Coquette Inspiration: Just a Guy Who Quilts

I've been digging around for some Coquette inspiration.  I just love to daycream about what I can do with THIS fun bundle.  So far, I've made skirts and a scripture bag (more on that later.)  But I still love to see what others see in this fabric.

(you can see more HERE)

And lucky day!  I stumbled across an amazing blog called, "I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts."  And that's an accurate blog description, for sure! 

Ryan Walsh interviewed Pat Bravo a few months back, and I found this amazing inspiration photo in his blog entry.  I love this picture!

via I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts

See all the Coquette beautiness?  I am especially in love with the 3 framed fabrics across the top.  It's lovely!  That happens to be my favorite Coquette fabric.  Check it out:

Can you see why you'd want to frame that and hang it on your wall?  Anyhow, I just had to share.  Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Skirt Tutorial

Great news!  I am back from my trip and we had a great time visiting the Navajo Nation.  My sister and her family live there so we stayed with them for a few days.  We even had an authentic Navajo Taco Easter dinner!  Good times! 

Now that I have done the laundry, put away suitcases, cleaned out the van (OK, my sweet husband did the van), and finished my book, I am reaedy to add the turial for the skirts.  These are soooo easy and if I had a girl who would wear skirts to school, I could have her 10 skirts in an hour, I bet!

So, here is the finished product. 

I used the amazing fabric from Pat Bravo called Coquette.  You can buy a bundle of this for a great deal at my Etsy shop, Yards and Yards. 

The things about this fabric is that it feels amazing!  I have worked with a lot of fabric over the years and this is by far, the best cotton for clothing that I have ever felt.  I LOVE THIS STUFF!

So here we go.

I apologize in advance for my snazzy artwork.

1.  Gather your supplies:
Sewing machine
Fabric (about 1/2 yard of A and 1/4 yard B for a skirt to go up to 6T)

Elastic (about 18")

Thread

Scissors (seriously, did I need to type that?)

2.  Cut your fabric.

Note: I made this skirt my my 4, almost 5-year old.  Adjust the measurments as needed.

Fabric A (main fabric of skirt):  42" x 14"

Fabric B (bottom contrasting fabric): 42" x 6"

3.  Take fabric A and fold about 3/4" across the bottom and iron.  You should fold it so wrong sides are together.  NOTE:  I shaded to show the patterned side of the fabric. 

  4.  Take fabric B.  Fold it in half, wrong sides together and iron.

 5.  Sew A to B.  Place A right side down on your table.  Put fabric B on top lining up the raw edges with the folded edge of fabric A.  They should over lap about an inch.  Pin.  Sew two lines across the fabric as shown.  Mine are about 1/4" and 1/2" from where the fabrics meet.

6.Fold your skirt, right sides together and sew up the side, as shown.

 7.  Sew a casing along the top of the skirt.  Fold the top of the skirt down about 1/2 " and iron.  Then fold it down again about 1/4" wider than your elastic.  My elastic was 1/2" so I fold it down about 3/4".  Iron again.  Then sew around the entire opening leaving a 2" opening to put your elsatic through.

8.  Attach your elastic to a safety pin (couldn't you tell from my drawing?) and thread it through the hole.  Carefully work the elastic through the hole, holding the end of the elastic in your mouth... or at least, that's how I do it.

 9.  Pin and sew the two ends of the elastic together. I go back and forth about 10 times since this really has to hold up well.

10.  Sew the 2" opening closed.  You are done! Enjoy!


PS.  I linked to some SUPER SEWING parties!

*All Things Heart and Home  *  It's Sew For You  *  Not Just a Housewife  *  Creative Itch  *  Quiltstory  *  Ladybug Blessings  *  Sew Much Ado  *  Trendy Treehouse  *  Sew Chatty * Women Who Do It All *  Sugar and Dots * Li'l Luna * Tea Rose Home * Polka Dots on Parade * Somewhat Simple *  Fireflies and Jellybeans  *  Blue Cricket Design  *  733 blog  *  House of Hepworth's  * Paisley Passions  *  A Glimpse Inside  *  Fingerprints On the Fridge  *  Fun To Craft  *  At The Picket Fence  *  Stuff and Nonsense  *  Inspiring Creations * Just a Girl *  Sassy Sites*  504 Main  *  WhipperBerry

Super Easy Easter Skirt

via Yards and Yards

As you may have seen, I have some fun new fabrics in the shop. The latest is called Coquette, by Pat Bravo with Art Gallery Fabrics. It's so beautiful in person and I can't wait to get to work on it!
In the mean time, I'm having so much fun with Aviary 2, by Joel Dewberry. Here it is:

via Yards and Yards

Todays project was an Easter skirt and headband for my sweet little 8 year old. Here she is modeling the headband. I even ruffled it! This headband is really nice because you hardly notice that it's on. It's really comfortable!

And here is the skirt and our cat. This skirt was SOOO easy. It took maybe 30 minutes start to finish. The headband took longer! Don't her white socks go great with this? She's a doll!


I'm planning another one for my 4 year old using this Coquette fabric as the main part of the skirt. I will post this ridiculously easy tutorial along with pics of the skirt sometime soon.

Heads Up! Coquette Is In!

Just a quick heads up to all my favorite blog buddies... Pat Bravo's new release, Coquette, is all bundles and ready to go over at my Etsy shop.
I love this feminie line and the beautiful, intricate designs. I think the large floral is my FAVORITE of all. Here are a few of the fabrics in the bundle:

See what I mean? The grays in this line are a lot of fun.

When you see this all together, it just gets the creative juices flowing.

Stay tuned for a super easy skirt tutorial coming soon. Seriously, it's easy. It took 20 minutes tops and it's so sweet.

No Sew: Fabric Cards Template

I've had a few requests for the template for these two cards, so here you go. Please and thank you, for only using these for personal use. And if you blog about them, please link back here.

So I tried this and it worked:

1. Click on the image.
2. Right click and copy.
3. Paste into Word.
4. Adjust and print.

I hope it works for you!! Enjoy. I keep think I should make a buch of these and give them to my mom and MIL for Mother's Day. It would be a cute gift... that would keep giving.

Bias Tape... Simplified!

I stumbled across THIS tutorial over at Riley Blake and I had to share. A lot of new quilters hear, "Bias tape..." and they tune right out. Well, I am here to say that bias tape is rather easy and I have never seen it made easier than with this Riley Blake tutorial. This is my favorite part.

Deonn Stott shows how to sew, fold and cut your fabric for a quick bias tape method. I love this! For more detailed instructions, go HERE.

via Riley Blake

Another tool for bias tape that I LOVE is a bias tape maker.

I got this one at Joann Fabrics and they really don't cost too much! You can get them in varying sizes. I use my 1" bias tape maker to make bias for my Adjustable Aprons and for quilts. The possibilities are endless! Happy bias making!

No Sew Fabric Ideas: Fabric Cards

You know that I now have yards and yards (ha ha) of Joel Dewberry's amazing Aviary 2 fabric for sale in my Etsy shop. You can check it out by hitting the Yards and Yards link in the right sidebar. Just look at this beautiful fabric! Well, of course, I've have fun creating. I had a few scraps and decided to start on a little project. This is the first in a series of gift cards I'm making to give my mom for Mother's Day. They are a snap to make and really clean and classy. Here's what I did:
1. Design the card in Photoshop. These are all designed to be a 4.25x5.5 card.The bird was a really light gray when I printed it.
2. Next, I used and exacto knife to cut out the bird.
3. I opened the card and ran a tiny line of my glue tape around the bird open.
4. Next, I laid a small square of fabric over the opening.
5. Finally, I used my glue tape again to stick a 4X5.25 white paper on the inside of the card to cover the back of the fabric. Voila!
So, there you have it! Super easy, super fancy cards. Stay tuned for some fun birthday ones, as well. Enjoy!

PS. Linked up to some parties!

* WhipperBerry * Nifty Thrifty Things * Craft-O-Maniac * All Thingz Related * Running With Glitter

Messenger Bag Tutorial

Remember THIS fabric for sale at my Etsy shop? It's called Aviary 2 and I've been sewing!
I had to dive right into this new Aviary II fabric and I am already having a lot of fun with it. I decided to make a messenger bag for one of my daughters to put their piano books or dance clothes in. It's a simple design with an inside pocket. It's lined with a heavy canvas for stability. Anyhow, if you are dying to get your hands on some of this super cute fabric, check my Etsy store right HERE.

Avairy II is the featured line for April so...

PSSST  (added in later)  After many requests.... I have a super nice, PDF Pattern of this availabe HERE at the shop.  It is over 30 pages of pictures, daigrams, and details to make the perfect Massenger Bag.

Now, here is thegeneral tutorial. Mostly, I just used my daughters piano book to give me my main starting size. So I will also type general directions based on what I did. Yeah, I forgot pictures. I'm sorry. I'll do better next time. Oh! And before I get too far, HERE is the link about making those lovely melty flowers. I added one on this bag to give a fun little POP of color. It looks great!

OK, here is the unofficial Messenger Bag Tutorial:
1. Gather Supplies:

3 12 x 15 fabric pieces for your bag front and back, and flap
3 12 x 15 pieces of denim/canvas/cardboard (just kidding!) to add stability
1 4 x 20 fabric piece for ruffle
1 2 x 30 canvas for strap
1 4.5 x 30 fabric for strap
1 6 x 8 fabric for pocket

2. Make your pocket
Using your 6 x 8 fabric piece, iron in about 1/4" on all sides. Sew along the top of one long side. Attach your pocket to the center of the front of your bag body. You will need to line up a canvas piece and and fabric peice and attach the pocket to both. Sew the pocket on the bottom and sides. Done!

3. Make to bag body.
Take your other bag peice and canvas peice and line them up. Now place your bag front and back, right sides together and sew around the bottom and sides, leaving the top open. I went ahead and squared the two bottom corners to give the bag some depth. I found a great illustration from mmmcrafts. It helps a TON! I only did mine about 2 inches across, not 3.

At this time I also folded and ironed about 1/3" of the top of the bag down toward the inside of the bag and sewed all aroung the bag opening to create a finished look.

4. Sew your strap.
Take your fabric and canvas strap pieces and make them into a strap. There are a few ways to do this. Here is how I did it. I sewed one edge of the fabric to one edge of the canvas right sides together. Then I turned them, and ironed them. Next, I folded the fabric over the back side of the canvas. I ironed my extra half inch of the fabric over so that it lined up with the canvas and I ironed it in place. Then I sewed a seam along both sides of the strap to give it a nice finished look.

Then, I sewed the strap to the OUTSIDE of the bag about an inch from the top. I folded about 1/3" of the srtap under so it would have a clean finish.

5. Make your ruffle.
Take your last large fabric piece and your 4" x 20" fabric piece. Fold and iron 1/4" of your ruffle piece on both long sides. Now comes the fun part. I put my ruffle near the center of my flap. You can put yours wherever you want. I also drew a pencil line on my fabric piece to help me keep my ruffle straight. Attach the ruffle to the edge of where you want it. Every 3/4" or 1" fold under a tiny bit of fabric and keep sewing. Keep going until you reach the edge of your flap piece. Go ahead and sew the bottom of the ruffle as well.

6. Make your flap
Measure the distance on your bag from one strap to the other, where your flap will go. My flap ended up being 12". SO I trimmed my flap pieces to 12.5" x 12" (I left a half inch for seam allowance. Next, I took a plate and rounded off the corners of my flap. I just drew the line and cut the fabric. Next, I placed the flap pieces right sides together and sewed around everything but the flat top where it attaches to the bag. I turned it right side out and ironed it.

7. Attach your flap.
On the open side of your flap, go ahead and fold about 1/2" of the fabric and canvas in side the flap and iron it. This is just to tuck away the raw edge. Next pin it to the back of your bag about an inch from the top. Sew and ENJOY!!

PS. Be prepared to have your kids oohing and ahhing. These are so fun and super cute. Start to finish... about 1.5 hours. Not bad for a first try.


Linked Up to Some Parties!!
 The Little Birdie *A Bowl Full of Lemons *All Things Heart and Home *All Thingz Related *Today's Creative Blog *House of Hepworth's *Somewhat Simple *Fireflies and Jellybeans * My Girlish Whims * Just a Girl * Sassy Sites * Be Different, Act Normal * Tatertots and Jello * Blue Cricket Designs *It's Sew For You * Today's Creative Blog* Not Just a Housewife * Creative Itch * Quilt Story * Ladybug Blessings * Sugar Bee Crafts* Sew Much Ado * Someday Crafts * Women Who Do It All * Sugar and Dots * Li'l Luna * Trendy Treehouse * Tea Rose Home * Polka Dots on Parade

The Sparrow Has Landed!

As you might have noticed, I've been gone a lot lately. But here's the good news.... I've been gone on an adventure!

I have decided to take my love aof fabric a step further and start an online fabric shop called.... you guessed it.... Yards and Yards! It will be at Etsy for now and you can see it over HERE.

Here are my start-up guidelines for Yards and Yards:

1. Only sell what I LOVE and use myself.

2. I will be selling fabric bundles.... yards and half-yards. Just bundles. Seriously, as a shopper, I like it all bundled, matched and ready to go. So I figure that's how I'll sell it.

3. I am going to be offering a "Line of the Month" where I will really focus on one line of fabric. I'll create tutorials and projects using that fabric. Maybe I'll even do a giveaway here and there.

4. Lastest and greatest. I can't help myself, but I always want those new releases.

So.... here is April's Line of the month. Are you surprised? It's Aviary II by Joel Dewberry and the instant I saw it, I knew it had to be my debut line! It's so stunning and so pretty in person. I knew it would be!

So, stay tuned for some really fun projects using Aviary II. I'm so excited to play witht his stuff!

Psssst..... If you have to have some, you can get it HERE. I'll be adding different bundles as I can. AND for my blog buddies, I have a FREE SHIPPING Etsy code: APRILSHOWERS. Enjoy!

Top 10 Boy Fabrics Announced

I was just checking out the voting for the Michael Miller Fabric Designer contest and they have it down to 10. Two of my favorites made it and even though I have no idea who these people are, I'm excited for them!!

You can see the top 10 HERE. I can't wait to see what else these great designers come up with.

Baby Boy Fabric Contest: Go Vote!

I ran into this contest and I had to check it out. Micheal Miller is doing a contest where entants design a line of "Baby Boy" fabric. They have it narrowed down to the top 75, I believe. You can vote for your pick HERE, at Spoonflower. The winner will get to also design a baby girl line and both will debut at the Fall Market!

It's like AMERICAN IDOL for fabric designers!

I didn't enter so I have NO extra motivation here at all, but these are a few of my favorites:

They are all so different and fun in their little ways. So, you can go see the rest HERE.

Which ones do you like best?