Summer Rag Flip Flop Tutorial

So it's finally summer around here and I was asked by the folks at Joann Fabric and Craft stores to come up with a summer craft project inspired by their new summer catalog, Cape Discovery. If you like crafting with your children, this is a great place to gather up some new ideas. The girls and I flipped through this catalog to find our inspiration project:

After looking at all the different project ideas in the Cape Discovery Catalog, we chose to create some 'Summer Rag Flip Flops' for the girls. My girls definitely love a good craft!

These were such an easy, inexpensive craft project that is perfect to work on together with your little one. This project takes a small amount of fabric and a few other supplies found at Joann's and you've got a pair (or two) of festive shoes for the summer!

Summer Rag Flip Flop Tutorial

from The Cottage Mama

Supplies:

1 pair flip flops

1 - 2 fabrics (fat quarters or 1/8 yard each)

1 set Clip-Eez sparkle clips (found at Joann's)

Scissors or rotary cutter

Instructions:

Gather your supplies. 

I selected three 'Lisette' fabrics from Joann's. Since I was trying to be good (I'm currently on a fabric diet), I only purchased a 1/4 yard each (since that's the smallest amount you can have cut). I kind of wish I had more since I really love these colors.

The girls loved these sparkle clips when we were shopping at Joann's. And they were 40% off that day, so they were a real deal. They had tons of other different styles of clips that were really cute.

Cut your fabric on the fold into 1" strips. I used 8 strips per pair of flip flops, but I'm sure that will vary depending on the size sandal you are using.

Cut your 1" strips of fabric into 7" pieces.

Pile up your fabric strips and get ready to embellish your flip flops!

Start tying knots on the straps of the flip flops with your different fabrics. You can use one print or many......it's entirely up to you. Leave a little room at the very front for your sparkle clip. This is a great step to work on together with your little one. If they can tie a knot, they can do this project!

Once you've finished both sides of the flip flops, you will need to add the sparkle clip to the center. Open up the clip to apply.

Here is what the front of your flip-flop will look like after you have applied your pretty sparkle clip.

And here are both of your completed 'Summer Rag Flip Flops' with sparkle clip and all!

And if you have two girls, you might need to make two pairs........we don't want anyone feeling left out now, do we?

Here is a little side-by-side shot of the inspiration sandals from the Joann's catalog.

Then let your girly pick her favorite pair to wear this summer!

We had a great time making these flip flops and there are plenty of other Summer Fun projects that I would like to do with my kids this summer break. Don't you just love summer? I'm so glad it's here!

You can check out plenty more summer DIY projects to do with your little ones in the Cape Discovery Catalog from Joann's. And if you want to stay up to date with Joann's, sign up for their Discover Connect and you will receive a 20% off coupon. Pretty nice, I'd say. You can sign up HERE.

Happy Summer!

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Miss Matilda Dress and Top Pattern: Testers

I have such an incredible group of women behind the scenes that have been helping me test all my patterns to ensure a perfect pattern for our customers. Like I mentioned last week, they are an incredibly talented group of women and I am so proud to share some of their darling creations with you.

This is Crystal's (Stitched by Crystal) little cutie wearing the Miss Matilda Dress in size 12 month. We shortened the sash a little bit since these pictures were taken so that it didn't extend beyond the hem of the dress. Crystal chose a gorgeous eyelet fabric with solid lavender accents. So perfect for this sweet little lady!

This darling little outfit was created by Katie Romagosa from Leave You In Stitches. Her Miss Matilda Top is pictured with the Skip and Play Pants and Capris (Size 6 month - 10 Years) that will be released this week as well. Katie used several different patterned fabrics and added lace detailing to the top for added interest.

Here we have our size 10 tester, Christie Jones, who sewed this darling top for her daughter, Cate. My favorite part about this dress / top is that it looks sweet on a little baby girl and classy and sophisticated on a little bit older girl.

This beautiful blue and cream colored dress is from Serena GarciaDiaz. Serena had posted a picture over on Facebook of a dress she had made using the free 'Summer Picnic Dress' and I fell in love with her work. Her photography is just beautiful and the contrasting colors in the dress really bring great attention to the ruffles and sash.

Here we have the most adorable creation from the very talented Melissa Myers. This is the Miss Matilda Top paired with another variation of the Skip and Play Pants and Capris (Size 6 month - 10 years) that will be released this week as well. Melissa did such a wonderful job pairing all these different patterned fabrics and the buttons pull it all together!

The beautiful purple and blue creation pictured above is from the love, Trisha Parker from Sweet N Sassy Girls. Trisha did a re-test on our size 7 just to make sure we had nailed down a few details with the fit and I absolutely adore what she came up with for her little girl!

And finally, I'll leave you with the very talented Hayley from Mouse House Creations. Hayley used an additional fabric and incorporated it into the sash. The white ruffles and the pink sash are the perfect accents for this beautiful blue fabric!

Whew! That's a lot of cuteness going on! I wish I could share them all with you, but I'm sure this has been enough Miss Matilda inspiration for one day. I can't say it enough.......these ladies are just incredible and I am so thankful for the time and energy they put into helping me with these patterns.

If you would like to purchase the Miss Matilda Dress and Top Pattern (Size 6 month - 10 Years), you can find the pattern HERE.


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Miss Matilda Dress and Top Pattern from The Cottage Mama: Now Available!

Today is very happy day for me where I get to announce another new pattern from The Cottage Mama summer collection............

The Miss Matilda Dress and Top

SIZE 6 MONTH - 10 YEARS

The Miss Matilda is named after my own little Matilda (seen in these pictures) and is available right now in PDF and will be available in paper at the end of June. Like I said when I released the 'Georgia' pattern, I have been working behind the scenes on these patterns for months and am so thrilled to finally be able to share these designs with you.

If you would like to purchase this pattern, you can find it HERE.

MISS MATILDA DESCRIPTION: The Miss Matilda Dress and Top is the perfect, classic outfit for your darling little lady. It is feminine and sophisticated while still casual enough for every day. View A, the Miss Matilda Dress, is a knee length gathered skirt dress with a small ruffle running down the front bodice and around the neck. The dress buttons in the front and has a waist sash that ties in the front off to one side. View B, the Miss Matilda Top, features all the sweet details of the Miss Matilda Dress, but is cut at shorter length, below the hip, and can be paired with pants, leggings, shorts or jeans. View C, the Miss Matilda Dress simple variation, is a simplified version of the dress and top pattern. The simple variation eliminates the ruffles around the neck and along the front. This variation could be made with or without the waist sash and with piping throughout different seams in the garment.

All design variations have a fully lined bodice with contrasting fabric and French seams in the skirt for total comfort for your little one. This is great pattern for confident beginner sewers and offers many ways to get creative with your design!

And just so you can see how this dress transforms into a top, here are a few pictures from our testers (more to come later this week):

Miss Matilda Top and Skip and Play Capris

This darling outfit was created by Katie Romagosa from Leave You In Stitches. She used several different printed fabrics and lace trim accents. And do you see those capris? Those are the Skip and Play Pants and Capris (Size 6 Month - 10 Years) and they will be released later this week.

This Miss Matilda Top and Skip and Play Pants and Capris is from the talented, Melissa Myers. More pictures of the darling outfit she created coming later this week!

So there you have it......the second (and sneak peek of the third) out of four patterns in The Cottage Mama summer pattern collection. I hope you like them!

If you would like to purchase the Miss Matilda Dress and Top (Size 6 Month - 10 Years), you can find it HERE.

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