Special Guest: Pink Poodle Bows

I wanted to say thank you to my friend Patricia who asked me to be a guest on her blog and share a little about myself!

A little about me.  I am 1st grade teacher and I am really enjoying my summer vacation right now!  I love spending time with my husband and my two little girls.  I am in totally in love with sewing!  It is my favorite hobby and something that I can do at home while my girls take a nap! My favorite thing to do is fabric shop online or at Joanns Fabric store.  I sound real exciting don't I?

I started my etsy shop after my first daughter was born.  I was making a ton of hair bows at the time so I decided that I was going to start selling them and I was very excited when I found Etsy, because it was a perfect way to get my product out there!  That is when PinkPoodleBows was born!   I  probably made a dozen every night.  It was my way of winding down for the night and it just takes your mind off of thinking too much- which is a problem of mine!  I found it relaxing.

After my second daughter was born (pictured above), I took a break from making bows for a while, because two kids under two was a whole new juggling act at the time!  I was overjoyed to have another girl because I love dolling them up with dresses and bows when we go out.  I found that I had trouble finding matching outfits for them at times though because one of their sizes was always out, so I decided to start designing and sewing my own dresses for them- which was a lot more fun anyways ...and took me on a whole new creative path!

My first pdf pattern design was the Ruffle Sleeve Dress (pictured below with my daughter A),  simple and sweet.  I fell in love with the process of designing my own dresses and making them into pdf tutorials/patterns to share with others who love to sew! If you like to sew, or want to start, you can find these patterns that are pictured and much more at my shop www.etsy.com/shop/pinkpoodlebows.

 I try to make them user friendly and easy to follow.  I love, love, love to see pictures when people tag me on my PinkPoodleBows Facebook page or my Etsy Shop!  It makes my day!

Here is a short tutorial on how to make a child's headscarf  (pictured below) and how I make my bias tape.

Here's how I make my bias tape and headscarf.  Start with a perfect square.  I used an 18"x18" piece of fabric and used my selvage as one side to make sure I was cutting correctly.  To make your bias tape it has to be cut on a 45º angle.  If you cut your fabric diagonally across your square, which is a 90º angle, you will be cutting your fabric at 45º.

You now have two triangles.  Place one triangle on top of the other and match up the longer sides together.  Use the straight edge of the longer side of the triangle as a guide and cut a  2"strip, then another 2" strip.  I cut twice, then before I cut the third strip, I removed one of the triangles to use as the headscarf and then I cut the remaining triangle a few more times.

For your triangle piece, fold both of the shorter sides 1/4", then another 1/4" towards the wrong side of fabric.  Leave the longer side as is.  Edge stitch both of the folds on the triangle about 1/4" in, backstitch when beginning and ending.  Cut off the excess fabric at the end of both sides.

To make your bias tape you will probably need to sew two or more pieces together to make a longer bias tape.  To sew two pieces together, place one piece on top of another, perpendicular, and right sides of fabric together.  It is easier if you cut off the angles at the ends to square up the fabric.  Sew a stitch across diagonally, backstitch when beginning and ending.  Cut off the excess fabric.  If you want a longer piece, repeat these directions to add on another piece.  Cut to desired length.  I used a 24" piece for my 15 month old.  You will probably want to measure your child's head to see how long you want to make it, leaving extra fabric to tie in the back as well.

Press both of the shorter sides of the bias tape 1/4" in towards the wrong side of fabric.  Then press your bias tape in half, lengthwise, wrong sides of fabric together.  Use the center crease as a guide to fold both of your sides in towards the center and press. Then press it one more time and you should have a piece of bias tape that measures 1/2" wide.

My beautiful daughter decided to decorate my mat with pen

Fold the triangle in half and the bias tape to find their center points.  Match those up and pin the bias tape onto the raw side of the triangle, making sure the bias tape is on both sides of the triangle.

Start from one side of the bias tape and sew an edge stitch about 1/2" in or as close to the edge as possible.  Make sure you are catching both sides and backstitch when beginning and ending.  You are done!  For more free tutorials, visit my blog at http://www.pinkpoodlebows.blogspot.com