Today I’m happy to have Rachel. Rachel was another early blog follower, and regularly pays me sweet compliments, which is how she got in this series. Kidding – she really does give sweet compliments, but I’m lucky to have her here, not the other way around.
Hi! I’m Rach from Family Ever After, and super excited to be a part of this incredible series.
I hope everyone is having a good summer so far! When I think of our must memorable summer moments so far, one word comes to mind… BUGS. Really! My kids are absolutely crazy about bugs. They stay up to catch the fireflies every single night. They hung for rollie pollies in the garden, and make elaborate homes for them. Just yesterday we witnessed 5 butterflies come out of their cocoons in the butterfly aquarium we’ve been doing. They really do love bugs… most of them.
I wanted to make my girls fun summer play dresses. There were 3 things I had in mind… the first being the adorable bug fabric, and the second being that this had to be a quick project (you know how busy the end of the school year gets, and the kids will grow out of these dresses so fast anyhow), and the third being the dresses had to “spin.” That is a criteria in my daughter’s book of fashion, haha.
Now before you start thinking crazy thoughts from the above picture, let me tell you I am painfully aware that the shirred bodice and shirred waistband clash just a little. I am actually planning on refashioning the dress, and unpicking the shirring on the bodice. It just doesn’t quite work for me. But I left it on for two reasons… 1. I ran out of time to unpick it, and 2. Hopefully it might inspire an idea in someone on how to incorporate it into a different project! So this tutorial is kind of a mish mash of different ideas… I’m still mulling them over in my head myself, on how I can improve this outfit. (I need to add more accents from the waistband fabric… stuck on that one). Check my blog later, as I hope to have this solved!
Anyway, let me know you how I did what I did.
Supplies
1 yard fabric
1/2 yard or so of accent fabric
elastic thread if you want to shir
notions, machine, etc
Directions
1. Cut your skirt. I used Dana’s directions for a circle skirt. The one thing I would add, and I would especially do this if I was making a circle skirt for myself), is to add a bit more length to the back of the skirt. I recommend this to make up for the extra curvature you have on your backside, aka your bum. I bought a knee length circle skirt from H&M, and I hate the darn thing, because every time I bend over, it creeps up way too high. So it only makes sense to add a little fabric in the back. There are 2 ways you could do this.
Either cut 2 pattern pieces, a front and a back. For the back piece, you’d need to add an inch (or your desired extra length), at the center back. Then blend your line so it meets up at the sides.
Or, you could create your pattern piece with the desired length you want, marked on Center Back. Then open your skirt half way, and move your pattern up the amount you want (in my case 1/2 inch), and cut off the excess, blending it up at the sides. I found this method to be easier than the above.
2. Ok, now our skirt is cut… and yes, I realize the bugs will be upside down on the back of the skirt, but since this was a “fast sewing project,” I decided not to care 🙂
Time to cut your waistband. Measure the waist, and add 1 inch. I made it 3 inches high.
Sew raw edges together, edge finish, then fold in half and crease well with your iron.
Pin right sides together, and sew. You don’t need to edge finish.
Progress. Now fold your top edge over 1/4 inch and crease well with iron.
Pin into place and sew down, enclosing all your raw edges.
Here’s the waistband. I totally forgot to take a picture of the next step, but you can see it in the pictures at the top of this post. I shirred 5 rows right on the waistband. Worked like a charm. Here’s my tutorial on how to shir.
3. For the hem, I took Dana’s advice and did a minimal hem, so it wouldn’t take away from the skirt’s spinning abilities. But a little green bias tape would be pretty cute, so I might go back and add it 🙂 For now, I just edge finished, ironed 1/4 inch, and sewed.
4. For the top, this was so easy and fun. I have sewn sleeves, and for some reason that is my least favorite part of sewing. So this method allows you to skip the sleeve step entirely 🙂 I literally cut two squares, 16 inches by 16 inches. Then I edge finished, and ironed over 1/4 inch.
Then I hemmed both pieces at the bottom and top, which will be the bottom and top of the shirt. (Before hemming the top of the shirt, you could add a little shape to the front by slightly cutting the front collar in a curved type of shape.
Here are my measurements for a small girl. The head hole was 10 inches. The sleeve holes were 5 inches. I’ve marked in the picture where you’ll want to sew.
Turn right side out, and trim all threads. This is where I got carried away… and started to shir. I thought the shirt would be cute with more shape, which it is, but it doesn’t quite work with the shirred waitband. Surprisingly, this shirt is cute as is.
Here’s the first row of shirring. I did 3 rows total.
And there we have it, the basics of this tutorial. I hope you learned a thing or two 🙂
I’d love you to come visit me at Family Ever After!
Thanks Rachel! So readers – do you have any refashion ideas for her?
If you take a look around Rachel’s blog make sure to check out her Tie Skirt
And her Duffle Bag – cute in pink, but equally easy to do in boy colors if, like me, you’re in a boy household.
Miranda
I think the shirring on the top totally works…it’s not likely to be tucked in for long, and I love the idea of a little contrast waistband popping out from under the hem of the shirt. Cute, Rachel!
Kara @ Mine for the Making
HOw stinking cute is that fabric?! Perfect little girl dress for summer! Such a great job! Love that tie skirt too…soooo creative!