Tie Dye Diva Potato Chip Skirt

My 7 year old loves My Little Pony so I decided to make her a skirt using the Potato Chip Skirt from Tie Dye Diva.  This skirt is available in the Bundle Up from Pattern Revolution.  This is the second pattern I have made from the bundle I bought and so far I have loved both patterns I have used.

What is so great about this pattern is you can make the skirt with either one fabric, lined or reversible.  I choose to make it reversible and used 2 My Little Pony fabrics.  That way she has 2 skirts in one!  The skirt also features pockets, a flat front waistband and elastic back.  It has a timeless A line shape and is super simple to sew because there are no gathers, ruffles, buttons or zippers!

For the main side of the skirt I used my favorite My Little Pony fabric called My Little Pony Names.  It features all your favorite My Little Ponies (including Rarity!) amongst a dark purple background.  There are so many colors you can pull from to match coordinating fabrics with.  I choose to bring out the pink and used Fairy Frost Love for the waistband.

On the front of the main side it features handy pockets.  You can even decorate the pockets with piping or in this case bias tape.  The pattern has directions for piping but I had this super cute crochet trimmed bias tape that I used to decorate the edge of the pocket.  I got this bias tape in a previous month's box from Stitch Box Monthy.  When I saw this pattern I knew this would be the perfect trim to use for the pockets!

On the reverse side I used My Little Pony Ombre fabric.  This is my daughter's favorite so I knew I had to use this fabric as well.  For the waistband on this side it is also the Fairy Frost Love.  The pattern includes directions to use a one fabric waistband (what I did) or a waistband with two different fabrics in case you wanted a different fabric on each side of the reversible skirt.

This skirt was a quick sew and I will be making more!

Jocole Wideleg Pants

First let me apologize for the horrible photos.  It was 2 minutes before time to leave for school so I didn't have much time.  It also rained here all day yesterday and was still gloomy outside, thus the inside quick photos.

Right now there is a pattern bundle sale going on at Pattern Revolution.  There are 11 brand new girls patterns for sale and you can get them starting at $4.50 each.  But you must pick at least 6.  The more you buy the more you save.  I ended up buying 9.  I sat down with my girls and they liked just about every one of them.  They are super picky these days so when they like something I go for it.  They are not into big frilly ruffle dresses anymore (which is fine with me) and are more into the ready to wear look that you would find at stores.

The first pattern I decided to sew up was Jocole's Wideleg Pants for my 10 year old.  Now she is super duper skinny but average height for her age.  So, it is hard to find pants that actually fit her.  She can fit into her little sister's pants but they are always short.  If she wears pants that are long enough for her they always fall off of her.  It is nice to be able to sew her pants and change it up for her measurements.  I made a size 8 but extended the length a little bit.  I probably could have even made a smaller size since her waist was measuring smaller but I didn't want the rise to be too short.  I used a stretch french terry knit that I had originally bought for my son but decided to make these pants instead. 

I choose to add inset pockets.  Next time I make them I am going to serge around the curve of the pockets before I construct them.  I found it impossible to do this with my serger when the directions stated to do it so I just left the seam raw.  Since it is knit it won't fray.  I could have easily done it with a zig zag stitch but after using a serger for so long I don't like the look of a zig zagged seam very much.  When you are putting the pockets on make sure you pay attention and put them on the top of the pant leg where they belong and not the bottom (don't ask me why I know this).

For the waist I choose to do the skinny band.  I decided to also put elastic inside to give it more stability and so they wouldn't fall down.  I just left a gap when I attached the band and then inserted the elastic.  Then after securing the elastic together closed the gap.  I topstitched it with my coverstitch and it looks like I need more practice with that.  I have only had it a month so I have much to learn!

Finally, I hemmed it with my coverstitch as well.  I love the way this looks!  I used 1" fusible hem tape, ironed it up and hemmed it with my coverstitch.  Easy peasy.

The bundle up sale is going on only until Febuary 2nd.  You can find it HERE.  Happy sewing!

Frozen Outfit

This past week I participated in a sew along in the Made for Mermaids facebook group and made this top.  It is the rose ruffle top made with knit fabrics.  This was really easy to make, especially with my new coverstitch machine.  I don't sell knit fabrics (yet anyways) so I bought the fabrics used in the top retail.  The white is from Purple Seamstress, whom I think is just awesome.  This is the highest quality solids I have seen and reasonably priced.  The snowflake knit I got on etsy from another seller.

The hem on both the sleeve ruffles and the shirt hem I did with my Janome coverstitch machine I got for Christmas.  A coverstitch is different from a serger because it doesn't have a knife to cut off fabric and has double straight lines on the front and chain stitch on the backside.  This stitch still allows the fabric to stretch so it is the ideal way to hem knits.

I also made a coordinating skirt.  I used the Katie John pattern from Cole's Creations.  For the fabric I used Frozen Ice Skating Toss and Fairy Frost in Cobalt.  I have the Frozen fabric on sale right now!  This skirt has a flat front with elastic back, pockets and a contrasting hem band.  I hope the birthday girl loves her new outfit!