{Tutorial} Strapless Yoga Dress

I've done it again... do you remember the yoga skirt? Well yoga skirt can now meet yoga dress. It took me just about all summer to complete this dress. I had a few "hiccups" along the way. Like 2 major boo-boo's which caused me to not only have to re-cut out the skirt portion but also the top portion. I learned a lot once again, and am partly glad I messed up. I really like how the dress came out! Technically I had the dress completed before summer and since I live in Florida I still have a few more months that I can wear this gem!

Supplies: 

Coordinating knit fabric for top and bottom *amount depends on your size

Sewing Machine, Tape Measure, Straight Pins, Seam Ripper, Scissor, and Chalk Line

*Knit Sewing Needle (trust me... your life will change after you invest in the set of needles)

I used the yoga skirt I made as a pattern for the "skirt" portion of the dress. On a flat surface, I laid out the knit fabric in half, so that when I'd trace the skirt I would have two pieces already cut out in the exact same shape. I laid my yoga skirt onto the knit fabric. *If you don't have a yoga skirt to trace measure from your hip to the length of where you would like the skirt to fall. Then to measure the band/top portion measure roughly 6inches. I then took my chalk pen and traced around the edge of the skirt. 

Before I cut the fabric I pinned around the chalk line ensuring that the two pieces would match perfectly. *You'll notice that originally this was supposed to be a full print dress. I made a boo-boo... like a BIG boo-boo! I (stupidly) cut the skirt with the  non-stretchy part horizontal. After I sewed up each side... i went to put the skirt portion on me and I felt like a stuffed sausage. There was no give in the fabrci. At that point I didn't have enough fabric left to just cut a new skirt portion, so I went back to JoAnn Fabrics where I prayed they would have more fabric (and they didn't). That's when I decided to use a matching solid blue.  

Next, you will want to cut out the band to form the tube of the top. I measured my bust (plus cheated and used part of the measurements from my yoga skirt).  *Remember, you will need two double sided pieces for the band (top portion). After cutting the first band I then traced around that band onto another portion of the fabric, pinned, and cut it out. 

Next you will want to sew the two top portion pieces together. *As pictured above. Apparently I measured on the large size... this top was swimming on me. That's when I decided to take it in... 

Here you'll see where I had both sets of stitching. I should have only taken it in half of what I did as pictured above. This time around it was way too tight! So I went back to the drawing board... and made another top... perfect on the first try! 

Once part "A" the skirt portion and part "B" the top portion were sewn on each side I then placed them together as picture above. You'll want to place the top band open seemed with the right side of the skirt. Does that make sense? 

Pin the two pieces together and sew it using a zig zag stitch. Be sure to sew close enough to the edge, and sew all 3 layers. 

Next, you'll want to make a tie for the dress. The dress looked very unfinished with the zig zag stitch that held the bottom and top together. To get the length of the tie I just measured around me until I had a desirable length (after being tied).

Sew the fabric into a tube. Then pull the fabric through so it's right-side facing out. Then finish off the ends. 

After I put my dress on I realized that my top was a smidge to long. 

Easy remedy... fold a portion of the dress down. 

I folded it about an inch. 

It will look like pictured above. *Downfall is that you will have unfinished side seems exposed... but who really looks under your arms any ways? 

You can see what I was talking about with the "unfinished" look between the top and the skirt. 

Once you add the tie this is what it will look like! 

One simple (if you don't have any sewing mishaps like me) summer/fall dress! lol. No pattern needed other than a skirt/dress you already own!  For those of you who live where its starting to get cooler you can pair it with a cardigan (which is what I do) and you don't even realize it's a strapless dress! 

{Tutorial} Stenciled Tray & Tea Light Votives -- NEW Martha Stewart Crafts™ Decorative Paint Line

I'm so excited to introduce you to the Martha Stewart Crafts Decorative Paint Line, brought to you exclusively by Plaid Crafts. I was one of the lucky crafters chosen to get a preview of the line before it was released to the public!  If you are a fan of Sew Woodsy on Facebook you got a sneak peak of the amazing box I received a few week's back. It felt like Christmas morning when I started opening the box. There were so many amazing craft supplies from this first-of-its kind decorative craft paints for ALL surfaces! I had a million project ideas racing through my head. Too many ideas and not enough time in the day for crafting. 

The product is exclusively available at Michaels stores in the United States and Canada. When I stopped by my local Michael's last week I saw the full display. Did you know they have chalkboard paint? In multiple colors!!! 

There are 160 paint colors in five finishes (Satin, High Gloss, Glitter, Pearl, Metallic).  All paints come in 2 oz. bottles and are non-toxic which means this paint is even safe to use with children! *And when wet wipes off without a problem! 

This paint is formulated to work on all crafting surfaces including wood, metal, glass, ceramic, terra-cotta and fabric.  It is indoor/outdoor safe and dishwasher-safe on glass.

Now, let's get on to the project! 

I chose to make over a wooden tray that I use often in our house, and a few glass tea light votive holders. I wanted to test the paint on both wood and glass surfaces.

Supplies:

1 wooden tray

3 glass tea light holders

Spray Paint Kit

Drop Cloth

Paint colors of your choice: 

Carrot (orange), Jonquil (yellow), Green Curry, 

Peridot (green glitter), Peppermint Bark (pink)

Foam Pouncers

Stencil Brush Set

Adhesive Stencils, Fair Isle Dots 32271

Large stencil, Arabesque 32266

Painters tape

Water & Paper Towels (for clean up)

First you will want to pick out your color, lay out your drop cloth, and begin prepping to spray paint your tray. 

Mr. Woodsy was intrigued by the Spray Paint Kit. He wanted to give it a try. Follow the instructions on the back of the box. The spray paint kit comes in satin and gloss finish. In my case I received the satin finish kit. It is suggested that you only use satin paints with the satin spray medium, so that's what we did.

Mr. Woodsy spray painting the top of the tray. * Make sure you spray paint where ever you would normally spray paint a project. We spray painted outside like we would normally do with spray paint.

Once your tray has dried you can begin to layout your stencils and paint. 

I waited 24 hours before stenciling. 

Here are two of the six stencil brushes you get in a package. These brushes are ideal for painting on textured surfaces like fabric and wood. 

Before I began painting on my tray I wanted to try out the stencil on a piece of paper. 

Here was my finished product... I was very happy with how easy it was to use the stencils. You'll notice the large glob of paint. A little paint goes a long way. Learn from my mistakes. Make sure you conserve! 

Next you will want to tape down your stencil, and read the directions on the stencil package. 

Make sure your stencil is taped down good to prevent it from slipping and paint from getting in the unwanted areas. 

Next, you will want to start painting your stencil on to your tray. Each stencil pack comes with step-by-step detailed instructions. On my first stencil I used the stencil brush. I placed a small amount of paint on the brush and dabbed/brushed a thin layer of paint onto the stencil. 

While the paint is still wet carefully peel the stencil away from the tray. This is what my stencil looked like after I was done painting.

I'm in love with the foam pouncers. These little gems are amazing. Not only are the pouncers easy to clean up (the sponge can be removed from the plastic handle), they give amazing end results.  These foam pouncers have totally transformed the way a sponge brush is used.  

After the first stenciled design dried, I secured two more stencils on to my tray. I then used a medium size foam pouncer to dab the paint on to the large design. 

Using my new favorite paint tool, the foam pouncer. 

Both of the colors have been applied, now they are ready to be peeled off the tray. 

As each stenciled design dries, repeat until you have the desired pattern. 

*I used a small pouncer to dab the Green Curry (gloss) on to the stencil. Followed by a light dusting of Peridot (glitter).

After I finished the tray I decided to add a painted pattern design to a few glass tea light votives. I used the small adhesive stencil; Fair Isle Dots 32271. 

These adhesive stencils can be removed multiple times for multiple uses. The texture of the adhesive stencil reminded me of a bandaid. These are most ideal for curvy surfaces like a round votive. 

I chose two different patterns to wrap around my glass votives. 

I used Peppermint Bark and the smallest foam pouncer to paint on to the glass. You may notice that you might need a few coats of paint. Use a small amount of paint on each coat to ensure paint does not seep into unwanted areas. 

As you can tell there was a gap left that was not painted. Carefully remove the stencil. Once the paint has dried completely, line up the pattern and paint the remaining unpainted patterned surface. 

Don't worry if you get paint outside of your stencil (pictures above). Take a paper towel with water and carefully rub off the excess paint. Be careful not to rub off the painted pattern.

I followed the same steps for painting the larger glass tea light votive. 

Take a look at the pattern. I'm not sure if anyone would notice that I painted on the pattern myself. It came out perfect! 

 Just like the small votive you will need to let the paint dry completely, line up the pattern of the stencil, and paint the remaining unpainted surface area.

Here is an arial view of the glass tea light votives. I'm in love with them, and I think I'm ready to start stenciling more glass surfaces! 

I love the detailed pattern. The color matches the tea light perfectly! 

These glass tea light votives took less than 20 minutes to complete. 

I love my newly revamped two-toned tray, the detail of the stencils, and the glass tea lights.

I'm ready to do a little entertaining (or throw our bills and magazines on the tray).

A view of the glass votive tea lights. 

An arial view of my newly revamped tray.

In case my sneak peak of this amazing new product wasn't enough to get you excited--here is  Martha Stewart herself to talk about this first-of-its kind paint for ALL surfaces.  

I hope I've inspired you to go try this revolutionary product! Michael's has a coupon available for 40% off one Martha Stewart Crafts Craft Paint of Craft Paint Accessory that's good until tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30, 2011. *I plan to buy chalkboard paint with my coupon.

Disclosure: Full post disclosure here.