Dolly Creates

Friday, March 29, 2013

Easy Half Apron

Easy Half Apron

~This looks like a long, hard pattern but it is actually very easy!
You will need:
1 piece of fabric of your choice 44 x 20 in. (main piece)
1 piece of coordinating fabric 22 x 4 1/2 in. (waistband)
2 pieces of fabric (matching or a contrast color - I used white) 31 x 4 1/4 in. (ties)

Make sure you start out with washed and ironed fabric!
1. Mark the half and quarter way points on your apron and waistband. (this helps you line them up perfectly later on) Mark your tie pieces on one end 1/4 inch from the bottom edge and 5/8 inch from the end.

hem on bottom and side

2. Press under 1/4 inch on bottom and sides of main apron piece. Press under 1/2 inch on bottom and sides. (so you have a doubled over hem)
3. Sew seam a comfortable distance from the edge (about 1/8 in.) on the three pressed under edges.
4. Machine baste top edge of apron 3/8 in. from edge, and then a second time 5/8 in. from edge, leaving long tails. (try to start and finish at approximately the same distance from the edge on both lines)
5. Gather top edge. (pull the front OR back strings {not both} simultaneously while gathering the fabric) Be sure to pull evenly on both strings on each end in order to have a nice even gather.
6. Press under 3/8 in. on the unmarked edge of the waistband.
7. Place your waistband on a flat surface with the right side facing you and the pressed under edge down (so you have a plain edge up).
8. Now put your apron piece with the right side down (so that you have right sides together) onto your waistband piece.
9. Line up your halfway point marks and pin. Next pin the ends together so that the waistband sticks out 5/8 in. beyond the apron piece on both ends. (this allows you to sew the tails on later without having to redo it like I did!!)
10. Next, pin your quarter way points together. Keep pinning, dividing each section in half and pinning it there so that it is even. You may need to make it more or less gathered (by pushing the fabric towards the ends of the strings) in order to make it even.
11. Once you have it all pinned (the pins should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart), sew the seam just past the 5/8 inch gather line. (try to sew pretty close to it but don't sew right over it or you won't be able to take it out).
12. Remove your baste stitches by pulling on one or the other of them until they are out.
13. Sew over your seam that you sewed in step 11 again (just for safety's sake so that it is VERY secure). Tie ends. (or you can backstitch and then go forward again...or both ;)
14. Now take your tie ends and fold them in half lengthwise with right sides together. Sew seam 3/8 inch from edge, leaving the end with the dot open to turn it right side out. Once you have sewed that seam, go back to the end that you sewed together and resew it from the edge around the corner about 1 inch, and then turn around and go back to where you started. (confusing?!!) This is to secure the edge for when you turn it. Now sew the other tie just like this one, and tie the threads on the edge that you started on.
15. Trim the corners and seams. (trim corner not too close to stitches but pretty close - about 1/4 inch is fine) When you trim the seams - just trim one of the edges of fabric about 1/8 inch so that it lays flat.
16. Turn ties right side out and iron. You may want to use something flat to push the seam out flat because it really doesn't like to otherwise.
17. Baste the open ends of the ties together 5/8 in. from the edge. (this is on the right side)
18. Now take the apron piece and lay it down with the right side facing you, and place the tie ends (with the right side facing you if there is a right side to your ties) down on the waistband with the raw edges and bottom edges even.
19. Baste the tie ends to band right over the other baste seam or just to the inside of it.

slip stitched edge of waistband

20. Fold band with right sides together. Make sure your ties are sticking towards the middle. Sew the ends together (twice so they hold good) and tie threads. Trim seams and corners (optional).
21. Turn band so it is right side out. Iron so that the tie ends are out and the waistband edge comes down just far enough to cover the seam.

tie meets waistband

22. Slip stitch the pressed under edge of the band to the back of the apron just below the seam. I used double thickness of thread because ~just in case you can't tell~ I like seams to hold :)
23. Put on your apron with right side facing out :D Enjoy!!!!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Furry Chemo Cap

I decided to make a chemo hat for a very dear friend of mine, so I went looking for a pattern. I always cringe at the thought of using 4 double-pointed needles for knitting, so I had to find a straight-needle version. It came out really nice. (It's pink, how could it not come out nice!?!) I got the pattern from Lion Brand. There is a straight-needle version and a double-pointed version. I made a large, using one strand of Bernat Softee Baby, and one strand of Lion Brand Fun Fur. I was able to get a whole hat out of just one skein of Fun Fur. I also made a couple of slight alterations - instead of doing stockinette stitch, I just did regular knit. It was very easy to make, and worked up in just one evening. I would highly recommend this pattern for anyone wanting to make a bunch of them. So overall, I am pretty happy with the way it came out! It is SO soft, and I think it will feel good on her head. Next I'm going to be trying one with just two strands of Fun Fur. Have fun with this, and let me know how it works out for you!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Another 20-Minute Baby Skirt

So, I made another little baby skirt. I absolutely love this one! It came out really cute. I love how these little skirts are SO easy and fast to make. And with babies, you don't have to be as precise as with adults because babies can grow into whatever you make. This skirt can actually be worn four different ways. It is super cute whichever way you put it on. The tutorial for this skirt is here. Note the slight size difference - the measurements are shown below. Other than that, the skirt is made exactly the same.
I bought three pieces of fabric, each one being 1/3 of a yard. I can get easily three skirts out of this with extra scraps leftover. This is a great project for using up small amounts of fabric.
~Pieces to cut out:
1 piece each of two different floral patterns, with each one measuring 11" wide by 12" long.
2 pieces (zigzag), with each one measuring 6" wide by 12" long.
Finished Measurements:
17" waist circumference
10" length