Matching Skirts & Ties

Several months ago one of my friends gifted me 5 yards of fabric that she knew I wanted. I'd bought 2, then just happened to to run into her at the fabric store a few days later where she was buying the rest of it.

I did my project with it and realized that I wanted more... but there was no more. I started hunting some down on Ebay. She found out I was hunting and gave me the yardage she'd bought as a baby shower gift. I, in turn, told her that my first project would be 5 matching skirts for the 5 girls we have between the two of us. I went one better and made ties to match for my 3 year old and her baby due this summer... here's how they turned out.

I used the Emery Skirt pattern (acutally, I'd call it a tutorial... its not a pattern that you cut and use, its instructions for how to draw the pattern, then contruct it) that I purchased from SadieJames on Esty. I love the look of the skirt, but I didn't think that the construction was very well thought out. The pattern instructions leave an exposed seam at the waistband top... no facing or applied casing to give it a finished look, so after the first skirt I tossed the instructions and went with my good-construction gut. They're not perfect, particularly where I had to stitch in the ditch, but they turned out okay.

For the ties, I used this pattern and tutorial over at Very Homemade. Quick and easy. I'll be making a lot more ties like this for my son. He doesn't like clip-ons at all, so the velco-on tie is the way to go for us.

A New Bow Board

Two little girls and so many bows! Princess A's old bow holder wasn't nearly big enough, so we needed something new. I was going to do something like this...

Inspiration via Pinterest

But inspiration struck me while looking at the sale items during a trip to Pottery Barn Kids (where we only go for story time and to let the kids play... and apparently to get inspired). Here's what I ended up with:

Total cost: under $10

It was $5 for the plywood base (the guy at Lowe's marked a $15 2'x4' sheet of oak plywood down for me cause it had a lousy corner), $2.79 for a spool of grosgrain and a little more for hardware to hang it. The fabric and batting I had on-hand from other projects.

I had my sweet husband cut the oak down to 18 x 24 for me (the table saw tends to terrify me!)... aren't hubby's great? Once it was cut down I glued batting to it, then used a staple gun to attach the fabric and ribbons. All the bows and clips just slide right onto the ribbons. Also, once my girls outgrow the bow phase, this style board could be re-purposed as a bulletin board.

Now, if I can only stop making bows this board might be big enough. :)