Quick Tip: Keeping it All Straight

Blogged by Kristen 

Ah, Poppy's Peekaboo Dress. One of my favorite patterns!  And also famous (in my mind at least) for having lots of pieces that look the same. Today I made one for my little neighbor girl and wanted to share this quick tip that will be helpful with all sewing projects. 

We've all been here before with an awesome CKC pattern, right? We cut our pieces out carefully and are so excited to see that they look just like the pile in the pattern. Success! 

Then we stack up the pieces nicely and take them to the sewing machine and get ready to sew.  "Step One: Take one of your shoulder straps and..." 

-- Hold on, I forgot which one is the shoulder strap. I think it's an orange one. Maybe the shorter one? Yeah I bet that's right. I will assume it is because I'm in a hurry. -- 

Ha! Have you been there before? Surely it's not just me! 

Well, my guessing days are over. A few months ago I was sewing the Amanda's Skirt for Women and accidentally mixed up one of the tiers with one of the ruffles.  (They were almost exactly the same!) By the time I realized it, I couldn't fix the mistake other than sending my husband to the fabric store twenty miles away. Husbands love that. It all turned out okay in the end but I knew I needed to come up with a solution! A few ideas I had:  

Option #1: Take a memory training class so I'll never forget anything ever again. 

Option #2: Hire a personal assistant to remember the pieces for me. 

Option #3: Re-measure each piece at least five times as I go along.

Option #4: Start labeling my pieces to keep them all straight. 

I know this will surprise you, but as appealing and unrealistic as the first three options are, the labeling option won out. So that's my quick tip of the day.  LABEL YOUR PIECES.  Just a small paper with a pin will do. I know that we're all amazing and we know what we're doing.  But I have not and will not spend any more time undoing mistakes that could have been avoided. Please ask yourself: Which takes longer - writing a quick label for yourself, or picking out two yards of ruffles? 

LABEL YOUR PIECES!

There, doesn't that look neat? We all know which pieces are which!  (Bonus: Now while I'm sewing and my husband is watching the big game, I can say "Hey honey, will you please pass me the casings for ties?" -- and he'll reply with "Sure thing, darling!") This is life-changing.

 I'm not going to pretend that my labels are always this nice. Usually I tear up a piece of scrap paper and scribble quickly. Even in chicken scratch, it's nice to come back the next day and remember what I cut out the night before. 

And now when we take our little pile to the sewing machine, there is no question about which piece to grab! I KNOW which one is the shoulder strap!  

So that's all for today.  LABEL YOUR PIECES!  It will be worth it. 

(Of course if you refuse to do it, at least you will think of me every time you mess up. That works too.) 

Let's Create!  ~Kristen

How To Tuesday: Reese's Reversible Paper Bag Skirt

I cannot believe that November is almost here! It seems insane to think that the holidays are right around the corner. But it's time to start thinking about holiday outfits if you haven't already, so I figured it was time for a useful and adorable tutorial. It will be perfect for all those holiday parties and  a great stocking stuffer for so many little ladies in your life.

May I introduce you to Reese's Reversible Paper Bag Skirt! I know that I designed this pattern and all, but WOW! This skirt goes together so quickly that one of our testers even whipped up four in one night! And if your little one is anything like my Ayla, you can't beat the fact that it's reversible. This skirt features a double layer skirt on one side and a sweet and simple twirl skirt on the other. Paired with the paper bag waist line, this little skirt is going to become a staple in your boutique or your little one's closet.

We had so much fun making this one and even more fun taking the photos. Ayla had the perfect hair clip from Punky Punkin Creations to go with this skirt. When I told Mandy (the owner) that one of her clips was going to be on the blog today, she so kindly offered our readers a special coupon code! The code is CKC15, good for 15% off any purchase, now through the end of November, no minimum purchase required. So be sure to go show them some love on their Facebook page. We personally have a handful of their clips and their quality is outstanding, not to mention their prices are very reasonable and hubby approved.

This skirt would also be perfect for teaching your little ones to sew! It's very simple and easy to follow. Since there are no complicated steps, they are sure to get though it without tears. My niece will be coming down to visit in November and has asked me to teach her to sew. This will be the first thing we tackle that week.

Oh, and did I mention that this pattern goes from sizes 3-6 months up to 8y, and also includes doll sizes?! A big thanks to Kristen, our other blogger, for jumping in last night and testing it, not only in the largest size but also the doll size! Is her little one not the cutest thing ever? I swear she is a mini me of her Momma.

 Okay, now on to where to download your Reese's Reversible Paper Bag Skirt! Just follow the link below and download yours today. I'll be keeping an eye on all our social media outlets to see your  lovely creations.

Reese's Reversible Paper Bag Skirt

Happy sewing y'all,
Morgan

Satin Flowers Four Ways

Last week we shared some fantastic tips on how to have success sewing with satin. Have you given it a try yet?  I also promised that on Monday (that's today) I would be sharing a couple different methods for making satin flowers. The funny thing, though, is that once I got started making flowers, I just couldn't stop.  So today I am going to show you FOUR different ways to make flowers out of satin! I will walk you through step-by-step and you'll be making gorgeous satin flowers in no time.   

  

First up is the Ruffled Circle Flower! This is a really popular satin flower right now and my daughter has one in every color. My amazing friend and neighbor Summer helped me learn to perfect this style.  Trust me, she has made thousands of these ruffled circle flowers and she knows what she's doing. Now you will know all the secrets too!

The next two satin flowers are not as common as the first but they are definitely gorgeous and elegant.  The Singed Flower (white) and the Full Ruffled Flower (teal) are easier to make than they appear, and you'll be an expert in no time. 

And last up are the Rolled Flowers. These are my favorite to make!  They are similar to the rosette headband that we taught in the past here, but they are also quite different.  These satin rolled flowers are more "free" because they twist only around themselves rather than mounting onto a separate backing. This makes them great for hair clips and they're super quick to make. 

But that's enough talk about the tutorial - let's get to it!  You can download the free PDF here: 

Satin Flowers Four Ways

Let's Create! ~ Kristen 

Tips for Sewing with Satin

Do we have those Halloween costumes ready yet? One week to go! 

I love Halloween because of the wide variety of costumes we see in the neighborhood!  I like to make them for my kids and it's fun to hear what they come up with. In fact my oldest son has such a random idea this year that I'm going to have to ask him again what it was!  All I remember is that it involves a shiny, black sheet.  Anyway, whatever your young ones are wanting to be this Halloween, I bet there's a good chance you can add flair to it by using shiny satin!  Yeah?  

  

Let's be honest, though. Working with satin for the first time may seem a little scary! Like going on a stroll through the cemetery on Halloween night and seeing a black cat cross your path, under the full moon. (Have you ever done that? It's scary!) But sewing with satin doesn't have to be. We have some great tips and tricks to share with you today, and before long you will be sewing satin like a witch! I mean... like a pro! 

I know you can do it, and even in time for Halloween. Here's the link to our downloadable PDF: 

Tips and Tricks for Sewing with Satin

And guess what! To make your knowledge of satin even more complete, on Monday we will show you how to make a couple different kinds of satin flowers. Your little ghouls will love that. 

Let's create!  ~ Kristen 

New Blogger on Board

The staff at Create Kids Couture loves their fans!  And the fans seem to looove Create Kids Couture. Last week we advertised a new position on the CKC team and your response was overwhelming. We have a great thing going here. Thank you!  We are now ready to announce who our new Social Media Marketing Associate is at CKC. Drum roll, please. 

It's... ME! 

Ha. That's the funny thing about being the new blogger on board.  I get to introduce myself.  

My name is Kristen Nelson, and this is me rockin' my Willow's jacket. (People ask me about it everywhere I go. Everywhere!)  I am SO excited to be a part of the team here at Create Kids Couture. I have been a tester for women's, tweens', and girls' patterns here at CKC -- so my face (or my daughter's face) may be a little familiar to you.  And now that you and I are going to be spending some quality time together, I think I should tell you a little bit more about myself.

I grew up in a small town in Idaho. Yes, I even drove a tractor on my dad's potato farm. (Did you know that potatoes have more potassium than bananas? It's true!)  I was the youngest of five kids, loved sports instead of ruffles, and always dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom.

And that's where I am today! I earned my bachelor's degree at BYU, married an Alaskan, and then we happily moved back to my hometown in Idaho. Now I stay at home with our five kids (ages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) while my awesome husband works full time. 

I know some of you are thinking "lucky!" and some of you are thinking "exhausting!"  You're both right! And did you notice that there are FOUR boys in the picture?  My sweet little girl couldn't be luckier, with two older brothers and two younger brothers -- and of course a mom who loves to sew yards and yards of ruffles, just for her.  

Oh yes, and for her monkey too. 

These kids are so entertaining that I have been keeping a family blog for six years now. What a perfect preparation for this dream job of mine! 

In my personal life I enjoy gardening, baking, reading, sports, playing games, and anything that involves creating. I LOVE to create. Since my daughter and I only need so many clothes, I recently opened an online boutique, Polka Dot Umbrella, where I sell outfits using CKC patterns and a few of my own. Not only do I love to create - I also love teaching others to create. I have so many fun ideas in store for the blog. Are you excited?! 

If you haven't already, I suggest you look over to the right side of the CKC blog page here and find that little box that says Subscribe. Type in your email address to receive each blog post as it comes out, so you don't miss any of the fun. Our previous bloggers are still around, and together we will keep the good stuff coming: Tips and tricks, free tutorials, giveaways, new pattern releases, etc. We want you to be a part of it all!

Thanks for getting to know me better.  I look forward to hearing from you as well.

Let's create!  ~ Kristen

How To Tuesday: Candi's Catch-All Bag

I told you all yesterday that I had a how to that was Halloween themed. And here it is! Candi's Catch-All Bag. Just in time for Trick-or-Treating! Hint the pumpkin theme of this one.

Mash up Monday: Halloween Style

Halloween is around the corner and a lot of you have confessed to not even starting on those costumes! So I figured a few good Halloween blog posts are needed this week. So today I've got some costume mash ups. And later this week Ill have another Halloween theme blog for you all. So make sure to stick around.

I want to start with Tracy, I shared this mash up back in May, but felt it was perfect for todays post as well. She created the perfect fairy dress for her sweet little one by mixing Paris's Party Dress and Fairy's Double Layer Princess Dress

  

Next we have Christi one of pur amazing testers.  She made an amazing little Hugglemonster made with Mimi Bodice & the skirt of Penelope. Is this not adorable?? OMG I love it and I don't even know what a hugglemonster is!

Lastly we have Amber, who's 12 year old daughter made this Marissa's and Fairy's mash up for her little sister!

I hope that these few mash ups get you slackers in mood to finish your little ones Halloween costumes. And if not... I guess you can always throw a sheet over them. lol

Happy Sewing Y'all!

Morgan

Tips and Tricks: Kelsey Leggings

So we all love our Kelsey leggings! And if you don't own this pattern, you will by the end of this tutorial! It really is a must have!

Okay so one you lovely ladies (don't ask me who, I have ADD) asked if there was a trick to adding the ruffles in a round (ruffle attached to the base of legging).  Versus them being sewn onto the leggings. Now I will say that the way the Kelsey's are already written is by far the easiest way. But we totally understand that some prefer their ruffles in a round. So here is a super easy tutorial on how to this with our Kelsey's. Also note this could totally work on store bought leggings!! SWEET!!

So to start make your Kelsey's as written for regular leggings. (ie. why I said you can do this with store bought)

First, we are going to be drawing our ruffle placement lines on the bottom of the leg pieces.

We will now attach one of our ruffles to the bottom of the leggings. Take the ruffle pieces, pin them right sides together, and sew along the short sides so we one continuous loop.

Set the sewing machine on the longest stitch length possible. Sew 1/4" down from the top of each ruffle making sure not to backstitch at the beginning or end. Some seamstresses prefer to have two rows of stitching in case a thread breaks, however, if you are using high-quality thread as we do, then one row of stitching should be sufficient.

Take the leggings and lay it on a flat surface for reference on how wide our ruffle needs to be. Begin gathering the ruffle by pulling the top 2 threads and moving the fabric back so it is gathered together.

When it looks like it is the right width, we can begin pinning the ruffle to the leggings by putting the right sides of fabric and adjusting the gathers as we go. At this point we will know if it is gathered too much or too little and it is easier to adjust correctly.

We can now sew on the ruffle. To sew the  ruffle to the leggings we need to be sure to sew below the gathering line otherwise it will be visible on the outside when we are done.

Now that the ruffle is attached to the legging we will now cut at the drawn ruffle line. I know it seems crazy. No really, I do. Just trust me.

Now with that ruffle set aside we repeat the same steps again to the new bottom of the leggings.

Then once again cut off and repeat.

Now you will have a pile that looks like this.

Now time to start attaching these all back together.

Start off at the top. Flip the ruffle up and attach the connector piece to the bottom edge. And repeat with the next ruffle.

This is what your inside will look like.

And just like that you have your Kelsey leggings with ruffles in a round.

Now on a side note, if you feel you have stretched your leggings out too much. lift each ruffle and add a row or two of shirring. This will help the leggings go back into shape. And the shirring will be hidden by the ruffles.

And if you need a quick lesson in shirring, along with a little dance party. Follow this link to video how to from the CKC girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfqAwJC_a6A

Happy Sewing Y'all!

Morgan

How To Tuesday: Charm Packs

So I always notice when there is giveaway going on with charm packs all my ckc girls are not jumping on it. And you should be!!!! So I teamed up with Southern Fabric this month. To show you guys that there are still a ton of great things we "clothing seamstresses" can do with charm packs.

So I got this awesome set of charm packs.! And the colors are to die for.

And so I sat and played with them during nap time and then it hit me!! So below you will find tutorials on how to make a Fall scarf and belt.

Lets start with the scarf! Cute eh? I love it! Your going to need 8 squares and 1/6 a yard of flannel or fleece.

So to start you will place your pieces right side together and sew down one side. You will repeat this step until you have 1 long strip that has a total of 8 squares.

 

Next you will cut your flannel and or fleece to 5''x40''. You will then pin your flannel and scarf right sides together. And starting at one end you sew along all four edges, making sure to leave a one inch gap to turn the scarf right side out.

Now you top stitch all 4 outside edges making sure to close the open gap.

Next you will make a mark 8 inches up from one of the ends. This is where you will make a button hole like shown.

And buy sliding the other end though that button hole you are now finish!

Now on to the super easy D ring belt. The only thing you need for this is a pair of D rings. 1st measure your little ones waist and then add 10". Then take this number and divide it by 5. This will give you the number of squares you need for your belt.

Now just like we did with the scarf we will start by making one long piece of squares. (1 x # you came up with)

Next  we are going to be ironing our belt in bias tape form. To do this we will take our strip, fold it in half length wise, and iron so we have a nice crease. Open the strip back up so the crease is going down the center. Now we will fold both of the long sides in so that they meet at the crease in the center and iron. Once ironed fold it in half again lengthwise like we did in the beginning; the original center crease we made will be along the bottom and the two folds will be lined up at the top.

Now top stitch down both lengths of the belt.

Now we are going to finish our two short ends. One you will hem and the other you will attach the the D rings by sliding the fabric though the D rings and folding the fabric over onto its self and stitching it closed. 

And yes just like that you are finished with the belt!! Boo ya! 

And to just top it all off I also made a matching hair bow by using the scrap buster tutorial I posted a few weeks back.

So now here is the fun part! Southern Fabric has provided us with a second charm pack to giveaway! So make sure to go check them out. They have some of the sweetest customer service and they carry some very trendy fabrics. Some by designers I had never heard of. And if you know me, you know that is rare! 

I mean really look at some of these new lines they are getting in! Im swooning! 

Okay so here is the Giveaway, make sure to enter and start thinking of all the fun goodies you make with the charm pack!

Happy Sewing Y'all!!

Morgan 



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