Alice’s Tea Party Princess Dress

Here it is my third round entry for SYTYCS hosted by Ashley from MommyByDayCrafterByNight. This contest has been so much fun and really pushed me to do things I’ve had in my head for a while. I hope you will all vote for me so that I can make it into the TOP 3; the last round of the competition. Voting for this round starts on Wednesday January 18, 2012 at 8:00 am EST and ends on Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.This is Alice’s Tea Party Princess Dress. I originally wanted to make this for her 3rd birthday, but my previous attempts ended in a mass of shredded muslin and frustration. A while back I described the dress I wanted to make for Alice to my friend Mercy and asked her to sketch it out. She is an amazingly talented artist. She whipped up a couple of sketches in no time and they were all beautiful.
I combined Mercy’s vision with my own evolving view point, which was inspired by Alice’s dress from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. If you know me at all, you know I’m a sucker for Tim Burton films and the always appealing Johnny Depp.
I’ve also been aching to try my hand at an eyelet corset because I love the look so much more than the easy peasy loop method. I spent a ton of time trying to decide what fabric I should use, but had no doubts when I saw Shabby Chic Treasures in purple. I mean, I can’t tell you how much I love this collection of fabric. I stalked all the online sites waiting for someone to restock.
Now, I wish I had some sort of tutorial to post for all of those reading, but this competition moves very quickly and there just isn’t time for that at the moment. I spent all of my spare time last week sewing, gathering, ripping seams, sewing, running to the store for trim and more needles, ripping seams, sewing, taking photos, editing photos and writing up the dreaded blog post. I fair much better with a needle and thread than I do with html, even in its simplest form.

So, hang in there and I will do my very best to come up with some tips and tricks on setting eyelets. In the mean time, I will also get to work on perfecting and writing the next princess dress pattern and tutorial.
Love it? Please vist my Facebook and Etsy shop for more or contact me at TenderfeetStitches@gmail.com

Lady Pepperell Re Purpose

I made it into roud 3!!!! Thank you to everyone who voted for me! This is my round two entry for So You Think You Can Sew hosted by Ashley from MommyByDay CrafterByNight Voting begins Wednesday January 11, 2012 at 8:00 am EST and ends Thursday at 8:00pm EST. I hope you will vote for me as the competition is seriously talented! The three contestants with the lowest number of votes will be cut and the top six will move to round three!

This week our challenge was to re purpose something. I was in a bit of a panic as I've found it difficult to find interesting things out here in the wild west. When I lived back east there always seemed to be something interesting lying around.

A while back, I purchased a vintage Lady Pepperell flat sheet from an Etsy seller. I fell in love with it but I was waiting for inspiration to hit me before I went to hacking away. Through my panic and a few bad attempts at re purposing some old dresses, I started imagining a bustle skirt and thought the sheet would be perfect. So, I set to creating with my fingers crossed.

When I was halfway through with the skirt I saw an old bed skirt and thought I should make an appropriate top to go with the skirt. It was a fun pink satin bed skirt with a tulle overlay.

I spent the better part of a day messing with the straps trying to create something fun and unique. When it came time to add the ruffles to the top and the butt bustle, I pulled out an old blue pillowcase to add a bit more color. I tossed in some older stock lace I had sitting around and made up one of those little roses from my last round project and voila I was content. I had to move the furniture around in my son's room, so that I could use the walls as a back drop for the photography. I got really lucky too, with the setting sun coming in through the window at a decent angle. I did have to edit the top of Garrett's precious, fuzzy head out of one of the pictures, but I'm just glad he got to help me out. Eventually, I will find the time and energy to put this dress on my daughter, Alice and get a few timeless photographs. In the mean time, I hope you all enjoy it and that it may inspire you to rummage for old fibers and create something original.

If you like what you see and love to sew or want to learn be sure you swing by my shop and take a look around!

A Walk in the Clouds

First off go vote for your favorite round one contestant for SYTYCS (me I hope)
I love the outdoors. I grew up taking adventure hikes through the woods with my sister, riding my horse and helping my dad build things in the yard. I loved mowing the lawn because it smelled so sweet and the sun felt great on my face, though it helped a great deal that we had a riding lawn mower. We use to boat on the Gulf of Mexico, putt down the river in search of manatee and swim the day away in fresh springs. Before I had my children, I covered the state of Arizona, by car and by boat. From desert valley floors to alpine peaks, canyon lakes and party coves it’s an amazing and diverse state.
Now that I have two small children it is hard to get out into nature and even harder getting out into nature and relaxing. As a result I spend a bit more time inside or in a more comfortable environment for both me and my kids. I’ve found that when it comes to decorating my home I want nothing more than to bring the outdoors indoors. I cling to earth tones and natural woods, oaks, greens, blues, creams and on occasion a little golden yellow, red and orange. For the master bedroom I wanted to recreate the Arizona sky. We have a large set of windows that let in a ton of light, which is wonderful when I’m not trying to sleep. I have always wanted fluffy white curtains with a lovely shade to block out the light but keep the sky alive.
After 25 yards of fabric and a lot of time on a step ladder I’m really happy to share what I was able to create. This project was larger than I expected it to be and it took a lot of “sleeping on it” to obtain the end results. This is really my first serious endeavor into curtains, drapes and the like. I used my experience designing clothing for my shop to help me along the way. This is also my first round entry for the So You Think You Can Sew contest hosted by MommyByDayCrafterByNight. I’m flattered to be a part of this contest and can only hope, cross my fingers and make a few wishes that I can get past round one. If you love what you see, please take a moment to check out her blog and vote for me! Voting will be open for round one on January 4th & 5th 2012.
Continue reading for a quick and easy rose flower tutorial, just like the roses seen on my curtains.

To make this rose you will need:

*A strip of lining fabric 5" x 44"

*Your sewing machine

*Thread

*Hot glue and glue gun


Step 1: Cut your strip of fabric. I like lining fabric because it is light weight, has a nice sheen and is inexpensive.

Step 2: Fold your strip in half by bringing the two long edges together, right side out. Offset the short end by about 1" and sew a continuous gathering stitch down the long side where the raw edges meet.


Step 3: Gather your piece to 22" or half the original length. Secure and evenly distribute your gather.

Step 4: Start at one short end and roll you fabric tightly about 10 times. Be sure you glue occasionally to hold the flower together.

Step 5: Begin loosely wrapping the rest of your strip around the center. Pay attention to the shape as you go and glue to secure.

Step six: Finish off at the end of your strip by tucking the exposed part out of sight. You may want to add a little glue to the bottom of the rose to help secure its shape.



Please let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for stopping by my blog.
~Amanda~
TenderfeetStitches@gmail.com

It's a Cinch again...

Here’s a quick tutorial. This may be very handy for those of you who have my Twirl Skirt pattern and you’re looking for an easy way to cinch up the side. As I said in my last post about skirt cinching, I prefer to just fold it up by hand and add a bow or other embellishment. This method is pretty simple though, so give it a go!

What you’ll need
A finished skirt or other project that needs a little cinching
1/8” elastic: white for light fabrics, black for dark fabrics
Thread that coordinates with your skirt
Your sewing machine

I am using a mock skirt in the photographs. The Yellow is the skirt and the blue along the top is the waistband. You will need a length of 1/8” elastic that is at least a few inches longer than the drop length of your skirt, or a few inches longer than the length you would like to cinch up. An excessively long piece is fine, there’s no reason to cut it yet. Begin by attaching the elastic to the underside or, the wrong side, of your skit in the spot you want to create a cinch. Tack the end of the elastic at the hem line with a straight stitch. Be sure you back stitch.

Now, change your machine to a zigzag stitch and set it to full wide and about a medium stitch length. Zigzag over your elastic, taking care not to stitch into it, until you are within 1” of your waistband or where ever you would like to stop.

Hold the hem of your skirt in one hand and the long end of your elastic in the other hand. Pull the long end of your elastic until you achieved your desired amount of cinch. Finish by tacking down the long end of your elastic with a straight stitch and trimming off the extra. Add a bow or add nothing at all. Hit the elastic with some steam for a little extra bounce and stretch.

So You Think You Can Sew

A friend told me about this contest and I thought it was a great idea! So, I am going to enter my favorite creation, the Belle of the Ball Gown. I mean I couldn't help but notice that one of the prizes for first place was $100 to The Fat Quater Shop followed by Fabric Shoppe and Raspberry Creek Fabrics. If you know me, you know I love fabric, it's the reason I sew. The rest of the prizes are PDF style tutorials from some well known designers. I am sure many of you would also be thrilled to win these prizes. So, I'd like to encourage you to enter! If you enter something you've made using one of my tutorials, I will give you any one tutorial of your choice designed by Tenderfeet Stitches. If you make it to the top 12, I will give you any 10 tutorials of your choice designed by TFS.
I have seen so many beautiful creations from all of you that I encourage you to share them, to enter and to show off your sewing skills!

Please note that Mommybydaycrafterbynight is the host of So You Think You can Sew. My contest, contained with in this blog post, is not associated with her or her contest. I am simply promoting So You Think You Can Sew and encouraging my readers to enter using my own PDF patterns. Mommybydaycrafterbynight is not responsible for my contest, just as I am not responsible for hers.

Monthly Giveaway

I’m going to borrow an idea from one of my favorite people, Jaimie from Because of Leah. I love hearing from the people who purchase and use my tutorials. I especially love seeing what you create. So starting now, every month I will give away one TFS tutorial to a lucky person. All you have to do to enter is comment, post or like something on Tenderfeet Stitches Facebook wall or BLOG. Obviously, the more times you communicate with me the higher your odds of winning. I will randomly select a winner each month and that winner can select any tutorial in my Etsy shop free of charge. I look forward to hearing from ALL of you! p.s...the Malibu Mega Ruffle Dress could be yours for free, it debuts by the end of the month!

Make me Petti Please

It’s a proven fact, pettiskirts make people happy, they make people smile. Every girl needs one, whether young or old. So, if you’d rather make one than buy one, you may find the included information and links very helpful. The most basic things required are:
Time
Patience
Other than those two essential things, Martha Steward and Kandi Lightner of Kaiya Eve Couture do a fabulous job showing us how to make the world a little bit fluffier. When selecting your chiffon, you need to obtain nylon chiffon, as it does not fray when cut. I suggest purchasing it in rolls to eliminate hours upon hours of cutting strip after strip. You can find these rolls here. I have never purchased from this company, but this is what you are looking for.
Be sure you watch the video on the left hand side of Martha’s page. If you have any questions about shirring, please visit this page and watch the video as well. I have also known people to use regular gathering techniques or a ruffling foot. So, shirring is not the only way to gather for this skirt.
Good luck and have fun with it. If not, go buy one! If you're looking for some thing beautiful to compliment your new petti, visit my shop and take a look at my princess dress patterns.