Cha Cha or Cupcake?

Recently, a customer wrote to ask about the differences between the Cha Cha anc Cupcake Skirt patterns.  She had already made the Cha Cha skirt and was now looking at the Cupcake Skirt.  They do both have rows of ruffles and  comfy elastic waistbands. And both are designed to give you many seasons of wear. But each of the Pink Chickadee skirts have different construction techniques and these unique features:

Cha Cha Skirt                                   Cupcake Skirt

a-line shape                                      cupcake shape

narrow ruffles of 2-3 inches           wider ruffles of 4-6 inches

3 length choices                              1 length choice

10 sizes                                                5 sizes

5 style options                                   3 style options

Happy Sewing!

Pennant Banner Tutorial

These fun fabric pennant banners are showing up everywhere!  They're easy to make from fabric scraps and remnants and you can make them any size.  Add letters for holiday and special events, or use them plain to compliment your party decor.  See the overview below or get the full deets here.

Primary Supplies:

Fabric remnants  - Two 5 by 8 pieces for each flag

Bias tape - 16 ft or desired length

Place fabric wrong-sides together. Trace the flag onto your fabrics.  The top edges will be hidden inside the bias tape, so it doesn't matter if you place the flag onto folded or raw edges. 

Cut out the flags. A rotary cutter and mat make this an easy job, but you can use scissors.  To make a 12-foot banner, I used 25 two-sided flags spaced just over an inch apart in my banner,  but you can make yours any length you like!  

Sew each set of flags together with a 1/4 inch seam along the two long edges.  

Measure and mark the starting point for the placement of the flags. I like to leave at least 24 inches at each end for tying the banner to a post,  etc. Sandwich the flags inside the bias tape. Pin in place. In the sample there's about an inch in between each flag, but you can leave more or less if you like.
 

   Begin at one end of the bias tape and sewthe open edges together with an edgestitch.

Continue the edgestitch and sew the flags in place.  Sew all the way to the end of the bias tape.

 Voila! Enjoy your finished banner!

Get the free pattern here.

How much?

Use this chart to determine how much fabric you'll need for the Cupcake Skirt. Remember to allow for shrink. Please check with the manufacturer's recommendations. Designer quilting weight cottons normally have very little shrink, but if you're using knit shrink may be 10% or more.

	Option 1	Option 2		Option 3		Option 4			Option 5	All
	1 fabric	2 fabrics		2 fabrics		3 fabrics			Trim
Size	entire  skirt	top ruffle	bottom ruffle & yoke	top ruffle & yoke	bottom ruffle	yoke	top ruffle	bottom ruffle	one trim for entire skirt	1/2 ” elastic
12 mo	1	3/8	2/3	1/2	3/8	1/4	4 2/3	1 5/8	4 2/3	1/2
2T	1 1/8	3/8	3/4	1/2	3/8	1/3	4 7/8	1 5/8	4 7/8	1/2
3T	1 1/8	1/2	3/4	1/2	1/2	1/3	5	1 2/3	5	1/2
4T	1 1/4	1/2	7/8	1/2	1/2	1/3	5 1/4	1 3/4	5 1/4	1/2
5T	1 1/4	1/2	7/8	5/8	1/2	1/3	5 1/2	1 7/8	5 1/2	1/2
6	1 1/3	1/2	7/8	5/8	1/2	1/3	5 7/8	2	5 7/8	1/2
7	1 3/8	1/2	1	5/8	1/2	3/8	6	2	6	5/8
8	1 1/2	5/8	1	5/8	5/8	3/8	6 1/3	2 1/8	6 1/3	5/8
10	1 5/8	5/8	1 1/9	2/3	5/8	1/2	6 2/3	2 1/8	6 2/3	5/8
12	1 3/4	5/8	1 1/8	3/4	5/8	1/2	7	2 1/3	7	5/8