SewMona – Page 18 – A slice of my Florida life

How To Sew: Taking In A Smocked Shirt

I’m working on a series of posts about adjusting clothing to fit. To see all of them click here – How to Sew.

My daughter was given this shirt. She loved it and wanted to wear it to school right away. I didn’t pay much attention to the size and apparently didn’t really look at it when she tried it on. The back was so gap-py and the front kept creeping down lower than she likes. I put a rubber band around the back to take it in for the day (it was covered by her long hair).

too big shirt neck

The easy part of this was taking in the shoulder seam. I took in about 1/4″ – 1/2″ and narrowed it down to match the existing seam. This helped a little bit.

ShoulderSeam

When the shirt is on, you can’t even tell there’s a little extra seam there.
Take In Shoulder Seam

Fixing the smocking took some thought. My first thought was to add a piece of elastic over the top piece of elastic on the smocking. However, that didn’t work so well and I ended up taking it off. Plan B was to just take tucks on either side. That turned out to be much easier. I only sewed them at the top smocking seam line.

Make a small fold on either side of the smocking

The tucks are barely noticeable.

Now, she can wear the shirt without constantly pulling it up in front and pulling the shoulders back up.

Finished Smocked Shirt

Sea Turtle Center, Marathon, FL

Seat Turtle Center Marathon FL

Over the weekend, we went to the Everglades and then drove to Key West. When we first started planning the trip, I found out about this Sea Turtle Center in the Keys and I knew we had to go. My nine year old loves all things turtle and wants to help turtles when he grows up.

To see the turtles, you must go on the guided tour. It is a little costly ($22/adult, $11/kid), but it goes towards running the center (which is now a non-profit). The tour is about 90 minutes and we thought it was worth the cost. Their goal is to help the turtles get better and then release the them back into the wild. Turtles that can’t be released are re-homed to zoos or aquariums although they do have five permanent residents.

Turtles are found because they are floating. Floating turtle = sick turtle = easy prey.

Some of them have been bitten by sharks.

Gator Shark Bite Missing Part of Shell

Sometimes when a boat hits a turtle it forms an air pocket under the shell. This is called bubble-butt because the turtle gets a bubble on the back of his shell and it causes him to float with his butt in the air. There is no way to fix this so the turtle becomes a permanent resident because he can’t dive for food. They put weights on the scutes to help him dive, but when the scutes are shed, the weights come off too.

Bubble Butt Hit by Boat

Sometimes turtles develop FP tumors (Fibropapilloma) that can cover their eyes, flippers, and even form inside. Normally after they’re removed, they don’t come back, but the turtle becomes a resident for a year just to make sure.

Charlie Turtle with FP Tumors

When the turtles are released, they are tagged so the facility knows if a turtle is a return visitor. The tour guide was very informative and you get to see a lot of their facilities. They also have a small gift shop and some informative displays about turtles.

Welcome To The Sea Turtle Center

Caramel Frappe Recipe

This post contains affiliate links.

I love frappes! I don’t love the price…nor do I love that the past couple times I’ve tried to get one, the milk shake machine is down. Really?! What is it with milk shake machines? Why is it so hard to keep them running? My kids were bummed that they weren’t going to get their promised vanilla milk shakes (for being good in Target…bribery at it’s best!). So, I bought some vanilla ice cream to make them milk shakes and then thought, why couldn’t I make my own caramel frappe? Some vanilla ice cream, some milk, some caramel, and a bit of instant coffee. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out…it was delicious!!! Plus, it was so easy and so much cheaper! It’s probably a bit healthier too.

Caramel Frappe Ingredients

I used three scoops of ice cream and about a cup of milk along with a teaspoon of my favorite instant coffee (decaf because it’s late in the day) and a couple squirts of caramel. Blend them together – an Immersion Blender works great for this. Pour into a glass and add some whipped cream. Drizzle caramel over the top. Enjoy!

Caramel Frappe Ready to Drink

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more details.

How To Sew: Making A Poinsettia Shirt

I’m working on a series of posts about adjusting clothing to fit. To see all of them click here – How to Sew.

Adding to a store bought t-shirt is a simple way to dress it up for a holiday. For instance, I made these Christmas tie shirts for my boys a couple years ago. Several years ago, I came across this tutorial. I couldn’t wait to try it out, except it was winter and short sleeve shirts and flowers weren’t really on my mind. So, I modified it a bit and made it into a poinsettia. Perfect for a Christmas shirt! You can use a store bought shirt, or if you’re inclined, make your own. For the flower, all you need are a few scraps of Christmas material and a button.

I looked at several poinsettia pictures online and drew a petal pattern. The size of your pattern will depend on how big you want the poinsettia and how big the shirt is. For reference, my model wears a size 10.

I used two different materials. I cut 8 petals from one material and 7 slightly smaller ones from another. You could use the same material or all different materials. It’s totally up to you – customize it to your daughter’s (or your) taste.

Lay them out to make sure you like the look. Depending on the material and size of your flower, you may want more or fewer petals. Once you’re satisfied, pin the first layer down (actually, I sew four down and then lay the next four down). Sew around the edges using your favorite decorative stitch. I used a feather stitch and matching thread. If you’re using plain material you can use a contrasting thread for a little extra touch. If you don’t have a machine that can do different stitches, a straight stitch will work just fine. If you’re really ambitious, you can hand sew them on using a blanket stitch (there are lots of tutorials and videos on google).

Once the first layer is sewn down, lay out the second layer and pin them down. Sew them down the same way.

Tack a button down to the middle.

Make your daughter try it on and admire your handiwork.

How To Sew: Color Blocking a Shirt

I’m working on a series of posts about adjusting clothing to fit. To see all of them click here – How to Sew.

Did you ever find the perfect shirt, only it wasn’t the right size? Maybe you bought matching shirts for kids and then they weren’t the right size. Maybe you found the perfect shirt at your local thrift store and but it was a little too small. Maybe it’s a favorite shirt that’s shrunk a bit. No matter, you can use color blocking to make it fit again.

All you need is a coordinating material scrap that’s about the same weight as the shirt you’re fixing. For this shirt, I choose a plain color because there were already some prints going on. If it’s a solid color shirt, you could add a fun print.

First, take apart the side seams. If you don’t want to rip the seams out, you can cut very close to either side of the seams and remove the seam. Do it all the way up the side and down the arm.

Cut two strips of your material to the length of the side & arm. Don’t forget to add a little bit for the hems on either end and make them wide enough to allow for the seam allowance. I added 1.5 inches to the length and about an inch to the width. Hem the short ends – I made sure the hems matched up to the hems on the shirt so the sleeve hem was a narrow hem and the shirt hem was a little wider.

Pin the hemmed pieces to the sides making sure your hems are at the right end. Sew the seams.

Turn it right side out and admire your work. It’s really an easy project – less than an hour…probably less than 30 minutes if you choose to just cut the seams out.

Have your model try on the shirt.