Audrey's New Swimsuit!

I can't tell you how easy this swimsuit was to put together!!!  I have been looking at many tutorials for swimsuits, but this one seemed to make the most sense to me.  That particular post is just the directions to assemble the suit.  She also did a blog on how to create your own pattern; which is what I did.  I just took Audrey's swim suit from last year and added 2 inches to the middle so that her new suit would be 2 inches longer than last year's suit.  She is so skinny that I didn't need to add to the width.

The bathing suit probably only took me about an hour to complete and I love the final product!

Audrey's Easter Dress

 

I saw this adorable dress on Shwin and Shwin's blog and loved it so much that I wanted to make one for Audrey.  I made some modifications, so now it is definitely a "Krohn Kreation!" 

I have been dying to try piping in a project, so I made a scoop neckline and put piping in the front and back of the neckline.

Also, so many of these little girl dresses use buttons.  Buttons and Audrey don't exactly mix because she doesn't hold still for long so I needed to make the dressing process quicker, so I put a zipper in instead of buttons.

 

Lastly, Shwin and Shwin only put the ribbon on the front of the dress.  I like the wrap around look, but as you can see, I had some issues getting the ribbon to lay flat in the back.

I followed the Cottage Mama's template and steps for the top, which I love because all of the seams are fully encased.  The dress looks very high quality.  And since the dress is made from seersucker (which is pretty thin), I also lined the skirt.

Tutorial--Make Your Own Shorts/Pants

As my sewing skills and confidences grow, I would like to start sharing my knowledge with others.  This is the first time I am trying to write a a tutorial.  Hopefully someone will want to try and out and let me know how it worked for them!

Making your own shorts or pants without a pattern definitely isn't a new thing.  I have no idea where I learned how to do it--I read so many amazing blogs that have helped hone the skills that my mother taught me.  All you need is a pair of shorts/pants that fit well, some paper (I use a roll of kids craft paper), fabric, elastic, and a sewing machine and thread.  For Ayden's shorts, I used a little less than half a yard of fabric.

The first thing you need to do, is turn the pants inside out and tuck one leg into the other.  Try to get the piece as flat as possible so you can see all of the side seams.  These shorts did not want to lay flat, so I drew the left side out to where they should have lain flat.

Lay the shorts on the paper and trace around them, about 1/2 inch away from the seam to account for seam allowances.  The bottom and top edges are about an inch and a half below the seam, to allow for a 1 inch cuff and a 1 inch waist band.

The front and back pieces of your clothes are not identical, so you need to trace both the front half of the shorts and the back half.  Make sure you label your pattern pieces!  And if you would like to make the shorts again, you might want to label the size.

Cut out your pattern pieces.

You will need 2 front pieces and 2 back pieces, so I fold my fabric in half and pin my pattern pieces on top.

Cut the pieces out.

  To ensure that I don't mess up my front and back pieces, I labeled my front pieces with an "F."  Note that I use a pencil that will disappear when it is washed.

Now the sewing begins!!!

Pin 1 front and 1 back piece together, with the right sides facing each other.  (You will only see the wrong side of the fabric.)

Sew up the long, straight side, using a 1/2 seam allowance.  This is the side seam of your pants.

Repeat for the other two pieces.

Open the pieces up and iron flat.  You will have 2 pieces that look like this.

As a side note, I do not have a serger.  . . (yet) so I like to make french seams because they look more professional.  If you would like to make a french seam, all you have to do is (1) put the pieces together with wrong sides together (2) sew a narrow (3) open and iron flat, trim extra fabric (4) press the fabric with right sides facing each other (your seam will be smooshed between the 2 layers) (5) sew 1/4 seam.

Ok, back to the normal tutorial.

If you don't want a cuff, skip to the next image.

To make the contrasting cuff, I made a narrow hem on my polka dot fabric.  To make a narrow hem, place fabric on the ironing board right side down and press 1/2 inch of fabric over twice.

I pinned this fabric to the pant leg, lining up the unfinished (bottom) edges.  The rolled hem that I just made is at the top where the pins are.

Sew a straight line down the pins. (I remove pins as I go, to avoid possibly breaking a needle.)

Repeat for the other leg.

Another "professional" touch that I added, was sewing 2 parallel lines here.

Next, place the two legs together, ride sides facing each other.

Pin up the J shaped curves on either side.  These seams will be the waist to crotch and waist to butt seams.

Sew where you have pinned with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Open up the shorts so that the seams lay flat.  I have a pin in the picture above so you can see the seam that we just sewed. Your fabric should look more like shorts now!

Now I have flipped my shorts around.  Pin the inseam.  This area is shaped like a U.  That middle seam is the seam that you sewed in the previous step.  Since I made a cuff, I was careful to match up the cuffs on the front and back pieces.

Sew, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

If the clothes are going to get a good bit of wear, you might want to reinforce the crotch inseam.  Come back and add a line of stitches at the crotch on the outside of the seam that you just sewed.

At this point, I like to try the clothes on just to make sure nothing needs to be adjusted before I hem up the bottoms and create the waist.

To make a cuff, make sure the pants are inside out.  Flip over 1/2 inch of fabric and press it flat.  Next flip over 1 inch of fabric and press flat again.  You will not see any of the raw edge.

Sew the cuff down.  I life to line my presser foot up with the top edge of the cuff.

Repeat for the other leg.

Since I already had a line of stitching on the cuff, I flipped my pants around so they were right side out to sew the cuff down.  I then sewed right on my upper line of stitching and carefully removed each pin before I got to it.

 Lastly, you need to make the waistband! Just like the cuffs, with the shorts inside out, fold over 1/2 inch, press, fold over 1 inch, press again.  At this point, I like to make a little tag.  I just use my pinking shears to cut a square of fabric and insert it into the center back waistband.

Pin the waistband down.  You are going to need to leave about an inch and a half open so that you can insert the elastic.  To mark the open spot, I use 2 pins on either side.

Stitch around the waist, using about 1/4 inch allowance.  Start at one set of double pins, and end at the other set.  Note, too, that my opening is in the back.  This is just in case I get a little pucker, mistakes aren't as noticeable in the back.

Put your elastic around the wearer's waist (not stretched) and mark where you need to cut.  (This is 3/4 inch elastic.) I usually cut the elastic just a tad shorter than the person's waist circumference.

To thread the elastic through, use a safety pin.  Be careful to keep the elastic from twisting.

It also helps to use "non-roll" elastic.  My store was out of  the non-roll, so I am making due with standard elastic.

Overlap the ends, and stitch, using a zigzag stitch.  I go back and forth a couple times to make it strong.

Distribute the elastic evenly through the band.  If you want to make sure they fit well, you might want to try them on before you close up this seam.

Sew the seam closed, doing your best to line up your stitching with the other ends.

Congrats!  You just made a pair of pants!  Enjoy!

One last thought.  Anyone can sew.  All you need is patience, a good iron, and lots of pins.  It is like carpentry, take your time, measure twice, and mark your patterns well and you, too, can create whatever your mind can think up!

Quick update

 

So I set some goals for myself this year and for lent.  Among them,  I decided that I would sew consistently and stop yelling.  Here are some pictures of my latest sewing projects. 

I made these two pillows.  The flowered pillow is shaped like a stop sign and has super soft fabric on the back.  The checkered pillow has a flap opening in the back so I can easily take the pillow form out and wash the cover.  Up top, I have a three tiered ruffled valence.  It took a lot of fabric to make, but it was really easy.

 

For the kitchen, I sewed up another three tiered ruffle valence, but i used all three colors.  Once again, a super simple  curtain that uses quite a bit of fabric.  Bryan also put these pretty white shelves up for me.  There are two of them.  The other shelf is a little bit higher than this one.

 

I also made two of each of these pillows.  The floral pillow has a flap opening in the back.  The blue and green pillow has an invisible zipper on the bottom.  My next home sewing project is to make slip covers for the couch.  Call me crazy, but I will be slip covering them in white.  Yes, white.  Yes, I have children.  Yes, they are messy.  No, you are not going to convince me to use a different color.  Don't even try.  They will look awesome, and I will buy stock in bleach.

And finally, a note about my Lent resolution.  If you missed it before, I have decided to give up yelling for Lent.  The whole point of giving something up (for me) is to rely on God for strength.  And there is nothing that requires more help from God, than holding my temper.  It's funny, I actually know a couple other moms that have given up yelling for Lent too.  So far, I have succeeded! Life has been so much more peaceful, and school with Jack has been much more enjoyable.  If you find yourself yelling a bit too much too, I really suggest committing to no yelling for a week.  

Update On My Craft Obsessions

 I wanted to make Jack a desk that was just the right height so that he would have his feet on the floor for good handwriting.  Somehow I came up with this idea.  4 crates, one piece of plywood and some chalkboard cloth and we have the perfect solution for desk and storage.

 I have a filing cabinet and plastic drawer unit in our bedroom.  They aren't pretty, so I decided to make covers to make them more girly.  The flap on the front lifts up so that I still have easy access to the drawers.

 My newest obsession is acrylic painting.  I took two classes at the Painting with a Twist.  If you have never heard of them, they are a place where you bring your own alcohol and paint under the instruction of an artist.  This was my second painting, a cherry tree in the moonlight.  My first painting was one of those wacky New Orleans shotgun houses. I quickly learned why the paintings don't have straight lines, because it is difficult to paint straight when you are tipsy :o)

 This one I did at home.  I think I need to make the little jazz man's jacket a little bigger/more rounded in the back.

 This one I also did at home.  It is the Philly skyline painted like a sunset and the Benjamin Franklin bridge.  I need to paint the sky but am scared to screw up what I have done so far.  I am going to go with a sunset look, with pink in the low horizon, fading to blues and grey in the higher part of the sky.

 I made a new wreath for my front door.  When you live in the south, you don't get any fall color, so you have to manufacture it.  I also put fake fall leaves in my bushes that flank my front door.  It's kind of a hilarious ghetto fabulous look, and it cracks me up.

And last but not least, I painted this on Saturday.  We held a painting fundraiser in our community, and this is what we painted.

A Wedding Outfit For Ayden

I recently read another blogger's post about this adorable outfit. I was in need of an outfit for my sister's wedding, and this will fit the bill nicely. Unfortunately, my model wasn't cooperating so it is hard to see the detail.  The tie is appliqued onto the onesie, it is from a shirt that doesn't fit me anymore. The shorts and vest are made from a shirt that I bought this morning specifically for this project. I used the before mentioned bloggers pictures for inspiration, but I sketched my own pattern.

I even have little button tabs on the sides of the shorts.  

New Clothes for kiddos

We are attending a wedding next weekend.  Jack, Audrey, and Bryan are in the wedding so they are covered for clothes.  But Ayden and I had to come up with something.  I've seen lots of people making these cute bow ties, so I made a bow tie out of fabric left over from Jack's tie.  It is just a tube of fabric, pinched together with a smaller tube.  I sewed the bow tie onto the onesie.  I wanted a little more to his attire, so I played around with making it look like a tux with a ruffle of fabric down the middle, but it looked too girly.  I finally came up with these cool buttons.  I think he'll like it :o)

I've also seen people making these simple pinafore dresses for girls.  I just used one of Audie's dresses to make a pattern.  The front is one large piece. The back is two pieces that cross over each other.  The pattern for the back was made by making a copy of the front, and chopping off the outer edge under the shoulder.  If you want a good explanation, click here!

It is reversible, perfect for Little Miss Mess! I used a Robert Kauffman pink and brown toile for one side, and a coordinating brown and pink dot for the other.  This was sooo easy, I will definitely be making more of these.

Before and After

Before: Men's Large T-Shirt.  Jack wanted a River Rattler shirt.  They only had men's large.  I said that wasn't a problem.  All the men thought I was/am crazy.  They thought a medium would be better, but I said it didn't matter since either one would have to be cut down.

As soon as we got home, I butchered the poor shirt.
I cut it open at the sides from the bottom hem up to the arm pits. Then I cut the sleeves off.
Then I folded the shirt in half and laid one of Jack's shirts (also in half) on top of it so that I could cut the body of the shirt to Jack's size.
Lastly, I sewed the sleeves back on, sewed up the sides, and hemmed the bottom.

Yes, he looks a little goofy.  He had his jammies on, and I just had him pull them down so that he could try on his new shirt.

I even managed to keep the logos!  And best of all, Jack loves it!  If anyone cares, I could do a picture tutorial if you want to alter clothing of your own.  It's quick, easy, and made me happy because I accomplished something!

Pictures for Grammies

Grammie Ann made this quilt for Audrey.  The purple and green in the quilt go well with the wall colors.  She also made two matching pillow cases.

The quilt has three "column" panels, which fit perfectly with the bed.  The center panel is on top of the bed and the side panels hang over the sides.

Last night I sewed up a taffeta dress for Audrey that might be used for my sister's wedding.  We'll see.  It didn't take low to sew up and the fabric was pretty cheap.  I am at least improving my sewing skills!

I usually make a colorful sash for this dress, but I think a pretty lace would look nice, while also making the dress fit better.

The purple poof doesn't show unless she's climbing on things.

I am going to try and find a chiffon in a darker purple/plum and add another layer to the bottom so the color matches my sister's color scheme and so that the dress is pouffed a little more.

And yes, this is how they are much of the time.  They are either playing rough (which eventually ends in tears for one or both of them) or they are cuddling/playing together nicely much of the time.  But bring out a camera and this is what you get.  Two hams!

Pouffy Skirt

2 yards of fabric!  And it is sooo soft and cuddly.

Here is Audie's pouffy skirt, which will go under a creme taffeta dress.

And every time I open up the photo booth program, Audrey starts making faces.  Such an attractive family!