Modification Mashup - Crossover + Peplum

Ready for a fun mashup of the Crossover dress and peplum?? Because really...these two were just begging to be made together. Bonus? Printable pattern pieces for girls and ladies to be able to do the midriff banding. Because Jodi is just that awesome.

You can download the pattern piece HERE for free -- seriously, all sizes
(girls nb-14 AND the ladies xs-xxxl)

For this top you need the new Mix and Match Crossover top (women's or girl's), the Classic Sleeve (women's or girl's), and the Peplum top (womens or girls). (Although to be honest, it would be super cute with a skater skirt (womens or girls), too!!)
Ready for the super fast cutting and sewing? Because it really only takes MAYBE an hour to cut and sew the whole thing! You could make the whole thing with one fabric, mix it up with two fabrics like I did, or even make every piece a different fabric for something really fun and funky!
Cut out the mix and match crossover bodice.
Cut out the band for the middle using the free pattern.
Cut out the sleeve to the desired length.
Cut out the peplum.

Sew together, hem and bind as you desire! Voila! It takes almost no time at all!! And the end result is so fun and cute!!

Peplum Top >> Basic Tee Modification Tutorial

Peplum Tee

To go along with March 2015's Mini-Bundle that is on sale ONLY this month, we'll be featuring free tutorials on new ways to use the patterns that are included in the Mini-Bundle.  You can order it HEREnow through March 31st at 11:59pm.

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I have the easiest tutorial for you today.  Seriously, the easiest!!!!

Do you have the Peplum Top pattern?  Jodi has made a pattern piece to fit on the bottom of the Peplum to make it a plain t-shirt, in all sizes!  Exciting!

Print out the "Band" pattern piece and cut the desired size.  Place the pattern piece along the bottom edge of the Peplum so that the fold line matches the Top Front (or Back) fold line -- you'll need to flip the pattern piece upside down.   You can see below that the pattern now looks like a regular t-shirt.

You can download the pattern piece HERE for free -- seriously, all sizes
(girls nb-14 AND the ladies xs-xxxl)

You will have Front, Back, sleeve and binding pieces.  Follow the pattern as directed except there is no need to add the Peplum skirt onto the t-shirt.  You have the perfect tee!  I made this one in swimsuit fabric so my "little" can wear it to the lake this summer.

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Kara

Skater Skirt Tutorial

Skater Skirt Tutorial

To go along with March 2015's Mini-Bundle that is on sale ONLY this month, we'll be featuring free tutorials on new ways to use the patterns that are included in the Mini-Bundle.  You can order it HERE now through March 31st at 11:59pm.

Do you have the Girls Peplum pattern with the Skater Skirt add-on?   You can make a cute little Skater Skirt out of it!

Cut out the Skirt portion of the Skater Skirt add-on and a waistband in the appropriate size.

We've decided to include the cutting measurements for the waistband ... NO guessing.  ENJOY!!

You can find waistband measurements here::

Attach the 2 skirt pieces at the sides.

Attach the short sides of the waistband.  Fold waistband in half WST.

Mark the skirt and waistband into quarters.

Line up pins and attach waistband to the skirt.

The skirt is finished!  

XOXO,

Kara

Here is another pair made by Risa West

Mix & Match dreams DO come true!

How about some Jocole Patterns Mix & Match goodness?!

I love all of the Jocole patterns, I won't lie... but my favorites are the Mix & Match series! I love how customize-able they are. I can literally do anything with my Mix & Match patterns. I love that feeling of freedom (thank you Jodi Jean Baird)!

I recently made a pair of pants for a sew a long Whimsical Fabric is having this month and I needed a cute top to go with them. I looked through all my patterns and I found....NOTHING... that I liked. I'm sure you've been there lol. I started thinking about what i wanted and it had to be something with a nicely fitted bodice but I wanted the skirt part to be more free flowing. The more I thought about it, the more I knew the bodice had to be the Jocole Mix & Match. Cuz, you really cannot go wrong with Jocole, amirite?

I used the Basic Empire Bodice and the Classic Sleeves  to make the basic bodice of the top. I pretty much just followed Jodi's excellent instructions and made a perfect bodice cuz yeah thats how I roll.

Then I took out my trusty Radiant A-line Bottom and started measuring. I ended up with 2 rectangles that were about 24" wide and 10"high? tall? I gathered the tops of each rectangle to match the bottom of my bodice and I sewed them together and attached them to my Mix & Match bodice. Cake! Looks pretty good, doesn't it? :)

Being the completely awesome designer she is, Jodi Jean Baird did all the math so everyone can make this adorable Mix & Match variation for themselves! Voila!!

How to Make a Cinch Sac Backpack

How to Make a Cinch Sac Backpack

Supplies:

1. Cording - 2 pieces each about 60" long
2. Fabric - 2 pieces about 12"X14" each (could be bigger)
3. Embroidery Design and supplies

Cut 2, 12" X 14" pieces of fabric.  You can make the cinch sac bigger if you would like, just cut the fabric pieces bigger.  Embroider the desired design onto one of the fabric pieces.  Be sure to iron around the embroidery so that it doesn't look like mine.

 

Serge all four sides of both fabric pieces.

On both pieces, turn the top serged edge under another 1/4" and press.

Measure down 2" from the top edge and turn the fabric down to meet that mark.  Sew the seam down.

Line up the front and back pieces, RST.  Sew along the three remaining edges to make the sac.  Start and stop sewing just below the top seam.  We are leaving the edges open at the top seam to make a  channel for the cording.

Begin with one piece of cording.  Insert the cording into the front right channel and thread it to the opposite side, being sure not to pull it all the way through.  Insert the same cording piece into the left back channel and thread through to come out the right side.  You have just made a loop with the cording.

Tie a knot at the end of the cording piece that was just threaded through the front and back channel.

Repeat the same process on the left side.  Insert the cord into the front left channel and thread through to the other side.  Insert the same cord into the right back channel and thread it through.  Make a knot with the second cord piece.

Unpick both corners at the bag bottom.  Insert the cords through the bag and push the knots out of the unpicked corners.  The bag is still turned wrong side out.

Secure the cording knots in place at both corners.  I like to stitch over it several times to be sure the seam is strong.

Turn the bag right side out and cinch the cording.  Congratulations!  You have a cute little cinch sac for your little one!

How to Make a Cheer Bow

How to Make a Cheer Bow

My oldest daughter started cheer competitions this year.  She has never been interested in competitive teams before, so this was something new.  I realized very quickly that if you are going to cheer competitively, you MUST have a specific cheer bow.  AKA, a HUGE bow on the top of the head.  Every competition we went to, they were selling cheer bows for $15-$25.  To me, that is crazy.  I know there are lots of people out there that would gladly pay for the bow just so they don't have to make it.  I'm not one of those people!  I love a challenge and I love to do something new.  Let me tell you how I made this one!

Supply List:

1. 2 1/2 to 3in ribbon
2. 1 1/2in ribbon
3. 3/4in ribbon
4. zip tie
5. glue gun
6. heat 'n bond (optional)
7. hair band

I found the ribbon at JoAnn's, there is a small section with cheer bow ribbon(it's not with all of the regular ribbon).  The 3in ribbon is the most important size, the others can coordinate with the large ribbon.

Cut the ribbon to 30 inches.  This is the perfect length for cheer bows.  Cut the heat 'n bond to the size of the two smaller ribbons.

Iron the heat 'n bond onto the ribbon.  To keep the ribbon from burning, it's a good idea to put a piece of fabric over the ribbon.  Iron the fabric (with the ribbon under) being sure that the heat 'n bond adheres to the ribbon.  The reason for using heat 'n bond is so that there is no need to pin the ribbon together.

 Place the medium size ribbon over the large ribbon.  Be sure to place the ribbon right in the center and iron them together.  Zig zag stitch along the inside ribbon.

Fold the ribbon in half (WST) at the end of the ribbon.  Clip the end at about a 45 degree angle to create the "V" shape at the end of the ribbon.  Repeat on the opposite end.  (If the smallest ribbon you are using isn't thick, go ahead and attach it before cutting the ends.)

Use a flame to seal the ribbon edge.  Just pass the flame near the ribbon to slightly melt the edges.  This process keeps the ribbon from fraying.

Repeat the heat 'n bond process with the smallest ribbon.  Zig zag stitch the small ribbon onto all ribbons.  Clip the ends to match the larger two ribbons.

 Mark the center of the ribbon by folding it in half, end to end.  Cross the ribbon making sure to line up with the center mark.  Starting at the center point of the ribbon and the point where it crosses, begin gathering the ribbon at the center.

 Once the ribbon is pulled together and gathered, use the zip tie to secure the ribbon together.  Don't tighten the zip tie all the way, zip it loosely so you can be sure the ribbon looks nice and is in the right place.  Once you like the position of the ribbon, zip the tie as tight as it will go.

Clip the end of the zip tie off.

Hot glue the hair band right on top of the zip tie.  Be careful not to get glue all over the ribbon.

With the bow facing up, use a small piece of ribbon to create the center tie.  Hot glue one end to the hair band area, wrap the ribbon around and hot glue the other end on top of the ribbon.  Again, don't use too much glue because it will ooze out and look bad.

 The finished ribbon looks something like this.

 And it's even cuter when it's on a pony tail!

Lengthening the Mega Ruffles to Straight Pants

FREE tutorial on how to modify the Mega Ruffle Pants pattern from Jocole to eliminate the ruffe and turn them into straight leg pants.

This is how I modify the pattern to use for my son (he's not a fan of ruffles).

Materials Needed:

Mega Ruffle Pants -- pdf sewing pattern

pencil or pen

ruler

scissors

paper and tape

Suggested Fabrics:

Lightweight woven fabrics like quilting cottons, flannel, batiste, lawn, broadcloth, linen, chambray, poplin, seersucker, lightweight suiting fabrics, lightweight denim, twill, lightweight corduroy

*** Alternative Fabrics: Consider making your Mega Ruffle Pants out of knit fabrics like: jersey, interlock or rib knit.

Cutting Instructions:

Makes sure you cut your pieces so that you have 2 opposite front leg pieces and 2 opposite back legs pieces.

The following picture is shown on a size 5, the blue lines are the original pattern lines, the RED lines are the newer pattern adjustment lines.

Sewing Instructions:

Compete Steps 1 through 21 shown exactly like in the pdf pattern.

Skip steps 22 through 33 (the ruffle instructions).  Instead press up the hem 3/4" and topstitch it in place.