Day 2 : Cutting Fabric and Appliques.

Hopefully I didn't bored the sweet sassy sunshine out of y'all!! {This is part 1 or part 2 of the time consuming parts. Also the magic starts to take place! }

Now we get to the fun part :) Choosing your fabrics and what fun design you will pick out. Mama Beth has really spent a lot of hours designing and digitizing a lot of appliques and have even given a few lucky ladies a few designs they had asked for. Hehe.... I'm secretly one of them na na na na batgirl inspired!!! So next time you're in the group please give Beth a huge thank you she is so wonderful to us all!! I will show you in this post using yardage and doing up-cycling. I love that you can really have fun with these patterns mix and match to create truly one of a kind designs. {Please beware.... I will more than likely copy all of you I just know it!! I'm always in awe over everyone's special talents and their own personal style when you can let your creative side free.} I usually will ask to copy or borrow you ideas ahead of time.

Supplies Needed:

• Pattern pieces all printed
• Tape
• Applique pattern of your choice all printed off
• Knit {PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRE-WASH YOUR KNITS!!! VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE KNIT SHRINKS UP! THIS WILL GIVE YOU A TRUE SIZE YOU'RE CREATING AFTER EACH AND EVERY WASH N DRY!}
• Cutting mat Rotary blade or scissors.
• Ruler {used for cutting the bias}
• Paper weights or pins
• Heat and Bond lite or no sew {depending on what you purchased}
• Marking pen {I love FriXion pens found here:  http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-FriXion-Erasable-8-Pack-31569/dp/B004DOMK2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410839378&sr=8-1&keywords=frixion+erasable+pens if you haven't heard of these oh boy you will feel like a kid of Christmas! They are pens that when you apply your hot iron with steam on the mark it steams away. As always you need to test on a scrap piece so you can really see how it works on the fabric you are using it on.}
• Iron and Ironing board for your appliques

• TREATS!!!

{All the supplies!! pattern shown is Katy}

 

 

{Pattern shown: Mac}

 

 

{Look at some of the few or many designs Beth has created for us!! We love you Beth!!}

 

{Some of my favorite tools! Love these paper weights!}

 

 

I'm going to start first with yardage and I am showing this using the Katy Panda pattern {it can be found here if you don't owe it  http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/clothing/katy-panda-knit-dress-12--16/100926 }

Here is my fabric {I found my lovely knits from Walmart and Joann} {How about we take a wild guess on what this Katy will be?? Yep.... not hard to see that Miss. Clara Mae is getting an Anna inspired dress complete with cape...}

 

 

 

{This photo shows the Katy all cut out Princess style! Clara Mae is quite please :) }

 

Note!!! Before you cut out your pieces it is a good time to read through the tutorial, look at the size charts, measure your child and find out if you need to shorten or extend the length, and find out what width to cut out. You will also pick up on other key points that will help you along the way. Again, if you have any questions please post in the group and you will get an answer quite quickly to any size issues when in doubt... ask. We are always online to answer any questions and help you out. I know it gets confusing when you have to mash up sizes for your little ones. For Clara Mae's Katy I did all size 1 besides making the length of the front and back skirt piece a size 2.

{Sometimes sewing can be confusing! Thank goodness for amazing people with far more years experience than myself!! Every day always learning, growing, and getting my skills polished }

Once you have figured out what size you need to cut out, go ahead and get your handy paper scissors and cut out your Mac or Katy. Then grab your pre-washed knit and figure out what color will go get cut out of which piece and cut out your fabric. For this you will see I have these amazing paper weights. {Thanks Randi, I use these on everything!!} I host fun stash swaps and I got these from Randi in a stash swap. I highly recommend you try out paper weights they are easy to make. Here is a great tutorial to make your own. Go to your local Walmart or other shopping center go to the newborn socks. Put them in your cart, then head yourself over to the rice and pick up a cheap bag of rice. Purchase these two items. Once home grab a newborn sock and fill it with rice {beans, crushed walnut shells, and any other form of matter will work you could even get pebbles of rocks} once filled you can stitch the sock end closed or tie it in a knot and there you go! You've got yourself cheap and very easy paper weights. Or you can find paper weight patterns that aren't so ghetto on Pinterest. Now that my ADHD is done {for now} lets get back to cutting your fabric out. Take your weights or pins and secure the pattern pieces to your knit. Please make sure the stretch of your fabric is going in the correct direction. You can see if your correct of not by checking the stretch guide indicators on your handy pattern pieces. I also cut from the wrong side up then when I get to the sleeves I always have mirror images. When cutting knit out I choose to use my rotary over scissors I have more control and with the paper weights I know everything is secure and I can get a more evenly cut piece of fabric verses when I use my scissors but, to each their own if scissors work better for you and you are scared to heck of slicing your hand off with the rotary blade take the safe route and use scissors we don't want to hear of stories of having to get x-rays and stitches from using a rotary blade.

 

{Your Katy pieces all taped together & cut to the size you need remember you can mix & match the sizing to make a truly custom fit for you child!}

 

 

{My favorite method to use when cutting knits out paper weights and rotary!}

 

 

I am now cutting out my cape! If you choose to do a cape you have many options you can do a detachable cape and add a buttonhole and buttons {but, ain't nobody got time for that!!} or sew in. I went with the sew in option because I'm already the mad hatter with everything I'm creating to show for ideas. They won't actually get show until Sunday more than likely because most of them I dream about and need to remember how epic and awesome they were to re-create the magic. With Clara Mae she is so short I didn't want a long cape I kept it pretty short. Again, you can extend your cape maybe an inch or so below the finished hem of your shirt or dress. I'll also use a rolled hem to finish the edges. Since knit doesn't fray you can cheat and not even do a darn thing to it besides sew it into the seam. My cape ended up being cut at the 1/2 size length on the pattern piece.

 

{I took my dress piece and make the length go to the size 1/2 for my cape piece.}

 

 

{Look so pretty! Remember you can make the width wider so the cape will gather if you want to try that. I'm going to use this same method when I do my na na na na supergirl Katy or Mac}

Yay, you now have all your pieces cut out!!

                  {This is a good time to reward yourself with ice cream or chocolate or hey, why not   both you've earned it!! I had a yummy chocolate chip cookie thank you Costco!}

Next.... applique I created a stencil to do hand painting on my Anna which I will go more in detail when tomorrow comes because that is all about prepping your applique and sewing it to your Katy or Mac. {Please skip further down for applique process when I show this with the up-cycle Mac shirt}

Okay, it is time for our up-cycle to come out and play! For this I'm using the Mac Monster Shirt {if you don't owe it yet, you can find it for sale here:  http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/clothing/macs-monster-t-shirt/112113}

{Mac Pieces all cut out this is a size 3}

 

{My awesome clearance $2 finds thanks Walmart! You might want to look in the Men's section in the character prints and also in the Misses character section because they always have fun clearance in that section and are perfect for your up-cycling adding in more flair!!}

 

 

This is so nice because you can totally cheat! Who doesn't love to cheat every now and again in sewing to save time. When you cheat you can do double or even triple items and feel like a total ROCKSTAR SEWING GODDESS/GOD! You're probably wondering how this cheat method will be so helpful to you. Well because you are using a t-shirt the hems are already done for you. If you can work it out perfectly then you can also use the as is sleeve and use that hem too! {BONUS!! ~ You will feel like you won the lotto a wee bit okay maybe not that excited but, still its pretty awesome once you work the pattern pieces just right to create this magic!} I scored these large shirts at Walmart for $2 booyeah!! You can't even buy knit for that price most of the time not even with all your coupon skills at Joann and let me tell you... my Joann ladies know me well I go in with 10 coupons and I must use all 10 in one transaction. {If your local Joann doesn't do that I feel sadness for you and might cry with you for a second.} When I'm using up-cycle I take extra care and time to make sure I'm utilizing every inch of the shirt and I'm using existing hems. Sometimes I don't get lucky with being able to use the sleeves on the shirt but, I get over it because I've got the tools in my sewing box to make professional hems. Again, you will see I used paper weights and a rotary to cut my pattern out.

{Lay out your pieces before cutting to see how they look!}

 

{Yay.... as you can see I don't even have to hem my Mac :) }

 

{A very vivid Mac Frankie.... This is so much to create any look you'd like. You can keep it more simple and do a tone on tone or find fun stripes, polka dots, chevron pieces for the upper portion and sleeve and keep the bottom a solid.}

{All the pieces lined up perfect on my shirts and hooray for me I have enough space to create one more shirt for Clara Mae out of all of these!}

 

 

{Make sure to take time and smooth out the shirt so the hemline is nice and even. As you can see I don't have to hem my bride of Frankie shirt. I would have inserted a photo of me doing spirit fingers but, I figured your getting two horrid photos already so just vision me dancing and getting my spirit fingers on :) }

Now for Appliques: Grab your design. For this tutorial I'm using the Frankie {Beth is amazing look at how cute this is!! Bella will love having two Frankie's now.} So for the Bride you will need to trace: the 1 hair, 2 lighting bolts, 2 circles for the eyes, 2 half circles for the pupils, 1 face shape make sure you get those ears. The nose, eyelashes, and mouth you will take a marking pen and lightly draw those onto your piece once you've lined everything else. I use a pen so I trace everything onto the smooth side of the heat n bond then I will cut out each piece. This is were you can create your masterpiece and use a variety of different knits, anti-pill fleece, bamboo felt, wool blends, ect...

 

{Let your creative side wild! Make fun bright appliques.}

 

{Please don't mind the hot mess that is on my ironing board my lovely iron has a leakage issue in a bad way and I have on my giant to do list making a new cover for the ironing board. Iron your heat n bond with the bumpy side on the fabric until it has sealed to the fabric. Then you will cut out the design with scissors. When I know my applique requires a lot of layering on the heat n bond after I trace I write what piece it is and what side it belongs too.}

Once you have all your pieces all cut out with the Heat n bond iron it to your knit or other material your using for your applique and cut out your pieces...

{Look at how cute Frankie is! I love her gold highlighted bolt!}

Holy sweet sassafrass..... We are ready to eat a giant bar of chocolate or in my case peanut butter m&ms... {You deserve it don't let anyone try and tell you otherwise...you might have to de-friend them until after your reward is gone ;) }

Check back with us tomorrow as we will iron your pieces to your Katy or Mac and get our sew-on!

xoxo

~Nicole