A pattern for you...


This is a pattern I drafted for daughter #1, but is easily adaped to any waist size.  The pattern is assembled with 3" wide pieces of fabric, and sewn with a serged seam (you can zigzag if you don't have a serger) on the outside as part of the design details.

You can use fat quarters (approx. 18" x 21" each.) or regular fabric cuts.

Sew on a waistband, add elastic, hem or serge with a rolled hem and you're done. This is a simple pattern with big boutique-appeal.  The pattern pieces are here:

Piece "A"
Piece "B"


Instructions for the Child's Petal Skirt
 1. Check the chart on pattern piece A for the number of pieces you need to cut, based on the child's waist size.  Cut those pieces of the same, or coordinating fabrics as you see here.

2. Sew the pieces together using 1/8" seam allowance.  I used the rolled hem stitch of a serger, but you can straight stitch or zigzag if you don't have a serger.

3. Cut a waistband measuring [1" + waist size] x 3" wide. For a 21" waist, 21" + 1" = 22" long x 3" wide.  Sew short ends together using 1/2" seam allowance to make a tube.  Sew one long edge of waistband to skirt top.  Fold down 1/4" and iron on remaining long edge.  Fold waistband down just below seam attaching waistband to skirt and pin in place. Stitch "in the ditch" (on top of the seam) to close waistband, but leave about 2" open to feed elastic through.  Cut a piece of 1" elastic to 1 1/2" larger than child's waist.  Feed elastic through using a large safety pin or special elastic feeding tool.  Pin elastic ends together and try on the child. Adjust the pin for the right fit.  Stitch the ends of elastic together and slip back into waistband. Close the gap you left for feeding elastic through (on machine or by hand.  

4. Hem.  Again, I used a rolled hem from a serger, but you can do the standard 1/4" fold, iron, 1/4" fold and iron again, and a straight stitch hem.  Or, you can zigzag the raw edges, press up 1/2" and hem with the stitch of your choice.

Voila!


Would you like to email me pics of your skirt?  I'd love to see what you've done, and if you'd like, I'll publish it here. :)


...

New Strap Covers in the store...

visit them at http://www.camerastrapcovers.com.

I've also set up an etsy shop... but apparently so has everyone else, so I don't expect much from there. I have six strap covers up there... out of 1700+ others.... so I'm buried on page 38 of 45. Aaaaack.

I do see that more people are making them now, and their prices have gone up, so I can see that they are paying attention to my work. ;) Mine are still more embellished. More cool.... at least I THINK SO. Which brings me to the next point.

Any thoughts out there? Do you like them? Do you hate them? Feedback, please!!!!

Wow, I've been gone a looooong time...

Well, since the kiddo's are home all summer, I really had to put the work away.  I just couldn't stand it this week - dragged everything out. I managed to finish two new camera strap covers, and two girls skirts as part of their *school clothes*.  One is a pattern from Lil Blue Boo and the other is my own. 

Would you like to see the camera strap covers?  Here you go...

Ed Hardy rhinestone tatoo rock and roll camera strap cover

Silk dragon and custom embroidery

Both are available at my website.  Stay tuned for more *goodies* I'm working on!

Which hotel...?

For those of you wondering... it's the Port Royal, Port Aransas on Mustang Island. 

OOps! To the tune of $335+ tax...

Well, apparently I have no concept of time when I'm on vacation... See, apparently we were supposed to check out today to go home.  But as I was in complete cluelessness - having ACTUALLY RELAXED FOR A CHANGE - we got up, went about our business as usual, minding the pouring rain and thinking about what we would do today since we couldn't be at the beach or pool.... Never thinking about the date, of course.  KNOWING we were checking out on the 22nd. BUT never correlating the date with the day....

We went off to the Texas State Aquarium with two VERY FUSSY kids... finally arriving with children asleep and after a very nice ferry ride across Aransas pass.  Premium parking (in the close lot which, apparently, no one ever tries to park in), tickets to the tune of $65, seeing the dolphin, sharks, and petting the Ray's (flattened sharks as Gabby likes to refer to them).

Returning home with DVD in the player to keep kids calm, and finally arriving an hour later after stopping at the grocery store to pick up the fixin's for spagetti (I was dying for something I cooked) - only to discover our key's didn't work.  Suddenly it dawned on me. Today is the 22nd. We're checking out on the 22nd.  Oh, no. 

So off I went to the office - Jonathan and the girls returned to the car with the groceries to wait until I came back.  I explained to the very nice lady at the counter that I had made a terrible mistake. She laughed and told me "it happened." They were, apparently, waiting for our return.  They had cleared the reservation for our unit and moved it to another, and had cleared the night for us to stay.  Wow. What luck for us.  Considering it was 5:30 pm, no supper in sight, and kids FREAKING OUT.

Alls well that ended well. With a nice spagetti supper, coloring with Rachel, and watching the newest Shrek movie. :)

Beautiful day at Port A.

Seems like the third week of June always works out to be the best time for a family vacation.  We've come to Port Aransas (south Texas coast) on Mustang Island for the third year in a row.  There is a great condo resort there and the kids LOVE the pool.  Actually, it's four pools connected by waterfalls with a waterslide at the end.

It's also right on the beach.  Doesn't get more convenient than that.  The property is very well cared for and the condo's are spacious and well appointed, as they say.  It's in the middle of the island - not much around - just a short drive into Port A. proper.  Some good seafood joints and tourist stores.  Just a small beach town, but a great place to get away.

The internet was broken in this unit for 24 hrs, but it was fixed late yesterday afternoon.  Gotta catch up on what's happening out there now.

Still working on the tutorial.

Tutorial coming soon...

While we're on vacation, I'm taking some time to write up the first tutorial.  It's the child's up-cycled t-shirt shirt you see in the photos below.  This is a super cute, boutique-looking skirt.  I've made them for my three and (almost) six year olds and they both love them.  Here's a photo:

Here it is again, made from a plain t-shirt:

Looks complicated, doesn't it?  That's the idea... but it's not. If you can sew a straight line, you can make this.