Posts Tagged ‘sewing’

Since I have been making all these dresses, and my little ones can’t sew yet, I wanted to find some ways they could be involved in this ministry so they could develop a servants heart like our Saviour.  Since they love to tye-dye, this was right up their alley!

Didn’t they make a lovely finished product!

A tye-dye birthday party, sleep over or youth group activity benefitting Dress A Girl would be great fun!  E-mail me for details!

To Find out more about Dress A Girl Around the World, click the link on the side bar or feel free to e-mail me at  dagmissouri@gmail.com

A few months ago some friends and I planned a little quilting day.  We had talked about this some time ago when we went to Stacy’s house to make a dress.  Unfortunately, Jess didn’t get to make it to the quilting day, and she was greatly missed!

Stacy’s finished quilt.

Since Stacy and I were expecting, this was a fun time for making a baby quilt!  The girls picked out the pin-wheel pattern which is easily made using a jelly-roll.  You can order one or pick one up at your local sewing supply store.  We enjoyed visiting with Stacy and her kids!  The kids always enjoy being together and almost “non-supervised” play days, I think they like best!   We stayed so busy I didn’t take any pictures of the kids!  You’ll just have to take my word for it that they were here!

My finished quilt.

You may also want to check out the You-tube video demonstration.

Well here we go…get out your jelly-roll!

Group your strips into 4′s and sew them lengthwise together.  You can take time to match them, or just take them off the roll in order and see what you come up with.  You should wind up with 5 groups of 4 strips.

You then need to trim strips to  blocks to 8 inches square.  A cutting mat and rotary cutter are essential!  How did our grandmothers do this without them!!!

This is what they look like.

You should get 4 or 5 per strip, for some reason, I can’t remember! Oops!  Lay them in matching groups.

Pick from different piles 2 different squares and lay them right sides together with the strips going opposite directions.  (this is important to make the pin-wheel!)

I laid them all out to make sewing them easier.  You should have 12 blocks and one square.

Sew 1/4 inch all the way around the whole square.  Complete all other 12 blocks the same way.

 After all are sewn, get out your cutter , mat and ruler again and cut diagonally an x on your blocks.

It should look like this.  Keep all you blocks together…DON”T MIX THEM UP!

Open them and press the seams.

This is what your pin wheel will look like!

After you have done all other blocks, you simply sew your 4 pieces together to make your square (1/4 inch seam).  Press your seams.

When you have all your blocks sewn and pressed you will need to trim them to 9 1/2 inches.

These are your finished blocks, ready to put together!  You should have 12 of them.

I love to use a jelly-roll in quilting, it is so easy to use and there is very little scraps left over.

Sew blocks into strips, press, then sew your strips together and press.

There you have it your finished top!  I completed it with a matching 5 inch border.  Pick out a coordinating fabric for your backing and trim and find a local quilter to finish it out!  That’s as far as I can take it!  A special thanks goes out to Teresia and Shirley, some of our neighbors who saw my quilt on Facebook and volunteered to quilt and bind it for me!  It turned out beautiful…and just in time for baby!

The “girls”, Stacy, Jess & I recently had a little sewing day.  I have never been taught to use a pattern and I was very excited to learn!  The kids had a great time playing.  Mostly the big ones played outside, and the “littles” stayed inside, but every once in a while Eli and Mary Claire would sneak out to play with the big kids.

This is me…learning to cut out my pattern…I still have so much to learn.  I am thankful for patient friends!  We all planned on matching dresses for our little girls and our plan for the day was to have one completed.  Plans change!  Its hard work sewing with 17 kids.   We still left with one nearly completed dress.  I’m hoping after we move I can finish the other one!  I stayed so busy I didn’t stop to take many pictures, so I borrowed some from Stacy’s post.

This is my “almost completed”  dress for Jo Anna.  I think we would all agree that a dress with a round yoke and curved gathered pockets should NEVER qualify as an “easy” pattern.  Having this one under my belt definitely gives me a little confidence!

REALLY…we didn’t put the kids in a cage!

Thanks again to Stacy for her hospitality and patience!  And thanks to Madisyn for lunch and all those yummy chocolate chip cookies!  And to Jess for the “made by momma with love” tag that made the dress extra special!  At the end of the day we sat and visited a little while and then had all the kids pose for a quick picture.  Look at all those kids!  No wonder we didn’t get finished!!!

Madisyn suggested a mommy picture as well and we obliged…

This is a easy project.  I am not a seamstress and am self-taught using a sewing machine, but this was easy even for me.  I never can seem to find a nursing cover when I need one!  It is always somewhere other than where I am sitting and the kids have even been known to use them a capes when they are dressing up!  The little buggers are expensive when purchased in the stores, I have spent upwards of $30.00 to find one large enough to be discreet.  I only had one favorite and was not about to pay that much for another, so I come up with the pillowcase Idea.  I have made several more since and have even given them as gifts.  Now, I can make 6 to 10 for $30.00 depending on what pillowcases I choose!

ITEMS YOU NEED:

• Pillow cases (King Size gives the best coverage) (I spent $9 for 2)
• Sewing Machine
• Coordinating thread
• Iron & Ironing Board
• Scissors
• A few Pins

Directions:

Cut along side and end where the pillow is sewed together (this also remives the seams)

Trim a strip off the cut top edge about 4 to 5 inches wide (this will be your neck strap)

Open up pillowcase and hem down both sides (the bottom is already done for you and the top you will finish in a minute)

To make the strap: fold  in both sides and press then fold them together and sew

  To know the size you need for your strap you can measure one of your other covers or slip it over your hed to see what is comfortable.

Lay the strap out at the unfinished edgeon the wrong side of the fabric.  You can pin it in place if this will help.

Then fold down the top over the strap pieces. 

Then fold up your neck strap and pin it in place.

Press and sew the top edge and the bottom edge of your fold.

Trim all your strings and your are done!

Some pillowcases also come in matching cloth bags.  You can use this to store your cover in your purse or put one in it for a gift!