Corset Tutorial

...because every girl needs a corset...

Materials:
1/4 yd fabric (you will have plenty of extra)
1 1/2 yd 1-inch eyelet lace
Ribbon (1/4 to 1/2 in wide)
Sewing machine...yada yada...

1) Measure around the waist and subtract 3 inches. This measurement will be "x."
2) Cut 2 rectangles: 6 inches wide and "x" long.

3) Cut 8 pieces of ribbon 3 inches long. Cut 2 pieces of lace 1 inch shorter than "x."
4) Layer fabric, ribbon/lace, fabric like so:

The bottom layer is the fabric right side up. The middle layer is the lace/ribbon. There should be 1/2 inch space between the lace/ribbon and the edge of the fabric.

Fold ribbon pieces in half and equally space 4 along one side and 2 along the other side. The top layer is the fabric right side down. Pin all 3 layers into place.
5)Sew according to diagram. Use 1/4 inch seam allowance.

6)Turn right side out. It should look something like this:

7) Take the last 2 ribbons and pin in place at the fabric opening. Top stitch around the entire corset, using 1/8 inch seam allowance.

8) Enjoy your finished corset...my girls were the cutest pirates for Halloween (of course, b/c of the corset)...

Reversible Apron Tutorial

Materials Needed:

1 yd (45-inch wide) fabric for apron (or if you want the apron to reverse to a different fabric like what I did, get 1/2 yd of each fabric)
2/3 yd (45-inch wide) fabric for apron ties
1 pair of 1-inch D rings
Rotary cutter/mat
Sewing machine
Iron/ironing board

Use a 1/2 in seam unless told otherwise.

Apron Ties:
1) Lay out 2/3 yd fabric on cutting mat. Cut 5 4-inch wide strips.
2) With 1 4-inch strip: Using an iron, press edges toward center of strip- about 1/2 inch wide. See Figure 1.

3) Iron one end like so...see Figure 2.

4) Fold strip in half and iron. See Figure 3.

HINT: you can use pins to help keep fabric in place if you're a perfectionist. I'm not, I'm lazy...so I didn't bother with pins.
5) Topstitch around all 4 sides of the strip, using an 1/8 inch seam.
6) Cut the strip into 2 lengths. Starting from the finished end (the one you ironed) cut a 24 inch piece & then a 5 inch piece. Set aside for now.
7) With remaining 4 strips- sew 2 strips together to create one looooong strip (it'll be close to 90 inches long. Repeat with the other 2 strips. Press open seams with iron.
8)Using an iron, press edges toward center of strip- about 1/2 inch wide. See Figure 4. Iron ends also (like in Step 3). Set aside for now.


Apron:
1) Cut 1 14 inch x 21.5 inch rectangle in each fabric.
2) Cut 1 trapezoid in each fabric to the following dimensions. See Figure 5.
(And yes, my trapezoid is not the prettiest trapezoid you've ever seen but you get the idea.)

You should now have 2 rectangles and 2 trapezoids.
3) Put 2 d-rings on 5-inch strip. See Figure 6.

4) Place 1 trapezoid right side up. Fold 5-inch strip in half and pin 1 inch away from edge of trapezoid. Pin unfinished edge of 24-inch strip 1 inch away from other trapezoid edge. See Figure 7. Place 2nd trapezoid on top, wrong side up.

5) Sew trapezoid along the top 3 sides...leaving the 15.5 inch side unsewn. Snip the corners. See Figure 8. Turn right side out and press w/iron. Top-stitch around edges*. Set aside.

6) Putting right sides together, sew rectangle along 3 sides...leaving 1 21.5 inch side un-sewn. Snip the corners. Turn right side out and press w/iron. Top-stitch around edges*. Set aside.

* Top-stitching is optional...I think it makes the apron more cute- but it's your apron, not mine! (It should be noted that for this tutorial, I didn't top-stitch... again b/c I'm lazy.)

Putting it together:
1) Lay down one long strip (wrong side up). Using the pressed open seam as a guide, place trapezoid bottom edge against folded edge of strip. Place 2nd long strip on top of trapezoid (wrong face down). Pin in place- do NOT skip the pins this time...it'll be a nightmare to sew! See Figures 9,10, & 11. Sew 1/8 inch from edge of strip.



2) Repeat Step 1 with rectangle. Make sure unfinished edge of rectangle gets pinned to the strips. See Figure 12. Sew 1/8 inch from edge of strip. Sew ends of strips closed.

Phew! You're done...now you better go cook something. Hurry, while you're still motivated...


PS. I didn't realize how involved and difficult it is to effectively communicate in writing what I'm thinking in my brain. So let me know if something doesn't make sense...maybe I can edit it and make it easier to understand. B/c honestly, it all makes sense to me...but I could be weird that way...

Tutu How-To

First of all, the title of this post "Tutu How-to" is so much fun to say...say it a few times, you'll agree.

Materials
1/2 inch wide elastic
At least 5 yds. tulle (more if you want a fuller look)
Rotary cutter & cutting mat
Sewing machine (or you can use needle & thread)

1) Measure your child's waist. Subtract 2 inches & cut your elastic to that length. (Example: My child's waist is 18 inches. Elastic measurement is 18 inches-2 inches= 16 inches.)
Using a zig zag stitch, sew elastic ends together like so (or you can hand sew this together using needle/thread):

2) Cut tulle into 6 inch wide strips like so (& don't stress if your strips aren't exactly 6 inches wide...no one will notice...I pinky promise):

3) Stack your strips, making sure to keep the folded ends on the same side. It should look something similar to this:

4) Decide how long you want your tutu...Long? Short? I wanted mine to go a little longer than my daughter's knees. Starting at her waist line, I measured down just past her knees and it measured at a length of 15 inches.

5) Cut your strips to the desired length. IMPORTANT: Measure your length starting from the folded edge. See picture:

Once cut, your strip should unfold & double in length. My strips opened up to 30 inches long. In case this isn't painfully obvious, I've included a picture to illustrate:

6) Slip each tulle strip through the elastic and even up the ends so that each side has an equal amount of tulle. Tie a single knot...I used to do a double knot (or a square knot to be politically correct) but have found that a single knot is less bulky, less work, and still stays tight on the elastic.

Hint: For some reason it helps to hold the elastic down with your foot as you tie the tulle.

7) Continue tying the strips of tulle around the elastic until there ceases to be any more strips. Tada..hoorah...yippee...you're done!

This is what 5 yds of tulle looks like...if you want a fuller look add more strips of tulle.

After cutting my strips to 15 inches in length, I had leftover tulle. I tied some of the leftover pieces on and it created a shorter layer- if you look closely maybe you can see it. Just an idea of what to do w/your leftover tulle.


Be creative! Use different color combinations/patterns, different lengths, add ribbon, etc!

Napkins & Placemats

I made these about a month ago for a family reunion raffle/auction...they turned out cute. I love this Moda line- so retro!

If you want to try and make your own it's very simple:
Napkins- cut 2 squares of fabric(I think mine were 18x18). Sew right sides together, leaving a small opening...turn right side out...sew opening shut...topstitch around the whole napkin and ta da- a napkin!
Placemat- cut 2 rectangles of fabric (I think my dimensions were 15x22???). Just like the napkin, sew right sides together...but add a thin layer of batting on top (so you're sewing all 3 layers together)- then follow the rest of the napkin instructions- ta da again!