The Fat Quarter Burp Cloth

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A friend at church is expecting a baby, so I wanted to come up with a little gift for her. I came across a flannel fat quarter at our local fabric shop, and I knew I had to have it. It turned out to be the perfect size for a burp cloth! The flannel is super-duper soft, and the perfect thickness for it. (And, it's such a cute pattern!!)

 You can have this little burp cloth done in less than 15 minutes, even if you've never sewed a stitch before in your life!

You will need:

a flannel fat quarter (I used Riley Blake chevron)

thread

sewing machine

scissors

Cut the fat quarter in half.

With right sides together, sew all the way around the edges at about 3/8", leaving a 2" gap for turning.

Clip the corners. This makes it easy to turn out the corners. Don't clip too close to the sew-line.

Turn right side out and press out the seams. 

Fold and press under the open edges, so that they are even with the rest of the edges.

Sew the gap closed, and continue stitching all the way around the burp cloth. 

Backstitch (sew almost to the edge, turn around and sew over your sew-line an inch, then turn back around again and sew over the edge) when you get to the end, so you don't have to tie the ends. (I just tucked them in with a needle)

Done! Didn't I say it would be easy?

View of the topstiching

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Little Girl's Pillowcase Dress

 So....I really wanted to make some sort of piece of clothing for a kid, BUT I needed something fast and easy. 

Out came the Little Girl's Pillowcase Dress! It's super cute, super duper easy, and it's really fast to make. 

I apologize for the horrible strange quality pictures. The lighting was bad, 

and I had the color vibrancy turned up from a previous photo shoot, so it totally was too bright with all that pink chevron. Oops!!

Since I don't have a little girl to model for me, the pictures don't do this lil' dress justice, but it is seriously cute. 

You can make this in pretty much any size you want just by lengthening, widening, etc.
UPDATE: If you make the dress the size I did, it will fit anywhere from a 3-5 year old, depending on how long you like to have dresses. I prefer them to be below the knee, in which case this would be perfect for a 3-4 year old.

Note: I say "serge or sew" in some places in this tutorial. I serge because we have a serger, but if you don't, just sew the seams at about 3/8". 

I used Riley Blake chevron in gray and pink, with the gray going vertically, while the pink is horizontal.

To begin:

Cut out the pieces as follows:

2 main body pieces: 20 1/2" x 23 1/2" each

2 hem pieces: 4 7/8" x 23 1/2" each

1 neck-tie piece: 3 7/8" x 43"

Iron under the bottom edge of your hem pieces 1/4". Iron under again.

Make sure you treat the selvage (finished ~ NOT cut) edges as the top of your main body piece.

Iron under the side arm seam about 1/4", down to 10 1/2" from the bottom as shown in the picture. Iron under again.

Sew the hem on your bottom hem pieces right next to the edge as shown in the picture below.

Sew the arm seams right next to the edge, like you did on the hem pieces. I found that it was easier to start on the <--- bottom of the armhole, ending at the top. (Yes....my seam is shamefully crooked. That's what happens when you hurry. Don't hurry. Or you end up with a uh...shabby chic seam, as I like to call it.)

Serge or sew each hem piece to each main piece with right sides together, making sure you are sewing the raw edges together, not the hemmed edges!

Serge or sew the body pieces together, with right sides together, matching up the bottoms exactly. Start on the bottom, ending at the armhole seams. Just veer out to the edge once you reach the armhole seams. It's a lil' tricky, but you can do it. 

Iron under the top of each main body piece about 1 3/4".

Sew the seam about 1/4" or so from the edge, as shown. 

Serge or sew the neck-tie piece, with right sides together, leaving one end open.

Turn right side out and press out the seam with a metal ruler, or some un-melty object.

Feed the end through your body piece, and DONE! Hooray! Now to ruin your day: tie the ends and feed them through the fabric. I know. It's really not fun. Once you're done though, it's super rewarding.

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Shades of Chevron Apron

'Bout time Dolly created something, huh? It was SUCH a good feeling to hear that whir-whir-whir-whir-whir-whir of my sewing machine. It had been way too long since I had done any sewing!
You will need: approximately 1 1/2 - 2 yards of fabric, in two or three different colors.  I had 1 yard of the big pink, a fat quarter of the gray, and then I just cut the neck piece out of a yard that I had of the little pink chevron.

So, to begin, cut the following pieces out:
apron skirt: 29 1/2" x 33 1/2"
2 tails: 21" x 4 1/4" each
neck tie: 42" x 4 3/4"
2 waistbands: 21" x 4 1/4"
apron top: 12 1/4" x 20 3/4"

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Iron under the sides and bottom edge of the apron skirt piece 1/4".

Fold the edges over again and press. This forms a finished edge that is ready for sewing.

Sew the sides and hem of the skirt piece, sewing as close as possible to the inside edge as shown.

Next, sew two baste lines (turn the stitch length to 5) at 3/8" and 1/2." Set piece aside.

Now we will take the apron top piece and iron under the sides twice, the same way as we did the skirt piece. Then, fold the top edge over 1 1/8". Press.

Sew the edges and top seams. I sewed the top edge twice so that it is extra strong.

Next, sew or serge the front waistband piece to the apron top, with right sides together. Mark the center of the waistband.

Mark the center and pull the back two basting threads on the apron skirt piece to gather. 

Match up the center marks of the waistband and apron skirt and begin pinning the pieces with right sides together as shown. Distribute the gathers evenly across the piece, leaving 3/4 inch on each end of the waistband.

Sew the pieces together, right in between the baste lines.

Remove pins and the baste line that is visible.

Sew or serge the tail pieces together, leaving one end open. Turn right side out and press, using a metal ruler to press out the seam.

Sew or serge the back waistband piece to the apron top as shown. You will have the wrong side of the apron top together with the right side of the back waistband. Picture it as "sandwiching" the apron top.

Next, iron under 3/8 inch of the back waistband piece so that when folded down, it matches the edge of the front waistband as shown.

Lay a tail piece on the front waistband as shown, with the finished edges coming towards the middle of the apron. Match the top edge of the tail with the apron top-waistband seam. Pin the pieces on in that exact position. Then, fold the apron top and back waistband over the pinned on tail pieces as shown in the last picture. Pin the tail pieces down again through all the layers.

Sew the seam right along the edge of the apron top.

Remove the pins, turn right side out, and voila!!

Sew or serge the neck tie piece, leaving one end open. Turn right side out and press, using a metal ruler to press out the seams.

Fold the open edge in as shown, forming an even, straight line.

Sew the seam, and tie in ends.

Press the apron top BEFORE inserting the neck tie. You are DONE!!! Hurrayy!! 

Let me know if there's any deficiencies in my directions or if you have any questions! Thanks for stopping by!

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