Mrs. C Does Stuff

It's February!  Last February, we took the Little Mister to Walt Disney World for the first time.  We were going to be in Orlando for something else, so we decided to take a little time to bring him to Disney World.  It was the perfect opportunity because he got to go with his uncles, both of this grandmothers, one of his grandfathers...even his only living great-grandmother joined us.  What a blessing it was to be able to share his first Disney experience with all of those loved ones! We had a blast on the trip!  We only did one day at the park, but that was all we had time for.  It was a great introduction to theme parks for the little dude. Before going to the park, I decided to make a shirt that said "Disney Newbie".  I wanted the Little Mister to have a shirt to commemorate his first Disney Park experience.  I also wanted to make him a shirt that would be easily identifiable in the event he wandered off from us and got lost.  We ...

Sewing has been on my mind these days.  I've always liked the idea of being able to make clothes that are specifically made for me.  By sewing, I can control the fit and the cost.  Above are a couple of pictures of the finished product.  Don't make fun of my legs, they are always that pale.  Perhaps next time, I may consider pairing this skirt with a pair of black tights as well.  Excuse my expression, I'm so awkward in pictures.  But, at least you can see how I styled the skirt. I picked up this Simplicity 1072 pattern one week when Hobby Lobby had one of their pattern sales.  It was a little more than a dollar with tax. All the reviews for this pattern claimed it was easy.  Since I'm not the best at sewing, I figured I would give it a whirl and see what happens.  I will eventually put up my own review of this skirt on Patternreview.com. I found this beautiful lace look knit fabric.  It can be found here .  Firs...

I have been having a difficult time finding maternity dress pants.  I would like to not pay a fortune for them.  Additionally, I was already an in between size before pregnancy.  Plus size close are usually too big, but some of the misses clothes were too tight and ill fitting.  I am also short, so finding dress pants that fit well and that do not requeire hemming is also a challenge.    I bought these pants from New York and Company about two years ago.  I wore them three times before the zipper broke.  I was pretty disappointed because I loved the way these pants fit.  I considered bringing them to a tailor, and put them off to the side to do so.  However, as with a few other pieces I have in need of altering, I forgot about them.  Now, I am glad I never brought them to the tailor because I decided to turn them into maternity pants.   The key to turning regular pants into maternity pants is to make sure they f...

I needed some large pillows for an outdoor project I am working on.  Tomorrow, I will share that project with you.  For today, I will show you how to make pillows.  The pillows in this tutorial were made out of 24 x 24 squares. I folded the fabric in half, with right sides together.  Then, cut out four sets of squares, 24 inches on all sides.  If using a fabric with a pattern, you may want to match the edges of the pattern at the seams so that it looks continuous. Each set of squares will become a pillow.  For each set of squares, you will follow the same steps.  Sew three of the sides with a straight stitch.  On the last side, sew a row of straight stitches about two thirds of the way across.  Leave the last third open.  This is the entry point for the polyester filling (also called "poly fill").  Flip the pillow inside out so the right side of the fabric is now exposed. Stuff the pillow with poly fill materi...

Making a shell out of an existing shirt is quite easy to do.  For this particular tutorial, I used a jersey knit fabric.  To accomodate for the type of fabric used, you may have to adjust the tension of the thread on your sewing machine.  Take your fabric and fold it in half with right sides together.  If you happen to be using a fabric with a pattern, try to match up the pattern on the edges so that it will appear continuous when your garment is complete.  Simply use a shirt that you like the fit of as your pattern to cut out the fabric you'll need for the shell. With a sewing machine sew the sides, leaving spaces for the arms, and tops of the shoulders, leaving the neckline open. Then using an iron create a crease for the hem, neckline and sleeves. Sew the ironed parts down to create clean lines and trim the excess fabric from the hem.  Now you have a shell, perfect for wearing with jeans....

When I was a kid, I had several belts like this.  I liked them because they were completely adjustable and always fit perfectly.  This belt is not difficult to make.  I purchased some webbed ribbon and D rings.  The spool I bought was four feet in length.  I used the entire length to make this belt.  If you are smaller than me, you may want to cut it down a bit and use a lighter to gently burn the edges.  This picture shows the length of the piece of webbed ribbon. Please note, when burning the edges, you want the heat from the flame to burn the edges of the ribbon so it does not unravel.  The edges will get crisp.  You do not want the flame to touch the webbed ribbon.  Be careful doing this, you can start a fire.   An alternative to burning the end of the ribbon is to fold about a quarter inch over and stitch across to tack it down.  Either way will work well for this project. Once you have the desired lengt...