Welcome back to Little Stitchers! I took a few weeks off this series to focus on other blog things, such as Shades of Me and now that I have finished with them, we can resume the weekly tutorials!
If you are new, please feel free to catch up on the past weeks:
You may notice that we have a new setup for Ainsley! The old table was just a tad too tall for her to work comfortably, so I found a $10 side table at Ikea that is just the perfect height for her. Then, she also decorated it… like mother, like daughter.
Because the table is lower, it also means that we could use a smaller box to prop her pedal. She chose this sparkly gold box, of course.
Ainsley has been begging me to start letting her make clothes. One of the easiest items to start with is most definitely a skirt. (I promise to come up with some “boy” projects soon!)
I used two fat quarters and a piece of elastic measuring 22 inches (size 5 waist). Obviously, this works for her size and if you have a differently sized child, you will have different measurements.
With right sides together, have your child sew the 2 sides together.
Remind your child about all of the steps we discussed in the Week 2 videos. As they go, they will pull out the pins, very carefully.
The next step involves ironing, which is a job for YOU.
You need to create the elastic casing at the top of the skirt. To do that, simply iron the top part of the skirt over 1/4 in towards the wrong side. Then, iron another 1 inch over.
Once ironed, the child will sew the casing almost completely shut, leaving about 2 inches open in the back. (this is where the elastic will get fed through) They will sew as close to the fold as they can get. Don’t worry, it will likely be crooked and crazy and that is perfectly okay. They are learning!
Once again, it is time for you to get involved. Put a safety pin at one end of the elastic and feed through the casing of the skirt. Older children should be able to help with this part, but it takes a bit of coordination.
Feed the elastic all the way through and join the two ends together and have them sew it together. Then, sew the casing shut.
Iron the hem for them in the same manner as you created the casing. Let them sew it and then they are done!
Now, of course, as soon as Ainsley finished her skirt, she wanted to make a skirt for her stuffed panda bear, Lusa. So, I let her dig through one of the many bins of scrap fabric.
Introducing: Lusa
Because all stuffed animals and toys have different waist measurements, the easiest way to figure out elastic length is to take the elastic and wrap it around the waist and cut to size. Lusa needed a 10 inch piece of elastic.
The same goes for the skirt fabric. Simply eyeballing the height and width is fine… after all, it is for a stuffed panda bear, right?
Ainsley got to work, while Lusa supervised.
Follow the same steps as the fat quarter skirt to create a one of a kind, possibly upside down panda bear skirt that your kid will love.
Seems like Lusa loves it too!
Have her try the skirt on and tell her how proud you are!
Stop back next week for more Little Stitchers!
Hayley
Hayley Crouse is a wife, mother and multifaceted designer. Her love of sewing, crafting, cooking and interior design infuses her daily life and naturally spills over into her online presence. She pushes the envelope of her creativity and hopes that others will be inspired to do the same. She currently authors the Welcome to the Mouse House Blog, is the pattern designer behind Mouse House Creations and is a collaborative designer with Willow & Co. Patterns.
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I can totally see my Alix doing this! I am saving the entire series and am planning on pulling it out in abut 6 months from now, when Alix is 4.5… She’s just a little too… hummm… bull in a china shop right now, haha! I can’t wait to start with her though…
Natalie
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We just finished ours up this morning….I asked her if she wanted to send pics and her exact words were “maybe later”….lol. She is wearing it now! So proud of my little seamstress!
Way to go Ainsley!
Oh I love fat quarter skirts. I can’t wait to see with what you do for boys, my little dude and I are waiting patiently!
I love how happy she looks. Ainsley, not the panda. Well I guess the panda too. This series makes me excited for when my girl is old enough to start making things too. And I love that map fabric. So cool.
She looks so proud! As well she should, really. She did a fantastic job!!
What a great beginner project.
Well done Ainsley!
I’m loving your series. My little R had her first sewing “lesson” just two weeks ago and loves it. Sewing her own skirt will be something to make her just oh so proud. Great idea!
That’s adorable! And well done to Ainsley for making such an elegant skirt!
I am a beginner sewer and not ashamed to say I am using these tutorials to learn myself thanks so much for this series 🙂