The Lemon Dress

I couldn't wait to dive-in making something for my yellow loving niece upon snagging three pre-cut yards of this fun fabric labeled “Mediterranean Lemons.” They were a whopping 25 cents each clearance at Walmart! However, since I was unsure of the cotton quality or the true cut material amount, I decided to keep it simple and use the same Purple Princess Tunic Butterick B4319 pattern to sew a pleasant spring dress.

The trouble with this kind of cheaper material from a place like Walmart is that they are single yards folded on small card displays. No matter how much I steamed, pressed, and ironed; the fold lines were still apparent. I also laid out the yards end to end as one piece when considering my pattern cut 2 back and on the fold front. This is a busy pattern so I wasn't concerned with matching at the seams. However, if you do need to perfectly match materials on a larger project, this kind of cheap pre-cut material probably won't work. This is the difference between non-fabric stores such as Walmart and now the overwhelmed crafter Michael's playing wannabe Joann. They attempt to sell fabric when neither has the proper sales storage, yard cutting, or quality materials for the experienced sewer expecting more or the would-be sewing turned discouraged consumer. For kids play clothes this fabric works – but I don't know that I would have paid full price for this material knowing the Wal-Mart shortchanges. Anyway, fin rant and R.I.P Joann.

Like one of the previous purple tunics, I cut this pattern with an open back seam for an elastic waist gathering. I compared the original tunic which was too big at the time against the pattern and my own paper pattern creation of my niece's current measurements. With these three pre-cut yards, there wasn't enough material width to do an all-in-one sleeve as the original pattern calls for, and I think I initially left too much excess in the shoulder line because of this. Fortunately I could correct that once I saw where my new puffy sleeve additions had to be set. These six inch poofs were the leftover cuts from the bottom of my lemon yards, gathered with an elastic channel at the bicep and then pleated into the armscye. A delicious light teal lace from a thrift grab bag added more length and flutter to the sleeve as well as the collar, waist, and hem. I've been working thru this goofy bag of pastel laces on all my niece's creations! While the hem and collar were just the lace ruffle as is, the lace was straight stitched at the elastic waist channel before I did the gather through – giving the skirt portion an extra flouncy oomph once it was all cinched.

Inspired, I decided to use the roundish shoulder cut-out scraps for a little reticule drawstring purse as last seen in my Christmas Princess Upgrade. Although I didn't expect to use all three yards, I also want to maximize every piece of material. Unfortunately, I thought I could use the neckhole scraps to make the crown of a subsequent matching bonnet but they were too small. Instead I took a round and folded over strip from the third untouched yard for the hat top and its double sided gathered floppy brim. The teal lace again set off the little hat as well as the drawstring channel of the purse. Deep in my craft drawers I found an old teal satin ribbon roll that came in handy for the reticule tie and a bonnet strap. C'est adorable!

Strangely I went out of order on this project, doing the small hand sewn accessories before finishing the dress seams and straight machine stitching. Plans to do this earlier in December were of course delayed and it came down to the holiday wire buckling down for two days to get it all done. Somewhere I think I may have doubled the waist measurement when I didn't need to do so, as the dress looks a little too big. Fortunately – or unfortunately – there's room to grow and time to like it. For upon seeing these Mediterranean Lemons on Christmas Day, my niece promptly said, “I hate it.” 

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Facebook for more photos or follow us on Blue Sky for the latest craft adventures! Peruse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more projects including: 

Cheap Elsa Costume

Minecraft Ottoman

Cardboard Castle

2025 with Search Magazine

Amid all my stresses of 2025 there were some good things on the writing front indeed thanks to Search Magazine!

It was a honor to have my previous Pamper Yourself at Home article chosen for the special Tenth Anniversary Issue! This reprint was expect along with a fun anniversary t-shirt. However the hefty package on my doorstep from Search was not. Inside was a beautiful plaque thanking me for my work at the magazine. It's not often art, DIY, and writing receive much recognition these days so it was a tremendous surprise to be noticed and appreciated for the little things I do. In fact, I should have written my thanks to the Search Magazine staff much sooner, but it's easy to let the pretty things fall to the wayside when so many dark things are currently happening.

Fortunately, my DIY pieces for Search keep my creative spirit afloat, and my Celestial Banner featured in the Fall #SunMoonStars Issue! There isn't always print space to include all my in progress photos, but more step-by-step albums are available on my Kbatz Krafts Facebook Page. Meta is not ideal, but I enjoy being able to share the process on Blue Sky, too. It's such a privilege to be able to maybe inspire others with affordable creations that anyone can do. This Winter #FamilyTime Issue, it was great fun to discuss the Legacy of Sewing and encourage others to focus on the important things together, one stitch at a time.

2026 looks to be another trying year already, but I'm tremendously grateful to have a full slate of Search deadlines to keep me on the writing ball.

Visit the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more projects featured in Search Magazine including: 

Autumn Chandelier

DIY Family Gallery

Vintage Trunk Makeover

Sewing on a Budget

DIY Holiday Adventures

Still catching up post-Covid, I didn't get to all the DIY December ideas on my list this year. No scrap ornaments nor holiday banners like my Celestial Banner for Search Magazine! What I did do came down to the wire, and the reactions to this trio of festive projects were...mixed?

The Jewelry Treasure Chest

I saved this top opening gift basket several years ago but forgot what I had wanted to do with it – until I saw it again this year, that is! I thought the flip top made it the perfect treasure chest for my niece. She's been sorting through some of my jewelry making supplies for the beads she likes, so I made as many bracelets and necklaces as I could with her favorites, the pink bead discards I don't like, and all the odd, low quantity, fun beads that don't match anything else. Many of the bug and butterfly charms and unique bobbles came from three cases of beads I found at Goodwill earlier in the summer for $8 each. Unlike some of my seemingly elaborate Black and White Bobbles, these were all done with simple elastic cording that can grow with her or can be taken apart later if she wants to do her own creations. More plastic Mardi Gras necklaces and fake pearls removed from other cheap costumes supplemented the chest along with her play masks, tiaras, and folding fans. I also put some of the jewelry sets I made in smaller boxes or little velvet bags within the chest to make them seem even more fancy. This was seemingly the biggest hit of the holiday when my niece didn't want to open anything else on Christmas morning because she had to go through the entire chest claiming she wanted to wear twenty pieces at once. Unfortunately, she only wanted the pink and later red jewelry – refusing to consider any other color even when playing with the mask and fan. So... I guess it was worth it?

Potter Scrap Pumpkins!

I got a pair of Gryffindor pajama pants for my husband that turned out to be quite long. Upon hemming them, I saved the excess inches intending to make something, but what? Once I knew making personalized scrap ornaments for each of my family wasn't feasible this holiday season, I realized I could still at least make Stuffed Pumpkins for my older niece with these pant ends. Once upon a time she was a big Potter lover, but this print is mature and subtle enough to just be regular autumn décor without screaming boy wizard. One end is gathered closed before the stuffing with fabric scraps and plastic bags. Rustic twine for the pumpkin sections, dollar store leaves, curly pipe cleaner vines, and a cinnamon stick stem topped off this gourdy pair. Upon seeing them on Christmas Eve, my niece first asked where I got the fabric and if they had been worn before they were pumpkins? Which I guess I could see as humorous because they hadn't been, and likewise, they weren't stuffed with dryer lint – although that is a perfectly viable stuffing option in a pinch. All gathered were very bemused and said that I was a very resourceful person. I'm not sure, however, if that resourceful was meant as a positive or just being polite, for I was also teased for saving all the holiday package shipping paper. Hey, man, it's good for painting drop cloths and scrap sewing patterns!

It's a Christmas Vacation Pillow

I get my husband a lot of character shirts at the thrift shop that he may like until they wear thin but sometimes the sizes aren't right. Usually I give away the too bigs and too smalls immediately or make pillows for the bean bag. This National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation shirt, however, I found again wrapped around loose ornaments when I opened my ornaments tote bin this year – meaning I must have intended to make it a pillow last year. Fortunately, unlike my Wonky Halloween Pillows, this was in good condition and easy to cut out the design square before running it through the machine. Again scraps and plastic bags were my stuffing – this is only a decorative pillow rather than needing to be soft and cozy. Its hockey playing Santa pillow companion was an earlier upcycled thrift find – I only have two Santas in my house and both are left shooting hockey players! There are more ready to retire shirts that I would like do as a quilt like my Memento Mori piece, but only my husband would probably get all the pop culture shirt references, for no one seemed to get, care, or notice the Christmas Vacation quote on the pillow. Oh well. Thankfully, everyone did eat all the pizzelles of course.

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Facebook for more photos or follow us on Blue Sky for the latest craft adventures! Peruse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more projects including: 

Carving and Baking with Real Pumpkin

Mini Pumpkin Garland

Going Green Jewelry

Christmas Princess Upgrades

 

One expects changes as a child grows, which is why I don't usually go all out with the perfect finishes for my niece's Pastel Play Dresses. Such growth, however, is also an opportunity to upgrade our Christmas Princess with some ruffles, alterations, and new bling.

Having my first bout with Covid meant all my grandiose Fall sewing plans fell to the wayside, but these simple holiday embellishments have helped me get back into the crafting swing. Since its shape as a short caplet will not change, I starting by adding a gold fringe from a closing Joann Haul to the cape hem with a running back stitch using invisible thread. I knew I needed golden flair for my niece and shopped the Joann's clearance accordingly for some matching yellow threads handy now after pressing and pinning a cheap Wal-Mart gold satin as a shiny new cape lining. Unfortunately, I did struggle with tacking in this add-in lining numerous times. Like my long gestating brown housecoat set that I intended to have done before Covid struck, making sure the lining draped correctly with the cape took several adjustments both laying it flat and leaving it on the dress form before I was satisfied with several lining pleats in the back of the cape. Though I kept trying to convince myself it didn't have to be perfect, I also want this shiny fun to last for more holidays to come.

Next, a ritzy red fabric found at my local Goodwill this summer became a new foot long hem ruffle to lengthen the original Butterick B4319 tunic. They call me “The Woman in Black” there, and the store clerk asked me if it was a cape. I said I didn't think so but it was sparkly and that was what my niece said she wanted. I do have more of the original thrift Halloween capes from which I made the dress, but I'm saving that material for when I need to expand it with a new back panel or side gores. This ruffle took about half the glittery red; it's already cut width was just under doubling the hem length for the prerequisite gathering flounce. I did this new attachment by hand, for I didn't trust this slinky sheer metallic fabric to go through my sewing machine. Likewise, I initially stitched dollar store gold ribbon – the same as the silver trim used in the Cheap Frozen Costume – with my invisible thread at the original hem to further unite the two-tone reds. However, the invisible thread proved far too cumbersome by getting caught on the ribbon's metallic prongs so I went back to a yellow thread instead. I didn't double or line this deadstock mystery material for the ruffle, but did fold it over for shine on both sides upon expanding the dress sleeve with a fun little rectangular tippet. It was easy to open the gathering at the bicep and let the new tail drape, again with a gold Joann's trim setting off the new seam.

Like my Halloween Mystery Costume was meant to look like the personification of Halloween accumulated over time with its patchwork, this costume will indeed become piece by piece anew each Christmas. Obviously at some point it will no longer perfectly match, but the secret is making sure at least two items at a time coordinate. Here the red ruffle and the sleeve tippet go together. Next year I can stripe the top sleeve puff with more gold satin or do a matching full length sleeve – or gasp, add my niece's new favorite color: pink! Here the remaining gold sleeve trim was used for the drawstring of a little reticule purse. I could stripe this poof by stitching an alternating piece of the glittery red with the yellow satin, however these materials are both delicate and of different weights so that could look too wonky. Instead I simply laid the red strips horizontal on the yellow rectangle along with the last of the gold metallic hem trim and top stitched everything in place with a running back stitch. This turned out to be not exactly straight or symmetrical, but the top drawstring channel and the gathered closed bottom hide the imperfections. Yes, I could have been far more meticulous, but for a once a year use project like this, what would precision matter? This came together in a few hours, and the toughest part was trying to finagle the last of the gold fringe as some sort of tassel on the bottom that I ultimately left off to save for another future doodad.

Hot glue and clearance Wal-Mart yellow tulle made for an instant veil under the back poinsettias and bells of the existing Christmas wreath head roll in another simple yet oh so dramatic upgrade. I could have made a truncated hennin to go inside the roundlet, but my niece loves to precariously swing around my fifty cent pimp cane turned gnarly forest staff every chance she gets! Originally made for my Halloween Mystery Costume, this staff does double duty with my Mother Christmas Costume, so I decided to make my niece her own mini forest scepter more to her scale. A dollar store Halloween battery candle and empty tin foil roll combined with some backing cardboard, egg carton, and masking tape became the most magical yet cheapest make possible. Like my staff, stiffening hot glue creates that enchanted wood design as well as securing the egg carton strips around the faux candle flame like a mystical splintering effect. A black acrylic base coat and brown highlights finalized the branch motifs, and unlike my staff, this weekend project actually glows! I spoke to my niece on the phone during this multi step upgrade, telling her I was working on redoing her Christmas costume. “Thank you,” she said in her little five year old voice. I kept hearing this in my head thereafter, her appreciation spurring me on despite my lagging and any little imperfections or fudges and fixes along the way.

For Santa Lucia Day after saying, “Hi Kristin. Why are you dressed like that?” and “Who's Mother Christmas?” My niece grabbed her staff and said, “One of my own!” She kept running back and forth swishing the skirt and sleeves and refused to take her off dress for dinner. We had to compromised by letting her wear the cape at the table but she didn't want to share her scepter with her grandpop. My mother who taught me to sew (you can read my Legacy of Sewing article in the #FamilyTime issue of Search Magazine available now) was impressed with what looked like such a deceptively elaborate costume. The ruffle was actually a little long and the tie in the back was still loose enough for more room to grow. Had I gone straight through this project, it would have been done in a week but instead real world interference meant it took a month. However seeing her joy upon donning the costume, handing out the picture prints for others from inside her reticule, and waving her scepter about...this is why we do it amirite?

Follow the Kbatz Krafts Facebook for more photos or join us on Blue Sky for the latest craft adventures! Visit the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more projects including: 

Holiday Handprints

Green Velvet Skirt

Celestial Banner for Search Magazine