15 minutes dress fix

Happy Thanksgiving to all! This morning I decided to take a couple of pictures of Bug in her pretty formal dress, and I noticed a little problem. Do you see it ??

 Look closer... Here.

Well, Bug is one of those string bean kids, show only grows one direction : UP, and fast at that. While short dresses are cute for babies and toddlers, I felt this was a lot of leg to show for a formal dress, even with tights underneath.

So a little stash dive later... I cut some 6" wide strips of satin that matched the sash color as closely as possible:

Folded in half, ironed and cut to size.

Then sewed into a loop

And added to the bottom of the skirt

Ahhh much better and it only took 15 minutes :)

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Tutorial - Anthro inspired Denim Farfalle bag

I'm very excited to share my latest handbag creation, a project I recently guest-posted on Someday Crafts. A few months ago I fell in love with this Anthropologie handbag: 

The Farfalle Handbag

Did you know that Farfalle means butterfly in italian? Unfortunately, a three-hundred dollars purse, even this cute, does not fit in my budget. No matter. I decided to make my own. Not in leather but in denim. And here's is how:

Supplies:
NOTE: Measurements account for 1/2inch  sewing allowance around the sides and bottom seams
- Two pieces of 16x12&1/2 inch denim- new or upcycled (new will be stiffer than upcycled)
- Two 3x25 inch strips of denim for the handles
- Two pieces of 6x12&1/2 inch of your choice for the lining, cotton or satin
- One 2x3 inch piece of card stock for the bow template
- 43 to 48 2x3 inch rectangles of denim for the bows
- 1 yard of coordinating blue satin ribbon
- Fray Check
- Sewing machine and sewing supplies
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- Magnetic snap (optional)
- Extra material for inside pocket
- Medium weight interfacing (optional)


How-to steps:

• Round the edges of your card stock for the bow template 
• Use the bow template to cut the pieces needed for the bows and apply fray check on the edges
• Make an accordion with 4 fold "peaks" on the side that will be up

• With a matching thread, secure the fold by threading through the folds twice 
• Secure with a knot

    

• Cut the pieces of matching ribbon for the center of the bows (1.5" long)
• Put a dab of hot glue on the back of the bow tucks

 

• Put the end of the ribbon on the hot glue let it cool for a couple of minutes 
• Put another dab of hot glue on the end of the ribbon and fold over

 

• You will need roughly the same number of light and dark bows
• You will save time by stitching all the bows then applying the ribbons in batch of 6-8 bows 

Make the bag shell - I didn't make a detailed tutorial for this part as there are a number of very good existing ones around the blogosphere. There is a very detailed one HERE.

• Cut the fabric pieces for the outside shell and the lining
• Sew the outer shell and the lining for a basic bag. 

•  Tuck in the top corners of the outer shell as shown on the picture below i.e. 2" wide x 3" tall
• Pin the sides and bottom of the shell
• Optional step : add one or 2 inside pockets to the lining

•  Add a pin a the corner of your tuck
• Top stitch the fold all the way around

• Once top stitched, the outer shell should look as shown below
• Optional step : fuse the interfacing to the outer shell

• Pin the lining and outer shell right sides together along the top of the bag lining up the side seam
•  Don't forget you will need a hole in the bottom of the lining to turn the bag right side out

• Stitch along the bag opening with a 3/4" seam allowance and turn the bag right side out
• Optional - Place a magnetic snap for the bag's closure using the 3/4" fold of denim as support
• Close the opening in the lining of the bag

• Cut and fold the straps for the bag  as shown - first in half, then fold the edges in like for bias tape
• Tuck the short edges in
• Top stitch all sides of each strap

• Pin the straps about 1 1/2" from the top corners
• Stitch the handles on the bag 

• Layout the bows evenly on the front side of the bag alternating dark and light ones
• For the layout below you need 43 bows (21 light and 22 dark) 5 across by 9 high (minus 2 at the top corners)
• You will need more 5 bows for a tighter layout

• Put a dab of hot glue on each side of the center ribbon 
• Secure all bows to the bag's outer shell

All done - Good news, it cost under $20 even with new denim and interfacing

Tutorial - Grosgrain ribbon flower

I recently Guest posted this tutorial at  the Scrap Shoppe  so just in case you missed it, this is how  to make pretty grosgrain ribbon  flowers that you can use for pins, headbands and barrettes:

This little project only requires the following supplies:

- 22 inches of 3/4" wide grosgrain ribbon

- a few pears or beads - here 1/8" pearls

- matching thread

- brooch pin or barrette and hot glue (Optional) 

For the flower

• Cut 4  5&1/2" long pieces of ribbon
• Fold the ribbon pieces in 2&1/2" long loop with the ends meeting in the center in a 1/4 inch overlap

 

• Pin in each loop 
• Take 2 pieces and pin them at a straight angle
• Repeat with the other 2 pieces

• The place the two resulting cross at a 45 degree angle
• With matching thread stitch all the layers together

By stitching a "box" you are pretty much assured to secure all the ribbon ends

For the beading:

• Start at the center
• Just loop the thread through the peal/bead hole
• Make sure to position the beads so the hole is not visible before you tighten the thread
• You only need to stitch through the first layer of ribbon

• Stitch a circle of beads around the center bead
• The number to sew may vary depending on the diameter of the beads used (5 to 7)
• Stitch a second circle (will use about twice as many beads as the first one)  

You can stitch it on clothing or ...

Optional step: 

• Hot glue a brooch pin or a barrette

All done!

I used this one as a brooch to make a plain green sweater a bit dressier

Now pick your favorite color ribbon to make one for yourself !