Gray Apron Skirt

I have been wanting to make an apron skirt but no luck finding a pattern that I exactly wanted. I looked through my old Japanese pattern books(I bought 20+ years ago!) and found a couple patterns that I thoguht I can combine some aspects from both of them and create my own and that's what I did.

There are a few things I would change if I decided to make this in a different color, but I like how it turned out. Mr.Tea Rose Home said I look like a "farm girl" from the old movies... ok, maybe a little. :)

Sewing Some New Skirts 2

As I mentioned in the last post, I made another skirt for my daughter. One of the exciting things is that I used the fabrics from my stash and didn't buy any new fabrics for either of the skirts. Yay!

She loves both of the skirts I sewed for her and we had a fun time taking these photos. I told her that I am going to sew a couple more skirts for her but she looked at me and said, "Mom, I am not being ungrateful or anything, but I don't need any more skirt. I have enough."

"But... but...I already have fabrics for it and I think it will be fun for you to have more during the summer since you are not going to wear uniforms"

With a very serious look, she said, "Mom, I really don't need anymore".

"OK, I guess I respect that... are you sure??", I said playfully.

She just looked at me but didn't roll her eyes.

Fine. I am not going to sew any more skirts for her this season, but what she doesn't know is that this mama is going to sew a Summer dress for her soon. Hehehe.

Sewing Some New Skirts

One day, Rachel and I took inventory of her closet and found out that she out grew many clothes. Not so much of the tops, but pretty much all the skirts that I made for her a couple years back. I have been looking for some skirts to buy at the stores, but they were all too short for my (and her) liking. I promised her that I would sew some skirts for her and that's what I started doing. In the previous week, I cleaned out my fabric closet, so I had a pretty good idea of what I had and this variegated pink fabric seemed like a perfect fabric for her.

I used Simplicity pattern 8106 as a base and tweaked a little, added a cotton liner which gave the skirt slightly more body. It was very simple to make and the best part is that she loved everything about the skirt: I mean, the fabric, style and length! I am going to make a couple more skirts with the same pattern before I move on to making dresses and other items.

It is so cute for her to ask me to make a skirt. I don't know how long this will last but I am willing to sew more skirts every time she grows out of them. :)

Tutorial ~ Skirt Refashion and Headband

There are several reasons why I like to do refashioning and re-purposing; here are some of them:

* It is fun to see the transformation of plain or not so attractive things
* In many cases it is more economical than buying something new
* I get to be creative
* I love the feeling of giving new life to otherwise unwanted items
* I can create one of a kind items

One of my favorite refashionings is to use grown up (or teen) skirt to make a skirt for Rachel. I am not a big fan of spending a lot for kids; clothing especially since they grow out of them so quickly. Some of the skirts Rachel likes online are around $50 to $60!

I was at a thrift store one day and found a short skirt for a grown up. I immediately liked the lacy fabric with smoky blue color, it had nice lining and a price tag of $4... I was sold! It will cost way more than that to make a skirt like this from scratch.

I will share a quick tutorial of what I did. :)

{You will need}

Skirt
1" elastic for the waist
Matching thread

{How to}

1. Cut off the original waist band.

2. I measured from Rachel's waist line to slightly above the knee, and decided to cut off a couple inches from the top edge to make the skirt shorter. When you do this you will want to make sure that the top fabric and lining are aligned well (lining should be slightly shorter when you are done cutting), also consider the width of the elastic you are going to put on because that will add to the length of the finished skirt.

3. Pin the top edge of the skirt and lining. This will keep them together better when you are sewing them to the elastic. Measure your child's waist and add 1" to that measurement and cut a 1" wide strip of elastic. Overlap both ends and sew to make a loop.

4. Sew the skirt to the elastic using a zigzag stitch. Stretch the elastic as you sew. That's it! Depending on what is worn on top of the skirt; this can be easily be dressed up. I had left over elastic, so I made a matching headband as well.

Rachel is the type of a girl who doesn't like to fuss over her hair too much. She likes to wear headbands because they are quick and keep her hair in place. I love watching her try on something I made for her especially when she actually loves it. Each time when that happens, I give myself a high five. :)

I hope you will remember this little tutorial next time you see a unique and pretty skirt at a thrift store (or you might find something in your own closet!). It will be a chance to make a one of a kind skirt for one of your loved ones for cheap!

Tutorial~ Half Circle Skirt {Skirting the Issue}

Hello everyone, I am participating in "skirting the issue" blog hop today! What is skirting the issue? It is a month long event where you are invited to sew along with Liz and Elizabeth of Simple Simon & Co and other participant bloggers to sew skirts to donate to local Foster Care centers. They have a goal of 1000 skirts to donate this year, so that the girls in the foster care have new skirt to wear on the first day of school.

I am sharing the tutorial how to make a half circle skirt today with knit fabric. The half circle skirt is one of my most favorite styles, because it still has a look of full circle but less drama and actually stays with your body lines better (full circle skirts tend to blow up more with the wind!). It is a perfect mix of prettiness + functionality which is perfect for school! There are a couple things before we begin.

{Fear of Knit fabric}

I know, I have been there. You don't have a serger? Not to worry, you can still sew with knits if you know some tricks to work with them. I wrote a tutorial on how to sew a knit skirt with tricks you need to know a while ago, please head over to the post and see what kind of needle and working foot you need to use.

{Drafting a Half Circle Skirt}

It is a lot simpler than you think. Once you know how, you can customize a half circle skirt for anybody! There are many great tutorials in blog land, but some are harder to understand than others. Here is a very simple explanation of how I figured out the numbers to customize a half circle skirt for my daughter.

1. Measured her waist.

2. Take the measurement and do a little math problem.

Waist ÷ 3.14 = inner circle radius

My daughter's waist was 23", so I did 23 ÷ 3.14 = 7.324.... round the number. I decided to go with 7 1/4".

3. Start drafting the pattern. I used my measurement, but when you are drafting a pattern you can use your number that you figured out for the inner circle and apply the number that you like for the length of the skirt. Remember, when you are figuring out the length, don't forget to include the number of the highs of the belt.

{Talk about Seam}
In this pattern I use 3/8" seam for all except the bottom seam of the skirt. I know this is much narrower seam compared to commercial patterns, but since I wasn't sewing with a serger I did't need a wide seam allowance. Also I don't care for wide bulky seams on my clothes. This is a personal preference, so you can change it to whatever width you like. :)

Ok, the rest is easy-peasy!


{What you need}

58/59 Wide Mid weight knit fabric ------ 3/4 yard (I used the knit from Riley Blake Designs they are easy to work with and very nice quality). My daughter is 9 years old, if you are making this for older girls, you will need more yardage.

3/4" Wide Non Roll Elastic ---- waist length + 1"

Matching Thread

{How to}

1. Fold the fabric in half in the middle and lay down the pattern you created on it. Make sure that one side of the pattern seam matches perfectly with the folded seam. Pin and cut.

2. Cut 1 strip of fabric 2 1/2" Wide x the length of the waist + 3/4" seam allowance.

3. Fold the half circle fabric right side together. Match the seam perfectly and sew with 3/8" seam. Then treat the edge with your preferred stitches. Fold the seam towards one side and press with iron.

4. Bring both ends of the waist bands right sides together. Leaving a small opening for the elastic to go through later and sew.

5. Open the seam and press with iron. Then, fold the waist band in half horizontally. Match the top edge of the skirt and the edge of the folded waist band and pin. Make sure that the seam of the skirt and waist band match perfectly in the back and the opening for the elastic will show in inside of the the skirt.

6. Sew all around it and treat the edge as well. fold the seam toward the skirt and press with iron.

7. Top stitch to secure the seam and give a finished look.

8. Fold the bottom seam by 1/2" and sew with double needle to finished it up.

I knew the polka dot navy skirt would be so cute and versatile same with the gray polka dot as well. Because it was so easy and fairly inexpensive to make, I made two to add to her wardrobe.

Time for a test run... I hope she likes it!

You can find many free skirt tutorials at Simple Simon & Co. Visit them and discover lots of other participant bloggers! :)

Three Way Tablier ~ Getting Ready for Fall

It has been a while since the last post! Before I start writing about the Tablier, let me share where I am in life (just a part of it) a little... I feel like I finally got the rhythm back in my life, since the kids went back to school. Some people asked me the ultimate question.

"What do you do all day, now that your kids are all in school??"

I asked myself the very same question once. Though, I really don't have "all day". After I send my family off in the morning, I start working on the house work. Because I get busy after I pick up kids, I prefer to start working to prep the dinner. Sometimes I need to go places to run some errands, and the day after my kids started school two of the kids got sick, so I was tending to them for the first week.

Well, getting back to the subject... So, usually, I think I have three hours or so for me to do whatever I want, if I don't have other obligations. The first thing that popped in my head was to "SEW" and next was "BLOG". Years ago when I started blogging, I had no idea how long I would keep blogging or what I wanted to do with it. At one point I was so into blogging, coming up with tutorials constantly, up dating 3, 4 times a week. It was fun, but with the move and other happenings in life, I needed to re-evaluate myself and my life and decide how I would distribute my time.

I know some people are very focused and energetic, and can do it all (at least it seems that way) but I am not one of those people. I don't think I am a multi tasker. If I spread myself too thin, often times I catch myself being frustrated and people I love the most, my family are the ones who feel that the most.

I had decided to cut back on sewing and blogging for a while till things calm down. That is why you haven't seen me up-dating my post as often as I used to.

Now, we have been in our house for a year, the kids are back to school and I am not doing a series of procedures right now (though that might start up again).
You know what that means? I. Am. Ready.

I consider myself very lucky to know what I love to do. Thinking about what to make, what fabrics and trims to combine and drawing designs makes me happy. Sharing them on my blog is like icing on the cake - adds extra sweetness and joy! I will still be careful and go at my own pace, but I promise you, you will see me and my projects a lot more.

I just want you to know how grateful I am for those of you who still check back and send me kind emails.

BOY, that was a long intro, but I am ready to share my latest project. I have a lot of Japanese sewing books. For years I have been collecting the books more than actually sew anything from them. I have decided to start making them! The first thing I decided to make was this three way Tablier. "Tablier" is Apron in French. I can wear this three ways as a skirt, or dress as pictured below. Isn't it very interesting shape?

I was going to make it with black at first, but when I saw this deep emerald green linen at Joann fabric, I pictured myself wearing it with some fall items.

There are many ways to coordinate this item, but this is how I wore it one day.

When the weather gets colder, I can pull out my over sized scarf too.

Just like the sewing book, I can always coordinate with tights or leggings too!

Thinking about fall leaves under my boots... are you ready for fall?

Thank you for visiting today, everyone. I am working on a new item right now, hopefully I will be ready to share it soon. :)

Tutorial ~ Scarf to Scart

A few weeks ago, I shared this scarf to skirt tutorial on Megan's blog Brassy Apple, I am posting this today in case you missed it. I shared a little bit of a "behind the scenes" story about the last couple pictures.

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Today, I am sharing a super easy skirt made out of a scarf. The beauty of this is that the side edges of the scarf is already treated, so you don't have to worry about fraying. If you are only interested in this part, it took me less than 30 minutes to make the skirt. If you are interested in doing more embellishments like I did, it takes more time.

So, here is the scarf I bought at the end of last summer for $7.48 at Target... Because I was between houses I had packed it away. It was like getting a present when I was unpacking my things and found this.

{You will need}

Scarf -- My scarf was 24" x 72". The finished skirt is for someone size XS to M. This skirt doesn't have lining, so I recommend you use a dark colored scarf.
Elastic --- the length to fit your waist
Matching thread

If you are going to applique like I did...

Fabric that you want to use for applique
Heat & Bond

{How to}

1. Fold the scarf in half. Using 1/2" seam, sew both sides from top and bottom. Open the seam and press with iron.

2. Lay the scarf flat and trim off the fringe.

3. Cut off 1/8" from the folded seam to open it.

4. To create the waist band, measure around your waist and sew the end of elastic together. To ensure the strength, I open the seam and zig-zag stitched it.

5. Fold 1/4" from the top seam of the skirt.

6. Pin the skirt to the waist band. To spread it out evenly, mark the sides, front and back of the skirt and waist band and pin them together.

7. Sew the fabric to the waist band. Stretch the elastic as you sew with a zig-zag stitch.

8. Fold the bottom seam of the skirt twice (1/4" and 3/4")then sew.

9. Now you have a skirt!!

As I said in the beginning: you can whip out this skirt in no time. Although, if you want to add more personality to it like I did, it takes more time.

Here is what I did:

1. Cut out flowers I wanted to use from the fabric.
2. Used Heat and Bond and fused the flowers to the skirt(follow manufacture's instructions).

3. Sew them on. I did free motion stitches. Don't worry, you don't have to try to do it so perfectly, just go with the flow. :)

Now, I am ready to try out the skirt. I love how this skirt is so comfy (not to mentioned that I didn't spend a lot of money and time)and care free.

Well, I am off to practice being lazy for this summer! I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial. See you at the next post.

{Tea Rose Home photo shoot behind the scene}

The last couple pictures... it looks like I am totally relaxed and lounging at home right? Actually, this was taken after the fall (I posted the story, you can read it if you are interested in what happened). The due date for the post was getting close and I really needed the picture, but I was in a lot of pain. So, the solution was some lounging photos! Hahaha, it is funny because I am not in pain any more. Life is not picture perfect all the time, but when life give you lemons, you just need to make lemonade right? :)