I Need More... No.2 Pencils [Back to School]

Who's ready to head back to school?  I'm going to guess that the majority of hands that shot up are from the mothers who are busy packing lunches into shiny new lunch boxes, settling into carpool routines, and delirious with excitement about the possibility of new-found moments of free time.  The collective groan must have come from the under-18 set.  Stop it.  What are you groaning about?

I loved the first day of school as a kid.  Remember how your clothes were new and starchy and way too warm for the summer heat that clearly didn't get the memo that autumn had arrived?  Remember seating charts that sat you right next to the cutest boy in school who - when he was in a good mood - asked you, yes, you to help him fill in the holes on his unfinished homework?  Remember the little notes of encouragement from your parents tucked into your book bag that made riding the school bus bearable?  Yeah.  Me, too.

Parents!  Don't miss the chance to make your little scholar's day!  Tuck a love note into a lunch, a book, or inside a sneaker.  Who knows... they might even forget to roll their eyes at you as you shout, "I love you, sweetheart!" in front of their friends.

Download the FREE "Hey Smartie Pants!" printable here.

Instructions:
I made my custom Back to School seals by printing the pdf document on full sheet label paper (available at any office supply retailer) and then cut to size.  (I started with a scalloped circle paper punch that was just shy of 2-inches, but decided that I liked the look of a square better.  It made the label look more like a miniature piece of binder paper.  You can see both in the photo above.)  Stick them on a teeny paper bag full of Smarties candies and enjoy!

I Need More... Cute Kid Clothing [dolman sleeve shirt]

Why is it that little girl clothing in stores for four to five year olds is still designed as if they are either: 1) still 2 years old, splattered with unnecessary glittered butterflies (I so hate butterflies) or 2) way overpriced for just how quickly little kids grow of their clothing (Crewcuts... I'm looking at you)?


Why is it that I hoard ideas for fashionable childrens' clothing, am a fairly experienced seamstress, and yet my daughter's wardrobe still comes from the store?


Okay.  Thanks for playing therapist for a moment.  Now back to the creation at hand.  Let's start with just about the easiest piece of clothing to sew.  Ever.  Kindergarden - meet the dolman sleeve tshirt - because my daughter will be wearing one of these babies every day.

SUPPLIES
A basic tshirt that your kid wears now as a rough pattern
Jersey knit fabric (unwanted adult tshirts work beautifully for this)
Sewing machine, thread, scissors, etc.


DIRECTIONS


1. Lay your child's tshirt on top of your new shirt's fabric as a guide.  Cut around the existing shirt, allowing some breathing room.  A dolman shirt should be a bit roomy.  HINT: To get a perfectly symmetrical shirt, cut half of the shirt and then fold your fabric in half to cut the remaining half.  Wildly helpful!

Cut out an accompanying waistband, 4-inches wide and a few inches shy of the bottom of your shirt's measurement.  This will rely mostly on how stretchy your fabric is.


2. Serge (or zigzag) the necklines and sleeve openings, fold under about 1/4-inch, and hem.  Be gentle here, you're working with knit.  Too much tug and you have a ripply mess; too little and every time Janie puts on this shirt your likely to have a seam pop.

3. With right sides together, serge the shoulder and side seams.


4. Sew waistband fabric into a tube and then fold in half.  Turn your shirt right side out and pin waistband piece to main shirt.  Serge.

5. Pat yourself on the back.  You are so done!

I Need More... Clothing [Skinny Jeans for All!]

So, we are just a few months away from welcoming our second little bundle of joy into the family (a boy this time - and unless I can ruffle everything he wears, sewing for him is going to be a BIG metal shift from his big sister's wardrobe...).  With a good five years between the pregnancies, I am finding that - no real surprise here - styles have changed!  [gasp]  "Boysley", as my daughter calls her new little brother, is going to be our last kiddo and I just couldn't bring myself to spend a fortune on maternity clothing that will only see the light of day for a few months.  Time to get creative.  Time to turn bootcut jeans into skinny jeans.  And it couldn't be easier, folks.  I actually did this technique back when I wasn't expecting, too.

 1. Find your bootcut jeans (to be skinny-ified) and a pair of already skinny jeans that you like the fit of.

 2. Turn your bootcut jeans inside-out and un-pick the inseam hem and about two inches into the hem on either side of the side seam (giving you a little room to unfold the hem and work more easily).

 3. Lay your existing skinny jeans on top of the now inside-out bootcut jeans and measure the difference in fabric.  Remember, you are working with the INSIDE seam of the pants here.  If you take a look at the seam on the outside of your leg, you'll notice that it is much more complicated, what with topstitching, etc.  Let's stick with the easy-to-hide-any-mistakes area of the inside seam, shall we?

 4. With a Mark-B-Gone or disappearing ink pen, mark your sewing line.  Using my existing skinny jeans as a guide, I add about an inch to an inch and a half to the skinny jeans which should leave plenty of seam allowance.  I would suggest that you try on your bootleg jeans before cutting to see where a natural spot would be to start tapering your pant leg.  For me, I started my tapering about 19 inches up the pant leg.

 5. Serge or sew along your marked sewing line.  Trim your new seam and discard any excess fabric to remove any unnecessary bulk.  These are skinny jeans not bulky, right?

 6. Flip those jeans right-side-out and try them on.  How does the taper look?  Does it look natural or like you're wearing riding pants at the pony show?  This is your chance to adjust.


After you are happy with the new seams, flip back to the inside and, with heavy-duty denim thread, stitch just inside your tapering seam.  This will not only reinforce the seam, but should your seam pull a little - as seams do - from the outside, all you will see is a hint the denim thread that matches all of the other thread on your jeans.  No one will know that you've been doctoring your pants!

 7.  Refold and iron into place the hem.  With heavy duty denim thread, re-sew the length of hem that you unpicked at the start of the project.

8. Flip to the right-side and give the new seams a quick press with the iron (maybe even a spin in the washing machine).  You did it!  Bootcut jeans to skinny in a snap.  Nice work, pal.  Wear them with pride and pray that the trend toward bootcut and flare jeans stays at bay just a little bit longer.

I Need More... Scarves [No Excuse NOT to Scarf]

This video by wendyslookbook is amazing!  And with winter temperatures starting to drop, it's high time to pull out your box of scarves.  What?!?!  You don't own a million scarves like me?  Well, get busy and buy a few.  They're everywhere, they're practical (thinking warmth here), and they're an inexpensive pop of color and texture!

I Need More... Shoes [Glitter Flip Flop Tutorial]

Another seasonal Nordstrom catalog graced our mailbox recently.  And, as happens EVERY TIME I fall in love with an item and go to order it, whatever it is is OUT OF STOCK!  Grrr...  So I decided to take matters into my own hands this time and re-make these darling little summer shoes.

As luck would have it, Old Navy had their thin-strapped leatherette thongs on clearance for $5.49.  So I grabbed a silver pair and got to work.


SUPPLIES:
Thin-strapped flip flops that have a slightly dressier look than basic rubber ones
Glitter vinyl fabric (this is the same stuff that diners use to cover their barstools)
Hot glue gun & glue
Scissors, rotary cutter and mat
Pen


INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut two of each of the following rectangles from the vinyl: 6x1.25-inch (bottom bow), 4x1.25-inch (top bow), and 3.5x0.75-inch (middle band). 

2. On the backsides of the top bow and bottom bow pieces, draw a line to mark the very center of the rectangle.  

3. Pick a rectangle, fold the short edges toward the center mark you've just drawn, meeting in the middle.  Cover with a sheet of tissue paper and zig zag stitch.  The paper will help keep your presser foot from sticking to the vinyl fabric as you sew.  

4. Tear away the tissue paper.  It's okay if a little paper gets left in the stitching.  It will get covered up with the middle band in the end.  Repeat for all of the top bow and bottom bow pieces.  Don't forget to trim your threads.

5. Run a bead of hot glue down the zig zag stitching and stack the top bow piece to the bottom bow piece.  

6. On the middle band pieces, carefully cut a 1-inch slit on one end of the rectangle.  Keep the cut centered on the vinyl fabric.

7. Run a bead of hot glue down both side of the cut and press to the underside of the toe strap.  Watch for glue burns!

8. Hot glue one stacked top/bottom bow to the top of the toe strap.  Be sure to center the bow over the toe strap.

9. Glue the middle band up and over the bow's face and then back around to the bottom, gluing down any loose corners.  Work with a small section at a time or else you'll have a hot gluey mess on your hands.

10.  Slip them on!  You're done and aren't they just cute as a button?  I mean bow?

I Need More... Curls! [No-heat curls, Part 2]

Wowie, wow!  The No-heat Curls not only worked, but were AMAZING!  Watch the video and then try it yourself.  I'd love to hear your feedback.  Below is mine:

Here is the back of my head, hair wrapped around the headband (or "ramband", as my daughter likes to say).  Just a couple of extra notes from experience:  1) I have short bangs and I left them outside of the headband and 2) I ended up wrapping my head in an old scarf like Aunt Jemima.  My hair is super thick and heavy and it felt as if the weight of it was pulling the headband down and the curl out.  So I panicked and wrapped.  Plus, I think it may have helped keep the frizzies at bay.  (Ha ha!  I foiled your dubious plan, Ernie the nighttime hairdresser!)

This is immediately after I pulled the elastic out of my hair.  Nothing else.  (Why did I wear a black t-shirt for this photo???  Duh.)  Serious curls!

I ran my fingers through the curls maybe two or three times and then sprayed lightly with hairspray.  That's seriously it!  The curls were bouncy and lasted all day.

I Need More... Curls! [No-heat Curls]

I stumbled upon this no-heat curl tutorial on another blog, let skeptical thoughts dance through my head, watched the 13 minute video, and now I can't wait to try it myself!  I'll report back on how it went with my hair.  But man, if it works, this girl's going curly this summer!

I Need More... Clearance Finds! [Tank Top to Dress]

I love Target and I love to wander their clearance racks!  Yesterday, I found this girls' tank top for $1.12. Sunshine yellow tank top for a buck?  Yes, please!  I can do something with that (and so can you!).

Tank Top to Dress
(This pattern is based on a size 5T tank top.  Adjust measurements as necessary.)

SUPPLIES
Tank Top
Contrasting fabric for skirt and collar, about 1/2 yard
Interfacing, fusible
Sewing machine (or serger) and thread


HOW TO
1. Cut two 6.5x21-inch ruffles from fabric.  Cut one 4x15-inch band from fabric.  (Note: The band's width measurement is determined by the measurement of the bottom of the tank top plus an inch for stretch and seam allowance.)

2. Baste first ruffle piece in preparation for gathering.  

With the right sides together, gather and pin the ruffle to the band.  Stitch.  Press seam allowance toward band.  Again with right sides together, match the side seams and stitch.  Flip to right side.

3. Stitch short side seams together on second ruffle piece.  Baste and gently gather one long edge of the ruffle.  Ease and stitch to bottom of tank top, right sides together.

Pin the band with ruffle attached (right side) on top of the ruffle (wrong side) that you just stitched to the tank top.  Stitch.  Press seam allowance up.

4. Topstitch your ruffles to help them behave.

5. Hem ruffles.


6. On to the collar...  Place a piece of scratch paper on top of your tank top.  Sketch a Peter Pan collar.  Cut the sketch out and eyeball it on your tank top.  Love it?  Use it.  Hate it?  Start again.  No biggie.  When you have a shape that you like, pin the sketched collar to fabric, trace the pattern adding about a 1/4-inch seam allowance, and cut four pieces.  I used my handy dandy Mark-B-Gone pen to trace the piece.

Cut two additional pieces out of fusible interfacing and adhere to two collar pieces.

7. With right sides of the collar pieces together, stitch a 1/4-inch seam allowance around outside edge.  Clip seam allowance on curve.  Flip to right side and press.  On the open end, carefully clip the curve and turn under 1/4-inch and iron.  I tucked the very tippy-toppy point under because it was impossible to turn.  (Please don't hate me...  there must be an easier way to do this.  You're so close to being done!)

Pin to the neckline of the tank top and stitch.  (Note: I change the color of my bobbin thread to match the fabric underneath, in this case yellow.  That way, my stitches won't show on the backside of the garment.)

If you're at this point - congratulations! - you made it through the dumbest collar tutorial online.  Everything else was easy though, no?  And now you have a darling little "Tank to Dress" (that YOU made) to show for it!