Round 4 - Comfy sews VS Cozy Knits Skirts

1. shiroshakar 2. flower gathered skirt

i posted this roundup on hideous! dreadful! stinky! for the "summer of no pants series" last week. here's the full roundup in case you missed it over there. bring on the skirts ladies!

let the battle begin...ding...ding...ding...

1. nederdel

1. soft linen single gore skirt 2. lanesplitter 3. swirl skirt 4. prairie skirt

1. baile 2. #12 skirt 3. flamenco ruffled drawstring

1. fit-n-flare trumpet skirt

1. eave 2. agnes

1. chelsea skirt 2. ruffled mini skirt 3. bell curve 4. flouncy skirt

1. sugar 2. linen skirt with flounce border

1. elastic waist skirts

1. midi-skirt 2. flirting the issue

1. charlotte russe inspired skirt 2. denim skirt refashion 3. circle skirt

1. favorite frills skirt

1. paperbag skirt 2. everything coming up roses 3. vintage bowtie skirt

1. maxi skirt

1. reversible scallop skirt 2. reversible skirt

1. drape wrap skirt 2. skirt with deep pockets

1. gyspy romance 3 tiered skirt 2. skirtdress 3. simple long flora skirt

ok...get your vote on (here's the link to the poll in case it doesn't show up):




happy sewing ladies! may you all enjoy a pants free summer!

Summer of no pants guest post!

1. shiroshakar 2. flower gathered skirt

hi everyone! i'm over on the fun blog hideous! dreadful! stinky! for the "summer of no pants series" today! i love this series! it's a fun challenge where people make an effort to only sew and wear skirts and dresses. marigold asked me to join in with a round of "comfy sews VS cozy knits" on skirts for you all (you can find dress showdowns here)! i love skirts and dresses. i would prefer to wear a skirt/dress over pants any day. in fact i just made my very first dress for myself (check out the tutorial here)! i'm so happy i did!

so here's a fun roundup so that all of you will feel encouraged and inspired to whip up some skirts this summer! the only question is which side will you be on? knits or sews?

1. elastic waist skirts

get in your seats gals, the battle is about to begin...

1. fit-n-flare trumpet skirt

...ding...ding...ding...ding!

click here for the full roundup & to join in on the "summer of no pants" series!

you can find all things hideous! dreadful! stinky! here...

*blog *shop *flickr *facebook *twitter

what do you all prefer? are you more of a pants girl or a skirts girl? could you go the whole summer wearing only skirts and dresses?

ps. the full roundup will be archived here on versus next week :)

The Spring Frills Scarf with Guest Anneliese of Aesthetic Nest

our last guest for comfy sews VS cozy knits is the talented, creative, beautiful mom of 3 anneliese of the gorgeous blog "aesthetic nest". i'm so excited that anneliese is back again this season with a crochet pattern to throw into the mix!!! i couldn't have this theme month without one more crochet pattern :P


anneliese's blog is filled with gorgeous and inspiring goodies. from food, sewing, painting, crochet, knitting and parties galore this talented ladies got it.


her style is gorgeous. her children are oh so cute as are the patterns and items in her etsy shop.


so trust me when i say to pop over to the aesthetic nest and get lost in anneliese's world.

how she manages to find the time to make all these beautiful handmade goodies with 3 wee ones is beyond me but i'm gonna keep bugging her till she tells me. in the meantime though....

let's hear how she makes the pretty spring frills scarf....here's anneliese...

I love these battles Shannon stages, because without the opportunity to duke it out I might never make something for myself! If you ever stop by Aesthetic Nest you know my three daughters are usually the focus of my creative production. So thank you, Shannon, for keeping some luv in the mommyhood--all moms need something for themselves every once in a while.

This project may be the perfect thing if you find a few minutes to work on something for yourself. It's crochet and I'm taking sides this Spring because crochet can travel, you can pick it up for just a minute or two and drop it when someone spills the milk, it doesn't create a big mess you have to clean up a the end of nap time, and it produces results quickly! In fact, this particular project, the Spring Frills Scarf, fits into no time at all. It works up quickly, but more more importantly, it works up rather mindlessly. It's perfect for carrying along to work on while waiting in the car, or for an appointment, or on a vacation--with just 1 or 2 skeins and a hook it can easily fit in your purse, diaper bag or carry on. And the simple instructions mean you rarely have to refer to the pattern--you can just work away. I started work on this in one day on a recent vacation while riding in a car, on windy roads no less, because the repetitive stitch work meant I could look ahead most of the time and avoid motion sickness! It's true!

A scarf may not be the first thing you think of wearing in the spring, but this is lightweight and cotton and offers a number of options for throwing over a work or SAHM outfit. Plus, it has ruffles, and we can all use a few more of those, can't we? It's Spring! Let's add some frills.

If you are new to crochet, you can do this! And if you have been doing it for a while, you can do this quickly! So without further delay, here we go.

SPRING FRILLS SCARF TUTORIAL

MATERIALS:

--2 skeins Omega Sinfonia 100% mercerized cotton yarn in Fresco. It's 100grams/218 yds and available at Hobby Lobby. (You won’t need very much of the second skein and I provide directions if you’d like to make a shorter scarf and use just one skein.)

--H Hook.

TO MAKE:

Chain 283 (or if you want to make this a 1-skein project and have a slightly shorter scarf, chain 253).

Round 1: Work 1 double crochet (dc) in the third chain (ch) from the hook. Dc in each ch to the last ch.

Work 5 dc in the last ch.

Do not turn. Work along the back of the foundation chain working 1 dc in each ch to the first ch.

Work 4 dc in the first ch for a total of 5 dc and slip stitch (sl st) to the beginning dc to join.

Round 2: Ch 3...

Work 2 dc in the same stitch.

Work 3 dc in the next dc and every dc thereafter...

(Your work will start to "ruffle" nicely.)

...working around the end and all the way around the scarf.

Join with a sl st. Weave in ends. Wear!

thanks so much anneliese! i love this scarf! it will look so pretty with jeans and tshirt or pretty summer dress! i can't wait to cast one on! if you all want to see more of anneliese's work...

*blog *etsy shop

the roundups are coming....i've got one last comfy sews VS cozy knits left and a giant crochet one coming your guys way next week so stay tuned :)

do you crochet? are you going to cast on for the spring frills scarf? am i the only one who knits/crochets in the car in between all the errands with the kids?

Reversible Skirt Tutorial with Guest Disney of Ruffles and Stuff

i'm super excited to have one of the sweetest bloggers i know, disney of the blog "ruffles and stuff" join us today with a pretty cool reversible skirt tutorial! i love this tute! it's timeless, adaptable and so much fun! i'm definitely going to have to try my hand at making one of these.


disney's blog has been one of my favorites for a very long time. her photography, styling, fun personality and adorable daughter make it an irresistible place to visit.


you can find tutorials galore for ladies, little girls and for your home. you can even fancy up a pretty snazzy accessory as well! you ready to get inspired? get your fabrics ready & your machines warmed up to get working on any number of disney's tutorials.


now let's hear from disney...

Oh! I'm so excited to be part of Versus, I don't even know what to do with myself. What an honor! Thank you, Shannon!

And I'm extra-excited to be in sewing's corner of the ring. Sewing is such an open field for creativity. I don't want to make the knitting ladies feel bad, knitting is so lovely, and you can make some very lovely things. But, seriously, with sewing, what can't you do? If the choice comes between the two, for me, it's sewing-hands down.

And to help state my case, here's a lovely little sewing tutorial from me to you!

A reversible skirt.

One skirt, two looks! With simple, beginner-type directions.

All the benefits of two distinct skirts, with the effort of only one! Hot dog!

Got a split personality? No problem. Let both sides shine!

One side of mine (I call her Poppy) loves little country florals, picket fences and wearing rain boots whenever possible.

The other half of me likes to plays it pretty safe. All matchy-matchy and "normal" looking.

But, if you flip your skirt, won't one side have a seam showing?

We can't have that....

And what about where the elastic is closed?

It's no problem! Let's see how it's done...

1. First we'll need a nice elastic waistband for our skirt. Wrap some 2"-3" elastic around your waist until it's comfortable, add an inch and sew ends together, leaving about an inch on one end. (Photo a) Then fold the extra bit over twice, open up the waistband and sew the folded bit down. (Photo b)

2. Next cut two lengths of fabric for your skirt pieces. 2x your widest hip/waist measurement and 28" long for your main fabric, 18" for your accent fabric.

3. Turn each piece into a tube by sewing the sides together with right sides facing. Hem the bottom of the 18" piece.

4. To hem the longer piece, turn under the edge once and fold up the bottom about 7", pin well. Then use chalk or a sewing pen to mark 1" lines all the way up. Sew along each line with matching thread.

5. You'll need to gather the top of each skirt piece slightly until it's a little larger than your elastic band. To gather, sew along the top with a long straight stitch and pull one of the threads as you slide the fabric down.

6.Then pin the elastic band to the top of the skirt pieces in four equally spaces places. As you can see in the photo, the right sides of the skirt pieces should be facing each other, with elastic sandwiched in between, and all layers flush on top.

6. Gently stretch the elastic band as you sew the three layers together with a zigzag stitch.

All done!

Now you can have fun thinking of fun color combinations. :o)

But be sure that neither of your fabric choices show through to the other side.

And if you want to practice a little before making your own, this pattern works for little punkin's, too!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

Thank you again so much for having me Shannon.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!! :O)

Love,

Disney

thanks so much for being part of comfy sews VS cozy knits disney! love this skirt! remember what i told you...i will email you daily..wink wink :P if you all want to see more of disney's work pop on over to her fab blog - ruffles and stuff.

are you planning on making this skirt? don't you just love the fact that it's reversible too? so fun!