Cuff your Summer Shorts

Summer is in full swing around here, which means pools and sun and...lots of work on my freelance writing job. :)  I'm working hard right now in preparation for an upcoming trip to OREGON (little happy dance), so I don't have anything brand new for you today. But I do have a little update for my Summer Shorts pattern. Today I'm going to show you how I turn them into cuffed shorts.

The Summer Shorts pattern includes a two lengths: one for hemmed shorts (shown in the tutorial), and one for cuffed shorts.

When I'm making shorts out of quilting cotton I like to use at hem for the bottom. Like for these:

But when I'm using a bottom-weight fabric or something that is the same on both sides, I like to use a cuff. Like I did for these linen shorts:

Or these gray and checkered shorts:

And lastly, on Stryder's Stand UP pants:

Making cuffed shorts is really easy! In fact, it's probably self explanatory, but I'll show you what I do in case you're interested.

Make Your Summer Shorts into Cuffed Shorts:


First, follow the tutorial to make your shorts, but stop before you hem the bottoms. To create the cuff, fold the raw edge 1/2" toward the right side and press. Now fold it 1" or 1.5" toward the right side again and press.

Now your raw edges should be enclosed. To keep the cuffs in place, stitch along each side seam like this:

And, just like that, you have cuffed shorts! Easy peasy.

Thanks for reading, friends! And don't forget that Shorts on the Line starts on Sunday, July 1. Maybe you can make your first pair of Summer Shorts for the sew-a-long?! :)

Tata for now.

Alt Summer Classes

Hello friends! If you're a part of the blogging/sewing/design world then I'm sure you already know all about Alt Design summit and their awesome schedule of online classes. I took my first one last month and it was a fun, wonderful experience full of all kinds of awesome.

The class I took was called, "Bringing Home the Bacon when Your Blog Isn't Huge," taught by Melanie Blogett from You Are My Fave. Possibly my fave thing I took from her class was the link to her blog! Oh my goodness, it's beautiful and inspiring and makes me wish to goodness I'd had baby announcements like these.

But seriously, beyond the awesomeness of her blog, the class was very helpful and Melanie was a great teacher. I've been itching to take another class since, and the lineup for July is now available. Full disclosure: I get two free classes in July for talking about Alt on my blog. But don't worry! I mean every word of what I've said.

If you are a blogger who is passionate about what you do, and who is looking for advice on blogging or design, Alt is the place to go. You can check out their lineup of July classes on the Alt channel. If you take one, we might just be classmates!

Thanks for reading, friends! And thanks to Bing for making the July class-givaway possible. Alt rocks!

Pink Polka Dot shorts (with pockets!)

I should probably start moving towards red, white and blue, since the 4th of July is just two weeks away. But this little polka dot print from the D.S. Quilts collection (talked about here) has been calling my name. I just couldn't fight the pull, folks! :)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, these were made using my Summer Shorts pattern. I'm to the point where I can churn a pair of these out in 30 minutes! I don't even want to count how many pairs are sitting in Abby's folded clothes pile...

I think the shorts look really cute with this top. (A Janie and Jack hand-me-down).

This time I decided to add... wait for it...

Pockets! So these are Abby's Pink Polka-Dot Shorts with Pockets. Whew, try saying that five times fast! Otherwise known as, the 3Ps.

I took some photos while I was making these shorts so I can show you how to do the pockets. Oh, and the lace at the bottom is from my grandmother's stash. (She handed it off to me a couple of years ago and I use it on almost everything for Abby. And if you've been reading here for awhile, you've heard about it WAY too many times. :))

How cute is she sitting on this chair?

And have you heard? Candy necklaces are all the rage these days.

Oops the necklace broke. Better pick the pieces up so the baby won't choke.

And before I forget to mention it, there is a new summer sew-a-long on the horizon and guess what we're sewing?? SHORTS! It's my new excuse to keep sewing shorts like a crazy woman. I may even try a pair for myself! If you want to join in, check out Small + Friendly's intro, and check out the Shorts on the Line Flickr group.

Remember, shorts are the new skirt!

Thanks for reading! Tata for now. :)


P.S. If you'd like to have these posts delivered to your email inbox, you can sign up with your email address in the right sidebar. Or if Google reader is your thing, you can Caila-Made by signing up on the right. I also love to receive comments and I read and respond to each one, so don't hesitate if you have comments or questions! :)

About Me

Hello and Happy Monday everyone. If you're visiting from Sew Mamma Sew, welcome! You love to sew, I love to sew. We're friends already! I was so thrilled to have my Fishy Pants featured as a part of Sewing Trends with Melanie today. If you haven't seen the article yet, go check it out.

I'm editing some pictures of Abby's newest pair of Summer Shorts right now so you'll have something new to look at around here. :) In the meantime, check out my new About Me page. It's full of all kinds of info about our family, and probably more than you wanted to know about me. Oh, and did I mention that there are some amazing new family photos there, too? Check it out!

Thanks for visiting, friends! I'll be back with more shorts later. :)

Saturday Insta-Thanks

Wow, friends: only two posts this past week. Gahh! That drives me a little bit crazy. This was a BUSY week for a number of reasons, some fun, some not-so-fun. But that's life isn't it? Some moments are a joy and some are a challenge, but we accept them all and hold them close because they're all we've got. Yes? Yes!

I know I'm not the only one out there going through the highs and the lows. This past week I received a number of VERY encouraging emails from some of you and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. Most (all?) of you know what it's like to have a week sprinkled with both the good and bad and I am so thankful for those who took a moment out of their own lives to shine some lovin' into mine. Thank you so much!

Below are my Insta-Thanks for the week. (I feel like I should say, "Just add water!").

You know what I was thinking would be fun? An Insta-Thanks link up! Is anyone interested??? Basically, I would post my Insta-Thanks every Saturday and so would you, and we could share links with each other. I will post anyone's Insta-Thanks link who wants to participate. If you are interested, leave a comment below with your blog URL, or email me at cailamade@gmail.com. Whohoo! 

I love looking over these. My baby boy in his green crib, Hudson's tie shirt, Brian with his shirt over his head... fabric... a new dress!... my Abby-girl. *Sigh,* I love them all. :)

Line 1: What I wake up to every morning; Hudon's tie shirt on Father's Day; Brian home from a run under the hot California sun; Hudson playing that little game with the bead and the maze (no idea at all what it's called).
Line 2: Fabric! (called London calling); Abby making her own lunch; birthday lunch date with Mom; our new dresses.
Line 3: Knits!; more fabric from my LA fabric district trip; new dress; Abby's newest pair of summer shorts.
Line 4: Me and my big Hudson-boy; Stryder in a cart; goofing off at World Market during our family date; work (every morning at 5:30 a.m.).

You know what I like about this list? I lot of green and orange! Must be my color theme for the summer.

Thanks so much for reading, friends! I love reading your comments and I treasure each one, so don't be shy if you want to comment. *wink*

My best to each of you.
Caila

I am this many

I had so many fun sewing posts planned for this week, but then work hit me like a ton of bricks and I'm barely able to wade through it all. So, today this post will have to do. :) And it's my birthday, so I guess I get a pass anyway. Right?

Today I turn 31 years old. Wow. Do you want to know what I'm really thinking right now? I'm thinking, how did thirty fly by so fast?

I've passed thirty and am officially "in my thirties." That has a whole new meaning, ya know?

If there are any of you twenty-somethings out there reading this, let me tell you something: don't be afraid of thirty! Thirty will be great! Thirty will be awesome! I finally feel like I'm coming into my own a little bit. I'm much more confident than I used to be, I'm happy, I'm surrounded by people I love and who love me and I'm really not sorry to see the insecurities of my twenties pass.

I hope that in the next decade I will only become more loving, more faithful, more confident, more humble and more successful (who doesn't?!) in the things God has given me to do.

I thought it might be fun to list out what has happened in our lives since my last birthday. My 41-year-old self will thank my 31-year-old-self if this blog is still around then. So without further ado:

When I was 30 years old...

• I had a baby
• We bought a van (our first vehicle purchase together)
• Brian finished Nursing School
• Brian got a job as a RN
• I started blogging here at CailaMade
• I posted my first hand-drawn patterns (here and here)
• My first tutorials
• My Hudson-boy went to preschool
• My Abby-girl turned two
• We moved in with my parents temporarily while buying a house
• We had some setbacks, and some successes
• We make more money than we did last year, but we have less things
• We have more people in our lives, and less time
• I began learning to enjoy the now
• I started fighting discontent
• I took up running again
• Lost 18 pounds 

How do I feel on my birthday? I don't know. Usually, I feel nostalgic and I feel a bit that way now. There are always so many things to do and so little time. I love my babes and they will grow up. What can I say? That is sad. Everyday, I choose to enjoy the now. "Everywhere you are, be all there." I will not miss this.

So, here's to another birthday. I don't mind growing older and I hope to do so with grace. Thank you, friends, for being here and for reading. 

The Graphic Tie Tee: A Father's Day Project

I don't always get myself together enough to make gifts for specific holidays. I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants and sew-whatever-the-darn-she-feels-like-it type of gal. But this year, the kids and I had a ton of fun making Brian's Father's Day gift.

I was inspired by this awesome DIY Toddler Art T-Shirt tutorial by Small+Friendly. It was cool for dad and easy for the kids, which is a combination we really like around here.

To make it unique for Brian, we put our own spin on things. Since I was already planning on ironing some metallic tie graphics onto shirts for the boys, I took Brian's shirt in the same direction and created The Graphic Tie Tee:

Here's what I did:

I took one of my dad's ties and traced around it on a piece of paper. Then I cut it in half (the full tie looked too long for a graphic tee in my opinion) and taped the heck out of it on a t-shirt. I had to cut some of the painter's tape to fit the contours of the tie. Then I taped a square on the front of the shirt.

FYI, I got this heathered red t-shirt from Target Saturday night for $8. They had a TON of great t-shirts for $5-8 and you better believe I brought home a lot of them. Oh yes I did.

Here is a close-up of the taped tie. (Try saying that 10 times fast).

Then the kids got busy with the permanent markers, something they've always wanted to do.

It was hard to keep them drawing on the shirt when all they wanted was to draw on the blue tape.

They enjoyed seeing the image begin to take shape.

When they finally got bored, we removed the tape and, VOILA!

Hudson and Abby were very proud of themselves. It's not perfect, and there were some "accidental" spots outside the lines, but that's what makes this shirt so special to their daddy.

The night before I made my boys these little t-shirts with ties using a metallic iron on from Joann Fabric and Crafts (sorry, they don't carry it on their website or I would give you the link). There were only a few at the store and a friend and I grabbed them all.

Here's Stryder in his little man shirt. It's hard to get a picture of a straight t-shirt on a baby boy, I tell ya!

We headed to Panera Bread with Brian this morning after he got home from work. It was a great way to celebrate the BEST DADDY IN THE WHOLE WORLD. I love this man. And he loved his shirt.

Abby was there, too, sporting her Tied Summer Dress in Red. She didn't have a tie, though, and that is a bit of a sore subject with poor Abby. (Mamma learned a lesson today about not leaving Abby out.)

There they are, my four loves.

A belated Happy Fathers day to your men. Hope you had a wonderful day together yesterday!

Saturday Insta-Thanks

I've decided to change my weekend thanks around a little bit. If you're new to CailaMade you may not have seen my weekend posts, where I try to end each week with a list of my thanks for the little details in my life. This is my attempt "to move my focus from the burdens of life to the blessings of now." (Ann Voscamp)

Honestly, my life is full of a lot of early mornings, writing, chasing after children, cleaning up after children, kissing little cheeks, holding my man's hand, and chasing joy through the crazy of life. It all goes so fast, and I don't want to miss one moment! This is my way to write my moments in "ink" and hold them close.

Don't they say anything on the internet can never truly disappear? Well, then, I etch my thanks in this virtual space, hoping that you are encouraged to embrace all those daily moments that make your life something unique. I'll probably look over these in later years and wipe my eyes.

I said I was changing things up a little bit, didn't I? Well, I've been enjoying Instagram for about six months now and it's such a great way to keep track of the special moments from each week. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? How about 16 pictures?

Here's my INSTA-THANKS for the week:

Line 1: Little thumb-sucker; remote control airplane with Grandpa; Abby at the park; potty training
Line 2: Little legs in Steve Madden boots; dress up; good reading material; shopping in my fabric stash
Line 3: New skirt!; driving to the beach; my surfer-man; Hudson getting ready to surf with daddy
Line 4: Running, birthday lunch of boef bourguignon; lighting candles; 31 years old (almost)!

You can follow me on Instagram at @cailamade. Hope to see you there!

Planning a Space Party

I can hardly believe it, but this boy...

Photo by the incredible, the talented, Erin Wood.

...is about to turn FIVE. I've said it before and I'll say it again: my little boy is growing too fast!

Ok, let's not dwell on that too much because, as Hudson's says, something is making water come out of my eyes.

Awhile ago I asked Hudson what kind of party he wanted to have for his birthday and he responded (predictably), that he wanted a SPACE party. This is not surprising, because he loves anything to do with space. Please believe me when I tell you that my boy knows more about outer space than you or I do. I have learned so much from him already.

Photo by Erin Wood

For example, the other day he asked me if aliens exist and I said, "We don't know yet. We haven't found any." He replied, "I'm sorry, mommy, but you're wrong. Look." (He points to a picture in his Discovery Space book--an illustration of a "possible" alien.) "See mommy, they have found aliens. So I'm sorry you were wrong."

Well, geez. I guess I'm kind of behind the times. :)

So I'm in the midst of planning a space party, and this theme is SO MUCH FUN! I'm so glad he wanted a space theme because it provides plenty of room for creativity. I've obviously been pinning about it left, right and center. Here are some of my favorite ideas. (All sources point back to each photo's original source). 

Source: The Cake Blog, via Pinterest

I love everything about the picture above. The bunting banner, the gray-silver table cloth, the pops of red, orange and green.

And the bunting banner? A given! I'm sure I'll have a handmade bunting banner for every birthday here on out, because I.love.those.things.

From The Sweetest Occasion, via Pinterest

I love this DIY mini solar system made from paper lanterns. Seriously amazing.

Space shuttle cake 6 by Discostoo69, via Flickr

And the cake! Hudson specifically requested a cake like the one above for his birthday. It must look like the Space Shuttle Orbiter and it must be made by Mom. No getting out of this one by hiring a friend to make it!

Source: Hard Core DIY, via Pinterest

Who could resist this adorably unique Rocket Ship Piñata? Not me! But Hudson would kill me if I put a heart on his rocket ship piñata, so I'll probably change that to a star, planet or crescent moon.

And last, but definitely NOT least, here are some fabrics I will be using to make the birthday boy some birthday shirts. (Using Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern, of course. Also used here, here, here, and here.)

Space fabrics available at The Fabric Fairy

I only recently found The Fabric Fairy, an amazing online fabric shop filled with hundreds of delectable fabrics. They are so helpful! I wrote them with a question yesterday and Meagan got back to me within the hour. I can't wait to purchase these fabrics right after I'm done here!

Thanks for reading about our upcoming space party! If you'd like to see more of my ideas, you can follow my Space Birthday Pinterest board.

Have a great weekend!

A Dress in the Works

Or, What I Wore on Sunday...

(I did not make this shirt! Just want to make that clear. I'm using it as a pattern for more,  even awesom-er shirts.)

Who knows what I should really name this post? The real point is that I'm working on some dresses right now from a pattern I traced using this orange shirt. Isn't it divine?

I scored it at Marshalls (T.J. Max) over the weekend and turned it into a pattern that night. I've started doing that every time I find and item of clothing that fits really well.

Here I am being a goof while my husband takes my picture. These moments always make me feel awkward, so I try to compensate by being a weirdo.

I also scored those hot red pumps at Marshals for $20. I even wore them to church and survived the walk in and the walk out. They feel okay on my feet, but I need to go to finishing school or something to learn how to walk in them. I'm a TOMS girl, usually.

You can't tell, but this "skirt" is actually the first dress I made from this top. Shhh...

I love this black and gray striped fabric, but it's really slinky and see-through, so I have to wear something under it--or, over it!

Here is a really TERRIBLE picture I took late at night while sketching the pattern. This is the back.

I only made the pattern as long as the shirt, and I just add on when cutting out a dress. The dresses are coming along okay, but definitely not good enough to show you on here.

I just thought I'd give you a little peak at my process, and hopefully I'll have some cute dresses to show you soon.

Thanks for reading!

I made it to the Top 10! {Skirt Week 2012}

I meant to get this up earlier in the day.  Oops!

This morning I visited Crafterhours to see who the top 10 finalists are for the Straight Skirt category and who's skirt did I see up there? Mine! My Yellow Tulip Skirt made it to the top 10!

Do you see mine there in the picture? Bottom left: The Yellow Tulip Skirt!

I'm pretty amazed, actually, because there are some really amazing skirts in the top 10. And I'm so excited to be included!

Pop on over to Crafterhours to vote for your fave skirt. Voting closes at 10pm EST, which is 7pm here on the West Coast. You only have 3 1/2 hours to vote as of now. Sorry I didn't get this out sooner!

Thanks to the wonderful ladies of Crafterhours who put together this sewalong and competition. I had so much fun! In fact, I forgot to put this post up earlier in the day BECAUSE I WAS SEWING MYSELF ANOTHER SKIRT. :)

VOTE HERE. Thanks for reading!

Stand UP Pants {from the Summer Shorts pattern}

I call them his Stand UP Pants, because she's such an upstanding American boy. Or just because he's standing up.

Can we all take a moment to reflect on an important question? HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE HAPPENING ALREADY???

I'm glad I got that off my chest. Now I can tell you that my summer shorts pattern is getting a lot of use around here. Since I figured out that Stryder (8mo) and Abby (2yo) wear virtually the same size I have been unstoppable. Because I tell you what, all the shopping I've had to do at Carters to keep him dressed was getting expensive.

I'm glad he's growing, though, and as we all know: I CERTAINLY DON'T MIND SEWING HIM MORE CLOTHES. Ahem.

Diaper bum. He is my little cutie in gray pants.

And look! He's already reaching for a sewing machine. That's my boy!

I made these pants with a gray and white striped shirting material from Fabric.com. One day I went nuts and bought a bunch of random fabrics from them because they were all marked down to $1 or $2 a pound. They all arrived in a huge box (free shipping!) and this was about the only thing inside that captured my heart. I'm going to make a skirt for myself out of it later, oh yes I am.

To create a pattern for these pants I took my Summer Shorts pattern and added* 1/4 inch to each outside (straight) seam and 1/4 to the top. Then I measured 16" down from the top in a straight line to extend the shorts into pants. They turned out a little long, but that's ok, because I cuffed them. Problem solved! I stitched the cuff down along each seam to hold it in place and give it that "on purpose" look.

I think these would be really cute with pockets and buttons. I'll have to hold off on the buttons since he's putting everything (!) in his mouth right now. But the pockets might show up on another pair of pants SOON.

*And in case nobody caught it: I had to add room in the pattern I created for my 2 year old to make it fit my 8 month old. Now that's custom pattern work! 

A couple more photos for you...

This one is for our extended family in Oklahoma. Go Thunders!

And lastly, a new favorite of mine. Just look at my boys lounging together. I love them.

And yes, Stryder was tired in case you are wondering. He's trying to fall asleep on Hudson in the picture to the right. Don't worry, I put him down for a nap right after taking this picture.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to make a pair of these for your little cutie patootie, go ahead and download my free Summer Shorts pattern and make them into pants. They are super easy. I only spent about 45 mins on these pants. Yay!