No exposed edges please

As you can see I love to sew. I love to make things that are useful and pretty. I love it when the things I make put a smile on the recipients face. And I love it when those things last and can be passed down.
I've noticed on a few of Hannah's dresses that I forgot to do a zig-zag stitch on my seams and they seem to be fraying...if only I had a serger :)...

But I remembered a lesson that one of my sewing lady friends taught me and
I want to share that with you today.
Maybe you already know this trick and maybe it'll be new for you...but I wanted to share it anyway so that maybe at least one person can learn something new.
This sewing trick is so that you have no seams showing at all...no raw or exposed edges of fabric, thus no fraying or random threads hanging out here and there.

And off to the tutorial.

I am making skirts for my daughters birthday outfits and I wanted to make them without the exposed edges...so here we go.

Measure the length that you want your skirt to be.
I wanted to use two fabrics so I took the total amount and split it.
Don't forget to add some extra length for the casing and hems.

Sew the pieces together on a long edge with the fabrics facing the same way.
I know this is contrary to how you've learned to sew but trust me on this.
Oh and skip this step if you're just using one fabric.
Take the bottom fabric and bring it around to the front and fold the exposed edge down 1/4inch.

Sew the folded edge as close to your first row of stitches.
This will create a little bottom piece without any exposed edges!

Next, fold your skirt in half with the wrong sides together and sew at least a 1/2 inch seam.
Again, I know this is not how you're used to doing things but trust me!!

It will look like you sewed it the wrong way and your exposed edges will be on the outside of the skirt but that just means you did it right.

Now take your scissors and cut ONE side of the exposed edge off...closer to the seam.

Fold the longer side (that you did not cut) over the short side that you did cut and iron down.

Now just sew that to the skirt. Make sure to pull the fabric that is underneath taut so that you don't sew it in the wrong place.

Does that make sense?
See, then you have two seam lines but no exposed edges!! YAY!

Inside view

Now just make the casing for your elastic (don't forget to add your label)...

Add your elastic...

And sew the casing shut once the elastic is in.
I also sew one vertical line through the elastic so that it doesn't move too much or get twisted.

Stand back and check out the cool skirt you just made that has...

no exposed edges!!! CLEAN AND NEAT!!

And the reverse for the little lady!

I added some appliques to their shirts and called it done!

I thought this version of "5" was more fun than just a plain ol "5"...
plus then I can teach her about hash marks.

I realize this photo makes these look REALLY busy but they don't look that crazy in real life!
Did I totally confuse you? Let me know if I can clarify anything!

So did you learn anything new?
Do you have a favorite sewing tip that has saved you time and headaches? Please share!



Gifts for the boys in your life

This post is part of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Crafting Tara and I have going on over at the Trendy Treehouse! Come check it out!

Micah loves his fishing games. He has two of them. One has batteries that always die, the other has a suction cup that doesn't work very well. So I decided to make him a new fishing game that will be easy and fun to play with. And if something gets broken I'll know exactly how to fix it.

(excuse the poorly-lit-needed-to-use-my-flash photography...gotta craft at night so the youngins don't know what they're getting for Christmas!)

What you need:

Felt
Scissors
Thread
Magnets
Fiber fill
Dowl/Rod

Start by making a fish pattern on a piece of cardboard. I like to make the pattern on a folded edge so that I only have to draw one side of the fish but get a symetrical fish! Make sure that the fish pattern is big enough for your magnet to fit through the tail section and into the body.

Then trace your fish pattern onto the felt and cut out the fish. Make sure you have two pieces of the same fish...so stack your felt or just fold a piece in half when you're cutting it to make sure you have to exact pieces.

Sew around your fish but leave the bottom open so you can put the magnet and stuffing in.

Stuff the magnet in and then add some fiber fill to make the rest of the body puffed up. Then sew the end shut making it sorta look like scales.

My suggestion is to sew all the fish together before sitting down to stuff them in front of the tv. Then go back to your machine and sew them all shut. Of course you could sew them all by hand, if you have the time and patience to do so!

Then make a fishing pole. I just folded a black piece of felt in half and made a large J for the hook, making sure that my magnet would fit in the end. I then used a blanket stitch and stiched around the whole hook leaving a LONG piece at the top to be the fishing line. Then I stitched the fishing line to the yellow felt and hot glued that onto the dowl. I also added a little bit of felt by the handle.

And if you don't want to make your own I will have
ONE set in my etsy store in a couple of weeks!

Here are some other BOY gift ideas:

Art Kits


Tie Shirts:


Car Play/Storage mat


Personalized t-shirts
Reverse Applique T-shirt
Happy Crafting! can't wait to see what you're making for all the little boys in your life! Feel free to leave a link, I LOVE looking at boy projects! I've got lots of little boys in my life that I need to make gifts for!

Gifts for the girls in your life

It's time for another Christmas Gift Craft for the girls!!!

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I've got a peasant dress tutorial for you today and then some other fun ideas of things I am also making for Christmas gifts!!

I've never taken a formal sewing lesson. I've had two wonderful women show me a thing or two about how to sew. One taught me how to read a quilt pattern and one taught me how to read a clothing pattern. I am so thankful for their help and wisdom but also thankful that my brain works in such a way that I can look at things and sort of just figure out how its made. This doesn't work all the time but I find that I can often times work something out in my head till it actually works in real life. I've been intimidated by patterns since my first "sewing with a pattern" lesson. I'd much rather just get to sewing...but measuring and cutting carefully is all part of the game. So, when I first started making clothes for my kids I stuck to the simple things like pillowcase dresses and tie shirts. Then I did follow a pattern for another dress that I've made a few times and I love it...but I wanted something simple that would come together with little effort...see, I'm lazy and don't want to mess around with a lot of extra steps. My neighbor told me about the peasant dress she had learned how to make at one of her MOPS meetings and I was intrigued. Four rectangles with a little notch cut out, sewn together, add elastic a hem and call it a dress. Yes please. These are almost easier to make than the pillowcase dresses!! So, please remember that I am no seamstress and I probably don't do things correctly...but here's my version of the peasant dress!

Edited: I forgot to add the link to the sizing chart! You can find it here!!! Sorry!

Cut out four rectangles of some gorgeous fabric according to the measurements for the size you desire.
(You can do all four rectangles in the same fabric or pick a coordinating fabric for the sleeves.)
Fold the rectangles in half wrong sides together and stack the four rectangles on top of each other.
You will have eight pieces to cut through.

Cut a "J" shapped notch into the top left corner of all eight pieces of fabric (you don't want to cut the folded side).

Take one sleeve piece and one body piece and sew the notch part with right sides together

If you have a serger use it to serge the edge otherwise just use a zig zag stitch near the edge.

Repeat this process with all four pieces that you cut the notch out of making sure to fit the sleeves on properly.

You should have a piece that looks like this when you finish these steps.

Then fold the dress in half right sides together and sew from the end of the arm all the way down to the end of dress.

Follow up with a zig-zag stitch or use your serger again.

Don't worry, I know it look gi-normous but it'll get better! I promise!!

Fold the top edge 1/4 inch and then 1/2 inch to create a casing for your elastic.

Sew close to the edge of the 1/4 inch fold to secure the casing but make sure to leave an opening so you can get your elastic in there.

Once you get your elastic in, sew it together and then close your opening.
I like to sew a small vertical line through the elastic just to make sure it stays in place and doesn't flip over on me.
I sew that line close to where the sleeve fabric meets the body fabric so no one can see it.


There are a number of different ways to do the sleeves...here's my way.
I like to add some elastic to the sleeves but don't like to just have a small casing for elastic at the bottom.
I took it one step further and left a little extra fabric to sort of make a ruffle.
So, start by making the 1/4 inch fold then make a bigger fold like 2-3 inches and iron it down.
Then sew the first line about 2 inches in depending on how big you want your ruffle to be.
Then sew close to the edge of 1/4 inch fold to create the casing, again making sure to leave room to insert the elastic.
Insert the elastic, sew it together and then close the opening of your casing.

I hate to hem things...so I usually try to find a way around it.
With these dresses I just added some ribbon to the bottom of the dress.
Sew the ribbon to the wrong side of the dress then fold it around to the front and top stitch it down.
I don't have this down to a science yet but it works.

That was clear as mud hey?
Let me know if you have any questions.
Leave any questions in the comment section and I'll try and answer them as best I can!

Stand back and admire your work.
Try it on your little model and see how it fits.
If it's made to be a size bigger than your child wears (like mine is here)
then just tell yourself that it won't look so much like a pillowcase when the bigger kid wears it!




You can also make something cute for their hair to go with their cute dress!
Like I did so go with these other peasant dresses that I made...

Here are some other ideas...
Monogram bow holder
wood letter, paint, scrapbook paper, ribbon and cute bows! easy peasy!

Canvas Name Paintings...


Reversible Felt Crowns

Felt Food

In a couple of weeks I will have something that goes with all this felt food that would be a great gift...but it's not quite finished yet!
Also just so you know I have an etsy store and will be placing a few select items in my store in a few weeks if you don't have time to make any of these goodies yourself!

Sorry for going on so long thanks for sticking with me!