My Little Butterfly Infant Romper

Hi, I’m Anshu from Blooms and Bugs and today I’ll show you how to make this cute “My little butterfly romper” for a 3-6 months old.

For 3-6 months old infant size:

1 fat quarter

1 layer cake square

6 jelly roll strips

6 inches of elastic

2 buttons

1. Fold the fat quarter in half along the length. Cut at the fold.

2. Cut 15 inches from the width.

3. Fold the layer cake square into half along the width. Cut on fold. Now cut a small arc at the bottom.

This is how the pieces will fit later on. Don’t sew anything yet. First we need to add ruffles to front layers.

Making Ruffles:

4. Set your machine tension to the highest, stitch length to the longest, and machine speed to the fastest. Take the jelly roll strips you would like to make ruffles from and sew along one of the long edges. This machine setting results in nice even ruffles.

5. Now sew the ruffle along the curved sides of the layer cake. Right sides together. Do the same for the other half.

6. Fold the ruffle hems twice near the top of main fabric. This will allow for hemming later on. Make sure you fold as little as possible. Hand-baste or pin if needed. Sew both parts over the main fabric joining at the top.

7. Now cover the whole thing with the other half of main fabric. With the right side touching the right side of front layers. Sew along the sides leaving about 2 inches at the bottom.

Making the shoulder straps:

8. We will make the shoulder straps from leftover fat quarter fabric. Fold the remaining fabric into half along the width.

9. Cut at the fold, you will get two strips – about 3 inches wide.

10. Fold each of these in half and sew along one smaller and one longer (raw) side. Turn right side out and iron.

The Band:

Next we will make the chest band. This is the piece that will join shoulder straps to the main body. This will also be used as elastic casing at the back, so the baby has lots of room to grow.

11. Now sandwich these shoulder straps between two jelly roll strips (right sides together) about 2.5 inches apart from each other. Make sure the raw end of straps lines up with the raw edges of jelly roll strips. Sew a seam catching both the strips and shoulder straps.

12. Turn out.

13. Now position the band with shoulder straps such that the shoulder straps are centered at the front of main body of romper. Align the raw edge of the band with the raw edge of main body and sew a seam along the raw edge.

14. When you approach the end, determine how much more of the band you would need, add about an inch of sewing margin and snip off the rest. Now sew both ends of the band (right sides together), and sew the rest of the band to the romper body.

15. Now fold the other raw end of the band at the wrong side of the main fabric. Mark a crease so the folded portion of the raw edge goes just a little over the seam joining band and main body. This will ensure that when we sew a seam in the front, it will catch this fold in the back. Iron in place if needed.

16. Now sew a seam as close to the band as possible on the right side but only on the back of the romper.

17. Use the band as an elastic casing. Insert an elastic in this back band. Secure the elastic by sewing at both ends. Now finish the rest of the bend by sewing as close to the band as possible in the front side as well.

18. Sew on 2 small buttons at the back of the band, about 2 inches apart in the center.

Determine how long you want your shoulder straps to be and make a buttonhole in each of the strap.

Note:

I made two buttonholes in each strap so that the straps can be adjusted to be longer if needed. Moda produces very high quality fabrics that will last a long time; so one of my goals while designing a garment is also to maximize the usage of garment and to accommodate fast growing babies for a longer time. In this garment, the elastic at the back and the adjustable buttonholes in the shoulder straps are the design elements that achieve this goal.

Adding the ruffle at the bottom:

19. Ruffle two jelly roll strips the way you did for the front layers.

20. Now sew those ruffles to the hemline by lining up the ruffled edge with the raw hem ( right sides together). Do it separately for back and front.

21. Now serge the raw edges of ruffles and fold. If you don’t have a serger, just fold the edges twice and hem.

At this step , you also need to make sure that all the layers are equal at the sides. The two front panels will likely come out longer than the front and back pieces because the layer cake is longer than half of the fat quarter. If that’s the case, fold the ruffles on front panels a little more than the ruffles on the main fabric.

22. After hemming all the ruffles, sew the sides until you reach the bottom (remember we left a little un-sewn earlier).

One butterfly romper. Now put it on your little butterfly and see her flutter with joy!

Anshu Jain
{bloomsnbugs.blogspot.com}

Car Organizer

Don’t leave home without this handy car organizer.

8 Fat Quarters
one piece of thin batting 26″ x 22″
a water soluble pen

Take 2 fat quarters: one for the front and one for the back of the organizer. You want your largest fat quarter for the back of your organizer. Sandwich them with the batting. Make sure that the fat quarters are lined up and straight.

Pin your pieces together. Use lots of pins to be sure that the fabrics don’t slip around.

Hand baste your pieces together using long stitches. These will be pulled out once your project is finished.

Cutting your pockets: You have 2 large (brown) and 2 smaller (a blue and a green) pockets and 1 extra long pocket (orange). Take 4 fat quarters (2 brown, 1 blue and 1 green) and cut a 12″ x 14″ rectangle from each.

Here are your 4 pockets ready to be assembled.

Take your blue and green rectangle and fold them with the rights sides together. You now have a folded rectangle that measures 12″ x 7″.

Sew along the short side (7″) using a 1/4″ seam. Sew both 7″ sides on the blue rectangle and on the green rectangle.

Both sides are sewn.

Turn right side out and press.

Take your brown 12″ x 14″ rectangles and fold them the long way, so you have rectangles measuring 14″ x 6″.

Sew the 6″ edges using 1/4″ seam. Do this to both brown rectangles.

Both edges are sewn.

Turn them right side are out. Press both pieces.

Cut your orange fat quarter 12″ x 21″.  Fold in half lengthwise. It should measure 21″ x 6″. Sew both short edges using a 1/4″ seam. Turn right side out and press.

Measure to find the center of the pocket. Mark with a pin at the top edge and at the bottom raw edge. Make about 1″ tucks in the four spots shown. The finished length should be 14″.

With your water soluble pen, draw a line on your background piece that is 1 1/4″ from the bottom edge.

Center your orange pocket on your background piece. You should have 2″ on either side of your pocket. Line up the bottom of the pocket raw edge with the drawn line. Pin in place.

Stitch 1/4″ from raw edge. Back stitch at the beginning and end.

Fold pocket back onto background (this hides your seam). Use a ruler to line up your center pins and draw a straight line down the center of the orange pocket. Pin in place.

Sew on the drawn line. Make sure to backstitch when you begin and end. Remove pins.

Sew 1/8″ from your edges on both sides. Your pocket is now finished.

Take one of the brown pieces for the pockets. Make about a 1″ tuck on the raw edge. Pin the tuck in place. Do the same to the other side. Your brown pocket should measure 9″ wide.

On the green piece for the pocket, make your 1″ tucks on the raw edge. Pin in place. Do tucks on both sides. The green pocket should measure 6″ wide once you have the tucks pinned.

Draw a line all the way across the front, 7 1/2″ from the bottom raw edge of the organizer front with your water soluble pen.

Place your pockets as shown. Line up the raw edge of the pockets on the drawn line. Place the pockets so they are approximately 1 1/4″ from side organizer edges and about 1″ apart. Pin in place.

Sew in place using a 1/4″ seam. Back stitching at the beginning and end.

Fold the pockets back onto the background as shown. This hides your raw edge seams.

Sew down the side edges on both green and brown pockets an 1/8″ from the edge.

Make tucks in the blue pocket same as the green pocket. The finished width should measure 6″. Make tucks in the brown pocket same as the other one with the finished width being 9″.

NOTE: the bottom edges of the blue and brown pockets are at different levels.

With your ruler and water soluble pen, draw a straight line 7 1/2″ from the top edge of the organizer. Line up the raw edges of the blue pocket, pin in place.

Draw a line 6 1/2″ from the top organizer edge. This is for the brown pocket. Pin the brown pocket in place lining up the raw edge of the pocket to the drawn line. Leaving an 1″ in between the pockets and 1 1/4″ on the sides.

Sew the pockets in place using 1/4″ seam. Backstitch at the beginning and end.

Flip the pockets back onto the background and pin in place. Measure to be sure that the edges of the pockets are straight. Leave 1 1/4″ from the side of the organizer.

Sew down the edges with an 1/8″ allowance.

Your pockets are all done. You are now ready to bind your organizer.

From the last brown fat quarter, cut 4 – 2 1/4″ strips. Prepare you binding.

Sew your binding in place using a 1/4″ seam.

Your binding is all sewn on. Remove your basting stitches at this point. Remove all pins.

Trim the excess batting from the edges. Be careful not to cut into the binding.

Hand or machine stitch your binding in place.

From the remaining brown fat quarter, cut 2 – 3″ strips. These are for your ties.

Fold in half as shown. Lightly press.

Sew down the one short edge and the long side using 1/4″ seam. Leave one end open so you can turn your tie right side out.

Turn your ties right side out and press.

Sew the ties raw edge in place at an angle as shown on the top corner of the organizer, .

Fold the tie back and stitch 1/4″ from the folded edge. This covers your raw edge and gives more stability to your tie. Repeat on the other side.

Tie your organizer to the back of the driver or passenger’s seat. Fill with items for your child and you are ready to go.

Another option is to use the organizer pockets to hold baby products next to your baby’s changing table. Or, hang it near your child’s bed so they can keep their books and personal items nearby.

8 fat quarters will make one organizer.

Ribbon Candy Quilt Company
{ribboncandyquilts.blogspot.com}

Grow and Gather Dress

6 strips from jelly roll ( 2 for shoulder ties, 2 for waist belts, 2 for bottom ruffle)

2 squares of layer cake ( for bodice front and lining)

2 fat quarters ( for bodice back and skirt)

20 inches of Elastic (1/4 inch wide)

I used Deb Strain’s Meadow Friends collection from Moda Fabrics for the dress. Can I just take a moment to tell you how much I love the prints in this collection? Thanks for the awesome prints Deb, you rock!

Bodice:
Lets first assemble the pieces for bodice.

Shoulder Ties and belt on waist:

Fold the jelly roll strips in half and sew along both long edges.

Snip the corners. Turn the tubes inside out and iron flat. I have only shown 3 but you should get 4, 2 of each print.

Sew the bottom ruffle strips into one continuous strip by sewing along the shorter edge (right sides together).

Bodice Front:

Fold a layer cake square into half along the width

.

Fold it one more time (again along the width).

Iron. You will get 3 creases.

Now sew two rows of seams along each crease.

Pull the bobbin threads on each of the three sets of seams to gather. Set aside.

Bodice Front lining: Keep one layer cake square for front bodice lining. Cut it into half along the length.

Bodice Back:

Cut a 17 inches wide and 9.5 inches long fabric from a fat quarter.

Fold it in half along the length.

Sew a seam 1 inch below the fold, parallel to the edge. The seam is kind of hard to see but it is along the pins I have placed to show you the seam. This will be the elastic casing for the back of bodice.

Take a 1/4 inch elastic and insert into this casing with the help of a safety pin.

Assembling the bodice:

Place the shoulder ties on the gathered bodice front such that the ties are positioned on the two gathering seams on the side and raw ends of belt are aligned with raw end of bodice. Now cover with half layer cake square that you picked for lining. Now sew along the raw edge where raw ends of shoulder ties are placed. Make sure you catch both layers of fabric and both the shoulders ties in the seam.

Turn out. Do NOT top-stitch yet. Here you can see that my lining piece hasn’t been cut into half yet. I skipped doing it earlier, I cut it at this point. You can do it at any point up until this step.

Now lets join front and back of bodice, as well as waist belts.

First open the front piece and lining apart.

Place one waist belt on the gathered bodice such that its raw end aligns with raw side of gathered bodice piece.

Now place the back piece on the gathered bodice, again line up the raw sides of both pieces. Make sure a little bit of elastic is sticking out.

Now cover the whole thing with the back of the bodice. And sew along the raw side.

Snip the corner at the top, turn out.

This is what you will get.

Now pull the elastic at its free end to gather the back. Keep the final width of front plus elasticized back of bodice to be a little less ( ~3 inches less) than the chest of the child. This will make sure that the bodice is snug on her body.

Now make the sandwich again at the other side. Gathered bodice front (right side), waist belt, bodice back. All raw edges aligned, elastic sticking out, cover with the front bodice lining. Sew along the raw side, snip corners, turn out.

Here’s your bodice, all done.

The back of bodice.

Now lets work on skirt:

Fold the fat quarter into half along the length. Cut on the fold.

Join the two pieces by sewing along the smaller sides (Right sides together).

Now sew two seams close to one raw edge for gathering the skirt. Gather by pulling bobbin threads. Adjust the gathers such that the width of skirt becomes equal to the width of bodice.

Adding the bottom ruffle:

I prepared the bottom ruffle by setting my machine’s tension to the highest, stitch width to longest and sewing at highest speed. You can choose to do the same or you can sew a straight seam at regular settings and pull the bobbin thread to gather.

Now align it with the un-gathered edge of the skirt and sew a seam along ( with right sides together).

To finish the raw edge of the ruffle, serge the edge and then turn inside and sew a seam along the edge. If you don’t have a serger you can also turn it in twice to make sure no raw ends are visible.

Joining skirt and bodice:

Align the raw edge of bodice with the gathered raw edge of skirt, sew along the edge to join both. Make sure you catch both the lining and the front pieces of bodice. Serge or sew a zigzag to finish this seam on the inside.

Turn out.

A little dressy dress for your mini diva. The sizes I showed above work for 12-18 months old.

The elastic in the bodice makes sure that there’s room for her to grow. The shoulder ties give you some flexibility with the length. Wear it with a t-shirt in the cooler months or wear it as is during the summer.

No matter how she wears, she will surely stand out in the crowd!

The front

And the back.

Put it on the little one and admire!

Anshu Jain
{bloomsnbugs.blogspot.com}

Patchwork Kite

Hi! I’m Tammy from Karamat. I’m thrilled to be here with my first project to share with you.

1 Meadow Friends Charm Pack

3/4 yard Meadow Friends 19486 14 (backing and binding)

3/4 – 1 yard Twill Tape or ribbon (the Moda twill tape from a Jelly Roll or Fat Quarter Stack is perfect)

Batting – at least 19″ x 27″

1. Select 16 charm squares for the kite.

2. Pair the 16 charm squares up, and with right sides together sew 1/4″ seams on the left and right edges.

3. With the seams on the left and right hand sides, cut each pair in half. Iron open.

4. Pair the 16 2-print pieces up (seam running left/right rather than top/bottom). With right sides together, sew 1/4″ seams on the left and right edges.

5. With the seams on the left and right hand sides, cut each pair in half. Iron open. You now have 16 4-patches. If you would like more variety in your 4-patches, feel free to make them from the additional charm squares… just make sure to leave 4 – 6 charm squares for a later step.

6. Arrange your 4-patches in the following order:

Row 1: 2 4-patches
Row 2: 4 4-patches
Row 3: 4 4-patches
Row 4: 3 4-patches
Row 5: 2 4-patches
Row 6: 1 4-patch

Stitch together.

7. Layer batting and backing. Quilt as desired. Make sure to align your kite top to either the left or right side; the remaining fabric will be used for binding.

8. Now that your piece is quilted, we will cut it into the kite shape. Using your rotary cutter and ruler:

Cut 1: From the top center to the far right edge (bottom of row 4)
Cut 2: From the top center to the far left edge (bottom of row 4)
Cut 3: From the cut at the bottom of row 4 (right side) to the bottom center
Cut 4: From the cut at the bottom of row 4 (left side) to the bottom center

9. Bind as desired.

10. To make Kite Bows: layer 1 charm square (right side down), 1 5″ x 5″ piece batting, and 1 charm square (right side up). Free form stitch a bow shape, and cut out (I used a pinking shears for a little extra interest). Repeat for a second bow.

11. Attach the twill tape to the back of the kite with a few hand stitches (through the backing and batting, ensuring you don’t stitch through the quilt top). Attach bows to the twill tape, about 6″ to 8″ apart, using either a few hand stitches or with a couple of machine stitches.

12. Hang and enjoy a little bit of Spring!

1 Patchwork Kite (16″ x 24″)

Tammy Blackburn
{Karamat}