foldover doily clutch tutorial

November 12, 2012November 1, 201319 Comments

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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pleated bundt pillow tutorial

October 18, 2012November 7, 201210 Comments

bringing home this pleated bundt pan pillow tutorial that i wrote for laura’s sew yummy series over at craftstorming. she had baking-inspired sewing and sewing-inspired baking – it was a fun mix of creations and a really fun series to be a part of! check out her roundup of all the projects here.

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hi, i’m kristin from skirt as top and i love this sew yummy series! what a great idea! i sew much more often than i bake, but baking is something i am trying to get better at, especially now that my daughter is four-and-a-half and a great helper in the kitchen. frankly, it’s usually her idea to bake something! i’m just along to read the recipe, crack eggs, and operate the mixer.

when laura asked me to participate in sew yummy, i knew my inspiration right away – this amazing bundt pan. i’ve used it for my son’s first birthday cake plus a few other times, and it creates a really beautiful, sculptural cake. the shape lends itself perfectly to sewing inspiration, too!

i knew the pan would be best reflected as pleats and i’m actually lacking in throw pillows around my house, so that’s what i decided to make. i wrote up a little tutorial for you too – it’s the pleated bundt pillow tutorial!

in this tutorial i created a cover for a 20″ x 20″ pillow insert, though the method is easily adaptable to any size. for mine, you’ll need about 1.5 yards of fabric, disappearing fabric pen (or tailor’s chalk), and a straight edge. my fabric is a really nice hemp blend from bolt that acts a bit like linen but has a little more texture to it, but i’m sure this would also work well with quilting cotton.

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elbow patch tutorial

September 12, 2012November 28, 201212 Comments

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!

breezy eyelet tunic tutorial

July 24, 2012August 31, 201210 Comments

time to bring home a tutorial i did earlier this month as part of color your summer, a superfun series put on by kojodesigns and delia creates. be sure to check out kojo’s roundup of all 50 color your summer posts – it’s a rainbow of delightful summery projects!

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hello! i’m kristin and i’m so happy to be wrapping up color your summer at kojo! my project today was fully inspired by my fabric, a fabulous green circle eyelet that i picked up at britex during a recent trip to san francisco (where i met and shopped with one of delia’s wonderful color your summer guests, cherie!).

i decided to make a fancy coverup tunic for my little gal to wear over her swimsuit (she changes into her swimsuit first thing if she thinks there’s any chance of swimming that day), but it could be made in any lightweight fabric for an easy summer shirt.

this tunic is a remix of made by rae’s flashback skinny tee pattern, which is the perfect basic top pattern to adapt to many different things. it’s really a must buy if you ask me. in this tutorial, i’ll show you how to alter her pattern to make this not-so-skinny tunic with a keyhole neckline.

let’s get sewing!

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fruit stripe skirt tutorial

July 18, 2012November 28, 201240 Comments

today i’m posting a tutorial for skirting the issue, a campaign by liz and elizabeth of simple simon & co. to donate at least 100 skirts to girls in foster care by the beginning of august. i’m so happy to join in the effort!

the simons asked a bunch of bloggers to create simple skirt tutorials to share and inspire others to sew for this great cause (or anytime, really). since my little gal is only 4, my first thought was little gal skirts. a skirt is the first thing i sewed for her when she was just 15 months old, and remains a favorite thing to sew. my tutorial today is pretty simple, but it’s got some fun style. i’m also sharing a few general skirt making tips i’ve picked up over the past few years.

for the design, i was inspired by fruits – citrus, berries, and melons – the type of summertime fruit that my sisters and i sat outside and snacked on as kids, juice running everywhere, until we decided the best way to clean off was to run through the sprinkler. well…all but the lime, which was probably adding some flavor to mom ‘s icy cold beverage as she kept an eye on us.

i created an abstract color blocked skirt that gave me that summery feeling. i’m calling it the fruit stripe skirt!

we’ve got citrus in sizes 3T and 2T…

…and melon and a berry varieties in sizes 4T and 18 months!

the colors are interchangeable; once you know the method, you can make your skirts in whatever style you’d like. best of all, these take very little time and require no hemming! let’s get sewing.

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