the one with no models: toddler underpants free pattern and tutorial

sharing a post i did back in january for house of estrela's Refashion Month! enjoy!

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 it’s been my m.o. since i started sewing: just the fun stuff. fancy dresses and princess costumes and bowties. occasionally a bag or a stuffed animal.

i’d gloss over those tutorials and patterns for things like basic t-shirts and stretchy pants and jeans and gasp! underwear! who? why? why spend my time on making something i can buy at walmart when i can spend it making fluffy fluffy skirts???

and then i had a moment of clarity, as i prepared to drop yet another $7 pack of  3 pairs of “princess undies” in my cart. i was annoyed—the two little girls basically share clothes, gigi being a peanut and elliot being our typical thick toddler googie—and with potty training in full swing we were going through panties faster than…than i don’t know what. but just way too fast. and $7 every few weeks starts to add up.

meanwhile, back at the ranch…i had an ever increasing backlog of “upcyclable” items—shirts and dresses piling up in drawers and baskets that i figured i’d be able to reuse for a sewing project eventually.

::record scrattttcccchh:: duh.

i pulled that pack o’ panties outta my cart quick as a wink and set off home to make my own.
shockingly, i learned it wasn’t hard at all. (i can hear you experienced sewists rolling your eyes). once i drafted myself a basic pattern and tweaked it a bit, i had four pairs cut and sewn assembly line style in about an hour.

for freeeeeeeee.
which is my favorite number.

also shockingly—those homemade panties are dang cute. and watching their little bums run around in my handmade underpants was rather satisfying, even if it doesn’t get quite the same amount of attention from others that a handmade dress would. (hopefully. truth be told, i have rather exhibitionist daughters. :/  )
i also learned that sewing is sometimes useful for more than just sparkly dresses. it can actually save my family money, instead of being an expensive hobby. lol. i kid. really i’ve always tried to spend very little on my sewing, so it is a cost saving measure for our family. but this opened my eyes to the fact that taking the time to make some of the, ahem, “boring” stuff can really make a dent in our bottom line.

and i’m finally putting some of those knit t’s i’ve been hoarding to good use! upcycling/recycling either your own castoffs or thrifted/gifted items just makes good sense!
so, who’s ready to make their own panties? well too bad, you’re on your own for that. but if you’d like to make a pair that will fit a child between 2-5 depending on their size than i’ve got a free tutorial + pattern for you!

your only supplies are:

+ a pile of knits. somewhere in there try to have a thicker white cotton. i had a rib knit white tank, and this
was perfect as a liner for the crotch. (i just said crotch. on the internet)

+ elastic. i used both F.O.E. (fold over elastic) and regular 1/2” elastic that i have on a big spool. the F.O.E. does look nice and professional, but i found the regular stuff much easier to work with.

+ scissors, thread, machine, pins. what you don’t need is a serger. it’s nice if you have one, but you can do these perfectly well without one.

+ this pattern + this tutorial, over on my blog!

boom. crazy cute panties in multiples.

with cute little bums.

there you have it! go forth and sew more than just the pretties, and save dollah dollah bills ya’ll, and cover nekkid bottoms! (the world will thank you)



how dare i try and take pictures without letting them be a part? :)

spaghetti: not just for eating {sewing tutorial}

there’s this thing i do, and i’m sure i’m not alone: i look at something, admire it, and without ever taking the time to research it just decide that it’s too hard and i can’t or won’t be able to do it myself.

i don’t do it all the time—a lot of the time when i sew it’s because i saw something and thought “hey, i can do that!”. but there are certain sewing techniques that i’ve written off as simply IMPOSSIBLE…without ever even trying them.

i know, i know. you’re shaking your head at me now and saying “stupid stupid girl.” and you’re absolutely right. i am. because standard sewing techniques are definitely not rocket science or brain surgery or whatever.
they’re just that: Standard Sewing Techniques.

so it went with the spaghetti strap. i’d always admired them on a handmade garment. but i could never do that myself. looked too…tiny and fiddly and requiring heaps of patience and time i just don’t have. until, you know…i tried it. and shockingly, it was easy.

lesson learned: try it. research it. if someone else did it, then you probably can to. have faith in yourself.

i learned there are three simple—yet important--steps to mastering the spaghetti strap, and now i will share all of my wisdom with you young grasshopper.

o1) CUT YOUR FABRIC ON THE BIAS

it’s obvious because i’m using a plaid that it’s cut on the bias. (bias: the cut is diagonal to the grain lines/selvedge edge. you know—the way that doesn’t make sense because you’re WASTING SO MUCH FABRIC)
but bias cut = stretchy which in turn = much easier to turn and makes a nicer laying strap. trust me on this: bias cut.

o2) SEW A POINT ON THE END.

don’t just sew a straight stitch from one end to the other. taper down at one side almost to nothing, as if sewing a dart. i say almost because you want to leave a tiny hole at the end.

then snip a little opening a tiny ways down from the end of your tube. you’ve now created the perfect handle for your tool. which leads me to number 3…

o3) USE THE RIGHT TOOL

okay, so if you google “how to make spaghetti straps” you’ll find a lot of people who say you don’t need anything fancy—just a safety pin will do.
but this bad boy can be found on any notions wall, and with a coupon i think it cost me about $2.50 at joann’s. it’s a long thin rod with a loop handle at one end and a small gripper at the other end kind of like a latch hook. yes—a pin will probably work okay. but you’ll probably be frustrated and annoyed and it will take WAAAAY more time. get the tool. (which i obviously can NOT remember the “official” name for…loop turner? maybe?)

there you go. 3 simple steps to ensure slinky spaghetti strapage.

want a quick run-through of the method?
(please excuse the varying fabrics/photos…i needed more pics for this than i initially took. i made a stunt double strap)

o1) cut a length of fabric (ON THE BIAS SEE TIP 1!) the width/length will vary based on what you need.

length: measure where the strap is going and add a couple inches for safety.
width: for the polka dot strap in these photos i went with a 1” width and a very tiny seam allowance (like 7/16”). the plaid strap is closer to 1.5”, still with a tiny 7/16 s.a. if you cut a wider strap and sew with a larger seam allowance your strap will be rounder because the seam allowance will act as stuffing when you turn it right side out. you’ll have to experiment and see what works for you.

o2) sew a straight seam tapering across the top to almost nothing at the end (DUH SEE STEP 2). i say almost because you want to leave a tiny hole for step 4. sew this with a nice tight stitch—you don’t want stitches popping or gaping in your strap after it’s done. that’s annoying. i use a stitch length of 2 on my machine.

o3) cut a little mouth about 1/2” down from the tapered end of your strap.

happy strap is happy.

4) slide your loop turner in from the bottom of the strap, and grab the top section through the little mouth you created. then pull. you may have to wiggle it a bit to get it started, but the tapered top makes it much easier to get the strap started than if you’re pulling a big chunk of fabric.

 

5) TA-DAH! you’ve just made a spaghetti strap. like. a. boss. now get busy spaghetting all the things.

(elliot’s plaid dress blogged here)

a whale of a…whale (free pattern)

it has not escaped my notice that, as an avowed hater of stuffed and plush things, i have made and blogged quite a few.
the irony.
but i guess when it comes down to it, i don’t necessarily hate all plushies, just the stupid, pointless, waste of space, free/hand-me-down/non-emotional-connection type. yeah, those.
anyway, after making the quanket for the Unnamed Baby my friend is expecting, i still had a good sized piece of minky fabric left.
obviously, it needed to be a stuffed animal. because misery loves company and all that jazz. (sidenote meg: you’re welcome, kiss kiss)

and then after i did one, clearly i needed to do a second. brother and sister whale.
matching whale-ies.

soft and huggable whales, with contrast fabric bellies—his to match the quanket, hers a piece pulled from the stash (you may recognize it from the owls)

obviously i’d like to think that the future loving sibling relationship between Mr. No Name and his sister is/will be due—in large part—to the common bond forged by matching sibling whales.
and if you can get that from a pair of stuffed animals/dust collectors, then maybe i need to rethink my stance.

want to make a whale stuffie for yourself? you got it.
SUPPLIES
+ 1/4 yard of minky or other soft fabric with a bit of stretch
+ 1/4 yard (or fat quarter, or scrap fabric) contrast fabric for belly
+ embroidery floss/needle for eyes
+ stuffing
+ for the “girl” a small piece of felt for the bow
PATTERN
cutting notes + i included only a 1/4” seam allowance on this pattern. that’s all i generally use, and if i went any bigger the main piece wouldn’t fit on one sheet of paper. keep this in mind while you’re sewing. you can always trace the pattern onto your fabric 1/4” larger, giving you a standard 1/2” seam allowance if you’re more comfortable with that.

+ the minky fabric i used had a lot of stretch. i cut my whale body pieces so the direction it stretched most was around the top of the whale. (in other words the stretch went from his belly on bottom up to the top of his head)

+ ***IMPORTANT NOTE: ignore where i marked the “whale tail” as contrast or main fabric. cut it out of your MAIN FABRIC, not the contrast. sorry ;)

(right click pictures to save and print full size)

+ INSTRUCTIONS +
sew fins, right sides together along rounded edge.
clip curve, turn right side out & press

pin one fin on each whale body piece and stitch down.

place whale body pieces right sides together and sew along the top edge.

set that aside and grab your tail pieces.
place a pin in the center of the main tail piece (the one cut on the fold).

pin the other tail pieces on top, right sides together, matching the outer corners and working towards the center.

PIN ONLY UNTIL YOU REACH THE CENTER PIN YOU MARKED FIRST. you’ll have excess fabric on the 2 top pieces.

sew together, going from the center pin at the top around to the outer point and down to the intersecting corner at the bottom.

this gives you a 1/4 seam allowance on both top halves of the tail for you to attach it to the belly of the whale.
now grab your whale body, and match up the point at the back of the whale with the center pin of your tail piece. pin the seam allowance you left in the center of the tail piece to the two sides of the whale body.


sew that “u” shape up from end to end. trim up the center where it gets a little bulky.

now you have the main body of the whale complete. (looks like a manatee to me, right?)

time to attach the belly.
center and pin the belly, right sides together, onto your whale body.


stop where the tail piece meets up with the body. you’ll have an extra flap of both belly fabric and tail fabric past that, which we’ll use to close up the whale at the end.

sew that up and turn what has now become a somewhat creepy whale skin right side out.

now stuff! and stuff! and stuff!! seriously—the key to getting all the puckers and ripples out and making a nice looking animal is to really, really pack the stuffing in.

(i actually should have put a little more in this whale before taking these pics!)

now all that remains is to close up the bottom. tuck in the belly fabric and fold the tail fabric over the top creating a nice edge, and slip stitch together.

if you have a tag this is a nice spot to stitch it in.

i used blue embroidery floss to embroider on simple eyes. for the “boy”, i went in at the top, did each eye and came back out the top. then i created small loops by tying knots and leaving excess floss.
for the “girl” i just did the two eyes and then stitched a felt bow on the side of her head.

and there you have it! whale plushies, to add to your collection! enjoy!

p.s. i turned word verification back on. SORRY!!! i know, it’s a huge pain in the tuckus. but the spam comments were getting IN.SANE. i’d still love you forever if you fought your way through to leave me a comment. ;) xoxo

moss covered letter {tutorial}

this is super complicated stuff. so complicated that i’m sure this particular blog post will be recieving hits for years to come.

i mean, cover a cardboard letter? in MOSS? from the DOLLAR STORE????

googiemomma: blazing new trails in the world of cheap crafting. get on board or get left behind.

all kidding aside--this trash came out super cute, and has held up surprisingly well considering this door gets opened and slammed approximately 1.5 billion times per day by little hands not renowned for their delicacy.

at one point in this home decorating adventure i had collected a bunch of k’s, painted them gold and hung them on the living room wall. that phase passed, but i was left with many golden k’s scattered through the house.

sounds like a cereal, doesn’t it? enjoy new GOLDEN K’s! nutritious and delicious!

anyway, you can get the cardboard letters in all different shapes, sizes and fonts at any craft store, and with the ubiquitous 40% coupon they’re not too pricey.

mine was already painted gold, as explained, which isn’t totally necessary but definitely doesn’t hurt. you are going to see some of the letter if you look closely, so a quick slap of paint isn’t a bad idea. green or brown or gold or maybe black.

the moss is from the $1 store. i bought two bags—one goes surprisingly far. that junk practically explodes when you open the bag, like some sort of dried fungus bomb.

what’s missing from this photo is the elmer’s glue. i initially thought the glue gun was the way to go. turns out the base coats with elmer’s glue was better.

also missing is the disposable foam paintbrush for spreading the glue.

oh, and the clear spray i sealed it with at the end.

okay, so my supplies photo is virtually worthless. just admire how visually pleasing the arrangement of items is, and how dramatic the shadows are and then move on.

a quick word: this isn’t hard, but it is time consuming because i let each layer of moss dry for 12+ hours before doing the next one. you’re pretty committed. and the moss gets everywhere. so pick a spot to do this where you can just let it be for a couple of days. you know—like the middle of your kitchen counter, which is where i did it. :/

o1 drizzle the glue.
o2 spread the glue.
o3 smush on the moss.
o4 allow to dry completely.
o5 take it outside and shake and brush it off. you’re going to lose a LOT of your moss. better now then when it’s hanging on your front door, right?
o6 glue again, in all the spots that are bald/sparse.
o7 smush more moss.
o8 allow to dry again.
o9 take outside and brush it off again. pay attention to making sure the crevices are free of moss. you want to keep it looking like a letter, right?

at this point you may be fairly well covered. i did the whole process with elmer’s glue in the bald spots a third time before moving on.

the last few bare spots i hit with the glue gun and stuck some moss on. after three rounds there were just a couple places that needed a bit more, and i was ready to not have a fine layer of moss on my kitchen counter.

i hot glued some black grosgrain ribbon to the back and hung it on the front door.

i have one of these cheap wreath hangers:

it could be spray painted, but turns out it’s exactly 1” wide, the same width at the ribbon i used on my letter. since the glue gun was already hot…

 

 

 

 

 

 

that right there could be the crafter’s motto:

“since the glue gun was already hot…”

and there you have it.

 

after it hung for a day i decided to spray it with some clear sealer i had. it didn’t change the look much at all except to make it a little shiny (it was a gloss, which is why i hesitated using it at first) and i kind of like that. it sealed it up nicely and pretty much none of the moss has fallen off in the couple of weeks it’s been hanging!

$2 for the moss, probably about $4 for the letter, the rest of it i had. compared to these, at $79 a pop…whelp, looks like i saved myself a cool $73.
i call that #winning