Pattern Alteration: Simple box pleats and my first Giveaway!

I've said before that I like to alter patterns I already have to get a style I want.  This particular alteration is super simple to pull off.  Today we're adding two box pleats to the front of a basic A-line skirt.

This skirt is my 1st grader's.  She loves to wear it with wild patterned tights.   When I made it, I accidentally cut out two (you know how you are supposed to fold the fabric in half most of the time when you lay out a pattern?  yeah.  Not this one.) oh well.  My loss.  Your gain.   I'm going to sew my extra skirt up for one person who comments on this post.  One entry for commenting.  One extra entry for linking to my blog in your blog.  Let my know in the comments that you've linked.  I'll let my little girl draw a name out of a hat.  My teenage daughter likes hats.  We have several around here these days.

This skirt is a size 4-5 with a finished length of 12 1/4".  I can sew the waist to whatever measurement you wish. 

You need to start with a basic A-line skirt pattern. It's best if the front of the skirt is flat rather than gathered or with an elastic waist.  The back can have the elastic waist though.  This technique works with any sized skirt, for little girls or grown women.  First decide how deep you want the box pleat to be.  For a little girl, like this skirt, a 1" pleat is fine.  I did a box pleat skirt very similar to this for myself with a 3" pleat.

So, how deep is the pleat?  Quadruple that measurement and add that amount to the skirt front.  For this skirt I wanted  1" pleats, so I added 4 inches.  1x4=4.

If the front piece is laid on the fold you'll push the pattern piece back  from the fold half the added amount.  If you are adding 4" to the skirt front you want the pattern edge 2" from the fold.   Be sure to measure both at the top of the pattern piece and the bottom.

If your pattern has a full piece for the skirt front, you'll need to split the pattern down the center.   Evenly spread the pattern pieces apart the amount you want added to the skirt front.  In this case the pieces had a 4" gap between them.  Do be sure you keep the pattern piece lined up with the grain line in the fabric for both front pieces.

Now cut out the skirt front.

The box pleats should be centered over each leg, so you need to mark the fabric piece.   Measure in 5/8" from each edge and mark that with a pin.  Now fold the fabric in half and mark the center with a pin.   Do this at the top and bottom edge of the skirt.   Bring one side over toward the center, lining up the side pin with the center pin at the top and bottom.  Press flat.  Mark that fold with a pin at the top.  Measure down 4 5/8" from the top edge and mark that with a pin.  Do the same thing to the other side.

Sew from the waist to the pin the width of your box pleat.  I wanted a 1" pleat, so my seam here is 1" from the folded edge.  If you were sewing a 3" box pleat on an adult sized skirt you would sew 3" from the folded edge.   By the way, you can sew it down farther.  4" is about 1/3 of the finished length and that's about right for a sewn pleat.  If you were sewing a skirt that was 18" long you might want to sew the pleat 6 5/8" down. The 5/8" is to account for the seam allowance at the waist.  (Yes, if you win this skirt there will not be any white thread.  I plan to pull that out and redo it in the right color.  The white was just to make the seam easy to see.)

Press the pleat flat with the folded edge centered over the seam. 

Now you have a finished front with pleats.  Continue sewing the skirt using the directions that came with your pattern. 

Have fun and be sure to comment if you want a skirt like this one for your daughter/niece/granddaughter/alien  child/next year's Halloween jack o' lantern.  Leave an email or sign into a Google account so I can contact you if you win.  Thanks!

I promised my girls quilts to go with their doll beds they got for Christmas and I got one of them done this weekend. 

As you can see, this one matches the quilt I made my daughter about three Christmases ago.   She loves that her little doll has a matching blanket.  

These are super easy to do and a great project if you're just getting into quilting.   It takes very little fabric and just a couple hours of time.    The finished quilt measures 18x24.  Each block is 2x2 inches and the sashing around the edge is 2 inches wide.  

To make it cut 70 blocks 2.5"x2.5"  and four sashing strips.  Two sashing strips measure 2.5"x18.5 and two measure 2.5"x24.5".   The quilt is 7 blocks across and 10 blocks down.  I did a mitered corner on the sashes and used a super simple binding technique.  I just put the right side of the front together with the right side of the back, laid the batting over it (my batting was a piece of flannel) and sewed around the edges with the standard 1/4" seam leaving 4" on one end open.  I then turned it right side out, pressed it and hand sewed it closed.   So far I've only quilted around the sashing seam.  With the size of the quilt and the fact that the batting is really fabric, I'm pretty sure that will be enough.

Now my girls are asking for pillows to match.  Good thing I have more fabric.

Reversible Doll Jumper

Isn't she cute? (please excuse her hair. Her mommy is four.) Today I'm going to walk you through how to make that jumper. It's reversible, so your little girl gets two jumpers and you do half the work. See how I'm always looking out for you?

The first step is choosing the fabric. Your two fabrics don't have to coordinate because only one side shows at a time. I like lightweight fabrics, but you can use bottom weights as well if you like. If you do choose something heavier, like denim, twill, or corduroy, be sure your second fabric is lightweight or you're really going to struggle with those straps. Lightweight fabrics are easier to work with and might be the best choice the first time through if you haven't sewn doll clothes before.

Choose your pattern. I used the jumper pattern from Simplicity 7083, but any simple jumper pattern will do (and technically you can use this technique on any similarly designed jumper. I just haven't gotten the hankering for a reversible jumper for myself lately.)

When sewing doll clothes, always use a quilt piecing foot. Doll clothes have a 1/4" seam allowance just like quilts and that 1/4" foot is fabulous for making sure the seams are the right width. I don't really even quilt, by the way. I bought mine just for doll clothes. I love the little red hash marks every 1/8" on it. It makes turning corners so much easier.

1. Ok, back to the fabric. Cut out a front and back pieces from both fabrics. One front and two backs, just like the pattern recommends.

2. Sew them together at the side seams and press your seams open. On one side, press the top of the jumper straps down 1/4" to the inside of the fabric. (I'll show you what that looks like here in a second.)
3. Now matching right sides together, sew the two jumpers together all the way around included the back center seam, except leave a 2" opening at the bottom edge:
and don't sew the tops of the straps. See how the pink fabric is folded down? I also sewed right over the top of the folded fabric. You now have a little 1/4" tab on one side and a folded section on the other. Trim your seams. (for the non-sewers, this means clip the corners close to the seams and clip the seams along all curved edges. If you need directions on this, check out the basic instructions section on most any pattern.)

4. Using the gap you left in step 3 at the bottom of the jumper, turn the jumper right side out. You'll pull it all through all the way to the ends of the straps, just like this:

5. Press flat, making sure you keep the seams perfectly even so one side is not visible from the other.

6. Now we're going to sew the jumper straps. Match the straps so right front strap is matched with right back, etc. Sew the tabs right sides together on each strap. Do not catch the folded edges in this seam. I used my machine, but if you are nervous about using a machine in a small space, feel free to hand sew this step. (You'll be hand sewing from here on out anyway.)
7. Fold the tab ends back inside the strap like this:
and hand sew the folded edges closed using an invisible slip stitch:
8. Sew the gap in the bottom edged closed and sew up the back center seam using an invisible slip stitch. You want to sew the back up enough that the dress is easy to get on, but doesn't gap when put on. In this pattern (Simplicity 7083) that means sewing up about 4" from the bottom edge of the jumper. Then you'll want to hand sew a small snap at the top center back corners, be sure to not catch the other side of the fabric as you sew so the snap stays invisible.

9. Dress the doll and show her off. You might want to throw her a tea party so she has somewhere to go in her snazzy new togs.

Side two is just as cute:
Here you can see the inside and outside at the same time. I would show you the tiny snap on that top edge, but I lost my snaps and I haven't sewn one on this jumper yet. whoops.
This is a super simple jumper that takes about an hour to whip up, including the hand sewing. You could also alter the pattern by adding 3/8" to the center back seam and not hand sewing the bottom together. Just add velcro, snaps, or 1/4" buttons up the back to fasten. Of course, you could also move the seam to the front and make the back one piece and use really cute buttons . . . .

Sorry. I'll stop now. I'll also refrain from saying that the possibilities are . . . you know. I will say there's lots of stuff to do with this once you get the hang of it. I hope you have fun with it. If you have a question, feel free to ask in the comment section. thanks!