Saturday, July 31

Tutorial - From drab to fab

Since the beginning of the spring little bug has lost a couple of sun hats here and there. This morning the only one left was this one... a bit blah especially if you prefer pink and frilly.
This is how the hat got transformed today...

For the transformation i used: 
* 1 1/2 inch wide pink satin ribbon
* 1 1/2 inch wide pink organdy ribbon
* Some scraps of green satin lining fabric
* Coordinating thread


Stitch in zig zag about halfway through the ribbon and pull as you go until you have enough to form a flower
For the center of the flower I used a short piece of organdy ribbon that I shirred


For the leavess, cut the green lining fabric in the shape desired for leaves and look at this tutorial to finish the edges
Stitch the "twig side" of the leaves and pull to give some body


Stitch your ribbon flower starting from the center and wrapping it around itself then add the leaves
It looks a bit like a peony



And let your little bug strut her stuff

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Dress for Juliette - On Juliette

Wednesday, July 28

Tutorial - Ruffled pillowcase



Back to yesterday's post... the play tent.

It was a bit bare and since I still could not decide about the quilting thread for this quilt, I had a bit of time on hand. I also had this pillow that begged for a cover.


You will need:
* A pillow (mine is 18x18)
* Fabrics (for the 18" pillow here : 45x19 for the pillow and 2 strips 5x36 for the ruffles)
* Measuring tape
* Thread
* Sewing machine


- Wrap the fabric around the pillow to fit for size and cut to the correct dimension adding 1" for sewing allowance on both length and width
- Hem the short edge on both ends
- Wrap the fabric around the pillow again and pin the overlap together
- Turn the tube obtained inside out




- Cut the fabric strips for the ruffled edges - for a nice ruffle effect you will need at least 1.5 times the width of the finished pillow. I went for a more ruffled look so 2 x 18 = 36 " by 5" wide
- Fold in half and hem
- Use the longest stitch available on your machine for the ruffling thread and stitch along a second time


- Pull the one of the thread of the loose stitching to ruffle down to the width of the pillow with 1 inch to spare on each end
- Leave the last inch on both ends unruffled
- Pin the ruffle inside the inside out pillow "tube"
- Pull the last inch in for a nice finished effect
- Stitch along both ends
- Turn the pillow case right side out - So pretty!!



This is how the corners look like when you tuck in the ruffle

And this is the inside of the tent.


Tuesday, July 27

Work in progress

Designing - Done
Piecing - Done
Pinning - Done
Quilting - Brewing

After baking a peach upside down cake to bring to work, I made a first test sample tonight- I'm trying for a leafy look. Not 100% there

But I also trying to decide which color I should be using for the quilting.
So far I'm leaning towards the middle one, it is very close to the purple in the flowers in the green accent fabric. 

On a side note, I have setup a play tent for my little bug right next to my crafting space. Complete with cosy fleece play mat.


Sunday, July 25

Tutorial - Doll Kimono - Part 2


You can find the first part of the tutorial along with the supply list here
* Use an existing piece of doll clothing to evaluate the length / width of fabric needed
* Fold the fabric as shown so that the top 2 flaps overlap enough for closure of the kimono


* Place again the existing doll top on your fabric and trace the side adding extra for sewing allowance/ loose fit
* Mark the center of the back and the position of the sleeve on the top of the back
* Clip off the sides with pinking scissors (including what will be the end of the sleeves)
* Clip off a shallow V on the back using the marks on the back 
 

* Cut the 2 fronts to form the V-neck collar



* Stitch the arms and sides
* Hem the sleeves

* Apply bias tape all around (no pictures sorry - they all came out blurry) 
 * Using a seam reaper, open a little section of the side seam at waist height to insert the belt (Bias tape stitched together)

And there is Princess Fiona modeling the result

And the pink version of the same design






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Saturday, July 24

Same quilt, much better pictures

Quilt in progress preview

I'm putting this small quilt together for someone at work that is always cold even in the summer. She said she likes brown, pink and green. I have had this project brewing in my head for weeks trying to find the right balance between the colors. Finally it came together tonight. I started cutting after dinner and ended up piecing the top, the back and most of the binding. I was on a roll!

Tomorrow I will finish to piece the binding, iron everything and take some better pictures.. these do not do it justice!


Friday, July 23

Tutorial - Doll Kimono - Part 1


This is how to make a cute kimono outfit for a 13" Tall Les Cheries doll. You could use the same method for a taller doll with of course more fabric.

You will need:
Doll outfit for size
- 1 fat quarter
- Coordinating thread
- Pinking scissors
- Measuring tape
- Fabric marking crayon
- Elastic band
- Bias tape
- Sewing machine





* Cut off the selvage
* Fold your fat quarter in 2 lengthwise and lay the doll's pants on top
Those pants are about 2 inches wide but tight fitting on the doll so I chose to add 1 inch to the finished width to achieve the kimono pant effect.
* Cut 2 strips 3 inches wide each and fold them in half right sides together
* Lay the pants on top of the fabric strip again and trace the outline with fabric marking crayon
* Cut the fabric with pinking scissors leaving 3/8 allowance around the outline

* Sew the inside seams of each pant leg wrong side together
* Hem the bottoms
* Sew the outside seams of each pant leg wrong side together
* Turn the legs over and sew the 2 legs together

Almost there
* Hem the waist leaving a channel wide enough to put elastic through it - Leave about 1/2 inch (1cm) unstitched, preferably in the back
* Measure the waist of the doll and cut a piece of elastic band about 1/2 inch shorter than your measurement.
* Thread the elastic in the waist channel (I use a safety pin to guide the elastic through)
* Stitch the ends of the elastic together and finish the waist seam

You are done !








Update:








UndertheTableandDreaming

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