peace, love, and crafts » my friend the sewing machine

lovely guest post~happy together!!

Kristen McAshan — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:37:50 +0000

happy tuesday everyone! as you can tell i have been slacking on my posts, but jessica is here to save the day! thank you!! her awesome blog over at happy together is super cute and she has created so many great projects. if you haven’t checked it out then go do it! (after reading this post of course) :)

Hi! My name is Jessica and I am from Happy Together.

I’m a full time momma and Coastie wife who loves to create. I share all kinds of things over at my little place on the web.

I am honored to be here and do a little guest post for Kristen as she has a lot on her plate right now :) I totally know how that goes!

The above picture is a shirt from Anthropologie. It is similar to the one that a reader suggested I do a tutorial for. It’s so cute, why not? I wasn’t able to find any fun knits in time to do this, but as you can see, a lot of fabrics will work. It’s all about the look you are going for.

To make this, you will need a knit tank top, some fabric, scissors, pins, measuring tape, and all the sewing stuff. Make sure you use the correct sewing machine needles for the type of fabric you are working with. The following tutorial is just kind of a broad how to, as each persons tank top will be different.

I started off by measuring the height of the shirt to determine how tall my layers should be. I made mine smaller than in the pic because I was working hard to use up scraps.

Then measure across from side seam to side seam. You want the length of each tier to be a few inches longer than this. You want to be able to ruffle it, but not too much or it might get too bulky. Your final tier pieces will just be long rectangles.

Once you have cut out your pieces, baste and gather them. Pin your first bottom layer on first. Make sure it is at an angle.

Then sew it on with a zigzag stitch. This will allow for some give so the fabric will still stretch. Not the prettiest, but the other layers will cover it up and we will make the last one on top look good. Repeat this for the other tiers, except the top one.

Once you get to the top layer, place it on upside down. The right side of the fabric will be facing the tank. Pin the top of the tier where it where it will be sewn. Zigzag stitch across it, then fold fabric down. No funny zigzag line showing!

I like the addition of the extra pleats and ruffles, so I made to pleated pieces to go to the side. I honestly just pleated some scraps and then cut them to look nice when I pinned it on.

I sewed these in place with a long straight stitch.

For the neck ruffle, I wanted it to look a bit cleaner, so I folded the top down towards the wrong side of the fabric and sewed in place. Then I basted and gather a little farther down, pinned it on, and sewed it on with a long straight stitch.

You can really do some fun things with ruffles and pleats. Use your imagination and have some fun. I’m sorry I don’t have any pics of it on a person, but I’m currently without a photographer to help me out.

guest blogger~Adventures in Dressmaking!!!

Kristen McAshan — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:12:51 +0000

i am so excited to share with you my FIRST ever guest blogger!!! my new friend Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking was kind enough to be my guest. as you may know from previous posts i have been out of it lately with being pregnant and trying to move into a new house. whew! i am sure you will enjoy Suzannah and all her talents just as much as i do!!!! enjoy!!!

Hello there, readers at Peace, Love,& Crafts! I’m Suzannah, and I blog at at Adventures in Dressmaking, where I share my sewing, crafty, and home decor projects almost daily! Kristen asked me to do a guest post today and, in the spirit of the coming warm weather, I thought I’d share a couple of my fave summer wardrobe tutorials with you!It’s just now starting to get warm here in Oregon and just today I had a hard time getting dressed… it’s definitely time for some of us to add to the old winter/spring basics and create some cute new pieces, but of course I’m always interested in saving money and revamping existing pieces, so I like to sew new things rather than buy! First off, let me share with you a tutorial on how to make a cute patchwork-look tee like one from Anthropologie. You’ll need a basic tee (I used a ring spun v-neck) and some scraps–I chose a vintage hankie,some lace, and some scraps from a men’s dress shirt refashion I did a while ago! Here’s the inspiration:

Start with your tee. I got this one at the Goodwill outlet when I was collecting yellow things–it’s a Kohl’s brand. I think I wore it to paint in and it has a smudge of black high-gloss paint on the front! I wish I had had a paler one like the Anthropologie v-neck, in a neutral color or something, but this will have to do.

Now pull out all your pretty scraps and trims that you think capture the look of the Anthro one. I pulled out all the yellowy ones and some heavy cotton lace.

Lay out the pieces as you’d like them to be. I like to do this with my computer right behind my work so I can glance up a lot and look at what I’m copying!

Use spray adhesive to keep all the fabric pieces in place. If you don’t have any spray adhesive, you could use pins, but this would be a serious pain in the neck. I laid out the big piece that comes all the way up the right side first and cut away at the neck.

Then add everything else with more adhesive…

Press the pieces down carefully–watch out for melting and unsticking the spray adhesive.

Sew down the pieces. I used a zig zag stitch for most of them, but a straight stitch on the finished edges of the hankie I used and on the very high quality, tightly woven shirt pieces (the gingham).

Back to the computer, look at the inspiration and copy the embroidery pattern onto the shirt with a pencil or fabric marker. I really wish I had a fabric marker in times like these…

Can you just barely see the pencil marks I made?

Using a thick thread, sew over your lines either by machine or by hand. I used a heavy Coats and Clark cotton thread in off-white, which was not super easy to sew with, but which left very clearly visible stitches like the original has.

This part is optional, and not necessary if you’re new to sewing or unsure of your machine. I used a buttonhole stitch to make little round-ish spots on the branch–the Anthro version has some fancier detail but this is my simplified version. Some of them are just a row of buttonhole stitch, some are buttonhole, double back, more buttonhole next to the first.

Next, clean up all the threads–trim lots of threads off the tree thing.
That’s it! Maybe give it an extra press, but it should be done!

Easy, right?*Originally posted on Adventures in Dressmaking here* To go with your cute and funky embellished tee, I recommend some shorts! Luckily for those of us with an inner thing consciousness,longer, cuffed-hem jean shorts are soooo in this year. I’ve seen them in InStyle, Lucky, People Style Watch, Cosmo (ick), and Glamour. Here’s a page from my InStyle with quite a few choices to get the look, prices ranging from $25-$167. I’ve seen them at Target even., not too expensive, but it’s much more eco-friendly to make some out of jeans from your closet! I like that they’re cute and trendy but not short-shorts,not too snug, and not the kind that you have to keep tugging down your inner thighs.

Of course we need to learn to make these ourselves!!I set out to make a pair and have written up a tutorial for you. Here’s how to make some longish denim shorts yourself!

Start with a pair of loose-ish jeans–snug ones would work, but the look is a little bit softer. I think jeans with or without stretch would work, but mine are 100% cotton. Suuuuper old Abercrombie ones, from Goodwill Outlet, the holes are kind of beyond mend-able.

Figure out how long you want your jean shorts to be. I wanted mine about 12″ from the center of the inseam, including a 2″ cuff.

Cut! Leave a 1/2″ seam allowance, so 12.5″ from the crotch.

Now, you can’t just fold the jeans back and cuff them, like you do rolling up jeans to capri them. They taper as they go down the thigh,so they’re several inches smaller in circumference as you get closer to the knee. It would not work to just fold it back. So, take the flared part of the jeans and flip them around 180. Find the part that’s the same circumference as the end of the jeans.

I want the cuff to be 2″, so there will be a 1/2″ seam allowance on the top and bottom–cut a 3″ piece.

Turn the cuff piece back 180 again. The shape will be like an hourglass, and you’ll be switching the inseam and outside leg seams. See the top stitched side is on top on the cuff piece, but on the inseam on the main piece?

Flip the cuff piece inside out inside the main piece, and pin.

Sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Press under 1/2″ hem.

Press the seam allowance from the two pieces toward the added cuff piece(no pic, but do it the opposite of the picture above).

Fold the cuff piece back and press so that the seam is just under the center of the fold, hidden by like 1/8″.

Hand-sew the hem down using a hidden whip-stitch, all around on both legs. I used minimal pinning to keep the 1/2″ turn under in place.

That’s it!!

The whole process is more complicated than just turning under a hem, but trust me, it works soooo much better!*Originally posted on Adventures in Dressmaking here* Well, what do you think? Are you all ready to dig up some old clothes from your closet and summer-ify them? I hope so!For more ideas on sewing, home dec, and clothing refashions, I hope you’ll check out my blog at Adventures in Dressmaking. Thanks so much for reading, and thanks for Kristen for hosting this guest post!

elastic waistband with casing tutorial

Kristen McAshan — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:48:04 +0000

experimenting with sewing projects is fun and a little frustrating. haha. but this one turned out nicely! here’s my attempt to show you :)

pretty sure this is meant to be a dress…but it’s a shirt on me. there’s no waistband and i normally wear belts with it but i wanted to change it up. so i added a waistband with a casing!

*mark where you want the waistband on the dress (doesn’t have to be pretty since you are going to cover it up)…measure and add 1 inch for seam allowance.

* cut out your casing fabric to match the measurement. (i used the leftover fabric from the dress that i turned into a skirt)
* make sure the casing is wider than the elastic you are going to use (about 3/4 inch wider than the elastic).
* then measure your waist…add 1 inch for seam allowance and then cut elastic to match. (make sure it is snug enough but not too tight)

* fold over 1/4 inch on both sides of the casing and iron

* then fold over both edges 1/4 inch and iron. (make sure there is enough room for the elastic to ease its way through).
* sew the two ends together (right sides of fabric together) with 1/4 inch seam allowance (i didn’t do this part because i didn’t have enough fabric so i just hand stitched them together after i sewed them on) oops..lol.

* pin the casing to the marking you made on the dress.

* sew down one edge of the casing all the way around (really close to the edge) back stitching the beginning and end.
* and then sew down the other edge (really close to the edge) but leave about 2-3 inches open in order to put the elastic through.

* pin down one end of the elastic to the dress and attach a safety pin to the other.
* use the safety pin to pull the elastic through the whole casing!

* sew the elastic together. i overlapped 1/2 inch and did a square and x method or you can do several stitches of zigzag as well.
* (forgot to take a pic) but i sewed the remainder of the casing closed (back stitching at the beginning and end)..make sure you stretch out the casing fabric (since there is elastic in now) in order to sew the fabric without puckering (make sure you do not sew the elastic to the fabric!!!!).

yay! new shirt/dress. :) you can do this to anything…shirts, dresses, skirts, jackets…etc.

now i don’t have to wear a belt with this outfit. it has a permanent one!

peace and love
xox

pajamas all day long

Kristen McAshan — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:00:06 +0000

i like to wear pajamas. all day. :) i even wear them to the grocery store. now, i’m talking about comfy pants and shirts…nothing crazy. :) anyways…i had these pants for the longest time and would wear it around the house but never out because they were too short for me to wear in public and be okay with it. a little picky i know. check it…

old (wrinkly…who irons pajamas??) and short pants.

busted out with some bias tape. this was already made but making your own bias tape is easy! maybe i can make that a tutorial some day. cut off about 5 inches of the pants and slapped this on…and bam!

new pants that i can wear out and not feel awkward. haha. if you don’t have bias tape you can just easily turn up the hem and sew the edges for a clean finish. super, super easy! since i am kinda tall i have had to do this to a lot of pants. :)

peace and love
xox

tie dye all day.

Kristen McAshan — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:55:04 +0000

hello all!! wanted to share a little make over i did today. sooo i got this dress for uber cheap awhile back but never wore it because the top part didn’t fit me very well…lame.

sooo naturally i tried fixing it. i had a thought of putting some elastic banding around the top edges to make them more “supported”. hard to explain i guess. haha. anyways….i pretty much butchered it. don’t want to talk about it. lol. i loved the colors and tie dye so i couldn’t just quit…so i just cut the top part off!

chopped off the top.
took some jersey and made a waist band.
sewed one side to the waist band.
then folded the band and sewed the other side with a top stitch.
(forgot to take step by step pics) :(

now that i look at it…i probably should have ironed it….but oh well. it adds character. :)

got some crazy lighting but looks fun!

ready to go!

i heart wednesdays! spent the afternoon tie dying shirts with my girlfriends. good times. :) now off to youth. everyone have a blessed evening! don’t forget to check out my giveaway!!!

peace and love
xox

cupcake bag

Kristen McAshan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:04:21 +0000

new handbags are fun, especially if you make it. of course! i love jessica’s placemat clutch tutorial over at happy together. go check it out!! here’s one i made!

lovely vinyl placemat that only cost me $1 for 2 of them!

did some pinning…

did some measuring (i left 2 inches at the bottom)..some sewing…some turning inside out.

some cutting. i drew it out on the placemat and then cut one side.

then i just traced the first cut handle onto the other and cut that. super easy. :)

some sewing…you can’t see it but i used a bright blue stitching.

going for the “worn” look. ha.

glued some felt over some cardboard and glue it to the bottom. i would have used plastic canvas but i couldn’t find mine:( cardboard=next best thing.

some hand stitching…since i’m not eating sweets at the moment…this was hard. ahh a cupcake.

**what’s in my bag…

some good essentials. i’m thinking i want to add a pocket or two inside the bag. oooo fun!

oooh and i just found my new earrings i bought with my friend madison. must put on now. :) have a great day everyone!!! what’s in your bag????

peace and love
xox

the knitting lady

Kristen McAshan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:59:49 +0000

so i feel like i have neglected my blog. sad day. i kind of stress out when i don’t post something. lol. is that normal?? well since i didn’t have my machine for a few days, i knitted! i felt like the knitting lady. literally taking my yarn with me everywhere…i loved it. here are a couple of lovelies i made!

i pretty much just knitted the entire band….and knitted and knitted. 15 stitches across. :) for beginners like me it takes some time, especially with lots of distractions.

when i felt it was snug enough, i sewed the edges together.

the “flower” is just a braided strand that i wrapped around and sewed it on the band. easy!!

my first attempt at a knitted bow! *smiles*

i just knitted the band…again to fit my head and sewed the edges together. this one was only 3 stitches across.

i busted out with the knit and purl action on the bow! 25 across and 10 rows. that took more concentration on my part. i caught myself knitting one or two when i was on a purl row. lol. need to work on that. then knitted another small strand to wrap around and hand stitched that on since it was too thick to put through my machine.

these are perfect for bad hair days….or lazy days. been wearing one all day today. :)

peace and love
xox

plaid pillow partners.

Kristen McAshan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:06:15 +0000

hi everyone!!! hope y’all had a great weekend! we had a dinner and movie night with the youth, got to hang out with one of my oldest friends, cooked lots and lots of homemade vegan meals, had a fabulous time at church and gospel lunch, listened to one of the best times i’ve heard my hubs play his songs there, celebrated father in law’s 60th bday, and lots of laughs! whew. i thought i’d start the week off with a super easy BUT super fun project.

i had these two lovies that i got for only $2 bucks. both with POCKETS. heart pockets. these were xl men’s so clearly couldn’t fit, and i didn’t feel like tailoring sooo cut out 2 matching pieces (i chose 15 x 12 inches. random but fun) on both shirts….and literally just sewed the whole thing with 1/4 in seam allowance. then threw in some stuffing. and….

these were soo easy. no hand sewing involved since you have the lovely buttons down the middle. just sew inside out…and then turn it right side out, stuff it, and then button! :) probably took me 30 minutes total to do both of them from start to finish.

i am pondering what i want to stitch/embroider on the front. i’m thinking a fun saying that i can put on both…not sure what though! need some creative suggestions please!!! :)

for now they will live here.

peace and love
xox

jumper love.

Kristen McAshan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:35:29 +0000

i don’t do many apparel projects but i want to get back into it! so i was motivated to create a lil jumper. this was one of those projects where i didn’t really know if it would work out. ha.

i used an old pair of cotton shorts (pretty sure the elastic was about to give out) some waist band elastic and a nice stretchy shirt (stretchy enough to step into and pullover)….and i’m pretty sure this is one of my bestie’s shirts that i have had for several years, but i didn’t think she would mind. hehe

step 1: measure your waist for the waist band. make sure it’s snug enough but not too tight…and then add an inch or whatever your liking for the seam allowance. i used a zigzag stitch. (i’m not an expert with elastic but that seemed to work).

step 2: i did the shorts next and i pinned it to the waistband. make sure you stretch the elastic to match the shorts. i went pin crazy again.

step 3: sew together! i used a stretch stitch on my machine and i did it in about 1/8 of an inch. i then cut the old elastic off. (saving it for another project??)

step 4: i then went pin crazy again and pinned the shirt to the other side of the waist band. if your shirt has gathers then make sure you spread them out evenly. :)

step 5: sew the shirt to the waist band…again with a stretch stitch.

now you have a jumper! :)

i wanted to add a little more so i sewed up some little patch pockets! i also took off the white bias stripping on the shorts. i wanted to take it off the sides too but that was too late. :)

super excited about this jumper. however it snowed the other day so i don’t see myself wearing this anytime soon. but who knows…this is texas so maybe it’ll be 80 degrees tomorrow. :) i have a bunch of other clothing articles that need some revamping. hmmm..what should i make next??? AND thanks Rachel for featuring another post of mine on her lovely One Pretty Thing!!!

peace and love
xox

i can wear my jacket again!

Kristen McAshan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:13:55 +0000

so i don’t know how i get all these random stains on my clothes. but i am glad i kept them for snowy days like this! :)
here’s the lovely jacket and the lovely stain. lame.

used some extra pedals i had laying around (tutorial) and some hand stitching with some yarn and yay!

i love it even more. stain and all.

on a side note. the snow is still sticking. :) and i ate capers with my lunch. getting crazy over here. haha. much love!!

peace and love
xox