Girly Classic Ringer Tee

I love all things frilly and ruffly for my little girl!  I remember when I was probably 10 and looking at my baby pictures of me in frilly and ruffly dresses and being kind of disappointed that my mom made me wear those dresses - I was such a tom boy at 10 years old!!!

I'm really hoping Eva Mae doesn't grow into too much of a mini-me!!!  I want her to love all things girly for a little while at least!

I say all of that because I'm turning the Classic Ringer Tee into a girly t-shirt!!!!  Woo hoo!!!
My links to the pattern are affiliate links but all my opinions are 100% my own!!!

I made my first girl-i-fied ringer tee test for the Harem Pants outfit!  Check it out here!

 I noticed that the shoulders were a little low for a girly t-shirt and I wanted to do something special at the neck line.  I am SO EXCITED to show you a cool trick on how to make a pretty scallop neck edge later on in the tutorial!  If you want, just scroll down to where the scallop edge instructions start.

First, you'll need the Classic Ringer Tee pattern - Buy it HERE

Several of the steps in the tutorial aren't pictured because Amy goes over how to construct in her PDF pattern and tutorial!

To start, I traced the original pattern front on my folded fabric but I set the edge of the pattern 1.5" away from the fold.



Next, I free handed how I wanted to shorten the length of the shoulder and get rid of some of the bulk on the sides that would be created from increasing the width of the neck line.

For the sleeves I did the same thing - I cut 1.5" away from the fold.  I didn't change anything else because I'm hemming the sleeve with elastic thread to give more "poof!"  (Or is it "pouf?")

The back pattern piece was cut as is but I did bring the shoulders in about an inch to match my front shoulders.

Now for the FUN PART!!!!!  I feel like Christopher Columbus right now discovering a new technique!  I'm sure it's an old trick out in sewing land but as a self-taught "sewist" I am pretty proud of myself for figuring this out!  Playing around with your machine has it's benefits!!!

Ok, see this pretty scallop at the neck edge binding?  I made it all by machine!!!  The stitch is called "Overlock Stretch" and I'm sure it's not meant to be done on the folded edge of a binding, but no one can argue with the cuteness factor of the final product!!!

Here's what my machine looked like when I created the scallop binding:


(the top notch on the bottom dial shows you what the overlock stitch looks like - kind of like a sideways mountain peak)

Stitch length is set at 2.5 and width is set at 3.5
 

My tension is 5.5

Work on some scrap before putting your neck binding strip on the machine!  This is how I found the settings that worked best for me!  Here's a pic of some of my test stitches
 

Once I found the right combo of width/length/etc I made sure the fabric was 1/8" between  the needle in the left position and the edge of the fabric.  When the needle jumped to the right it would pull the thread against the fabric fold creating a scallop edge! You'll want to go fairly slow so the knit doesn't pull and go off course.  My measurements for the neck binding were 1.5" x 12" but I actually cut it about 4"x12" and folded over.  That way I had some bulk on the side to help guide with my hands.

Here it is!!

(Before sewing this on my front and back I will trim it down to 3/4" which would be the original 1.5"x12" called for in the pattern)

Let me know if any of the instructions aren't clear on how to make this adorable scallop trim!!!  I know that my friend Karen at One Girl Circus is going to show how she's using this technique on the Skater Dress hem!  Check out her blog on Monday for that post!  To attach the binding to the neck you can see picture instructions in the Classic Ringer Tee PDF!  I'm serious, this is a great pattern and one that I'll be using a LOT as my kids grow!

OK, now back to our t-shirt construction!
You're going to sew a basting stitch on the front neck curve.   Gather in the middle of the front and match up the shoulder widths from your back pattern piece.


Find your pattern PDF tutorial and follow instructions for sewing the shoulders!  Sew your front and back pieces and add your groooooooovy scalloped neck binding!

Before you start on your sleeve construction do the same thing you did to gather the front.  Sew a long basting stitch and gather at the center point of the sleeve.  Pin the sleeve to the front and back of your shirt and sew just like in the tutorial (Step 6 on the PDF tutorial)

 

Follow step 7 in the PDF tutorial and sew up the side seams!

Instead of finishing my short sleeves like in the tutorial I technically "shirred" the hem by using elastic thread in my bobbin!  There is no need to be intimidated about this trick!  Shirring is so easy if you've never done it before!  Check out my pinterest board with links to help you learn!

I did the same thing to the bottom hem - it just gives it a little extra ruffle!  (That hopefully my daughter won't look back and roll her eyes at when she's 10!)

Thank you so much for learning along with me!  I would love to see your garments using either the t-shirt tutorial or the scalloped edge trick!  Send me an e-mail or link so I can check out your projects! And if you would like to follow along with my other sewing adventures, check me out on Bloglovin' or Facebook!!!

 

  

 

Happy 4th of July!!! (And Sale!)

 

I hope you have a great weekend celebrating our nation's independence!!!  Thank you to all the service men and women for your sacrifices!  I read a great quote on Facebook this morning:

"America will be the land of the free only so long as it's the home of the brave."

I am very thankful for our brave soldiers and veterans!

I'm an affiliate for Peek-a-Boo patterns and there's a great sale going on now until July 7th!  Enter the code "fireworks" and get 1 pattern FREE when you purchase 3!!!
SHOP NOW!

My favorites:
Ruffle Bum Romper
Classic Ringer Tee
Sailor Shorts
Cutie Pie Ruffle Pants

Harem Pants - Feather's Flights

 

I TOTALLY broke out of my comfort zone this week!!!

Heather over at Feather's Flights e-mailed me and asked if I would like to participate in her pattern tour for the Playtime Pants and Harem Pants!  (Also shorts versions!) I have never sewn this style for my kids so I jumped at the opportunity!!!

As soon as I said "yes" I google image searched "harem pants kids" to get some inspiration!  After seeing the adorable versions online I thought about doing an applique on the butt (like this)

Or a black and white stripe (like this)

But that would mean a trip to the fabric store and I had zero time to get that done with both my kiddos in tow!

In the end I think what I had in my stash was perfect for my little girl's personality!!!  No need to make her play a hipster part just yet!

The thing that I LOVE about these pants is the comfy factor!  They are so easy to move around in!

And the front pocket makes it perfect to coordinate prints!!!

Heather has options for woven fabrics or knits when you make it!  Go check out her shop here!

Also, go check out the rest of the girls in the tour and see what they made for their kiddos!


July 1: Suzanne from Winter Wonderings, Wanderings, & Whatnot
July 2: Rachel from Once Upon a Sewing Machine
July 3: RaeAnna from Sewing Mama RaeAnna
July 4: Heather from Feathers Flights
July 5: Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts
July 8: Ari from Max California
July 9: Magda from House of Estrela
July 10: Sophie from The Sisters 4
July 11: Toni from Sugar Tart Crafts
July 12: Celina from Petit a Petit

And would you like to win a copy of the pattern for yourself?!!!  Heather is super generous and will send 1 winner her pattern!  I will announce the winner on Wednesday the 10th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, let's talk about the shirt!!!  Do you love it?

I commented in a Facebook group about how much I loved the Peek-a-boo Classic Ringer Tee but I wanted to make it a little girly! You can see my pattern review blog post here in all it's nautical glory!





What I did to girlify the tee was cut it about 1.5" away from the fold on the front pattern piece and gather around the neck.  I did the same thing to the sleeves!  Then, I shirred the hem of the sleeves and the hem of the shirt to give it a little ruffle!  I am going to make a blog tutorial soon - this was my test version!!!



Before you leave, if you haven't signed up with another blog reader (since Google Reader and GFC have gone bye bye!) please consider using Bloglovin' to follow all your favorite blogs!!!  My link is below!

And since tomorrow is the 4th of July, here's a little firework cutie!  You can read about it here!

Chevron Romper - Rock the Stitch

When Rebecca at Rock the Stitch asked me to contribute along with the ideas for using chevron I knew that I wanted to feature this adorable ruffle bum romper!

Amy at Peekaboo Pattern Shop is so talented with all of her patterns and I used her Ruffle Bum Pattern to make this outfit!
(affiliate link) click here to see the pattern!
This pattern is actually the pattern that I've seen the most sales through my affiliate links!  No one can resist a ruffle bum on a baby girl!





To jazz it up a bit I added the firework embroidery from Embroitique - paired with the red and white chevron print it is the perfect patriotic outfit for a baby! (fabric is Riley Blake medium chevron)

Isn't this scenery gorgeous?  We went to Arrington Vinyards for Memorial Day and it was perfect weather!  I love Tennessee!!!

 

You can bet that she'll be wearing this again on July 4th next week!

 

One shot I forgot to get while we were outside was of the back!

I wanted you to see these adorable ruffles and the crossing straps that knot in the front!  This makes the romper a perfect fit and I'll bet you that Eva Mae will be able to wear it next year too!

The snaps I used for the crotch are the plastic Babyville snaps that you can get in the cloth diaper section at the craft store.  They work the best for me - I've heard that the KAM snaps and snap pliers are great but I haven't tried those yet.   I have the Dritz snap pliers and I can never get the prongs lined up correctly!!! 


I want to thank Rebecca so much for having me share with you guys during this Inspired By Chevrons Series!!!  Do you want to see some more adorable chevron outfits and tutorials?  Click on over to the Flickr group!!!  Rebecca has shared several of these outfits on her blog all through this month so you should also browse through her previous posts here:
http://rockthestitch.blogspot.com/

Happy 4th of July, ya'll!!!

Edelweiss Giveaway and Christmas Pajamas!

Thanks for checking out my Edelweiss Dress and commenting on where you'd like to go if you had the chance to travel!!!  (Click here to read all the comments!)





The winner of the giveaway is Jennifer!!!

Thank you so much for entering! If you didn't win, go check out the pattern shop to buy the Edelweiss and see the other cute patterns by Hey June!

If you're wondering what I would choose for my destination vacation it would have to be either Italy or Germany!!!  Nick proposed to me in the Heidelberg Castle and we've wanted to go back to visit and see our good friends in Leimen.  But Italy has always been our favorite country!!!  Rome is obviously our favorite but the hill towns around Sienna and Cinque Terra are the most beautiful places in the world!  Now I definitely have the travel bug!!! :)

If you haven't seen the tab at the top of my blog, I have a Christmas Pajama order happening now!!!



It's Friday.....which means payday!!!  If you are thinking about wanting a pajama set like this I would love to have you order from me!!!  I am happy to ship to you once your order is complete!  Click the tab or here to get all the details!!!

Have a great weekend!

UPDATE!  Jennifer has the pattern - next winner is

Atabanana

Yay!!!!