So very excited to be a part of the Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour! What a treat!
My favorite part? Getting to pick out new fabric, of course. However, choosing the fabric to use for our stop on the tour wasn’t easy with all the lovely choices. In the end, however, I decided I wanted to try our new Tybee Tank in a floral and Riley Blake’s Cottage Garden in Gray totally fit the bill. I absolutely love how it turned out and this fabric was awesome to work with. If you have followed LilyGiggle for any length of time you know that I am all about the knits. Finding high quality knits as pretty as quilting cottons used to be like finding a needle in a haystack but the tide has been turning and our choices have really expanded. Thank you Riley Blake for helping to satisfy that love for a beautiful fabric with a super soft, perfect stretch, washable, wearable honey of a stretch knit. I couldn’t be happier with it. Isn’t it gorgeous?
On top of the Cottage Garden collection, I was also sent a perfect little gray and white stripe that I knew I wanted to create some sort of bottom with. At first, I thought I would whip up some Petunia Petal Pants but this sweet girl of mine is much more interested in wearing play shorts under her dresses these days than leggings…especially as the weather warms up. So I decided to create a super simple little pair of “cartwheel” shorts to go underneath her new dress. I used the Petunia Petal Pants pattern, added a yoga waistband and finished them off with a narrow leg band just for a little interest. It was an easy tweak and I know I’ll be making plenty more of these as we move into spring and summer. With its 95% cotton 5% spandex blend, this fabric is absolutely perfect for leggings and play shorts. Let the twirling begin…
I thought I’d share exactly how I transformed the petal pants into playground shorts so you, too, can keep your girls covered up this summer no matter how hard they play. This tutorial can also be used to simply add a yoga waistband to your Petunia Petal Pants or other favorite legging pattern.
1. First you will need to trim off 2.25″ from the top of the pattern piece. Be sure to follow the curve. I make a dotted line as I move the ruler across the top of the pattern and then connect the dots. If you are good at noticing details you will see the ruler is at 2″ but you should still cut at 2.25″.
2. Now, for sizes 5-7, cut off 1″ from the bottom of the pattern (shorts version). For sizes 8-12, cut off 2″ from the bottom. For sizes 2-4, you don’t need to cut any length.
3. Cut your fabric with the new pattern piece. Remember you need a good quality 4 way stretch knit (cotton/lycra or cotton/spandex blend) such as the RB knits. You will also need to cut 2 waistband pieces by the following chart.
4. Now you will need to cut the leg band pieces. Just measure the width of the bottom of the pattern piece (where you cut off some length for the larger sizes in step 2). Cut 2 rectangles that are 2.5″ x the width of the bottom of the shorts. So now you should have 2 of each of these pieces…
5. Follow the Petunia Petal Pants instructions for sewing the crotch and leg seams of the shorts.
6. Place the waistband pieces, RST, and sew the short ends. If using a serger, I recommend sewing this part on a regular sewing machine to decrease bulk in the seams. Press the seams flat.
7. Turn the waistband right side out and fold in half lengthwise. Press.
8. Divide the waistband into quarters (center front, center back, side seam, side seam). Divide the top of the shorts into quarters, too. Line up the unfolded edge of the waistband to the top of the shorts matching up and pinning at each quarter mark on the waistband to the quarter mark on the shorts.
9. Sew the waistband to the shorts, gently stretching the waistband to fit but not stretching the shorts. Press with a hot steamy iron.
10. Fold over one of the short ends of a leg band piece to line up with the other short end (RST). Sew the short ends of that one leg band piece together. Turn right side out and fold it in half lengthwise just as you did the waistband.
11. Line up the unfolded edges of the leg band with the bottom of the leg opening. Match up the seam with the inside seam of the shorts leg. Pin and sew. Since the leg band is not smaller than the leg opening, there is no need to stretch it as you sew it on.
12. Repeat with the other leg band and leg opening. Press and your finished!
Yay! Time to play!
If you don’t already have our Petunia Petal Pants pattern you can purchase it for 30% off with coupon code RBKNITLOVE30 until Sunday, April 5, 2015.
Thanks so much for coming by! I truly hope that you enjoyed your stop at LilyGiggle! Don’t forget the tour continues until April 2nd.
Summer Blog Tour Day 1- The Poppy Bubble Tank
Hi! This is Elizabeth here today with some exciting news! You may remember the Holiday blog from last December featuring several pattern designers. We had a lot of fun putting it together and thought it might be cool to do another one for Summer. Over the next few days you will see some awesome stuff from Little Lizard King, Brownie Goose, Jocole, Ellie Inspired, Izzy & Ivy, and Greenstyle Creations. We hope you will enjoy what we put together for you!
We are starting the week off with the Poppy Bubble Tank pattern. If you have purchased this pattern in the past, Beth has just completed an upgrade on it. I have to confess here that I have had this pattern for a long time—like several years— and have never made it. After seeing some inspiring photos in our pattern group, I decided it was time to pull it out and give it a try. I shouldn’t have put it off so long.
The Poppy Bubble Tank now has two options- a bubble tank length (that pairs well over Petunia Petal Pants or Ring of Ruffle Pants), and a dress version. I have yet to make the bubble version, although it’s on my list for fall, but I’ve made about 15 of the dress versions already and it’s such a quick sew. You can change this pattern up so many different ways with the skirt options and the bodice embellishments.
Isn’t that fabric gorgeous? Art Gallery was our sponsor for this blog tour and I have to say, they never disappoint. I used the Anna Elise line by Bari J., paired with a Art Gallery solids. Anything with a knit bodice is a favorite for my girl so this dress is a winner. After we finished doing photos she wouldn’t change her clothes and wore the dress all day. The skirt of this pattern is woven for the dress option, but knit for the bubble skirt option. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think you could put a regular knit skirt on this too as long as you have some stabilizer on that bodice.
This pattern comes in sizes 6m- 12yrs, which I know you mother’s of babies are happy to see. The Poppy is also great for layering as the bodice is easily adjusted with the shoulder ties. You can pair it with a shirt underneath for fall or even a jacket over the top. Here in Georgia our fall is still pretty hot during the day so I love the versatility of the shirt and jacket options to make this outfit last through the whole year. This child turned sassy when I pulled the denim jacket out. Six going on sixteen. Someone help me!
I hope day 1 has inspired you to try out the Poppy Bubble tank. Share your creations with us in the LilyGiggle Pattern group. We love to see what you are making. Be sure to grab your Poppy Bubble tank pattern on our website for only $5 during the blog tour!
Thank you so much Art Gallery Fabrics for these gorgeous fabrics!
Riley Blake Knit Love Tour: Yoga Waist Shorts Tutorial
So very excited to be a part of the Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour! What a treat!
My favorite part? Getting to pick out new fabric, of course. However, choosing the fabric to use for our stop on the tour wasn’t easy with all the lovely choices. In the end, however, I decided I wanted to try our new Tybee Tank in a floral and Riley Blake’s Cottage Garden in Gray totally fit the bill. I absolutely love how it turned out and this fabric was awesome to work with. If you have followed LilyGiggle for any length of time you know that I am all about the knits. Finding high quality knits as pretty as quilting cottons used to be like finding a needle in a haystack but the tide has been turning and our choices have really expanded. Thank you Riley Blake for helping to satisfy that love for a beautiful fabric with a super soft, perfect stretch, washable, wearable honey of a stretch knit. I couldn’t be happier with it. Isn’t it gorgeous?
1. First you will need to trim off 2.25″ from the top of the pattern piece. Be sure to follow the curve. I make a dotted line as I move the ruler across the top of the pattern and then connect the dots. If you are good at noticing details you will see the ruler is at 2″ but you should still cut at 2.25″.
2. Now, for sizes 5-7, cut off 1″ from the bottom of the pattern (shorts version). For sizes 8-12, cut off 2″ from the bottom. For sizes 2-4, you don’t need to cut any length.
3. Cut your fabric with the new pattern piece. Remember you need a good quality 4 way stretch knit (cotton/lycra or cotton/spandex blend) such as the RB knits. You will also need to cut 2 waistband pieces by the following chart.
4. Now you will need to cut the leg band pieces. Just measure the width of the bottom of the pattern piece (where you cut off some length for the larger sizes in step 2). Cut 2 rectangles that are 2.5″ x the width of the bottom of the shorts. So now you should have 2 of each of these pieces…
5. Follow the Petunia Petal Pants instructions for sewing the crotch and leg seams of the shorts.
6. Place the waistband pieces, RST, and sew the short ends. If using a serger, I recommend sewing this part on a regular sewing machine to decrease bulk in the seams. Press the seams flat.
7. Turn the waistband right side out and fold in half lengthwise. Press.
8. Divide the waistband into quarters (center front, center back, side seam, side seam). Divide the top of the shorts into quarters, too. Line up the unfolded edge of the waistband to the top of the shorts matching up and pinning at each quarter mark on the waistband to the quarter mark on the shorts.
9. Sew the waistband to the shorts, gently stretching the waistband to fit but not stretching the shorts. Press with a hot steamy iron.
10. Fold over one of the short ends of a leg band piece to line up with the other short end (RST). Sew the short ends of that one leg band piece together. Turn right side out and fold it in half lengthwise just as you did the waistband.
11. Line up the unfolded edges of the leg band with the bottom of the leg opening. Match up the seam with the inside seam of the shorts leg. Pin and sew. Since the leg band is not smaller than the leg opening, there is no need to stretch it as you sew it on.
12. Repeat with the other leg band and leg opening. Press and your finished!
Yay! Time to play!
If you don’t already have our Petunia Petal Pants pattern you can purchase it for 30% off with coupon code RBKNITLOVE30 until Sunday, April 5, 2015.
Thanks so much for coming by! I truly hope that you enjoyed your stop at LilyGiggle! Don’t forget the tour continues until April 2nd.
Spring!
I don’t know about you but I am feeling a little giddy over the first few tastes of spring weather we’ve enjoyed. Maybe you live in a part of the country (or world) that isn’t seeing those early blossoms on the trees or the daffodils opening up to the sunshine but here in my little part of the world spring is making her debut appearance. Bring on the rainbow of flowers, the long stretching daylight, windows open and curtains blowing in the breeze and bring on the spring sewing! Fresh fabric palettes and warm weather silhouettes…I’m ready. How about you? If you need some inspiration then I’ve got a treat for you. Elizabeth over at CottonBelle Boutique has already gotten her spring sewing on and in the most fabulous way. Using a knock out combination of patterns from LilyGiggle, Brownie Goose & MouseHouseCreations and sewn up in those gorgeous Art Gallery Fabrics, she has hit it out of the park! Love!
See all the beauty here.
Fiddlehead Sew-Along Day 5- The END!!
You made it to day 5!! I hope you are loving how your dress is turning out. It’s Elizabeth here with you today to help you get your dress finished up and ready for your little princess.
You should have two skirt pieces cut so let’s get to working on them. Take your two skirt pieces and sew them together at the side seams. Finish your seams with a serger or zig zag stitch on your sewing machine. I always prefer to hem my skirt before I attach, but that it totally a preference. To hem my skirt, I serged the bottom edge and then ironed the serged edge up.
It takes a minute to iron that edge up but it makes for quick sewing when you take it to the machine and turn it up once again. I love the crisp, even edge.
Now we are ready to attach the skirt to the bodice. When I gather a skirt that is 2x SW I always gather in two sections- front and back. My gathering stitches have been known to break if I try to do that all in one section, so splitting it in half has helped prevent that. As you can see in my photo, I ran two gathering stitches for my skirt. This is optional. One will work, but two is even better. 🙂 My mom and grandma taught me to gather this way when I was little. Some times the old tricks are the best ones! I will confess that I don’t always do a double gathering stitch but if you ever have trouble getting your gathers even, this will save you. The double row makes beautiful, even gathers.
Find the side seams of your skirt and pin them RST to the side seams of your bodice.
Tie off one end of your gathering threads and pull from the other end to fit your skirt to the bodice. Adjust gathers and pin in place.
Stitch skirt to bodice. Take your dress to the ironing board and steam that seam to perfection. You are DONE!!!
Beth and I hope you have enjoyed this sew-along and maybe even learned a few things. We can’t wait to see all your photos!
Fiddlehead Sew-Along Day 4 Waistband!
I don’t know about you but I’m getting excited as I see how much we’ve done! I’m especially excited about today’s detail…the knit waistband. I’ve spent so much time and lots of trial and error to get this simple idea to work and look just like I wanted it to so it may not be nearly as exciting for you as it is for me but I think you’ll like it.
If you’ve ever done a yoga waistband then this will be very familiar to you because it is done in the same way. First, put the 2 waistband pieces RST, pin and sew the short ends.
Next, fold the waistband in half lengthwise. Press. Be sure that the open edges along the bottom are lined up just right.
Divide the waistband and the bottom of the bodice into quarters…side seams, CF and CB. Pin.
Line up each point of the waistband with the corresponding point of the bodice and pin.
Machine-baste them together all around the bottom. Be sure not to stretch the bodice but do stretch the waistband to fit.
Voila! Perfect knit waistband!
Tomorrow is our last day…can you believe it? Elizabeth is going to take over and show you how to add the skirt. We’re so close!