Tutorial Tuesday

It's Tuesday! With warmer weather bound to show up soon, I made Leah a little summer top!

I think I got the idea for this shirt at a store, but I can't remember where....

Here's the tutorial:

To make the pattern, I used a t-shirt that fit Leah:

I drew down the side, neck and shoulders. Then I folded the sleeve in for the armhole:

I straightened out the side, drew the length I wanted, added seam allowance just to the shoulder and side seams, and was left with this:

I also drew the lower neckline for the front (about 1" lower at center):

I wanted a back yoke, so I traced the pattern until about 3" from the shoulder. I drew a line straight across and then added seam allowance:

Then I traced the rest of the pattern piece and added seam allowance to the top:

Pattern pieces done:

Time to cut everything out!

I wanted 4 pleats in the back, so I cut the bottom back piece 1" from the fold:

Same for the front, 1" from fold for pleats:

Next, I cut the back yoke on the fold and also cut some 1 3/4" strips for bias tape (not shown):

I also cut a 2" by 19" piece for the ruffle and a 3/4" by 14" piece for the button tabs:

Time to mark pleats! For the back, first I marked the center. Then to the right from center, 1/4", 3/4", 1 1/4", and 1 3/4". Then repeated to the left.

For the front, I marked center, then 1", 1 1/2", 2", and 2 1/2" on both sides of center.

Looks kind of like that:

Then I matched the second mark to the third, and the fourth to the fifth on both sides of center. I sewed the pleats down about 4 1/2" in the front and about 1 1/2" in the back:

I cut 4 1/2" down the center for the opening:

Next, I sewed the back piece to the back yoke, finishing the seam and topstitching it:

and also sewed the shoulder seams: 

Using the bias tape I made from the strips I cut, I finished the armholes:

and sewed the side seams:

I ironed the piece for the ruffle in half, the long way:

and ironed the strip for the button tabs with the long edges meeting in the middle:

and then in half, to make a skinny strip:

Topstitched this close to the open edge and cut it into 4- 3" pieces:

Next, I ran a gathering stitch for the ruffle, and pinned it around the front opening. I basted it down and then placed my button tabs evenly, 1/2" from the top and then every  1 1/4" after that:

After I sewed the ruffle and button tabs on, I sewed the bias tape around the front opening too:

and then around the neck:

I folded the button tabs over and sewed them down:

Finally, I hemmed the bottom and added some 3/8" buttons!

Shirt finished:

We ran out this morning to grab some sunshine for some pictures!

Perfect for Summer!

Sweet back pleats:

A perfect Summer shirt, for warmer days to come!

Any questions? Let me know! :)

Linked to:

Running with Glitter

Creative Itch
kojo designs
Tatertots and Jello

The Mummy Project

I only have one sister (whom I love dearly). Yep, just the two of us! No brothers!

Now you're probably wondering if my husband, Scott, came from a big family? Nope! He has just one sister also. So how did we end up as a mega-family? Well,.... that's a post for another day! :)

Anyway, as I was saying writing, I don't have any brothers. So before Scott and I had any kids, I told him that I would be perfectly happy with a house of daughters! I didn't think I was at ALL prepared to raise sons!

Our first child? A son! I was more than a little nervous to enter this foreign land of male. Fast forward almost 18 years later, I not only have one son, I have FIVE!!

But I shouldn't have worried! God knew exactly what He was doing (of course!)! I love baseball, I can hold my own in a Nerf battle or a round of Super Smash Bros. Melee, and an active game of balloon volleyball? I'm there! :)

So, when my son, Seth, told me that his Bible project was on mummies, it was time to come up with a boy-pleasing presentation! (I hope this isn't too graphic for anybody! Those with sons or mummy projects will hopefully appreciate it!)

First, we made our guy to be mummified:

Love the unhappy face drawn by Seth! :)

What did they do to prepare a guy? Well, they removed the brain out their nose (disgusting, but true):

We made sure our guy had a nose opening for presenting.

Ewww? Totally!

Here he is with his "brain", made from strips of fabric, randomly stitched together:

I'd look unhappy too! :)

Next, they would remove the organs:

I sewed up the "organs" that Seth designed and connected them for easy removal.

Then, came the intestines:

Disgusting? Totally! You feeling the boy-ness? :)

And here's the total project:

Guy, innards, bag of straw to stuff him with (ok, hay, but that's all we had with a pet bunny!), and strips of cloth to wrap him in!

Seth can't wait to present his project!

And for me? Any further desire for a house of just girls? Not for a second! :)

Spring has Sprung

Spring is here!

Yay(!) and groan.....

Why yay?

Beacause of beautiful flowers:

Our magnolia tree,

tulips (some of my favorite flowers),

forsythia,

and snowdrops.

So many pretty flowers to enjoy!

So why groan?

Take a look at our garden:

Do you see the height of that grass??

So sad! My arbor fell down this winter during a windstorm, leaving my climbing roses unsupported!

The end fell off one of our raised beds,

and this is what the corn bed currently looks like. Weeds everywhere!

Lots of work to do! Today though? I think I'll go back to enjoying the flowers! :)

Friday Focus

After entering a contest last week, I'm returning to my mini Mack Friday Focus this week! Today I wanted to focus on another of the littles.

Meet Leah!

• Leah is the tenth mini Mack
• She is our sixth daughter

Here's her newborn pic:

Sweet baby girl!

• Leah was born at a birth center, 8 days late! (UGH!)
• She weighed 9 lbs 3 oz (!!)

My favorite baby face of Leah's:

Poochie lip! hehe!

Don't worry, she didn't make it that often! She usually looked more like this:

• Leah was a happy, mellow baby
• So mellow, in fact, that we took her to Disneyland at 2 1/2 months:

(Doesn't she look thrilled?) :)

and then we returned when she was 1:

and again at 2:

• Leah had surgery just before her first birthday for a clogged tear duct
• She LOVES to have her hair fixed and to wear hats:

of ANY kind! :)

• Leah loves her crib (I have to peek in on her to see if she's awake because she will just lay there until she is gotten!)
• She is totally easy-going
• She has a gentle, happy spirit (except when she gets sick! Then she's a total bear!)
• Her favorite lunch is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• She is loved by all who know her!! :)