Presents, Presents and More Presents!

I have furiously been sewing these past 2 weeks since I have a huge cluster of birthdays around the same time!  It's actually been nice and I have been reminded just how much I enjoy sewing.  In true fashion I don't have pictures of everything.  I'm bad at remembering especially when working on a deadline :)  There is one yet to be received as well as a handful of other projects I hope to complete before our house (and sewing machine) get packed up for over a month!  Naturally I'd get the sewing bug 3 weeks beforehand.

Here is a round up of the gifts galore happening around here.

This first one is a repurposed dress made for my daughter.  This is actually my least favorite of the 3 that I have made, I like the top of the others better.  Thought I would try something different!  I'll get pictures of the others eventually.  I will just put out there that this was the EASIEST projects ever.  A little cutting with the scissors and 2 seams.  No measuring and no finishing!!  I discovered that you can use a girls shirt in a length that matches what you would want the dress to be (I used medium shirts).  Cut the top to look like a tank top then taper the sides down.  Easy peasy!!

 This next one is a "beach comber" bag that I came up with for my nephew (and also my kids as well).  I saw this idea in a One Step Ahead catalog but I think it retailed for something like $15!  No way was I paying that so I set out to design one.  It was fairly easy except that my thread kept breaking (you know I really HATE when that happens!).  I have changed some things about it that I didn't like and am currently putting together a tutorial on how to make one.  It you have beach babes in your house then this is a must!

 Here he was just being goofy because I asked him to be my model!

These turtles were something that I saw a tutorial for in my blog roll and instantly knew I had to make some!  They were just too darn cute not to.  I am not usually one who sets right out to make something, I'm a major procrastinator but right after I saw the blog post here, at Make It and Love It, on how to do it I went to my fabric stash and picked out the fabrics.  I made one for my nephew and my daughter for their respective birthdays and have an order from my son for one!  They really are too darn cute!!  Perhaps the best part is they are a great way to use up scraps.

 One other thing I learned from the turtle tutorial was a new stitch.  Honestly I have no idea how I have lived without it!  It's the ladder or a blind stitch and it is the best.  Now everything looks so professional!  That's what is used below to close the opening, you can't even tell.

 Finally, up last, is a purse I made for a friend of mine.  This is one of two I have made in the last month from 2 different patterns I have.  I forgot to take a picture of the other one and almost did with this one too!

That's all for now.  After the last gift has been received I'll post some pics.  It came out very well and is a very useful item.  I may be making myself one in the near future since pretty soon I'll have reasons to use it.  I have also been determined to make myself an article of clothing and have had 2 failures so far.  I'll fill you in on those real soon but first I want to have success!!

Another Shirt

Tye Dye Sneak Peek!!

This post will be a lengthy one so for now a little peek....

T-Shirt to Cropped Pant (or shorts or long pants) Tutorial

So I have a VERY easy little project to share with you!!  I am all about re-purposing and this project is perfect for using up those old t-shirts that have been retired from your collection.  Of course you could always use cheap new t-shirts found on clearance or found at a yard sale or thrift store.

I found a 3 pack of boys shirts marked down to $5 so I snagged them up and brainstormed what to do with them.  A friend of mine's little girl had a birthday approaching so I decided to make some cropped yoga pants.

This method could easily be used to make shorts or long pants as well!  Just make sure your shirt is long enough if your making pants.  The shirts I used were a boys large which was perfect to make them hit below the knee in a size 3/4T.

I am not real familiar with making tutorials but it's pretty easy to follow.

Materials:

newpaper
favorite pants
pen/pencil
scissors
t-shirt
elastic
thread

First you will take some newspaper and lay your favorite pair of pants on top to make a pattern.  A few things to keep in mind while making your pattern.  Fold your pants in half and line up the straight side with the edge of the newspaper.

• Make sure you remember to add seam allowances so the pants will fit once sewn.  No need to measure here, just trace roughly 1/4 inch from the outline of your pants.
• Add about 1.75 to 2 inches to the top of your pants to make room for the elastic casing.
• At the very top (at the waistband) don't trace exactly at the edge, make a bit wider than the waist on the pants so there is extra fabric when the elastic stretches while putting on.
• Slide the pants down the newspaper until they are the length you want.  For shorts above the knee, cropped yoga below the knee and pants all the way.
• Measure your child's waist and add 1/2 inch.  This will be how long to cut your elastic.  For example if your child's waist is 20 inches then you would cut your elastic 20.5 inches long.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of this step, I can and post it if anyone is confused.

Next you are going to line up your pattern on the edge of your t-shirt as shown.  Line up the straight edge with the edge of the shirt and the bottom with the bottom of the shirt.  This will give you an already hemmed and finished bottom edge...with NO WORK!  You want to make sure the top of your pattern comes no higher than the bottom of the armpit.  If it comes higher you need a longer shirt or could always make shorter bottoms.

Here is a close up...

Once you cut out one side repeat on the other side so you have 2 identical pieces, they will look like this...

And here is a picture showing you where the pattern was on the shirt and the resulting pieces.  Sorry if this is redundant I just wanted to make sure people understand what I mean.

Next you will open up your two pieces and put them right sides together, lining them up as best as possible.  Due to the nature of this projects and of t-shirts they may not line up exactly but that is fine.  Try to line up the bottoms as close as possible and any subtle differences can be fixed in the waistband.

Now as you know the finished edge will be the bottom of you pants.  You are going to sew the crotch first.  This is the top half of the pants, sew on either side.

Next you will twist them around so they look like inside out pants.  The crotch seams will now be down the middle just like on real pants.

Now you will sew the inseam of the pants.  You can do this one of two ways: sew up one side then sew up the other or start on one side, sew up one leg then down the other.  I do the latter but it doesn't really matter.  I also sew a zig-zag stitch on the edge when I'm finished although you don't have too.  T-shirt material is great because it doesn't fray!  The first pair of pants I made for my son I didn't finish any edges nor did I make a formal casing for the elastic.  Many wearings and washings later and they are still going strong!  If you don't want to go through the hassle of ironing and sewing a real casing for the elastic, don't!  Just fold over wide enough for your elastic to fit and sew.

Your final step is to make the casing for your elastic (or not).  Making a casing is easy, start by folding over 1/2 inch and ironing.  Next turn down 5/8 to 3/4 inches and iron again.  Pin in place if necessary.

Finally sew around the bottom edge, as close as possible.  Leave about an inch space so you can thread your elastic through.  Sew the ends of your elastic together then sew your opening shut.

Flip them right side out and ENJOY!!

Felt Food

For Christmas I made some felt food for a couple of my friends' children as well as my own. I have some more in the making but this is what I got finished before Christmas arrived.

First we have some carrots!

Next we have a bologna sandwich (or ham) with tomato and lettuce. I didn't even think until after the fact about making a slice of cheese to go with it. I'll add that to my list.


And the breakfast course, pancakes, bacon and eggs. My favorite might just be the bacon but it was a pain to make!

Dinner was a drumstick and green beans. My infant loves eating the chicken! I also had intended to make mashed potatoes and gravy to go with this meal but I ran out of time.

I also sewed up a quick little bag to put all the food in.

I have plans to make cupcakes, cookies, swiss rolls, and a couple other things eventually!

Jungle Quilt

So I have finished the jungle quilt, aside from sewing a border on it. It turned out very well and is cute and colorful just like I was planning. My son LOVES it which is all that really matters.

This was my most complex quilt to date with 4 patch blocks and appliques. Most of my quilts have been simple patchwork with maybe some sashing or a border. May not even be worth mentioning that I am a novice.

This quilt ended up being 48" x 58". It's made with 10" squares and a 4" border around the side.

Just a closer look at the top half.

And a better look at the bottom.

I do have much more to post as I have gotten a bit done this week. I have started working on the other 3 pairs of baby shoes I had cut out, the only thing left is to sew on the soles. I also made 4 baby doll diapers for my sons Cabbage Patch doll. These were super simple and quick and work like a charm. The last thing is I have one mitten an inch away from being done, finally. I also managed to get the pieces cut for my little girls quilt. I may take a break from quilt making for a bit and do some small projects for a bit to give me a break.

Quilts

So the past week I have made lots of progress on my list of projects, mainly the quilts I have been wanting to make for quite some time.

Earlier this week I finished the front and put the back on this quilt for my son. Yesterday I ran a final seam around the edge of the quilt to hold everything in place (FYI: I don't actually "quilt" my quilts, I really don't have the time for that!) It's made of a flannel material which I found on the clearance rack during a sale for an extra 50% off!! Turns out it cost me $3 a yard, can't get much better than that. I actually bought enough of it to make the quilt and a matching pillowcase which will be made after I preshrink the fabric. I also have a yard leftover, perfect to make an infant blanket with when I find a prospect.

Here is a picture of the finished quilt, it's nothing fancy but turned out well.

This is a close up where you can see the pattern on the black fabric, my basis for this blanket.

This next one is one I started on yesterday after I finished the above one. Yesterday I got almost all the pieces cut, except for the black ones since I didn't have the fabric.

I bought this adorable jungle themed fabric FOREVER ago, also on the clearance rack. I always had the intentions of making my son a quilt with it just never sat down to do it. Now with a second on the way and a few quilts lined up for her I thought it only fair to make his first! Also the fact that he is outgrowing his baby blankets is motivation as well!

I decided to do large squares of the jungle fabric so you could really see the pattern. I also wanted to try something different so I decided to make a basic 4 color square to alternate with. The picture below shows a good representation of the finished quilt. There will be 5 rows total and the 4 outside corners will be plain black squares with some embellishment. I will also have a 4" border of black around the entire quilt. My next task is to cut the black squares and embellish them, then sew all the rows together, add the border and voila!

This is a close up of the fabric so you can see the jungle print.

I have had the crafting bug lately which is great because I have gotten nothing done for quite some time and my time is dwindling as we speak. Only 10 more weeks to go!

Modified Half Pipe Hat (Toddler size)

So I decided to make matching hats for a good friend of mine and her toddler. To do this I modified Debbie Stoller's pattern for the Half Pipe Hat. This hat will probably fit any size head from 18-20 or 21 inches.

Here is the pattern I came up with.

any worsted weight yarn will do
size 8 straight needles or circular/DPN combo if you prefer

Directions:

CO 72

work in K1, P1 ribbing for 4 inches

Purl 1 row (this is to help when you sew in the brim)

work in K1, P1 ribbing for another 4.5 inches

I didn't write down how I decreased but decrease as you normally would over the next 1/1.5 inches

Finishing:

cut a child size brim out of plastic canvas

sew in the brim using the purl row as a guide, make the brim line up with that row

Crayon Roll

Another easy project I embarked on were these crayon rolls. In my browsing one day I came across a website called Skip To My Lou which is where I found the idea for the crayon roll. She also has lots of other fabulous (and easy) ideas so check it out if you get a chance.

Anyway I ended up making 4 of these in all, each with different fabrics, and once you got all the various parts ready they came together very quickly. I may end up making some more of these since I know many people with young children and these are great for throwing in the diaper bag, etc. I also may alter the pattern a bit to make one for markers, knitting needles and crochet hooks. The only thing that would change are dimensions, the fundamentals are exactly the same.