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Friday, September 30, 2011

The Girly Cardigan, Take 2

Remember the Girly Cardigan I made with a pattern from Heidi & Finn. This time I did a slight variation; I didn't include the ruffle strip along on the edges, instead I added a crochet detail.

A few months ago I bought a ton of vintage crochet pieces. I wanted to add them on a few pieces in G's fall wardrobe, so I found a crocheted place mat and went to work. First, I cut all the pattern pieces for the pattern, including 2 extra front pieces cut from the crocheted placed mat. Second, I took the exterior fabric and crochet pattern pieces and sewed them together. After that I continued to sew the cardigan as instructed, excluding the ruffle piece.

At first, I wasn't sure what I thought of the cardigan. Once I put it on G, I loved it! She looked so adorable with it in her new Gap jeans. She wore this to church the other weekend and she got quite a few compliments on it!!

Someone figured out her nose has holes
that her fingers fit right in!


A cute little tuxedo-tail style back!



Monday, September 26, 2011

The Girly Cardigan

I purchased the Girly Cardigan from Heidi & Finn on Etsy. I LOVE all the adorable patterns they have. I picked this one because its the perfect accessory for fall/winter. I'm thinking the next one may be gray with a lace overlay on the front. But this one was made to go with the fall into fall skirt.

I reviewed the pattern itself in a preview post. Sewing up the pattern was fairly simple. The only part I had problems with was the ruffling. The instructions say to pin pleats into a strip of fabric to make the ruffle, but I simply did a basting stitch, pulling the threat tight on one end. (See a tutorial here) Once I made the ruffle I pinned it in place and sewed along the edges. However, I did a fleece fabric so I had a hard time keeping all the layers together and making sure I had sewn through them all. I'm sure a more experienced seamstress wouldn't have any trouble at all, but this part caused me some trouble. Plus, my ruffle was super ruffly which I'm sure didn't help. With that said, I'll still be making another one. Maybe without the ruffle? There's alot of variations you can use with this pattern!
Pics at the farm! She wanted to eat the corn
so bad!

The best part was when I put it on G, she loved it! It was so comfy and had plenty of room to grow! I have a feeling this will be a favorite sweater of hers!

Adorable details!
Poor baby girl was recovering from being really sick, she's just not herself yet!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Simple Ruffle Skirt

Like many other crafters I fell in love with ruffle fabric. Whoever came up with this idea is pretty much a genius. I was even more excited when the Hobby Lobby near my house carried it! They only have a simple black ruffle at $12.99/yd but with a 40% off coupon I couldn't resist to buy a yard. I've seen about a million different items being made with the ruffle fabric, my favorites being ruffle leggings and a ruffle skirt

My favorite place to buy ruffle fabric is second-hand stores and garage sales! Confused? Let me explain...Designers have also fallen in love with ruffle fabric and there are millions of kids clothes out there made with the ruffle fabric. Take this little Miley Cyrus dress I bought at a garage sale for $3. Sure it's a little juvenile for me but I just knew I could made something adorable out of it for G!

And that's exactly what I did. I simply cut the black top off the elastic, took in the side seam and raised the hem. TADA! A incredibly simple, yet adorable, skirt for my sweet baby G! 







Oh how I love this little skirt. I even found a tutorial for a mama ruffle skirt! Love it!!
And don't worry, for my friends who haven't caved and bought a sewing machine-I'll
be selling custom ruffle skirts! Depending on size; prices will range between $10-15. 
Just email me at giarosedesigns@gmail.com


Saturday, September 17, 2011

Urban Unisex Hoodie

I finally made the Urban Unisex Hoodie from Heidi and Finn. The first one I made didn't turn out 
that well. I used a print fleece with a knit lining. It felt incredibly soft and comfy but the thick layers
made the sleeves way too tight. I emailed H&F and they said the Urban Hoodie is a 'slim fit'. 

The instructions also say to use a zig zag stitch, I didn't do this on the second hoodie since I use
a walking foot when sewing with stretch fabrics. Otherwise the pattern sewed up like a 
dream! Very simple and quick. I did do a review when I cut out the pattern here. 

Here's my first try...
Cute but I think I like the hoodie better without a printed fabric. 


And take two:


I love the second one! I used a jersey knit for the outer layer and a cotton, quilting fabric
for the lining (from Hobby Lobby). I did increase the sleeve width by about 1/2inch. They
fit much better now. 



Everything's red!



Suckers, beads, what more can a girl want?!
G's favorite part of the parade...dancers!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Theirs Vs. Mine

My favorite thing to do lately is shop for Gianna...
but instead of buying items I just take pictures and go home and make it!
 I love the sailor/military look that is in this fall. So when I saw this skirt at the Gap,
I fell.in.love. How simple would that be too make?!



Sadly, I couldn't find light pink corduroy so I settled on a darker gray. 
The buttons where in the vintage collection I got from a friend. 
 I decided a sweet necklace tee would be the perfect companion. 

Theirs cost $26.95, mine was less than $5!
I picked up a onesie at a garage sale for $.75; used some fabric paint and a flower embellishment
to top it all off!
I dressed her up in some baby leggs and sparkly shoes for fun. This will definitely be the 
perfect look for fall!

I used Tulip Fabric Paint in metallic silver & 'puff' gold. 
The silver was a pain.in.my.butt. However the gold worked great, I think it helped
it was the 'puff paint' kind. Plus a little flower embellishment attached with fabric glue!

Next pictures will be taken at a park...no one needs to see my embarrassingly 
messy back yard!


Friday, September 9, 2011

Fall into Fall Skirt

I found this fabric at Walmart on clearance for $3.00/yd. I thought it would be perfect for 
a fall skirt; and at $1.50 for a 1/2yd I couldn't pass it up! 

I used The Long Thread's tutorial for a simple skirt. I wanted to dress it up a bit
so I added elastic only to the back section of the skirt and kept the front a 'flat front'. 

I just love how it turned out. It's cute now with a little tank and will perfect in the fall
with a warm cardigan and knit tights. Plus at $1.50, how can you not love it?!


The loves her green lizard!

I'm DONE mom...stop following me around!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Pattern Review: Heidi & Finn

Did you know Heidi and Finn is having a B2G1 sale?! Yup, buy two patterns and get one FREE!
I couldn't pass up this great sale so I splurged on a few patterns I've been wanting. 

Urban Unisex Hoodie Pattern; I've been drooling over this pattern for.ever. I'm
so excited to start making some sweet little hoodies for my baby G!

Cowl Neck Dress Pattern; I love that I could shorten this to make it into a tunic to wear
with leggings or a sweater! 

Girly Cardigan Pattern; I purchased this to make a cardi for G's skirt that I just
made her(post coming!). And every little girl needs a few ruffly cardigans for fall!

As soon as I received the three patterns in my inbox I started printed them out. That's when I realized
my first issue; the pages aren't numbered and the patterns aren't all labeled. Now, this wouldn't be a bad
thing if someone was organized but for me, I printed them out and then G found them and the 
next thing I know, I have a million pages all over my craft room floor. 

After I got them all sorted, taped and cut out things are looking up! I did label each pattern piece 
with what pattern the piece was too. I was kind of surprised H&F didn't do that. I store all my cut 
patterns in a filing cabinet but they definitely get mixed up every once in awhile. I love to label them
all with the size and what pattern they go to. I also wish the pieces were labeled with page numbers
so it was much easier to put the pieces together. Overall though, that wouldn't keep me from buying more!

I love H&F's patterns and they've had lots of rave reviews so I have very high expectations! 
That's all I got for now...off to bed and hopefully I'll have time to start sewing tomorrow!


Raglan Tee, Take 2

Remember when I tried to make my first Raglan Tee? I wish I could say my second attempt went better...
It did go a tiny bit better, but not really what I was hoping for. Jess's tutorial over at Craftiness is Not Optional was great but I can't seem to get the neckline to lay flat! What's up with that?! Any suggestions?

Atleast the print is adorable (Micheal Miller's Mod Blooms knit)...maybe that will help distract that bad
 turtle-neckish neckline...ugh. 

Oh well. I'll still make her wear it this fall. It's too cute to just let it hang in her closet!

Add caption


Ohh...what's this goey stuff?

Wow Mom! Look what I did!

Pretty cool, huh?

G has a huge head so I always have to make a slit
in the back and add a little button & elastic. Simple, quick and cute!




Sunday, September 4, 2011

Vintage Inspired Infinity Scarf

I saw this scarf on Pinterest and fell.in.love. I knew I needed to make myself one ASAP!

I found the perfect fabric at Joann's....some soft jersey knit in brown and a
flowerly cotton material. Plus I have some vintage crochet pieces that I could add, I've 
been dying to use them! 





The scarf was actually really simple to make, especially since I used my walking foot while
sewing the knit. If you want a full tutorial on how to make your own just head on over to 

Or you can stop by my Etsy shop and purchase the one I made! I actually made two,
one to sell and one to keep :-)

It's just the perfect accessory for my fall wardrobe!

Ignore the boob shot...oops!