Twirly Skirt

What little girl doesn’t love a good, twirling skirt? This tutorial will show you how to make one!

To make a twirly skirt you will need:

Main skirt fabric (between 3/4 and 1 yard, depending on size).
Contrast fabric (1/2 yard)
1/2″ elastic (enough to go around the child’s waist, plus a little for overlap)
Sewing machine
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Ruler
Thread to match
Pinking shears (optional)
Safety pin

This tutorial is meant for personal use. Please don’t sell skirts made from these instructions.

OK, then, let’s get sewing!

Cut your fabric according to the sizes below. ALL PIECES ARE CUT WITH THE CENTER ON THE FOLD. WHEN YOU UNFOLD YOUR PIECES, THEY SHOULD BE TWICE AS WIDE AS STATED. The pieces in this photo are still folded. You should have two pieces for each part: skirt, casing, hem. The waist tie is made the same for each size. Of course, you can always make your skirt longer or shorter to suit your own needs.

This pattern uses European sizing (similar to Hanna Andersson). To ensure a good fit, you need to know the child’s height.

90cm (34-38 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (19″w x 9″l each or 38″ wide by 9″ long each when unfolded)
100cm (38-42 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (19.5″w x 10.5″l each or 39″ wide by 10.5″ long each when unfolded)
110cm (42-46 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (20″w x 12″l each or 40″ wide by 12″ long each when unfolded)
120cm (46-50 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (21″w x 13.5″l each or 42″ wide by 13.5″ long each when unfolded)
130cm (50-54 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (21.75″w x 15″l each or 43.5″ wide by 15″ long each when unfolded)

For the waistband, cut 2 pieces on the fold 2.5″ long by the width of your skirt (e.g., size 120 = 21″w x 2.5″l)

For the hem band, cut 2 pieces on the fold 3.5″ long by the width of your skirt (e.g., size 120 = 21″w x 3.5″l)

For the waist tie, cut 1 piece on the fold 1.5 ” long by the width of your fabric (42-44″) and 1 piece (not on the fold) 1.5″ long by 12″ wide. Or you can use ribbon – approximately 65″ in length.

OK – let’s start. All seam allowances are 1/2 inch unless stated otherwise!

Pin skirt pieces right sides together. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew right side seam. On left side, start sewing your seam 1 1/2 inches from the top.

Press open side seams and pink or zig zap the edge

With right sides together, sew both side seams of the hem band.

Press seams open and pin to bottom of the skirt, right sides together, lining up side seams.

Sew the hem band to the skirt bottom.

Press seam toward hem band.

Turn edge of hem band 1/4 inch towards wrong side and press.

Fold hem band towards wrong side of skirt. Line up the edge you just pressed with the seam stitches.

Press and pin in place.

Staying 1/8 inch from edge, sew hem band in place.

Sew right side seam of waistband together and press open.

With right sides together, line up the seam you just sewed to the right seam of the skirt. Pin in place.

Fold back seam allowances on open end of waistband so that they match the skirt seam. Press and pin in place.

Sew waist band in skirt.

Press seam towards waistband.

Top stitch open end of waistband 1/8 inch from edge, pivoting at the bottom corners.

Now fold the waistband towards the wrong side of the skirt aligning it with the seam stitching – just like you did on the hem. Press and pin in place.

Sew waistband 1/8 inch from edge to form casing.

Using a safety pin, attach your tie (or ribbon) to the elastic.

Gather it up and pull the safety pin through the other open end.

Try the skirt on its new owner to determine where you should sew the elastic together. The ends should overlap about 1 inch. I mark the both ends of the elastic with a pen or pin them together so I know just where to sew.

Using a wide zig zag stitch, sew the elastic together. It’s a good idea to backstitch this so it doesn’t come loose.

Even out the ends of your drawstring, tie a bow and ta da….you have a twirly skirt!

Popcorn!

The basic recipe can be found here : I modified it, because I CANNOT physically follow a recipe if my life depended on it.
10 cups freshly popped popcorn
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons butter
2 and 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups FILL (raisins, nuts, dried cranberries, dried apricots, sunflowers seeds,

Directions:

1 Butter a very large bowl. Add popped popcorn and your selection of the 2 cups of fill.

2 Heat brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and juice until boil. Pour over dry ingredients in bowl.

3 Butter hands with additional butter or cooking spray. Hand mix all the ingredients in bowl and form into tennis size balls. It may be easier to use a LARGE SCOOP (I use the Pampered Chef large scoop because I am an independent consultant and well I LOVE PAMPERED CHEF). With scoop
Compact lightly to get the mixture to hold a ball shape. Set aside. Wrap each popcorn ball in plastic wrap.
4 The balls can be drizzled with melted chocolate for gift giving. I OF COURSE use the Pampered Chef double boiler for chocolate melting! SUPER easy to use, easy to clean!

Hand packed

I like to use white chocolate on the cranberry/cashew ones AND butterscotch on peanut/raisin ones. After wrapping with plastic wrap, I tie with a burgundy colored ribbon.

Home-Made Bread

What a great reason to celebrate on November 17th. Find ideas for crafts, games, and other activities.

Crafts to Make:

• Make a collage by cutting out pictures of different breads and grains out of magazines.


• Try this Bread Painting Activity.


• Make creations using this Bread Clay Recipe.


• Make a Chef Apron.


• Make a Bird Feeder out a piece of bread.

Other Things To Do:

• Bake Bread!


• Visit a bakery.


• Set up a dramatic play area depicting a bakery.


• Talk about different shapes and textures of breads (for example, bagels, tortillas, bread sticks, pocket bread, etc.)


• Compare the tastes and textures of different kinds of bread.


• Make some Bread Pudding!


• Learn about the kids' food guide pyramid.