Voile Infinity Scarf Tutorial

Christmas is right around the corner and I love giving a handmade gift to those I love.  We've been adding more voile to the shop and I love making infinity scarves with it!  These go together faster than the other method I tried last month.

Supplies:
Voile (3/4 yard)
Sewing Machine
Rolled Hem Foot
Rotary Cutter & Mat (optional)

Step 1:
Cut fabric 20" wide, leaving it the width of the fabric.  Trim selvage edges off. This size will work for both adults and children, Bitty Bee and I are both wearing scarves made with these measurements.

Step 2:
Do a small rolled hem along both long edges on the sewing machine.  If you're having trouble with the rolled hem, check out the blog post here.

Step 3:
Now we will start our french seam.  Bring the short ends together so the fabric is wrong sides together.  I know, this goes against the sewing instinct to always sew with right sides together.  Sew with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Trim seam allowance to 1/8".

Step 4:
Turn the scarf so that the right sides are together and press.  Sew along the previously sewn edge with a 3/8" seam allowance.  Now you have a french seam!

Step 5:
Press the seam allowance to one side (it doesn't matter which way you press it) and sew along the edge so that it lies flat.  This step makes it similar to a flat felled seam, like you find on the inseam of most jeans.  Flat felled seams are very strong and used mainly in places that need extra strength.  We're not using it for the extra strength, we're using it to keep the seam allowance flat on the scarf.

 

Step 6:
Put it on and show it off!

I hope you enjoy making lots of beautiful infinity scarves!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

Rolled Hem Foot How-To

Anyone who knows me knows about my love affair with scarves, especially infinity scarves.  I have one that I got as a Christmas gift last year from my future sister-in-law and I wear it frequently.  And now that we've been getting more beautiful voile fabrics from Art Gallery, FreeSpirit and Cloud 9, I'm having fun making new infinity scarves.  Did you see the one I made for Bitty Bee last week?  I'll walk you through how to make one for your own little one or for yourself.

 

I love using voile for infinity scarves because the wrong side of the fabric doesn't look much different from the right side, so you don't have to make the fabric tube like when using fabric that has a big difference between the right and wrong sides.  This cuts down on the time drastically!  But using a rolled hem foot can seem intimidating.  Here's what it looks like, for those unfamiliar with it.

The one that I'm using for infinity scarves makes a very narrow rolled hem, and you can get larger ones.  The concept is a pretty simple one with this foot, as you feed the fabric through, the foot is rolling it and stitching, creating the rolled hem.  When using this foot, make sure that you're working with the wrong side of your fabric facing up.  You don't want to have your hem facing the wrong way!

To make it easier to feed into the foot, I like to snip the corner of my fabric, shown above.  You can see that I didn't cut the selvage edge off before I started sewing.  I did cut it on my other scarves that I have been working on, though.  It can be trimmed off later.

I was able to take a short video of how the fabric looks as it's being fed through to give you an idea of what it should look like.

The rolled hem foot is very easy to use and a quick way to add a professional looking hem on your projects.  Are you ready to make an infinity scarf now?  Check back this weekend for the scarf tutorial and flat felled seams tips.

~*~Princess Bee~*~

One Thimble Review and Giveaway

I had seen posts about this e-zine, One Thimble, and at first thought $25 for a magazine was a little high, but when the chance to review the entire magazine came up, I got curious and wanted to see what the buzz was all about.

Boy was I glad I did!!!  I picked two of the many patterns available in this issue and really enjoyed not only sewing the Moku Skort and the Art Caddy but also reading the articles and sewing tips within the magazine.  It's so much more than just 15 patterns/tutorials.  This issue includes tips and pointers for things like shirring and sewing with knits, it includes interviews with designers, tips for small businesses.  I still haven't even had a chance to read everything yet, but I can't wait to be able to sit with my Kindle and read the entire thing.

I have a little budding artist in my house and so the Art Tote was perfect for her.  She always has a small sketch pad with her and has been known to draw on anything that will sit still for more than 30 seconds.   I had some fun, bright Moda fat quarters in my stash that were screaming out to be used for this.  The line is called Daydream by Kate Spain.  It is an older line, but the colors are so beautiful!  The Art Tote features space for both colored pencils/thin markers and for crayons, as well as pockets for a sketch pad/small activity book and for little things like erasers and a pencil sharpener.  This is going to be great for road trips to see the grandparents!  I've already gotten a request for another one by my son and I think this will make a great Christmas gift for some of the younger members of the family!  I have a 6 year old niece that will love this!

 

My artsy little Bitty Bee also loves to make a statement with her clothing and Art Gallery Fabrics is perfect for helping her make that statement!  I made her the Moku Skort out of Priory Square by Katy Jones.  They are fun little culottes that will be absolutely perfect once we get rid of this cold weather!  Seriously, I live in Texas for a reason!  One of the those reasons is that I'm not a cold weather creature!!!  Bitty Bee has already told me that she wants more of these shorts once it warms up and even wants to try to make them on her own.  They went together so quickly that I have no problem complying with her request.  From cut to finish, they took around an hour.

They have a flat front waistband with elastic in the back, and the instructions include how to make the waistband adjustable.  I'm looking forward to trying out adjustable waist bottoms and was glad to see a designer including that option.

I'm especially proud of Bitty Bee for helping with her shirt.  Sunday Clippings has such a great design for shaggy applique!  I cut out around some of the flowers, making sure I kept the bird, and fused it to the shirt and Bitty Bee did part of the sewing around the edge.

I have loved being part of the One Thimble Blog Tour for this issue!  Please take a moment and check out the other talented ladies on the tour!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

 

Friday 11/14: Pattern Revolution, Once Upon a Sewing Machine

Saturday 11/15: Handmade Boy

Sunday 11/16: Mimi's Mom, Rebekah Sews

Monday 11/17: Ellie Inspired, Handcrafted by Red

Tuesday 11/18: The Crazy Tailor, The Berry Bunch, Friends Stitched Together

Wednesday 11/19: Made by Sara. Bee Quilted Beauties

Thursday 11/20: Gracious Threads,  Lady and the Gents, Shaffer Sisters

Friday 11/21: Knot Sew Normal, Beazza & Llama, Mae & K

 

 

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Lilac Lane Treasured Dress Review

Tomorrow, Lilac Lane Patterns will be releasing a new dress pattern and I am in love with it!  I was one of her testers and she rocked it with this dress pattern!

At Quilt Market, I hit up the Art Gallery booth and stocked up on their one yard bundles.  I chose Reminisce by Bonnie Christine for this dress.  The dress design just screams spring, so the flowers and colors of Reminisce are perfect.

The dress design has a lower waistline than most in the PDF world and I love that it has the attached sash so it can be pulled in nicely.  There are two buttons on the back at the neck and I was finally able to use some hand crafted buttons that I had bought last year at Quilt Market.

I want to talk about the buttons for just a moment, the company I bought them from, Incomparable Buttons, imports them from Africa where they are all handmade and painted by women living in South Africa.  They are simply gorgeous and I'm so glad that I held on to them, as this was the perfect project to use them on.

Bitty Bee can't wait until warmer weather so she can show off her new dress to all of her friends.  For today, we headed for the local library, a place where stories tend to magically jump off the pages at you!

And her cute little matching bag leaning against the bookshelf?  I picked that one up last year in the SewFab Bundle and it's by LBG Studio.  It went together rather quickly and is the perfect size to carry library books!

Check back on the blog tomorrow for the link to buy the pattern!  I'll update as soon as she releases it.  Trust me, you'll want this one in your pattern collection!

It's been released!  Go pick up your copy today!  Click here to be taken directly to the Lilac Lane etsy shop.

~Princess Bee~

Quilt Market Review: Cotton + Steel Double Gauze

It's been a week since we came home from Quilt Market in Houston and I'm still going through all the wonderful goodies we brought home!  One of my favorite new things at market was Cotton + Steel's Double Gauze.  I cannot wait to get this in and start sewing!!!  Here's a few pictures from their booth at Market.

Many of you were asking about the pattern for the dress in the last picture.  I'm happy to report that it is Vintage Vogue pattern number 8728.  The dress on the left out of the white/aqua/gray/pink stripe is Vintage Vogue 8999.  The double gauze has such a great drape and is perfect for garment sewing.  Trust me, you'll want to make things for both yourself and for your little ones, especially babies!  They had some quilts out of double gauze and they were heavenly!!!  I may have to learn some basic quilting skills in the next year or so!

We're really excited about all of the fun new fabrics we're seeing from Cotton + Steel and can't wait to see what they do next!

~*~ Princess Bee ~*~