Adding Ears to your Bimaa Hoodie - Template and Tutorial

IT'S HERE!

The Bimaa Sweater - Hoodie version with EARS!!!

Let's jump right in, shall we!?

First, download the ear template and assembly instructions HERE.

Cut out and assemble your ears (bear ears? mouse ears? not sure! :) by following the instructions included with the template:

I have two sets of ears pictured above because I didn't know which fabric was going to play best with the camera.  Neither did haha, but the pink won out in the end.

Here's what you'll have. But two of them:

DIY Flower Crown - Tutorial

I want to say first - in case you're like me and prefer not to use glue if possible, and cringe at the prospect of hand-sewing - that this crown is made entirely on your sewing machine.

NO GLUING.  NO HAND-SEWING.

HOORAY!

Emmy has a favorite book called Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?, and it sits firmly at the number two spot in our nightly rotation.  It's such a cute book.  The little girl in the story wears this crown of flowers wherever she goes, whatever she's doing - even if she's playing in the rain and mud.  So I decided to make Emmy a crown, too!  To wear while she's licking furniture or pretending not to eat the dog kibble.  Haha, that's my princess.  ;)

My goal with this project was total durability.  I want her to be able to REALLY wear it all the time, if she so chooses! So it also had to be totally comfortable.  I thought about using glue, but I don't like how it gets so hard and lumpy.  Plus, I'm not the tidiest gluer.  Plus my friend Beth has my glue gun right now #bethonblast.  So that was out.

Then when I was fiddling around with store-bought headbands Emmy has, it dawned on me - sandwich the flowers in between two headbands.  Then, an even better idea - make the whole shebang from scratch!

Want to make one, too!?

Emmy-Approved!

You will need:

                                   - 36 inches of Fold-Over Elastic (FOE) (more info below)

                                   - Faux Flowers (specifics below)

                                   - Sewing Machine

                                   - Thread to Match your FOE

A critical detail your flowers need to possess:

They need to taper out at the bottom of the stem.  Most faux flowers that are on a vine like this will have that wider end - it's the part that sort of 'plugs' into the vine.  Know what I mean?

This is crucial for your flowers to stay put within your crown.

First step:  Have your helper pull off a bunch of flower sprigs, while you're readying your FOE!  

A few things about fold-over elastic:

It's awesome.

It's soft as all get-out.

It comes in a bazillion colors and patterns.

It's incredibly easy to work with.

There are tons of applications for it's use.

A few cool FOE projects:

Five-Minute Women's Skirt

Baby Leg Warmers

Underthings for us Grown Gals

A Few Places to Buy FOE:

Etsy

eBay

FOE Your Diaper

So here is my 36ish inches of FOE - note it's folded in half.  You can also use two 18ish inch pieces if that's what you have.  Emmy has a pretty sizable melon, so in my opinion this measurement would fit ages 2 probably up to 5.  For the little'ns (2 and younger) I would cut it maybe an inch smaller.  

Or just wrap the FOE around the intendeds' head to get an estimate of length - and remember, this stuff stretches well, even after we sew it!

Line up several sprigs along the FOE to get a sense of how many you're going to need:

I ended up needing one more sprig than I initially laid out here.

Pin the ends of your FOE together, overlapping all 4 layers:

Zigzag stitch over your pin (we're livin' on the edge!), making sure to catch all layers:

Now you've essentially made a double-decker headband:

Now we're going to make the first little slit for our first sprig.

Near the seam you just sewed, pinch one layer (the outer layer) of the FOE like so:

Snip a very tiny hole in the center of the FOE - there's a groove running down the middle of fold-over elastic - that's where your going to snip.  And remember, this stuff stretches, so the hole needn't be as big as your stem:

Tiny snip!

Insert your first sprig into the hole you snipped, all the way until you reach a fork (or whatever other geographical feature your particular flowers have):

Now we're going to zigzag stitch over the part of the stem that's in between the two layers of FOE:

The key here is to lock in that wider part of the stem.  Where it's wider, use a wider stitch, and as the stem narrows, make your stitches more narrow.  This will ensure that the stem can't be pulled out:

My stitch widths varied from about 2.5 to 6mm at the widest point.

Tack down the stem at various spots, with various stitch widths, and also right up against the opening itself:

Now, lay your next sprig on top of the headband, in line with the first.  Do you want the flowers more compact?  More spread out?  Up to you!  Mark with a pin or with your keen eye where your next snip needs to be, and snip:

Try to keep the previous flowers out of the way when you're sewing the next ones in line:

Continue all the way around, until you are back to whence you started!  I had seven sprigs in total, but this will depend entirely on your flowers and your spacing.  Also, any bunchiness or weirdness will straighten out beautifully once on the wearer.

Done!  Put atop beautiful babychild:

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial!  Hit me up if you make one!

I truly can't WAIT to see the variations you make!

Have a great week everyone,

cheers!

Summer Tank, and How to Add a Back Neck Opening to Tops

G'day!
So here is my most recent sewing success...

A super easy breezy summer tank!  Remember when I made this top out of a Onesie?:

I knew then that I would need to make jabillions more of them.  Pompoms are just so underutilized, right?!

This ridiculous (in a good way) fabric is Delphinium by Phillip Jacobs.  I've had it forever - I've been on this kick lately to start using these fabrics that I just want to save and stare at forever and ever.  It's hard!  But when the result is a cute little tank like this, it stings a little less.  ;)

I did make and use my own pattern for this tank.  I am/was willing to make it presentable and upload it, however, just a short while ago the super talented Kelli from True Bias introduced for download her Toddler Swing Tank pattern - which also happens to be in a size 2T - and is similar in style to my tank.  Her pattern is heaps more professional than I could hope for mine to be, so I'd recommend heading over there if you'd like to make a tank like this one!  Tell her Sarah sent'ya.  :)

Not so invisible stitching :P

Check out my label!  More on that later.

Emmy has a huge head.  Let's just get that right out into the open.  When I draft patterns for her, I am never 100% sure that the thing will fit over her head.  So I almost always make a back neck opening with a button and loop, to make SURE her big'ol noggin' will fit into these garments.  I made this tank the other night, so the lighting wasn't optimal for detail shots of how to do this.  So alternatively, you get this fantastically professional and eloquent sketchy tutorial on how to make a back neck slit/opening on a top that doesn't have a back center seam.
Enjoy!

Forgot to mention in Step 4. - Stitch down about 2½ inches.

On my tank I pinked the edges (Step 10), and I think it looks great!
You could also use this technique on existing tops with too-tight head holes (lolwut), and on bigger kids or grown up tops!  Just adjust the scrap piece, and how long the opening is, accordingly.
When you've finished these steps, just proceed as you would normally when finishing a neckline - with bias tape, or turning and stitching, etc.  Don't forget to insert a button loop in there, too.  Or you could sew on a hook and eye when all is said and done.  Up to you!

So there you have it!  If you have any questions, or just want to make fun of me, leave a comment below!
The weather has been cold and rainy up here in the Northeast, so when it gets nicer out I'll post some pics of Emmy in this tank on my Facebook page! 

Happiest of Fridays to you, my friends!

Please Pin responsibly. If you like something you see here that isn't original to 
EmmylouBeeDoo.blogspot.com, please click through to the original Author's post. 
Thank you!

Twisty Bubble Skirt - Tutorial Variation

Hello!  Happy just-about-weekend to you!

So, here is the variation of the Bubble Skirt...

Eeee!  I love the JUNK out of this skirt!It's a simple variation on the original - just a little tweak to create the twisted look:

Fun, non?!

So let's get right into it!

The steps to make the twist come in around the middle of the original tutorial.  We'll start the fancy business once you get to this step:

Are ya there?  Ok.  Let's twist.

Here you have your Inner and Outer Skirts sewn to one another.

Now, pin as shown bellow.  These pins are just to create handy reference points.  They go only through the single layer of the top Outer Skirt:

Ok, now pull the Inner Skirt up into the Outer Skirt, matching the center back seam.  Leave the pins where they are - don't poke them through both layers of the skirt.

Now, using the center back seam of the OUTER Skirt as reference, move the center back seam of the INNER skirt to the left.  How far you move it over depends entirely on your taste and your fabric.  I thought I was going to move mine all the way over to the left side pin, but I ultimately moved it to only half way between the center back and the left side:

Now - test out your Inner Seam placement.  Smoosh the skirt together at the top to mimic the gathers, and see if you like the effect.  If there's too much twist, bring it back towards center.  If there's not enough twist, venture out further!  Hold it up to see - don't leave it flat, like I have it pictured below.  You won't know the real deal unless you let gravity do the work.

Once you are happy with your twist, pin through both skirts, along the top.  This will hold your twist in place so you can go baste:

That's IT for the variation!

Head on back to the original tute for the last few steps!  Just basting, gathering, and attaching the waistband!  Hurrah!

Note: my waistband is folded in these pictures - it's not folded in the pictures of the original Bubble Skirt.

I hope you love this skirt as much as I do... I am SERIOUSLY considering making one for me!  :D
Send me pictures if you make one - twisted or not!
And, get the full Bubble Skirt Tutorial HERE:

Much love,