Craft Fair Table Cover from a Flat Sheet - Mini Tute

It's craft fair season.  Every year, I drag my feet and think I'm not going to do it, but then I do, and I love it.  Some friends and I do a fun holiday open house/craft fair and this year, I'm determined to be prepared.  

I usually wait until the last minute to plan out my table, but not this year!  We've been doing this for 6 years now and I'm just finally getting it together.  Here's what I did to make a nice, banquet-style cover for my table.

 2 flat sheets, $5 each.

 With the wrong side of the sheet facing up, pull setup the sheet so it's almost at the floor on 2 sides.  My table is 6 feet long.

 At the corner, I pinned a straight line where the front meets the side.

 Cut, then sew. 

 Before I can do the same to the other corner, I have to add some fabric.  This is where the second sheet comes in.  Figure out how much you need to extend the end to the floor.  Cut and sew.

 I accidentally, used the folded part that's at the top of the fitted sheet, but it's not super noticeable.  I was in a major time crunch, trying to do this while the light is good for pictures, but needing to get to the bus stop soon. 

 Finish the corner the same as before.  One minute to spare.  If you're very observant, you can see what time I started and see how quick this little project is.

 Here's what the back looks like.  Nobody usually sees the back of the table, so I just pinned the extra flap up.  You could probably use the rest of the second sheet to finish the back if you wish.  

I made another cover that was finished on all sides for a 4ft table to add to my display.

 I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out.  Only took me 6 years to actually plan this out.  Let's hope it pays off!

This Time of Year...

 

It's the time of year when the leaves change color, the clocks go back an hour, and my blog posting goes downhill. 

I do love the change of season and all it brings.  But, since most of my daytime hours are spent at work or entertaining kids, I find it even harder than usual to post all the projects I want to.

So here's a quick recap of the past few weeks. Hopefully I'll get around to more details later.  I recently bought the Recess Raglan sewing pattern by See Kate Sew.  This was my first version which I think came out great.  I haven't gotten around to making more, but it's definitely going to be a go-to pattern.

I volunteered for a fun pumpkin math activity in my daughter's classroom and came home with a bunch of pumpkin seeds.  I tried a new way of roasting them that was enjoyed by all.  Recipe coming soon!

New fleece hats for everyone,

and a new sewing pattern in the works.

Now you're up to date! 

New Fall Wreath

 For a while now, I've been wanting some kind of yellow wreath for our front door.  There are so many amazing instructions for DIY wreaths, I pretty much look, get overwhelmed, and move on to something else.  Until, I saw 2 really great Halloween wreaths made by Roselee at Jane of All Trades.

The wonderful thing about this wreath is that it takes so little time to make.  I sprayed 2 coats of spray paint before dinner and made and glued the felt flowers after the kids went to bed.  Done. 

 I used a technique similar to this for the felt rosettes.  I like mine to be a little more irregular, so I made my spiral a little more jagged and less smooth.  I added some green felt leaves and put it all in place with lots of hot glue.

This wreath is super satisfying to make.  Thanks for the inspiration Roselee!

Boatneck Lady Skater and French Cuff TUTORIAL

Well, I couldn't restrain myself.  I had to make another Lady Skater Dress.  I've worn my previous, ahem, 3 dresses quite a bit.  I've had my eye on this dress, but the fit isn't the most flattering on me.

I happened to find almost the exact same color ponte knit at Joanns, so why not another Lady Skater?

This time I made a boatneck.  In a nutshell, here's what I did for the neck.   

 I brought the scoop neck up and widened it, making it dip a little bit lower in the front.  Before sewing the shoulder seams, I applied some Steam-A-Seam Lite to neck.  I turned the neck to wrong side, sewed the shoulder seams, then top-stitched all the way around.

Okay, now for the fun French Cuff. Measure the circumference of the sleeve you want to add the cuff to.  Cut a shape like below using the circumference and your desired cuff length being sure to add your seam allowance (SA).  My cuff length was about 4 inches.

Apply a lightweight interfacing to the wrong side of half the cuff.  With right sides together, fold the cuff in half and sew the sides.

 Turn the cuff to the right side and press.

 This step is really important, so follow along carefully.  Turn your dress sleeve inside out.  Fold your cuff in half, matching the angled side. Align the fold of the cuff to the seam of the sleeve.

Pin the cuff to the wrong side of the sleeve, all the way around, so the angled sides end up directly opposite of the sleeve seam.

 Sew the cuff to the sleeve.

 Turn your sleeve to the right side.

 Fold the cuff back, press and add a cute button.

 Hope this tutorial makes sense.  It's really pretty simple once you sit down and actually do it.  And, it's adds a really nice touch to a simple dress.

Kimono Slippers

 The leaves are changing color and the air is crisp and cool.  It's officially slipper season.  

Every year I feel like it's a bit of a struggle finding the perfect, cozy slippers.  Duh, why not make my own.

 I settled on this pattern.  I love the instant gratification of a PDF pattern.

 Mine came out cute and cozy, but not nearly as cute as the ones pictured.  The pattern is fairly easy to follow, though there were times I could have used a little more detail.  I read a review that said the pattern ran small.  I cut a size 7, which is my size, and found that for me, the pattern ran way big!  I had to alter the sizing quite a bit.

 To make the insole, I ended up sandwiching Peltex between 2 layers of fleece, cutting it to size, and then sewing a zig zig stitch all the way around. 

I also used some grippy fabric for the bottoms for functionality.  Not so cute, but comes in handy when chasing kids around the house.

Overall, I like the slippers and I like the pattern.  I'm looking forward to making another pair for me and maybe some for the kids.  The pattern isn't sized for kids, but I think I can figure out how to size it down.

 

Do you have a favorite slipper pattern?  I'd love to hear about it.

My Favorite Lady Skater Dress

 And probably my last....for now.

 The fabric is a medium weight cotton lycra that I got from the Fabric Fairy a while ago.  I've been trying really hard to use fabric from my stash before buying anything new.

 The weight and stretch of the fabric is perfect for this dress.  Though I did end up having to redo the skirt.  The original was too full and the fabric didn't drape properly.

 Sewing for myself has been really fun.  At first, I really hated taking photos of myself.  But truthfully, the more I do it, the more at ease I feel.  I still don't love looking at photos of myself and wondering why I'm making silly faces.

But, it can be fun to play around with the kids and the remote which sometimes spurs some cute candid photos.  And, the boy is still wearing his Flip Vest from February.

Now that I'm done with sewing for myself for a while, I might have to make him a new one.  The next Kids Clothes Week Challenge is coming up in a few short weeks.  Are you joining in?

My Lady Skater Dress

I'm finally getting around to posting my Lady Skater dresses.  Before I talk about how much I love this pattern by Kitschy Coo, a few disclaimers. 

1.  I'm having trouble with my camera, so my photos are grainy.  I'm trying to balance taking large photos so I can edit and space on my computer.  So far, it's a loosing battle.

2.  on this particular day, my son has had a stomach bug for 1 week+, we've been to the pediatrician for what they thought might be appendicitis, and my 7 year old daughter has thrown up all over my car

 So, my photos are grainy, my dresses are wrinkled, and I'm feeling kind of grumpy.  Now that I've set the tone, on to the dresses.

 I love, love, love this pattern.  It's super easy to sew, and though I was skeptical, it really does flatter most body types.  I perused the Flickr group before I made mine to see what other had done and was really impressed.

 I was also really inspired by the dresses Delia and Sophie made.

 The orange dress above is a medium weight, cotton Lycra blend that has a really nice weight and drape (similar fabric).  The contrast band at the bottom is a charcoal ponte knit.

 For my second Lady Skater I wanted something more neutral that I could pair with a colorful scarf and boots.

 So I used the same charcoal ponte knit from the band on the orange dress.  The problem is, the ponte has much less stretch. 

 It looks okay on, but it's a bit tough getting on and off.  I still love it and will definitely wear it. Next time I'll be a little more aware of the stretch.  The pattern has great guidelines for choosing fabric and how to test the stretch.  So I definitely I don't have a good excuse

 Lastly, here's my super ugly muslin.  I was really glad I did a muslin because for my body, I definitely needed to make some adjustments.

I cut a size 4 initially, but ended up blending the upper body to more of a size 1 or 2.  I also cut the armscye in a bit based on my own t-shirt pattern and made the neck a little wider.

I think I've got at least one or two more of these in me.  

How many dresses is too many?  

My closet is becoming dangerously full.