How I made my crib skirt from a sheet

This is a simple tutorial on how I made my crib skirt from a sheet. It's a ruffled skirt that fits any crib but I'll tell you some hints on how you can tailor yours to fit your needs. This could be for a beginner, but I don't explain the basting or hemming process. :)

Step 1. I started with a twin size sheet. It measured 66x96". I threw it in the dryer to get the wrinkles out and drew a diagram on how I wanted to cut it.


Step 2. I chose to tear it instead of cutting it. It was super fast. The first thing that I did was tear off all of the hems.


Step 3. Cut (or tear) the pieces.
My perfect length for the crib skirt was 9". So I started with a 10" length. This saves room for 1/2" worth of hemming or sewing on each side. If you want your skirt longer or shorter, adjust as necessary.

Cut 5, 10" x 60"  pieces (60" give or take a few) for the skirt
Cut 1, 28.5" x 53" piece for the body
Here is the sheet cutting diagram.



Step 4: Attach the 10x60" strips together on the 10" ends. This will make a verrrrrrrrry long strip.


Step 5: Hem or serge one long edge.
I chose to serge mine with a rolled hem because I like the look of the contrasting white fabric for my nursery. You could easily just make a small hem.


Step 6: Cut your pieces. The total length of your long strip should be a little more than about 300 inches.
Cut 2, 100" strips and 2, 50" strips from the long strip. Discard any remaining strip.

Step 7:
Hem the 10" sides of each of the 4 strips.


Step 8:
Sew a double basting stitch on each 'raw' edge of each short, 50" strips.


Step 9:
Gather the raw edge of the 50" strips by pulling on the bobbin threads of the basted stitches.


Step 10: Lay the ruffled edge onto the 53" edge of the body piece. This will help determine how short to make the ruffled edge.


Step 11: Tie the threads once the gathers are at the proper length. Then evenly disperse the gathers.


Step 12. Sew the ruffled edge of the skirt onto the raw edge of the body piece. I sewed mine so that none of the gathered stitches would show. It's pretty rough because I didn't pin it. I figured with a cute ruffled edge, you wouldn't notice if it was a tad uneven.


Step 13. After the short strip of ruffles are done, do the large strips of ruffles.
When you attach the large strips to the body piece, overlap the small strips about 1/2-1" so that there won't be any raw edges when you are finished.



Step 14. Snip all of your strings and enjoy having a super oober cute ruffled crib skirt!

Best Baby Leggings Pattern

The best baby leggings pattern is finally here. It features 8 sizes from newborn to 36 months. All of the pattern pieces are printable from a home printer. There is not any scaling necessary as the pattern pieces are drafted professionally to size. There are optional ruffles and a rear extender for cloth diapers. Sound too good to be true? It's here! Read on!!

If you don't want to read about my designing story

 feel free to click here to view the baby legging sewing pattern.

When I first decided that I wanted to make a legging pattern, it was after multiple people had asked me to design them. At the time of the first requests, I had an entire drawer filled with leggings and dresses. I wasn't about to make any more. However, this last box of baby clothes that I got out for Claire left me a little skimpy in the baby legging department. Actually, all of the departments were skimpy. In the 12 month size that I just pulled out, she had 3 onesies, 1 dress, 2 - one piece pajamas (this will be something on my to-do list I think), a couple pairs of socks and a couple stretched out pairs of pants. What was I thinking when I kept those?!

I got to work right away making shirts for Claire out of t-shirts that hubs brought home for me. He is a web designer and artist for a web company that is connected to a t-shirt design shop so he has unlimited supply of messed up shirts that need to be 'recycled'. Yay for me!

After I got a few onesies and long sleeve shirts done, I whipped up a few baby jumpers. After I got the baby jumpers done, I realized that IT IS WINTER. What was I thinking?

It was time to design some baby leggings.

Something that had been irritating me about baby leggings in the previous size, was the lack of room in the 'rear' area. I exclusively cloth diaper my babies, which makes it hard to find proper fitting attire in a 'disposable' world. I know that some of my customers are NOT cloth diaper mammas though, so I had to come up with a solution for both, cloth diapered and non-cloth diapered rumps. The “Rear Extender” was born. At first, I added WAY too much room for the cloth diaper. The leggings looked saggy at first. No thanks. Leggings are supposed to be form fitting. After a couple tries, I had it right. I love how the baby leggings fit over cloth diapers now. They are smooth and comfortable without adding any unnecessary room to the thigh area. The Rear Extender is of course an optional feature of the baby legging pattern, but it is necessary for us cloth diapering mammas to add to our baby's wardrobe.

Another thing that made me have to do a bit 'extra' designing, was the fact that t-shirts aren't always suitable for a one piece legging pattern. I needed side seams. That was a challenge for me as I hadn't incorporated side seams in any other pants or shorts pattern before. I love what I came up with though and you will too. The pattern piece that I designed has the option of being one piece OR two pieces so that you can have side seams. This is huge. If you have yardage fabric, just whip out a few one pattern piece leggings...but if you are recycling and need a bit more wiggle room, use the two piece pattern with side seams!

The other reason that I wanted side seams was that I wanted ruffles. Since winter was upon me, I wanted my darling to be outfitted adorably, so ruffles were necessary. Yet, to sew a ruffled diaper cover, would be more work and just another thing to add to her drawer. Why couldn't I simply add the ruffles to the rear of the leggings? I went to work pondering, measuring, drawing and sewing. Finally, I had the perfect solution for all sizes that are included in this sewing pattern. The side seams are perfect for adding ruffles and you'll love the placement of the ruffles on the baby leggings pattern.

As I was in the designing process and finally had my pieces drawn up, I did a quick search online for baby legging patterns. I was immediately overwhelmed with multiple patterns. They ranged anywhere from free to $20 a piece for the pattern. I was a little bit down after I saw all of the competition for a pattern. I felt like I had wasted my time to design something new when it had already been done. I left my computer and my designing for a few days. When I got out of the 'funk', I looked at the patterns online again. They were missing key components that mine was offering. 

The easiest and most obvious 'lack' in the patterns that I found online for baby leggings, was that there were few printable pattern pieces. I don't know about you, but when I want to sew something, it's because I don't already have it. I can't take apart a pair of pants that I don't have to make a new pair. That's silly. I also hate to 'resize' anything. It never blows up to the appropriate size as it should. Yet, many of those patterns suggested doing that. I am so proud to be able to offer you professionally drafted pattern pieces with all of my sewing patterns, especially my baby leggings sewing pattern.

Overall,  I had a great time designing these baby leggings. The sewing pattern rocks and I can't wait to share it. My love for dresses will extend into the winter months because of them. I want to try to make some fleece leggings too. Doesn't fleece baby leggings sound like the coziest things ever? I think it would end up pilling around the legs after a while if the baby is crawling or rolling. Either way, I might have to make a few before Christmas!

Thank you for joining me today to read about how I designed this pattern. I hope that my customers and readers enjoy my design stories. I love to design and it is so much fun to tell you about it.

Finally - A long sleeve baby shirt pattern. It fits FANTASTIC!

Now you can make your own baby shirts with this Fitted Baby Shirt Pattern

With cold weather coming and steadily here, I have been getting worried about my baby's wardrobe. I did a quick search online for long sleeve baby shirt patterns, but nothing that I found fit the age ranges that I would need. I was looking for newborn - 24 months.  All of the shirts that I had saved from my last baby were for warm weather. What about cold weather? Well, I stopped fretting and decided to get to work to create a new baby shirt design. After a couple weeks of design and sewing my own stash, I have finally finished the Fitted Baby Shirt Pattern. It is a very easy pattern that fits babies from a Tiny Newborn up to 36 months. There are 9 sizes that are all based on your child's current store bought clothing measurements.

If you would like to skip over all the reading about how I made the pattern, you can go directly to the fitted baby shirt pattern by clicking here.

When I started with this design, I knew that I would want something to fit like a t-shirt, but a bit more snug than the average t-shirt. Personally, I think that my little munchkin looks especially great in a more fitted shirt, so that was what I was going for. In fact, I love how onesies fit, so I started modeling this design using my onesie pattern. I also wanted the baby shirt to be fitted for the simple fact that all of my baby clothes are worn multiple times in multiple ways. I wanted to be able to have a shirt be the main 'attraction' of an outfit, but wear it as an undershirt in a few days. Simple enough if it's fitted nicely.

I also wanted to make sure that whatever shirt design I made, that it would be long enough. Either all of the shirts in the store are too short, or all of my babies have long bodies. I have never been able to find baby shirts that are long enough for any of my little ones. Anytime a baby bends over, their shirt rides half way up their backs. Or if daddy picks them up, their whole tummy is exposed. 
I say “daddy”, but it could be “sister” or “brother” or “grandma” or “babysitter” because no one is as picky about my baby's attire than I am. This fitted baby shirt pattern totally avoids all of that fussiness. It is long enough to cover a bending baby, a baby being held by someone else, snug enough to show off those yummy baby rolls and keep that back and tummy warm.

What about sleeve length? That was my next question. Have you been starting to notice that baby shirts' sleeve length from store bought clothes are getting shorter? Manufacturers are starting to make small adjustments like this to save them money. It's hardly noticeable when a baby is getting into new sizes. If you are like me, then you tend to have the baby in their current size until you absolutely have to change them over. When you do bring out the “next size” box, you find that the fit is great in the arms, but a bit large around the body. Does this sound familiar? By the time your baby fully fills into the current size, the sleeves are too short. With all this in mind, I knew that I wanted to make sleeves that fit great for this baby shirt pattern.

The neckline of this fitted baby shirt pattern took a bit of trial and error to design. To be honest, I am not crazy about lapped shoulders so I was trying a variety of different ways to make the neckline differently than the typical baby shirts that you find at the store. Don't get me wrong, I like lapped shoulders for a newborn, but when the child gets older, I don't particularly like how the shoulders end up sticking up through the neckline of the baby shirt. People are always worried about attaching binding, so I knew that I should design the baby shirt pattern to be especially suited for beginners. I like fast and easy, so I went with my favorite neck line – the t shirt neckline. It uses binding just like your favorite t shirt. It is incredibly easy and fast to attach compared to other methods. You don't have to buy any extra fabric to make the neckline, it uses the knit fabric that you are already using for your fitted baby shirt pattern.

Using a sewing machine vs serger also came up in my baby shirt pattern design process. I really like to use my serger with clothing. However, my sewing machine works great too. I have a very basic sewing machine that doesn't have a cover stitch (like some people recommend), but I do have a zig-zag stitch and elastic stitch. Few people realize that an elastic stitch works great with clothing. If you adjust it properly, from the outside, it looks like a straight stitch. Yet, it has the same give to stretch as a zig-zag stitch. I decided to include instructions for both in the baby shirt tutorial.

After I made this fitted baby shirtpattern, I loved the fit so much that I realized that I also need a baby dress that fits like this. With a dress comes leggings, so I decided to make a three part series. I call it the “Emma Series”. It includes the following sewing patterns: The Fitted Baby Shirt Pattern, The Baby Leggings Pattern and the Knit A Line Baby Dress Pattern. Be watching for the rest of the Emma pattern series.

Overall, this was a very fun sewing pattern to design. I learned a lot and had a great time trying a variety of necklines. I love how it fits my baby as I am sure you will too. I can't wait to get the rest of the Emma series out for you (I say “you”, but I can't wait for “ME” either! Ha!).

Look at this sugar. She's so yummy!

If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to comment below or write to me at info@mammacandoit.com.

Look at these baby leggings with the ruffle butt!
There's even a rear extender to fit over cloth diapers!!

Designing a sewing pattern

I love to design sewing patterns. It's a hobby, my business, and my "go to" when I need something for myself! I have been ridiculously disappointed in store bought patterns multiple times, so I have resolved to only make my own. If you have ever wondered how to make a sewing pattern, this gives you the details on what I do to make my sewing patterns perfect.

I've had hundreds of questions about sewing articles made from my patterns to sell. I think it's a great idea! Moms need to help moms out. My pattern designs are (pat myself on the back) top notch, so it would make sense to use them to make your business grow! I have a contract page here that allows a business Mama to do this very thing: http://www.mammacandoit.com/articles/Make-Your-Business-Grow.cfm

One of the stipulations in the contract is to simply point a link in your product listing to my site. This is great for the following reasons:

• Potential customers see the link and appreciate that the seller is in a working relationship with another mama business. (If I customer is buying on Etsy or from a local Mama, they are aware of how important it is to support working Moms).
• Customers can look up the design to see if other people say positive things about it.
• Customers will see the seller's business integrity and appreciate it. It could be a great selling point!
• Customers will see more pictures of the design. 
• There might be helpful pages on my website that go along with the design like washing instructions or wearing instructions.
• A seller who is in a working relationship with me also gets my referrals (which are many) for people who want items sewn for them.
• I get more helpful exposure which makes my google search results go up, pins on pinterest, facebook likes and more. 
• I would be happy to point a link back to the seller. Just ask!

I've recently had a person ask me if it was necessary to link to my pattern if they tweaked a couple things or if they didn't follow my tutorial. Based on the above reasons, I don't see a reason not to! However, I think it's fair that I tell you what is involved in creating a sewing pattern. As you read below, please understand that the time stated is during my 'work time'....which is nap time. 

1. The first thing that I do when deciding to create a sewing pattern is to determine what I need or a customer needs. Frequently, I have an idea of what I want, but I want it to be the best that it can be!
2. I like to see what other people like. I do hours of research with google images and key words to see what people are searching for, what's popular, and trendy. 
3. Then I research products. What products in those keywords do people like the best? What are their complaints or praises about the products? Do I personally like various things about those products? What could I change to make it better?
4. Then I check out sizing. Many times I have to call around, measure, research, or ask the doctor for average body measurements that would work for my project.
   
   (The above 4 steps can take anywhere from 10 hours to 80 hours depending on the time schedule)
   
5. Once I have decided on the necessities of the design, I start to draw. I use very expensive programs that have required a huge learning curve over the span of about 4 years to become efficient in. I still don't know the programs all that well, but I am efficient at the little bits that I do know. Drawing the original pattern pieces take anywhere from 4 hours to 40 hours. I have body measurements to take into account as well as placements of seam allowances, snaps, elastics, etc.
6. Once I have a rough design drawn, I test it by sewing it. Tweek it, test again, tweek again until it is what I want. Then I make a prototype in various sizes so that I can hunt down friends who might want to try the article on their baby, themselves or just to give me input. 
7. After I have input from others, I tweek the pattern one last time.
8. I finish the pattern pieces by making a page out of it so that it will be printable from a home computer. Then I print and measure to be sure that it's right.
   
   (The main design is accomplished. Whew!)
9. Once the design is done, then it's time to make the tutorial. The first thing that I do is take pictures (with my expensive camera) for each step while I am sewing it. This process usually takes me 2-4 hours.
10. I then edit the photos so that I have crisp images which will look good and be easy to understand.
11. I write a rough draft of the tutorial steps.
12. I design the tutorial in layout form.
13. I have people test the pattern to make sure that it is easy to read and to follow and tweak as necessary.
14. I have a photoshoot with the finished product. Edit more photos.
15. Finish the tutorial and pattern.
16. Put on my website, etsy and various other places.
17. Once the pattern is done, I am constantly answering emails or questions. I tweak the pattern/tutorial if I see that there are issues with how it is written or place new images if the previous ones do not clearly show how to do that step. I also have recently started to make videos for people if they don't get a particular part of the pattern. 

Overall, it takes about 80 working hours at the minimum for each pattern design. I even have designs that I have started a year ago that are moving slowly...it's not a fast process for some of them. In a perfect world that I can spend each and every nap time working, that is a minimum of 20 business days.

Now you know how much time and effort that I put into my patterns. To answer all "tweaking and forgetting that MammaCanDoIt designed it" questions: Unless you have started from the ground up like I have done, it wouldn't be integrally right to "tweak and forget". If you use my design as a base for your project, please send the referral. It is much appreciated.

I frequently get customers who tell me that my patterns are the most professional designs that they have ever bought or used online. I am thankful for the compliment. It's nice to know that my hard work is paying off. 

Every once in a while, I have someone who asks if my design is similar to someone else's. It might be. But I have designed the entire thing myself. I will buy a pattern from other Mama designers sometimes if I need a pattern in a pinch...but I never use them for a base for my designs. 

By writing this article, my hope is that it will help other Mamas who are trying to decide whether to use my designs to make items to sell. It is also intended for the Mama who wants to start designing sewing patterns herself to give her an outline on what she needs to do to get started.

This page was also intended to put at ease any infringement ideas.

Have a wonderful day and thank you for joining me!