Ruffle Scarf

For our ward enrichment night we made these adorable scarves and I couldn't help but share. I love how it turned out and can't wait to wear it this winter. I don't have specific directions on how we did it,  but here is a similar tutorial.

Lace Dress

I started this dress in December as my News Years dress, but just finished it last night. I didn't finish it until now because I've been really busy training for my new online teaching job and I encountered some major problems with this dress. I swear everything that could of gone wrong on this dress did. I ran out of fabric, I had to unpick the zipper twice because it wasn't lining up, the length was way too long so I had to shorten it which caused the layers to be off making hemming difficult, and the sleeves didn't look good.

I won't even show the dress without the cardigan because it just isn't that flattering. I don't really like the sleeves and the neckline is way too high for my body type. I wouldn't call it a fail because it looks cute with the cardigan. I used Vogue 8766 in a size 12. The pattern was easy and the fit was good, but if you are making it I would suggest lowering the neckline which is why it didn't look good on me.

Even though it was a very frustrating project I'm glad I did it because I learned a lot. I figured out a trick to line up zippers so it will line up every time and I learned the best way to hem a circle skirt is by hanging it on a hanger so you can see how it falls naturally.

Maxi Dress to Skirt Refashion

Before


After


About a month ago, I saw this maxi dress at Forever 21 on sale for $7.00 and knew it would make a comfortable skirt. Maxi dresses aren't my thing, but I do love how if you can find maxi dresses for cheap they give you a lot of fabric to work with. I wanted to make it into one of those comfy yoga skirts. I used this tutorial from one of my favorite sites. I actually made this when I hosted a sewing night at my house a couple weeks ago since it only took 20 minutes to finish. If you do end up making this make sure to subtract 5-6 inches from your waist measurement so it fits snugly. I LOVE this skirt. It is the most comfortable thing I have ever owned in my entire life. I'm debating if I want to buy another one in pink because it looks like they raised their price to $13.50 for this dress. Hmm it might be worth it. Sorry about the bad picture. I would have modeled it, but its hard to get Matt to take my picture for me. Take my word for it, it looks cute on. Who says you have to give up style for comfort?

5 Dollar Skirts

Growing up my mom always sewed with store bought patterns. Somehow she is skilled enough to dicifer the awful directions. I sewed store-bought patterns with her all the time, but she always told me what I was supposed to do to finish it.

When I first got my sewing machine 3 years ago, I bought this fabric on sale from Joanns and New Look pattern 6569 to make myself a skirt. The pattern was labeled easy so I thought I would be able to figure it out myself. Well, I cut it out and got to step 3 then gave up because I had no idea what I was supposed to do to finish the waistband. Who writes these directions anyways? Every year I would try to finish this skirt, would give up, and toss it back in my to finish pile. I meant to have my mom help me with it, but never got around to it.

Well about a week ago, I reread the directions and it finally clicked. Not because the directions made any sense, but because I've learned so much about sewing techniques in this last year that I knew how to finish it! I feel like I finally got to a milestone where I understand clothing construction.

It ended up being such an easy skirt to make that I made two more. I got the other skirt fabric from Hancock Fabric during their Memorial Day sale. These skirts cost me $5 a piece to make. Not bad for some gorgeous skirts eh? The black and white one is my favorite!

Spring Skirt

I've been on a skirt kick lately. Mostly because I'm in desperate need of skirts in my wardrobe. Has anyone else noticed how it's hard to buy modest skirts anymore? Since I'm 5"9 it's even harder for me to find a cute skirt thats long enough. This is where sewing comes in handy.

I found this fabric in the discount bin at Joanns a year ago and fell in love with it. Then I came across this free pattern online and knew it would be perfect. Since my fabric was see through I had to add lining. I decided just to serge the lining and the fabric together then make the skirt. Not sure if that is the correct way of doing it, but meh I follow my own rules. I love the fit of this skirt and it doesn't look homemade when it's finished. I got a ton of compliments at church on Sunday. When I told people that I made it they couldn't believe it. I think I have my new favorite skirt!

Hawaiian Skirt

Since we had fun sewing the Easter dresses together, Britney and I decided to have another sewing night. We decided to make skirts using this tutorial. We had a little too much fun sewing with everyone because we stayed up till 2 am. We paid for that the next day, but hey we had cute skirts to show for it.

I got the fabric while we were in Hawaii. I think it makes a fun and comfortable summer skirt. Now we just need some good weather so I can wear it!

T-shirt Makeover

I don't know about you, but my summer wardrobe is pretty boring. I usually just buy plain T-shirts and dress it up with jewelry. It's fine, but I wanted a change. I love how J-crew dresses up the common t-shirt, but I'm cheap and really don't want to pay those prices. So when I came across this tutorial I had to try it. It did take awhile, but I absolutely love the result. Plus I found the shirts for $3 a piece so the shirt only cost me $6!

Just pop in a chick flick and you too can make a cute shirt. It doesn't even require a sewing machine and if I pulled it off with horrible hand sewing abilities so can you!

* The color is a very pretty lavendar. My camera doesn't ever capture my crafts well. Maybe someday I will have a nice Canon camera. Until then everyone will just have to put up with my crummy camera and photography skills!

Fall Dress

Awhile ago my mom and I bought the materials to sew this dress and we finally finished it! We used the New Look pattern 6750. It turned out great. Our only complaint about the pattern is that we had to fit the top closer at the top because I am smaller above my waist and wider in the hip area. I really like this dress and it will make a great fall dress. Now maybe I'll be brave enough to sew a couple skirts.

Cute Apron

So a couple years ago there was a company that came out in Utah called Flirty Aprons. I thought their aprons were cute, but they are way too expensive. While I was at Walmart, I saw a pattern for a dollar that had a similar look to flirty aprons , but without the ruffles at the bottom (Flirty Skirty Apron - Pattern by the Apron Lady). I then chose some cute fabric to make the apron it only cost about $5.00 which is way better than $30.00. I followed the pattern exactly and then added my own fabric bows at the top (I didn't attach them directly, but used mini- safety pins so the bows don't get ruined in the washing machine). I could eventually add ruffles at the bottom, but I'm feeling lazy. By the way the picture doesn't do it justice and it's way cuter in person for some reason the print didn't like my camera and this was the best shot I could get. Maybe I should give these out as wedding presents. What do you think, would you like one?