Shirred Sundress with Bow

Wow summer is so so busy and flying right by, we have a summer bucket list going.  One of the things on my list was to make some matching sundresses for my girls,  yep I am one of those people that doesn't mind being matchy, matchy.  In fact on little girls it is probably one of my most favorite things and  I have to take advantage of this time when they aren't embarrassed so....
 

I saw these dresses on Ashley's blog over at www.makeit-loveit.com, she is amazing. These little dresses went together so quickly and didn't overwhelm me at all and that's saying somethin cause I have four kids eight and under...yeah these dresses are super easy!

The bow in the back is nice and fluffy and also serves a purpose in keeping the dress right where it needs to be.

Awww they look so pleasant and they actually didn't fight at all during their photo shoot...major accomplishment! 

Like I mentioned before something about the matchy, matchy dresses just makes me giddy.

They are also very functional...play dresses, church dresses, swimsuit cover ups...whatever you want dresses.

If you're interested in making some for yourself click on read more for the tutorial

Little Boy Work Coveralls

My little boy loves to go outside with his Dad and do what they like to call "Man Work" they water the plants, mow the lawn, change the oil etc.  The other day after they came back in from changing the oil out in the shop my little boy so sweetly asked if I could make him some coveralls like just like his Dad's.  Did I have any idea how to do this?...nope. Could I say no to his sweet little face?...big nope.  I looked on line and found some for way out of my price range, so I got to work and kinda learned as I went along.

 Sometimes Super Heroes wear coveralls.



 "Hey mom I don't have time for pictures I'm off to do some man work!"
 But would ya look at that collar...so dang proud that it actually worked.

 Tutorial coming soon...

Linking up with www.somewhatsimple.com

Patriotic Ruffled Flag Tee Shirt

 It's a little bit late for a Fourth of July tee shirt tutorial but I figure you can where a patriotic shirt all year long so I am posting anyway.  I have been seeing some adorable flag shirts around and I love the idea of a homemade shirt...ok obviously I love the idea of homemade anything! 

 Look at all that ruffly goodness...ahhh.

She is happy with it and feels extra special that I made it just for her!

 

I made these shirts just before we headed off for our family reunion camping trip for a few days and right before our friends came to stay the night with us so I was making shirts and cleaning my house and packing so it could be a little bit scatter brained...sorry!

First off we had a shirt from last year from Wal Mart...you know the ones with the year right underneath the flag so everyone knows how old it is..I don't know why they do that?  Anyway I made a heart template out of paper and placed it on my shirt then traced around the template with disappearing marker.

  Cut out your shape, you now have a really weird shirt.

 I had a bit of Pelon laying around, it is a stiff backing fabric you can use for all kinds of projects.  You can find it at most fabric stores.  Trace around your template on to the Pelon but make it about a 1/4" inch bigger than before.

I have been saving up old tee shirts for a while now and was excited to put them to use finally...I was beginning to look like a tee shirt hoarder.  Cut out one inch strips of red white and blue tee shirt fabric and gather, I have a tutorial for this here.

Now lay your gathered pieces across your heart shaped Pelon and pin them down.  Sew them down to the Pelon with matching thread.

Ok this is where I forgot to take a picture luckily Ashley from www.makeit-loveit.com had a similar project.  Pin your ruffle covered pelon to the back of the tee shirt now carefully sew around the edge...I went around twice for good measure.

 

That's it...enjoy your new ruffled flag shirt!

T-Shirt Refashion

 

We recentlly recieved some hand me downs from a neighbor...

I absolutely love hand -me- downs!  Some of the shirts were too long in the sleeves or too long in the body so I chopped the sleeves to the right length and had enough left over to add some embellishments. 

 

 

 

I added some ruffly flowers around the neckline

 

 

 

And some along the top edge of both pockets...I have never done this before and wondered what type of flower or ruffle to do...I would highly recommend these they are basically just circles tacked on...very easy.

 

 

Now to refashion the rest of them!

 

 

Cut a square fold in 1/4's and round the edge..you now have a circle.

 

 

 

Tack them down with needle and thread...like this.

I

 

I did three in the center and a couple smaller ones on either side.  Once you get them sewed down then you can kind of pull them apart and make them ruffle like you want.

 

 

 

Floppy Sunhat Flop

We have been busy around here with all the fun that summertime brings....reunions, swimming, Oregon Coast, Bear Lake, baby blessing and trying to keep up with laundry and dishes in between. 

I did manage to make this sun hat for my little boy who apparently has an extra large head...can't find a sunhat that will fit the kid!

I am calling it the floppy sunhat flop because it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped....it's a little floppy and a lot puckery.  The fabric I used was a bit heavy and hard to work with, cotton would be a better choice.

He likes it and it does a great job of keeping the sun off so I'm happy!

He's a bit of a cheese!

Sooo since this didn't turn out as I had hoped...I was a little frustrated and gave up on the tutorial, I'm sure there are plenty of tutorials to be found on line if you're interested in making one.

From Shirt to Skirt

Turn a Too Small Mama Shirt into a Just Right Little Girl Outfit

Cut shirt just under the neckline or however long you want it, fold under towards the inside about

1 1/2" and pin.

Sew a simple casing about a 1/2" wide, cut a strip of fabric an inch wide and long enough to tie around the waste comfortably, feed through with a safety pin.

 

Be sure to tie knots at the ends of the tie so they don't work their way out.

For the shirt cut strips of fabric and sew on however you prefer.

Bunch together and sew on

Mine ended up looking like a little corsage.   

And that's it, super easy and free!

Simplified Pettiskirt

I am calling this the simplified pettiskirt because I didn't have enough fabric to make the really full one so I just used what I had and I think it turned out great and is a little more practical for everyday wear.

I found this picture after I made my little girl's pettiskirt, how adorable would it be for a newborn photo shoot. I may have to dress my newborn baby boy up in it just for one picture when he gets here.

I used Ahley's tutorial found here, if you want your pettiskirt to be super full use her measurements.  I did all of my gathering with my machine and it saved me tons of time and made a nice uniform ruffle. Not sure how to gather with your machine? Click here.  If you wanted yours to be less full I just did each tier twice as long as the first and it still turned out pretty rufflly.

 

From Sweater to Dress

The other day as I was shopping at Target I found the cutest sweater dresses but they were a little pricey so a few days later I came across an idea online to make them out of old sweaters....SWEET!

She Loves It! 

 So much that she slept in it the first night

This was easy and fast to make I was giddy with excitement when I finished in an hour and I think it turned out really cute. 

So....want to make one?

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Diy Downeast Tank

My Latest Creation

 I made my pattern from one of my favorite Downeast tanks, if you don't have one a regular tank top will work. Fold the tank top in half exposing the back and trace, fold in half the other way and trace the front, this neckline should be lower. 

Trace

Cut out

 Pin on fabric, (I recommend a stretchy knit fabric)  making sure the side of your pattern where your shirt was folded is on the fold of your fabric and cut.

 Pin both pieces right sides together and sew the shoulder and side seams, I used a stretchy stitch for this.

Cut a 1 1/4" strip of fabric long enough to sew around both sleeves and neck.  Fold in half the long way and sew right sides together creating a  tube, do this for each strip.  You should now have three tubes, fold the tubes in half the short way and sew around each sleeve and neck, this will give it a nice finished edge. 

 This sounds confusing but it's really not, feel free to email me with any questions.

Strip of fabric sewn together and folded in half.

Finished Sleeve

Now cut a bunch of 3/4 inch strips for your flowers roll into whatever kind of flower you fancy and sew onto shirt. I got lazy and hot glued mine, I will tack it down in a few places and hopefully it will hold up through the wash, I would recommend sewing them on.

(Don't forget to hem the bottom like I did, I will have to do that some time.)