Tutorial: To Infinity And Beyond Bubble Tunic

Ok, I couldn't wait, so here it is! A super cute refashion with lots of potential. I always see lots of cute t-shirts on clearance (boys and girls styles, haha) and this is a simple way to give them a little shape and girlishness.




You can easily change the sizes to make a dress/tunic/shirt style, but I will tell you what I used. My daughter wears between a 2/3T so what I used was a boy's 3T t-shirt for the body of the tunic. The bubble hem needs to be smaller than the body of the shirt, so I used a 2T tank/shirt for the hem and the sleeves. The small shirt (or knit) needs to have a LOT of stretch.


I wanted to get as much length out of my t-shirt as I could, so I took out the bottom hem. Otherwise just cut off both hems, like I did with the tank top.


Decide how wide you want your bubble hem to be, double that number and add about an inch for seam allowance. Then measure and cut your second shirt that you have a tube.


Fold your tube of fabric in half, with the wrong sides facing. Pin at the side seams so that the ends of the fabric meet. Then fold in half the other way and pin it there so that you have pins dividing the hem into quarters. Now do the same to the bottom of the body of your shirt. Do you see how much smaller my hem is than my shirt?


Now pin your shirt and hem, right sides together (and cut ends of both fabrics meeting), at the quarters. You should expect to have extra fabric bunched because they are not the same size.


Now it is time to sew them together! You can use a zigzag stitch, but I just discovered another stitch that I have been really have with so far. It looks like a really small zigzag stitch, but then after a few stitches it does one really big zigzag. I'm really pleased with how well it stretches after it was sewn, far more than the experience I've had with a regular zigzag stitch. As you start sewing, be sure to back stitch so secure it and then as you sew gently stretch the bubble hem so that it matches the length of the shirt. Once you get to the next set of pins, make sure your needle is down and then continue stretching up to the following set of pins.


TADA! You now have a bubble hem!

I used the tutorial here for the sleeves of the dress. For the first blue t-shirt I used the hem I cut from the patterned tank top (just cut it in half). It didn't have as much stretch as I would have liked, I think I'll actually redo that one.


For the second one I cut strips from the purple shirt I used. The other change I made was to trim the "shoulder" of the shirt. I lined up my ruler and cut about an inch off just the top so that it would look less like a boy's "muscle" t-shirt.



I am much happier with how this one turned out. I think I'll end up doing the necklines the same way.


As my daughter would say, "tee ree YON!" (translated, To Infinity And Beyond!)!


I hope you enjoy and make lots of cute, unique bubble tunics for your little ones to enjoy!

Linking up here

Think Pink! One wreath for all seasons (a mini tute)

Hi all! Do you remember my Ruffle Wreath? Here is what it has looked like since I finished it a while back.



I had said that I wanted to be able to use this wreath year-round, changing the decor for the season (or just because I get bored, lol). But I hadn't really figured out a good way to do that...until yesterday! I first created the decor I wanted to use (will get to that later). Then I pulled out a piece of felt, and cut it in the general shape of the section of wreath that I wanted to cover (be sure it isn't larger than your wreath). Next you will want to attach your decor to the felt (I laid them out on the wreath to get the placement I wanted), I simply used hot glue. Trim your felt piece so that it is not visible around your decor.


Then you'll want to pull out some sticky backed velcro. You'll only need the scratchy side. I cut several lengths and stuck them to my wreath where I knew the decor piece would be (I used two at the top/inside edges, and one at the bottom/outside edge). Note: this would certainly be easier to do with a wreath that had a flatter surface, but I made do.

*Update*: my sticky back velcro became gooey and not so sticky after a few days of my wreath hanging on our front door in the heat and humidity. If your wreath is going to hang outside, I would suggest using some strong adhesive so that it stays put. I swiped some of my hubby's liquid nails, and the velcro hasn't budged since.



All you need to do now is firmly press your felt-backed decor piece onto your wreath, and hang! Wahoo! Now, when you get bored or the season changes all you need to do is cut another felt piece in the same general shape and decorate!

Here is my Ruffle Wreath (you can find the wreath tutorial here) with its updated decor!


Right now I am thinking pink for Breast Cancer Awareness! I used pink fabric and ribbons from my stash to make these flowers (the white in the center of the large flower are little pom poms).


This Saturday I am participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. My grandmother and cousin both lost their lives to breast cancer, and there are several member's of my husband's family who have been touched by the disease as well. I am humbled to be just a small part of this.

Go team WoCoChaJo Girls (although we may need to change the name as my father-in-law is walking with us as well, lol)!


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Fabric Wrapped Bracelets and a mini tute

Here I go again in my quest to accessorize and vamp up my wardrobe. I saw this tutorial for hoop earrings at Happy Together. They are SO cute! Unfortunately, I cannot wear "fake" earrings. Boo. HOWEVER, I figured I'd try the idea with bracelets. I had a few dollars left on an A.C. Moore gift card so I picked up this pack of thin bangles for $2 (cheaper if you have one of their coupons), I think there were 7 in the pack.



Once of these days I'll hit up the Dollar Tree and see if they have some wide bangles to try this with. I dug through my bag of scraps and decided to do several in neutral tones, I included one that had a pale blue/gray in the pattern. All colors often found in my wardrobe. I LOVE how they came out!!!


With this set, I simply wrapped the blue/brown fabric, and with the solid fabric I first wrapped, and then used her knotting technique. I think this one may be my favorite!



With this set I wrapped using a strip of the the print fabric, and the other I used the "ragged" selvage edge the solid color fabric. I love the different textures!



I used the same size bangle for this bracelet. Want to know how I changed the width of this one and created the pleats?



Here is a mini tute for you. I hope these pictures don't make your eyes bleed. I thought of taking pictures while I was in the middle of this project, which I did during the finale of LOST. I couldn't tell if they were coming out or not and I was a little preoccupied. lol

First I cut several long strips of canvas type fabric (anything on the heavier side should do) that were 1/2 inch wide. Using hot glue, I covered the INSIDE of the bracelet with my fabric strip. Then I took another strip to create the pleats on the outside of the bracelet. Pinch your fabric and fold it up over the strip that is already glued down. When you have it were you want it, put a small dab of hot glue under that fold so that it stays put and then continue all the way around until your reached the spot you started. I varied the size of my pleats and let a few tilt to one side or the other so it didn't look too uniform.




Let me know if you have questions. Now wear your one of a kind bracelets with pride!



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