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~ Ruffle Your Stuff ~
April 3 , 2010
Easter outfit
Spring has finally sprung! I have welcomed it with open arms! The 70 and 80 degree weather this week has had my heart singing like a whippoorwill!
The sound of peepers literally melts stress off my shoulders. It is one of the best sounds on earth. The creation sings such praises to the Creator!
Easter Sunday is just days away. I explained to Jordan the tradition of the Easter dress as he had never heard of it before...he didn't have younger sisters, so I guess it wouldn't have come up :-). I explained to him how I was going to take advantage of that tradition this year and put together a new Easter outfit. I know it is mostly a tradition for younger girls...but I wasn't going to let that stop me :-). I had sooo much fun creating! Most of my sewing has been on historic costumes, so a project like this, which doesn't have to be authentic, and isn't technical in the least bit was a lot fun. I made the skirt and bought the blouse from TJ Max to complete the look. It was $16...more than what I would generally pay for a top, but it went so well with the skirt I had to keep it. So, here is the finished project and the some of the steps I took to get there...
Inspiration
I saw this skirt for $79 in the "Long Tall Sally" catalog (Yes, that would be me...long, tall Melissa :-).
I really liked it, but didn't want to spend that much. My sister called and said that Denver fabrics (http://www.denverfabrics.com) was having a big sale and she saw this fabric...that would be perfect for this other skirt she saw in a catalog and wanted to make...and wanted to know if I wanted to get some too...then we could split shipping. What a perfect idea! I just love sisters with similar hobbies! I ended up falling in love with this turquoise linen that was also on sale for only $2.60 a yard. I got three yards of it, which came out to $7.80.
I searched for a pattern, with the "Long Tall Sally" skirt in the back of my mind, but couldn't find anything quite like it. I was thinking of just going with another pattern, when Disney (over at http://www.rufflesandstuff.com) announced a 'ruffle your stuff' competition. The ruffled skirt
came to mind again. I just had to make it for Easter, so I could enter it into the contest as well.
I ended up going with this pattern...view D...and added a 6" ruffle.
-Making the ruffle
To determine how long I wanted to make the ruffle, I figured out the circumference of the skirt and doubled it. I needed it to be 166" long. My fabric piece was 160" long...close enough :-). I cut the 6" (+ 5/8" for seam allowance) down the selvedge to get the kind of frayed look I saw on the "Long Tall Sally" skirt. It worked out great, plus I didn't have to hem it, which is always a bonus! Even though the skirt does not look much like the original inspiration, I really like how it turned out.
-Embellishments
I came across some craft blog explaining how to make fabric yo-yo's, so I gave them a try. They came together so quick and easy. A great way to keep your hands busy while watching a movie or driving long distances!
-How to make fabric Yo-yo's
I folded fabric in half and free handed a circle.
The circle was a little oblong, about 4" in diameter.
Insert your needle and do a long running stich close to the fabric edge all the way around the circle.
If you want the edge to be "finished", fold down a little of your fabric as you go.
The circle will start looking like a little pouch.
Pull the thread tight, but not too tight as to break it (I double up my thread to make it stronger). The yo-yo will start to form.
Flatten out the middle and tie off the thread!
There are all kinds of uses for these...on clothes, made into tablecloths or wall hangings, card decorations, etc. You can put buttons in the middle or sew on some beeds.
I added some on the skirt to perk it up a bit, and sewed some on a ribbon for a matching hair accessory. The pearl in the center was the final detail.
-William's outfit
With extra fabric, I was able to make a matching outfit for William. I never knew making baby boy clothes could be so fun!
I used this pattern:
So for about $10, I made a skirt for me and an outfit for William. Savings? About $90...not bad.
The finished product:
Happy Spring everyone!
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