking season! We live in one of the most beautiful parts of Maryland. Summers here are the best because there is so much to do outdoors when you live near the MD/VA/WV line. The best of all three states is a 20 minute drive in all directions. This past weekend we crossed over into Virginia's wine country. So we didn't look like completely awful parents toting our kid around a bunch of vineyards, we stopped by a pick your own farm to gather some blackberries and peaches first.

She was ready to pick some peaches.

Thankfully peach trees have low branches.

Enough of these heavy peaches, lets get to the blackberries!

It's kind of a messy job.

Trying one for the first time.

That one was a little tart.

My husband giving me his serious look.

A view of of the vines.

My favorite stop on the tour...Notaviva

Indoor view of Notaviva's tasting room.

I can't wait until my girl is old enough to do things like white water rafting in Harper's Ferry. The hardest part will be convincing my husband to go too.

Tutorial: The Ruffled Ribbon Belt

2010-08-03T20:19:00.000-04:00

S t r e t c h y and versatile. It's made with elastic and can be made for mommy or daughter!

Materials:

Ribbon

Elastic

Belt Buckle Hardware

Basic Sewing Supplies

I found some lace ribbon buried at the bottom of one of my containers, the belt buckle, and thought...."eureka! I can make this into a really pretty belt"

Ok, I didn't really think the word "eureka".

The belt hardware can be found at your local craft store, or, if you plan on making at least 10 of these, this etsy seller is always a great resource.

Measure the circumference of the waist, and cut a piece of elastic and ribbon this length. This is going to end up being too much elastic and ribbon, but better to have too much than too little. When you get near the final step, you can trim it.

In case you didn't already figure it out, your ribbon should be wider than your elastic.

Pin the end of your elastic and ribbon together at one end.

Place a few stitches to secure the two pieces together.

Your needle should be down, and with one hand, pull the elastic taught.

Holding onto your pulled elastic, line up your ribbon on top of the elastic and hold it together with your RIGHT hand. (yeah I know I'm holding it with my left, but I had to take the picture)

Now with your LEFT hand, hold the piece coming out behind your presser foot and while still holding on to both ends, sew a wide and long zig zag stitch down the middle in a thread that matches your ribbon. When your fingers get close to the needle, stop with your needle down, pull another section, and continue.

When your elastic retracts, your ribbon with ruffle up.

Wrap one end around one of the belt buckles.

Stitch it in place.

RE-MEASURE!!!

Re-measure before you attach the other side. You don't want it to be too tight, but it should have a little give.

When you have it at the right length, stitch it closed, and trim any access on the underside.

Enjoy your new belt!

I will be sharing this tutorial with the amazing link

parties shown at the bottom of this page.

You can also find their buttons on the "linked to" button on my navi bar.

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

2010-07-31T20:17:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-25T06:59:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-23T20:38:00.000-04:00

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

(my first) PDF download INCLUDED!

Tutorial: The Pleated T-Shirt Dress

2010-07-20T23:28:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-20T16:28:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-07-20T14:20:00.001-04:00

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

2010-07-16T10:52:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-12T07:30:00.003-04:00

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"

This is the plan.

2010-07-11T17:43:00.000-04:00

I've been blogging for 5 months now! It seems like a lifetime. Some of my favorite ladies around blogland have been posting about how they will be taking a step back and enjoying more family time. I say "BRAVO!" For about a week I let this blog consume my life, and then I realized that blogging is not my job. The reason I started it was to chronicle and share things I enjoy doing. Between working full time (well, full time for me is 3 days a week), raising a family, and blogging, I think I've found a nice balance. Are there days that I stay up too late editing that last photo or stitching that last hem?...of course.

I have very few expectation of this blog. Ok, that's not entirely accurate. It would be so cool to design my own children's clothing line and sell the patterns. I am doing a lot of ~~craming~~ learning, I hope to have completed my "education" before the fall.

Right now, I have 4 tutorials finished. I will be releasing them once a week....probably. I say probably because I don't make any promises to ANYONE. But they are done, and I don't really see any reason that they won't come out once a week.

I'm going on vacation again, but this time with hubby and daughter, from August 20th until August 30th. There will be ZERO, NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH crafting going on. Just a lot of swimming, dining, drinking, and just plain old being lazy. However, I will take pictures.

If my digital pattern making education goes well, I have about 15 easy but awesome clothing designs for the fall/winter. Most of them will be free, but there are a few pieces I would like to "try out" in the pattern for sale market. They might as well be free, because I would charge like $3 to $5 for them.

So that's the plan! Tomorrow the Pick Up Skirt Tutorial will be posted. It's so easy, but looks like a million bucks!

Coming Soon: The Pick It Up Skirt

2010-07-11T06:28:00.006-04:00

I Delegated....You Created! NEW FLICKR GROUP

2010-07-10T10:04:00.001-04:00

Could this become a weekly feature??? With the incredible emails I have gotten...I would say YES!
In light of all the projects being submitted, I decided to create a Flickr group. You can upload your pictures here, or continue to email them to me!

Kate from First there were two left me speechless when I saw her versions of the Bandanna Dress. Need I say more, they are wonderful.

What a thrill for a blog that I actually follow, to create something from one of my tutorials! Katherine from Sevi Designs made the J. Crew inspired Wildflower Dress. The fabric choice is stunning, and so is her little model.

I love the rosette!

Greta sent me pictures of her gorgeous take on the J.Crew Inspired Wildflower Dress. Greta added yo-yo's at the top and a ruffle at the bottom. I love it!

Sorry for cutting off your daughter's beautiful head, but I forgot to ask you if I could post her picture, and there wasn't enough time to go back.

Truly, these posts are what make me stay up until 1am finishing a hem, or sewing on the last button. Thank you all!!

Wowzer!

2010-07-09T17:00:00.007-04:00

I am a huge fan of Michelle at Someday Crafts. She takes the best of the best crafty ideas around the web and puts them all into one spot. I draw inspiration from her site on a daily basis.
So I was completely shocked and honored when I found out she listed me as a "Blog To Watch"
Thank you to Michelle and her team at Someday Crafts!

It's been a long week.

2010-07-09T13:10:00.000-04:00

Phew! I almost started to believe this week wouldn't end.

This past Sunday was our first July 4th party!

I made this Bandanna Dress for Izzy. At the last minute (like 10 minutes before the party, it's a sickness) I decided she needed a headband, so I cut out felt stars and glued them to the headband.

My mom and my sister.

My husband.

The kids pouncing on Mr. Bobby because he had snacks.

I think overall it was a pretty good time, but you know you are all grown ups when your party ends by 10pm.

The next day, because I must have a death wish, we took the kids to an amusement park in 100 degree heat.

I made the 2 hour drive to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster PA. It's really an ideal place to take your kids that are ages 2-10. The rides were pretty thrilling, even for the adults.

Do they look like they are having fun or what?

My niece and bother-in-law. (typo on purpose....just kidding Ryan!!)

I wasn't too concerned about it being 100 degrees because if we got hot, we could just cool off at their waterpark.

Do you think she has an air-conditioning system under that skirt?

After a couple of hours cooling off at the waterpark, we went back on rides. This was a really good idea because there were no lines at this point. Everyone was at the waterpark. The kids made us ride the log plume at least 10 times in a row.

Then I worked 3 twelve hour shifts in a row. I'm beat.

Tutorial: Shirred T Shirt Refashion

2010-07-05T05:23:00.011-04:00

This t shirt refashion is quick and easy. Find an adult t shirt that is small enough to fit your toddler like a dress. I needed a size 3T, the t shirt used was a size small.

Materials:
T Shirt
Elastic Thread

Tutorial:

Start with an old t-shirt.

Put it on your child. Mark with a water soluble marker or just an ink pen (on the side seam where you won't see your mark) where you want your shirred waist. Mine started at the diaphragm and ended right above the belly button. Take the t shirt off and smooth is out on a flat surface. Mark with your pen (or I used a pattern tracer wheel) a straight line across the front and the back of the shirt in both areas, like the picture above. These are your guidelines for the shirring.

Start shirring the t shirt. Your first shir line will be on the line you marked. I needed 12 shir lines to fill in the two lines I marked, spacing each line out by a 1/4 inch.

Since we are using an adult t shirt, the sleeve openings will probably be too big. We can fix that by shirring a few lines around the opening of the sleeves. I opted for 3 lines because my sleeves weren't that big. I think it would look really cute with the whole sleeve shirred.

That's all! If your getting really into shirring like I am, you will have this finished in about 15 minutes or less.

I'll share this with some outstanding link parties that you can find at the bottom of this page, or in the "linked to" tab above.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T06:55:00.000-04:00

Happy Independence Day!

Come back and visit tomorrow for a new t-shirt refashion tutorial.

Last Minute 4th Of July Decorations

2010-06-30T17:10:00.000-04:00

Leave it to me to wait until 4 days before our 4th of July party to decide I need decorations. We are having a rather large crowd over here on Sunday.

If the decorations process goes as smoothly as this bunting did, I'll have this place decked out in the next 24 hours.
All I did....sort through my stash of fabric, and pulled out anything that had red, white, or blue in it. I found some perfect Cosmo Cricket vintage looking stars on a blue background. There's a little bit of Amy Butler Full Moon Polka thrown in there too.

I cut out a ~~perfect~~ square(ish) shape. Then trimmed the sides to make the triangle. Found a nice long piece of red bias tape and then I glued the triangles to the back of the bias tape with fabric glue.
This was the fastest craft I've ever made. And I actually love it. I think I'll iron my triangles, but the wrinkles could fall out on their own by Sunday...right?

I Delegated...You Created... the J. Crew Wildflower Dress

2010-06-30T06:03:00.004-04:00

I'm blown away. I got two emails in the same week from two talented ladies that made the J.Crew Wildflower Dress.

My first show off is from Amy. She made a dress for each of her girls. Love the fabric choices! Thank you for sharing with me Amy, they look fantastic!

Imagine my surprise just a few days later, I got the email from Melissa showing off her beautiful dresses too!

This one is shirred at the top with an added ruffle at the bottom. Wow!

If your in the Salt Lake City area, and want beautiful, vivid, and VERY affordable portraits of your family, you should visit Melissa at Melissa Bryner Photography. If only I wasn't thousands of miles away....

I'm stealing my favorites from her blog...and these are just on the first page (hope you don't mind Melissa):

Tutorial: The Sprinkler Suit

2010-06-27T11:30:00.002-04:00

It wasn't hard to find inspiration to create this. It has been hovering in the 90's, and add the east coast humidity, you want to wear as little as possible, and still be decent.
My first idea was to attempt a bathing suit, but I wasn't inspired by any of the lycra choices in my area.
We don't have a pool, so I figured that a nice cotton fabric would hold up to the sprinkler. And now that it is finished, I don't see why it wouldn't hold up to a pool either.

Disclaimer: I finished writing this tutorial on a few hours sleep, so if something sounds wacky please let me know so I can fix it!

Photo submitted on Trendy Treehouse Shutter Love Tuesday!

Tutorial:
Materials:
1/2 yard cotton fabric
old pair of underwear (to cut up and use as pattern) OR print this pattern
or if your child is in diapers use this pattern
1/2 inch elastic
1/4 inch elastic
elastic thread
coordinating color thread
ribbon for straps (I used double fold bias tape!)

I'm going to start with the bottoms first, because they are the most time consuming, and require the most explanation. You can follow my tutorial on the bottoms and use a pair of underwear that currently fit your child, or are a little snug. We will be cutting them up, so make sure they can be wasted. If you prefer to print out a pattern, you can find a good one here. There is another pattern and tutorial I found here, it seems very simple, but it's best for children in diapers. If you print out either of these patterns, I suggest you also follow their instructions on how to make the bottoms.

I started with a pair of underwear that have seen better days.

Trim off the elastic around the waist and the legs. Separate the front panel, back panel, and the middle (crotch)

Fold your 1/2 yard of fabric in half.
Fold your front panel in half and lay the folded edge of the front panel to the folded edge of your fabric.

Add 1 inch all the way around your front pattern piece. Cut it out. (it looks a little distorted because of camera angle, but it is evenly 1 inch added around)

Fold the back pattern piece in half and line up the folded edge of your pattern piece, to the folded edge of your fabric. Again, add 1 inch all the way around, and cut it out.

I have no idea why I don't have a picture of the middle (crotch) piece, but fold it in half lengthwise, line the folded edge up to the folded edge of your fabric and cut this piece out 2 times.

When laid out, your pieces should resemble this. You should have one front, one back, and 2 middle pieces.

Take your back panel and have it facing right side up. Take one of the middle panels and have the wider bottom line up to the back. Arrange it wrong side facing up (or right side touching right side) Tack it with two or three pins to hold the piece in place.

Now flip it so the wrong side is facing up. Place the second middle piece on top, wrong side facing up. Line up the wider edge of the middle piece and pin it. You should now have the back panel sandwiched in between the two middle pieces. Stitch 1/4 inch seam across the top where all pieces meet.

With the back panel facing right side up, roll it up in between the 2 middle pieces.

Take your front panel right side facing up with the leg openings positioned facing you. Sandwich it between the two middle (crotch) pieces. Line up the edges, pin it and sew a straight stitch with 1/4 inch seam.

Open it up. Your middle (crotch...I really dislike that word for some reason) should be facing right side up on both sides.

Fold it to sew up the side seams. Right sides are facing right sides. Stitch up the side seams with 1/4 inch seam (some say it should be 1/2 inch, but I don't see why?) I trimmed the access with pinking shears.

You don't have to turn them right side out yet, but I was so excited that they really started looking like what I was hoping they would!

With your piece turned inside out, attach the 1/4 inch elastic to the edge of the fabric all the way around the leg opening. You can pin it, but I kept it in place with a teeny amount of fabric glue. You don't have to glue it, my pins are getting pretty dull, and the glue was just an easier way for me to hold everything in place. When you are pinning or gluing it to the edge of the fabric, very slightly pull the elastic as you are attaching so it has a little give.

Secure the fabric and elastic with a zig zag stitch. Get it as close to the edge as possible, by putting the edge of the fabric slightly to the right of the middle line on your presser foot.

Fold over once towards the inside and pin it.

Top stitch a zig zag stitch around the opening of the legs.

This is what your finished leg opening should resemble.

You will need your 1/2 inch elastic for the next step.

Next we will make a casing for the waistband. Fold over your fabric 1/4 inch and press it. Fold it over again 3/4 inch and press. Stitch it closed, but leave an opening so you can thread your elastic through the casing.

I just wanted to show my new tool for threading elastic. The jury is still out if I like it or not. It hold onto the elastic well, but it's kind of slippery when you trying to push it through.

Zig zag stitch the elastic ends together. Stretch it out so the elastic is distributed evenly in the casing ans sew your opening shut.

The finished product.

Your in the home stretch now, the top is a piece of cake. (piece of cake if you shirring happens without a hitch)

To find the measurements of your top panel, measure the circumference of your child's chest. Take half that measurement and add 6 to 8 inches. Adding 6 inches will give a nice gathered shir, but adding up to 8 inches you will give you more stretch. When I made this tutorial, I only added 6 inches, but I wish I would have gone for the middle road and added 7.

To find the width, I just measured from the armpit to the bottom of her rib cage in the front. That more than enough allowed for hem allowance.

My daughter is a 3T, so my panel was 18 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Again, where's the picture on the next step? Beats me.
Lay out your panel and sew up the side seams. The top hem, I trimmed with my pinking shears and folded over 1/4 inch. If you want to be a little more polished than I was, you can serge the ends or overcast stitch the ends first and then fold over 1/4 inch. I don't like folding over twice when I'm shirring because for me, it gets too bulky. For the bottom hem, fold over 1/4 inch press, fold over 1/4 inch again and press. Top stitch it around. It is ok, to serge or overcast the ends here too, and just fold over once like you did the top hem. Do what works for you.

Shir 1/4 rows around the top. I don't mark my lines, I use the presser foot as a guide. I shirred 12 rows starting 1/4 inch away from the top edge, and left 2 inches at the bottom unshirred to create a ruffle. If you are unfamiliar with how to shir, you can find a tutorial here. If you have a drop in bobbin like me, you will want to use this tutorial.

This is my favorite part after shirring. Set your iron so it can blast steam. It's like magic when it shrinks up.

Add some straps at the shoulders and use the existing shir lines as your stitch lines so they all blend together.

Your done! Enjoy!

I'll link up to most of the parties posted at the very bottom of my main page, at the link to button on the navi bar, or you can find them here.

Coming Soon: The Sprinkler Suit

2010-06-23T07:25:00.004-04:00

I Delegated...You Created!

2010-06-22T10:57:00.001-04:00

There is no thrill greater for me, than to see what you have created from the tutorials on this blog.

Ashley from Coffee Break Crafts sent me pictures of her beautiful daughter wearing a stunning bandanna dress! It was her first attempt at shirring too. It's addicting once you get the hang of it.
It looks wonderful Ashely! Thank you for sharing it with me!

I'll just add them as I see them....

2010-06-19T00:14:00.000-04:00

I put up this post a few days ago with great tutorials featuring ways to repurpose a t shirt. It was the best 12, but I keep finding more, so now it's just a running list.

Just added......

Ruffled Front Bolero by Little Treasures

1920-1929 Sew Through The Decades with A Lemon Squeezy Home & Tutorial

2010-06-17T15:18:00.004-04:00

So much for "Time Out Thursday". Technically I didn't do a lot of crafting today. But I will resume doing nothing on Thursdays next week.
I'm participating in A Lemon Squeezy Home's Sew Through The Decades Challenge. This week, we were supposed to draw inspiration from 1920-1929. I had an elaborate flapper dress in my head that I was going to present to you for this challenge. It was a major fail. I really need to make a dress form out of duct tape so I have an accurate gauge when trying to sew clothes for myself. I only got halfway started on it before I scrapped it.
Still, this was the decade I was looking forward too, and I had vintage sequin trim from my favorite notions store. It would have been shameful to let handmade French sequined appliques to sit in a drawer forever.
I came up with a sparkly glamorous headband. You don't need vintage sequins to make this. You can find sequined trim and appliques from any local fabric store.

Materials
Plain Headband
Sequin Trim
Sequin Applique
small square of felt
E6000 glue

Run a bead of E6000 glue along the top of your headband.

Attach your sequin trim.

Glue the sequin applique on the front, and cut out piece of felt the shape of your applique. Glue it to the back of the headband and your applique to secure it in place.

And you end up with a really swanky hair accessory!

New Look = NO MORE CLUTTER!

2010-06-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

I've been working on it for a few days, the transition is almost complete. I have only been blogging for about 4 months, and I swear I have gotten one heck of an education on HTML during that period.
I really loved my old blog design, but the header just overwhelmed me. I was going to hire someone to create a new look for me, but when I started adding in the cost of everything extra that I wanted....I learned to do it myself. So, if anyone needs help adding a simple horizontal navigation bar, I found an invaluable tutorial that I wanted to share
http://theredheadriter.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-create-horizontal-navigation-bar.html.

Skirt Week at Crafterhours Entry

2010-06-16T12:59:00.003-04:00

The deadline for entries into Crafterhour's Skirt Week is approaching, so I thought I better get my submission finished. I've been working on it since they announced it, but someday's I could only spend about 1 minute looking at it, and thinking about where I wanted to go with it.

The inspirations for my skirt was a little bit of Cinderella, and a pattern I saw on Etsy a while back. I didn't actually use the pattern sold here, but I should have, because it probably would have been a lot easier to make since they already figured out how to do it.
I love the Amy Butler Love Collection, and it ended up being my fabric choice for the outer shell of the skirt. I finished the edges with bright pink double fold bias tape. The underskirt was constructed out of muslin and I sewed bright pink chiffon ruffles to just the front.
So wish me luck....there are some great prizes offered for the winner of my category. I would love to get my hands on them!
To see the other submissions in my category go here

Best Repurposed T Shirt Tutorials

2010-06-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

I'm going to just keep adding them as I see them....

Little Treasures Black Bolero w/Ruffled Front

Sew Much Ado Ruffled Skirt Tutorial

kojodesigns Refashion a Tshirt into Comfy Lounge Pants

Make It and Love It Drool Bib

The Artful Parent from tshirt to dress

EcoKaren Fabric Yarn

Floral Showers Ruffle Pillow Tutorial

Lovely Bud Summer Market Bag

Homemade by Jill big tee to maternity tee refashion

Just Tutorials sew cute bloomers for your baby or toddler

Ruffles and Stuff easy ruffled tshirt scarf

Hope Studios easy tshirt necklace

Simply Modern Mom the little black 2 layer skirt

and of course....

Create and Delegate The Playground Dress

My Shoe Box

2010-06-12T03:53:00.000-04:00

This is the bane of my existence. Yeah, I know most of those shoes there are mine.

All the houses on my street have detached garages or carports in the back of the house, which mean most everyone uses their backdoor to get in and out of the house. My backdoor is off the addition on the kitchen. Everyone plops their shoes here. It drives me nuts, even though I'm the biggest culprit. I contemplated buying a nice basket, but decided to use up some materials we had laying around the house. It was a good project to keep the little one busy for a while.

First we had to find a box that would hold about 3....ok....7 pairs of shoes.

Unearthed a supply of scrapbook paper I will never use.

Tore them up into big pieces.

Thankfully Elmer's glue cleans up easily because I let the 3 year old put glue on all the pieces, and then stick them all over the box.

Since we didn't have any Mod Podge, I just squirted the glue all over the paper......

....and smoothed it all out. Let it air dry for about 2 hours.

I ended up with a lovely box and the dried glue created a plastic like coating leaving it smooth.

I filled it up with our shoes and put it on the other side of the kitchen, where no one will probably ever see it. But I am happy now that there aren't 7 pairs of shoes between 3 people sitting by the door anymore.

Time Out Thursday

2010-06-10T18:55:00.000-04:00

Thursday is going to officially be a time out for me. I am forcing myself not to perform one craft or sewing project the entire day. Just because I'm obsessed with taking pictures, I will show you what I am doing instead of crafting. If it's a work day for me, unfortunately I won't be able to show you anything because they have this little law that protects patients privacy.

So here's how our day started. On the couch. I was having a cup of coffee and checking email while Izzy got her morning dose of nick jr.

By 10am I was finally ready to start the heavy duty cleaning. I just can't start cleaning unless I have music on. This song always gets me motivated. I've been listening to this band since I was in high school....ummm....ok....15 years ago.

The girl's got moves.

A little Risky Business anyone?

Yesterday was the first day of the Farmer's Market. That is one of the things I love about Frederick. Not only do we have a fine arts focus here, there is a BIG organic movement. Besides 2 major organic markets, there is a lot of small farming going on, as near as 10 miles outside the city limits. That lettuce was incredible. I don't know how else to describe it, but it felt like silk. The citrus vinaigrette to go with it is super simple. Half a lemon, half an orange, a splash of champagne vinegar, garlic, basil, and olive oil.

I thought about making this my entire meal but I already started to prepare the main course.

And our main course of Tilapia baked with wine, butter, and salt and pepper. Really simple, really yummy.

Reader Creations

2010-06-07T17:57:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I struggled for over 5 hours (with a lot of interruptions) to get the The Playground Dress tutorial up. I have to be honest, with some of the mean stuff that happened to me, I was ready to never look at the this blog again.

Then, on Sunday morning, one single email changed my entire attitude. I really couldn't have been more excited. I was at work when I checked my email, and my co worker was jumping for joy with me.
Shirley from These Moments of Mine sewed The Playground Dress for her beautiful little girl.

It was the first time anyone has ever showed me something that they have made from one of my tutorials.

GREAT JOB Shirley! Thank you for reminding me why I blog in the first place.

You can visit her to check out that beautiful dress, but here is a peek at some of the photos.

photo via These Moments of Mine

Photo via These Moments of Mine

Tutorial: The Playground Dress

2010-06-05T17:53:00.001-04:00

The playground dress was inspired by a dress I saw at JCrew, and requires only 2 t-shirts to make.

Comfortable enough to fly high into the sky.....

Swing in the breeze.....

and can climb a ladder (and make mommy really nervous)

Tutorial:

Materials:
2 t-shirts
1/4 inch elastic

Read through tutorial. There is some important info regarding your elastic casing that may effect your measurements.
Gather your materials.
The first step is to figure out your measurements.
The first measurement you will need to find is for the body of the dress.

For the main body of the dress:
Width=chest measurement divided in half + 6 inches.
My daughters chest measurement is 22 inches(3T). I divided that in half which gave me 11 inches. Then I added 6 inches to that. The width of my panel needs to be 17 inches wide.

Length=from top of armpit down to bottom of butt + 1 inch.
I wanted the top of the dress to hit right under her armpits, so I took that measurement down to the bottom of her butt and added 1 inch. That was 12 inches long.

Decide what t shirt is the main body and what will be the color of your ruffles.
Use the t shirt that will be the main body and cut the panel according to the measurements you took, using the formula from above.

Now we need to find the measurement for you bottom ruffle.

Bottom Ruffle length=bottom of butt to knee+ 1 inch
Bottom Ruffle width=entire width of t-shirt

Cut off bottom of second t-shirt. This will serve as your bottom ruffle.

Cut 3 strips 2 1/2 inches wide from left over material of second t-shirt. These will serve as the ruffles on the top of the dress.

Let's start sewing the main body of the dress. You need to make a decision on your side seam. Right now, you only have one open side cut off your main body. You can sew up just that one side and put the seam in the back, or you can sew up both sides (even though the one side isn't cut) to make an even seam on both sides. I opted for 2 side seams.

Turn you t-shirt so right sides are facing each other.

The finished hem at the bottom of your shirt is going to be at the top.
That finished hem is going to serve as the casing for your elastic. If the t-shirt you have doesn't have a finished hem, or 1/4 inch elastic won't fit, then keep in mind you will need to fold over the top to make your casing and that will throw off your measurements, you will need to add an inch.

Stitch your side seam, Start the stitch right below the finished hem. If this is going in the back, then you are ready to move on. If you want it on the side under the armpit, you will need to stitch the other side, starting below the finished t-shirt hem.

The Bottom Ruffle
Since t-shirts generally don't have seams on the side, I decided to leave it as one continuous piece, and then gather it.

Set your stitch length at the longest it will go, and your tension should be very loose.

Start stitching 1/4 inch from the cut edge. The existing hem of the second shirt is acting as a finished hem. Don't back stitch, and leave your thread ends very long. Fit it around the bottom of the main body of the dress and adjust your gathering so it fits evenly around the bottom edge.

Pin it well. Seriously...the more pins the better. When my pieces are well pinned, I never have problems with stretch material getting crazy on me.

(don't forget to set you tension and stitch length back to normal) Sew the bottom ruffle onto the bottom of the main body of the dress.

It should start looking like this.

Top Ruffles:

Set your tension to the tightest, and your stitch length the longest.

Take your 2 1/2 inch wide strips of fabric, and run them through your machine 1/4 inch from the top edge. Your machine should automatically create an even ruffle. Do this to all 3 strips separately.

I opted to have ruffles run from armpit to armpit (or side seam to side seam) but if you have enough left over material you could have them go all the way around.
Place your first ruffle and pin it right below the hem of the top.

When I got to the side seam, I trimmed any extra ruffle and tucked it in at the ends.
(set your tension and stitch length back to normal) Sew your first ruffle on.

Flip your first ruffle up and out of the way. Place your middle ruffle 1 inch below the seam of the ruffle above it. Stitch it on.
Continue this for the 3rd ruffle.

Your getting there!

This is a view of the edges of the completed ruffles.

Thread the 1/4 inch elastic through the top. Pull both ends out and sew them together in a zig zag stitch. Once the elastic is secure, distribute your fabric around the elastic evenly and stitch the casing hole closed.

With the elastic in, your dress will ruffle even further.

The Straps:
Your call on this one. You can use ribbon, or extra t shirt material to make the straps. You can sew them on two in the front and two on the back and tie them at the shoulders, or go halter style, and only sew two on the front and tie it around the back of the neck.

I'll be sharing this tutorial at these great link parties.

Whatever. A PSA brought to you by Create and Delegate

2010-06-05T17:27:00.002-04:00

I've heard and experienced all the controversy about where buttons should go, and people linking to too many parties.
I'm not trying to drive traffic to my site, I don't make any money here. Well, I did make $2.00 this month, but you get my point.
I provide these tutorials as fun for others and personal enrichment. Putting in the code for everyone's buttons takes up a lot of my time. Time, I don't have. It took me 5 hours today to get one tutorial together. That doesn't include the time it took to plan it, make it, and convince and bribe a 3 year old to take pictures in it.
So I have put the buttons on my sidebar, and a link to a post with all the buttons. Everyone can see the button on every single one of my pages every time they visit.
I'm sure by now you've guessed that maybe I've had a little encounter with this. Most of the link parties I link up too have gracious, talented, and intelligent women running them. This rant would obviously not be directed towards them.
If you are the hostess of a party, and your not happy enough with what I've done, send me an email, remove my link, and kiss my subscription to your blog goodbye. Yikes, that sounded a little cranky, but darn it! I'm cranky!

This is a BLOG! I run it, I rule it.

Wow! I feel so free now! Much better that I got that off my chest.
Ok, I'm going to go back to being my nice self again. The long awaited Playground Dress is going up in about 1 minute. I just needed to get this out first.

I swear I did it.

2010-06-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

I actually do have the playground dress tutorial coming, but I had to do it all over again. When I started to load the pictures, I realized it was not going to work. But the second time around was even better. So....I had to retake all the pictures, and I swear it's coming.

The colors are different, I really, really wanted another navy blue one, but I just grabbed 2 shirts I had on hand.

Link Parties

2010-05-31T20:12:00.006-04:00

This post is so I can put one link at the bottom of each page. Feel free to check out the link parties, but this post was just for my convenience.

Sew Through The Decades with A Lemon Squeezy Home

2010-05-31T17:31:00.001-04:00

If your not familiar with A Lemon Squeezy Home's Sewing Through The Decades Challenge, then you should get motivated to participate in a really unique, and so far, really fun challenge.
The first challenge runs this week, starting with 1900-1909.
After searching for what seemed like days through photos of people from that era, I settled on making a sundress, inspired by the undergarments that children wore under their clothes.

This dress dates back to 1900, and was my inspiration for my work.

Dress and photo via Firefly1052 ebay store

My 1900-1909 Challenge Project

The body of the dress is a very gauzy cotton. It actually reminds me of a fabric you would make a bathing suit cover up out of.

There is a wonderful vintage trims and notions store in town called Accessories of Old.

It's safe to say that I am mildly obsessed with this store. If your not in Maryland, you can make your purchases online. You would be hard pressed to find pristine, original condition, Austrian cotton eyelet lace for $2.50-$8.00 yard anywhere else. Not even on etsy, I already checked. Do you like vintage Swiss velvet ribbon? They have that too.

It was impossible to stay true to the era with authentic materials. First I didn't want to waste money on something a 3 year old is going to wear, and second it's not exactly easy to find trim that is 110 years old. After a visit to my favorite vintage notions store (link above) I picked out this eyelet lace dating back at least 60 years old. And for being so old, it's color and texture were like it was made yesterday.

The back turned out really well. The pink glass button turned out to be a nice touch.

For the bottom, I sewed a blind hem, and then ~~painstakingly~~ carefully attatched this cotton trim (again, from Accessories of Old, thank God for you Andrew!)

I went against all that is natural to me and didn't use elastic. I used a button! The backs opening is a little low, but I'm still happy with it.

It fit her like a dream. When she first saw it, she gave me a big hug and said "mommy, this is the most beautiful dress I ever saw."

I'm linking up to these awesome link parties!

Coming Soon...The Playground Dress

2010-05-29T16:11:00.000-04:00

It's done, pictures are taken, just trying to figure out my tutorial. I'm very excited about it and wanted to share a sneak peek at the J. Crew Inspired Playground Dress. All it takes is a t shirt!

Fix it Friday #56

2010-05-28T11:43:00.001-04:00

My fix for I Heart Faces Fix it Friday

Here's the original:

Here's my fix:

Long Overdue Thanks!

2010-05-27T23:12:00.000-04:00

There are some long overdue thanks that I need to say to a few individuals.
First, thank you to Jeni at In Color Order for this amazing giveaway.

photo via In Color Order

I seriously had to touch every piece in the pack. They are wonderful. Check out Jeni's blog, she is an amazing quilter. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

______________________________

Now I'd like to thank Carmen from It's a Wonderful Life. I won the pattern for her cute Mr. Owl.

photo via It's a Wonderful Life

_____________________________

And now big thanks to Faith Like Potatoes and Life, Love, Green for awarding me:

And now to pass it along. Here are the rules:

1) Thank the person who gave you the award.

2) Share 7 things about yourself.

3) Pass the award on to 10 bloggers you've recently discovered and think are just fabulous

4) Let those bloggers know you've selected them for this award so that they can pass it on, too!

ok, let's see,
1. I obsess about the cleanliness of my house.
2. Although my house is clean, my car is D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G
3. I work for hospice.
4. I have 2 younger sisters.
5. I'm left handed.
6. I'm a scorpio.
7. I love 80's pop music.