Weekly Recap

Finally!! Finally its Friday!! This week has been so long and hard on me alot of the CKC gals so hip hip hooray for Friday! Hip Hip Hooray for puppies coming home, new hardwood floors and babies turning one!! And even still with the crazy week we've all had there has been two new patterns and a now a rerelease. So lets get started with a sweet and simple recap for the week. So that we can all get back to sewing.

First up we released the Women's Ruby Sun Top, A fun and simple design that will go with everything! PDF includes two different options; cap sleeves and halter style. 

How To Tuesday: Using A Double Needle

Hi (waves), it's Julie here, I've introduced myself before on the blog but I'm back with a new title! Pattern Designer! I have joined up with the Create Kids Couture team, and very soon we will be releasing something new; dancewear/ gymnastic/ cheer/ figure skating/ activewear patterns! If you are a dance mom like me, you know how much all those jazzy spandex outfits can cost, so have a little fun learning to make your own at a fraction of the cost!

One of the techniques that I will frequently be using in the patterns is mimicking the look of a serger coverstitch. If you look at the hem of most manufactured knit garments, you will see a coverstitch like this t-shirt I pulled from my daughter's drawer. On the left side, you see the front view, two straight lines of stitching, and on the right side, you see the underside of the hem, it looks pretty much just like a regular overlock stitch from a serger. If you were to pull sideways on this hem, you would notice that these stitches allow some "give" so that the hem can stretch with the fabric.

You could just finish your hem or sleeves with a straight stitch, but if you want to make your finished product look more polished, why not try out using a twin needle?

Weekly Recap

YAY!! Its Friday, and Ive got lots to feel you all in on so lets just jump right on in!

Lets see... To start off, on Tuesday I whipped up a fun tutorial on how to convert your Faith, Ruby or Magnolia to a swing top with a sweet little slit up the back. Its insane what a small little change can do.

Next we released Delilah's Cotton bathing suit.

I'm personally dying to make Ayla a seersucker one with her monogram. Another thing that makes this pattern awesome is that you can choose between a normal curved bodice or sweetheart bodice with a short or long ruffle option! Meaning that if need be it can cover quite of bit and be a very sweet and modest suit.

Next we released our pattern of the month Zoe's Ruffled Sunsuit. Which went out to member on Thursday night. I love this romper! It reminds me of one I had a girl.

Following that We welcomed two new members to the CKC staff: Kaci and Lana! They are the girls who will be running our CKC Sew-Along Group on Facebook. And speaking of the sew-along group, I'm sure you're all wondering what this months pattern is? Well, its time for you girls to get over your fear of knits with.... the Naomi's Ruffle Bikini. Which just so happens to also be this weeks half-off pattern as well. The schedule of the sew-along is up in the group but we have given you two weeks to get your fabric.

Since we know this adorable little bathing suit will require special fabric. We contacted Chez Ami and they are giving all CKC fans 25% off any order over $25 when you use code "createkids". This code is code is good until 6/14/13. Be sure to check out all of their Knit Tactel Jersey (aka swimwear fabric) as well as their woven seersuckers which would be darling in so many of our outfits including the newest bathingsuit: Delilah's! Be sure to also head over to their Facebook page and give them a HUGE "thank you"! This is definitely one of our go-to places whenever we need fabric.



How To Tuesday: Spicing Up Ruby And Faith

Been thinking all weekend on what to do this week for How to Tuesday. And then I saw something amazing on our CKC Facebook Group by a sweet fan, and knew it was perfect for a sweet and simple how to Tuesday.

So today we are gonna spice up the Faith and Ruby with a sweet little slit up the back! You would not believe how easy this is going to be.  

To start off your gonna want to add 1" extra to the width of the dress/top panel. I serged the raw edges for photo purposes only and you do not need to do the same, unless you wish too.

Note: I used the Faith for this tutorial, if you are converting your Ruby you will want to complete Step 1 of the written pattern before continuing.

Next you will now do the first step of a roll hem on both edges.

You will fold the fabric back 1/4" and sew. Make sure to stop your rolled hem here!

      Ruby: If you are converting your Ruby you will simply just stitch what is the bodice or top fabric.

Faith: Next using the chart that is provided in the pattern do the simple math to determine how many inches down your shirring will be going, and then add an extra half inch.
(Example: The shirring on my 6-12 mos will end 3" from the top.)

You will now pin and straight stitch down the allotted length. Like shown.

 Please Note: All following directions are done the same way rather for Faith or Ruby.

Now we will work from the inside of the dress and press open the seam, and top stitch them down, following all the way down the dress.

 You will now pick up on the written pattern.

 And before you know it, just like that you have a sweet and breezy spiced up Faith or Ruby for this summer.

Happy Sewing Y'all,

Morgan

Weekly Recap

So yes that was the shortest week ever! I gotta admit I love holiday weekends but boy, oh boy do they throw us off after!! There's not alot to recap this week, but oh the goodies that we are working on will make up for it in the long run. So lets do a sweet and simple recap of this week and then off you all can go back to sewing.

The biggest thing this week that was going on was the Auction for Oklahoma which ended on Thursday. Shannon and Tiffany have been kicking butt to get out all the invoices to all the ones who won the bidding wars. And by the looks of it thus far you all will be shocked, when you hear the total numbers sometime next week. Its so humbling to see how amazingly supportive our fans are. I think I speak for all us at CKC when I say it makes us beam with joy.

Next Tiffany posted a sneak peek of the modestly adorable bathing suit there are 2 bodice options along with short or long ruffle options as well. Do you see how stinking cute that criss-cross back is? So the Delilah Cotton Swim Suit will be coming out in the next few days. Keep your eyes peeled to the facebook page for it.!

Now I said I would keep this sweet and simple so lets move on the half of Friday! I love the late night weekly converstations that Tiffany, Shannon and myself have on which pattern to feature each week. Who would have ever thought, that it would be so hard to pick a pattern. 

So we landed on Aubrey's Tiered Ruffle Knot Dress this week. Which is a must have in your CKC stock and would be pretty darn perfect now that summer is here. And lets be honest here you cant beat a $5 pattern that is as cute as this. 

Well y'all that pretty much sums up what going on around here. We hope that you all enjoy the weekend and make sure to pop your head in on the Blog next week for Mix Match Monday and a How to Tuesday that I am so excited about I can barely keep my mouth shut. Poor hubby has been hearing about it all week. Love his heart! See you all next week!

Happy Sewing,

Morgan 

Weekly Update

WOO WEE snap is it really friday? Ive been up to ears in new patterns. And between you and I my laundry room looks like we are a house hold of 7... not 3. But gosh I'm looking forward to this weekend and after y'all are done reading the blog you will all we be just as excited!!

So to start the recap! We re-released the adorable Lola's Tiered Twirly Dress along with an awesome how to tutorial on how to add "The Perfect Bow" to any Create Kid's Couture patterns. And you will not believe just how simple this awesome addition is to complete. We also released Anna's Sweetheart Halter in tweens sizes. You guys dont even know how excited I am to make my sweet niece one. Hopefully its "rad" enough for her to wear.

Lola's Tiered Twirly Dress 

                                                             Anna's Sweetheart Halter

Trendy Kids and Boutique Tips

I was asked some great business question the other day and I wanted to address one or two today.

The 1st one that was asked was "How do you keep with the styles and trends?"

Great question, this one had me thinking for a few days. See I'm a "I don't stick with trends, I create trends" kinda person. 

Okay so more or less I'm a hipster/southern seamstress. But not everyone has such a free spirited mind and go-with-the-flow attitude as I do. And some people are really into whats trending. So lets discuss.

I had a good clue what was trending this summer but when in doubt call upon Pinterest!

So what are the trends in kids wear this summer? 

NEON and PASTEL

and

BOLD and TRIBAL PRINTS

Here are just a few adorable trendy 2013 colorways 

And here are a few trendy outfits that stopped me in my tracks!

*(to find the original source of all the photos used in today's blog check out my pinterest board)

Now I know what your thinking...Yes but where do I find some fabric to fit with the trend and how much do I buy? 

Well that's another great question. So lets 1st address the "where" part of that question.

a quick search on etsy for any of the trends will bring pages and pages of fabric. 

Neon, and tribal were the easy ones with some killer fabrics right off the bat. here were some that got my creative juices flowing.

And I'm not sure why but the bold and pastels were a bit harder to come by. Maybe its because I'm not a huge fan of these trends but needless to say i still found a few.

Now on two the second part of that compelling question, The "how" part. How much fabric do I order. Well it depends on how big or little your boutique is, and how many outfits you think you can reasonably sell before the next trend hits. 

So my rules of thumb from owning my own boutique, was actually quite simple. 

1. If you don't have a plan, don't even think about it!! 

I cant tell  you how many times i found a fabric that I loved bought 6 yards of it and then didn't touch it for years!

2. Make a plan! Design away, but do it on paper! Decide if this fabric will stand alone in a design or will it need a few friends. Decide on which part of the design this fabric will be. Because lets me honest, buying 5 yards and then deciding its going to be straps is just a bad business move!

3. Know your numbers! Once you have the design planned out, its time for some good old math. Decide on how many of the dresses you can reasonably sell in a two month period. Remember trends don't last long and before you know you could find your self eyeing the total opposite!

So for example, lets say I plan to use 3 fabrics (A,B and C) to create six Anna's Sweetheart Halters.

So the 1st thing I would need to do is decide on the on the fabric layout in the design. 

Okay done! Lets say fabric A for the bodice, fabric B for the skirt and fabric C for the straps and ruffles.

Next I need to take a look at my sells. What sizes do I sell the most of and witch do I not sell at all? For myself I sold 3's and 5's 97% of the time. 

So lets use these two sizes for my example, I know that I can reasonably sell 6 dresses (3 size 3 and 3 size 5) in the next 2 months. 

Now after a little math I know I need 

2 yards of fabric A

4 and 1/3 yards of fabric B 

and

5 yards of fabric C 

I then always like adding a yard of each for a custom order or just for myself. I hope this gives you all a good idea how to figure how much fabric your boutique may need. 

I really do hope that this at least helps a few of you boutique owners to think about your fabric buying process  And Id love to hear more business related questions that you would like answered.

Happy Sewing Y'all

Morgan 

Tutorial Tuesday: The Perfect Bow

So if you follow Create Kids Couture on Instragram you saw this sneak peek photo last week of a "How To" that I was working on.

Today we are re-releasing the Lola's dress to feature more sizes. And I got so excited that Ayla's size was now included. So I whipped up a tiny 6-12 mo Lola using some cute fabric. My first thought was to make it all the same fabric. You know, sweet and simple? Well if you know me personally, follow me on instagram or were ever a fan of my business page back in the day you know that Morgan and simple are never used in the same sentence. And I did like it at first, just sweet and simple and then well I tried it on Ayla and felt as if it was just way to plain for our liking. 

So I knew it was time to pull an old trick out of this southern seamstress's bag. It was time to either monogram it or add a bow. So off to the sewing room we went. Ayla watched some Yo Gabba Gabba on the laptop and played with Lucy the beagle while I whipped up this quick and easy How To.

Mix Match Monday

Holy cow y'all! That was a fast weekend. And even with Miss A cutting all 4 top teeth, overall we had a great weekend and I got to start on fun 8 week blog series for this summer. You guys are gonna die when you find out about it. So lets get this mix match party on the road! You guys have had me swamped with entries and I love it! I love seeing how creative and wonderfully talented all our CKC fans are!

First up we have Brenda from Zealous Design who used a combo of penelope's bodice, Daphne's Sash, the skirt border from Yvette's and the skirt from Jewel's. I was so impressed with this combo. I had not even thought of combining all of these together!

Weekly Recap--Freebies, Half-Off Friday and a Contest. Oh my!

Hello, hello!!! Hope you all had a wonderful week! Tiffany and I sure did :) We have been so pleased with our new blogger Morgan and all of the things she's been working on! What a week of freebies, eh? We're late today so let's get this ball rolling......