Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Phone Booth Shirt Dress Tutorial

I know that you all have been patiently waiting for this grand tutorial so here it is. :)


A couple months ago we found these shirts at Wal Mart for $1 so we bought 5 of them for the little girls to wear to the Pioneer Days Celebration.


So here's what I did.

Take a shirt that fits and use it for the pattern.  This is a shirt for the babies (12 months).


I don't know if you can see my marks but I basically just marked wear the arm holes and the top of the shirt would be so I would have an idea wear to cut.  Don't forget to add about an inch for hems and seam allowances.  I always have a hard time making all of the sides the same when I cut so I folded the shirt in half and cut through all layers at the same time. 


Then I sewed up the sides and hemmed the arm holes.  I stitched twice along the arm holes so they would lay a little flatter.


Then I cut 1" strips of material (2 strips of white, 1 strip of red from an old T-shirt that I was throwing away).  Braid the strips together and using your original shirt measure how long you'll need the straps.  Sew the two ends of the braided strap together.  Fold the back of the shirt over your strap and stich along the bottom.  I gathered the back just a bit but you wouldn't have to.


Now all you have to do is hem the bottom where you want it and you're done.  Super easy and fast.

And if you try the finished project on your little model and find that the straps are too long you could just fold it up in the back like I had to with Joselyn's.  (Can you tell from this picture?)
(Cute little buns huh?)


It was super hot outside so it was nice to have a thin shirt that wasn't too hot.  They even worked great while playing in the park.


Oh and we also braided some red and white straps for flip flops.


Of course we had to finish the look off with lip gloss.  Let's be real, this girl doesn't leave the house without having lip gloss with her.  Crazy child.


They were even good outfits to take a little nap in.

I thought the girls looked super cute and it was a lot faster than some of the previous years outfits so that was nice.



If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or email me at rufflesandmudpuddles@hotmail.com.



Happy Wednesday!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sneek Peak

Here's a sneek peak of what I'm working on.  Watch for a tutorial and lots of pictures coming soon.  The tutorial will include how to make this ranging from sizes 12 month to 8.  :)


Now back to cleaning I go.  :) 
Getting ready for the big move is not so fun at this point.  I hate going through all of my junk.  I'm such a pack rat.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Fabric Finds - Part 2

Sorry that I'm just now getting these posted.  Here are some more of my finds in the fabric that I got a couple weeks ago.


Sister Mott made this quilt blocks and embroidered names on them.  They are beautiful.


Here's a stack of fabric that I don't want.  Any takers?



And here's a stack of smaller pieces.  There's some cute stuff in there but I think I already have more than I should at this point.  Any takers on these?



And then there's this.  I'm not real sure what she made with it but it's supper cool.  I don't know if you can tell but the underneath is some kind of rubbery foam.  I think it's darn cool but again...don't have much room to store it.



If anyone wants any of this stuff (excluding the quilt blocks of course) please let me know.  If I don't have any takers, I'll probably take it to good will.  Let me know soon if you're interested.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Fabric Finds - Part 1

I finally went through all of the many trash bags filled will material and other sewing stuff.  I was like a little kid at Christmas yesterday.  :)  Here are pictures of a very, very, very small portion of what I got. 

Look at all of this thread.  Amazing.  And the middle picture is elastic.  Yes, I think I'm set for awhile.


I got all of my material packed up in HUGE tubs (32 gallon tubs to be exact) plus a small box.  That doesn't count the material or sewing stuff that I already have. 

I'll post Part 2 later on with details about a possible fabric giveaway if anyone is interested.

Today I'm working on going through all of my clothes to get rid of the stuff that I've had since High School.  I have a whole page of "stuff" that I need to get done before the big move next month plus all of the packing that needs to be done.  I don't know that I'll get much crafting or sewing done for awhile but we'll see what late night projects I can come up with.  Busy little bees over here. :)


Happy Wednesday!