A sewVery Simple Apron Tutorial

Love to cook, bake, paint, or work with clay? Then this sewVery Simple Apron Tutorial is for you! Protect your clothing from spills and splatters when you wear this one-size-fits-all apron design that is super fashionable when sewn in your favorite fabrics (like Ann Kelle's Remix Wide fabric).

Photo from Ann Kelle

Gather these supplies, and in no time, you'll be on your way to sewing up a brand new sewVery Simple Apron! Get the full tutorial below.

Craft Book Month - Little Things to Sew

Have you been following Craft Book Month at Craft Buds this September?  If not, then you are missing lots of valuable information on great sewing and crafting projects!  Plus, there's a contest with great prizes!

When my super-duper sweet friend and soon-to-be new mom, Lindsay, asked me to contribute to the Craft Buds' Craft Book Month tour, I knew right away which project I would make:  the Baby Doll Carrier in the book Little Things to Sew by Oliver + S.

My daughter loves stuffed animals and baby dolls, and when she saw this Baby Doll Carrier in the pattern book Little Things to Sew, she begged me to make one for her.  Of course I agreed, and in a couple of hours, I had it finished!  

This book is full of wonderful O + S patterns for clothing, accessories, bags, toys, and more.  If you've ever sewn an Oliver + S clothing pattern, then you know the high quality of the patterns, the instructions, the pictures, and the graphics.  This book is no different and does not disappoint.

Picture Source:  Oliver + S Website

Ella loves wearing her favorite baby doll or stuffed animal around in the carrier like a real mom would.  The baby doll carrier is sized to hold a small (shown) or large doll or stuffed animal and has two different sets of buttons and velcro tabs to make the sizing adjustment when needed.  

It crisscrosses in the back and has a small little pocket in the front to hold a baby spoon or coupon when play shopping!

If you are like me, both storage space and funds are limited around my house.  Before I make the plunge and actually purchase most craft or sewing books, I normally check to see if my local library has it available.  If it does, I'll check it out and peruse it at my leisure, perhaps make a project or two, and then decide if it is really something I want to own.  That's exactly what I did for this book, Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S.  When I did purchase it, I found it at Joann's Fabric & Craft Store and used a 40% off coupon!  Big score!

To learn more about Craft Book Month, the Craft Buds Blog Hop, and the contest, keep reading below. Also, be sure to check out the other Blog Hoppers to see what projects and craft books they've been using.  You might just find a few things to add to your wish list!

It's time for the 3rd Annual Craft Book Month at Craft Buds! This year, we're excited to celebrate all month log with a blog hop of your inspirational craft book projects, a crafty contest, free patterns and prizes!

Don't let those craft books sit on your shelf and collect dust! We want to see what you've been making. That's why I've teamed up with some fabulous bloggers who will be showing off their projects made from craft books, all month long!

Blog Hop

Week One
Monday 9/2: Fabric Mutt / LRstitched
Tuesday 9/3: Stitch This! The Martingale Blog / Stitched in Color
Wednesday 9/4: Fabric Seeds / Pile O Fabric
Thursday 9/5: The Feisty Redhead / Rae Gun Ramblings
Friday 9/6: Sew-Fantastic / Clover + Violet
Saturday 9/7: A Prairie Sunrise / Small Town Stitcher

Week Two
Monday 9/9: Hopeful Threads / Go To Sew
Tuesday 9/10: The Sewing Rabbit / Sewing Mama RaeAnna
Wednesday 9/11: Marci Girl Designs / imagine gnats
Thursday 9/12: Sew Sweetness / amylouwhosews
Friday 9/13: Lindsay Sews / 13 Spools
 Saturday 9/14: Inspire Me Grey / Angela Yosten 

Week Three
Monday 9/16: Sew Very / Craftside
Tuesday 9/17: The Littlest Thistle / CraftFoxes  

9/1-9/30: Link up your craft book project at Craft Buds from your blog or Flickr account, and enter to win prizes. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, October, 1!

To participate in the month-long contest, just link up any project you've made from a pattern in a craft book. That easy! You'll tell us a little about the book, the project, how you personalized it, etc.

Rules

1) One entry per person. 
2) Your craft book project must have been completed in 2013. 
3) Create a new blog post or Flickr photo (dated September 1, 2013 or later) and link back to Craft Buds/Craft Book Month in your post or photo description. In your post or photo description, make sure to list the craft book you used and provide a link if possible.
4) All winners chosen via Random.org. Some prizes available to international winners, so please join us!

Prizes

Visit Craft Buds and link up your craft book project during the window of Sept 1-30 and you'll automatically be entered to win some fantastic prizes from the Craft Book Month sponsors!

No time to make a project? You can also follow Craft Buds all month long for your chance to comment and win some new sewing and quilting books for your library.

 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have fun sewing!

Valentine's Day Dolly Outfit Tutorial

Last month, I guest posted over at Nap Time Crafters in Amy's Dressing Up Dolly Series where I shared this fun tutorial on how to make your American Girl doll her own Valentine's Day outfit.  Now that Valentine's Day has come and gone, I thought I would repost this tutorial to give you some inspiration for making your dolly another seasonal outfit--like St. Patrick's Day or Easter!  Have fun!

A few months ago, I visited a friend who asked if I could make her daughter's doll an outfit.  You can read all about the matching skirts and bag here. When Amy announced her series, I thought of that post and decided to make an outfit for another friend's daughter's doll.  I know I could definitely use the practice making these tiny outfits.  This time, I documented each step of how to make the doll skirt and bag so you, too, can make a similar outfit for your little doll's doll!  

First, here's what you'll need to cut out to make the doll skirt and bag.  

Starting with the doll skirt, place the fabric right sides together and sew the side seams (the 7" long sides) using a 1/4" seam allowance .  Finish the seams by your desired method.  I serged the edges.

Before you begin sewing the purse, fold the main fabric and lining fabric in half so that each is now 5 1/2" W x 3" L.  Along the fold, cut out a 1" x 1" square.  Your purse fabrics should now look like those above.

Next, fold the purse main fabric in half as shown below with right sides together and sew the short edges together with a 1/4" seam.  Do the same with the purse lining fabric.  Press open the seams.

To create the purse straps, fold the fabric in half with wrong sides together and press.  Open this back up and fold in the raw edges toward the fold and press.  Fold the strip of fabric in half again along the original seam encasing the raw edges.  Sew along the open edge using a 1/8" seam allowance.

Now to finish the skirt...

Sew around the top using a 3/8" seam allowance making sure to leave at least a 1" opening for inserting the elastic.  Take a 10 1/2" piece of 1/4" elastic and run it through the casing you just created.  Sew the ends of the elastic together and then sew to close the opening in the casing.

Hem the bottom by stitching all the way around the skirt.  The skirt is complete!

Now, to finish up the bag, pinch the fabric at the holes in the bottom with right sides together so that the raw edges line up.  Pin and then sew together using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Do this for both the purse main fabric and the lining.  

Next, cut about 3" off of each purse strap.  We'll use one of these leftover pieces a little later, so don't throw them away just yet!

Sew the main fabric to the lining fabric using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Be sure to leave an opening that is at least 2" wide for turning the purse inside out. Once you have flipped the fabrics the right way, press the opening and then topstitch around the edge of the bag using a 1/8" seam allowance.  This will close the hole you used for turning.

At this point, I decided to make a simple little fob to attach to the purse handle.  Take one of the 3" long pieces that you cut off of the strap earlier and wrap it around one of the purse handles.  Stitch the ends together.  Then cut out two small hearts (mine are approximately 1" x 1").  

Now there are two ways you could do this next part.  I put the two hearts wrong sides together and then stitched around the edges leaving an opening at the top of the heart large enough to insert the end of the fob strap.  I then stitched over the fob strap when I finished sewing the hearts together.

Another way I could have done this is to have cut out a piece of heat and bond lite the same size as the heart and fused it to the back of one heart. Peel the backing off the heat and bond lite and place the end of the fob between the two hearts.  Iron according to the heat and bond lite directions and then stitch around the edge of the heart.

Now onto the t-shirt.  First let me say that I am very new to sewing with knits, and so far, I haven't been very successful.  But I'll keep trying! Anyway, I found an American Girl doll free t-shirt pattern online from Liberty Jane, and I used an old white baby onesie for the fabric.  

I had major problems sewing a nice hem at the bottom and neckline of the t-shirt.  Even though I used a double needle, both areas stretched out as I was sewing.  Also, I realized after the fact that I should have hemmed the sleeves before I sewed them onto the bodice of the shirt (I admit I did not follow the pattern instructions).  I became so frustrated with the neckline stretching out that I opted to just leave the sleeves as is.  The shirt is not a total loss though.  It's just not as nice as I'd hoped it would be!

I cut out two more little hearts and used heat and bond lite to fuse them to the fabric.  For the back closure, I sewed on a narrow strip of velcro.

Now my neighbor's little American Girl Doll, Maggie, is all ready for Valentine's Day! 

Linking up at these parties and others shown here!  

  

  

Valentine's Day Dolly

Do you know a doll that is in need of a special outfit for Valentine's Day? Then you're in luck!

Today, I'm visiting with Amy of Nap Time Crafters where I'm sharing a tutorial on how to make your dolly her very own Valentine's Day skirt, bag, and shirt!

Head on over to read the step-by-step tutorial and to check out some other amazing doll clothes being shared in the Dressing Up Dolly Series going on all this month!