Last week I was privileged enough to test a pattern for my lovely friend Heidi over at Hi-Diddle-Dee-Lee Crochet. This darling hat was such a quick and easy project so I thought I would give her some love and share a link to the pattern with all of you! Hope you check it out!
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Last week, I posted about my pattern for the Chevron Tiny Spats. Here is another #TinySpats pattern. You may recall the Fancy Spats version of this pattern that I posted in June, well here is the baby/child adaptation with a sweet matching headband. Enjoy! This pattern is a fairly easy project and can be crocheted up rather quickly. It is written using US standards and worked flat from the top down. Due to the front and back post stitches, I would consider it to be an advanced beginner pattern. You may have noticed that the sizes have a bit of space between them; this is due to the way the main stitch sequence works. The math didn’t work to create in between sizes. However, if you need a size that isn’t listed, change the size of your hook and/or the weight of yarn. Sizes: Newborn roughly 3” around the ankle (Toddler roughly 4 ½”) (Child roughly 6”) Materials: 30 – 40 yards (15 – 25 meters) Caron Simply Soft or a lightweight worsted yarn D (3.25 mm) Hook Yarn Needle (2) half inch (1.3 cm) buttons Only $3.50 After releasing a few of the spats patterns, I had some requests for child and baby sizes. This got the wheels in my head spinning and this is one of the patterns I created. I also decided that the Tiny Spats patterns needed to have a matching headband. So, here you are; a lovely little spats pattern with a cute matching headband! Materials: 30 – 40 yards (15 – 25 meters) Caron Simply Soft or a lightweight worsted yarn D (3.25 mm) Hook Yarn Needle (2) half inch (1.3 cm) buttons Only $3.50 A few weeks back, I visited my grandma with my sister. My grandma is an AVID garage saler. Most weekends are planned around at least a few sales, which means that she has some really great stuff. Luckily for me, she decided it was time to go through some of the doilies and lace trims that she has been hanging onto for years and give them away. She had a large stack of beautiful doilies that she parted with, half went to my sister, half to me. I knew that at least a couple of them needed to become clothing for my daughter. Well, last week, I used a lovely fabric remnant I had in my stash to create a dress using the #doily as a collar. Below are the results. Just as a heads up, this tutorial is not intended for a beginner. I am assuming that you have some knowledge of making clothes and using your sewing machine. However, I am happy to answer any questions you may have about my process. I don't claim to be a trained seamstress and there are most likely ways of doing things that I haven't thought of, I am just outlining what I did. As always, constructive suggestions are welcome. Materials: Large fabric doily At least 20" of fabric (for an 18 month old) Thin cardboard or cardstock 3 yards double fold 1/2" bias tape 3 yards lace trim 3 buttons 1/4" ribbon to make button loops A dress that already fits well Sewing machine/thread/pins Iron/Ironing board Rotary cutter/Mat/Straight edge Prepping the fabric: Pre-wash and iron all of your fabrics. If you have never made your own pattern before, you may want to get a brush up from the Shwin Sisters. They have some really great sewing tutorials in general, however, I will show you some basics in this tutorial. I started by taking a dress that fits my daughter well and measured the waist and the length. I added 10" to the waist (to account for the pleats and seam allowance) and an inch for the length because I had originally planned to do a rolled hem. Then I straightened out the edges of my fabric (Seven Alive has a good tutorial on this) and ironed my folds to make sure they stayed put. From there, I measured 19" (my length) from the edge I just straightened and used my rotary cutter and a straight edge to make this cut. Then I cut my waist width to create two squares of fabric, one for the front and one for the back. Pleats: To make the bodice portion, I did three pleats in the front and 2 pleats on the back. (If my outline isn't enough, Tumbling Blocks has a more detailed tutorial for Honeycomb Smocking that uses this same method). For my pleats, I cut two strips of thin cardboard (a cereal box works great), one at 3/4" wide and the other at 1 1/2" wide. With my fabric face up, I found the center of my front rectangle and lined up the smaller strip with the center, then I folded my fabric over the strip and ironed it. Then I lined up the same strip with the edge of the fold and folded the fabric back over the strip and ironed again. I took the same strip and lined it up to the left of the center line, then folded my fabric over the strip and ironed it. Then, once again, I lined up the strip with the fold I just created, folded my fabric back over the strip and ironed it. That created my first box pleat. I pinned these folds, then flipped my fabric over and removed the pins. For the remaining pleats, I first placed the 1 1/2" strip under the pleat and folded the fabric over the strip and ironed it. Then I lined up the smaller strip with the edge of the fold, folded the fabric back over and ironed it. Then I pinned all of the pleats, and flipped the fabric back to being face up and repeated the same process to create the other side of the pleat. I repeated these steps again for the final pleat. Then I pinned all of the pleats at the top and about 10" down to hold them in place. To make the pleats on the back side, I folded the back rectangle in half and cut along this fold, making 2 back panels. Then I followed the process outlined in the first paragraph to create one box pleat in the middle of each back panel. Next, I took my doily and folded it in half and ironed it. I lined this fold up with the top edge of my pleats and measured to about 1" below the pleat. I then sewed the pleats shut with a decorative stitch. Creating the pattern: Once again, I referred back to the dress I had that fits well. I used this to create a base for the pattern I wanted for the doily dress. I really only need to see how the neck line and the arms worked because I already had my dress length, so I started by tracing the neck and one of the arms. Then I measured the neck to find the middle and drew a line from this point as a center reference. I then drew how I wanted the arms of the doily dress to go. I cut the arm portion of this, keeping the neck line in tact. Then, I measured the distance in height between the front and back neckline on the dress I already had. I transferred this measurement to the pattern and drew in a neckline on the other half. Then, I folded the arm hole I had already drawn and traced it for the front piece. I cut all of my pieces out and kept the neck line pieces for the doily and to position the arm holes. As a side-note, I am planning on using bias tape to finish the edges, which is why I didn't account for a hem. Also, I used the edge of the armhole, but did not cut the side of the dress as I didn't account for the seam allowance in the pattern. You will see what I did there later. Cutting the fabric/doily: I started with the doily, by first scouting out any imperfections. Mine had a small hold in the decoration on one side. I knew I could hide this with the bias tape, so I strategically decided that it would be in the back. Then, I ironed the doily in half along this hole and flipped it 90 degrees and ironed the doily in half again. Then, I folded my doily so that the arm sides were unfolded. I then took my neckline pieces and lined them up and pinned them in place. I cut the neck line, then I cut along the fold for the back side (where the hole was) to account for the buttoned edge. Then I grabbed my pleated fabric and, starting with the back side, I placed my armholes 1/2" from the inside edge for the seam allowance. Then I used the neckline pattern piece to determine how far from the top the arms needed to sit. Once in place, I cut the arms and neck out. For the front, I folded my pleated fabric in half to find the center and lined up my armhole with the center fold, again using the neckline piece to determine how far from the top it needed to be and cut the armholes for this. I cut a diagonal out from the armhole edge along the side so that the sides would taper out once they were sewn together. Sewing the pieces together: Now comes the fun part! I sewed the two back panels together first, leaving about 8" of the top open for the buttons. Then I cut from the top down to where I had stopped sewing. From here, I pinned the back to the front (right sides together, of course) and sewed the sides using a 1/2" seam allowance. Then I pressed the seams open. With the dress basically sewn together, its time to finish the edges, which is a bit tricky. You will notice that with store bought double fold bias tape, one side is a little bit shorter than the other. This goes on the inside. Begin with the armholes first. Open up the bias tape and line up the edge of the shorter side with the edge of the wrong side of the fabric while pinning the tape in place. Sew along the fold closest to the edge. Next, fold the tape back and it will automatically go over the unfinished edge. The fold on the longer side should fall just below the seam you just sewed. Now, sew the other fold to the dress to finish up the edge. Repeat this for the remaining armhole. Line up the doily neckline with the dress neckline and baste them together using about 1/4" seam allowance. For the button loops, line up the edge of your ribbon with the inside of the dress, then place the bias tape on top, fold the ribbon over that and go to where you want your button to be. This should be half of the length you need, so fold the ribbon at this point and cut to match the end. Cut as many of these lengths of ribbon as you want buttons. Next, fold these lengths of ribbon in half and line them up with the inside edge of one back panel on the wrong side of the fabric and pin (as shown in the picture). Then, follow the same procedure for attaching the bias tape as you did for the arm holes, taking care when going over the button loops. Before sewing the front side of the bias tape, flip and pin the button loops so they are facing the right direction. All that remains is the bottom. Again, follow the same process for attaching the bias tape as the armholes, but before sewing the front, pin in a lace trim. A couple months ago I was at Hancock Fabrics and came across the cutest toile fabric in the remnant bin. I couldn't resist despite there only being 1/4 of a yard, but that lovely fabric sat for at least a month before I was able to designate a cute enough project for it. So, here you go. It is a crochet dress with a fabric skirt. Essentially, I treated this pattern like I would treat a fabric dress, so I don't have an exact pattern, but rather a method. I'm not going to lie, there is a lot of measuring and math involved, but nothing too complicated. Materials: 1 Skein Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in Chocolate G Hook 1/4 Yard desired fabric (pre wash and iron) 3/8 Yard matching lace (pre wash and iron) Fray Check Sewing machine, thread, pins Needle for hand sewing Method: To start with, I found a crochet chart for the pretty shell stitch at My Picot and I crocheted up the whole chart to determine how wide a repeat would be. Then I measured my daughter at her waist, chest and hips and used the largest measurement as a gauge for the circumference of the bodice. Ok, at this point I have the measurement/gauge of the chart (6.5") and I have the circumference/length that I need to make the bodice so it fits (19.5"). So, to determine how many repeats to make, I divided the bodice by the stitch (19.5"/6.5"=3). I was lucky that it came out to a whole number. If yours doesn't, round up. So, the chart requires 25 chains per repeat of the whole chart and I need 3 repeats of that chart to get my desired width, which means I need 25x3=75. And there you go, that is the base, 75 chains. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it really is easy, just take your time. (P.S. this is crocheted from the bottom up) Now it is time to consider armholes. I went back to my daughter and measured from where I wanted the bodice to end to where I wanted the armhole to start (7") and just continued in the chart pattern until I reached that point. Then, I put the two sides together to form a circle and centered them and marked where I wanted the arm holes to start and end based on the chart repeats. I continued the chart until I reached a marker and turned back. After a full vertical repeat, I continued only half of the width to create the neck hole. Then, I picked up at the next marker and continued in this fashion to create the shape in the picture. To connect the shoulders, overlap the front and back shoulder of each side then slip stitch with your hook through both layers. Weave in all loose ends. I did go back and exaggerate the shells along the bottom by basically doing the shell pattern in the chart along the bottom. To make the sleeves, I kind of winged it, but here is what I wrote down, let me know if you need clarification: SC = Single Crochet DC = Double Crochet SK = Skip STS = Stitches FPDC = Front Post Double Crochet Starting with the left sleeve, pull up a loop 4 stitches to the right of the seam, SC, 5 DC around 2 stitches to the left of the seam, SK 2 stitches to the left of the seam, SC in next 2 STS, CH 1 turn Row 1: (FPDC, DC in the same DC)4X, FPDC, SK SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 2: (FPDC, DC in the same DC, DC in next ST) 4X, FPDC, SK 2 SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 3: (FPDC, DC in next 2 STS) 4X, FPDC, SK 2 SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 4: (FPDC, DC in the same DC, DC in next 2 ST) 4X, FPDC, SK 2 SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 5 &6: (FPDC, DC in next 3 STS) 4X, FPDC, SK 2 SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 7: (FPDC, DC in the same DC, DC in next 3 ST) 4X, FPDC, SK 2 SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 8: (FPDC, DC in next 4 STS) 4X, FPDC, SK 2 SC, SC in next 2 on the bodice, CH1, turn Row 9: SC, (SK 2 STS, 5 DC in next STS, SK 2 STS, SC in next ST) across Bind Off. Repeat for the right sleeve switching the right and left directions. Weave in ends For the buttons, SC along the side you would like to overlap. Then, determine how many you would like (I did 5) then divide the length of the side by that number. Place markers on the overlapping side at the length you just got. SC until 1 ST before each marker, CH 3, SK 3 STS, then SC until 1 before the next marker and repeat. When you reach the end, CH 1 and turn. (SC, SK 2 STS, 5 DC in the next ST, SK 2 STS) across, you may need to fudge the last shell. Bind off and weave in ends. Sew buttons to the appropriate side, matching them up with the button holes. Now for the skirt. Start by hemming both top and bottom of your fabric. Then, measure the width of your bodice (mine is 19.5") and minus this number from the width of your fabric (45" - 19.5" = 25.5") then minus 1" for the seam allowance. This is the amount of fabric that needs to be gathered. Now, divide the number you just got (24.5) by the number of places you want to gather your fabric or each of the valleys in between the shells (24.5/7 = 3.5). With right sides together, sew the two sides of your fabric together using a 1/2" seam allowance. Measure and mark, along the top of the skirt, the width of a shell (2.5")then the last number you calculated (3.5"). Baste the gathering widths about 1/4" from the edge, leaving long tails. Gather each of the basted areas. For the lace, cut 2 strips, perpendicular to the salvage edge, 8" wide and one that is 9". Go along one long edge with your fray check and let dry. Sew the 2 8" strips together along one of the short ends. baste along the side that is not fray checked and gather it until it is the same width as the 9" strip. Pin the gathered strip to the 9" strip, 1/2" down from the side that is not fray checked and sew. With right sides together, pin the side short sides of the 9" strip and the 8" strip together and sew with a 1/2" seam allowance. Find the middle of the 9" strip and mark with a pin. Baste along the top of the 9" strip from the seam to the pin, then cut the thread leaving a long tail then baste from the pin back to the seam. With the 8" lace layer facing the inside of the fabric skirt, gather the lace and fit it into the fabric skirt, matching up the pin with the center of the fabric skirt, and pin in place. Sew the lace to the skirt about 1/4" from the top. Button up the bodice, then fit the skirt into the bodice. You may need to adjust your gathers so they match up with the valleys in between the shells. Pin in place, then hand sew the skirt to the bodice being careful not to go all the way through the bodice. I entered this project in the All Free Crochet Stitch and Share. A few weeks ago I attended a baby shower. As usual, I made a little hat and booties and the night before the shower, I went online for inspiration on how I would wrap the gift. In my search, I came across BOBO wrapping scarves. Apparently, there is a tradition, that comes mainly from Korea and Japan, of wrapping gifts or things that need to be transported in scarves. I loved the idea and immediately realized that I could whip up a baby blanket and wrap my gift in that. I went to work and here is the end product: I used fabric remnants for the blanket, which ended up being a 34" square. To make the polka dot border, I used a tutorial from Saltwater Quilts. The border is bias tape that I made following a tutorial by Prudent Baby. I used the same method in my Page Bindings Tutorial to attach the bias tape. I didn't use any batting as it wasn't really necessary. It is a light blanket that is great for the summer. I found some really great, sturdy boxes at Michael's in their gift wrap section, which is what I used here. For ideas on how to wrap your gift, BOBO provides some great tutorials. You might also like:Where I partied: During the last Christmas season, we spent some time in San Francisco and, while walking around the Marina District, I noticed the window of an uber hipster shop, Brandy Melville. I have seen a lot of different ways of using doilies, but this has to be my favorite. I took a picture with my phone to bring home and reinterpret. To recreate this, I headed to a local thrift store for doilies then off to the craft store for embroidery hoops and, $10 later, I had the look. As for the process, I washed and bleached the doilies, then sprayed them with water so that they were damp. I tugged and pulled with all my might, put each one over an inside ring, then pinned to hold while I stretched even more. Then put the outside ring on and stretched them a bit more before completely tightening it and voila! You might also like:Where I partied:This weekend, we celebrated my daughter's first birthday. True to form, I went over the top and did much more than necessary. The sad truth is that I have no documentation for it. I took plenty of pictures, but when I got home there was nothing saved on my camera. Apparently, if your SD card is not in your Canon Rebel, the pictures aren't saved, even if they show up on the little screen after you take the picture. The other sad thing is that we threw away the decorations so there was no chance of recreating the lovely party. However, I do have pictures of some of the decorations separately. So, use your imagination. To start off with, here are the invitations: Click on the picture below to download a pdf of the peacocks. On a happier note. I am posting a tutorial on the most extravegant of the decorations. Namely, I made doily pom poms that were hung from the ceiling and small ones that were placed on the back of the table. Originally, I did a search for these and came across a few websites with tutorials. One of the websites provided instructions on how to dye the paper doilies. This was a disaster. The doilies fell apart as I pulled them out of the dye and the colors weren't very vibrant. So, I busted out my acrylic paints and went to town. The next step was to create the pom poms. Again I found a website with instructions on how to make the pom poms, which was basically good, but they have you use brads to make the pom poms. The problem here is that the doilies would tear and make finishing the pom pom difficult. So, I modified the process and made use of my glue gun.
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Hey there! I'm Kristin, aka Kit. Here is just a peek into my crafting mind. I hope you find something to spur your creativity!
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