Handmade Espadrilles

Move over cobblers and elves in the night! 

Ever since I was little bitty, I have enjoyed making gifts for friends and family. I've painted pictures, made jewelry, sewed clothes, and I even made personalized placemats for several friends in high school (which sounds odd now that I write about it--but it seemed perfectly normal as a 16 year old!).

  Once I used a leather jacket from Goodwill to make some moccasins for a family gift exchange.  I think the cousin that ended up with them still wears them around the house! 

With the coming holidays fast approaching, I have been planning what gifts I will be making this year. I was inspired by Lindsey over at Sew To Grow, who recently made her own espadrilles.  I had made shoes once before, but never any with an actual hard sole.  I began looking into what it takes, and was surprised at just how quick and easy making espadrilles is!!

I will share tips I learned in making my first pair (yes, I already have others in the works to give as gifts!).  These tips will save you time and money as you make your own pair!

WHAT YOU NEED: 

First, I ordered some ESPADRILLES SOLES from Amazon. You can also order straight from Dritz, the company that makes them. I have Amazon Prime, so they came in a couple days.  These are made of rubber and jute, and are quite well-made. They come in adult women's sizes to 10 (may fit a size 10.5), children's, and toddler sizes!

FABRIC: I had some leftover decorator fabric that was perfect for making these. You want a heavier weight canvas-like fabric for the exterior. I used a broadcloth for the liner fabric (from a dress shirt my youngest son has outgrown). Another decorator fabric, medium-weight cotton, or other woven fabric would be fine for the lining. Just remember that it will be up against your skin, so it should be fairly soft.  This is a great project to use up scraps on! If you do need to buy fabric, you won't need much--1/4 yard should be plenty. 

STABILIZER FABRIC: Dritz sells some of their own, but I just used medium-weight fusible interfacing, and it worked great. 

PINS: Dritz also sells these. Regular sewing pins worked great for me. 

YARN: I used embroidery thread. The directions suggested using this wax they sell to help the yarn smoothly glide. I used chapstick for this. I pinched some chapstick between my fingers and ran them along the thread before I started stitching. 

NEEDLE: The directions recommend a special curved needle. This is also unnecessary. I used a medium-gage embroidery needle. I began with a large one, but found it was harder to pull through. 

NEEDLE GRIP:  Dritz sells a "Needle Puller" set that contains these little rubber tips for your thumb and forefinger to help you grip the needle to pull it through the jute and rubber sole. I used some garden gloves I have that have a grippy coating. They worked beautifully!

Now on to the SHOE CONSTRUCTION: 

The soles come with a pattern and good instructions. I don't have much to amend here. Cut out your pieces, iron on the interfacing, and sew the liner to the outside fabric according to the pattern instructions. 

Steps 10 and 11 in the instructions has you draw a line on the liner-side of the fabric and pin the heel piece along the lines you drew. Then in Step 12 it says, "Topstitch edge of toe."  I would add a couple steps before Step 12, and re-word Step 12 for clarity...

So after Step 11, follow these instructions: 

Once you have pinned the short ends of the heel to the marked lines on the liner side, turn them over to right sides up. With right sides up, add pins along the same places you just pinned. Remove the pins you put in on the liner-side. 

Topstitch across the flat edge of the toe piece. Add a second topstitch 1/4" away from first for reinforcement. 

Now you are ready for Step 13. :)

The pattern instructions have you mark the shoes as left or right using the pattern as a guide. I held my pattern up to my shoe fabric pieces at this point and they were completely identical--I couldn't tell left from right. I marked them anyway, but it never made a difference. They became Right and Left as I pinned them to their soles. But they could have gone on either sole.  

I did pin the center back of each fabric to the center back of the soles to begin the pinning process as it said to in the instructions. 

The pinning went smoothly. The fabric fit beautifully onto the soles. I was getting kinda giddy with excitement at this point in the process. 

Blanket stitching is explained very well in the instructions, complete with drawings. I won't try to improve on these.  I will reiterate that you DO NOT need special yarn, a special needle, special wax, or special grippy tips for your fingers. I used embroidery thread, a straight embroidery needle, chapstick, and gardening gloves. This saved me big $$. 

The final tip I have that you may or may not need is ELASTIC.  I added a 1.5" piece of 1/2" wide elastic to the inside heels of each of my shoes. I hand stitched each side of the elastic 2-inches apart on the inside top of the back of the shoes, so the smaller (1.5 inch) length of elastic will stretch to grip my skinny achilles. This solved the problem of keeping my heels down as I walk. This may not be an issue for you; but if it is, here is a solution!!

I LOVE my new shoes! They are cute and comfy, but even more exciting--they are HANDMADE by ME! 

Participating in these link-ups.

DIY Adult Anna Costume

My youngest, baby, only 5-year-old daughter asked me to be Anna.  That was pretty much all it took.  I had to seize this moment! Who knows if she'll ever ask me to dress up alongside her for Halloween again?!! 

I made my costume in a day. This included going to Wal-Mart to buy all the supplies. (Yes, they were ALL from Wal-Mart--so INEXPENSIVE--Yay!). 

I already had my white blouse and black boots. If you don't have these in your wardrobe already, borrow or try a thrift store to keep the costume cost down.  I also already had the pom pom trim, but similar can be found here or at most fabric stores. 

Here's the breakdown of the supplies and their cost: 

 For the Anna Dress: 

1. I used 1 yard of blue jersey knit fabric and followed THIS TUTORIAL from Altered Cloth to make this simple gathered skirt.  
2. I trimmed the bottom edge of a black camisole to have an angular scallop at the front like Anna's dress does. 
3. I pinned, then sewed on the gold trim--just on the front of the bodice and neckline--and over the straps. 
4. I used chalk to outline the flowers for the bottom of the skirt and the front decoration on the camisole.
5. I used fabric paint to draw over the chalk drawings I made. 

For the Anna Cape: 

1. I used 3 yards of 55"(ish) fleece and THIS TUTORIAL from Skip to My Lou to cut out the two pieces of the cape. The three yards helped it to fit an adult instead of a child (as in the original tutorial). 
2. I sewed pom pom trim to the edge of the capelet (instead of hot gluing--faster and less frustrating!)
3. I layered a strip of leftover fleece (for a tie) between the necks of the caplet and cape and sewed them all together (instead of hot-gluing). A ribbon would work well here, too, but I didn't have any that matched on hand. 

And that's it! Anna is ready!

My costume was a HIT at our church Trunk-or-Treat! There were 2 or 3 little Annas there who would stare up at me with gaping mouths when I said hi! :) And my daughter didn't want to leave my side! She said we were sisters and had to go around together! That made this definitely worth a last-minute effort!

Participating in these link-ups. 

Sail Away Hoodie Pattern

I am in love with this hoodie! It is soft and comfy, has pockets and a cute lined hood. And best of all, it was so straightforward to make! My good friend Grethel designed the pattern, and it is available at a special introductory price right now on Etsy.  

Sail Away Hoodie Sewing Pattern

Downloaded patterns are THE way to go these days, folks. You can make the item over and over again in multiple sizes, and you always have a backup to re-print if part of the pattern gets damaged. I have come to prefer downloading my patterns WAY over the wispy thin patterns I learned to sew with.

Grethel had a team of testers with varying skill levels, sizes, and sewing machines try this pattern out before its release. I can attest to its ease of use and I love the finished product! Truly a year-round jacket!

This pattern gives you the option of using multiple fabrics to add fun contrast. I love how the striped cuffs and hood turned out with this one! 

I just did a contrasting light pink on the hood lining for this jacket.

Participating in these link-ups.

Mermaid Maxi Skirt Tutorial

Easy, cute, and comfy! I love how this turned out! I already have the fabric to make myself one, too. I decided to let my little mini-me model so I could get this tutorial published.

I've seen similar tutorials on Pinterest, but I was concerned about how comfortable the skirts would be to walk in. Adding a seam around the bottom of the already-snug skirt when attaching the ruffle would eliminate the awesome stretchy feature that makes maxi skirts so comfortable. I knew my daughter would want to MOVE in her Mermaid Maxi, so I created my own process to make this as comfy a skirt as it is cute!

Here's what you'll need: 

• Jersey knit fabric (amount depends on size)
• Coordinating Thread
• Elastic Thread

1

1. Measure the circumference of the hips (widest part around the boot-tay), and add an inch. This is the width of your main piece. 

Measure from the belly-button to the ankle and subtract 4 inches. This is the length of your main piece. Cut this piece.

Then, cut a piece of fabric twice the length of your hip measurement, and 5 inches wide. This will be the ruffle. 

2. Fold each of the pieces in half as shown, and cut 5" curves (as shown) through both layers on each piece. I cut the ruffle curve, then laid the triangle pieces over the skirt piece to use as a guide in cutting it. 

3. Sew a lettuce edge along the curve and across the bottom edge of the ruffle piece.  I have an easy tutorial for sewing a lettuce edge here. 

This is an optional step, but it does give it a nice, finished edge that will help it last longer. 

4. Fill your sewing machine bobbin with elastic thread. Use regular thread for the top stitch. Sew a single gathering stitch (regular straight stitch with 4+ stitch length setting and no tying off at beginning or end) across the top (non-lettuce-edge) of the ruffle. Pull the elastic  thread to make a ruffle the length of the curved bottom of the skirt. 

5. Turn the ruffle upside down (right sides together) along the base of the skirt piece, matching up raw edges. Pin in place. Don't skimp on the pins here. Sewing on top of a ruffle is exponentially easier based on the number of pins you use to guide you.  

6. Sew the ruffle in place using elastic thread in the bobbin and tying off with a back stitch at each end. This is the key to a skirt that will move with little legs!  Turn right side out.

7. Fold right sides together lengthwise. Pin the long edge (not the ruffle edge).  Replace the bobbin with all-purpose thread. Sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, or serge if you have a serger.  

8. FOR THE WAIST:  Two options--First (the one I did here): make a shirred waist using rows of elastic thread along the top of the skirt. This works well if you have a small-medium waist. Instruction for the shirred waist option are found here. 

Second option: Make a yoga-style waist. This requires extra fabric. This tutorial shows how to make a yoga-style waist band to attach to the top of the skirt. **Note: the seam on this skirt goes in the front. If you add a waistband, the waistband seam should be in the back--opposite the front seam. 

 And you are finished!  Stretchy, even around ruffle! My little lady was running around, laying on the floor flapping like a mermaid, and wrestling her brothers in it already! And she wore it to church the next day! LOVE! 

This post is visiting these link-ups.

Lovin' the Layers Skirt Tutorial

This skirt has been on my to-do list for a while. I have actually dreamed about the process I used. (Seriously.)  I had these 2 yards of fun orange fabric to use, but I wanted to get it right. I spent tons of time perusing Pinterest for a tutorial on how to make this, but I never found one that had the finished product I was looking for. 

Finally, after thinking, dreaming, and making a plan, I took the plunge. And I LOVE the result. And I had enough fabric left to make a little skirt for my little helper!

I began with 2 yards of 60" jersey knit fabric. My fabric was not heavy at all, which worked well to avoid a bulky-look with the many layers.

1. Measure your waist and cut a 12-inch wide strip of fabric the length of your waist measurement. Jersey-knit is very stretchy, so err on side of snug, not loose.  Sew this piece together at the short ends, right sides together.

2. Fold this piece in half length-wise, wrong sides together. This is your waistband. You can slip it on to see if you like how it fits.  Once you are satisfied, set it aside.

3. Now to the skirt.  Measure around the widest part of your hips/bum.  Add 8 inches to that measurement. Next determine the length you would like. You can use a skirt you own or wrap the fabric around your waist and mark with chalk where you want it to fall.  Now cut a piece of fabric that is the width  of your hips + 8" and as long as you would like the skirt to be. 

4. Fold and pin the length of this piece, right sides together. Sew her up.

5.Using the rest of the fabric, make 8-inch wide loops that  are the same circumference as the body of the skirt. I did this by making an identical skirt body and then cutting it into 8-inch sections. 

6. Pin one of the 8-inch loops to the top of the skirt body (right sides up on both). Be sure to line up the back seams. Sew this in place. No gathering stiches are needed for this skirt. :)

7. Cut 2 of the 8-inch wide loops lengthwise at an angle to look like this. If you need measurements--the short end is about 3 inches wide; the long end is 5 inches.

8. Now the fun begins.  Pin then sew one layer at a time to the body of the skirt. Make sure the layer above covers the top edge of the layer under it. Use the asymmetrical layers to off-set each other. I did 2 asymmetical layers after the first one, then another regular layer. I finished with another asymmetrical one.  Play with your design to get it just the way you want. 

And be sure to line up the seams on the back. 

9. Once the layers are all sewn on, it's time to attach the skirt to the waistband. I used the method I learned from V and Co.'s ruffle skirt. She explains and illustrates it well. I will explain below, but if you need further guidance, go check her tutorial out.

  Slide the waistband over the top of the skirt so it is circling the outside. The raw edges of the waist band will be next to the top edge of the skirt (which is double-layers because of the top tier of the skirt).  Pin the back seams together.  Then find the exact middle of the front of the skirt and of the waistband and pin those together. Now find the mid-point between the front and back of  both and pin at those points.  Continue to find the mid points between pins and keep on pinning. Your skirt will have lots of gaps. That is how to make this a nice, flowy skirt (and not skin-tight), without ever using a gathering stitch. 

Once you have pins at almost every inch around, sew the waistband on.

Turn the band back up, and you are done!

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