Un Petit français

Translation: A Little French

This skirt reminds me of something that should be worn on a trip to France...don't you think?
I love how it turned out! I used Made's new Market skirt tutorial. I altered the sizing a bit and added the ribbon detail for kicks. The bloomers are the cherry on top for me! Agh! So cute!

After A Lot Of Seam Ripping....

E was being shy for the camera...

Outside, Inside, Wrapped and Ready!

I had a few problems understanding the Scandi Mei Tai Tutorial....maybe it was due to my inexperience....or maybe the instructions were just not as clear as they could have been (but you have to understand that NO instructions are clear for me....I usually have to get Ceri to interpret) . Anyways, after 2 late nights of seam ripping and 5 episodes of Gilmore Girls. The Mei Tai is complete and it turned out beautiful!!!

So excited....

...to recover my carseat! When registering for a carseat, I could not find a carseat that had a cover that I really loved. So instead of waiting it out, we registered for one and I decided to try my hand at making one. I had seen MADE make these adorable carseat covers, and since she is no longer taking orders for them, I e-mailed her and she gave me all the information I needed to make one of my own.

After reading her instructions, I realized that my sewing skills are probably not yet up to par and I would need more detailed instructions. I searched through ETSY to find a tutorial and came across this. Of course I had to get it, and I look forward to starting this soon! Now off to the fabric store to find adorable fabric for my boy's carseat!

Lesson Learned...

I'm making a beautiful Scandi Mei Tai Carrier for my sister's baby shower....no worries...she already knows (I'm horrible at keeping surprises...especially when I want her input on fabric). Now I'm 2 hours into the project and I'm getting confused so I go through the WHOLE tutorial this time and realize that I've made the straps all wrong. And to add salt to the wound I just realized that not only did I make them wrong I made them inside out (in my defense Linen in tough to tell - right?)

Sooo...I guess all there is to do is pop in Gilmore Girls and seam rip away.

Single Layer Ring Sling - Tutorial

There are quite a few tutorials on-line about how to make Ring Slings and they are all pretty good...I've tried most of them. This is the way I make them now after using bits and pieces of others ideas. I don't know the names of the folds...so I hope the pictures are self-explanatory! If something is confusing leave a comment and I'll try to explain better! Enjoy!

NOTE: This tutorial is intended for PERSONAL USE ONLY.

First you need your materials:
2 1/2 yards of a sturdy fabric of your choice. I chose to use Linen this time around.
*Fabrics with no stretch are the best - ie: 100% cotton, Linen. Also, when making a single layer
sling choose a fabric with no "wrong" side. Both sides of the fabric will be showing.
*Don't forget to pre-wash!!!
2 Aluminum Rings
* I purchase mine at slingrings.com
Cutting mat
Rotary cutter
ruler(s)
Thread
Sewing Machine (I've named mine Berdi - she's totally old school and totally awesome!)

**As you can see this projects is relatively inexpensive...especially when you think about how much stores charge!***

Fold your fabric and use your mat and rotary cutter to cut fabric 33inches wide. You want to end up with a large piece of fabric that is 2 1/2 yards x 33inches.

Iron around all 4 sides a 1/4 inch hem, then fold under and iron another 1/4 inch hem (so there is no exposed edges)

Sew around all 4 sides
Fold in half the long way (hot dog style)
*I'm only picky about the side that I will be folding and ironing - I don't worry much about the tail.
Iron down the crease - this crease is just to mark the middle point on the fabric
Open the fabric and then fold the 2 outside edges inward so they meet in the middle. Iron down the creases.
Fold the creased outside edges inward so the meet in the middle again (the width of your fabric is getting smaller). Iron creases of the fold.
Take a marking tool (i don't have anything fancy...i just use a pencil) and mark 15 inches from your folded, ironed end.
Pull the two aluminum rings through the folded fabric.
Match the end to your markings
Smooth down and pin into place.
*I also pin farther down the tail to give the sling some more stability until it's all sewn down.
Go to your machine and line up the pinned edge with the left side of your sewing foot. This first line always ends up matching up pretty close to the stitching of the hem. Sew across the folds.
*I always make sure to back stitch on either side to ensure stability.
Next match up the edge of the sling to the stitching that you just made and go across again.
Third time's a charm for me. Some times I only do two. But this time I did three. Again, I lined up my sewing foot with the previous stitching.

And Voila! Now you just need an adorable child to put in there!
Other tutorials that you may like:
Maya Wrap
Everything In Its Place
Stand and Deliver

YOU TUBE Ring Sling Wearing Instructions

Patriotic

4th of July is my favorite holiday (what's not to like: fireworks, hot dogs, flags, parades....) and I thought it would be fun to make E a little patriotic outfit for the festivities! I got the idea from MADE's bird skirts. Super cute! It was my first attempt at making a skirt and I was surprised at how easy (and fast) it was to put together. The appliqued star shirt added a nice touch. I used THIS blog for direction on doing that...because again, it was the first of hopefully many more appliqueing projects.

Pictures taken by Ceri's husband, John

Here we go!

A year ago we picked up crafting as a hobby in hopes of improving our spare time and have completely fallen in love. We love Crafting of all kinds and hope to use this blog to keep track of all of our projects instead of clogging up our family blogs with them! So...we invite you to come and enjoy the ride with us. Maybe...just maybe someone will get a good idea from this blog - it would make us feel good, seeing as we've enjoyed so many other ideas from other crafters.