Tutorial: Fourth of July {Ruffle} Skirt and Flag Shirt

I'm excited for the Fourth of July this week and I'm even more excited

that ruffle skirt from last year still fits her!

It was another labor of love like the Rainbow Ruffle Skirt, so I was glad

that would could get another year out of this lovely ruffle skirt.

It is 6 layers of ruffles and I used the same technique I used for 

the Rainbow Ruffle Skirt to create the tiers and connect them.

I wanted the skirt to be 11-12" long and I wanted 6 tiers of ruffles,

so made each ruffle piece 2.75" wide and each connector piece 2.5".

This was a stash buster project because I used fabric I already had.

I love stash busters because it means not standing in the cut line at the fabric store,

and it helps to put a teeny tiny dent into my rather out of control stash.

I finished all the raw edges with an overstitch to limit the fraying and keep it pretty.

I paired the skirt with her white mary jane shoes 

and the sandpaper print flag shirt I made to go with the skirt.

The sandpaper flag print is so easy to do and I used the same technique as the rainbow shirt

I made for Kara Noel's daughter's birthday last year.

It's even a project the kids could do with you because it's safe and not messy.

Grab some CRAYONS, SANDPAPER, and a PLAIN T-SHIRT.

Color your design onto the sandpaper.

Remember that the design will be reversed and be sure to make the 

layers of crayon extra thick.

 

Place something between the inside of the shirt, so it doesn't bleed through.

Then, the sandpaper design down on your shirt, place a paper towel on top of the

sand paper and then iron on the cotton setting for 30-40 seconds.

Remove the sandpaper when you're sure the design has transferred, 

and then to set the design set a paper towel top of the new design and iron.

Pop it in the dryer for 20 minutes to set the color and BAM! Cute shirt!

I hope you have a fantastic Fourth of July and that this pretty ruffle skirt

inspires you to make something festive and patriotic!

Tutorial Thursday: Ruffled Bookmark Tutorial {Teacher Appreciation}

I was looking for a cute gift for teacher appreciation,
so I decided to make a fun bookmark.

I used farm fabric - left over from quilts my mom made for JT-
because I wanted it to remind them of JT whenever they looked at it.
And since he is an animal lover - and talks about them ALL the time -
I figured it would be a good reminder :)


What you'll need:

• 1 piece of cotton fabric (mine was 2.5"x9")
• 1 piece of cotton fabric (2.5"x18")
  
• 1 piece of felt (also 2.5"x9")
• 6" piece of ribbon

STEP ONE
Take the 2.5"x18" piece of fabric, find the center.
Set your tension high.
Set your stitch length long.
Sew right down the middle.



STEP TWO
Layer your piece of felt on top of your 2.5"x9" piece of fabric.

STEP THREE
Layer your ruffled piece of fabric on top of the felt, creating a fabric sandwich :)




STEP FOUR
Fold your piece of ribbon into a "V" and pin in between the felt
and the non-ruffled piece of fabric.


STEP FIVE
You can pin the rest of bookmark, or you can sew by the seat of your pants.
I chose to sew by the seat of my pants, so I could adjust the ruffles as I went.
I used a 1/4" seam allowance.
You can use a larger seam allowance if you wanted to be able to pink the edges.
I happen to like the frayed/funky look, so I didn't pink.

I also sewed back and forth over the ribbon 2-3 times to make it secure.


STEP SIX
Grab your seam ripper.
And carefully remove the ruffle stitch from the middle.

TIP:
If you have itty bitty holes from your ruffle stitch,
lightly spray the fabric with water
and let it air dry.
VOILA!
Teensy holes are gone.

Now you have a fun gift for teacher appreciation or Mother's Day!







I had JT write a thank you note to each of his teachers.
Then I put it on another piece of colored cardstock, stitched around the edge,
and pinned the bookmark to the giant thank you note.

Woohoo!

We love our teachers!

I'm linking up HERE!!!!

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