by Sherri Sylvester | Mar 21, 2016
Ummm… so maybe I went a bit overboard with this year’s Easter dresses! But before we get to that…
Last week was March Break with busy-ness and lots of fun. I was excited that we had a very manageable work week! It is SO encouraging for me that they are old enough to play more easily while I work. Less interruptions while “Mommy is working” means more efficient working hours for me and better-spent time with them!
Last week we managed to go to a Raptor’s D-league basketball game, take the kids out to Zootopia (super cute) and, after a warm photo shoot yesterday (thanks to the arboretum) we spent the day at the Royal Ontario Museum. Unfortunately, it has ended with a feverish little one in the house. Hopefully she will be feeling much better soon!
Back to Easter… these dresses are absolutely amazing, if I’m can say so myself! It’s not all of my hard work, but the pattern (and the girls!) that steal the show. These are made with the Violette dress pattern from Violette Field Threads. For the last two years I’ve gone to their patterns to make a special dress for each of the girls to wear on Easter Sunday. But I have to say, last year’s Annabelle dresses have nothing on these!
The construction is really simple, but I recommend that you save up your patience to sew them. I sewed two 9/10 width dresses and each one has about 43 yards of gathered tulle in the skirt! The gathering is a bit tedious, it took me about 3 hours to attach the first layer (there are 4 on each dress). Thankfully I learned and used a slightly faster way for the other layers and got through the last few more quickly – meaning about 45 min-1 hour each. I’ve collected a few tips from my experience below!
The fabrics I used for the bodices and peplums are super fancy “scraps” I had available in my stash. Pieces I couldn’t really make into anything else. My youngest is especially excited to tell everyone that hers is gold silk! The light teal one is a bit sparkly as well, but I’m not sure what the fabric is. It is really nice to work with, though and does not wrinkle easily.
The tulle was tricky because I couldn’t find an exact match for the bodice fabrics and had to get creative. Rose pink for the gold dress with one gold bottom layer, and mostly sparkly silver with one cream top layer for the teal dress. The lining is long enough that these dresses aren’t scratchy which is nice. I was worried the girls would complain about that.
I think I would make this pattern again, but maybe with a fabric skirt. The instructions for that are included and are a little less involved! This is a really cute dress though and I love the wider front neckline and lower back with two buttons. Only word of warning is keep your tulle away from anything stickery, like Velcro. My oldest now has a few holes in the top gathered layer that we are going to creatively fix before Sunday!
8 Tips for How to Sew Insane Amounts of Tulle More Quickly!
1) Leave plenty of time to sew. Be patient and don’t expect to rush. Each tulle layer takes between 1/2 hour and 1 hour to sew. Find a good podcast or Netflix show to distract you and JUST-KEEP-SEWING!
2) Clear off the work area near your sewing machine. Tulle yardage takes up a lot of space and it is not fun to stop and catch falling notions and collect small threads from your tulle. Trust me, they stick really well!
3) Fill at least 4 bobbins before beginning so they are ready . Then you won’t have to switch tasks or re-thread your machine as often.
4) It is helpful to mark the centre of the tulle before sewing so you can match up the gathering properly to the lining. It would be amazing to do this while you are buying the tulle, otherwise you need a really long hallway to cut it into lengths properly. It would be great to buy your tulle already cut and labeled in the various layer lengths if your fabric store will do that for you.
5) The layers are made up of a back and a front skirt piece. It is helpful to sew only one side seam before gathering. The second side seam can be sewn after the gathering stitches are sewn.
6) It was most helpful to use dental floss to gather the tulle layers. I used my rolled hem foot to keep the floss in the center of a wide zigzag stitch. You can even stop every so often to gather up the tulle behind the presser foot. This saves space and yards of floss. I tried to use ribbon this way, but the floss was really effective, strong and slippery to gather more easily. And of course, BONUS – your project will smell minty fresh!
7) I gathered with a 3/8″ seam allowance and then placed the tulle according to the edge (not the gathering seam). This way you can remove the dental floss before going on to the next layer.
8) Pin, Pin and pin again! The more pins you add when attaching the tulle to the lining, the easier it is to sew. I pinned the previously sewn tulle layer first, then added the new one above it and pinned the tulle down flat there as well. Really helpful when you are arranging so many layers inside of your machine.
by Sherri Sylvester | Mar 1, 2016
I have a good stash of ribbon… well, maybe more than a good stash. More like an entire cute Ikea garbage can full! They collect much faster than I can sew them into all the things. This skirt , however, saved me a bit of stash-guilt by using up about 44″ each of 10 different ribbons – all in one skirt, hooray! Plus, I got to play with lots of fun stitches on my On-Loan Janome Skyline S5!
I decided to use some gray Essex linen, left over from my Camber Dress a few years ago. After checking with my “anti-gray” oldest child to make sure she’d wear it, I got to pull out my bucket ‘o ribbons and decide which ones to use. I wanted to add in some decorative stitches and since my oldest loves to draw, I found a few quotes to add in.
Love, love being able to personalize this skirt for her! One quote says “Creativity takes courage. ~ Matisse” and the other is “Everything you can imagine is real. ~ Degas” The Skyline S5 has a 50 stitch memory. After programming it, all I had to do was start stitching and it continued the pattern until I stopped it at the other edge of the skirt.
After using this machine for about 6 months, one of my favorite features is the automatic tension. It is so nice not to have to think about it when sewing through multiple layers and different thicknesses. I used a pink bobbin throughout this project, to match the lining, and it doesn’t show even once on the outer fabric.
As a word of caution, I am new to the world of embroidery and stitching and did not have any stabilizer on hand. *collective gasp* Yes, I know, I did just do that. #liveandlearn You can do better than me and make sure to have some behind all of your decorative stitching. Thankfully the waviness pressed out with a bit of steam – whew. I did put a layer of woven fabric behind my linen, because I was worried the loose weave and the stitching wouldn’t play well together. This helped a bit, but stabilizer is now #1 on my shopping list.
Materials
- 44″ wide outer fabric – see sizing/cutting instructions below
- lining/stabilizer – see sizing/cutting instructions below
- various ribbons/embellishments
- 3/4″ elastic, non-rolling
- thread to match ribbons for top-stitching
- removable fabric pen/ruler
- decorative stitches and thread (optional)
Note: Make sure your ribbons are machine washable, and the colours won’t run. Pre-wash them if you can. Be sure to test if they are colour-fast with hot water as you would another fabric. If you are worried, wash skirt in cold water and hang to dry. It is also recommended that you check to see if the ribbons can be pressed Some synthetic blends will melt when heat is applied. It is best to press the skirt from the wrong side with not much heat unless you are sure the ribbons can take it.
Prep Work:
- Measure the desired length of your skirt (I used a ready-to-wear size 7 skirt as an example and measured 15″)
- Add 3″ to your length to leave room for hemming and an elastic casing.
Sizing: If your child’s waist/hips are between 21″-27″ a 44″ width of fabric should be fine. If not, fabric should be cut to the final length x double your child’s waist measurement.
Cut Your Fabric:
- Cut your outer fabric from selvage to selvage at your desired length (including the 3″ from Prep Work Step 2).
- If using a lining fabric, cut this to the same size as the outer fabric. If not, prepare strips of stabilizer to be adhered behind decorative stitching.
Here We Sew:
- If using a lining fabric, place lining and outer fabric wrong sides together. Baste if desired, from now on treat this as one fabric.
- Use a removable fabric marker to mark the casing on the outer fabric at 1 1/4″ down from the top long edge. Mark the hem with a line 1″ up from the bottom.
- Lay ribbons along the width of the skirt in your desired layout. Place stiffer ribbons near the middle/bottom – since they won’t gather as well. It is good to leave about 1″ of room under the casing and before the hem. Be sure to leave room for some decorative stitching, too! If you don’t have fancier stitches on your machine a zig-zag stitch or some closely sewn straight stitched lines would be cute too.
- Mark the ribbon placement on a short outer fabric edge. It is helpful to take a temporary photo or write down the order so you can remember it later!
- Mark lines for the top edge of each ribbon across the width of the skirt, so they all end up straight! It helps to fold the skirt so the two short outer edges are lined up and transfer the ribbon placement marks- this way the ribbons will hopefully match up along the back edge of your skirt.
- Add your decorative stitching and ribbons as desired. Switch thread colours as necessary to top-stitch your ribbons neatly.
- Trim the ribbons to match the fabric edges and finish the sides so the fabric does not fray. I used the “M” overcast foot that came with this machine, and a double zig-zag overcasting stitch. This fabric is NEVER going to fray now! You could also finish the edge with a serger or a zig-zag stitch and some Fray Check.
- Pin the short edges of the outer fabric right sides together, matching ribbon placement as you go. Stitch with a 3/8″ seam. Press the seam open to reduce bulk.
- Fold and press the hem under 1/2″ then under 1/2″ again. Top-stitch a generous 3/8″ away from the folded edge.
- Fold and press the casing under 1/4″, then 1″ to leave room for the elastic. Stitch near the first folded edge, leaving a 3″ opening.
- Insert the elastic into the casing and feed it through with a safety pin. The elastic will be roughly the length of your child’s waist measurement + 1″. Though, it is best to try the skirt on and fit it accordingly.
- Overlap the elastic and stitch it together. Push it back into the casing and stitch the casing closed. Remove any marked lines. You are finished!
Enjoy your fancy skirt! My oldest was so cute and made sure to thank me “for the most beautiful skirt ever.” She’s a keeper! 😉
Thanks for reading to the bottom of the post. Join me for “thread ride” so you don’t miss more great content!
Disclaimer: Janome Canada has kindly allowed me to borrow this loaner machine on a 1 year contract and I am so grateful to them! I want to say again, as with all the products I write about – I always tell you my own honest opinion. I have bought and worked with Janome products for 90% of my sewing life and used their products long before they contacted me. I am so happy to give them a great review because I already love and support this product.
by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 24, 2016
Whew – fun things going on over here. Today’s post is full of random fun facts about what’s going on at Thread Riding Hood. Including the 3 winners of the latest giveaways!
In the midst of lots of recent quilt piecing fun I’ve posted on Facebook and Instagram, I updated my Free Measurement Chart Printable for you today! I just realized I haven’t measured my girls recently and we’re going to need to because it is Easter dress planning time again. I added some better numbering and a few more measurements to the original chart. Head over to the Measure-Me Chart post or click below to get the new printable. I’m hoping to update the photos as well, but my printer has informed me I can’t print anything because I am out of ink. Argh!
I love making the girls super fancy dresses at least once a year – especially in time for Easter Sunday. Right now I’m leaning toward the Violette dress. While the girls still like being princesses! Of course I still have to run it by them and see what they think. I’d hate to gather that much tulle if they won’t wear it more than once! I’ve got some gold dupioni silk scraps that might stretch to make the bodice and peplum for one dress. Overkill maybe, but the scraps are too small for a “me-sized” project, so I may as well use them up! Here are some past Easter dresses – I love all of these patterns! You can click on them to link to more photos. (Crazy how big these girls are getting!)
What is your favorite little/medium sized girls’ dress pattern?
BIG NEWS! If you haven’t been over to Instagram lately, check out the machine Janome has loaned me to play with right now! I’ll be sharing a fun series with them leading up to Toronto’s Spring Creativ Festival. I’m really excited to let you know that Janome is sponsoring me as I present a trunk show once each day at the Festival this spring. Eeek!
WINNERS! I know, I held off until the end, thanks for being patient…. Here are the winners of the recent giveaways!
First off, Country Clothesline gave away two 12 fat quarter bundles during their Valentine’s sale. How gorgeous are these?!
#625 – Renee H. won by following Thread Riding Hood on Bloglovin’
#269 – Lorrie R. won by following Country Clothesline on Pinterest.
Last but definitely not least, Fabric Please! made someone very happy by giving away a Lil’ Red layer cake! I love the quilt top I was able to make with mine. The colours are super happy! (Quick tip: their 1st Year Anniversary sale is still on until Friday, February 26, 2016!)
#4 Linda B. won by visiting us on Facebook!
Congratulations to all of the winners. Thanks so much for supporting my sponsors, please take a visit over to both of these wonderful shops.
by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 22, 2016
Wow, it’s almost March already and here I am posting a Christmas present from last year. It’s been photographed and patiently waiting since December! Every year I try to make a gift for the girls and their cousins. Thankfully there are (so far) only 4 of them – so it’s not that time consuming. Especially with this particular project. It take just over an hour to make one of these blankets!
Remember this 10 Minute Facecloth tutorial? These blankets use exactly the same method of construction – just in a much larger size! The great thing about these blankets is that they are simple and easy to make with any size starting fabric, as long as the backing fabric is wider and longer than the main fabric by the same amount on each side.
I used 1 yard of licensed fabric, about 36″ x 44″ and 1 1/2 yards of minky, about 54″ x 60″, for each blanket. (My Little Pony and Ninja Turtles from Funky Monkey Fabrics, Cinderella and Star Wars from The Fabric Society.) This will make a good sized kid’s throw blanket, or adult lap blanket at around 43″ x 50″.
Here are some simple instructions for how I made these:
- Pre-wash both fabrics.
- Trim the licensed fabric so each corner is square – roughly 34-35″ high x 43-44″ wide.
- Cut the minky so it was about 15″ wider and longer than the fabric – roughly 49″ high x 58″ wide. This could be any size, as long as the minky is larger than the fabric by the same amount width and length.
- Use the same instructions as the 10 Minute Facecloth, only sew using a 1/2″ seam instead of a 1/4″ seam.
I was holding my breath when the kids unwrapped them, and thankfully they liked them! I was delighted that the girls and their cousins took them to bed that night and all over the house for the next few days. Just goes to show how some well-placed licensed fabrics can get you “in” with the cool kids!
by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 12, 2016
Oooh! I am crazy about this quilt top! The colours are amazing, the star pattern is fantastic. Plus, it’s Little Red Riding Hood, so absolutely nothing could be wrong about that! 😉
When my sponsor Fabric Please! emailed me to see if I’d like to work with Lil’ Red by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda, I’d already fallen in love with it. I am pretty sure I saw this line in the fall Quilt Market photos. Plus, I have a couple of amazing readers who tag me whenever they find new Little Red Riding Hood fabric, so I can get it for my collection. So helpful! Of course, I told Rita “Yes, Please!” and waited impatiently for it to arrive in the mail!
The Lil’ Red fabrics are in stock at Fabric Please! now, so I get to share my quilt top, just in time for Valentine’s Day – how appropriate! They have prints, layer cakes and fat quarter bundles for you to choose from. (Enter to win a Lil’ Red Layer Cake at the end of this post!)
After a ton of thought, I decided to make a Moda Love Quilt. The directions come with measurements for a layer cake, charm pack or even a tiny mini charm pack. I am loving anything with diagonals and star shapes right now. This quilt is so easy to make with rows of squares and half-square-triangles (HST’s). Plus, if you look up other versions, there are so many ways to arrange the colours. I made mini charm version of this recently and it turned out completely different due to the colour placement.
If you follow me around on Facebook or Instagram you’ll know that I asked for help deciding which colour to place in the center diamond. Your most common suggestion was to use blue (which I love, thank you!), but you may also notice that the final layout of the quilt is different from the photos posted earlier this week.
Once I was about to piece everything together, I got worried. The red chevrons at top and bottom suddenly stood out too much for my liking. Rearranging the blue/red and low volume HST’s made the center star show up a lot more, and with the pop of blue, all of a sudden it was perfect!
Now all I need to do is convince one of my daughters to love blue/red/pink and green so I can redecorate their room and make this project into a twin size quilt for their bed. (With matching pillows of course – from the extra squares!) For now the quilt top and extra 10″ squares will be joining my quickly-growing Red Riding Hood fabric collection, waiting for the perfect fabric to back it with – or maybe I should piece a few together? (I’ve also got secret exciting news that might help me with the quilting. Eeek! Can’t wait to share!)
One very lucky reader will win a Lil’ Red Layer Cake from Fabric Please! These bundles of 10″ squares are so much fun to play with. And this playful fabric line is so bright and cheerful it’s pretty hard not to love it!
This giveaway is open to readers in Canada & the US, from today (February 12) until midnight February 19, 2016. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, just use your name and email address. There’s a “click to enter”, no social media login entry too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 5, 2016
Here’s an easy way to un-stash some of your smaller scraps, and make something useful to gift, or use yourself. These faux-mitred-corner facecloths are quick and easy, and each uses up an 10″-14″ scrap of quilting cotton or flannel. Just grab a towel from your closet or your local store and start sewing!
After a few slower ones for practice, I was able to sew up a facecloth in only 10 minutes – cutting included! There are so many uses for these – baby shower gifts, part of a Spa basket, Spa/Pool party goodie bags, kids’ facecloths…
MATERIALS:
One 8″ – 12″square of towel (8″ is baby size, 12″ is average size)
One square of scrap quilting cotton or flannel, 2″ larger than the towel
Removable fabric marker
Ruler/straight edge
Sewing machine and accessories
Exciting news today – the winner of the latest giveaway!
I’m happy to announce that Terri D has won a $40 gift certificate from Fabric Please! Hooray for Terri! So much fun to get to go fabric shopping for free 🙂
Even if you didn’t win, I hope you’ll head over to Fabric Please and show them some fabric love. Thanks so much for supporting my sponsors!
