Turning a Boxy Tee into a Flutter Sleeve Top

Hi! It's Merav from Baby Hobbes Design, writing because of the overwhelming love from last weeks' post about how I upgraded my daughter's camp t-shirt.  

Since you asked for more details, I decided to write up a tutorial on how to turn an ordinary boxy kids' shirt into a curvy top with flutters. For this tutorial I am using a kid size Medium shirt along with the Tansy's Knit Pajamas dress pattern because I love the curved edges. If you don't already own it, get yourself a copy of Tansy's because this pattern is super duper versatile (top, short dress, long dress and shorts)! Otherwise, you can use any knit bodice pattern-just remember to extend it.

Faux Buttons using Sew-on Snaps

If you're not a fan of sewing buttonholes, or if you just want to learn a new technique for using snaps, today we have a fun tutorial for you!  We will call it Faux Buttons, and they're completely functional! 

  

Morgan has used our new Frenchy's pattern to show us how to do it.  They have all the cuteness and function with none of the fuss!  Let's get started!

Embellishing a Sailor Collar

Hey, everyone! This is Shannon, from the CKC tester group. I’m here today to show you how to add ribbon or ric rac to the adorable Sybil Sailor Dress's collar. If you are anything like me, you love all things nautical. I had the privilege of testing the Sybil Sailor Dress for the amazing designer, Emily. My first thought was that it needed details along the collar because, really, you can’t have too many embellishments, right? 

Upcycling Pants Fabric Using Pattern Pieces

There's a lot of talk in our patterns group about upcycling adults' clothing into kids' outfits. It can be a lot of fun to do and it makes those little creations extra special -- and of course it can save us money on fabric!  On the blog here we have made several tutorials for upcycling tees and woven tops. But for today's tutorial we're going to show you how to take a pair of adult pants and use them as the fabric for your pattern pieces!

How to Make Bias Tape for Small Projects

A few days ago I was working on a project that called for 1/4" bias tape. I looked through my stash and had a lot of 1/2" bias tape but not any 1/4".  It's easy to find at the store but I wasn't in the mood to drag my kids out so I decided to make my own. And of course I tend to take pictures of each and every project I'm working on, so today I will show you how to make bias tape! It is much easier than you might think, even to make yards and yards of it, in any width you want.  But what you may not know is that bias tape is not just a strip of folded fabric.  It must be cut on the bias. 

So what is the bias? 

How to "Mash" Two or More Patterns Together

We get a lot of questions in our patterns group about how to "mash" patterns together.  While we've had several blog posts in the past to show some of the mashups we have made, today we're going to teach you how to do your own!  

Reversible Woven Headband and Wide Stretchy Knit Headband

Hey everyone! It’s Nikki from the women/tween department and I have 2 headband tutorials for you today. These patterns are for doll through women’s size! Both are so quick and simple I am sure you will make tons!  Look at all of these that one of our amazing testers Audra made just last night!

First, we have a simple reversible woven headband that would be so easy to add embellishments to or just wear it plain. Here is a picture of one I made for my oldest girl! She wears headbands a lot. 

This style of headband is great because it stays right where you want it, unlike many other styles that slip out of place. Also, our instructions show you how to make the headband with exposed elastic or fabric-encased elastic, so you can decide which works best for you!  Here are some more views of the reversible woven headband:

How to Hide a Bodice Seam Inside the Lining

At CKC we like to keep our patterns easy-to-follow as well as super cute. Sometimes that means choosing the easier/quicker of two methods when we teach a skill.  For that reason, most of our dresses have the skirts attached to the bodice with the seam simply topstitched upward. It's an efficient way to do it! 

It is also possible to hide that seam completely if you want to take a little more time. Some of our fans have asked for a tutorial, so today I'm going to show you how to hide a bodice seam inside the lining!  This will work great with lots of our patterns, from dresses as simple as Amber's to more advanced like Melody's. As long as there is a bodice lining, it is the same method for all!  Today I will demonstrate using Tween Hattie's.