'Silk' Flowers {Tutorial}

I've been busy working on some sewing projects for friends, but I thought I'd take a little break and make some 'silk' flowers to give to the girls' teachers for Easter. We're also going to give them to the lady janitors at the girls' school. My 3rd grader is on cafeteria duty this week which means she has to help clean up the two tables her class uses during lunch. {I think this is a great idea and great way to help the students take pride in their school.} So, since she is working with the janitors this week, I thought it would be nice for her to give them a small gift of appreciation for all the hard work they do. We'll stick a little Easter note in there, as well. Hope they like them!
If you haven't made these before, chances are you've at least seen them around. This is just one in a million tutorials for these, but they are so easy I thought I'd share it with you.

I'm linking up to some of these parties!

30 Minute Ruffle Skirt {Tutorial}

If you know how to sew a straight line, you are going to love this skirt! It literally takes only three straight lines of sewing to make this skirt. In fact, you probably do more cutting and folding than you do sewing - and the best part? You don't have to hem this!! I'm not a big fan of hemming. I don't know why really. It's not that hard. But this fabric doesn't ravel or fray. You're going to love it!

Materials:
I bought my ruffle fabric at Hobby Lobby for 10.99/yd {Use the 40% off coupon and it's a GREAT deal!}. I only needed 1 yard. Then, I bought poly-satin in silver for 2.99/yd. Used 1/6 of a yard for this skirt. And I already had some elastic on hand.

*Measure the waist that will be wearing this skirt. Then, take that measurement and add 4-5 inches. We will be using elastic for the waist, so that extra 4-5 inches will be good for gathering.
*Measure the length you want and carefully cut your fabric to meet your requirements. {See pic below for a great tip.}

*Now it's time to sew your seam. {I put mine in the back of the skirt.} Place right sides together and sew your seam from top to bottom. I use a 1/2 inch seam. Remember this fabric is stretchy, so slow and steady is best. {See pic below.}

*Now, for the waistband. Take your coordinating fabric {I chose poly-satin} and cut the length the size of your subject's waist + a couple inches gathering and finishing. For a 1.5 inch wide waistband, you'll want to cut a 6" wide piece {We'll be folding this waistband over twice to get our finished width.}

*Fold in half, iron. Then, fold again and iron. {Just like making a bias tape.}

*You can sew a straight seam down that opening, if you wish, but I left mine open.

....And the finished result!

The best part?? I got three skirts out of this 1 yard of ruffled fabric for my three girls who are 8, 6 and almost 4. Better than thrift store prices and it's brand new!

I'm linking this post up to this party: