stringing pompoms and blasting the air conditioning on a disgustingly sticky hot day. I think we’ll hang them in the kids’ room when the baby wakes up. Michael’s has awesome colored pompoms by the way. I might even go back for another bag.
straight from the trash and super stylish. score!
There was a brief period after KCWC where I was riding a sewing high. Many things got cut out a few things got half done and then it fizzled. This top didn’t help with the fizzling. I just kept screwing it up at every turn.
The fabric was supposed to be this orange linen with sort of hand drawn white flowers. Pretty, right? The problem was flowers don’t grow sideways. Damn. It took me a while to pick another fabric I like, because I’m trying to find a place where my kids and I can both be excited about the clothes I make. I don’t want hyper stylish kids dressed in all gray, but I don’t want them to have free range picking out the fabric. Does that make me a mean mom? whatever. I’m the one sewing it. Also, I get to make the rules, so there.
I picked up this fabric at a swap (thanks Lil!) and though there wasn’t as much as the pattern called for it worked out okay. It hangs a little weird in the front, but I’m probably the only one who notices. The pattern is awesome by the way. It’s a free tutorial called the apron top tutorial. The yoke is so simple and pretty. I bet it would look great with stripes. It was originally a halter top, but my daughter can’t stand them so I went with a criss cross deal. Jump! Jump!
I’m here. I haven’t fallen off the earth, I’ve just been sucked into summer with three little kids and all it’s sweaty, whiny, wet and happy craziness. I keep waiting for things to slow down a little so I can get some projects crossed off the list, but then yesterday I realized the crazy is not going to let up until summer’s done.
So I’m going to try to take that minute here and there my kids give me and to get something accomplished. Like their room. It’s still far from done and it’s starting to wear on me. The overhead projector came out yesterday and I started to draw a map of our neighborhood on the big board. Nothing like a big junior high flash back in the middle of the day. If you are too young to remember the drone of the fan and the slightly burny smell of the overhead projector well then you are just too young aren’t you.
If you’ve got a keen eye then you spotted the bumper I made in the first picture. And here is the bunting bumper (rubber baby bunting bumpers!) in all it’s glory. Take a long look, because I will never be making one of these suckers again. You know when you are dreading doing a project and then you start and think, hey, this isn’t so bad, kind of fun even? Well this wasn’t like that at all–it sucked the whole way through. But thankfully done and off the list.
Painting the dresser is next. Any thoughts?
Here are the first few posts about the room if you need a refresher:
posting a project I did for grosgrain’s free pattern month:
Meg from elsie marley here and I’m very happy to be a part of all of this fantastic freeness on Grosgrain this month. For my contribution I’m going to show you how to alter a plain old pants pattern into one that will make super cute shorts for your little girl: knot shorts!
It might seem silly that for free pattern month, you first need to have a pattern. But making a kid’s pants pattern is easy as pie–you just trace some kid pants. Dana from Made has a very clear tutorial for making pants patterns that you can check out if you don’t have a pattern on hand. I have only made these for kids, but I don’t see why altering a grown up pattern in the same way wouldn’t work just as well.
1. First you need to trace your pattern onto pattern paper, or newsprint, or I like to use freezer paper.
2. Now you need to decided how long the inseam on your knot shorts will be. I made mine 4 inches long. This is a medium length pair of shorts on a 5 year old girl. A one or two inch inseam sounds scandalous, but I’ve made knot shorts that short and they look great. And besides, kids have very short legs, so it’s really not that short at all.
2. Whatever length inseam you choose divide it in half and make a mark. From that mark draw a line through the pattern and extend it 6 inches past the outer seam of the pants.
3. From the end of the line draw a nice curve down to the bottom of the shorts. And draw another line that gracefully curves up to meet the outer seam.
4. Repeat the process for the back pattern piece.
5. To make the facing for the shorts, first trace the front pattern piece. Then on your new piece, draw a straight line from the crotch (ugh, I can’t stand that word) to where the tie begins to curve out. Cut on that line. This will be your facing pattern.
6. Now that the pattern is made you can cut your fabric. Cut two front pieces and two back pieces out of your main fabric. From the contrasting fabric cut 4 facing pieces.
7. Sew two facing pieces together, on the short straight side, right sides facing. Then serge or hem the long straight edge on top. Do this for the other set of facing pieces as well.
8. Sew the inseam together on both legs of the shorts.
9. Open up one leg of the shorts and put the facing on top– as above–right sides facing.
10. Sew all around except where you hemmed (or serged). Clip the corners, turn out, and press.
11. Sew down the outer seams on both legs of the shorts. Stop right after you catch a bit of the facing, then backstitch a few times to secure.
12. Turn one leg inside out and the other right side out
13. Put the right side out leg inside the inside out leg–now the right sides are together. Sew all around the crotch (that word again, ugh).
14. Turn it out and press. You should have a very funny looking pair of shorts.
15. Make sure you have thread that matches exactly to your main fabric, then sew around the top of the facing to attach it to the shorts. Or if you want the seam to be even more invisible, you can sew it by hand.
16. Tie the knots, silly!
17. Fold the top edge under and press. Sew around to make a casing for the elastic. Insert elastic, insert child to see if they fit, sew up elastic and seam and ta da! Knot shorts!
I hope you enjoyed the knot shorts tutorial! Thanks so much for having me, Kathleen!
