Easter Dress Begins Today!

I've had this picture saved for quite some time.  I think many of the details are just lovely.  It's beautifully feminine with the light overlayer and lovely ruffles.  The moment I saw it, I knew just what I could do and which fabric I'd use.  I'll be repurposing a beautiful light blue gown that was rescued a couple of years ago.  Stay tuned to see the result. 
"Inspired" posts are one of the new things we are bringing to you as we "grow".

Happy Sewing!
Debbie

Tuesday's Tute: Heart Clip

Tuesday's tutorial is maybe a bit overly simplistic, however, Curly really wanted me to share this one.  She says the girls may have fun making these.  They can be made with glue or hand stitches.  If you're reading this too late for Valentine's, the same process works for any simple shape.  We've actually used felt printed with butterflies, cut out the butterflies and stacked them.  The possibities are endless.

Materials:
Various felt colors to stack
Glue or needle and thread
Pin or hair clip
Button or something for the center.

Directions:
1. Cut out a heart in three sizes.
2. Stack the hearts and stitch/glue in the very center.
3. Add your center piece.
4. Put the pin or clip onto the back.

A bit of fun news.  SquigglyTwigs Designs is now part of Craftsy.  Our patterns are listed there for sale.  It's the same price as here.  Craftsy.com is a fabulous place to see what crafters are up to and to take some classes.  The Craftsy badge is in our upper left hand corner.
Also...we are now SquigglyTwigsDesigns.com.  The blogspot address will still bring you here.  I'm starting to make some "growing up" changes, and an official website is the beginning.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Valentine's Day. 

Happy Sewing!
Debbie

Tuesday's Tute: Valentine Pretties with Tutu Leggings

Valentine's Day is coming.  My little girl loves tutus.  It's a bit chilly for tutu shorts.  Now, she has tutu leggings!  To make these leggings a bit more interesting, we used a variety of tulle and tulle like materials in the tiers, as well as two different leg prints.  The ready to wear t-shirt was embellished with iron on rhinestones and a tulle heart.  Visit our Tulle t-shirt tutorial for the how to.  The only difference in this shirt is the heart design.  I cut a heart from paper to gauge size and then traced it onto the shirt with fabric chalk.
The hair flower tutorial can be found here.  The version with this outfit has two layers of tulle and a jewel hot glued in the center.
Now for the tutu leggings tutorial.

Materials:
Ready to wear Leggings or a legging pattern and fabric.
Washable marking tool
4 yards of tulle 54" wide
Sewing supplies and sewing machine

Directions:

 1. Cut 4 strips of tulle for each (3) tier.  We used more than 4 types of tulle and some were not 54" long, so we have more than 4 strips.  The strips need to equal the length of 112" or more.
2. Organize the strips to get the look you want for each tier.

 3. Stack the strips in order and label for each tier.  Otherwise they can get mixed up and the look you want may not come out just right.

 4.  Create leggings, without elastic in the casing. If you are using ready to wear leggings, skip this step, and don't worry about the elastic in the ready to wear pair.  It won't cause much of a problem.

 5.  Beginning with the bottom tier, mark a line 1" above the start of the crotch curve, front and back.
Next mark the top tier 2" below the waist line elastic, front and back.
Lastly, divide the space between the top and bottom tier in half and mark the middle tier, front and back.

 6. Gather the tulle tiers along the top raw edge. Follow the link to our fast and easy gathering tutorial..no pulling threads! As you come about 2" from the end of a strip, layer on the next strip, and continue to gather until all of the strips for the tier are together and gathered.
Gather the next tier in the same manner until all three tiers are together and gathered.
7. Measure the circumference of your leggings.  Adjust each tier to that measurement, plus 3".

8. Using a 2 wide by 2 long zigzag stitch, sew the bottom tier onto the leggings.  Sew on top of the markings you made earlier.  Overlap the end about 2". 
Sew the middle tier on the same way.
Finish with the top tier.
For those who created leggings, put the elastic in the casing and finish.

I hope your special girl loves her frilly pants as much as Curly does!

Happy Sewing!
Debbie

Tuesday's Tute: Slim those Leggings

Do you have a tall and slim girl?  As you know, I do.  And, she loves wearing leggings.  Legging fabric is hard to find and quite expensive.  However, ready to wear leggings are quite inexpensive, but waaay too wide.  The solution for us...slim them.  This tutorial works for any leggings with a thin, not bulky, waist.  We buy our leggings at Walmart for under $6.  They don't last long, but serve our purpose.  One year they are worn "by-by".  The next year, after they'll no longer come as clean, they are worn as play clothes.  By the end of two years, they are always tooo short ;).
Here is the simple tutorial.

Materials:
Leggings that are the proper length.  Pay no attention to size or width...that won't matter.  Some of Curly's leggings are 14/16 on the size label.  Most of them are size 10/12 on the size label.
Leggings that are the proper width. Pay no attention to the length. 
Sewing machine that does a zigzag or a serger.
Ballpoint needle: critical! A ballpoint needle is a must when sewing on knit.  A regular needle will "break" your fabric as you sew.  The fabric at the seam will simply fall apart....not good at all.

Directions:

1. Lay the new leggings (too wide) on a flat surface.  Lay the old leggings (too short) on top of the new leggings.  Match up the inseam and center front and back seams.  You'll be using the new waist and new leg hem.  You'll also keep the inseam and crotch seam.

2. Cut from the top waistband edge (through the waistband) along outter edge, leave 1/4" for a seam allowance. 3. Use a 2 wide by 2 long zigzag stitch. And a ballpoint needle! Stitch through the waistband, down the outter seam, and through the hem.  Make sure to backstitch to begin and end your new outter seam.

That's it!  You now have slim leggings!  This tutorial also works for knit shorts.  They key is a lightweight or thin waistband that you can easily sew through.  I slimmed 6 pair in under 30 min.  Yes, 6 pair...she was in dire need of bottom covering. ;)

Happy Sewing!
Debbie

Tuesday's Tute: Make a Carnation!

 We love using flowers to accessorize and embellish.  But, I bet you already knew that.  This carnation is, I think, my invention.  I had an extra measure of gathered chiffon from the ruffles on this dress and thought they'd make a pretty flower.  So here's how to make the flower.  It's actually very simple.

Materials:
Lightweight fabric or ribbon for strips: Chiffon, organza, tulle, and lace make good choices.  For a flower of this size you'll need enough to net 12 feet of 1" strips or 12 feet of lightweight ribbon.  Fabric that frays will need to be cut on the bias, therefore more fabric is needed for that.  I used part of 1/2 yd. of chiffon.
Felt circle 50 cent piece in size
Needle and thread
Sewing machine and supplies
Cutting supplies: I used a rotary cutter and mat to make quick work of the 1" strips

Directions:

 1. Cut 1" strips to equal about 12 feet.

 2. Tightly gather strips down the center. Overlap the ends slightly as you gather to make one long gathered strip. It will be about 4 feet long. Our quick gathering tutorial is found here.

 3.  Cut a circle of felt about the size of a 50 cent piece.

 4. Starting in the center, stitch one end of the gathered strip with a needle and thread.  Make a small loop/bunch and stitch it down.  Continue stitching down small loops/bunches until the center is full. 

 5. Make the loops/bunches larger as you work towards the outside of the flower. The tighter you place the loops/bunches, the more full your carnation will appear.  Tie off your thread on the back side of the flower when you finish.

 6. This is what the back of the carnation will look like when you finish.

Enjoy your finished carnation.  You can add any type of fastener to the back.  We use a safety pin to allow us to use it on clothing or to pin it to a clip or pony in the hair.

Happy Sewing!
Debbie

Tuesday's Tute Replay: Perfect for Valentine's Day

Tutu shorts (or pants if you live in the colder parts) and a cute tulle embellished top make the perfect frilly Valentine's Day outfit.
Use this tutu shorts tutorial to make the perfectly frilly bottoms for your little girl.  If you need to make pants, use the same tutorial on a pair of leggings instead of shorts.

The top is easy.  Make a t-shirt or sew tulle hearts on a ready to wear t-shirts.  This tutorial will tell you how.

Enjoy your Valentine's Day outfit and don't forget to share your pretties with us.

Happy Sewing!

Debbie

Tuesday's Tute: Upcycle Bracelet

 Inspired by a similar bracelet from Pinterest, I made this little thing from items found in my jewelry box and craft boxes.  Take a couple of unused necklaces, lace, and beads and you've got a new bracelet.  I left the necklaces whole, just in case I'd rather have the necklace instead of the bracelet again.

 Materials:
Bracelet: (each 8" in length (mine) or your bracelet circumference + 2")
Lace
beads
chains
ribbon
Tie:
Lace or Ribbon long enough to create a bow. (mine 18")
In my case I used a 15" pearl necklace and 15" gold chain.  These were doubled in the bracelet.

Directions:

 1. Tie all of your bracelet strands together at one end with wire, ribbon, or thread.

 2. Slip the bow ribbon/lace through the tied end.

 3. Tie the tied end to hang it up.  I used the post of a kitchen chair.

 4. Braid tightly.

 5. Tie remaining end together.

6. Slip bow lace/ribbon through and tie it into a nice bow.  It's ready to wear!

Happy Sewing!  (well, crafting this week)
Debbie