The Stuff I Live For

May 14, 2008

 This is a 3 Part Tutorial! Click the Link at the Bottom of the Post for Part 3!

Or to go back to Part 1 click here.

Fold over again 1 1/4". Press and pin.

For the bottom hem, fold the bottom up 1/4" twice. Press and pin.

For the skinny ties, fold the long edges each in half way and press. I like to start in the middle and get a little part of the long sides folded in, then guide the iron down to the left while using my free hand to fold the sides in. Then, start back in the middle and go down the right side.

Fold the skinny tie in half lengthwise again. Press and pin. Do this for both ties (obviously!).

ties step 1 

ties step 2

Now the back of your neck is sore from looking down at the ironing board, but the rest is simple!

Sew your top hem. Stay very close to the edge of the fold. Remember to start at the vertical seam because you'll be backstitching at the beginning and ending of your stiched line and leaving a 2" opening to pull your elastic through, then stitching that opening up. You want all that to be at the back of the shirt.

Don't forget to leave that 2" opening. Attach a safety pin to one end of the 1" elastic and pull it through. I always like to try whatever I'm making on my girls before cutting the elastic. If you have the child there, I recommend doing this. If not, I can tell you the piece of elastic I used for this top is 18 1/2" long, unstretched. The top fits Shay who wears a 3T and Ayla who wears a 4T. Elastic in this length should also fit a 2T. Beyond that, I'm not sure, but I'd bet it'd also fit a 5T comfortably.

Sew elastic together and sew up the rest of the hem.

I like to even out the gathering on the fabric that the elastic causes and sew a vertical line through the elastic part at the back hem to help keep the elastic from twisting. With the seam in the back center, pull the elastic top out to the sides all the way to determine the front center. Sew a vertical line through the elastic here too. It doesn't matter because you're going to put a button here later. You can see these stitches at my middle and pointer fingers.

Wait There's More! Click here for Part 3!