How to make a summer beach dress in 10 min

Have you been to the mall lately? Summer clothing is coming out and it seems dresses and skirts are big for women this year. The light dresses with fun colours that I have noticed.

Now, I have to start off with I am cheap when it comes to clothing... But I also don't want to work too hard to make clothing (sometimes). So here's my summer dress that cost me $2 and 10 min to make!

Let me show you how it's done.

First grab a top that fits snug/comfortable on you.

Then lay it on the fabric double sided with right sides together.

Cut along the top while gradually going outwards down to how ever long your toes goes until. You can draw lines too... if your too scared to cut. (I sure was)

Next sew the top of the shoulders together right sides together. (When sewing a stretchy fabric remember to slightly stretch the fabric so it doesn't wave. (I only took this photo after being finished the dress... So your looking at the centre seam is what connects the shoulder together)

Next sew along the edge of the dress. (I have a surger, but it would work just fine if you zigzaged the edge)

Finally double fold the arm holes and sew along the edge.

I like leaving the bottom unsewn as it won't fray and leaves a wispy feeling.

Sometimes I cut the bottom at an angle and sometimes I cut the front shorter then the back in a 'u-shape' Can you see the u-shape?

This was by far the most fun project I have made as it was incredibly fast, cheap and fixing a need that I had... the wanting of a light summer beach dress!

Happy sewing and thrifty living!

How to make Leggings

This is one of the simplest projects I have done yet :) Yet they look great! Thanx to the amazing selection of very affordable fabric at Fabricland!

Step 1: I wrapped the fabric around my leg deciding how high I wanted them to be with seam allowance on either side.

Step 2: Sew the long edges together. I recommend surging or zigzag stitch.

Step 3: Sew the top. Fold the top over an inch or an inch and a half depending on your preference. Sew.

Step 4: Sew the bottom. Fold the top over 1/2inch and sew.

Step 5: Hand sew buttons where you like them. I put the long seam to the back so its not noticeable, put it on my leg and decided where I wanted the buttons to go. I think the double buttons look a little better :)

Happy Sewing!

DIY Glass Cozy

We have a family of 3 and no dishwasher (well except me). Family that lives downstairs, and friends and family that come over at least 5 times a week.

When people come over the most common request is a drink. We have water at our house which looks the same in all of our same looking cups. I was washing cups every day like it was going out of style. So I came up with an idea to decrease cup use!

Everyday one person is allowed one glass. How do we keep them straight? Glass Cozies!

I picked out different fabric colours and styles that I had at home, first for my family then for friends. It is a loop of fabric with an elastic band sewn inside the fabric. I just measured the width around our glasses and added some extra fabric to give the scrunchy look.

This has solved all my dishwashing problems! I no longer have to wash 6 glasses when there were only 3 people home.

Happy homemade living!

Cloth Napkins vs Paper Towels

Cloth napkins vs paper towel... That is the real question.

Do you know how many paper towels are used in your house every month? Me neither... Until I counted... I buy my paper towel at Costco I think packages of 12. We used that package in 8 months... 

Whats all the hullaballoo?

Consider this, you'll probably use thousands and thousands of rolls, which is equivalent to an entire forest. Imagine a local forest that you've walked through being completely cut down just for paper towels! It isn't just trees that are being consumed, its the entire process of making them including chemicals that go into it. To increase absorbency, they've been subjected to dioxins and other ingredients (the process isn't disclosed on the roll of paper towels). They are also bleached to give them their white colour. The dangers of chlorine bleach have been well documented. Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to the effects of chlorine bleach. Finally, they can take up to a year to decompose but then again remember the chemicals that go into the process of making them? It is leaking into the water system and causing harmful effects.

For me and my family this was a no brainer and a simple fix! 

I went out and purchased some organic terry cloth and flannel for reusable cloth napkins. I purchased it with my Fabricland membership on the back isle that only cost $3 per meter and matching thread of course! 

I cut out 10" x 12" rectangles. I probably cut 30 of each. Then sewed right sides together close to the edges.

Make sure you leave a 2 inch opening to flip the fabric. 

 After flipping the fabric, tuck the opening in and iron flat.

Then top stitch along the edge. This makes a BIG difference! (I made 2 different colours so don't be confused...)

I wrapped them around a paper towel holder for the meantime but I think I would like to add snaps so they can be laid more evenly.

The man only started using them once I tucked the paper towel away. We have had them for 2 months now and we all love them! They feel so soft on our faces and are very durable. We use them for simple kitchen wipe ups and meal times. We have a whole other section of rags for cleaning the home instead of using paper towels. Our waste has gone down substantially just from not using paper towels and I must say I haven't noticed an increase in the laundry as they are quite thin.

Overall a great investment! Its Thrifty, natural, homemade, and a great present wrapped in a cloth bow!

Happy sewing and living a more environmentally conscious life!

How to make a fabric advent calendar!

I know its kinda late to post this but maybe a Christmas idea for next year?

Every year as a child my momma surprised us with chocolate advent calendars. You know the ones with waxy chocolate, but as a child you think it is just the best thing ever!? Thanx to my momma we have another new tradition to use every year :)

No, it isn't the chocolate advent calendars. I made my own that suited our family!

A Christmas Felt Advent Calendar

During Christmas we get more then enough cookies and treats from friends and family (and our bakings in the home) so I wanted to come up with something that excludes daily treats. We have troubles some days thinking of things to do as a family or those lazy days, and this year we found it energized us to do what was on the tab for the day.

I started with a felt tree, then felt ornaments and christmasy things to go on or around the tree, our little family and presents (the extra present is for our pup). The ornaments are movable via velcro on the back of each one.

Next came the background. I measured how big I wanted it to be free cut out the numbers. Then came the boxes.

At the top and bottom are bamboo sticks holding it straight.

Here comes the coolest part. Each of the pockets have a felt christmas ornament to put on the tree every day as well as an activity for our little family to do together. The 24th day has the Christmas Star. Our little cookie cannot wait to put the star on her calendar tree!

This 'I love Santa' has velcro too! It goes on the pocket of the day and moves as days go on. I purchased this from the dollar store, it came in a pack of 6.

Some examples are: skating, board games, build a fort and sleep in it, watch christmas movies, bake and ice christmas cookies for friends, build a fort and read stories in it, get in pj's make hot chocolate and drive around to see christmas lights, collect toys that we don't play with and put them in a shoe box for other children.

You can add other things like traditions your family has (ie going to cut down a christmas tree). Our little girl LOVES it! The first thing she says in the morning is "I have to go see the Christmas calendar! I wonder what fun things we get to do today!" She runs back to our bed with the note of our family activity of the day and tells us what else was in the pocket.

The chocolates are gone. This is definitely coming out again next year!

This was very inexpensive to make. I used leftover felt from various other projects for the decorations, other felt was bought at the dollar store and finally at Fabricland they had the red background fleece on sale for $5!!

Merry Christmas Friends!

Little Girls First Book Bag

Thats right, our 7 year old asked for a book bag! Not a backpack because aren't cool anymore?
Yikes.
So I asked what she was going to use her book bag for. She has a journal she writes in every day. She writes about her day, her favourite things that happened during the day, what she is thankful for from that day and what she wants to do for tomorrow.

Anyways... this bag needed to be cute, have pink (of course) and have a shoulder strap that can be adjustable.

My solution? My giant pyjama pants that were not being used! This is a great beginners project! Upycling AND FREE!

Whoops, took a picture after it was cut... I used the leg of the jammers with the hem being the top of the bag. I sewed the bottom of the bag together creating a rectangle with one open edge.

 I then matched up the seams on each bottom corner of the bag and sewed right across giving the bag a little more base.

 Finally I sewed 2 rings to either side of the bag and attached a strap like with an adjuster so she can either put it over one shoulder or over her head.

Her journal fits perfectly! She loves her new heart book bag :) I might make a bag for myself.

Happy sewing!

Girls leggings from moms stretchy pants

Another DIY thrifty project! Sewing and most importantly Upcycling! I just saved myself $20! Which is not much... but if you keep adding that $20 over and over again it adds up... right? My little cookie is not much of a jeans wearer... When she picks out her clothing the bottom part is always leggings! Did you know even at Walmart little girl leggings are $10! Common! Its the tiniest bit of fabric... how can it be that much? I can buy a meter of fabric for $2!... Wait, thats not a bad idea...

I went to the mall and they have adult leggings in every colour you could imagine on sale! Ahem, Urban Planet, Thank you! They were $2 each! So I purchased... a few...

Not for me of course... well except the black ones... and the brown ones... and the grey ones... but the other colours were for another project...

Project leggings for our little cookie!

She is a size 6-7ish depending on the store, but 7 years old.

I found the tutorial here.

I laid down her own leggings (that fit her) folded one leg into the other onto the newly purchased leggings and cut around them leaving 1/4 inch for sewing. I made 2 sets of little girl leggings from each pair of purchased pants! That means I spent $1 on her leggings. To top it off I unpicked the waistband from the purchased leggings and sewed them right into her new ones! I have also made her leggings out of stretchy pants that don't fit me anymore. Yes, that means FREE

Now when I ask her to get dressed in the morning, the first thing she pulls out is her NEW leggings! She now coordinates her shirts to match them too! Kids love handmade things from their parents! Try it out! You can't go wrong with this project!

Happy sewing and up cycling

Upcycle? T-shirt to Workout top!

Yeah upcycling!!!!

This is a new term I have only learned a month ago. I know, shocking! I have been upcycling everything in our home thanks to Pinterest! I mean I upcycle things like containers for other packaging leftovers for family members to take home and stuff, but there is a whole world of upcycling out there that I didn't know evern existed! 

Upcycling is defined as the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value. 

I upcycled a workout top from my mans t-shirt. I am just soo proud right now.

You can get the tutorial here. The only thing I didn't do was cut the bottom. I think it looks weird... Otherwise best clothing upcycle I have done yet. Its fitted, but still loose and just awesome!

 First, you cut following the seams of the sleeves and neckline. 

 Then cut 3 strips about this width (2inches) from the leftover sleeve to tie the back piece together

 Stretch it out by just pulling on it!

You wrap the fabric around the back to bring it together which creates the workout top look!

And Ta-da you have your very own workout top from a unused t-shirt!

Happy upcycling!

How to cover up holes in leggings

Have a hole in an adorable piece of clothing? Patch it!

Children get holes in their pants. They play on the playground, kneel in dirt, drag their legs on the floor and soooo much more!

I have a very thrifty idea to cover up the holes in leggings that is such a cute idea, plus your little girl will love the new design!

She only had one hole in one of the legs, but it looked funny just adding a patch of fabric to one leg... Can you guess which one? Haha the knee of course!
I cut out her favourite shape (heart) out of plain fabric I had just lying around.  I pulled out the ol' hand needle and thread (doubled the thread to add thickness). I started from inside the pant leg and just went around the heart. Piece of cake? Piece of pie!

Yay for simple fixes and DIY for newbies!

A Little Skirt for a Little Girl

I LOVE sewing! I feel like I can finally create something that is actually useful. This project is perfect for beginners! I brought my little cookie to the fabric store and showed her the giant wall of on sale fabrics. I told her she could pick any 2 fabrics on this giant wall at Fabricland. She thought this was the coolest thing. Her little eyes spotted a great deal!

She chose these 2 fabrics

We purchased 1 yard of each fabric to make a total cost of $3.45 (this is WAY MORE fabric then what you need). I also needed some elastic for the waist which cost $3.00 and was WAY more then what I needed so I am estimating a cost of $.25. I used less then 1/4 of both fabrics so how much would that be? Math isn't my strongest... so $1.00 for this skirt? Is that right?

I wanted to make something pretty easy for my first clothing project so I chose a rectangle ruffled skirt. with a separate gather on the bottom. I found the pattern from here. I didn't add the extra layer on the bottom though.

Here is my interpretation. Next time I will add a little more fabric around her waist to gather :)
She is now one very happy little girl!

Have you made a skirt for any age? Send me your pictures or comment on how it went!


Happy Sewing

First Sewing Project

This one beautiful morning I woke up and decided I wanted a sewing machine. So what did I do? Researched like I have never researched before! I compared prices to what I thought I could/would use my sewing machine for and hoped I made the right decision. I walked into Walmart where they had an incredible deal on Singer Fashion Mate sewing machine and starter kit. (I need thread, pins, measuring tape and seam ripper after all don't I?)

I walked out of the store pondering all the amazing items I would create thanks to online tutorials, Pinterest and a little girl that needs some hemming done.

I got home so excited to create my first project... Until I realized I didn't buy any fabric... So off to the fabric store I went. Do you people know how giant Fabricland is??? It looks tiny from the outside!!! There are giant piles and sections of fabric that have signs sticking out of them with words like Polyester, Nylon, Silk and Acrylic. I started turning around in circles... What the heck do these mean? What is the difference in the fabrics? What kind do I need to make a bag that holds fabric? Hmmm... It was completly overwhelming until.... I asked someone.

First step in buying fabric? ASK SOMEONE, apparently they know all!
Did you know that there is a little section at the back of most fabric stores that have hundreds of colors and types of fabrics that are on a HUGE SALE?!

I bought 4 different types of fabric. One was 2 meters, the other 3 were a meter each. I paid a whopping  $14 for all the fabric! What a steal!

 So home again I went. I felt unstoppable! Until I started sewing my first project....

It was a bag. I wanted a really big beach bag to hold all my fabric! I sewed it inside out, made the bag outrageously GIANT and the handles much too long. This was the BEST mistake I could have made! What? Best mistake? Ruining a bag? I remembered techniques back from high school. So here are some tips for beginners without a pattern and a great idea in your head.

1. Right sides together
2. Fold the outside seam under twice before sewing or else the fabric might fray
3. Measure both sides if your folding so the bag isn't lopsided... ex. if your measuring a square the fabric might not have been cut exactly straight...
4. Hold the bag up to you to imagine where the handles go. I put mine on sideways...

 Want to see my first Project? I ended up ripping out many seams and re sewing the handles on.

Happy Sewing Friends!