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super mario bros. shirt

as Celebrate the Boy kicks off over at MADE and Made by Rae, i thought it’d be fun to bring home a post i did for I’m Feelin’ Crafty’s “Sew Ready to Play” series a few months back. O is actually wearing this shirt today, though it’s starting to look even tighter on his growing toddler belly!

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growing up, i was the kid who didn’t have any sort of video game system at home and was constantly trying to talk the neighbor kids into playing nintendo. if you were the kid with a nintendo, you probably had an annoying friend like me, right? i was pretty persuasive in getting the neighbor kids to play (not too hard), and i especially loved super mario bros. i’m talking about the original one here…super mario 2 was fine, 3 was better (remember how you could drop behind the background?) but the original was the best. it’s still fun…have you played it lately? do you remember how to turtle top? i could never quite get the hang of it.

so anyway, it was almost a no brainer that i needed to make my toddler son a super mario t-shirt for this series!

i used my favorite basic pattern, made by rae’s flashback skinny tee, and knit fabric from two sale rack men’s shirts (my tips for sewing with sale rack t-shirts here). i appliquéd a mario scene right onto the front! the scene appliqué idea came from my friend cherie, and what exactly to put on there came from a quick google search of super mario bros images. want to make one?

gather scraps together in the appropriate colors along with some steam-a-seam lite fusible web…

draw a grid of 1/2″ squares for the stairs then cut them out, and a strip of woodgrain fabric at 1/2″ for a base. sketch and cut out clouds, a pipe, a hill, and bricks. i then added a little stamped mushroom left over from one of my project run & play creations! i just played around with the scraps until i had the shapes i wanted.

add the fusible web to each piece and arrange the scene on the front piece of the shirt, not yet sewn together. once you have everything where you want it, fuse it down with an iron and then stitch around each item with black thread, for a sketchy outline look. if you’re good with a free motion foot i’d recommend that here for the little curves, but i used my regular foot and just lifted it up a lot as i sewed around.

super mario bros flashback tee

finish the shirt as instructed per the pattern, slap it on your little guy, and he’ll be looking like a child of the ’80s!

i love how this skinny tee clings to his toddler belly…

and he likes how soft and comfy it is!

ready to play! thanks so much for having me, Louise!!

PS – i didn’t even realize when i was making this how close the colors and theme were to narelle’s post from the other day! who doesn’t like old school video games, eh?

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Comments 7 Comments
Categories applique, kids clothes, made by rae patterns, sewing, sewing for boys

foldover doily clutch tutorial

12 Nov

i recently gave a clutch like this to my sister laura as a birthday present, and i thought i’d write up a tutorial for it because…you know…it’s getting to be that gift-giving time of year! i think a pretty but casual little clutch purse is great for girl time, date nights, a quick errand, that type of thing. it’s the perfect gift for sisters, moms, babysitters, teachers…any lady in your life, really!

this foldover style clutch features a metal zipper and appliquéd doily on a lined bag. in these photos it’s carrying my wallet, phone, and keys – the essentials.

it has vintage-modern style with the doily and rough linen-y hemp fabric i used, but you could skip the doily and do a fun print, or stamp a fun design on there too. i had fun adding a doily to a skirt during vintage may, so i thought that’d be neat to try that technique again.

due to the proportions of the clutch and zipper, you don’t need to reach for the pliers and you don’t need to worry about breaking a needle, either! deep cleansing breath – you can totally do this.

okay let’s get started…

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Comments 17 Comments
Categories applique, handmade gifts, tutorials, vintage

sew ready to play, and playing along…

26 Sep

wow what an awesome response to film petit yesterday! thanks so much you guys, those little outfits were a major labor of love and i was so excited to share them.

today i’m over at i’m feelin’ crafty as part of her super fun “sew ready to play” series! it’s all about sewing inspired by games – board games, video games, card games, whatever you like! as a child of the ’80s, i really had no choice but to sew something super mario bros. related, right? i was inspired by the previews cherie sent me of her FMF charlie dress and had fun appliquéing a mario scene onto a flashback skinny tee!

check out my guest post and mini-tutorial HERE.

now for a fun little thing…shannon from luvinthemommyhood, pretty much one of the sweetest bloggers out there, put up a mad libs type fill in the blank on her blog today and encouraged people to play along. the idea is to fill in the bold words with your own answers, so we can all get to know each other a little better. here’s hers. i don’t play along with these types of things very often, but i thought it’d be fun to share a bit of my creative process and stuff with you today. here goes:

i’m longing to make “another washi dress and a sidekick tote“ right now.
i want to try “sewing” with some “metal zippers!”
i wish i could sew with “polka dot nani iro flannel“ fabric.
i dream of making “cozy quilts for both kids and a lap quilt for movie watching.”
i keep track of my ideas and inspiration by “sketching them in notebooks and pinning them on pinterest.”
i’m inspired by “so many creative women in blogland!”
i would love to meet “all my bloggy friends” in person. (can’t argue with shannon’s answer here!)
my favorite fiber is “linen.”
i like to sew with “good quality cotton.”
i hate to sew with “minky and satin.“ (this one’s my own addition, hehe)
my favorite color is “blue – all tones – the colors of the ocean.”
i rock at “pairing colors.”
i would like to learn how to “knit and crochet.”
i bring my “iPhone” everywhere.
my favorite thing to “sew” is “kid’s clothes.” (can’t argue with shannon here, either!)
my crafting space “was once compared to a mad scientist’s laboratory.”
if i had my dream crafting room it would be “filled with natural light, wood floors, and lots of room for organization.”
i sew with “a Brother CS6000i…but i’m almost ready for an upgrade.”
i like to draw “little dresses, geometric shapes, and glasgow roses.”
i can never get enough “time to sew…or sleep.”
i adore “seeing my kids starting to play together and having funny conversations.”
i also enjoy “getting sneak previews of my friends’ upcoming projects!”
i like to fill my shelves with “fabric and sewing patterns.”
i create the best when i’m “on a deadline.”
i am currently excited for “elsie marley’s fall kid’s clothes week challenge.”
right now i am working on “organizing my fabric stash and cleaning up my space.”
i love to watch “nothing, but i always listen to music” while creating.
my guilty pleasure when it comes to creating is “filling my stash with pretty fabric from bolt“
my current favorite music crush to listen to while creating is “billie holliday.“

care to join in? i’d love to see your answers! link up in the comments here and over at luvinthemommyhood!

have a great day!

Comments 14 Comments
Categories applique, guest posts, sewing

elbow patch tutorial

12 Sep

i first posted this tutorial for elsie marley‘s fall 2011 kid’s clothes week challenge (right here), and now that fall is right around the corner, i figured it’s an appropriate time to bring it home!

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Hi, I’m Kristin from skirt as top and I’m here today to talk about elbow patches! I’ve been spotting lots of elbow patches on adult shirts and sweaters heading into this fall, and I love the trend. I thought it could be fun to add them to homemade kids’ clothes for a little “mini-professor” style, too. Problem is, kids’ sleeves are very narrow and that means it’s pretty much impossible to sew the patches on after the garment is already completed. That makes finding that right placement for your elbow patches a bit tricky. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to add properly placed elbow patches when you’re making a shirt from scratch.

MATERIALS:

Tailor’s chalk or water-soluble marker
Clear ruler
Elbow patch pattern (draw an oval shape onto a piece of paper – mine is about 2.75″ tall x 2.25″ wide and works for about 6-12 month – 3T sizes, though you can make it whatever size you like)
Cut (but now sewn) sleeve pieces from your shirt or sweater pattern (shown is the Oliver + S sailboat top. Maybe try Dana’s free 90 minute shirt tutorial!)
Scraps of fabric for the patches (try a small floral for girls, or suede if you’re daring!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wrangle your kid while they’re wearing a long-sleeved shirt from their wardrobe. Mark an X on their elbow with chalk or water-soluble marker.

2. Take the existing shirt off of your child, measure from about .5″ above the shoulder (to account for the seam allowance) down to the X that you marked earlier. Write down this measurement (for my 10 month old, it was 5.5″). We’ll call this the “Elbow Measurement” because I’m super original.

3. Go to one of your new garment’s sleeve piece. Fold it in half to determine the center line, and press. Mark your seam allowance from the cut side of the sleeve with water-soluble pen or tailor’s chalk, then find the center point between the folded center and the seam allowance mark and draw a vertical line (just guess approximately where the patch will hit on the vertical axis).

4. Measure down from the shoulder edge along the vertical line you marked in step 3. Mark your sleeve with a horizontal line at your Elbow Measurement (remember mine was 5.5″) so your markings form a +. I shifted my ruler over to the edge for clarity, but you should line it up through the middle of the ruler to make the + shape.

5. Trace the patch pattern onto your scrap, cut out the patches, and find the center of each patch by folding it into quarters and pressing slightly. Apply fusible web if desired (the patch is essentially an appliqué). Match the center of the folds on one patch with the + marking on your sleeve and pin into place.

6. Lay your other sleeve piece down, aligning both sleeve edges side by side. Using your clear ruler as a guide, place the second patch on its sleeve to mirror the one you already pinned on. Make sure they are mirror images so you don’t apply the patch to the front of a sleeve! Pin the second patch into place. Be generous with pinning if you didn’t use fusible web.

7. Sew around the edge of each patch using a straight, zig zag, or blanket type stitch. I used the blanket type stitch here (number 11 on my machine).

8. Repeat for the other sleeve. Your patches are on! Finish your garment per the pattern instructions.

I hope this helps you add a little extra punch to your little one’s long sleeved shirts and cozy fall sweaters.

Thanks so much for having me, Meg, and happy KCWC sewing, everybody!

Tags: "elbow patch" applique tutorial

Comments 9 Comments
Categories applique, kids clothes, oliver + s, tutorials

elephant balloon skirt

28 Aug

elephant skirt

so i was talking on sunday about how Em likes most of the things I sew for her…as long as they’re dresses (thanks for commiserating with me, by the way)! and remember how she needs to start wearing a uniform to school, so i need her to wear more than just dresses? well, this was my test to see if i could get her at least wearing skirts again.

looks like she likes it, right? it’s got an elephant (her favorite animal), it’s got pink (her favorite color), it’s got sparkly silver thread, it’s comfy…gotta be a winner…right?

wrong.

she doesn’t like it…because it’s a skirt.

this darn thing has been sitting waiting for a photoshoot for THREE WEEKS and she hasn’t wanted to put it on. i finally bribed her to wear it for these photos. i mean…seriously?

this was my inspiration, an adorable print called jumbo bubble by terry fam, which i spotted and immediately bought for her revamped bedroom. i appliquéd my design onto the kona snow skirt (loosely following the lazy days skirt tutorial with no ribbon hem). instead of having the elephant blowing the bubble like gum, i cut out a pink balloon and used metallic silver thread as the string. i thought it’d be a winner, the skirt to get her wearing skirts again, but i was wrong…for now anyway. she’ll probably insist on wearing it the minute it’s too small.

four year olds. opinionated little things.

anyway, here’s a slightly wider shot of her new pink bedroom walls. she likes those! once i make a new quilt for her bed, i’ll do a full room tour. honestly i didn’t expect to like the pink as much as i do; i’ve been dodging her requests for so long. but heck, it’s just paint and she really loves it, so i just needed to let go and embrace it.

the poor kid doesn’t realize the sea of navy blue, white, and khaki she’s about to plunge into come school-time, so at least she has her pink retreat at home! and if the skirt ends up getting gifted to a younger friend/cousin later, that’s fine with me!