Coraline's Jungle Gym

Gymnast perhaps? 

Oh, and yes, it is 2011 and I've just discovered the awesomness of Youtube. 

If I Should Fall Behind

Sometimes, I don't know what to think of myself!  I have never been able to pinpoit my music style.  There are very few things I actually like to listen too and much prefer to listen to books on tape when I'm in my car.  I never know what to pick on the music on demand channels because most of the stuff I don't like.  It's frustrating to say the least!  I have a strange, eclectic assortment of songs on my mp3 player (which, sadly, doesn't get used as much as it should).

With that said . . . there is one person/band that I love and have always loved and will always love since I was 5 years old.


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.   I have my dad to thank for that.  He would blast Born in the USA while he had me and my sister in the back of his jeep (with all the windows down) driving to Waimea.  I will never forget how "big" I felt listening to his music.  Rhea and I only remembered the line "Born in the USA" but we sang it proudly!  I have that CD and occasionally roll all the windows down in my jeep and blast the CD- it's great! 

Here is a song that my dad found--  I LOVE the message and the lyrics. 

Summertime Bucket Hat

I've wanted to make a bucket hat for Coraline for awhile.  I think they're adorable and perfect for keeping that head covered during the summer.  The problem is that she won't wear a hat (or any hair accessories) right now.  Oh well, I had some extra fabric, so I went for it anyway.  It's a two-in-one hat (reversible).  It's a little big because I followed her pattern which is for a 2T.  But, I figured if she wouldn't wear it now she may in the future. 

Here is the tutorial I followed.  Very easy.  I did include one side of interfacing to stiffen it up a bit and I did do 1/4 inch seams all the way up the brim.

Since I just used boring old white fabric for the inside (more of a liner), I may add straps so she'll keep it on.  This will take away the reversibility function. 

Oh how much fun I could have with this pattern!

What to do . . .

When your baby has a diaper rash that needs a little airing out but it is too blazin' hot to go outside and besides said baby likes to eat handfuls of dirt.

*    *    *

Why you bring the pool indoors (minus the water) and let her have at it.  BTW, it did help the diaper rash.

Culotte Tutorial

My niece is going to her first overnight camp this week and they require that the girls wear culottes.  According to my sister, culottes can run around $25 a pair.  That's a bit much for some fabric and elastic, so she asked me to make her some.  My niece got to pick out her favorite fabrics and we were off!  After looking at the construction of a culotte, I realized that it is a pretty simple construction. 

Some interesting facts about culottes- they are supposed to look like a skirt, but really are "baggy" shorts and they are to have an elastic band (no zippers or buttons). 

My niece is a children's size 6, but you could easily make this smaller, larger, longer, etc. to fit the size of your child.

You'll need:

1 yard of fabric
22 inches of 1 inch elastic
basic sewing materials

First, I took a pair of her culottes and made my own pattern out of it.  Here are the dimensions that I used:

Skirt/Short part.  Place the long side (14 inches) on the fold of the fabric.

Basically you want to start out with a rectangle.  Measure in 8 inches from the top and make a mark.  Measure 6.5 inches down and make a mark.  Now you are going to cut a "J" (this is the crotch).  Bottom notch is similar.  Measure 3 inches up from the bottom and make a mark and measure 5.5 inches from the left and make a mark.  Cut an angle.  This is part of the bottom of the culottes.    

Waistband.  You will want a total of two pieces. 

You have a total of two pieces.  This will be the skirt/short part.

Place the right side of the fabric together and, using a 1/4 inch seam, sew along the long side (14 inch) and the inseam (4.5 inch).  You will want to serge or use a zig-zag stitch on the raw edges so it won't fray.

One part of the culotte done.

This is what it looks like when you turn it right side out.

Now, pin the two legs together and sew using a 1/4 inch seam- this will be the crotch part. Set these aside for now.

Onto the waistband.  You should have two pieces.

Place right side together and sew along the short sides (6.5 inches) and create a tube.

Now we are going to create the tube for the elastic.  Fold down 1.5 inches, and then fold the raw edge under another 1/4 inch to create a tube for the elastic. 

Sew right on the edge of the bottom fold.  Make sure to leave a space to thread your elastic through.  Set this aside for now.

Now on to the pleats of the culotte part.  I put three pleats onto each leg of the culotte.  One at 2 inch, one at 6.5 inch and one at 11 inch.  My pleats lines were marked at 1.25 inches apart.

You will want to overlap the third pleat on each culotte (front and back) so that it hides the shorts part of the culotte.  This is the step that makes it look like a skirt.  If you look at the picture above, I've put the pleat on the left side of the culotte over the crotch seam.   

Now, I've placed the third pleat on the right side over the third pleat of the left side, so that you can't see the left side pleat anymore. 

This is what it will look like after you pin it.  (Looks like a total of 5 pleats, but really it is 6 because one pleat is hidden).

Now, make sure your waistband matches up to your culottes (you may need to adjust your pleat sizes) and then place your waistband over the culottes (right sides together), pin and sew together. 

When you are done, it will look like this.

I topstich the waistband into place.  It looks cleaner to me.

Now, time to thread your elastic into the waistband.  Sew together elastic and then sew the opening shut. 

On to the hem.  Make this whatever size you need too.  Mine ended up being 1/4 inch hem.

Finished!! 

I made four culottes in a span of two days.

A good view of the shorts part.

See how it resembles a skirt when layed out.

That little cut out in the leg helps the hem stay all the same length and makes it look like a skirt.  Without it, that piece hangs lower than the rest of the hem.

This is my first tutorial and I apologize in advance for anything that doesn't make sense.  Please ask me any questions.

 

Happy Birthday America!

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday celebrating our great country! 

We had an early BBQ with the family and am now waiting for the fireworks to start (on tv).  I'm not sure Miss C would appreciate fireworks this year.  Maybe next year!