Freecycle is for crafters

Have you heard of freecycle yet? Are you a freecycler? Here's why I love freecycle....

That's a whole lot of knitting, crocheting, quilting, and other crafting magazines for....free! I've seen fabric, yarn, scrapbooking supplies, etc posted up for free. I've gotten countless toys, clothes, and other miscellaneous items from freecycle. And, I've given away lots of stuff that we would have otherwise thrown away or hauled over for donation.
Here's the nitty gritty: I get a lot of emails everyday and I have to weed through them to find what interests me. Most days, its nothing. Some days, there are lots of goodies I'm interested in. My local freecycle uses yahoo groups and members post their free wares for those interested. You can get emails one by one or once or twice a day. I've tried both methods and have found that the once or twice per day option is useless. By the time I read through all of the posts, most of the items have already been taken. You have to check your email several times a day and respond immediately when you'd like something. The great thing about the way my local freecycle group runs is that each post states the item and nearby location/intersection in the subject of the post, so weeding through all the posts goes very quickly.
Its not all perfect. One big downside is the number of posts by people trying to get rid of items that are basically useless/used beyond repair. The very first item we picked up was a bike trailer that was purported to need "a little TLC"...turned out there was no tow bar, the tires were rusted on, and the parts were no longer available for that model. We learned a lesson from that first attempt...be weary of "needs TLC" or "needs repair/work" posts.
But, once you get the hang of it, and you get your hoarding tendencies in check, its a great way to supply your craft and toy closets and to pick up some random items you've been considering purchasing. I highly encourage you to check it out at least...perhaps sign up for a short time to give it a try. I absolutely love the idea of passing along perfectly usable items to people who could get some use out of them and thereby keeping items out of a landfill, as well as getting some great things for free. The more people who freecycle, the more great items there'll be to pick up!
Now that I've got a lot of reading to do, its time to pull out the post-its and mark patterns I'd like to try. Enjoy your freecycling!

Seriously cute, simple, panel skirt (photo tutorial)

I was out with the family this past week and saw a little girl wearing the cutest little skirt. I fell in love and knew I needed to make some for my girls. We immediately ran across the street to the fabric store, picked out some fabric. A little planning and a couple of naptimes later, each of my girls have their own panel skirt for the summer. I am extremely pleased with the way these came out and hope you enjoy making one for your own little love.
Below, you will find a picture tutorial for this skirt. Warning, its very picture heavy. I made it in toddler size 2-3 and 4-5 and have included the cut measurements below.

Disclaimer: This pattern/tutorial is being presented for personal use only. A lot of time and effort went into planning and creating these skirts and this tutorial. Please be respectful and do not utilize this tutorial to make items for sale. Thank you.

Supplies:
6 different fabric patters (5 for the panels and 1 for the yoke/waistband and bottom trim)
1/2 yard of Fabric A (for yoke & bottom trim)
1/4 yard of 5 additional patterned fabrics (these will be cut into a total of 10 strips and then pieced together to make the main part of the skirt)
Elastic (I used 7/8 in wide non-roll elastic)
Thread to match fabric

Cuts:

Size 2-3T                                                                 Size 4-5T
Fabric A: 1 strip 5.25 x 26 for yoke/waist                 Fabric A: 1 strip 6 x 28.5 for yoke/waist
               1 strip 3.25 x 51 for bottom trim                1 strip 3.5 x 56 for bottom trim

Fabric B-F: 2 strips each 7.5 x 6                               Fabrics B-F: 2 strips each 9.5 x 10

Elastic: 17.5 in                                                          Elastic: 19 in

Skirt Construction:

If you have a serger or sewing machine with an overlock stitch, start by overlocking all edges of your cut pieces. This will help keep the selvages from fraying and prolong the life of your skirt. (If you don't have this option, don't worry, we're going to topstitch all of the seam down, which will also serve to prevent any fraying of the edges.)

 You may have to piece to sections of fabric together to get the length required for the bottom trim. If so, sew the pieces together first, then press the seam open, and then overlock the raw edges. This will ensure that the seam is sewn into the garment pressed open, which will reduce bulk.

With the right sides of the fabric facing each other, sew all of the strips of Fabrics B-F together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance to form one long strip of fabric. Then join the two ends of the long strip of fabric together to form a loop.


Now its time to head over to the ironing board and get friendly with your iron

Press all of the seams down, ensuring that they all face the same direction. (You are not pressing the seams open for this step.) Set this aside and move onto the yoke/waistband.

Fold down approx 1/4 inch of the top edge and press.

Fold down approx 1.25 inches, encasing the above .25 inch in between the right and wrong sides of the waistband. This will be the casing for your elastic, so hold up the elastic to be sure you're not undersizing your casing.

Press your 1.25" casing down. (If you've done this right, you shouldn't be able to see your overlocked edge)


Let's head back to the sewing machine.

Gently unfold the 1.25" casing and sew together the two ends of the yoke/waistband to form a loop. (You CAN do this step before pressing down the casing for the elastic, but I find it easier to do it in the order presented - just a matter of personal preference).

Sewing closely to the edge of the casing fold (so you can catch that 1/4 fold underneath), sew the casing down, but leave about 1 -1.5 inches unsewn. This is where you will feed the elastic, when the time comes.

Here's our cute little opening into which we will feed our elastic.

Ok, now all of our pieces are almost ready to go (the yoke/waistband, the center strips of fabric, and the bottom trim). Now let's move back to our stripped piece and work on tacking down all of those seams.

Now we are going to topstich the seams down. This serves 2 purposed: to keep the edges from ravelling and to preserve the integrity of the seam after washing. (You *can* skip this step, but you'll find all of the seams will be pointing in every which direction after a couple of washes. While it doesn't affect the function of the skirt, it makes for an untidy and unprofessional finish.) Oh, and sorry for the orientation of this photo...blogger is not playing nice with this pic.

 Here is what it'll look like for the wring side after you've topstitched down the seams. The stitch line on the left is from piecing the skirt together and will not show on the front of the skirt. The stitch line on the right is from topstitching the seam down and WILL show on the front of the skirt.

 Now its time to take the bottom trim and pieced section of the skirt and line up the edges (with the right sides of the fabric facing). Now that their lined up, pin them together. No seriously, PIN them. I'm generally the one to skip the pinning, but it will make your life a lot easier to have it pinned before you try to sew it together. Go ahead and sew it together.

Press the seam down toward the bottom trim. Then, press approx 1/4 and then another 1/4 down on the bottom edge of the trim (using the same method we did with the casing for the elastic).

Topstitch the seam down and sew the bottom edge very close to fold line (see arrows)

Look at what you've accomplished!! YAY!!


Ok, now, if there *is* a "hard part" to this skirt, we're about to tackle it. Its reall not all that hard, but does require a wee bit more patience than the rest of the skirt. At this point, you will notice that the main part of the skirt is significantly wider than the yoke/waistband. This difference will give the skirt that flowy look that's important to every little princess out there.

So, let's get ready to gather the top of the skirt to bring it into the same measurement of the yoke. You can do this my hand, but my motto is "why do it by hand, when I can do it in less time on the machine". So, start with pulling out at least 3 inches of thread (both upper and lower).

Set your machine to the longest straight stitch possible. We only want to baste here, not actually sew it for keeps. Baste the top edge of the skirt at 1/4 in and 5/8 from the top edge (this is assuming you are using my 1/2 inch seam allowance. If not, then sew 1/8" on either side of where your seam allowance will be). Here's what it looks like with both lines basted.

Now, pull the thread to roughly gather the top edge of the skirt. Try to ensure the gathering is fairly even across the entire skirt.

Line up the top edge of the skirt with the bottom edge of the yoke, adjust the gathering as needed, and pin the right sides together. If you didn't heed my advice last time and skipped the pinning, then at least heed my advie this time. The pin not only serve to keep the two edges aligned, they will help ensure the gathering remains even.

If you measured correctly with the basting lines, then you should be sewing between them when you sew the skirt and yoke together. (sorry again for the picture orientation - can't seem to get blogger to cooperate with me)

Here you can see your seam line in between the basting lines. Now, you can pull those basting stitches out. I tend to leave the basitng line that won't show and only pull out the one that will. If you're not sure which one that is, turn your skirt right side out and you'll immediately see which one needs to come out. Go ahead and press and top stitch the seam down (pointed up toward the waistband).

Put a safety pin onto the edge of the elastic and feed it through that opening you left earlier. Bring the two ends together and overlap by approx 1 inch. Sew a line down on each side of the overlap. You really want this to be secure!

Feed the rest of the elastic into the casing and sew the opening closed (again, with the silly photo orientation!)

You've done it!! Step back and admire your hard work!!

Knit Tutu Ballerina Dress for Waldorf Inspired Doll - pattern

Last year I designed a knit tutu dress for my 3 year old who desperately wanted to be a ballerina for Halloween. She absolutely loved it! Fast forward to this week and I thought it'd be fun to utilize my pattern for a custom ordered waldorf inspired doll. An evening of knitting and pattern editting and this is what I came up with. This is my first attempt at posting a pattern, so I hope its relatively clear.

This pattern is for a 14-15 inch waldorf inspired doll. The circumference of this doll at the waistline is approx 11 inches.

Yarn: Bernat Satin
Needles: Size 7
Gauge: 4"=18 sts in stockinette
Other supplies: 48 strips of tulle cut to approx 3" by 7"

Bodice (make 2):
CO 26 sts
Knit 2 rows in st st
Row 3: K1, *k2tog, yo, repeat from *, knit last st
Work 3 rows in st st
Repeat Row 3
Work in st st until piece measures approx 4.5" from cast on edge.

Shape Armholes:
Bind off 3 sts at beginning of next 2 rows (while maintaining st st pattern)
Next row: ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
Next row: purl
Work 2 more rows of st st

Shape Neckline:
K3, attach another skein or section of yarn, bind off 12 sts, knit remaining 2 sts (you should now have 2 separate sets of 3 stitches at each end of the piece, each with their own working yarn).
Work 3 rows of st st
Bind off remaining 6 sts.

Finishing:
Seam together the shoulder and side seams. Weave in ends.
Cut 48 strips of tulle to approx 3" by 7"
Hook a strip of tulle to each yo opening at the bottom of the dress to make the tutu. There are two rows of yo holes and tulle should be hooked through both sets of holes in order to ensure a nice, full tutu. Below is a step by step picture tutorial for how to do this.

Step 1: Fold strip of tulle in half lengthwise

Step 2: Feed the folded end of the tulle through the hole created by the yarn over

Step 3: Open the tulle at the fold line

Step 4: Grab the tails of the tulle strip and pull them through the opening created at the fold line

Step 5: pull tight

After both rows of tulle have been hooked through the yarn over spaces, you should have this result:

Organizing my stash

Anyone with a yarn or fabric stash knows that organizing it is a daunting task. You ask yourself dozens of questions: Do I organize by color? fiber content? weight? quantity? The dirty little secret is it doesn't really matter how we organize it. The reality is that organizing it means we have to own up to our stash addiction, something we'd rather not do. We tell ourselves, "I love this and I KNOW I can use it in a project in the future." The problem is the future rarely comes along. Instead, when we have a project in mind, we run to the local yarn or fabric shop and pick up what we have in mind, completely neglecting our growing stash which is collecting dust in a closet, under the bed, still in their store bags, etc. (Come on, you know its true. Somewhere in your home, you've got a bag of fabric, yarn, or craft supplies that you've completely forgotten you own.)
In our new home, I have an entire closet dedicated to my crafting supplies providing me no excuse to be disorganized. So, I started my organizational journey with my yarn stash - a couple of trips to target and an hour or so of assembly - and here is the result:

The upside: I LOVE organization. It makes me smile and gives me inner peace just to peek in on my stash.
The downside: I now realize I have a ton of yarn that I really need to use before I go out buying up more yummy fiber. Of course, I'm getting ready to start a project and realized that I'm a little light on boyish colors, so perhaps there's still some room for stash improvement.....

Now, onto the fabric....