No Sew Ruffle Bib Tee

I was so excited when I looked at Targets ad this morning and saw all their 

plain fitted tees are $5!!! I went right away and I bought one...I may have to go back

and buy 5 more (but don't tell my husband!) I whipped up this awesome

no sew shirt in minutes. I love the simpleness of it, and how cute will it look

this fall under a cardigan or jacket? Ahh...I'm in love. 

Here's what I did! I went to Hobby Lobby and bought the ruffle fabric. It's $12.99

a yard but you can print a 40% off coupon on their website. You only need about an 1/4 of a yard.

I purchased a gray scoop neck tee from Target and some Wonder Under from Joann's (don't worry

it's only $9.99 a yard in the store and you only need about 1/4 yard, plus don't forget to use 

those coupons!)

I took my Wonder Under and placed it on top of my shirt, rough side down. 

Next I traced on the paper the neckline of the top and also how big I wanted

my 'bib' to be. 

Next following the Wonder Under instructions I ironed the ruffle fabric on to the Wonder Under.

Once it was ironed on I cut out the ruffle fabric along the lines I drew earlier, when I traced

the neckline and bib area of the tee. Now peel off the back of the Wonder Under and place

your bib onto the tee. Make sure you have it exactly like you want and then iron it on!

Make sure it pressed really well, especially if you aren't sewing along the edges. 

TA-DA! You're done!! 

(If any of these instructions were confusing please let me know and I'll clarify)

Make sure you wash it gentle cycle, inside out and line dry. 

If you want it to look fancier-here's a tutorial from Make it & Love it on how to sew it on.

Lace Striped Tee-No Sewing Required!

I'm a tee and jeans kind of girl in the summer; anything more than that is way too much to handle while chasing around a bunch of crazy toddlers ;-) I decided this summer I'd whip up some cute embellished tees. 

A friend of mine bought this tee at JCrew. I really love the simplicity of it! And I knew I could easily make one!

Joann's & Hancock's have a bunch of their lace on clearance. I got mine for $.99! 

I purchased a tee from Target for $6 and got to work. At first I pinned the lace on and sewed along the edge, using my walking foot. Well somehow my pins came undone and the second lace line turned out bad!

See the big arch under the left bust area? Ugh. I tried to seam rip it which didn't work too well

because the sewing already caused tiny holes in the shirt. I knew I needed to do something different.

I pulled out my Wonder Under and ironed on the last strips! Simply iron on the Wonder Under onto the

lace, peal off the backing and iron the lace onto the shirt. Easy peasy! I wish I would have tried that first....

Oh well, I suppose I will just have to wear this shirt under a cardigan to hide my little mistake :-)

Are your tee's too small?

I'll admit it, some of my 'pre baby' tees are just a bit too snug now. Some were pretty cute (and expensive) so I really didn't want to throw them out...or give them to my little sister (sorry Hannah!). Then I came across a post, on CrafterHours, where a blogger cut the sides off her tee and added coordinating fabric. GENIUS! I tried it on one of my shirts and I'm pretty happy with the results! I do wish I would have picked out a little more subtle fabric, but oh well. Lesson learned ;-)

And now the tee is a bit loose and fits me much better! Score!

Ruffled Scarf Tutorial

Do you see a pattern here? I'm addicted to ruffles! And scarves, especially in the winter. They always seem to be the best and easiest accessory to my wardrobe. However, scarves can be expensive! Well, not really, but $15 for a simple scarf seems a bit much to me.

 Then I saw an awesome (and incredibly easy) Ruffle Scarf tutorial from Made. I whipped one up in less than 30 minutes....and for $2.50! I will never buy a scarf again-you ladies better not either! Even if you are a beginner at sewing, you can do this!! 

Bright Striped Tuxedo Tunic

I finally tackled the tuxedo tee for G! I've been seeing these everywhere

but didn't want to try one until I got a walking foot.  

I used Maryjanes & Galoshes tutorial on her Tuxedo Tee. And it was so easy! 

I wasn't sure how this would turn out so I used a too-short onesie and an old

long sleeve tee of mine. I really love M&G's combination of the black, white, lace

and the pop of the orange buttons. I may just have to try something similar

next time! 

I'll admit though, mine came out pretty cute! I made it a bit longer

so G could wear it as tunic with some white leggings.  Such a cute and easy outfit to make!

Oh and here's a little tip...iron on Wonder Under where you're going to
sew the fitted tee to the onsie. It will keep the fabric from getting wavy. 

Ballerina Top

I found these great free printables on pinterest and fell in love!! I actually printed out copies to hang in our playroom. They are oh, so adorable. I really love the "B Ballerina" one because I was once a ballerina and now teach dance. I decided G definitely needed that picture on a top!

Over the last couple months I've been garage saleing and picked up a bunch of plain tees to embellish. I grab one of the light pink ones and downloaded the image onto my computer. I then uploaded it into photoshop and flipped it horizontally so the lettering was backwards. Next I printed it off on transfer paper that I picked up at Joann's.  Lastly, I ironed it onto my shirt (make sure you follow the transfer papers instructions). It was so easy and turned into the cutest top!

Sorry about the terrible pictures..G was not into being a model today ;-)

PS-I ended up using PurpleChimp transfer paper. You do not have to flip your image if you use this brand, but the image is much stiffer than the stuff I usually use.

The Braided Top

G was wearing a simple pink top from Target the other day and I realized-that would be so easy to make! During naptime today-I made one! It was simple, quick and came out oh-so-adorable. Now I'm just debating if it's too plain...should I add a simple mini pocket in the coordinating purple fabric? Or leave the top plain and simple?

Bare with me as I give you a tutorial. Please leave a comment if any part of this tutorial isn't clear, I'm still working on my tute skills!

Here's the picture of the pink top. I used it as a pattern and simply cut out around the top (you can use any tank top, just make sure you cut the neck similiar to the one in to photo below.

I also cut my front and back the same, just to make it easier for me. On the original top the back was higher and the arm holes came in more.

Once you have the front and back cut; sew a small quarter inch inseam around the arm holes. (If you have a serger you can sure around the sides of the top at this time, before doing the inseam). 

Next you'll want to measure the neckline for the braid. G's was 17 inches (for a 12month top) around. I cut 3 pieces of coordinating fabric about 1inchx24inches. Make sure you add a few inches to the length of the fabric before you start to braid, you can always cut that off later. 

I found the easiest way to start the braid was to tie all 3 pieces together in a knot. Once you are done braiding sew over the ends with a zig zap stitch a few times. (You'll want to go slow so you don't break your needle. Or even swap out your regular needle for a stronger one)

Here are my three pieces. I started braiding and decided to swap out the teal for another purple piece. 

Once the braid is done set it aside. 

Take your front and back piece and sew them together. 

Now take your braid and place it along the neckline of the top and slowly sew the braid on. Don't move too fast or you'll break your needle. 

Tada! Your top is done. The neckline was a little small and a bit hard to get into G's extra large head. You may have to end up cutting/sewing a small keyhole in the back, depending on your little one. 

The playdate dress...or shirt!

We just bought G these adorable shorts on sale at Younkers. Jeff requested I buy a teal shirt to match the top but I couldn't find anything I liked. So when we got home I decided to try out my new walking foot

and whip up a knit top to match!

First-let me tell you if you don't have a walking foot for your sewing machine, buy one now! I'm in.love. with mine. It made sewing a knit shirt the easiest and quickest thing I've ever made! 

Now, on to the reason for this whole post. I made G an adorable knit top! 

(please disregard these terrible, horrible pictures. I'll put up new ones in a few days!)

I can't take credit for the pattern on this one. I copied Jess's pattern over at Craftiness is Not Optional. 

She made her daughter an adorable Playdate Dress and I copied her pattern to make G a teal top! 

Her pattern was so incredibly easy to follow, I whipped this up in about 30 minutes. Next time I

need to make the neck smaller (and maybe do a cute pattern fabric)

but otherwise I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Thanks Jess for another amazing tutorial!!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!! Since it's a holiday I had to make my little munchkin something adorable to wear! And that is exactly what I did; and then I let her play and get dirty in it! It's currently getting pre-treated for food and dirt stains :-)

Notice she's wearing those awesome denim dipes? Her grandma spoiled her with a package of them-no need for diaper covers anymore!

I used Prudent Baby's One Should Dressy Dress tutorial.  The tutorial was great; super easy to understand and the dress sewed up so nicely! A friend even requested that I make one for her daughter. :-) I couldn't be happier with how her 4th of July dress turned out!