The Arrowhead Skirt: A Tutorial from Craftiness is not Optional

I'm so excited to announce that our guest blogger today is Jess from Craftiness is not Optional!

I like to pretend that Jess is my best blog buddy that I've never met.  She's funny and talented and has 3 super adorable girls just like me (ok, so the third one's gender is still up in the air, but I'm calling girl right now, sorry Rory) and I totally want to steal her wardrobe.  I've been reading her blog since before it was called Craftiness is not Optional, and loved every second.  I admire her so much that I'm even willing to try to like the Hunger Games because she loves it so much (still trying...)  You guys will all know her for her fun sew-a-longs, funny and stylish outfit-a-day posts, and her detailed tutorials*, like the one she's sharing today!

Hop on over to Craftiness is not Optional for the full tutorial and tell Jess we said what up!

*Jess, did you know that you have tutorials named after 2 of my 3 girls?  I can suggest a name for your next project.... :)

Painterly Skirt: A Tutorial from Elsie Marley

Today's guest blogger is Meg of Elsie Marley!

We knew Meg would be down with our great skirt sew-along because she is the genius behind the Kids Clothes Week Challenge.  Sewing is always more fun when there's a whole crowd of people participating with you, plus you get daily inspiration and eye candy from their projects, which is always the best part!

Meg's here today to share another variation on printing on fabric with paint.  We saw Disney's version with veggies earlier this week, and now Meg will show us how you can further customize your fabric with self-made stamps.

We love this idea for the same reason we love Spoonflower - it means you're only limited by your imagination when it comes to fabric prints.  Let's face it, there are only so many ways to construct a skirt to make it unique, but the embellishment options are virtually endless.

So head over to Elsie Marley today to get the full tutorial!  Thanks Meg!

The Overskirt: A Tutorial by Happy Together

Today's guest post is coming from the first of FOUR Jessicas who're guest posting this week. FOUR. But that's cool, 'cause each one is individually awesome. This particular Jessica writes Happy Together, and has been a resident of our Reader foreeeever. Why? Because her style is colorful and fresh and girly and fun and she serves it all up so sweetly.

Her contribution to Skirt Week is completely in line with that. Check this out:

It's no accident that Skirt Week falls right now - what we'd consider the skirt-y-est time of the year - because it's getting warmer and sunnier and moods are brightening along with the sunshine. Generally speaking, of course. If it's raining where you are today, just take a look at these photographs. They'll cheer you up lickety-split.

Visit Jessica's blog today for the full Overskirt Tutorial.  So many possibilities!

The Garden Veggies Skirt: A Tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff

Our guest blogger today needs no introduction.  It's Disney from Ruffles and Stuff!!

Gosh, what could we say about Disney that you guys don't already know?  She's incredibly encouraging and warm and genuine and the girl can craft and sew her pants off!  I'm always amazed how she takes everyday objects and thrift store finds and beautifies them.  My current favorite thing, if you haven't already seen it, is how she's including her (newly) 5 yr old daughter in her crafting empire.  Little Paige now has her own series, called PaigeCrafts and so far it's pretty incredible.  In fact, the skirt that Disney is going to share today is not only super cute and comfy, but it makes for a great kid craft too!  You guys will definitely want to pin this on your "summer vacation boredom busters" boards!

Thanks for being the beautiful person you are and providing us with so much lovely inspiration, Disney!  Susan and I are especially grateful to you for providing us with our big break :)

Ok, take it away Disney!  Head over to Ruffles and Stuff today for the full tutorial on her Garden Veggies Skirt!

Skirt Week Spoonflower Style: A Union Jacked Tutorial

I posted yesterday about Spoonflower's skirts - Kim showed us a number of skirts made by Spoonflower employees and some favorite prints. I think I've well established my love of Spoonflower - I've hosted swaps which lead to curating sets which lead to printing alphabet labels. When a spot in our Skirt Week tutorial schedule opened up due to a needed reschedule, I thought this would be a fun follow-up to yesterday's Spoonflower post.

I've mentioned here and there that there's something big in the works. Big enough that I'm doing my best to get the details ironed out before I'm ready to share it. But along the way, a smaller project stole my attention for a bit. This is the way my crafty world works. I'm constantly jumping from one idea to the next, and things are reshaped and organic along the way. Especially when I think I've developed a linear plan.

Today's project started with this pin from friend Natasha. After my trip to London and run-ins on every corner with Cath Kidston wares, I've been eagle-eyed for Union Jacks. I loved the color scheme on the pinned dresser and later started my own "Anglophile" board to gather the Union Jack things I dig. I set out to incorporate the fun flag in some designs that you'll see later. Then I decided that in the nearer term I'd like to see it available for clothing and apparel embellishment. I love that the quilting cotton world offers so much color and creativity, but not that it typically gives us few options for scale. Spoonflower changes that. The availablity of Spoonflower is like a crafting/sewing superpower. If you can dream it, you can do it.

I decided that a 5 x 8 size would be perfect. Printed on buttery organic cotton sateen, it's great for both appliques and piecing. For example, on this 3T skirt and shirt.

I chose 5 color options to start. I could keep going and going and going (and going!) on these, but had stop so that I could start somewhere.

And now I'm going crazy slapping them on everything. Because I'm an addict. The uses are endless. As if appliques weren't already so limitless in application, these'll also make adorable buntings and bags and can be pieced and/or quilted for pockets, skirts and dresses and home decor. There's more to come, but this is what I've done so far. Free cutting templates for "love", the numbers 1-3 and the elongated heart are here.

Want to get your hands on some? You'll find them here, in the crafterhours shop. You'll see all of the options there but feel free to e-mail me if you don't see what you're looking for.

So, here's a quick illustration on the making of the 3T skirt above with a finished length of about 8.5". I posted a handy reference yesterday about skirt lengths for girls and this'll be an above the knee length for a 3yo. Since the Union Jacks here are 5" x 8", a 3T skirt only requires 6 of them. Really, you could go up quite a bit in size and the width wouldn't need to change, just the length, which could be accomplished by lengthening either the waistband, the hem band or both, depending on what sort of look you're going for.

The front and the back are identical.  So the cuts of fabric required are:

Line up the flags in your order of preference and piece them in two sets of 3 

so that when you open it up and press it you've got something like this:

Place your waistband at the top edge of each skirt panel, right sides together. Stitch each with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Use pinking shears, a zigzag stitch or a serger to finish the seam so that it won't fray. Press open.

Press your hem bands in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.

Pin your hem bands to the bottom edge of each of the center flag panels right sides together. Stitch using a 1/2" seam allowance. Use pinking shears, a zigzag stitch or a serger to finish the seam.

Press the hem band down, top stitching if you like.

Place the two skirt panels right sides together, matching up the seams. Pin. Stitch down each side with a 1/2 " seam allowance. Use pinking shears, a zigzag stitch or a serger to finish the seam. If you like, tack the seam allowance to the hem band with just a few stitches to secure the stitching and keep the seam nice and neat.

Fold the top of the waistband down 1/4" and press. 

Then fold down to meet the first waistband seam and press. Pin.

Stitch the folded edge to the bottom waistband seam all 

the way around, leaving an inch-and-a-halfish unstitched.

Thread your elastic through the waistband casing you've created via the inch-and-a-halfish 

you've left open. Stitch the two ends of the elastic together and let it free to live its new life as a waistband. Stitch the open section of your casing closed, if you like. Or don't. 

Beam with pride. Wince slightly as you hand your work over to a jumping 3 yo who's dying to wear what Mama made. And make excuses to get it back for photographs before she smears PB & J on it.

Would you like to win a set of 9 flags? You can see them in the crafterhours shop. To enter to win, go to our Facebook page and comment on the Union Jack post there telling us which color is your fave. We'll select a winner on Friday, June 8th - the same night that Skirt Week pools close to new entries for the competition phase.

So, after all of that-- are you a fan of pop art Union Jack? (My kids will be wearing these each and every day between July 27 and August 12. Although some cute "Yay, USA" duds are required too.)

Twirl Through Spoonflower Skirts: A Guest Post

Today's guest blogger is not one of our usual suspects. Until today!

Some years ago a woman turned to her husband and said "wouldn't it be cool if you could just print the fabric that I want but can't seem to find anywhere?" 

He got to work. And now any of us can print EXACTLY what we want onto fabric. So when it comes to making skirts we can design our own prints or choose from thousands that are ready to use -- and THEN we can choose the "substrate". Are you thinking of a quilting cotton? Organic sateen?  Linen cotton canvas, cotton silk, poplin, interlock knit... they're all at the ready. It's kind of mind-bogglingly cool. If you haven't met Spoonflower yourself yet, I can't recommend it highly enough. Even if you're not into designing yourself, the browsing is just sooooo fun, and no matter what print you choose, you can apply it to whatever type of fabric is best for your project.

My first experience with Spoonflower was as a result of hosting an I Spy swap. Our relationship has grown since then, and as a result I was able to talk directly with the woman that inspired Spoonflower, Kim. Today she's agreed to share her thoughts on Spoonflower fabrics for skirts and share a few skirts that've twirled around Spoonflower's space in North Carolina. Here's a little look:

I love this look at some of the people behind Spoonflower and their fabric choices. Head on over to hear about skirts, designers and fabrics straight from Kim! There's also a super cute Spoonflower Skirts flickr pool here for you to enjoy!

A Note on Sewing Skirts for Girls

As Skirt Week fun rolls on, I thought this was worth sharing.

Often kids tutorial writers default to "grab a skirt that fits your kid and trace it" or "go measure your kid's waist". But if you're sewing for someone else's kid, that's not so helpful. If I'm making something in a size where one of my own kids won't work, I go to a standardized chart. It's funny to call them that, since there is a bit of variation, but for skirts I like this one that I found at Children's Place. I appreciate that it helps you figure out where you want your skirt to fall. I'm almost always aiming for just above the knee, but if I'm looking to break out of my above the knee rut - at, mid-calf, tee* length, and ankle are included.

That's it. Back to the weekend. If you're sewing for Skirt Week, can't wait to see!

*I think they might've meant "tea" length. 

Accordion Pleated Skirt: A Tutorial by Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy

Today's guest post is from our long time real-life friend, crafty gal, and mother of THREE boys, Stacey of Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy!

Stacey is one of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out, and she is a wonderful mom and homemaker for her 4 boys (her husband is a boy too :)  She's always coming out with beautiful home decor and adorable duds for the kiddos and fun projects to keep them educated and entertained.  Run don't walk to her blog to check out this Crate and Barrel knock off pillow she made.  I was super impressed thinking she found fabric that matched the original pillow exactly, but it turns out she designed that fabric herself!  With a sharpie!!!  The lady's got skillz.

Today she's sharing a tutorial for the very ladylike and on-trend Accordion Pleat Skirt.

Head over to Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy to get the full tutorial and check out the other fun happenings, like her Clothes for Boys sew-a-long and her Books for Boys series!

Thank you so much Stacey!  I can't wait until the day when we live in the same time zone again!