Butterfly Change-ups: Guest Post

I am very excited to have Hayley guest blogging here today!! She is a super talented, amazing sewist. I love all her projects and I'm sure you will too! Thanks so much Hayley!!!
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Hey everyone.  My name is Hayley from Welcome to the Mouse House and I am very excited to be here at Esther's blog today to share a fun tutorial.  Thanks for having me, Esther!

My daughter Ainsley is 3 years old and she LOVES accessories that coordinate with her outfits.  I came up with a super cute and easy way to add some flair to the clothes she already owns.  The best part?  It uses scrap fabrics, which I have a TON of!  

Butterfly Change-Ups

Turn your basic clothing into unique, changeable pieces!

From plain...

To accessorized and interchangeable!

Supplies Needed:

*butterfly template (found HERE)

*scrap fabric

*scissors

*buttons

*clothing that you want to embellish

*thread

*sewing machine

*button hole foot

(optional items)

*fabric stiffener 

*plastic wrap

*cardboard

Let's make some butterflies!

Gather your supplies

I have included two sizes of butterflies in the printable templates.  If you want larger or smaller, it is very easy to switch the printing percentages to get the size you want.

Grab the fabric, cut out your butterfly template and start cutting.

Cut as many as you would like.  More butterflies are going to give a fuller end result, but they will also be heavier, so keep that in mind for the tshirts.  I used 2-3 large butterflies for the tshirts, but 4-6 butterflies for the smaller accessories.

After cutting, stack them on top of each other.

Sew a button hole in the middle of the stack.  

Do that with all your stacks of butterflies

Pick out the buttons you would like to use

And call over your little helper to see what buttons she would like

Sew the buttons onto your clothing items

I chose to sew a large button on the middle of the tank, a smaller button on the pocket of the shorts, and a small button on the elastic headband.  Obviously, you can put the buttons wherever you would like.

Now, attach your butterfly change-ups wherever you would like!

Not only can you create different looks with the outfits and hair accessories, but they are all removable for washing purposes!

Optional

This step is totally optional, but I really like it because it gives the fabric more body.  I use a "fabric stiffener" when I want my fabric to have some hold.

For this step, you need to grab the stiffener, plastic wrap, cardboard, and your fabric butterflies

Spritz each butterfly (and each layer) with a generous amount of fabric stiffener.  

Once wet with the stiffener, lay each butterfly right side down over top of a tented piece of cardboard covered in plastic wrap.  Let dry for at least an hour.  You can speed up the process with a hair dryer.  (the reason you lay it over the tented cardboard is to give it an angled shape!)

Repeat the process for all the butterflies

Once dry, they have a definitely starchy quality and they won't flop around.  Again, this step is totally optional!

Hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial!

Check back next week to see another butterfly tutorial on my blog

(sneak peek!)