Stash Buster girls skirt

Let me see if  I can get this all down while Bubba is taking a nap!!!

So, I did 2 versions of this skirt last week, out of random sized strips. If you are a quilter like me, you probably have strips hanging around. I always cut what I can from leftover fabric, especially yardage. I know I can use 2 1/2 strips for binding, but will trim the edge so I have a strip of whatever is left, sometimes its 1 1/2 inches, sometimes its 3 or 4. None of these strips were more than 4 1/2.

Our neighbor on the left is wearing the plain skirt, which I did a tute for yesterday. Rena in the middle is wearing the vertical version, and Evie at the right is wearing the horizontal version. It's all a matter of preference. I did Evie's horizontal because I needed at least 42 inches around. :) From here on out, I'll go with Evie's measurements.

To start, just like the basic skirt, measure around the waist. My daughter Evie is a size 10, her waist is 26. Then measure the hips. If it is for a child, it might be the same as the waist, Evie's was 29. Then measure from the waistline to where you want the skirt to hit. Our measurement was 20 inches. 

Since this is elastic waist and not fitted, it doesn't have to be perfect. You need at least 12 inches more around than your largest measurement (hips or waist), so I wanted the final piece of fabric to be 44 inches wide by 20 long. The more you add the fuller the skirt. Yes, I rotary cut. Then I cut 2 pieces 44 inches by 4/2 for the ruffle. You need about twice as much width in the ruffle to make it full.

 Start by sewing the strips together, randomly for that scrappy look! As you sew, press seams in one direction. (you will be stitching the seams down, so you want it to be uniform and going in one direction.)

Here is my final piece of fabric, pressed. This was for the vertical stripe skirt. I was able to cut this in half and make 2 skirts! Everything is pressed nice and neat! After pressing, TOP STITCH each seam, so you go over the seam. This will prevent fraying. You can do a decorative stitch or a straight stitch. When you are done, trim the fabric ends (I used my rotary cutter and straight ruler) then do your side seam. If you are doing horizontal, topstitch the seam. If vertical, don't worry about it.

For the the ruffle, take your two pieces of 4 1/2 inch strips and sew the ends together to make one long strip. Then, bring the other ends together and sew to make a big loop.

Take the loop to the ironing board and fold in half, wrong sides together.

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press seams open while you press the look in half.

take to  sewing machine and topstitch around the fold. Then at the raw end, start at one of the seams and do a long gathering stitch to the next seam. Do a second gathering stitch from the second seam back to the first, so you will gather twice, once for the front and once for the back. It's just easier. start by pinning one of the seams from the ruffle to the seam of the skirt right sides together, then take the other seam of the ruffle and pin it to the opposite side of the skirt (there isn't a seam, so estimate). Then gather ruffle pinning as you go.

 

Once gathered and pinned, take to the machine, go back to a regular stitch and stitch down. 

Press  seam towards skirt, then go back and topstitch. This will keep the ruffle down and also help prevent fraying.

Now for the waist. You can do it as in the first skirt, or you can do another really super easy waist. Take a strip of fabric 2 1/2 inches wide by the width of your skirt plus about an inch. Fold in half and press wrong sides together. Press the raw ends in about 1/2 inch.

pin to top of skirt, making sure ends tough but don't overlap. Stitch right sides together, press to shirt and topstitch.

Take your elastic, take it through your tube. Overlap about an inch and stitch elastic together. You can either whip stitch the opening closed, or just add ribbon around the elastic and make a pretty bow!

All Done!!!

So from the $13 of fabric I bought at Cotton Treasures a bit ago, I got 2 basic skirts, 2 vertical skirts and a horizontal skirt. 5 skirts. $13. Can't beat that!!!

Skirt tutorial #1, basic skirt with ruffle

Hope this helps a few people with french seams and basic skirts! This project is perfect for beginners and children learning how to sew!

First, measure around the waist. My daughter is a size 10, her waist is 26. Then measure the hips. If it is for a child, it might be the same as the waist, Evie's was 29. Then measure from the waistline to where you want the skirt to hit. Our measurement was 20 inches. 

Since this is elastic waist and not fitted, it doesn't have to be perfect. You need at least 12 inches more around than your largest measurement (hips or waist), so I cut a piece of fabric 44 inches wide by 20 long. The more you add the fuller the skirt. Yes, I rotary cut. Then I cut 2 pieces 44 inches by 4/2 for the ruffle. You need about twice as much width in the ruffle to make it full.

For the French seam, fold the skirt so the 20 inch ends are together and wrong sides are together. Stitch at a scant 1/4 inch seam. Trim it to 1/8 inch, then take it to the ironing board.

turn it to right sides together and carefully press the seam. Then back to the machine.

Stitch a 1/4 seam right sides together. This encloses your original seam to prevent fraying. Cool, huh? I love french seams now!
So now you have a giant tube.
For the the ruffle, take your two pieces of 4 1/2 inch strips and sew the ends together to make one long strip. Then, bring the other ends together and sew to make a big loop.
Take the loop to the ironing board and fold in half, wrong sides together.

press seams open while you press the look in half.

take to  sewing machine and topstitch around the fold. Then at the raw end, start at one of the seams and do a long gathering stitch to the next seam. Do a second gathering stitch from the second seam back to the first, so you will gather twice, once for the front and once for the back. It's just easier. start by pinning one of the seams from the ruffle to the seam of the skirt right sides together, then take the other seam of the ruffle and pin it to the opposite side of the skirt (there isn't a seam, so estimate). Then gather ruffle pinning as you go.

Once gathered and pinned, take to the machine, go back to a regular stitch and stitch down. 

Press  seam towards skirt, then go back and topstitch. This will keep the ruffle down and also help prevent fraying.

Fr a roll over waist, at the top end of the skirt press down about 1/2 inch all the way around, then fold over again about an inch (less if you use smaller elastic). Stitch around at the bottom to make a tube for the elastic, leaving about a 2 inch gap.

Cut your elastic about an inch less than the waist measurement. Using whichever tool of your choice, bring elastic through waistband. 

Once through, stitch elastic together. I overlap it by about and inch and go vertically and diagonally a few times. Then work it through the waistband, and stitch the opening closed.

All Done!! Super Easy, huh?

Letter to a boy...

After a hectic weekend and crazy storms this morning I finally got around to opening the mail after dinner. In it was a letter for Vasi from my uncle Frank. Uncle Frank is my father's cousin, his grandma was my great grandma Lissa, who taught me how to sew and whose sewing items I still have in my sewing room. Uncle Frank never married or had children, and I always remember him riding a motorcycle and being very quiet. He was the only one of the four boys (my dad, his brothers and Frank were all around the same age) who served in Vietnam. I remember that was the answer to a lot of questions asked about Frank. The answer always given was "You know, Vietnam changed him, no one came back the same". I didn't know what that meant, and I probably still don't really understand. I always wondered if he wasn't in the war, would he have had a family? Would he have chosen a different career?

In the card was a gift of money for Vasi's college account and a small note, written on paper with "Things to do..." written on the top. I thought it was really sweet, so here it is...


Things to do....

- Pursue knowldge
- Don't hit your sisters (they'll get you later)
- Read everything you can get your hands on.
- Avoid war
- Get ourdoors to hunt and fish, learn self sufficiency and love of the land
- Love your Mother unconditionally, Fathers are the path to manhood, but your mother is your soul.
- Study Judo, very practical in the real world.
- Avoid war
- Watch what the rich do, and do it. Watch what the poor do, and don't do it.
- Study math, the man who is savvy with numbers always makes out better in life.

That's enough of the basics, there's lots more and you'll hear it for sometime to come from a lot of people. Trust only your family and your heart.

Good Luck Kid!
Frank

I tucked the note back in the card with the money, placed it back in the envelope and put it in the safe for him when he gets older, so he can read the wisdom uncle Frank chose to share with him.

triple play skirts!

I am short on time and looking for easy projects. Not just for me, but for Evie to try her hand at. I came up with these, three easy skirts!!

The first is a pillowcase style skirt, the middle is a vertical stripe and the third is the horizontal version. They each take about an hour, and all three were made with fabric I got from Cotton Treasures last week. Let me tell you why this is important... Out of the fabric I bought for $13 on sale, I got 5 skirts. Yup, 5. Insane!!!

I am currently writing the tutorials so YOU can make these skirts. I used a couple easy tricks to help a beginner, like my Evie. She did a lot of the stitching. The tutorials will be posted after Easter!

We're off to hunt Easter Eggs! See you next week!!

Senatobia, MS

So today Rena, Bubba and I ventured a little ways south on 51 to Senatobia, Mississippi. The main reason for our trip was to go to the music shop there, Tobie's, for drum sticks for Rena. Our neighbor moved away and gave Rena a child's drum set, but had lost (or in mom terms, "lost" as in hid and forgot where they went!) the drumsticks.

The guy there was really nice, and they were well stocked for a small store, including a really good selection of used items. They also have lessons, including drum lessons! So next fall when the dust settles from a new year of school, we are going to do a trial lesson there. Rena is so excited.

Of course, there was a subway next door, so we didn't get to try any of the local places that were recommended to me, like Penny's Pantry.

Rena LOVES Subway. So we had to stop. Had to.

Bubba didn't seem to mind though. He was chilling watching everyone in the restaurant.

Of course, I chose to go down to Senatobia because there was also a new quilt shop. The guild took a trip down, but I can never do any of the daytrips because of the kidlets.Senatobia as a town is really cute. There is a neat thrift store and shops on main and a few of the side streets, and around the downtown there are some great older homes to look at! But nevermind the town, on to fabric!!

Cotton Treasures is located at 117 South Front Street right off of Main near the post office. Like Doctor Who's tardis, it is bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. They have the shop in the front then a classroom in the back, and a long arm there too.

Chantay, the owner, spoke both my languages, fabric and SALE. See this bookcase of fabric? All of it was on sale for $3 a yard. Yup, $3. for the good stuff. a lot of 30's repro and civil war repro. I about died.

Chantay and Ann (from the guild!) were super sweet. They had a lot of really cool fabrics and notions. It is so worth the trip! I can't wait to go back, and hopefully take a class. It was hard moving down here from Franklin, TN because of the ladies I had met at The Quilting Squares. Now I have a new local shop! They also gave me the info on a woman who teaches smocking in the area!

All in all it was a good day. We went to the Hernando Library on the way home to pick up a book for Evie, and of course, Rena wanted her picture taken with the Star Wars figures on display.

My little ham, she was like "look! Daddy toys!"


This is the fabric I bought at the shop, for $13 total.

I'm kicking myself for not buying more. Might have to go back next week!

I am still piecing the Belle Meade quilt by Bonnie Blue Quilts. It is taking me forever, mainly because the quilt has 336 2 inch half square trangles. I did the 6 inch ones a while ago, but am still plugging through the little ones. With the leftovers from that quilt and the Stones of Franklin I did a while ago, I made this little lap quilt.

It's just half square triangles set on point, and I still need to add the piano key border, but it feels nice to get SOMETHING done.

Happy Sewing!!

Teaching Time

My 6 soon to be 7 year old has decided she wants to learn how to sew. I was waiting for this day, with both excitement and dread. How was I going to teach the basics? I remember a little from when I was starting out, 30 some odd years ago. I started with the parts of the machine, and the tools she will be using, Then went to sewing lines on paper. She was really good at following straight lines, so I went to Kids Learning Station, a place I usually go to find worksheets for my preschooler. They have scissors skills worksheets, and we used those for her to stitch curved and zigzagged lines.

We're done for the day, but I promised her next weekend we would start a project together, like a little bag (thinking of doing LGD's Maggie Bag because it is so simple). I also ordered Sewing Machine Fun For Kids to help me teach her.

I hope I am doing OK! I want her to love sewing, and one day quilting, as much as I do!! Does anyone have stories of when they learned to sew?