mermaid party Archives - girl. Inspired.

30-minute Mermaid Skirt Tutorial

August 31, 2013 by girlinspired 59 Comments

If your little girls are obsessed with all things mermaid, this is THE tutorial for you. There is just something so enticing and mysterious about mermaids and my girls could play “mermaids” for hours, how about yours? Whether your daughter likes dress-up or she’s searching for the perfect Halloween costume, this 30-minute mermaid skirt tutorial is sure. to. please.

To make this mermaid skirt, you will need a stretchy knit – it looks super cute with a regular jersey knit, it can also be made with a lycra/spandex/swimsuit material for a great costume effect! You will need just a small amount of fabric – less than a yard for most children’s sizes. For the quickest construction, use a ruffling foot to gather the fabric for the bottom skirt ruffle and a serger to sew the three seams. Of course, you can gather the skirt ruffle without a ruffling foot and you can sew the seams with your regular machine – and still finish in less than 30 minutes. (be sure to use ball-point needles on your machines and a zig-zag stitch if you use a regular machine)

Are you ready? Let’s get started!

You will need two measurements to make the skirt – your child’s hip measurement and the length from her waist to her ankle. Cut one piece of fabric into a rectangle for the main skirt portion. The width (the direction of the most stretch) should be the hip measurement – 2 inches. The length of the rectangle should be the waist to ankle measurement – 4″.

Also cut:

a strip for ruffling that is 4″ by 2X the width of the skirt rectangle (or 2 x hip measurement-2″)

A waistband piece that is 4″ by the width of the skirt.

Begin by cutting a curve along the ruffling strip and the skirt piece. Fold the skirt in half lengthwise. Fold the ruffling strip in half, bringing the short ends together. Now cut a curve along the bottom (non-folded) corner of both of these pieces. Just eyeball it so that you have a smooth curve rounding off the corners (about 4-5″ up the side of the skirt piece).

Now ruffle the long strip. Feed it through your ruffling foot for super speediness. Be sure to leave the threads long on each end of the ruffle to redistribute the gathers to fit the skirt if needed. If you do not have a ruffling foot, stitch a long basting stitch down the length of the ruffle, pull the bobbin threads to gather the strip. Either way, the gathered strip should be the same length now as the bottom of the skirt piece. Match the gathered side of the ruffle strip to the bottom edge of the skirt, right sides together. Pin in place (or don’t, just check to make sure the length is the same). Stitch or serge the ruffle to the bottom of the skirt. No need to hem!

Turn down the attached ruffle.

Fold the skirt in half with right sides in and match the two sides. Stitch or serge from the top of the skirt down to where the ruffle seam is – do not stitch the two ends of the ruffle strips together.

Set the skirt aside for a moment and grab the waistband piece. Match the two short ends, right sides together and stitch (or serge!!!) to form a tube.

Fold the tube in half along its length to form the waistband.

With the skirt right side out and the waistband on the outside of the skirt, match the seamline in the waistband to the center back of the skirt. Pin the waistband to the skirt, matching raw edges (the folded edge of the waistband will be facing down toward the hem). The waistband should be the same circumference as the skirt, but be sure that the two are pinned evenly around the whole waistband.

Serge together (or stitch – be sure you’re using a zigzag stitch)

And that is it!! Wasn’t it quick and easy?

Mermaid perfect in no time!

Gold and White Polka Dot Fabric can be found at Michael Levine, here.

Blue and Grey stripe knit can be found at Girl Charlee, here.

Teal knit from my local Joann.

Make an Impact with Throw Pillows!

July 31, 2012 by girlinspired 19 Comments

Throw pillows are such a great sewing project – they are simple to sew, quick to finish, and can make a huge impact in any space. I sewed a pile of pillow covers to use as party decor for Addison’s mermaid party.

The color and style that they added to the bland outdoor space was incredible. As a bonus, I used remnants and scraps from the quilts I’m sewing for the girls’ bedroom, and the pillows now have a second (and much longer) life as bedding decor inside!

Add a quick ruffle strip on the horizontal or vertical center of the pillow or stack two ruffles with a ribbon stitched down the middle. Insert pom-poms or other trim around the perimeter. I showed you a while back how to easily make a ruched throw pillow. It looks so nice with its coordinating pillow friends!

The embroidered mermaid pillow took a little longer to finish, but is still a relatively quick project. I made a pieced border out of coordinating scrap squares in varied widths and then embroidered this darling mermaid image onto a white center. You can find Sarah Jane’s mermaid embroidery pattern in her shop. Love her whole new line of fabric, Out to Sea, coming out soon.

I also used a disappearing ink pen and made a square border about 1/2″ inside the white panel. With embroidery floss, I hand stitched a simple border, mimicking throw pillows (from Pottery Barn Kids) that are already in the girls’ room. After embroidering the pillow, I stacked the top with a light batting and quilted it in freehand swirls, just around the border. Just love how this pillow turned out!

Did you notice the finished quilt there under the pillows? I’ve finished one – just two more to quilt and bind! When, oh when, will I be done?

Ocean Waves Ombre Cake – Tutorial

July 23, 2012 by girlinspired 20 Comments

Well, hello!! I’ve missed you! It seems I took a bit of an unplanned break – my husband took 10 glorious days off from work and we just played! He and I even got to sneak away for a couple nights to the coast to celebrate his 40th birthday! It was bliss, I tell you. But, we’re back, I’m back, and I have a few fun things planned to share this week!!

First off, I want to get the mermaid party tutorials wrapped up. I think I’ve covered most everything except for the sweets. I think the Ocean Waves Ombre Cake made a big impact on the dessert table and it really was pretty simple to frost. I didn’t take pictures along the way, but I’ll give you the deets and I did a mini-demonstration on a mason jar, so we’ll see how that suffices.

Supplies:

cake, filling, and dowels to support upper tier
2 recipes Swiss Meringue Buttercream (link will take you to my favorite recipe)
food coloring (I used AmeriColor in Turquoise and Electric Blue)
16-inch pastry bag, large coupler set
Tip #124
Turntable for cake decorating

Specifics:

2 tier cake – 9-inch layers on the bottom and 7-inch layers on the top
Rasberry filling (purchased from a cake supply store)
One batch of buttercream frosting for crumb coating + base coat

( I tinted the base coat of frosting a light blue, but in retrospect, the base coat did show between some of the ruffles and I wish that I would have tinted the base coat of frosting darker for the bottom tier.)

Second batch of buttercream frosting for the “waves” to cover the whole cake
To Frost: Large piping bag, 16 inch, large coupler set, piping tip #124

Ombre effect: After mixing up the buttercream, I added a few drops of color to get a light aqua tint, then scooped one large spatula full into my piping bag. Then, I mixed in a few more drops of color, another large spatula scoop into the bag, and so on, adding the same approximate number of color drops for each scoop. If you could see into the piping bag when I started frosting the cake, you would see an ombre color effect with the lightest frosting at the tip and the most saturated color at the top of the bag – make sense?

Now, to pipe: Hold the bag perpendicular to the side of the cake with the narrow end of tip #124 pointed down and resting on the top edge of the cake. Steadily squeeze the frosting through the tip while turning your cake (a turntable is pretty much a must for this one!!). Turn and squeeze until you reach the bottom of the cake and that is it!!

Oh, yes, and then you can sprinkle the top with some raw sugar “sand” and molded candy seashells.

Other Tidbits:

I typically see this type of ruffle cake done with fondant. I was too scared to try fondant, plus I wanted the cake to taste good. The buttercream ruffles are definitely not as “perfect” as I envisioned, but I think the cake as a whole turned out fun and cool!
It was warm when I frosted the cake – maybe 80+ degrees in the house – not ideal, so if you can work in cooler temps it will be easier. However, if it’s warm, don’t hesitate to stop for a bit here and there to pop your piping bag into the fridge and firm up your frosting a little.
This buttercream recipe really holds up well in warm weather. It was around 90 degrees during the outdoor party and the cake held up fine until slicing time. I refrigerated the cake overnight and up until the party. (The candy seashells, on the other hand, will definitely melt in the heat/sun.
Follow the recipe directions to beat out the air bubbles before piping – you’ll be glad.
Anything else? Questions? Okay! Have fun!

Pettiskirt, Please: A Tutorial

July 12, 2012 by girlinspired 35 Comments

Making a beautifully fluffed pettiskirt for my mermaid princess seemed a daunting task. I had already made the swimsuit and planned to pair it with a fancy skirt that could easily be slipped off for playing in the water at her mermaid party. Once I knew I wanted a pettiskirt, I looked to just purchase one. But I already had a pile of blue chiffon that I had purchased weeks prior and thought I should probably give it a try before shelling out the big bucks for someone else to make the pettiskirt. What I ended up with worked perfectly for the occasion and took one evening to make. I don’t know how the professionals make ’em, but I’m sure this one will get quite a bit of use in this house of girls for years to come.

I snapped some pictures along the way to guide a tutorial, but some parts you’ll have to just imagine (i.e., no photographs, sorry!). I will preface the tutorial by encouraging you to use a ruffling foot to make this. It’s not a necessity, but I don’t think I’d ever get the motivation to make this pettiskirt if I had to do the gathering by hand.

For one pettiskirt, you will need:

2.5-3 yards chiffon (nylon chiffon tricot) – 108″ wide

1/2 yard lining and waistband fabric

1/2″ elastic

TOTAL COST = approx. $15

The hardest part of making the skirt was cutting the chiffon (because it is 108″ wide, it was tricky to fold straight and cut on my cutting mat). You will need to cut strips of chiffon (from selvage to selvage) in three different widths – 2″, 4″, and 6″ (this made a size 3T/4T skirt). Basically, we will start ruffling the narrowest strips, connect them up to the mid-width strips, then ruffle those and connect them up to the widest strips. Does that make sense? And we’re going to make three layers of three-tiered chiffon ruffles, plus a lining layer with a 2″ ruffle along the bottom. I used about 4 – 2″ strips for each 4″ strip…and then 2 – 4″ strips for each 6″ strip, and 1 – 6″ strip to go around the skirt = 1 layer. or 8 – 2″ strips, 2- 4″ strips, 1 – 6″ strip = 1 layer. For three layers of chiffon, I needed: 24 – 2″ strips, 6 – 4″ strips, and 3 – 6″ strips. Plus, I needed and additional 3/4ish – 2″ strips for the lining layer. So, get cutting!!

Next, you will ruffle your strips assembly line style. I did not connect the 2″ strips together before sewing them on to the 4″ strips – I figured the stitching would end up showing a great deal more than the loose edges – I just fed them into the ruffling foot one after the next with no gap. So, I used a 4:1 gathering ratio and stitched the 2″ strips to the 4″ strips, gathering and stitching together, all in one step.

Then, I repeated this process, using a 2:1 ratio to gather/stitch the 4″ strips to the 6″ strips (For the 4″ strips, I would stitch the lengths together first before gathering/attaching to the 6″ strips). Now, you have one three-tier layer of chiffon. Repeat two more times so that you have three, three-tier layers of chiffon. Looking good!! Next, we’re going to make the lining layer.

Gather 2″ strips of chiffon along the bottom edge of one strip of lining fabric. You will want your completed lining layer to be the same length from top to bottom as your completed three-tier chiffon layer, so cut the width of the lining fabric accordingly. Once you have attached the chiffon ruffle to the bottom of the lining, serge any raw edges, fold down the chiffon ruffle, and topstitch if needed to ensure it falls correctly.

Using a shiny/satiny fabric, create a drop-waistband. Cut a piece of fabric 3″ wide by 25″ long. (You can adjust the width here to adjust the overall length of the skirt.) Connect the short edges together to form a tube. (I also serged the edges at this point because it was easiest).

Next, (and there are no pictures for this), you’re going to form tubes out of each layer of the skirt. Baste the three chiffon tubes together and then run a gathering stitch around the top. Gather the chiffon layers to fit the size of the waistband. Form a tube out of the lining layer, run a gathering stitch around its top, and gather it to fit inside the waistband.

Pin the gathered chiffon layers and the gathered lining layer to the waistband, matching raw edges and stitch together. The right side of the waistband should be matched with the right side of the top layer of chiffon, with the lining layer on the bottom (inside). Also, align the seams of the skirt layers with the seam of the waistband; this will become the back of the skirt.

Almost there….Now, fold down the top of the waistband, approximately 3/4″ and stitch to form a casing. Leave a small opening for the elastic.

Measure the child’s waist and cut a piece of 1/2″ elastic approximately 2″ shorter than the waist measurement. Insert elastic into waistband, stitch the opening closed, and you are finished! Woohoo!!!

So? Do you think you’ll make one?

Please let me know if you need any clarification and happy puff making!

Beach Signs – DIY

July 9, 2012 by girlinspired 8 Comments

The beach signs were one of the first projects I started for the mermaid party. I was flipping through a Pottery Barn Kids catalog, coveting every beachy thing, and thought I’d just see if I could draw a mermaid. I think it’s important to know our own limits, and free-hand anything is one of mine. I just cannot draw. I figured that once I sketched a wonky mermaid, I’d see there was no hope, and I could move on. BUT, my little sketched mermaid wasn’t too bad. So I reached into the wood scrap pile in the garage and pulled out a big plywood scrap. I sprayed the whole scrap with a background color, then penciled out the mermaid on top. I painted her in with acrylic paints – it took a couple coats. I used a cookie cutter to stencil the fish next to the mermaid (I also used a seahorse cookie cutter as a stencil for the coral/seahorse sign). I was pretty happy with my first sign, so I gradually added to the group, painting scraps of wood, first with background color, and then with acrylic colors over the top.

For the “BEACH”, “MERMAIDS Always Welcome,”and “BEACH HUT,” I used the same method that I did when I painted my “BAKE SHOP” and “Lemonade” signs. I open a Word document on the computer and find a font with the right feel. I enlarge the letters and print them out (in draft format to reduce ink usage). Then, I lay them out on a board to make sure they’re the correct size for the space (adjust size as needed).

Once I have the sizing right, I cut out each letter and use it as a template to trace. I trace the words onto the background board with pencil and then paint them in.

It’s not the quickest process, but I like the way it comes out.

I went ahead and free-handed the Crab Shack and She Sells Seashells signs and added a stenciled crab (cookie cutter again) and hot glued shells. For the surfboard sign, I made a surfboard template out of cardboard and then traced it at a couple different angles across the board. I had fun doodling decorations onto the surfboards, too.

When I had all of my signs painted how I wanted, I did a little distressing. I sanded them down around the edges and across the fronts and then brushed them with a mixture of water and black acrylic paint. After letting the paint/water mixture soak in to the sanded areas, I wiped the excess off with a rag and my signs were ready for the beach!! What is SO great about this project is that you can have ZERO drawing skills and still pull off some funky, whimsical beach signs. Don’t you just think that the imperfections add to the weathered, beachy feel? Finally! An upside to my poor drawing skills. Also, this project didn’t cost me a dime. I used scrap wood, spray and canned paint leftover from other projects, and acrylic paint from my stash. I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do with the signs now. I really like them out at our play area, but they’ll have to come in this winter. And I should probably coat them with some sort of sealer to help prevent fading – thoughts on that?

Maybe we’ll add to the spread – it’s really fun when you don’t have to be perfect! What sort of beach things would you paint on a sign?

Mermaid Party: The Paper Products

July 5, 2012 by girlinspired 8 Comments

I love the look of paper crafts – all the adorable custom invitations and clever food labels you see out there – love it! But I don’t have the patience for it. It’s ironic that I love blogging so much, but when it comes to graphic design, my motivation goes down the drain. And designing with real paper and art supplies takes me a looooong time. And I dislike my handwriting which leads me back to graphic design on the computer, even if it’s just for text. Therefore….mermaid party guests received email invitations this year and paper products were kept to just a few pretties.

Plastic drink bottles accented with ribbons and a mermaid sticker were quick to make – the kids helped me while dinner was cooking one evening and we were done in no time!

I punched scalloped circles from white sticker paper (which you can purchase at an office supply store) and stamped a mermaid in the center. We stuck it on the bottle, tied a couple ribbons around the rim, and added a cute straw. Stripey straws make everything more fun – truly, they do. Parents could write in their child’s name to keep track of germ sharing. An extra handful of plain white scalloped stickers were provided for adults to write their name and label a mason jar for their own beverage.

I also picked up some bottles of bubbles and gave them a 5-minute makeover by hot gluing strips of paper around the centers and popping on a mermaid sticker.

Same mermaid stamp that we used for the cupcake toppers, see? I suppose you could color and glitter them in for the stickers, too, but I was going for quick!