So Much To Make: women

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Sunday, November 22, 2015

The Ultimate Handmade Gift Guide

As a child I would have trouble sleeping in anticipation of what I would find under the tree on Christmas morning. Would it be that tennis racket I asked for, or a new bicycle. I wondered what my sisters would receive, and would my gifts be as good as theirs. (I'm not holding back here on the honesty!)

But BY FAR the most memorable gifts I have received or given throughout my life have been handmade. My dad was a stock broker in 1987. I know some of you remember "Black Monday," but for those who don't, I'll just say that my parents were struggling financially that Christmas and the next. My parents were excellent about sheltering their children from their stress. My mom made us amazing hand-sewn denim jackets from old blue jeans. They had tuxedo-style lapels, cuffs, and waistbands that buttoned. These were COOL jackets--especially in 1987. She also made us denim skirts from old jeans. When I wore both the jacket and the skirt, I felt like a style MACHINE!

Cabbage Patch dolls were also all the rage in the '80s, and my mom made us hand made dolls that resembled the popular toy. I still have mine and have passed it down to my daughter.

I don't remember much else I received for Christmas during those years, but I have vivid memories of the gifts that were handmade for me.

Handmade gifts are the way to go. I've compiled a list to support my claim:

Why Give Handmade Gifts?

Handmade gifts are more memorable to the recipient (as I established above).
Handmade gifts can be highly customized to fit the specific wants and needs of the recipient.
You'll often save money making rather than buying.
You can avoid the crowds at the mall.
You can truly put your heart into the gifts you give.
Your gift will be one-of-a kind--so truly priceless.
Purchasing handmade gifts can benefit those in need.

Below is the Ultimate Handmade Gift Guide. I have divided it into 6 categories:

Gifts For Her

Gifts For Him

Gifts For Teens

Gifts For Kids

Gifts for Humanity

Gifts of Humanity is my favorite section. I have made a list of charities that sell handmade gifts, the purchase of which will directly benefit those who made the items in the form of food, housing, education, and job training. Either I have, or someone I know has worked with each of these charities directly. You can trust that your support will be used effectively.

Now, onto The Guide!

Gifts for Her

Layer Skirt

Get a few measurements from the recipient (or their significant other), a couple yards of jersey knit fabric, and a couple hours. She'll LOVE the cute and comfy finished product!

Poncho Shirt

This is my top sewing post, and for good reason. It takes very little time and the results are fabulous. These look great layered with a long-sleeve under or a cardigan over.

Espadrilles

Yes, you can make these cute shoes by hand! They take about 2-3 hours to construct, and will be forever remembered by their recipient!

Shift Dress

I was a pattern tester for this simple dress and liked it so much that I made a second for a wedding I was attending. I receive compliments every time I wear it, and so will whoever you make one for!

Gifts for Him

Running Sleeves

I made some of these for my husband. He wears them a TON. Does your guy play basketball? Soccer? Flag football? These are great. You can make them for a fraction of what they cost at the store, and you can choose a color that he'll love.

Flat Front Pants

Does your husband's wardrobe need some updating? I have you covered with this alteration tutorial. To my knowledge, this is the only tutorial of its kind on the internet. (This may be as much of a gift for you as for him!)

Camp Stove

This post links to directions and gives advice on making your own alcohol stove. The link at the end of the post for the V-8 stove tutorial was done by my son. This is a great handmade gift for a son to give his father.

Gifts for Teens

Sleep Mask

Someone gave me one of these when I went to college and I used it a ton! We all know that teens value their sleep. Why not help them make it more sound?!

Indigo Shibori Tie Dye

This ancient art form can be used to make clothing, accessories, and decor. Make the trendy tie-dyed item for them, or make them a kit to do it on their own--they'll love it !

Contrast Sleeve T-Shirt

This simple tutorial teaches you to turn an ordinary t-shirt into something teenagers will love. Contrast sleeve tees are in style for boys and girls, and this method will work for long or short sleeve t-shirts.

Handmade Skirt

This was one of my first tutorials, and it is still a favorite. Whip one of these up for your teenage daughter or niece in a trendy fabric, and she'll love you forever!

Gifts for Kids

Dry Erase Travel Kits

I made one of these for each of my kids before a big trip and they were wonderful! They are also great as a quiet activity to take to church or meetings where children are expected to sit still.

Chalkboard Advent Calendar

This is a gift that would be truly cherished by the children who received it. My kids look forward to filling out the activities on the chalkboard and turning around the numbers each day to see what part of Christ's life is highlighted.

Girl's Hoodie Jacket

I was a pattern tester for this adorable hoodie. My daughter wears hers regularly. The pattern can be used for sizes 2-16Y, so you can really get your money's worth out of it. Make one for every girl you know!

Mermaid Maxi Skirt

This is the perfect gift for the girly-girl. Whip one up in a couple hours using some fun knit fabric. She'll love it!

Gifts for Humanity

African Promise Beads

I am friends with the founder of this awesome non-profit. From the website: Through the sale of African Promise Beads, Ugandan women are empowered to become heroes in their communities, providing for their families and supporting orphaned children’s education and nutrition through their skill and productivity.

I own several necklaces, bracelets and earrings from APF, and I have given them as gifts to family and friends. They are truly works of art, and knowing their purchase is doing so much for those in need makes the gift even sweeter.

Daughter's Rising Artisan Wares

We have all heard the horrors of sex-trafficking around the world. Daughter's Rising is a non-profit dedicated to helping victims of this awful practice regain control of their lives, as well as empowering at-risk girls through education and training.

The purchase of the jewelry, scarves, purses, and other beautifully crafted pieces will support this important effort.

World Vision Hand-Crafted Gifts

I recently participated in a project with World Vision and my women's ministry to set up basic housing needs for 6 refugee families. This faith-based organization helps thousands of children here in the United States as well as around the globe who are impoverished, orphaned, enslaved, or abused. They provide what they need. Any way you can give to this organization will help children. And isn't that what the spirit of Christmas is all about?

Amazon Smile

Okay, so this isn't a handmade good. But I wanted to share this amazing charitable opportunity I recently learned about. From the site: "AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. You can choose from nearly one million organizations to support." Pretty great, huh?

Whether or not you use any of the links I have listed here in my Handmade Gift Guide, my hope is that this post will get us all thinking outside the crazy crowded holiday mall shopping, and help us to instead focus on the love we should feel for one another as we give.

Participating in these link-ups

Sunday, January 11, 2015

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. 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.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Poncho Shirt Tutorial

I have 6 sisters and one brother. Don't pity him. A boy's favorite thing to do is tease, and he had (and has) all the teasing he could ever want. Anyway...

Two of my sisters have birthdays this month, so I decided to get back into sewing gear (I haven't done much during summer break), and make them something.

This idea for a poncho shirt has been swimming around in my brain for a while. I have a shirt from Charlotte Russe that is similar to these, but is not as long as I would like it to be. I looked at the basic construction of that shirt to come up with my plan for making these. They are easy and fast to make, and oh-so versatile. I could see them with a cardigan over or a long sleeve under in the fall and winter. Enjoy!

1. Begin with a 27" x 60" piece of fabric. I used a chiffon. A knit would work well too. I would not use anything too heavy or stiff. You will also need coordinating thread, and elastic thread.

2. Fold the fabric in half so it is a 27" x 30" rectangle, with the fold at the top. Find the center of that top line and mark it with chalk. Draw out a front neckline as shown--about 8" in diameter (I know it's light--but it is there in white chalk, I promise!).

Draw the back neckline (not shown). This will dip only about 1/3 as low as the front line does. Both can be drawn on the top layer of the fabric.

3. Use two rulers to draw out shoulder lines. Start at the ends of the neckline, and angle the rulers down as shown (about 2 inches at the widest part of the triangle above the rulers).

4. Cut along the the shoulder lines through both layers of fabric.

5. Cut along the back neck line through both layers of fabric (it is the neck line that doesn't dip very low). Here I have already cut the back neck.

6. Cut ONLY THE TOP LAYER OF FABRIC across the front neckline. I cut mine halfway, then folded it across as shown and continued cutting, using the folded piece as a guide so it was sure to be symmetrical.

This is what it should look like at this point. Not cute yet, but soon it will be!

7. Turn the fabric right sides together and pin the shoulders together. Stitch in place with a 1/4" seam allowance.

8. Once the shoulders are done, turn it right side out again. Find the middle of the base of the shirt and mark it. Carefully draw and cut a curved line from the base of the shirt to 1/3 of the way up the side.

Here you see one side cut. Notice how I left some flat at the bottom so it doesn't come to a point.

9. Fold the half that you have cut over to the other side and use it as a guide to cut the other side.

Here is what your shirt looks like completely unfolded at this point.

10. Press and hem all the way around this piece. Also press and hem around the neckline. I found that double stitching looked nice around the neckline. It helped it to lay nicely.

Here it is all hemmed up. :) Almost done!

11. Measure 9" down and 3.5" in from each side of the shirt, and mark it with a pin.

12. Pin through both layers of the shirt going straight down 12 inches from the the first pin you placed. Your pinned shirt should look like this.

13. Put elastic thread on the bobbin in your sewing machine. If you aren't familiar with elastic thread, it can be purchased in the thread section of the fabric store. You can put it on the bobbin the same way you do regular thread. The elastic is what gives this shirt the flowing, wavy sides. Use regular thread on top.

14. Stitch along the pinned lines through both layers, tying off the stitch at the beginning and end with a back-stitch.

15. Iron (using coolest setting for fabric), along the elastic thread. This helps it draw up more to add a little more waviness.