Sunshine Day Tunic and Clam Diggers – Tutorial

 

 

Well, the name is Sunshine Day BUT the pictures for this were taken on the COLDEST day we have had since moving here!!!!! LOL There was no way I was going to make Cailey stand outside in 40 degrees…..

 

For some reason this outfit (or maybe just the striped fabric) reminds me of…….

 

 

Y’all remember that, right??? LOL I loved watching Brady Bunch reruns after school when I was a kid.

 

 

ANYWAY…. Here is the tutorial.

 

 

What I used – 

3/4 yard of the stripes (very silky and flowy)

1/4 yard of the gold cotton for the yoke at the top

1 yard of heavier, stretchier cotton for the clam diggers

1″ elastic

 

 

 

 

I had this idea… I was going to make the front and back yoke one piece…. with lining….. Yeah… I even cut a muslin (above).

It took me a bit to figure out the problem. LOL

One I realized that I wouldn’t be able to turn it right side out after sewing the lining, I resigned myself to 4 pieces instead of 2.

 

 

So, then I made a pattern piece after much measuring and figuring. LOL

 

 

 

 

Pin the lining pieces to the main pieces and sew all around, leaving the bottom open.

 

 

 

Clip the corners, turn right side out and press.

 

 

 

Cut the pieces for the bottom of the tunic. I cut the top of it about a 1/4″ wider than the bottom of the yoke.

Make it as long as you like, widening as you go and curving the bottom.

 

 

 

Pin the bottom of the yoke to the top of the bottom piece, with right sides together. Sew then press your seams.

 

 

 

 

Now, pin the front to the back, with right sides together. Sew the shoulder and the sides.

 

Next, fold up and press 1/2″ on the bottom. Then fold up and press 3/4″. Sew the hem.

 

 

 

Remove the cat from your work space.

 

 

 

Grab a pair of your child’s pants to use as a cutting guide for the clam diggers. Turn up the leg bottoms to your desired length.

 

 

 

 

If you have a right side/wrong side fabric, you will want to flip the pants guide over to cut the second leg.

 

 

 

Sew up the inseam from the bottom to the start of the crotch curve.

(If your child is very small, you will want to hem them first.)

 

 

 

Turn one leg right side out and slide it into the other leg. Pin and sew.

 

 

 

Now for the elastic casing. Fold over 1/4″ and press. Fold over again by just over 1″, press and sew the casing, making sure to leave a section open to insert the elastic.

 

 

 

Pin the ends of the elastic and insert into the opening.

Then pull both ends out and secure with zigzag stitches.

Sew the opening closed.

 

 

 

Fold up and press the bottom of the legs by 1/2″. Fold up and press another 1/2″ and sew the hem!

 

 

Turn right side out and press!

 

YOU ARE DONE!!!! 😀

 

 

As always, let me know if you have any questions. You can always use the Contact Me button at the top of the page.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

 

 

 

Men’s Shirt Refashion Tutorial (of sorts)

 

 

 

I didn’t take but a few pictures during the making of this outfit but I think I can still walk you through the process with what pics I DO have. 😉

 

 

 

I started with a large men’s shirt and my BFF, the seam ripper.

 

 

 

First I picked the seams off the sleeves.

Next came the collar (the fold over part).

Then I picked off the cuffs.

 

 

 

 

I cut the shirt along the white line.

Then I sewed up the side seams.

 

 

 

Next I sewed a finishing stitch along the arm holes/sleeve edges.

Then I pinned and sewed on the sequined ribbon.

 

After that I pinned and sewed the sequined ribbon to what was left of the collar.

 

Next I pinned and sewed the sequined ribbon around the high waist, leaving it open on the ends for the elastic casing.

I then threaded the elastic through, pulled the ends out of the casing and sewed the casing closed. After that I pulled on the elastic and cut the ends.

I did NOT hem the bottom of the top. I plan on going back and adding the sequined ribbon to the bottom as soon as I can get my hands on more of it! LOL So for the time being it just has a finishing stitch across the bottom. (Done after the pics were taken.)

 

 

 

The pants were a little tricky. You have to cut the tops of each sleeve below the curve where it fits to the arm holes. If Cailey had been any taller it probably would not have worked so well. LOL

After the tops are cut off, turn one sleeve inside out and slide down into the other sleeve. Then sew the crotch seam.  The inseam is already there from the sleeve seams. 😉

Next, I sewed a finishing stitch across the waist of the pants. Then I folded and pressed about 1″.

After that I sewed the elastic casing, inserted 3/4″ elastic and finished it up.

The last step was adding the sequined ribbon to the bottoms of the legs.

 

 

For the cuff bracelets, I cut a little out of the middle of each to make them smaller. Then I sewed them back together.

Next i took off the plain buttons and added the sparkly ones. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

The whole thing was MUCH easier than I thought it was going to be. If I knew it was going to be that easy I would have taken more pictures! LOL

OH!! I almost forgot!! Her hair tie was made from the fold over part of the collar! LOL I just top stitched the open seam. 😉

 

I hope this is helpful!! If you have ANY questions, please use the Contact Me button at the top of the page and send me an email!