Guest Posting at Make It Handmade

Today I'm guest posting over at Make It Handmade as part of Palak's Handmade Confessions Series. 

Go check out what I have to confess....

And don't miss Palak's great serger tutorials.  It's one of the best serger resources I've found.

Have a great weekend and be sure to check back next week when I hope to share an updated pattern for my Girls Swimsuit Tutorial.

Backpacks Are BACK....

 and they're better than before!

Last year, I sized up the Made by Rae Toddler Backpack for my kindergartener.  And now, for a limited time, I have a few for sale in my etsy shop.

Here are a few of the features of this enlarged and improved backpack.

Backpacks are fully lined with a medium weight cotton canvas and all seams are serged for extra durability.

 Each backpack has a 14 inch, heavyweight, sport zipper which is more durable and also a little easier to zip.

 These packs are 13.5 inches tall, 11.5 inches wide, and 4.25 inches deep.  The size fits a folder, lunch box, and snack pack perfectly.

 

Here the backpacks are shown on an almost 7 year old and almost 5 year old.  I wanted the backpack to be big enough to hold the essentials, but also small enough to be manageable on the bus and at school.

 In cool retro cars,

colorful popsicles,

and colorful giraffes.

So get them while they last!

Dress Pockets - TUTORIAL & PATTERN

 

 I've been making dresses like a crazy lady lately.  Using my Jersey Dress Tutorial as a starting point, I've made a couple different versions and finally tackled pockets!  It's actually easier than it looks. 

 First, download pocket pattern HERE 

(this pattern works great for me, you may need to alter to fit your hands or skirt)

Cut 4 pocket pieces total, 2 sets of 2 on folded fabric so they are mirror images of each other.

 

Lay your skirt front out in front of you.

 With right sides together, lay 1 pocket piece on each side of the skirt, making sure the top and sides lines up. Pin in place and fold the skirt in half so that you cut both pockets evenly.  Draw a nice curve and cut through all 4 layers of fabric.

 When you open up the skirt, it should look about like this.

 Sew along the curved edge.

 Turn pocket to the wrong side and press well.

 Here's what it looks like on the wrong side of the skirt front.

 Lay the corresponding pocket piece on top of the sewn pocket, right sides together.  Pin through just the pocket layers.  Sew from the top to the side.

 That's pretty much it!  You can top stitch the pocket edge if you like.  Finish your skirt or dress and enjoy your new pockets!