Maxi Mayhem

I seriously can't stop making these! I made five for a friend and three for me so far, not including the pint sized ones I have made. And I have fabric for five more! Can you have too many maxi skirts? Please say no...

 

Seriously head over and start making your own. You will not be sorry!

Baptism Invites

Or any other type of invite for that matter.

 

I had one of my awesome friends snap a few pictures on Easter. Making sure to off-center the picture so there was room for some text. Once I picked the perfect picture, I added the words with Picmonkey. If you haven't tried that site, you must! Most of it is free with a few upgrades if you want to pay for it. After adding the words I faded them a little into the brick wall. Then a quick print at Sam's Club and they are ready to be sent out.

 

So excited for these invites, and more importantly, this day!



Maxi Skirt Tutorial

Once I realized how ridiculously simple these skirts were to make, I have been whipping them out like crazy!

This tutorial is really simple, so don't try to over think it. Also, it involves some basic addition, so bust out those calculators if you need them!

1. Cut your waist band pieces. You will need two rectangles that stretch across your hips. To find the size measure around your hips. For example: my measurement was 33". Then subtract 2" from that number.  For the "height" the basic measurements call for a 16" piece. That way when it is folded and sewn it is 8" and then essentially folded again over itself when you wear it, it is 4". I cut this a little short because I have a shorter torso.

2. Cut you main pieces. You will need two of these again with the stretch going across your body. This is where you need to do some math. To find the width of the top of the skirt, take your band measurement and add eight inches. Then find a bottom measurement by just cutting your piece at an a-line until you hit the edge of the fabric.

Example:

My hips are 33"

33"-2"= 31"

31"/2= 15 1/2" (Divided by two for the front and back panel)

My waistband was 15 1/2"x15"

31 + 8= 39"

My fabric width was 56"

Once you have these numbers you need to place your fabric right sides together and then fold the material hot dog style again. This will make it where you only make one cut. But doing this means you need to divide your two numbers in into fourths. So, in my case, 39/4=9.75" and 56/4=14".

Yeah... you totally can't read what that says. The drawing points out the line that you make from the top measurement (9.75") and the bottom measurement (14"). You are angling the line out from the smaller number to the larger number. Cut along this line, leaving you with two a-line pieces.

3. Serge, serge,  serge. If you don't have a serger, you can use a zig-zag stitch on your machine. Sew your two main pieces of fabric, right sides together, down the sides. Also sew your two waist band piece together along the tall sides.

4. At this point try on your waist band piece to make sure it fits. If it is too big, meaning you have a lot of stretch in your fabric, cut it smaller little by little. Once you are satisfied with your waist band, continue!

5. Fold your waist band piece over, wrong sides together, and line up the raw edges. Flip your main skirt piece so right sides are facing out. Now place your waist band around the main skirt piece and line up ALL the raw edges. Line up the side seams and pin into place.

5. As you sew/serge, pull JUST the waist band piece. You are pulling on the waist band to stretch it to the same width as the main fabric. Just stretch and sew/serge.

6. After your two pieces are sewn together, iron all your seams. This will snap your fabric right back down to size. Make sure to use lots of steam!

7. Now try on your skirt and cut any excess material from the bottom. No need to hem this stuff, it will just kind of roll over on itself anyway.

Now, about the pink skirt pictured, it is obviously not the same type of skirt. I did several alterations to this skirt because I cut the material wrong and wanted to add a fun ruffle to the bottom. This just shows how you can dress up and add things to this simple tutorial.

Enjoy!

***My awesome friend did a quick photo shoot for my facebook page!

Fixing a Too Long Shirt

I have a ridiculously short torso. Like REALLY short. Combine that with a larger chest and some shirts can make me look really wide. I try to buy longer shirts but sometimes that doesn't work out very well either.

I bought this shirt at Downeast a couple years ago and have truly never worn it. It is awkward long and flow-y. Not a good combination. But it is also so dang soft and comfy that I just couldn't get rid of it. I knew I needed to fix it, mainly because I have the perfect yellow skirt to wear it with. 

I started by cutting off about five inches from the bottom. I would have cut a little less but there was a tiny hole in the shirt.

Take the bottom section and cut some of the width so that it is more fitted. Then fold it in half, wrong sides together. You are going to be making a band for the bottom of the shirt.

Slip the band around the outside of the shirt (facing right sides together) and pin the side seams so they line up. Now, my shirt piece was a little wider than the band, so slightly stretch the band as you go to match it up with the shirt. Serge/sew the two pieces together and iron. 

Now I have a shorter, more fitted shirt that is still SUPER comfy and soft.

Mason Jar Pin Cushion

I whipped up this cute little mason jar pin cushion the other night. I happen to have a bunch of mason jars from my husband's boss right now, so I am in mason jar heaven!

 

I pinned this on Pinterest the other day and thought the overall idea was really cute.

On small change I made was instead of adding thread and other notions to the jar, I added the extra pins. Good storage!