how to make the gathered white skirt of your dreams! (tutorial) 

I love that. Our grandmas are so resourceful! Buttons are the treasure of any garment for sure!

My Mom and Grandma both had their tins/jar full of buttons that they had saved from old clothes and extra buttons from when they made something special. I can remember all of the hours that I played with and sorted the buttons picking out my favorite ones. On the years we got to drive down to Florida to spend Christmas at my Grandparents home and with my 2 Aunts who weren't married it was always exciting to see her button collection because she always had some of the most beautiful buttons made in other countries that she saved from the clothes she purchased or made using materials that she purchased while on vacation or visiting family back in Belgium. She also had buttons given to her from family members and friends over the years. Back in the early 1900-1940s it was common for friends and family members to gift the bride with buttons to help start her button collection. They could be new or old depending on the family's economic level. There was also a time when young ladies/girls would make bracelets using buttons that they had collected and gifted or traded with their close friends. It's quite interesting seeing the different types of buttons people used and saved over the last hundred plus years and even older. I have been blessed with buttons from both my mother and her mother too. I have also been gifted a few different button collections from people that I have met over the years who know that I sew and that I have used buttons to create different crafts and ornaments with my students over the years. I just discovered your channel yesterday and I love seeing the different things you have created so far. Before I got married I either used my Mom's newer Singer sewing machine or I used her 1950 Singer featherweight portable sewing machine with its matching table that looks like a wooden folding card table. Mom gifted it to me back when I was a teenager because out of my 8 siblings I was the only one who was constantly creating and sewing not only my own clothes, but also curtains, comforters, pillows, stuffed animals, dolls and their clothes, gifts of all kinds and furnishings for both my bedroom and later my apartment and house. Plus I was the only one other than my mother who could use the machine without causing it to jam up or have other problems with the thread, bobbin or something else. I have owned a few different sewing machines, but I still have my first one which has every attachments they made along with the manual. A few years ago I was lucky and found a fully working Singer treadle sewing machine to add to my sewing room.

Another tip for sewing on buttons is to use embroidery floss without separating the individual strands so that you have a stronger thread to attach the buttons to whatever you are making. When sewing buttons on things like jackets and coats put a rounded toothpick underneath the button as you sew the traditional cross stitches in the four holes. When you have completed attaching the button and before you cut off the remaining thread remove the toothpick and wrap the tail of your thread around the thread underneath the button at least 2 or 3 times before you pull the thread back through the fabric and make your knot.After making the knot put the needle through the fabric on the inside one or two more times to help secure the thread. This allows the button to have less stress/pull on it when you button up the garment as you typically use thicker fabric when making coats and jackets. Plus it won't cause puckers or gaps when you button the item while wearing them.

@@meiraloraduncan8953 I love this so much! There are few things I love as much as vintage sewing materials and these kinds of stories give me such a warm fuzzy feeling. How is it possible that there is so much history and creativity in something as simple as collecting buttons. Thanks for the tips! I will definitely try to up my button sewing game ;)

Ah haha I'm glad it's ok!! It's always a little nerve wracking wondering if it's gonna work out!

Thank you so much!! I was so excited about the floral fabric when I thrifted it!

Thank you so much !! :')

I LOVE CRAFTING ! hehe

Thank you!! I still have to build my confidence haha. Jumping in is essential at some stage hey!!

you're AMAZING!! upcycling is the best!!! Good luck mate

Thank you for watching!!

yayyyyy i'm so happy!! good luck!!!

I felt like I was in Little Women or something!! A timeless style for sure! Thank you for taking the time to comment - i appreciate it a lot. Will always share the good and bad of my process - hopefully it's helpful! Thank you for watching & being here - happy sewing friend!!!

Thank you!! and sending love all the way to Pennsylvania!!!

you can do it!!! and thank you!

Good luck!!! Thank you for watching!!

Thank you so much!!! The flowers were a fav of mine too :')

aw!!!!! This is so sweet!!!!

Thank you so much!! okokok i'm gonna try an invisible zipper next time!!

Thank you so much friend!! yesss you can absolutely do it - sending you all the good sewing vibes!!

Now that is SO special.

Oh i hope it goes well if you make one!!!

Thank you Emily!!!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much!

:') this is the dream

@@fromcarlyb looking forward to see those days 🥰🍬✨💛

This is the literal nicest comment ever. I'm so glad!!!

you can do it!!

Thank you so much!! Ok this is so helpful, I appreciate it!

@@fromcarlyb No problem! I hope it helps. I was able to figure out that that is called a centered zipper. So if you look up sewing a centered zipper, you can probably find some good videos or visuals on it.

Thank you so much!!

Aw thank you so much! Grandmas buttons are the best. I love that. Reclaimed textiles are so special. Take care mate

Let's conquer our fear together!!

thank you so much!!

Thank you my friend!! Thanks for watching

Happy sewing!!

Thank you so much!

AMAZING!!!!!! THANK YOU

yayyyy!! you should!!!

Yayyyy!!! I'm so glad!! Oooh it's totally up to you how gathered! I kept my gathers in a very 'medium' place so it wouldn't get too heavy!

I'm so glad it was useful! I kind of eyeballed each tier, but a great rule of thumb is making sure each tier is at least 1.5 times longer then the tier above it! I hope that helps.

OOoh that is so exciting! I really hope it goes well!

I just guessed the rectangle measurements but you a good rule of thumb is just making sure that each tier is as least 1.5 times bigger then the last tier

does that include width? like for ex. if the first tier is 4in thick, the next tier would be 6in?

Yay I'm so glad it's working well!!! Twirlability is essential.

awh!! HEY FRIEND !!

Oooh I'll have to try this next time! Thank you

Awh that is soooo sweet. Thank you so much!! A great question. It would probably be the smart thing to do, cutting it & closing the loop before sewing the tier. But I just sewed it on until I got to the point where it met the other end & sewed the ends together then. (you need to leave a 10cm space or so for this method!) It's lazy ... but it works! The gathering is what helps match the skirt to the tier above it! Say the skirt is 2 times the length of the tier above it ... you'll do two parallel lines of gathering stitches ( sew with longest stitch length & then you pull those threads to gather), and gather it so it now fits the measurements of the tier above it! And you keep repeating! I hope that helps a little! Happy sewing! You can do it!

@@fromcarlyb Amazing thank you so much! I am very excited to try it out. I can't wait for your future projects!

Hi there! Thank you so much! My glasses are from KIT eyewear - you can use code CARLY for first pair free!

Hand sewing is a task for sure! You must be so patient! I have two main machines I sew on. My domestic is a Heavy Duty Singer (which I love & have been sewing on for about 3 years), and I recently upgraded to my Industrial Juki DDL 8700 which is game changing but is a much higher price point.

@@fromcarlyb Thank you kindly for responding. I am quite adept at all forms of hand work and can run any sewing machine very well. I’ll certainly look into these models.

Aw thank you for watching!!

I'm so glad!

Thank you!

yes!! Exactly like that! Amazing!!

Thank you so much! They weren't a set length unfortunately - I just made a super long rectangle, gathered it & used that strip for all of my tiers! If you want to calculate each tier, a good measurement is making sure each tier gets at least 1.5 x bigger!

hahaha i love it!!! Thanks for watching!!

I didn't say! Sorry! I actually just made a really long rectangluar piece, gathered it & used it for every layer... so not helpful at all! I don't often measure these things (oops). A good rule of thumb is having the next tier be at least 1.5 x the measurement of the above tier! I hope that helps.

The Salsa shirt? I love this one! It's from Everpress and is a print by an artist called Daukante Subaciute or Daukantedraws on Instagram!

gday mate!!!

@@fromcarlyb hi there 😁

You