Kimono

I'm so in love with this 30 minute kimono tutorial from Babble!! I'm not sure what I like best about it; the look, the cost, the fact that it only takes a half hour or the ease of it. Seriously, I made some cuts, sewed a couple straight lines and I was done. No hemming required.

Awesome camera phone quality :/

I mean look at these picture instructions and tell me you can't do this:

In fact, I eliminated the first three (out of a whopping five) steps all together after realizing I could use a stay-stitch where the front slit ends (at the neck) instead of having a seam down the back. 

The kimono is very forgiving so don't stress out. As long as you use a knit, you can alter the length and front opening when all is said and done if needed.

LAST TIP:

In order to get perfectly symmetrical cuts in the front, I cut those FIRST and at the same time, before sewing. All I did was fold the fabric in half length-wise and cut both triangles at once from the folded edge. Test it out on a piece of paper if you are confused by how it will all fold and come together.

Very happy I found this. I will be busy making tons more of these! I have already made three and I'm dying to make one for my 5-year-old! When I do, I will be posting measurements here so stay tuned. 

Do you love this as much as I do!? Give it a shot!

Tutorial: How To Make A Headscarf

If you haven't noticed... I'm finding LOADS of uses for my jersey fabric lol :)

I was making more Loop Scarves to sell in my shop when I noticed that the fabric store cut my jersey a little too long so I trimmed about 10" off the end and viola - my new favorite accessory was born!

I don't get to just pull my hair back when I'm having a bad hair day since it's so short so this has been a lifesaver for me. Plus I've seen it on long-haired ladies with their hair up and I love it.

SO here's another tutorial that's so easy I feel silly even calling it a tutorial :) My fabric was 60" wide to begin with so it was already the perfect length and you could do it however thick or thin you prefer.

Notice that my grey one is more curled at the edge because I've worn it over and over stretching it out, whereas the others are brand new.

What do you think? Is it time to move on to something new already? Geesh! Sorry.

I told you I get obsessed.

And you thought I was exaggerating didn't you? :/

Tutorial: How To Make A Loop Scarf

Edited to add: This tute was featured on Ucreate! Wahoo!!

I saw a scarf at the store the other day that was made from jersey knit and sewed together at the ends creating a loop. I loved it and decided I had to make one of my own with my jersey fabric leftovers.

It's so simple... have you noticed that's my new "thing" lately btw? The easier the better I think. Hope that's okay ;)

So I cut mine to be 94" X 10" but you can do any size you like. If you make it wider it can even be worn as a hood. I just sewed the 10" ends together with a small seam allowance (about 1/4") and called it good. With jersey fabric the ends wont ravel.

That's really all there is to it! I just bought some cute cream fabric that will be perfect for these so I will be adding them to my Etsy shop soon :)

Thanks for reading!!

Tutorial: How To Make A Swaddle Blanket

Yes I still swaddle my 9 month old. Say what you will but it gets her to sleep fast and saves me what little sanity I have left so I'll keep it up as long as I can! If you swaddle (aka burrito wrap) your baby but need something much much lighter for summertime, you'll love this!

I simply bought a yard of jersey knit material and cut it in half along the line that it already had from being on the bolt. You don't have to do anything to the edges because they'll just curl up. If you're picky you can take a rotary cutter to the edges that the fabric store cut so they're straight but honestly it won't matter once you wash and dry it.

This makes two very lightweight, stretchy blankets! You could definately get away with less than a yard if it's for an newborn.

I love me a cheap and easy project!!

Tutorial: How To Make A Baby Wrap Part 3

***Please always use extra caution when wearing baby (especially newborns and sleeping babies) and do your own research on the safety issues as that's not what is covered in this tutorial. I know a few things for sure; make sure baby's face is visible, their chin is off their chest and please note that jersey wraps should not be used for a back carry hold.

I know what you're thinking. "We get it already crazy lady"! I know. This is the THIRD baby wrap tutorial. But don't worry, 3 is where I make myself draw a line! And trust me it's not easy... I wanted to do a 4th binkie leash tute and restrained myself. Anywho, this wrap is different in that it's one-sided. I've also tweaked a few little things here and there making this one my favorite of them all.

This one-sided version is easier to make and since there are less layers baby isn't as hot. Plus I always make things reversible (baby wrap, carseat canopy, nursing cover, boppy slipcover) then wish I didn't bother since I only ever use one side of it anyway.

***You will need 5.5-6 yards of jersey knit fabric (the edges will curl when stretched) and a piece of cotton fabric that is 22"x22" for your front support panel. Wash and dry all of it then iron the cotton fabric.

Lay out your jersey fabric and take a deep breath... this may take a while.

Trim the long edge (the 5.5 yard side) if you want to since it's usually holey or discolored. Or leave it if you don't care (after washing and drying, the holes should dissapear).Then when that's done, measure 20" from the side you just cut and cut your first wrap. You should be able to make 1-2 more wraps from your remaining fabric.After it's all cut, trim the 20" edges so they're nice and straight.
Now find the center so you can mark it with pins.
Place pins in the top and bottom of the center to mark it. Measure from edge to edge where the pins are so you can see how big to cut your fabric panel. Keep it 22" wide and trim height to whatever measurement you came up with in the previous step.

Iron the shorter sides of your fabric panel about 1/2" under. Using the pins you added to the wrap earlier as a guide, line the panel up with the center of the wrap. If your wrap is the same on both sides, place the panel face down on the side of the wrap that the edges curl away from. If your wrap has a pattern on one side, place the panel face down on the wrong side of the wrap. Pin panel to the wrap along both the top and bottom raw edges, lining it up perfectly.Sew 1/4" from the top and bottom edges. Turn it right side out then iron the seams flat.Once ironed, pin the sides to the wrap so you can topstitch around the entire panel closing the sides.When topstitching the sides of the panel, stitch as close to the edge as you can but for the top and bottom of the panel you don't need to be as close to the edge.
Yay! See my video demo here to put it on and put baby in it.

Tutorial: How To Make A Baby Wrap Part 2

***Please always use extra caution when wearing baby (especially newborns and sleeping babies) and do your own research on the safety issues as that's not what is covered in this tutorial. I know a few things for sure; make sure baby's face is visible, their chin is off their chest and please note that jersey wraps should not be used for a back carry hold.

EDITED TO ADD: Check out my more recent tutorial of a one-sided baby wrap here.

I love my wrap! It doesn't hurt my back and it's easy to stuff in my diaper bag.

Remember my original post about making a baby wrap here? Well I've totally overhauled it and come up with an even better one for ya. This one has a cute fabric support panel in front, it's way less bulky, it makes 3 wraps instead of just 2 AND it's reversible so it's like you're getting 6. So here goes!

You'll need:

2 cotton squares of fabric 22"x22" (optional)

Sewing machine (only if adding panels)

Rotary mat & cutter

5.5-6 yards jersey knit fabric that is the same on both sides

Lay out your huge fabric STILL FOLDED like it was on the bolt. If the edges are messy (big holes, rough spots or discoloration) then trim those off. If there are just small holes, those should close up after washing & drying. I normally recommend washing and drying first but the edges will curl so much in the wash that you should wait til it's cut then wash and dry it before adding the panels.

Measure the entire width (should be 60" or more) and divide that by 3. You should get about 20" or more. Half that number... this is how far from the FOLD you will cut your fabric. Get it? See how you'll have 3 wraps approximately 20" wide once you cut? Continue cutting that far from the fold for the entire 5.5-6 yards.

Now either leave the edges alone or taper them. If you don't taper, the knot you tie in front will be a little more bulky but I still prefer not to taper because if you do, that part does not look as clean as the rest because when jersey fabrics are cut diagonally, their edges don't curl. You decide...

To taper, take a wrap and lay one end of it on the table FOLDED in half like the picture below. Starting about 20" or so from the end, taper all the way to the end leaving about 4" on the end (so really only 2" since it's folded)

Open it up so it looks like this:

Now round the sharp corners

You can stop here if you want and it looks great!

Or you can get out your panels, trim them so they're the same height as your wrap, and iron the sides that you DID NOT TRIM under about 1/2" (so wrong sides are together).

Here are my 2 already ironed.

Now put the right sides of each panel together and make sure the edges line up

Now find the center of your wrap and add pins to mark it. I tried ironing those dang edges flat but they just curled back up so don't bother. That is why there are wet spots on my fabric in case you're wondering :)

Place the panels (with their right sides together still) on top of the wrap at the very center using your pins as a guide.

Pin them to the wrap on both the top and bottom raw edges.

Sew 1/4" from edge where you pinned

Here it is sewn on the top and bottom.

Lift both panels and stuff one side of your wrap through the opening

Here's what it will look like at this point:

Now lift your top panel and stuff one side of your wrap through opening

Now it looks half-way decent!

See the seam?

It needs to be ironed flat

Once ironed, pin sides of panel to your wrap so you can top stitch around the whole thing and close those sides

Top stitch as close to the edge as you can. Remember that the thread has to go through the fabric on the opposite side too so you might not be able to get as close to the edge as you want unless you made sure those 2 panels were lined up PERFECT. I used a green thread for this top side and a blue bobbin thread for the under side.

Here is one side of my finished product:

and here is the other side:

See my front and back?

Cute baby girl, cute wrap and even though she'd only been in it for 2 minutes, it was already covered in drool - it didn't stand a chance.

She even managed to get both sides!!

Front shot:

Back shot:

Click here for a video demo on wearing your wrap and your baby.

~Star