Support Handmade this Christmas

Don’t forget that Bits & Bobs 4 Bubs has some great stocking fillers too!!!!

Support Handmade this Christmas

Rosie & Scarlet have some great stocking fillers!!!!

Tutorial Wednesday

 

Terry Towelling Nappy Cover

I bought these cute little nappy covers for Ethan a couple of weeks ago from Kmart for $3 and he has been wearing just them, no t-shirt, over the passed 2 weeks due to the heat.

I actually got another pair with Mickey Mouse on the back of them with some other goodies from a family friend after he was born and thought to myself I can make them.  And So I did.

What I used:

• Blue Terry Towelling
• 3/4 inch elastic
• Bias tape

First I took a template from the pants and cut out my two pieces.  The original pair are a size 00.  When I traced the outline for the front of the pants I made them just a little big wider to allow for the seam of the leg holes.

Now because I was trying to do this and deal with 3 very hot and cranky children, I didn’t realise I should have placed the leg holes a little bit more to the right as you can see from the picture above.  I will re do this before I put the link up for you to download the pattern.

I placed both paper patterns onto the fold of the towelling and cut them both out. The next step is to pin and sew your bias tape, as I have used, or you could use fold over elastic. My tape measured about 13 inches for each leg hole. It’s a lot easier to do it now then after you have sew the leg holes together. 

Pin and sew the leg holes together:

The next step is to pin right sides together and either sew or serge the two pieces together.

This is how they should look so far.  The next step is to attach the waistband.

The waistband on the bought pants is actually a fabric waistband with thick elastic threaded through.  I chose to just sew some 3/4 inch elastic I had. 

With right side facing out I placed the elastic to the edge of the waistband and sewed all the way around leaving a little at the beginning and end to over lap and together.

You can pin it on first but I found it easier to feed them through by hand as the towelling edge rolls up.

Then I turned the elastic up and top stitched all the way around.

And then your done.  And here is my little model.  They are a bit big but they will last him through summer. 

Love those chubby little legs. He was too busy wriggling around in this one:

Happy Sewing!!!!

Found it at the library

 

I have been madly searching the library catalogue and requesting quite a few books recently.  Books that I have been on the waiting list for for a while have finally come through and I have a load of them sitting on my coffee table waiting for me to review them.

Anyway the book that I am reviewing today I have borrowed out before but couldn’t find the pictures that I had taken to go along with the post so i had to borrow it  out again, and that was hard, not.

One Metre Wonders authors are Rebecca Yaker, who owns an online boutique called Hazel and Melvin’s Room and Patricia Hoskins, who is a co founder of Crafty Planet.

I remember when I first borrowed this book out and how much I just loved the fabric they used for each of the projects.  I had not long started this blog and was only just discovering all the wonderful and colourful fabrics that other bloggers were using for their projects.

So what will you find in this gorgeous book, well of course at the beginning is your usual what you need and need to know like equipment must haves, knowing your fabric, cutting your fabric, making and using patterns and techniques.

And then it jumps straight into the projects.  You can make things for around the home, garments to wear, great gift ideas, softies for the kids, even something for the family pet.

The only thing I will say I don’t like about this book and its just a personal thing and that is the patterns that come with it are the tissue paper kind.  I have only started using paper patterns this year but I find that they are a lot better as the don’t easily rip.

With paper patterns you can scan them onto your computer to reprint when the originals have too many holes in them and their are some books now, like Martha Stewarts sewing book that actually gives you the patterns etc on disc.

All in all this is a fantastic book and I recommend you check and see if your library has it available and if not most library's will order books in for you.  And if it is anything like my library, you will have a bit of await to get it.

Happy Reading!!!

PS.  How exciting, there is another book due for release this year called Fabric by Fabric, One Yard Wonders, can’t wait!!!!!

Tutorial Wednesday–The Ponytail Hat

 

I bought Miss J a ponytail hat for her birthday but when it came to Miss G’s birthday I couldn’t find another one in another colour.

So I set myself the challenge to make my own.  And wasn’t it a challenge.  Not only had I not made a hat before I decide to make my first hat with a pattern I adjusted myself.

Although I am happy with the end result, I did make a few mistakes and did a bit of unpicking.

For the pattern I used a simplicity Bucket Hat pattern that I downloaded from somewhere ages ago so sorry can’t tell you where I got it, which I have rescanned and you can download from here.

Now I’m sorry it’s not the best and you will have to join the second and third pages together as it wouldn’t fit in the scanner.

So what do you need to make your own hat, you will need a top and underneath fabric.  Miss G wanted Hello Kitty fabric which was in my scraps and I was lucky to just have enough for the top.  I used white for underneath and some interfacing that was of a medium thickness.  Using fusible interfacing would be much easier but mine was too thick for this. Oh and some velcro about 2 inches long.

First I cut out all my pieces out:

 

 

Then, I sewed the brim of the hat first with the right sides facing each other, leaving a small section to turn the brim right way out and top stitched and attached the velcro.  Now I assumed that there was hem allowance already in the pattern:

Next I sewed each of the crown pieces at the centre back seam.  Then I sewed the top of the hat.  Sorry I hope I am making sense and you should be sewing the 2 fabrics separately:

I don’t know what I did wrong but when I was pinning the top of the hat on it was like it was too big so I pinned it on and then adjusted it till it did fit:

 

Now you should have 3 sections of the hat to sew together:

Now I sewed the 2 pieces together. First I placed right sides together and sewed the half circle where the ponytail will go thru:

Then I turned the fabric right sides out and top stitched:

For the bottom of the crown I actually overlocked the pieces together so that I could have a practice on my new babylock but if you don’t have an overlocker you could just use your zigzag stitch.  If you don’t have a zigzag stick sew it all together leaving a small hole so that you can turn it right side out and then iron it flat.

Now all you have to do is pin the brim of the hat to the top part, sew and then turn down (brim is pinned upside down on the outside of the hat with the under fabric facing you).  You can top stitch it again on the right side if you wish but I just ironed it down.  And here it is:

I don’t think it turned out too bad!

As long as Miss G is happy with it that is all that matters.

Love my cheeky monkey models

Now this is the first time I have adjusted a pattern so please be gentle and I would love to hear your feed back.  If you have any problems with downloading the pattern please also let me know as this is the first time I have used Scribed.

Good luck and Happy Sewing!!!!

Link Party Likes #14

 

Well I have finally done it.  Bits & Bobs 4 Bubs is now open on Made It.  I have moved some items from my Facebook page and uploaded them to Made It but you will still find my smaller items eg hair clips, headbands on my Facebook page.

So I been working on a new nappy wallet that well accommodate 3 modern cloth nappies, will upload a few picture’s soon so I haven’t been able to get around to any tutorials this week, sorry!!!

But let’s see what you all have been up too:

Love this idea, beach tote bags for a wedding gift that I found over at Backless Shirt:

 

You know me I love anything up cycled and this baby dress is adorable over at Cass Can Sew :

 

It’s spring!!! so will have to get sewing with this knit ruffle skirt tutorial from Scatter thoughts of a Crafty Mom:

 

Might just have to make this for my little man.  Love this rocket ship applique I found over at Leafy Treetop Spot :

 

Another ruffle skirt tutorial using fat quarters and a t-shirt over at Elisa Loves:

 

And finally one for the boys, this is just the cutest applique. You can find the tutorial over at Lemon Tree Creations:

Well I think my sewing list just got longer.  What are you going to make this week?  Why not give one of these ago.

Happy Sewing!!!!