tutorial Archives - girl. Inspired.

How to Add an Adjustable Elastic Waistband to Kids’ Clothes

July 11, 2016 by girlinspired 6 Comments

Keeping up with kids’ wardrobes can be a full-time job. Even with three girls exchanging hand-me-downs and swapping clothes, there still seems to always be someone who has “nothing to wear!” We had a stack of shorts in the closet that no one could wear because they didn’t have an adjustable waistband and my girls have tiny little waists. In less than five minutes, I turned each pair of shorts into a useable pair complete with an adjustable elastic waistband. You don’t even necessarily need a sewing machine for this task and it’s quick. Ready to see how simple this is?

Supplies:

pair of shorts/pants/skirt without an adjustable waistband
buttonhole elastic (here’s an affiliate link to the kind I use).
fabric scissors
two 5/8″ buttons
Fray-check (available at any sewing supply store, but here’s an easy affiliate link)

Grab your pair of shorts or pants and check to make sure they have a double layer waistband spanning the back of the shorts. Rub the waistband between your fingers if you’re unsure and you should feel the two layers of fabric. The waistband is going to act as a tunnel for your elastic. Check also to make sure that the pathway is clear. I found a small tag stitched onto one waistband which “blocked” the tunnel – simple fix – I used a seam ripper and removed the tag from the pathway.

Measure a piece of buttonhole elastic just long enough to span from one side seam to the other (i.e., half the waistband). See how this specialty elastic already has the buttonholes in it? Makes our task so easy!

At each side seam (or about 1/2″ to the back of each side seam), separate the front of the waistband from the back of the waistband. We’re going to snip a small slit in the INNER waistband piece at each side seam. Cut carefully – be sure that you don’t cut the front of the waistband (which will be visible on the outside of the shorts) and that you don’t cut through the stitching along the top or bottom edge of the waistband.

Apply Fray Check to the snipped holes to prevent them from fraying unnecessarily.

Choose two buttons and stitch them alongside each snipped hole – the buttons should be sewn toward the front of the shorts from the snipped holes. They should be at right about the side seam, as long as you snipped the slits 1/2″ to the back of the side seam.

Finally, attach a safety pin to the end of the buttonhole elastic piece and thread it through one slit and out the other. Try the shorts on your little one and pull the elastic over the buttons for the perfect fit. So simple, right? Your kids will thank you!

Simple and Stunning Cake Decorating Techniques

January 5, 2016 by girlinspired 7 Comments

Happy New Year! My kids are back in school, the holiday decorations are packed away, and my house is in complete disarray as we have turned our attention back to finishing the floor installation project. Remodeling gets exhausting, I tell ya! But we just keep going back for more! Anyhow, I have a few projects and posts that I didn’t want to get buried in the holiday jumble, so I’m looking forward to finally sharing these with you. If this is your year to develop your cake-decorating skills, I have a few simple tips to get you started! Grab a cake and some basic supplies and learn these four simple cake decorating techniques! Surprise someone this Valentine’s Day with your awesome new skills!

Technique #1: The Rose Cake

Supplies:
6-inch cake pan
Wilton Decorator Icing (3-4 Cups)
18″ decorating bags, large coupler set, and piping Tip #1M
Wilton “Rose Petal” icing color
cake mix/ingredients

Bake cake in 6-inch pans and level the top off of each layer. One batch of batter will make two 3-inch layers. Tint several cups of icing to desired shade of color. Slice the tops of the cake layers off with a bread knife and stack them, filling between each layer with an even coat of icing. Spread a thin layer of icing, typically called a crumb coating, over the entire cake and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before continuing. This will allow the icing to firm up so that the crumbs do not get dragged into the icing when you continue to decorate your cake.

Fit a large piping bag with a large coupler set and Tip #1M. Fill with remaining tinted icing. (You can coat your cake with another thin layer of icing before piping the roses if you’d like. Since my cake was light in color, I did not.) Cover the cake by piping swirled roses over the entire thing. These are simple to make. Hold the piping bag and position the tip where you would like the center of the first rose. Squeeze the icing while swirling the tip in a counter-clockwise direction until you have formed approximately a 2 or 3-inch rose. You can make these any size, really, they should just be uniform across the cake.

Continue piping roses over the entire cake. Fill in any gaps with small swirls – they’ll blend right in. You can find more detailed information and tips for making a Swirled Rose Cake, here.

Technique #2: The Pulled Dot Cake

Supplies:
Wilton Easy Layers Cake Pan Set (or 6-inch cake pans)
1 recipe of Swiss Meringue Buttercream (or other icing suitable for cake decorating)
18″ decorating bags, large coupler set, and piping Tip #1A
cake mix/ingredients

Bake, level, stack, and fill your cakes as described above for The Rose Cake.

This cake takes a little time, but it’s also quite simple. Starting at the base of the cake, pipe a nickel sized dot using Tip #1A. Use a small icing spatula to drag the dot to the right. Pipe a second dot over the “tail” of the dragged dot. Drag the spatula again over this dot. Continue to pipe and drag subsequent dots in horizontal lines over the entire cake. Work in circles around the top of the cake.

Technique #3: Cupcakes with a Decorative Shell Border

Supplies:

“Tea cup silicone cupcake holders” (affil)
cupcakes
Wilton Decorator Icing (3-4 Cups)
Wilton “Rose Petal” icing color
18″ decorating bags, large coupler set, and piping Tip #4B
Fit your piping bag with the large coupler set and Tip #4B. Squeeze a small amount of icing onto the top of the cupcake and spread evenly. Working around the top edge/side of the cupcake, pipe a shell border. You will want to work on the side of the cupcake versus the top of the cupcake for the best result. Lightly squeeze the icing to form a bead, then drag your piping bag to the right while releasing pressure on the bag to form a tail. Overlap your next bead on the tail of the previous one. Continue around the border of the cupcake.

Technique #4: Cupcakes with Piped Peaks

Supplies:
cupcakes
Wilton Decorator Icing (3-4 Cups)
Wilton “Rose Petal” icing color
18″ decorating bags, large coupler set, and piping Tip #4B

This technique is especially easy and lots of fun. It gives a unique look to your goodies. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top of the cupcake. Then, use piping tip #4B to cover the treat with piped peaks. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the cake. Squeeze a small amount of frosting, then release and lift straight up to create a peak. Continue to cover the cupcake.

Doll Clothes Panel Tutorial

March 12, 2015 by girlinspired 9 Comments

I recently ordered up a pile of this gorgeous Wiltshire Daisy fabric by Carina Gardner for Riley Blake; when the set arrived, I discovered the absolute cutest surprise. This fabric line includes a panel of doll clothes with the pattern pre-printed – all the parts and instructions together! Addie helped me carry the mysterious package up from the gate and neatly unpacked all of the fabric, so when we saw the doll panel, she claimed it for herself! I sewed up the doll panel to share on the Riley Blake blog and I also sewed up a simple little matching dress for Addie.

Although the step-by-step instructions are included on the doll panel, I wanted to take this opportunity to outline the steps in a visual way – I’ll show you below how I sewed together the blouse, capri pants, and bag contained on the doll panel. Some of these steps are just as indicated and some of them are shortcuts that I made, so feel free to deviate. Let’s get started!

Blouse:

Carefully cut each piece from the doll panel – pin labels onto the pieces if you need help remembering what each piece is. Do not discard the instructions.
Match two collar pieces and sew around the curved edge. Trim seam allowance with pinking shears. Turn right side out and press well. Repeat for other set of collar pieces.
Sew the front and back bodice pieces of the main blouse and lining together at the shoulder seams. Press seams open. With main bodice right side up, place collar pieces at the neckline, matching the front of the collar pieces in the center of the neckline. Baste into place using a 1/4″ seam.
Serge along the bottom edge of the lining bodice pieces (front and backs). Serge along the inner back edges of the main bodice piece. Place the bodice lining over the main bodice and collar, matching right sides together and raw edges around the neckline. Stitch up the inner back edges and around the neckline.
Turn bodice right side out and press well. Baste together the main and lining armholes.
For each sleeve piece, sew a basting stitch between the notches. For the sleeve trim, fold the trim piece wrong sides together lengthwise and press. Matching right sides together and raw edges, serge the trim to the straight edge (sleeve bottom) for each sleeve. Press the seams up toward the sleeve and topstitch if desired.
Pin the top of sleeve, right sides together at each end of the bodice armhole. Continuing pinning up from each end until you reach the basting stitches. Pull the bobbin threads of the basting stitches to gather the center of sleeve and fit it into the remaining portion of the armhole. Stitch sleeve into place. Serge seam.
8. Turn the bodice inside out. Match the sleeve trim ends and bodice front and back along the side seams. Sew together to form the blouse. Serge to finish the side seams. Fold back the excess edge on the inner back seams. Serge along the bottom hem. Fold up the serged edge.
Top stitch down each side of the inner back and along the bottom hem.
The blouse is complete!

Capri Pants:

(Note: I sewed the capri pants together differently than the instructions indicate.) With right sides together, match the two front capri pieces and sew/serge along the curved-inside top of the capri. Repeat with the two back capri pieces – the notches are on the top of the back capri pieces. Follow panel instructions to attach the waistband to the front top of the capris as shown.
Fold the front waistband to the inside of the capri pants and topstitch it into place from the topside. Match the front capris to the back capris along the side seams and inseam of the legs. The back of the capris will extend up beyond the front waist band, so match them from the bottom up. Sew the pants together at the side seams and along the inseam. Fold the back waistband of the pants toward the inside (fold along the notches) and stitch it into place leaving the sides open. Insert a 5″ piece of 3/8″ elastic into the back waistband and stitch it down along each side – stitch right through the layers of the back waistband and go back and forth a couple times to secure.
For the cuffs, match the short ends of the cuff piece right sides together and sew. Press the seam open – you should have a cuff loop. Match the raw edges, wrong sides together and press to the cuff. Now, with the pants right side out, slip the cuff over the bottom edge of one leg, matching the raw edges. Sew around the leg and serge to finish the seam. Repeat steps for the other leg and cuff.
Fold each cuff down and press the seam toward the top of the pants. Topstitch if desired (not shown). Fold up each cuff and press well.

Bag:

Place one main and one lining bag piece right sides together and sew across the top edge. Turn the pieces, matching wrong sides together and press. Topstitch along the top edge.
Fold each hand piece right sides together and lengthwise. Sew across one short edge and along the raw long edge. Use a chopstick to turn each handle piece right side out. Press well. Topstitch 1/8″ from each long edge.
Place both handles side by side, centered on the bag bottom. Stitch to join the handles to the bag bottom at each end as shown.
Flip the bag bottom right side out and press the side seams toward the bag bottom. Topstitch to secure the seams where the handles are joined on each side as shown.
With right sides together, fit and pin one side of the bag bottom to one main bag piece from Step 1. Stitch, then serge together – be sure you pin the pieces first so that the curves fit together correctly.
Repeat for the other side of the bag. Serge the unfinished seam. Turn the bag right side out and you’re done!

In addition, there is a darling little headband with quick and simple sewing instructions – I didn’t detail the steps here because it’s so straightforward.

Now, send your little one to go dress up her doll while you whip her up something cute to match! I highly recommend that whatever you make, it include a Peter pan collar!

The cutest, right? Addison is smitten with her doll’s new outfit and her sisters are waiting for me to order up two more doll panels for them! I’m hoping to help the older girls sew the clothes together themselves. We’ll see! I just love the cute, coordinated outfit and it doesn’t get easier than having all of the pieces already printed up in one place!

Introducing Five and Ten Designs – Volume 1

July 22, 2013 by girlinspired 10 Comments

I’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, keeping a secret for quite a while now. And today is the day that I get to make a very VERY exciting announcement!!! I have collaborated with some of my very favorite sewing friends to create an eBook with 10 amazing dress designs that I think you’re going to love! Five & Ten Designs is debuting today with our first pattern book, Volume 1. The basic premise behind our work is this: we’ve taken one basic pattern block – the bodice block in this case – and from that, we’re showing you how to design 10 totally unique dresses!

The designers behind this new venture are: Jessica Abbott from The Sewing Rabbit, Delia Randall of Delia Creates, Jessica Christian from Craftiness is Not Optional, Heidi Kettner of Elegance & Elephants, and me, Stef! Get it? Five Designers – Ten Designs – Five & Ten Designs!!!

Grace was all over it when it was time to model the first design – the basic dress for Volume 1. I put together this tutorial and it is used as a foundation for several of the other looks in the book. It’s your staple dress – lined bodice, full gathered skirt. Perfect for embellishing or whipping up a closet full to practice your basic sewing skills. If you’re ready to take the leap into garment making – this dress is the place to do it.

And then when you’re comfortable with the basic techniques of constructing a sleeveless dress, you can delve into some of the more complex designs…there are pattern pieces for a cap sleeve, peter pan collar, even pockets! And then step-by-step instructions and high resolution photos to guide you through each of the ten designs.

I am so excited to debut this book…there is so much potential here for sewists of all skill levels! I’ll show you more of my other design later this week – I think you’re going to love it!! Bet you can’t guess which one it is – haha! Alrighty! Please check out 5 &10 Designs and consider putting some of the amazing designs in our Volume 1 book to use! See more of all the designs HERE or click below to purchase the eBook!

Princess Crowns Tutorial

July 8, 2013 by girlinspired 50 Comments

One of my most favorite DIY projects EVER are the lace princess crowns I made for the girls’ birthday parties. I was pretty pleased with myself last year when I made the first set of crowns, adding color and glitter to the ideas I’d seen online. Since then, I’ve made several more crowns and after Addison’s Princess and the Popstar party a couple weeks ago, I have some updates to my original tutorial to share.

Choosing Synthetic laces vs. cotton lace – the synthetic laces seem to hold their intricate detail/shape better than the soft cotton laces, such as the vintage trims I used in the past. Look for wider designs with a lot of variation in the trim for taller crowns.

Saturate the trim in fabric stiffener, swipe off excess with your fingers, lay the lace flat to dry in a straight line on waxed paper. Turn several times to ensure all of the holes in the lace are clear of excess stiffener.
This is an excellent summertime project (particularly here in the dry heat of CA – not sure how humidity effects drying time). I was able to add stiffener, dry out the lace, paint, and glitter the crowns all within about a half a day. When I made them previously in January, it took several days. After each step, I set the lace outside to dry – temperature was about 90 degrees that day.
Apply one coat of acrylic paint to both sides in the same color as the glitter you’d like to apply. Allow to dry.
To add glitter: choose a very fine glitter – this makes all the difference. This glitter from Martha Stewart Crafts worked a million times better than anything else I’ve tried.

Use a foam brush to apply a thin layer of Mod Podge over the painted lace. Sprinkle with glitter. Shake off excess glitter. Set out to dry (this doesn’t take long). Flip over. Apply a layer of glitter to the other side.

Immediately overlap and hot glue the ends of the lace together to form a circle. Use this tip to dry the crown into the perfect circular shape. Set outside to dry for several hours or overnight.
Store crowns the same way you dried them. I have mine all stacked on one take-out container after the next.

Super cute, right? I love these crowns!!! And I love knowing that I can make them in a snap in this hot weather! Have you made one yet?

For more details and pictured instructions, you can see my original tutorial here.

DIY Disco Ball Pinata

July 3, 2013 by girlinspired 9 Comments

No doubt that a DIY disco ball pinata is an essential at any dance/popstar super cool type party, right? I felt the same way when we went to the birthday party of our favorite preschool teacher’s little gal! Dorothy had a dance party with two awesome disco balls, so after scouting out the uber cool aunt that made the pinatas, I slid into the seat next to her to get the full scoop. She was so sweet to tell me how to make them and even sweeter to let me share her secrets with you! So, here you are – the DIY Disco Ball Pinata instructions.

You start with a cheapy beach ball from the drugstore and blow it up nice and full. Then, paper mache your heart out. I used strips of newspaper dipped in a flour, water, Mod Podge mixture (just dump a little of each in a bowl and mix it up – I think the ratio’s pretty flexible, but maybe a cup of water, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup Mod Podge). I did three layer of paper mache over the beach ball – letting each layer dry completely between. It held quite a bit of weight in toys/candy and the kids got several turns each before it finally came open, so don’t go too crazy with a million paper mache layers. Leave a hole for deflating and removing the beach ball and filling with goodies (if you dare let the kids break it open). Once the ball has been removed and you’ve filled the pinata, insert a hanging device – I lucked out by having a child’s skirt hanger – one of the kind with the circular hook at the top that goes over another hanger – know what I’m talking about? I gently bent the ends to get it in the hole and then that circular hook at the top was perfect for tying the rope to later to hang the whole thing. So, once you have your hanging device, lay a little plastic wrap over the opening and then add a few more layers of paper mache around the opening to seal it up.

Now, it’s ready to be transformed into a disco ball. The special trick is stainless steel-look contact paper – I used less than one roll and got the contact paper from Home Depot. I’m not going to lie – this is a total pain and took a solid four hours of continuous work with the help of two kids (who actually were quite a big help on this one!!) The back of the contact paper has gridlines which made it easy to cut 1″x 1″ squares – a zillion of them!

Balance the ball on its end and draw a horizontal line all the way around the center of the pinata. Begin in the center and peel and stick your contact paper squares all the way around. The contact paper has little brush strokes on it, so I rotated these every other square. With your first line in place, work up and down from the center until you cover the entire ball. And that’s it! When you finish, you’ll beg your child not to break the thing open, but seeing as how they helped you pick out and stuff all the toys and candy inside, they will say no, and you’ll cry a little. But it WILL be super cool and all the kids will love it, so there’s that.

It’s been over a week since the party and the shell is still sitting on my desk – can’t bring myself to toss all that flashy work!! Think you’ll make one?

For more paper mache pinata ideas, you might enjoy this tutorial for Flower Pinatas.

How to Add an Adjustable Elastic Waistband to Kids’ Clothes

Simple and Stunning Cake Decorating Techniques

Doll Clothes Panel Tutorial

Introducing Five and Ten Designs – Volume 1

DIY Disco Ball Pinata

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