Sweetheart Beret - A tutorial

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share another how-to with you!
I was browsing through Pinterest, looking for inspiration for something to make.
Then I came across a pattern for a suuuuper cute beret with the cutest bow!
My experience is that there is a tutorial for allmost everything out there, so I wasnt completely ready to buy a pattern before I had looked into my alternatives.
So..... after a lot of picture-looking, blogbrowsing and some sketching, I came up with a great tutorial.
I sewes it up twice, just so I could try out the differences when it comes to wether you`d want layering around the hat or not. If so, you make the top-hat pattern piece big/ger.
Here goes:


First, find youre fabric. It should be semi stiff, and quite stirdy. Wool, fleece and such is great.
I used a typical suit wool.
Now, fold youre fabric double. Find something big and round, like a lid or a casserole. Depending on how big the lid/casserole is, youre beret will be big and poofy or small and suttle. Its all up to you!

Now find something with a smaller radius then the first round thingy you used, and center it untop the one cirkle. REMEMBER to put away one cirkle for later!  Allso be shure that the radius you use for the "donut" is not smaller then the head intended for youre beret! This is where your math skills from elementary school comes in. FIY: if I told my math teacher back then that I would not need it for anything else then sewing and pattern making, well.... I think he would give me extra homework.....

Now you should have these three. The inner cirkle you can just through away.

Next up you pin the "donut" to the top hat piece. Sew down all the way around.

Now, more math... Measure the head circumference and cut a square with just that lenght + seam allowance.

When the piece is laying like this, you fold it on half, iron, and then fold in each end again (just like a bias tape) and iron again.

Like this! Then you fold it over and sew down the short ends.

Now, you almost cant see it on this picture, but here I have placed the "bias tape" on the inside of the hat, and pinned it down. All you have to do now is stich, fold over to the front/right side of the hat, fold and stitch again. 

And voila! You now have a beret for youre little sweetheart! Hey! How about making matching mother and daughter beretes?  

And for the bow, there are hundreds of DIY`s on net!

DIY on how to make a dress in to a hold-in pencil skirt

We all have it. The Dress. The one that you got just because you had to have it. Maybe because you had been spying on it at the store, stroking it between your fingers. Trying it on even though you know very well you won`t be buying it because it is just a little to expensive. By the way, where would you wear it? On what occasion would it be suitable? Oh.... if only it was on sale. Then at least you could justify buing it.

And then!! On day it happens! It`s on sale, and there`s only one left in youre size! It is faith! OFFCOURSE you buy it! What`s to question?
Weeks and months, maybe even years, go by. How many times have you worn it? ones? twice? Or maybe not at all? Did`nt the right opportunity come by? (I told you so!). Maybe by now you`ve stuffed it in a bag for goodwill. Or youre closet has swalloved it?
Dispear not! Because I have JUST the DIY for you!

You will offcourse need The Dress

Now, follow these steps:

Now, the easiest thing is to use a knit pencil skirt that you allready have, 

and just lay it flat on the dress. If you dont have such a skirt, 

you  can take a look at this tutorial on how to make youre own pattern.
Trace the pattern edges around the exicting skirt, and cut out.
Make sure you have enough seam allowance!

After you have cut the two skirt pieces, staystich the edges.

Try it on to see if it fits. If so, you can now sew permanent stitches.

Now, here is a GREAT tip!

If you are like me and simply love pencil skirts,

but is not quite comfortable with the tummy hugging ordeal, 

then this is something for you! 

I love the look that a pencil skirt gives, and I have envied so many women for it!

But you see, my stomach is bigger then my (really not that big) chest, 

so I have hesitated about this surtain fashion staple.

But fear no more, because I read this suuuuuuper tip over at The Sewing Rabbit. 

Jess Abbott made a genius pencil skirt with a tummy control panel!

How genius is that???

Now, how could I not try that when I first was up to making my very first knit pencil skirt?

I did`nt have any power mash available, but I did have a tight lycra nightie that allso was swalloved

by my closet, and managed to save....

Now you put the "wathever" you want to make the hold-in with,

and lay it over the skirt. 

Now remember you want the hold in skirt to be hugging and tight,

so you cut it in a size or two smaller then the outer skirt.

Cut the lycra a few inches shorter then the outer skirt. You dont want it to show under.

You will need a wide elastic to youre skirts waist.

Try the skirt on and put the elastic around youre waist to figure out

how much you need. Remember to keep it tight.

Sew the ends of the elastic together, and fold it around your pencilskirt,

included the hold in skirt. Pin the elastic on the right side of the skirt. 

Sew it down (again, from the right side).

Et voila!

Look! Hold in!

Hopefully very soon, I can show you a picture with the outfit on.

But I can assure you, the skirt looked like da`bomb! ;)

Now, what do you think? I think I`ll propably get more use of these two 

more than I did the dress in its former state.

I`ll wright about how I made the top in my next post.