boomerang toomerang zoomerang

(that was a nod to Mr. Rogers)

My husband is pretty crafty too, but in a Manly kind of way.

he made some boomerangs! most people think boomerangs are those bent stick things that you get in tourist traps pretending to sell Australian stuff. or even tourist traps in Australia. if you want a boomerang to come back and not shatter to a million pieces the first time it hits anything you have to do it properly. this is 10 ply airplane construction hardwood. it is pretty tough. he once had one winter in a tree in SE Idaho and fall down in the spring as good as new.
here they are



the popular myth around boomerangs is that their was an anthropologist with limited language skill who visited Australia and asked an Aborigine "what are those stick things you use to hunt?" and the Aborigine answered "boomerang" which roughly translated means "what the heck are you talking about?"



he is pretty excited about this one it comes back almost every time. it is the best one he has ever bought or made before.

Kids like them too!


baby R has a very endearing habit of daddy worship more than any of our girls ever has. she was entranced by the boomerangs. she was putting her arms up ad yelling and dada-ing the whole time. it made the whole thing that much more rich.

and the winner is...

first of all I am a liar. I can't pick by my favorite comment. but maybe it made your comments better right? mostly I made the decision to go with random.org because I had friends and family try, and I love you all too much to pick just one.

so without further ado:
the winner is: #16 Chantal who according to her last blog post that I read lied too. it is good to have company. with the comment :heheheh! I love the look of these! What a great give away! Thanks!

in all honesty I want to give some to all who applied.

even random.org seems mean.

thanks for noticing me everyone. lets hope we all get something this time.

Make it Modest : under where?

 

baby tights, Little girl leggings (these are more warm than anything), shorts,and the diaper cover.
unless you have pristine little girls they are going to show off underwear when wearing dresses. there are a few easy things to do about it.

Make it modest: Slips

 

tulle underskirt,built in slip this can be used to make a peek-aboo skirt too. half slips this works for adults too!

Slips are a great way to make a dress not embarrassingly see through. they can also add some thickness and twirl to little girls dresses. they also reduce static cling, and make skirts more comfortable to wear.

and my slip with sleeves tutorial(it can be made sleeveless too)

May Giveaway

join me for May giveaway day!

I am hoping to win something for My birthday this month!

I will be giving away some tweed baby shoes!

see more like them, and my other items at my etsy shop!

Sunday loafers

Size: 12 mos.
Perfect for boys or girls. These versatile shoes are great for dress clothes, and add a touch of class to casual outfits. soft soled baby shoes are Pediatrician Recommend for early walking. The soles are made from genuine leather, and the top is made of vintage wool tweed. These are decorated by a cosmetic strap. The buttons are 1-1/8’’ polished coconut husk. The elastic back makes the shoes easy to put on and hard for baby to take off. These shoes are fully lined with white 100% cotton to add strength and comfort.

all you need to do is tell me what you think, or any suggestions you may have for tutorials, or anything you want!I will choose the winner by my favorite comment.

I will ship internationally

the giveaway will be open until May 25th

Make it Modest: the slip with sleeves Tutorial

L is wearing a patchwork circle skirt
(and the slip backwards)
The slip with sleeves saves the trouble of a slip and a shirt. I like to encourage my kids to dress themselves as soon as they can. This makes it easier. It also makes life easier than trying to add sleeves to all those dresses (I have 3 girls)

supplies:
You need 1 yard of slip fabric (or other fabric like linen if you want it to look more like a shirt)
And all the usual sewing stuff (pins sewing machine etc..)
Lace is nice (I did not use it)

Just a few tips:
It is hard to feel when fabric is being sewn in that you don’t want. Make sure to keep things straight.
Pin this fabric is slippery.
This stuff rolls just be aware.
Things shift adjust regularly as you sew.



Pattern

The pattern for this dress is here please forgive the wonkyness. Tape with no overlap.
This makes a 3T-4T size for a 5T- 6-T size add 2-4 inches to the hem and make the head and sleeve holes bigger.

If you want different sleeves you can use the sleeveless slip option on the pattern and make any of these sleeves you like better. I recommend the flutter sleeve, or even make 2 of different size flutter sleeves and and layer them.

Cut the fabric.

Cut on the fold. One of each piece



And a 24” by 2” strip (for the neck hole)

Sew it

Start by lining up the pieces (right side together)



Pin and sew the shoulders.

Sew the sides below the sleeves.



Try it on.

Cut the arm and head holes for best fit.





It can be hard to pull it over the head when finished if the head is big.. And secure with a little more stitching


For fabric other than slip fabric use bias tape here is how you make it. And here is how you put it on. Make sure to make the neck hole bigger because there is no stretch.

or use lace by pressing the top,and pinning on lace and topstich.

Turn right side out.
Pin strip right sides facing to neck hole.


Line the ends of the strip up and stitch to fit. Sew (this is where you need to watch for sneaky fabric that tries to slip into the seam.)Check the other side for tag alongs and holes in the sewing.

fold up.


fold over edge leaving ¼-1/3 inch on the front showing encase raw edges from attaching the neck band.
Pin in place


...and Sew There is no need to tuck in the raw edge of the unattached side of the strip because this fabric does not fray.


if it looks funny just fold it in and topstitch. trim the extra unattached edge of the strip off (be careful not cut the slip)




Press the edges of the sleeves over. Hem them.
Hem the bottom of the slip.
Tada!

this is a shortish almost 6 year old. I made this for the 3, almost 4 year old.

make it modest: sleeves

modesty part 1:


making modest clothes is one of the best reasons to learn to sew. and with the internet it can be even less expensive.
the great thing about a treasury of patterns is that all you need is the pieces you want and you can make anything.
Adding sleeves can be done easily with the right instructions. you can make almost any dress or shirt modest. you can even add sleeves to store bought dresses.

 

ruffle sleeves, flutter sleeves. this can be used on more fluttery fabric like organza. puffed sleeves this has both methods shown. princess cap sleeves, summer dress cap sleeve this minus the cuff piece and hemmed makes a great sleeve for an organza type dress. pleated puffy sleeve, set in sleeve, baseball sleeve



this is a post with links to even more sleeves. like flairs, long sleeves etc...

101 free patterns for modest dresses (and skirts)

Part 1

one of the great things about the internet is the volume of information. and patterns are one of my favorite things shared. check out all these great ideas for little girls.


little girls

 

5$ tulle ruffle skirt, full and fluffy pettiskirt, the bustle skirt, The Cotton Candy skirt, Cinderella costume, the Belle dress, Patchwork circle skirt, the cupcake skirt, Twirly skirt, A simple skirt, "a", Circle skirt with pockets, the poppy dress, painting the roses red, Spring fever dress, Blessing/conformation dress, The party dress, the itty bitty baby dress, market skirt, Skirt with hidden elasticized waist, Bubble skirt, pillowcase ruffle dress

sharing

I like to combine Ideas. Make it and love it is a great place to find them.This blog is evidence that I am not the only one making pants this month.

she has some great ideas and a better pattern than my instructions if you are making pants for older kids. you can use the cut line as a fold line if you want to preserve a pattern on a fabric, or save some time.

you can also make them adjustable in the waist and flat on the front and shorts!

made by Rae is another great place. this is a nice method for pockets and
she has a pattern too. (if you don't want to make your own for babies.)

here are a few more tricks: like the button cuff.

to add this your pants should be lined or you can make the 2nd pair of pants (lining) out of muslin and a 5" cuff along the bottom. make the straps by cutting 4 1"x5.5" strips. sew with right sides together along sides and sew a triangle shape on one end. turn, and add a button hole the size of your button.
Tucking under the raw (top) edge of the cuff strap, sew it onto the inner side seam of the leg. The bottom tip of the cuff strap should not protrude below the hem of the pants. I sew a little square pattern.
Turn pants right side out and sew the button right in the middle of that square, on the outside of the pants. I love it.
also ruffles seem to be in right now

to make some like this: use the pattern I made (the seam along the outside of the leg would ruin the pattern on the fabric) and add 4" to the legs that's it.

pants are easy and cheap to make. they can be made from old worn out pants, and small ones don't use much fabric.

the perfect pants Tutorial

My measurements make a 6-9 mos. size

Gather supplies:

Find 2 fabrics. ½ yd each is plenty
No serger!
Buttons (I have a thing for buttons)
Regular sewing stuff (i.e sewing machine, pins, thread, etc…)
Measuring tape
Iron
Elastic
Seam ripper

Make a pattern

(this is easy trust me)
Get a pair of pants that fit well for a reference
Measure big. I add 2” for waist at this point and 1” for everything else.
Waist: 20”
Inseam (crotch down) 9”
Outside of leg (from waist): 14”

add 1” to outside measurement , and subtract 1”on the outseam to accommodate diaper and make up for seams.

If you want reversible cuff pants add up to 4” to the length of the pants depending on if you want large or small cuffs.
And I like to add even more to the waist since this is an elastic top.

New measurements:
Waist 22”
Inseam 8”
Outside 14”

Now for the fancy part get 2 papers, and tape them together the long way:

Draw a line the length of your outside measurement. (this is your fold line)

Now take the waist measurement and divide by 4 draw that line perpendicular to the last one.



Now draw the inseam line parallel to the 1st line.

Now add 1” to your waist/4 measurement and make a line to it from the top of the last line. And shave .5” off the top line (waist)


And turn it into this shape.

Now cut er’ out!

Cut the fabric


Main:

Fold it the long way lay pattern on fold line. Cut 2
do the same with 2nd fabric.
(this is 2 pair of pants)

Sew:





Sew each leg piece along the inseam (right sides together unlike this pic. it takes a while and damages the fabric to unpick) make sure to check both sides of the stitching to make sure there are no holes in the seams this is hard to fix later.
(there should be 4)

Turn one leg right side out and put it inside the other one. Line up the inseam and pin the seam. Sew up the crotch seam.

Make the other pair of pants


Turn one side of pants right side out. And one right side in.
Put them inside each other right sides facing.


Sew along the top.



Now turn them by putting both legs through one leg hole of the other pair. And tuck them into each other.

PRESS:


Press the top.


Press 1/4 “ seam on both pieces of both legs. (hide the raw edges)

Finish:


Top stitch the top seam as close as possible to the top. (I like the word top apparently)


Line up the bottom of the legs. You need to pin here. It is much easier if you do.

Sew up the legs.

The top:


Use a seam ripper to make a hole in the seam to place the elastic.


Make a casing for the elastic By sewing the with of the elastic + ¼” from the top stitch.


Put in the elastic. I don’t cut the elastic at this point it cuts down on wastage.
Attach a safety pin to the end thread it through.
Pull it tight enough that it will hold on the pants and loose enough that it stretches to the same size as the elastic-less pants easily.

Sew The elastic.

Stitch up the hole.

Clip threads, fold up cuffs and find a baby.
I will make a part 2 that explains how to add a button tie for the cuff , and other embellishments.