JCrew Inspired Dress Tutorial

Hi everyone! I did it...I finished the "Green cardigan project" I have been working on. All I needed to do was to take a nice picture. Then, guess what... It SNOWED today! So, you need to wait a little bit longer for me to be able to share the tutorial for that project.

In the mean time, I am going to post a tutorial I did for the Knock-off Series at Kojo Design last week.

I love going through Anthropology and JCrew catalogs; there are many designs that inspire me. My recent knock off project is an Anthro inspired necklace. Usually when I see something I love, I will internalize it and when I create something, the finished item is different than the original one. It definitely has my own twist. That is my way of doing a "knock off". Figuring out how to make then go from designing to creating; it is all such a fun process!

Today, I am sharing a dress I created inspired by JCrew. Here is the original;

Golden Raindrop Dress...


Isn't it gorgeous? The name alone is very dreamy, but this dress is also very feminine and stylish… looks like you can float in the wind. It is made out of chiffon... with a price tag of $750.00!

Wow, I just woke up. It is a beautiful dress, but there is no way that I can justify $750.00 on a dress.

Here is what I came up with;




I call it Ivory Sunlight Dress... (If you have a better name feel free to email me :) )

I used 100% cotton; it is textured, very light weight almost like gauze fabric. I found it at Joann's for 6.99/yd. I used my 40% off coupon for three yards of fabric, so my version of the dress cost me about $13.00! Because I wanted to make it for every day wear, cotton is better choice than chiffon for me.

I am so in love with my new spring dress...


I wish I could just take a small vacation to somewhere very peaceful and quiet. Take only a few books and some necessities (that includes one of my favorite cardigans, just in case I get cold)




Ok, I will show you what I did...

{Top part of the dress}

1. I wanted more coverage than the original dress. I used pattern 3152 by Kwiksew for the top portion of the dress. It is very simple to make, you can make the top in no time. The only thing I did was to bring up the neckline a little. I drew a line 1/2" higher. Also, I used a shorter line for this project. You can use any similar pattern to create the top.



{Cutting & Constructing the skirt and dress}

1. Cut the skirt out. Please use the picture as a guide to get a better idea of what I am talking about. I measured the bottom of the top part of the dress, and it measured 18" finished. So, I cut out...


2 pieces of 13" X 18 1/2" of fabric for the top part of the skirt
2 pieces of 13" X 28" of fabric for the middle part of the skirt
2 pieces of 13" X 44"(it was the width of the fabric) for the bottom part of the skirt

There are a few things... I came up with this measurement pretty randomly. I am about 5'3", if you are taller or shorter than I am; obviously you need to make some adjustments.

Another thing, I used my Serger a lot for this project, how you finish up the seams is totally up to you, depending on that, you will need to adjust the seam allowance as well.

2. Mark the middle of the fabrics for the skirts. This will make it easier for you to make the gather equal later on.


3. Gather the fabrics to make the skirt, sew the top part of each piece with the largest stitches with your sewing machine. I sewed two lines, so that it is easier to make more even and prettier gather. Pull both threads to gather the fabric.
Put top and middle parts of the skirt right sides together and sew. Treat the seam with the method of your choice. Press, repeat the process with the middle and bottom part of the skirt. Then, attach the skirt to the top part of the dress in the same way.


4. Measure yourself under your bust and cut 1/4" wide elastic according to the measurement.

Sew the elastic on the seam line where the top of the dress and the skirt meet (inside of the dress). Don't forget to stretch out the elastic as you go.




{Cutting & making the ruffles for the each row}

1. From the top cut (I used my Serger to treat the edges. If you choose to fold the edges to sew straight line, you need wider strips for this).

1- 2" X 44" strip for the first row

Cut enough 3" wide strips to make a 76" long strip for the second row.
Cut enough 4" wide strips to make a 96" long for the third row.
Cut enough 5" wide strips to make a 128" long for the very bottom row.

For the very first strip, you need to create a curvy shape on both sides. Treat the edge all around it.


For the other strips, sew them together to make a big circle, so that the ruffle will go around the skirt. Treat both sides of the seams with the method of your choice.

2. Make ruffles out of them. Use the same method for gathering the fabric as you did to make the skirt.

3. Attach the ruffles on each seam line of the skirt. I sewed about 1/4" into the ruffles.

Make sure that the ends of the very top ruffles will meet in the middle. It is helpful to pin both sides in the middle before you start to sew.



{Making flowers}

1. Cut strips.

Large -- 3 1/2" X 28"
Medium-- 3" X 20"
Small--- 2" X 18"

2. Treat the edges. Zigzag would work, if you are not planning on sewing them to the dress, you can leave the edges raw too.

3. Use the largest stitch setting and sew in the middle of the strips. Pull the thread to gather the fabric. If you are making a large flower shrink the strips to 10”; shrink to 8” for medium strips, and 6” for small strips.



4. Fold the strips in half horizontally, and fold the end of the strip to start sewing. Sew, and roll the fabric as you go along to make the flower.


5. Sew three pearls on the large and medium flowers, one for the small flower.

6. Honestly, I couldn't decide where I wanted to sew the flowers on. I thought about sewing two of them of the sides too. I hand sewed the flowers in the middle for now, but who knows, I might change my mind later.


If you decided to make this dress, I hope you will enjoy it as much I do. :)

Sheep to Sunshine!!

Today's question is: "Can you up-cycle an ugly canvas?"

Why YES YOU CAN!

I got a picture strictly for the frame...I wanted to use it for a chalkboard. But when I took the frame off, I noticed the picture was a "real" painting on canvas, and I decided to hang on to it until I found the perfect project...and I did!

This is what I started out with...

The painting was mostly smooth, except for the sheep, which had been painted with big chunky swirls and things to resemble fleece, creating a very rough surface. I painted over the whole thing with Behr Ultra paint--yes, regular old latex paint--but the rough spaces stood out too much.

I thought to myself, "I wonder if you can use paint stripper on canvas?"

Guess what....you can!

After I sheared those poor sheep, I repainted the canvas with my latex paint.

Then, using this is my inspiration, I designed the lettering on my Silhouette and cut everything out of vinyl. It was a painstaking process to get the vinyl on the canvas in a reasonably level manner! The vinyl wasn't going to stay on the canvas, but be used as kind of a "reverse stencil." That means I paint over the vinyl and all, and then carefully lift the vinyl off while the paint is still wet.

I laid awake for hours (no, I'm not kidding) wondering what kind of paint I should use for the yellow coat. I worried about how quickly spray paint can dry...sometimes that leads to the paint tearing off around the vinyl when you remove it. If I hadn't been stuck at home with sick kids, I might have bought a sample pot of latex paint to use. But I was, so I didn't! Brushing on paint has it's own hazards--it tends to bleed underneath the vinyl.

So I chose my poison: Rustoleum Summer Squash spray paint.

Here's what it looked liked when I was in the process of taking of the letters!


I was in luck...the spray paint seemed to dry more slowly on canvas. I only had the tiniest bit of tearing on the very last letters, and it isn't noticeable. Two people pulling off the letters at once would have worked perfectly!

Here's the finished product!

I love, love, love it! I painted on the little red heart with acrylic paint, and I washed the whole canvas with diluted white acrylic paint--so this one canvas has three kinds of paint on it! Probably four, if you count what's underneath!

It is HUGE: 30" x 40". Right now it's sitting on my buffet in front of my chalkboard. It doesn't get to stay there, but I love looking at it for the moment!

Be sure to stop by this post and leave a comment to be entered in my giveaway! Ends May 2.

How to Sew and Attach Welting

Welting is a decorative trim which adds the perfect finishing detail to pillows, cushions, slipcovers and more by accenting the design lines and drawing attention to seam lines. It can be purchased in a variety of colors and sizes but making it yourself is quick and simple.

Supplies
Cording – For this tutorial I used 8/32”
Sewing machine with zipper foot
Matching thread
Scissors
Pins
Needle

Directions
Measure the item around which you will be attaching the welting and add 3 inches. Cut cording to this length. For this tutorial I will be using a 20 x 20 pillow so I cut my cording to 83”.

Cutting Fabric Strips
Professionals recommend cutting the fabric strips which will encase the cording on the bias, meaning on the diagonal of the fabric. Bias cut fabric is more flexible when going around corners and curves. I usually try to use this method, but have to confess I have on occasion - when the fabric is stretchy - cut my fabric straight across and it still worked out fine.

In most cases, one strip of fabric will not be long enough, which means cutting multiple strips. For this example I needed two.

To determine the width of your fabric strips, measure the circumference of your cording and add twice the seam allowance. For my cording, this meant fabric strips which were 1 ¾” wide – ¾” for the circumference of the cording and 1” for the ½” seam allowance.

Cut the number of fabric strips needed to go around your item.

Piecing Fabric Strips
Place two ends of bias cut fabric strips wrong side together as shown below.

Pin and sew along the diagonal using a ½” seam allowance.

Press seam open. Add additional strips using the same technique if needed. Cut your fabric strip a little bit longer than the cording.

If you did not cut your fabric strips on the bias, place two fabric strips, right sides together, at a 90 degree angle as shown below.

Cut on the diagonal and then proceed as above.

Making the welting
Fold the fabric strip around the cording – leave about ¼” of the cording showing out the end – with right sides out and long edges matching. Some people prefer to pin in place and then sew. I find it easier and quicker to just wrap the fabric around the cording – adjusting as I go – while sewing.

When you come to a point where two fabric strips have been joined, make sure the seam is pressed open.

Sew using a zipper foot. I usually do not sew the last few inches of cording to make it easier for attaching the two ends of the cording together.

Attaching Welting
Once your welting is all assembled it is time to attach it. As I mentioned earlier, for this example I am using a pillow. Start on the bottom edge of the pillow or the back edge of the item to which you are attaching the welting.

Pin welting to fabric  - clipping at curves - with unfinished edges aligned on the right side of the fabric.

When you have gone all the way around, cut your cording to exact length needed. You may have to rip out part of the seam of the cording. Leave your fabric about 1” longer than the cording.

Sew ends of cording together using a needle and thread.

Fold fabric back and overlap raw edge of other end of fabric with folded edge. Pin.

Using zipper foot and sewing machine, sew welting to pillow.

Simple, easy and quick! To finish the pillow add a zipper and then back piece of fabric or just the back piece of fabric sewn closed with a needle and thread.