Last year’s Easter outfits were really fun to shop for, but this year I wanted to make something (like my mom did for us girls when were young). I didn’t have much of anything in mind when it came to our outfits; especially with Penelope’s, I just flew by the seat of my pants on that one. I just knew I wanted the boys to have matching bow-ties.
I came across this rad bed sheet a few weeks ago & scored it for a whopping $2.50. I fell in love with the ikat-style pattern, the muted color palette and the hem. I hate hemming clothes, so I was particularly excited when I saw how great the hem was on this bedsheet.
Inspired by theĀ Cotton & Curls’s paper bag skirt tutorial, I made a paper bag-type skirt with a few differences. Because I wanted a fuller skirt, I opted out of the box pleats & did an elastic waistband instead. Want to make your own? It’s super simple:
- measure your waist & the length you want your skirt
- cut out fabric 2.5 times the width of your waist (for a full skirt like mine) at the desired length + 1 inch (two inches if you need to hem the bottom, too)
- hem the top & bottom of your skirt using a 1″ hem
- cut out elastic at the same measurement as your waist
- pin the elastic about 1 inch down from the top of your skirt, in sections of eighths
- using your widest zig-zag stitch sew the elastic onto your skirt, stretching the elastic to match up with the fabric as you go
- sew the two ends of the skirt together & trim threads
- wear the skirt with a belt just below the ruffled top
- VOILA!!
If you’d like pics of this tutorial, give me a shout out in the comments & I’ll get one published soon.
For Penelope’s dress, I flew by the seat of my pants. Again, being inspired by the box pleats from cotton & curls, I thought if I did a square dress + pin-tucks at the yoke + a ribbon around the waist, it’d be simple & still have shape. Done. Perfect. Looking back, I think I would’ve made her dress a little shorter. On the bright side, she is growing like a weed, so the length will be perfect in a month or two. BONUS, Penelope likes this dress!! YAHOO. She was more than happy to wear this ALL day, which says a lot. She opts to sport just the diaper most of the time.
I totally cheated on the bow ties. I meant to make real bow ties, but since my sewing machine was almost completely broken at this point, I just made bows with my hot glue gun & glued them onto elastic. I cheated, but at least Chris (and his brother) didn’t have to learn how to tie a bow tie just minutes before church. Each bow tie I made took 2-3 minutes. Not bad.
Overall, I spent under $3 (including notions) for our Easter elements. For more pictures & a break down of all of our Easter outfits, head over to the fashion section.
Adorable. I can recommend a great place for machine repair that’s in the SLC area if you’re interested. If you’re not…they also sell machines. :D
i made a skirt like that too since the paper bag look is so cute and simple. i wore it today actually. love the no hem here though, like you, i hate hemming! seriously, i hate it.
So pretty! I don’t love hemming either. That sheet was a great find! I like the shape the pleats give Penelope’s dress. Your family is adorable! I tried to leave you a comment on your other blog the other day but I got an error.
These turned out really cute! And I am pretty sure my parents had sheets in this print when I was a kid! :)
You couldn’t really tell in the family photos, but the pattern is so nice! Love it! I love matchy-matchy , but Im glad its not too much, a dress and a skirt is so cute! =) Can you be my (Supercool) aunt? ;)
Bellesme
You are a beautiful family! I especially love the added touch of that brown belt with your pastel skirt.
Love these! Penelope’s dress is really adorable and with that extra length it will be great even next year. It would be a great tunic top too.
both the skirt and dress are so adorable!!
AH. that’s brilliant. for realsies. and cute too which doesn’t always happen. also i’m now a follower. thank the lovely morgan from MVD for me, k.
Um I am obsessed with the fact that you used a $2.50 sheet for these! I personally am interested in a tutorial on the skirt, even though it seems quite simple.
Thank you for your lovely blog!
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