Tutorial - How to Attach a Jean Button

This tutorial will show you how easy it is to install a jean button (not a snap) using a kit and a hammer.

The kit comes like this. You supply the jeans and a hammer.

You've got a button, the button back, 2 sizes of white caps and the plastic setter apparatus.

Place your white caps into each end of the setter apparatus. 

 Now set your button and the button back into the white caps. All tucked in!

It should look like this, with the button on top and the button back on the bottom.

 Mark button placement on your jeans, then position the loaded setter apparatus with the fabric in the middle, like a sandwich.  Make sure at this point you are on a surface that will withstand a hammer. I go to the cement floor in my garage. Holding everything in position, begin to hammer the layers from the top. 

And you're done! Nice professional finish :)

Oliver and S Family Reunion Dress - Let's Add Pockets with needle and thREAD

Good morning sewing friends!  Hi to those of you linking up from Elizabeth's!  What's sewing your way?

Over here, its round two of the Oliver + S Family Reunion Dress (you can see round one, the blouse version, here!). This week, the dress.  Modeled by Alexa (6), in Maria's size 5 dress. But you can see it fits her, albeit a bit short and she said it is cutting into her arms. Maria was already in bed but it fits her perfectly; a size bigger than her age, my general rule of thumb.

Totally Awesome Dress Refashion to Children's Maxi Skirt Tutorial!

I want to share with you this awesome refashion tutorial from a women's knit tank dress to a super-fun children's maxi-skirt! This is a great sewing project that even a beginner can handle, and who doesn't love a comfy maxi-skirt?  Check through your closet, sewing friends, and look with new eyes. I'm always impressed with the refashioning and repurposing I see online and there's no reason why you can't take part too.

It started with a knit tank dress from the Gap. I wore this as a maternity beach cover-up. Um, I think its safe to repurpose it into a child's maxi-skirt!

Want to try one for yourself? Stick (pun intended) a new ballpoint/jersey needle in your machine for best results and let's get started!

Amy Butler Blossom Handbag Tips - needle and thREAD

Good morning! Its Thursday again, and time to join Elizabeth for her weekly Needle and thREAD sew and read-along.  May I introduce to you the Blossom Handbag by Amy Butler?

Careful, put on your shades.  The fabric is pretty funkalicious! I'm still not sure how I feel about it ...

Of course the really exciting part is I'm getting ready for Sewing Summit in just a few short weeks!  Ahhhh! And if you follow the "Travel Handmade" threads on bloggerland, you'll find that most attendees are busy sewing something useful for the journey. I have had some Amy Butler Lark fabric hanging around that I've been dying to use. I was saving it for the Weekender Bag, but won't get around to that in the very near future. So I decided to try out Amy's Blossom Handbag, a free pattern online.

Pretty darn roomy inside! I'm thinking a great little sewing bag for the conference. Can stash my scissors, thread, unstitcher and other unmentionables ... and maybe a little knitting project for the road as well!

The pattern itself is a JOY to construct. Honestly, it was not difficult, just take your time. It does help to have some experience.  I searched online for tips before diving in, and there were only a few.  I'd like to share a few more here, in case you are inspired to whip one up for yourself :).  Can't beat an Amy Butler freebie ...

Here are some things to note:
- you CAN use quilting cotton, as I have, even though the pattern calls for a heavier-weight home-dec fabric. The only thing I would suggest is to ALSO apply fusible interfacing to your lining pieces, not just your exterior pieces as per instructions.

- think hard about fabric placement. My main fabric "motif" runs exactly down the middle of the bag. The yardage requirements are VERY generous, so you should be ok, just plan where you lay your pattern piece

- one of the first things you do is attach a magnetic snap. Use a little piece of Pellon to stabilize it. I also placed my snaps about 1/2" higher than pattern, based on tips online. Glad I did.

- don't bother with Pellon in the side flaps. Use a softer fusible fleece instead. I saw too many complaints online about difficulty sewing bartacks through all the Pellon layers in the side flaps. Substituting fleece makes the sewing easier and the product is still very strong and stable.

- and about those side flaps, that came up as one of the "difficulties" of the bag, because you are sewing curved side flaps to a straight edge.  Here's what I did, in picture form.

This is a side flap (lining piece). Mark the bottom center with a pin.

This is the bottom panel, attached to two exterior main panels (lining). Mark the center of the bottom panel with a pin.

Right sides together, pin side flap to straight edge of bottom panel. Poke!

Now pin the side straight edges, matching raw edges at the top. Leave the curve part unpinned.  Just pin all the straight edges. Then over to the machine.

Begin sewing from the CENTER of the bottom panel and head straight into the curve. Stretch and ease the fabric as you go, gently sewing around the bend. Raise and lower the presser foot every few stitches as you sew the curve, if you have to. Sew right up to the top.  Then, turn the piece over and begin back at the bottom center again, sewing around the other curve and up the side. Voila!

Another great tip - when attaching the lining to the exterior, the pattern would have you put right sides together, leave an opening and turn it all right side out.

I say P-shaw. I read online that this turning process caused a lot of crinkling of the pellon (which is hard to smooth out again once crinkled).  I also saw somewhere (I think Patternreview.com?) a tip to do the following, which I thought was brilliant:  Just fold over your raw edges and set the lining directly INSIDE the bag exterior, pin and edgestitch all the way around.  I edgestitched twice, for added strength. Oh yeah. 

 

Hard Mike (cranberry) bottle in background. Empty. Sometimes it helps ...

The interior divider panels are lined. Which means you have to sew right sides together, but not all the way around. You need to leave room to turn it right side out, about 10" so says the pattern. Anytime you have to leave a space for turning, sew a little notch. It helps hold the fabric folded in place when you go to iron and stitch it down:

Can you see the little blue dot of fabric marker? That's where I start stitching, about a centimeter down to the actual stitching line; pivot and turn and carry on. That's what I mean by a little notch.  

When you attach the interior divider panels to the sides of the bag, there are a LOT of layers going on.  So don't bother with pins.  Use binder clips instead to get you to your machine.

Nice little bartack! Can you see it in white?

And I'm ready for date-night with my husband :)

When I make this bag again, I will opt for the shorter handles (I think it looks nicer) and a softer, more subtle fabric. 

As for reading this week, I've delved into Jane Eyre for a second time.  Its the first book we are discussing over at Classic Moms next week. Gonna be great.

Head over to Elizabeth's to see what everyone else has been up to.  Happy sewing!

Aprons from Tea Towels/Dishcloth Tutorial - needle and thREAD

Oh what a crazy summer! Crazy and wonderful and while I did lots of sewing I did little blogging about it! So maybe its time to catch up? After a long reprise, I'm joining Elizabeth again, with

Today I'm featuring a tutorial to make an incredibly easy self-adjusting apron from a cotton tea towel! If you have little girls, you will LOVE this not only for baking, but slipping on over their princess costumes which they refuse to take off when they eat.  Kind of a grown-up bib. You won't really mind if they wipe their dirty fingers on it, because, it is a tea towel at heart!

I made several aprons from tea towels as treats for the girls at Alexa's "sweet shop birthday party." I was inspired by this post over at Life is a Party;  tweaked the instructions a bit to make it even easier to sew, and here it is just for you :).

In addition to your regular sewing supplies, you will need:
- any rectangular tea towel. I couldn't resist these floral ones from IKEA.

They are a good size, nice and thick, and inexpensive. Give it a good press and a shot of spray starch :).  Don't worry if it isn't a perfect rectangle.
- ribbon, 1" width works best but you can experiment; you need about a meter
- optional embellishments, such as ric-rac or decorative ruffled ribbon, etc

Step 1: Fold to Make a Casing

Fold the two top corners over to the wrong side (to make a triangle) and press. I've shown a 90 degree angle, but you can make the triangles even more angled to practice your Living math.

I've got about 5" across the top.

It should look like this from the right side:

2. Sew each triangle down, about 1" from each diagonal outer edge. This will form a casing for the ribbon.  If you use ribbon less than 1" wide, make your seam the same width as your ribbon. You don't want to have any extra room, otherwise the ribbon will fall right out due to the weight of the apron.

Sew along this edge. I used a zigzag stitch, that way you don't have to worry about finishing the raw edge. Make sure to backstitch at both ends.

Turn it back over and cut off the excess triangle, close to the stitching. Should look like this:

3. Run the ribbon through the casing.  

Beginning on the lower right side, and using a safety pin attached to the ribbon, pull the ribbon up one side casing then down the other side.

Go up one side ...

And down the other.  This part of the ribbon will go around the neck.

The ribbon becomes the way to adjust the apron. Remember, your casing can't be wider than the ribbon, or the apron will just drop right out. It works best if the casing is a little tight.

4. Embellish, if you wish. Or shorten if needed.

I didn't do any embellishment on my aprons. But I did shorten Maria's by adding some pleats. The aprons are long enough for even me to slip on, and I love that. I also like that these tea towels have a little hook on the top.

And voila! (Sorry about the blurry pic)

Cinderella is protected!

And on to reading. READING!!

 I have been completely captivated by the novels of Immaculee Ilibagiza. She was recently a guest on my favorite radio show, The Catholics Next Door - do check out the link to her interview and other resources.  Immaculee is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide - almost all of her family were brutally murdered - but she was Left to Tell. This story will revive your faith and touch your heart. Neither my husband or I could put it down and it made for some very late night reading! Download it to your handy dandy kindle.

Many blessings and have a wonderful weekend!

Sweet strippy skirt tutorial

This is an easy patchwork style skirt I made for my 3yr old. I hope you enjoy making it!

In addition to basic sewing supplies, you will need:

Rotary cutter and mat

1" wide elastic

Ribbon trim for hem, if desired.

Assorted fabrics.

The desired skirt length is divided into 3 sections:
- a dropped waist of 4"
- a bottom ruffle of 3"
- a strippy section - the amount leftover


1. Dropped waistband


Cut a rectangle 6" x hip measurement plus 5".  To set in elastic, fold over top edge 1/4" and press.

Cut a piece of 1" wide elastic by the waist measurement minus 1/2" to make it snug.  At machine, open out the pressed edge and place the elastic along the pressed edge.

Stretching the elastic with your right hand to fit the length of the waistband, sew in a zigzag.  Use your left hand to gently pull the fabric/elastic at the back as you sew.  Just stretch and sew a little, then stretch and sew some more.

It should look like this:

Fold the pressed edge back over the elastic, then fold the elastic over again. Sew down in a zigzag, using the exsisting zigzag as a guide.

Sew right sides together and set aside.

I like this method of inserting elastic compared to sewing a casing and using a safety pin.  This way, your elastic never gets twisted.  More advanced sewists will want to sew the right sides of the waistband together first, then apply the elastic for a smoother join of the elastic, but it doesn't really matter.

1. Strippy section

Using a rotary cutter and mat, cut fabric strips of varying width (1.5 - 5").  Sew together to make a rectangle of fabric 2x the hip measurement.   Press well.  Trim to desired length of strippy section (see above) plus 1" for seam allowance.

To prepare for gathering, sew a basting stitch 3/8" along top edge

Sew right sides together to form a tube.

3. Apply strippy section to waistband.


Pull up the gathers on the strippy section.

With right sides together, pin lower edge of waistband to gathered edge of strippy section.  Pull up gathers to fit evenly all around.  Sew.  Finish the seam allowance by serging or zigzagging.  Press.

A better view of the waistband, pinned with its right side facing the right side of strippy section.

Turn right side out, it should look like this. Give it a good press.

4. Bottom ruffle and ribbon hem.


Cut a rectangle 4" by the length of the bottom edge of the strippy section plus 6-8", to give a slight ruffle.

To prepare the ribbon hem, fold over bottom edge 1/4" and then 1/4" again. Press.

Fold over once.

Then twice.

Cut a length of ribbon to go around bottom edge. Place on right side along bottom edge and sew close to bottom edge. I like to used the blindhem foot because you can line up to get a nice edge.  Then sew along top edge of ribbon so ribbon is completely secured to bottom edge. Press on the wrong side - (unless you test a piece of scrap ribbon first to see how it reacts to the heat and steam).

Sew short edges right sides together. Baste along upper edge of ruffle and pull up to form slight gathers.

With right sides together, pin to lower edge of skirt.

Stitch. Finish seam allowance by serging or zigzagging.  Press.

Voila! You are done! I hope you enjoy your skirt!  Drop me a line with any feedback and pictures, I'd love to hear from you!