Lengthening a Dress - adding a hem

Here's a method to lengthen a dress if the hem doesn't have enough seam allowance to let out. By adding fabric to the end of the dress you can get the exact length you want.

(Dress before with additional fabric pinned to bottom)

Decide if you can unpick the original dress hem or if it will need to be cut off (ex. the hem folds can not be ironed out.)

Find desired fabric. Make sure to align seams with dress seams when sewing together. In this case there were lots of different sections to the dress.

An important factor is how the dress curves at the bottom. Cutting a straight rectangular piece to add on will not work. Make sure you take into account the original curve of the dress so you can recreate that when adding fabric to the bottom.

Additional embellishments might be useful to tie in the added fabric. In this case ribbon and matching buttons were sew on.

Brand new dress with a new look - yet long enough for desired length!

Free Holiday/Christmas Image Downloads

With holiday spirit in mind, I was browsing online the other night and found this awesome blog. I was getting some idea's for cute Holiday Crafts. I am now working on some cute cards with these images. I thought I would pass on this new find. :)

(Just click the link of the right hand side --> to get there.)

Happy Holiday's. Thanksgiving is part of the "holidays" right?

GPS Cover - Garmin Nuvi

Recently my husband was given a GPS because of his upcoming travels (interviewing for residency programs). The Nuvi didn't come with a case! After reading this blog I decided it wouldn't be too hard to throw something together to protect the screen/device.

I simply made two little rectangular bags, stuck padding in between them and closed the top off with bias tape. Walla!

Our Nuvi - or Eunice as she goes by now - is going to be all over the country in the next few months! She packed and ready to go.

Homemade Toddler Toys

Remember this post ? My little boy has reached the perfect age where he actually enjoys putting the lids inside the container via the cutout slit. He also loves taking on and off the yogurt lid. It's a huge hit! Why pay for expensive toys when you have what they want all around your house??

Altering a Child's Winter Hat

Winter in Wisconsin is brutal, to say the least. Negative temperatures and wind can get one down, but adequate clothing sure helps. Last winter my baby wore a 0-3 lumberjack/aviator hat. It was perfect for the elements outside. Unfortunately, that hat no longer fits his 12 month head. It's been hard for me to find a similar hat. Yes, I get stuck in a rut with something I love and have to have the exact same one when something happens to the first.

A few months ago I was at the Land's End Inlet and found a steal of a deal on this hat! $9.50 for exactly what I was looking for. It is lined with berber fleece and wind proof - exactly what I wanted! I don't necessarily love the color, but it can grow on me.

The only problem is it's a tad bit large. The head size is okay and will work fine, but the chin straps are just too big. With a one year old who loves to pull things off his head, this would not do. I decided to fix the problem. :)

I started by cutting the snap tab very close to the ear flap. I didn't want to deal with unpicking the fabric and getting it out nicely. It should be fine because of the nylon fabric. I expect little or no fraying at the cut off site.

Once I had the snap tab off, I stitched the cut edge closed. Nothing fancy - I used a fairly small overcast stitch. I just wanted to ensure no fraying to this piece.

Another view of stitching

Snap flap complete

Once the snap flap was closed off, I measured where to place the snap. I put the hat on my son's head and put my finger where I wanted the snap to be - not too hard. I then pinned the snap in it's new place.

I sewed the snap on by using a back stitch. If you're unsure what a back stitch is, you can find it here . I also tried to follow the original stitching and was also careful not to catch any of the berber fleece while sewing. My needle only caught the green nylon.

Because I hand stitched the snap in place, I will easily be able to unpick the stitching and sew it back into it's original place if desired in future years. For now we are ready to enjoy the winter.

Happy Birthday Banner

This Banner can be used for years and years! Male or Female. It's an extra way to make your loved ones feel recognized and acknowledged on their special day.

To begin cut 16 triangles out of your choice of fabric. 5-6" wide by 8" long. I used different patterns with no rhyme or reason. Fabric can be totally random or there can be a pattern. You can also keep them all the same color if you wanted - anything goes. Just make sure you have 18.

Then, cut 18 triangles the same size for the backing. I used orange. 36 triangles total!

NOTE: I apologizing for not having pictures for this section. Each purchase of wonder under comes with directions. Refer to them as well.

Trace your letters onto wonder under. You can use stencils or make your own font/letters on paper. Making sure your letters are backwards (mirror image) when you are looking at the iron on side. The sticky side you peal off should be the correct way to read the letter. Cut the letters out loosely (they do not need to be perfect at this point).

Peal off the sticky side of the wonder under and place on the fabric you will use for the letters. Iron in place for about 6-10 seconds. Once they are fused, cut along the letter lines exactly.

Now you are ready to put the letters onto your patterned triangles. Peal off the wonder under, place the letter on triangle and press/iron into place.

Sew around each letter. Make the stitch length very narrow with a zigzag stitch. Don't forget the inside of your letters ;) You can also hand stitch a wide baste for a different look.

Once your letters are ironed on your fabric and the stitching is complete, match each letter with a colored back. Stitch the two triangles together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Once the stitching is complete cut the seam allowance with pinking shears. This will give your edges a simple finished look.

Take each completed letter triangle and arrange them in order of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" leaving a plain colored triangle at the beginning, end, and in between the two words.

Pin the letters inside the bias tape and sew in place.

I did not make my own bias tape for this project, but you sure can! It might be fun to add another fun fabric to the mix. For time's sake I purchased 2 pre-made 3 yard bias tape packages from Jo Ann Fabric. One package is enough to go across the letters, but you want to make sure you have extra for the ties at the end. Make sure it is extra wide! This will allow you to utilize the 3 folds already ironed in

Sew closed the extra bias tape ends and stitch along bottom for closure.

Banner folded in half

Make sure to leave room on each side for hanging the banner up! Enjoy! I hope this adds to many Happy Birthday's to come.

Idea from my lovely sisters. We started making these at a recent "Sister's Get Together".

Baby Shoes

For Bam Bam's shoes in this post, I was inspired by reading another crafting/sewing blog . They probably took me less than an hour to make - keep in mine little Bam Bam was always at my feet wanting to help! Cute shoes for any costume or every day wear.

I would post a close up picture, but they've already been put in storage for another year.