sewing Archives - Page 17 of 36 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Super Girl (Updated)

October 25, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

Sienna wants to be a superhero for Halloween. I made her this outfit using my hoodie pattern…..but I tapered it a little and added a skirt to it. It is SO hot here today I left off the sleeves. I have a great pattern by Burda for a vest/jacket (that I still plan to make one day before Sienna gets too big)….and I like how they do the armhole trim like you see below…..almost like a men’s athletic shirt. (See the bottom of the post for the directions for armhole trim)

I shaped the center pieces to resemble a “Wonder Woman” belt.

The hood trim is larger than normal….almost like a boxer’s robe. The stars on the hood trim and belt piece were added using a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint. Jacquard paints are the best I’ve used….they are soft and wash over and over again without fading! The color I used is Sky Blue and is by far my favorite color.

The hood is her cape.

During naptime today I made some wrist cuffs with stars.

To make the wrist cuffs, I cut 2 pieces of ribbed knit (with spandex) into 6″ x 6″ squares. I used my large star scrapbook punch to cut out 2 stars from Pellon Wonder-Under and applied them to some scrap yellow knit.

I sewed the appliques on first.. Then I folded each one right sides together and sewed the long end. Turned them right side out and sewed the ends together to complete the cuff.

Arm hole trim:
To sew the arm hole trim you basically need to cut a piece of ribbed knit (with some spandex) in the following shape. Iron the fold and leave it folded. Sew it around the edge of the armhole (open edges lined up with the raw edges of the arm hole) before closing your side seam:

Updated: Photos of the cuffs…..we went to a Halloween Carnival this afternoon.

(Holy cow….my roots are 8 inches long….time for extreme makeover this week)

Now she wants a pony……she chose the biggest one! Not scared at all!

It was SO hot….look at those flushed cheeks!

Wedding Part I: The Ring Pillow

October 21, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

In 2 weeks we head back to North Carolina for my little sister’s wedding! I’ve got a lot to get done before then! Sienna and I finished the ring pillow last night. My sister sent me a ton of photos of what she wanted and a box of fabric to match her dress….

Here is how I made it:

I cut two 11″ x 11″ squares.

I sewed all the way around the squares using a 3/8″ seam and leaving a 4 inch gap to turn it inside out (large enough for my hand to fit in as well).

Then I cut two long strips measuring 6″ x 48″ and 10″ x 48″ and folded each in half right sides together. I sewed the long end closed using a 3/8″ seam.

I took the larger of the strips and turned it right sides out (I did not iron because I didn’t want any creases) and tucked one end into the other…..

……and sewed the two ends together using a blind stitch.

With a needle and thread, I sewed a gathering stitch all the way around the fabric “tube”…..

….until it looked like a large ruffled flower:

I took the square pillow and turned it right side out…..

…and marked the center using my disappearing ink pen.

I pinned the large ruffle flower to the center of the pillow attached it by hand-stitching it to the pillow in between the pleats.

I repeated the entire process using the smaller fabric sleeve.

I “smushed” the small ruffled flower into the pleats of the large ruffled flower and hand stitched them together.

I cut a 4″ circle from the fabric….

…..and stitched around the folded edges….

….to form a small yo-yo.

I placed the yo-yo face down into the center of the ruffled flowers and used a blind stitch to attach.

I took the shadow box I made of my grandfather’s military things from our photo wall……

….and used his United States Navy pin for the center. He passed away in 2003 suddenly and I always thought he would live to see all his grandchildren get married.

My sister wanted some bling, so I added some rhinestone buttons.

Here is my little helper before bed handing me buttons as I sew….we look so disheveled, oh wait, we always look disheveled!

Lastly, I sewed a small ribbon between the ruffle layers for the rings to be tied on with.

One ring pillow finished!

Next project: Sienna’s Flower Girl Dress….I’m drowning in tissue paper….this is scary….I can’t even figure out how to cut the fabric!

A Crown for the Frog Prince

October 19, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

So it took me a while, but here is a template and instructions for a frog crown (you can print the crown pattern at the bottom of the post). You can modify it to have more “spikes” if you want or shorten it a little…..but it will be a good starting point if you want to “crown” your little frog prince. The original frog beanbag pattern is here.

Step 1: Place 2 piece of fabric right sides together and pin your template together with them. I use a disappearing ink pen to trace my crown just to make sure it is perfectly proportioned when I cut it out.

Step 2: Carefully cut out the crown pieces and re-pin together if necessary.

Step 3: Using a 1/4″ seam, starting at the bottom middle of the crown, sew all the way around the crown. You might want to draw your sewing lines with your disappearing ink pen to make sure your point are perfect…..because if they aren’t you’ll be able to tell! Make sure to…….

…….leave a small 1.5″ inch gap at the bottom so that the crown can be turned right side out.

Step 4: Carefully cut trim the seam allowance around the points…..

….and notch around the “valleys”, otherwise you will have too much bulk when you turn it right side out.

Step 5: Turn the crown right side out. Use a skinny object like the end of a small paintbrush or the dull end of a kabob skewer (that is what I use) to push the tiny points out. Then iron your crown flat.