A Dress Revisited

So you may remember the dress I made here for my sister, well I talked about making one for myself. I finally found material I liked and got started. I made the shorter version for myself, but unlike the tutorial I found I didn't fold the material in half. I measured out where I wanted the skirt to hit and cut it out there. After I put the dress together and wore it for a day I feel I want to raise where it skirt hits on the shirt and create a better hem.

I also haven't made a sash yet so I paired it with a thick black belt. I also realized with this project that I really haven't made anything for myself until now. I just really like making things for other people. Well until next time, happy crafting!

Tu-tu-tu-tutorial! Glow in the dark style!!!

Ok guys here it is, my next tutorial! Its a glow in the dark tutu! Again I'm new to the tutorials so if anything is confusing please let me know I will do my best to clarify! Let's start with supplies!

If you love this idea but don't want to make one of your own you can buy them in my Etsy shop!

-Spools of tulle (I chose 4 different fluorescent colors, but you can use whatever you like! For an adult size you will need at least 2 spools, I made 2 and ran out at the very last pattern so I had to buy more)
-Glow in the dark puff paint (make sure its fabric paint)
-Elastic
-Glow in the dark spray paint
-Glow in the dark foam stickers
Not pictured:
-Scissors
-Ruler
-Cardboard
-Marker, pen, pencil, just something to write with

First you'll need to cut the tulle. Measure out a piece of cardboard to what you want the tutu length to be. The tulle will end up being double that length when all is said and done. With a marker, draw an arrow pointing to one of the short ends of the cardboard. The take the start of the tulle and line it up with the end that the arrow is pointing to and start wrapping it around the cardboard.

Once you have reached the end of the tulle cut off any remaining (if you have a few extra inches or even half of a wrap left over that's ok you can just cut it off, it only works if you have one full wrap). On the end that has the arrow (which also should be where you started and ended the tulle) cut through all the tulle. You now have all your tutu strips! Repeat this same step for all your spools. (When I first started making tutus I would go to the fabric store and buy yardages of tulle and had to cut strips by hand the long way, it probably would've taken me an hour for these 4 colors for how much I cut. With the spools and cardboard it took maybe 10 minutes at the longest!)

Next you need to cut and sew the elastic. When you tie on the tulle the elastic will stretch out a little so when measuring the elastic you'll want to stretch it a bit around the waist so when the tutu is done it wont be too large for the person wearing it. Cut the elastic and sew the ends together

Now the fun part (it's also the longest, so put on your favorite TV show marathon or movie and sit back)! Line up the strips in whatever color order you want to help you keep them organized (unless you are using one color haha). I used 5 strips of each color to create a large color block. You tie them on with a lark's head knot.

You fold your tulle in half and put underneath the elastic with the folded end towards you.

You then put the open ends over the elastic and through the folded end.

Finally you pull the tulle tight and align it next to the other strips (or if its your first one, you place it wherever you want to start). And now you have attached your tulle with a Lark's Head Knot.

Once all the tulle is attached your tutu will look like this:

Now to make it glow in the dark! You'll want to find a box or pegs or something that you can put the tutu around so you can take it outside and spray it with the glow in the dark spray paint and not have to worry about holding the tutu or getting paint all over you. I had a jimmy johns catering box lying around my house and it was the perfect size so I used that! I also found that using an extra piece of cardboard to poke in and around the tulle was great to be sure to get an even coating of the paint.

If it is a windy day (like it was when I was spraying) just rotate the box with wind so that the paint is always flying towards the tutu. Even though that seems like common sense, I really felt like a genius when I thought of it. Depending on the look you are going for you might go back and spray a few more coats after you see how it glows.

After the spray paint dries you can bring it in and decorate it with the glow in the dark foam stickers and puff paint. Sadly I was in a rush to finish the tutu's (my sister and her friend were running in a glow in the dark 5K later that evening) so I didn't get any pictures of those steps. With the puff paint I decorated the knots (which also serves as added security of the hold so they don't come loose). I placed the foam stickers at the end of the strands for a little extra pizazz.

My camera really hates the no flash setting so I had to turn the light on behind me to actually get it to take a picture. The spray paint picks up the color of the tulle and really highlights it and makes it glow, sadly the black didn't really show up on the picture but it was really cool in person (this was after 4 coats of spray paint).

Here is what my sister and her friend looked like for the run. You can kind of see the stickers and puff paint around the waist band! They had a ton of fun and won the costume contest!

Until next time, happy crafting!!!

Long Overdue Update

I'm seeing a pattern with my updates. I get really upbeat about projects at the beginning of the month and then by the end of the month I have a whole bunch of half finished projects and only 2 blog posts hahaha.

Recently though, I have been sick and have been catching up on life but here is an update on what I have been up to recently! One thing I finished a while ago but forgot to post was a blanket for my friend Dave. He was always complaining that he couldn't ever fit under any blankets because he was too tall (6 foot 4) so I took that as a challenge to make him on what he could use while having both his head and his feet covered! Here is the end result:

Yes that is my colorful bedroom... I like color...

Also recently Dave and I joined one of his classmates at grad school and her boyfriend for a glass blowing class. It was a ton of fun! Who would've thought stepping out of the studio into the 90-something heat of the afternoon would've felt cool to us?? But yet it did! It was a ton of fun! Dave made a vase while the rest of us made bowls. His friend, Molly's, design was soooooo cool! It came out looking like a cherry tree just about to blossom, so pretty! Here is my bowl:

Well once I finish my current projects I will keep you guys updated! Also I have a tutorial in the works that is super fun! Until then happy crafting!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! For the holiday my mom needed a new wreath for our door so I found this wonderful tutorial and made it for her! Here is my version:

As for differences in the tutorial to mine I used foam instead of label paper and I ran out of blue so my last red section was much wider than the rest. I packed my squares much tighter than I think it was called for but it still turned out very nice I think. I pinned the ribbon on the back but I think I'm going to hot glue it for a more permanent hold.

Happy crafting!

Ballerina's Dream

So my sister's birthday was a little while ago. Being the kid at heart she is, and a tinkerbell loving girl, I decided to make her a tutu. She has always wanted one that she could run races in and bike in during rides and such so I made it my goal to make her the most amazing tutu ever! Here is the result:

That is her friend Pia on the left. She was so excited when I dropped it off at the camp she was a councilor at. Her friend's liked the end product so much that they wanted one too! Two of the girls have birthdays around the same time as her so they asked for them too!

Gold, green, blue

Orange, red, pink

I think they really liked them! I have a ton of tulle left and a ton of elastic left so if anyone wants a tutu for themselves leave a comment!

A Dress For All Seasons

So my sister is obsessed with pinterest (she even has a board titled "Who is making these for me?", which I can only take to mean "Samantha, when are you making these for me?"), and she found this really cute dress how-to. With much feet dragging we finally found fabric that she liked and I got started.

 Front

Back

As for differences in mine I put a slit up the back seam from the hem to the middle of her knee (it made it easier to walk and move around in) and I used Velcro in the sash. I think oversized buttons or toggles would be a more high end look. I'm looking for fabric to make this for myself (I want to make a shorter version for myself) so I'm going to try toggles on the sash the second time around. I'll probably end up making another one for my sister too. 

These are also available for order! 

Something to Cover

So this is my first attempt at a how-to so hold on tight and if you have any questions at all please let me know!!! I will answer any and all questions sent my way!

My sister is the head swim coach for an all girls Catholic high school and for her senior gifts she wanted to give them something they could use in college so she thought it would be cool to give them towel wraps that that would be able to use after the shower walking down the dorm hall or even getting ready for class or to go out on the town. All the personalized ones, so that they could be the school colors, that she found were way to expensive for the quality so I explained to her I could make them for around $10.

Fist you need to get your supplies... I went to Target and got their $4.99 basic towels in the solid colors, everywhere around her is basically the same price.

You will need:

• Towel
• Ribbon
• Elastic
• Velcro
• Matching thread
• Ruler (not pictured)
• Straight pins
• Optional: Tailor's marker

The towels I got didn't have a band around the edge so I measured 5 1/4" in from the edge and pinned the ribbon down.

After pinning down and securing both sides I stitched down the ribbon making sure to back stitch and secure the ribbon.

Then I folded over the top of the towel 1 1/4" and pinned down the flap.

Now is where you add the elastic. To measure the elastic I took the end of it and pulled it tight from one side of my rib cage around my back to the other side. Yes, there is velcro in the front but I've had a few of these I've bought from the store that have been WAY too stretchy and don't stay up around my chest and are just a hassle. The elastic ended up measuring about 9" for me. Now you take the towel and wrap it around your upper body (where it would hit you when wearing). You want the front flaps to rest on your chest and the back to hang loose behind you, (*It's easier if you have a buddy to help but I was able to do it on my own*) in the same position where you measured and cut the elastic mark the towel. There should be about 13" or more of towel on each flap.

Now you want to stitch the elastic in the inside the folded over section. ONLY stitch down one side at this moment, be sure to back stitch and re-stich again and again since it will be used a lot! You have 2 options here. I hate elastic so I tried both ways and found the open way was easier for me. I'll explain the closed way first.

CLOSED WAY:

 After stitching down the one end of the elastic inside the folded over section, secure a safety pin to the other end and lay it flat inside. Then stitch the flap down until reaching the second mark. Push the safety pin through the tube and stitch the other end of the elastic down. Finish stitching the flap down making sure to secure edges down.

OPEN WAY:

 For the open way, after stitching down the first end of the elastic I then fed it un the flap through the pins and stitched down the second end of the elastic. Then I stitched the flap down. When I got to the elastic I had to stop every so often and reposition the elastic and excess towel. It was a hassle, but ironically I found this way to be much simpler, maybe because it was faster and I had to make 6 (ended up making 7, and extra for my sister). If you guys find another way, let me know I'd love to hear!

Your final flap prouct should look something like this:

Finally you attach the Velcro. I cut my Velcro 10" long, that way with the Freshman 15 you never have to worry about it being too tight, or the other way around, if it's too loose. I stitched the soft side on the side that could come in contact with the body and the rough side that would not.

 Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the actual final product. So all I have at the moment is a crummy cell phone picture, but I have a feeling I'll be making/selling more of these as graduation gifts for other people (already made/sold 5 so far) so hopefully I'll get a better picture up here for you guys!