Oct. 7, 2009 Simple Sewing Instructions for Skirts
Just thought I would share instructions for sewing up simple skirts for your girls without needing a pattern. A good friend told me how to do this.
1. Pre-wash material, dry and iron.
2. Measure hips at widest point - hip measurement plus 6" divide by 4 - this is what the top measurement of the skirt will be.
3. Decide on length of skirt and subtract how much you want for ruffle.
4. Fold material as needed to obtain 2 pieces as follows - for my girls I just folded the material in half, since it is corduroy both pieces needed to go the same way, so I couldn't fit two skirt pieces across. (one going up and the other down) Some material is wide enough to do so. With this skirt piece the top measurement is 8 1/2" and bottom is 13". You can make it however full you would like it to be. As you can see the one corner is rounded just a bit. For this skirt - length is 20" and ruffle is 10". We like the wider ruffle. One side of skirt is along the fold and the other is the cut edge.
5. Cut 2 ruffle pieces 1 1/2 times the measurement of skirt. These were full wideth of material.
6. Cut 3 1/4" waistband, fold in half and iron. Again full wideth of material, just cut off excess after sewn onto skirt.
A pic of all the pieces
7. Sew a narrow hem on ruffle pieces.
8. Sew two rows of gathering stitches on top of ruffle or use your gathering attachment on serger. I just was recently given one of those (gathering attachment) and do I ever like it!
9. Gather and attach ruffle to bottom of skirt.
10. Sew up one side seam.
11.Attach waistband to top of skirt to form casing for elastic.
12. Cut elastic 2" less than waist measurement, thread elastic through casing and secure at ends.
13. Sew up last seam and you are all done!
P.s This is a different skirt than the one above.  Haven't sewn up that one yet. Hope to do that tomorrow. You can also make the skirt without a ruffle, just make your skirt length longer.
Please ask any questions if you have any.
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Jul. 20, 2009 June and July Quilt Blocks
I have been sewing a quilt block once a month with Seasons at Home and it has been very enjoyable. I just have to finish up April's block and do February and then I'm all done the blocks. it will be an interesting quilt when all done filled with memories. memories of deciding on fabrics, learning the new block. There are some I had lots of fun doing and others were a bit more challenging. I really enjoyed sewing the June and July blocks.
Here is the Block for June
Here is July's block
Here is my March Block
You can read more here and also see my other blocks that I have done. I hope to finish my April block this week and get started on the February block, with our move coming up very close, I hope to get them all sewn before. Next month we will be sewing the blocks together.
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Jun. 30, 2009 My May Block Plus
I have been sewing a quilt block once a month with Seasons At Home. It has been enjoyable, although I have about 3 months to catch up on. Today I worked on the May block. It was fun and I'm happy with it. I was going to bake bread, but decided I wanted to do a bit of sewing instead. So that is what I did. I made bread after supper.
It is a little hard to see, but there are nine blocks and they each have a flower which were made by folding and then sewing. It was fun, just took me a few minutes to figure it out first. Not sure I would want to sew a whole quilt like this, but it would be pretty. I was thinking today, that I'm not sure I want to sew a large quilt. Everything has to be so exact... If I ever do, I will choose a simple pattern. Doing these quilt blocks have been fun and I have learned a lot.
Here are the other blocks I have done so far. It will be a very unique quilt when all put together. Each block represents a month. So there will be 12 in all.
January block
Left to right
Aug, Sept,
Nov, Oct
and Dec.
I'll have to add March's block when I find the picture! |
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Jun. 12, 2009 Sewing with the Girls
One day this past week, the sewing machines came out and we sewed up 3 skirts. For these skirts, I don't have a pattern, but I just measure the girls, decide on the length, draw the skirt and then cut! So simple and fast.
Here R. is sewing the hem on the ruffle with brother watching her.
S. is also sewing the hem on her ruffle with little brother watching.
When the sewing machines come out, the boys are right there to watch!
The delighted girls. S. did most of the sewing on her skirt.
I sewed up the pink skirt for R. and then she did some sewing on her blue skirt,
but I finished it up for her.
 The skirts turned out really pretty and we hope to sew up a few more next week, they are all cut out and just waiting to be sewn together. It was an enjoyable afternoon! |
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Jan. 5, 2009 More Rag Quilts
We have been sewing up rag quilts around here. All five of our children have their very own rag quilt now. The two older girls sewed up their own and I sewed up the ones for younger ones. I have enjoyed sewing them too. They are so nice and cozy, baby just loves hers!
Like I mentioned in this post, I got the idea and instructions from Seasons At Home, summer issue. What makes these quilts neat, is that the seams are on the top, so after you sew it all together, you clip the seams every 1/4 inch, then wash and dry it which then gives it the ruffled look.
Here is S. sewing on her quilt. We have a sewing class for a number of girls in our circle of friends, the last project we did was a rag quilt, all the girls had a very enjoyable time.
R. sewing on her quilt with the help of Oma (Grandma)
I think she would like to give sewing a try!
Our finished quilts. Our three year old did not want to be in the picture,
so baby is sitting on his quilt, which is folded in half.
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Dec. 10, 2008 Rag Quilting
Tonight our toddler is sleeping under a new blanket made just for him! This is my second rag quilt to sew up and I quite enjoyed it! The first rag quilt I ever saw was in a local fabric store, I commented to my mom, who was with me at the time, that it looked like it was fun and easy to sew up. Then when my summer issue of Seasons At Home arrived, I saw it again and there were instructions on how to make one. So I bought some flannel and sewed one up for baby. It was not as big as the one in Seasons at Home, because I did not have enough flannel, but it is perfect for her and she loves it! It is our cuddling blanket! Anyway, recently I bought more flannel when it was on sale and made one for our toddler. He is thrilled to have one just like baby sister.
Here it is all cut out and placed in the pattern I wanted. Plus some children peeking out from under the table...
B. peeking at his new blanket
All done and a very happy little boy!  
I am very pleased with this and the next will be one for our 5 yr old son. The older girls would like one too, but I think it will be a perfect project for them to practice their sewing on. Now we have to see if we can buy some more flannel when it is on sale.
Here is baby and toddler under baby's rag quilt. Aren't they just the sweetest?!?!? Just wants to make me smile! 
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Jul. 20, 2008 Sewing Diapers
Today, I sewed up 6 diapers using the mama bird pattern. They sew up so fast, especially when you have a serger. I have made a number of these diapers. I first discovered this pattern when I sewed up diapers while pregnant with baby #4. Now with our fifth baby, I used the ones I had already sewn, but now some are really starting to show wear and tear. Also included in my diaper stash are diapers I have gotten from my second hand store finds, they were in excellent shape too, but after lots and lots of washing, they do get worn.
So I got out the sewing machine and went to work. This time I use flannel on the outside and fleece on the inside. They feel so soft! I'll now have to see how well they will hold up after many washings.
Just a note, the 2 yellow ones, I sewed up last week & baby is wearing the other plaid diaper.
I really like the way they fit.
A happy cloth diapered baby
Now for covers, I really like the Thirsties cloth diaper covers and I also have really enjoyed my Bummis cloth diaper covers too. I just recently bought the Thirsties and they are really nice! I have also used Dappi nylon diaper pants and others I have picked up at the second hand store. But my favourite are the Thirsties.
For this batch of diapers, I did buy material for them, our fabric store was having a good sale. But in the past I have also used receiving blankets (picked up from the secondhand store), torn crib sheets and tee-shirts not being worn anymore. Tee-shirts are not so absorbent, so I used that along with flannel.
I have had a lot of fun in my cloth diapering adventure.
My friend Tammy has an interesting post on pre-folded cloth diapers and there are so many others in the world wide web. |
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