dada pillows
It was my husband's birthday a few weeks ago and I had been promising him FOREVER to replace his favorite pillow for him (yes, I took the old one and tossed it thinking I would whip him up a new one in no time). It took me a while to come up with what I wanted to do. He would have been happy with just a couple fabrics slapped together, but I thought and thought and thought some more about that darn pillow. It had to be perfect, or so I thought.
I ended up waiting until his actual birthday to make the first pillow. Mistake. It was so hard keeping the girls occupied while trying to come up with a cool design for the pillow. I finished it just in time - and he loves it. yay.
I had also planned on making a few more pillows to throw on the couch, so I finished the last two up last night. Made me really happy to check that one off my list, I had been putting it off for long enough.
I ended up making the big square pillow forms myself which was really fun, but the rectangular ones are small travel pillows. I lined all but one pillow with muslin for a little more sturdiness (I love it!). The first pillow I made using fusible fleece and quilted it with straight lines, but I prefer the other versions a little better.
new baby gift
baby boy crib set
Whoa there! Don't get all hyped up, it's not for me. I'm so loving how this project turned out and that it's finished. I totally forgot how much fabric and how much time a innocent little crib set could take up. But this was made with pure joy for my brother and his wife who are expecting a baby boy in early September.
I was so happy when I heard the good news and one of the first things that popped into my head was: "yay, I get to make all kinds of fun baby stuff!".
Their nursery is too cute already, the walls are a really fun green and some of the furniture is already set up (from the lovely Ikea of course). I can't wait to see it with the crib and bedding in it!! Their shower isn't until the 26th, so I'm excited about the big reveal.
Of course I have a few other items to make and I'll just have to keep you posted as those get finished.
The fabrics are Robert Kaufmann's Monaluna, Robert Kaufmann basic stripes, some Heather Bailey Nicey Jane, and three prints from the Freebird collection by Moda! Dots and stripes were the request so dots and stripes it was.
As a side note: I had a fun time on this photo shoot. You really can't appreciate crib bedding unless it's actually on a crib. So with that in mind, I had to set up the crib again, luckily we still had it stashed away in our attic. The room the pics were taken is actually my living room, but doesn't it seem like a nice cozy nursery?! :)
gathered clutch - the pattern
I'm really excited to share this with everyone today. I've finished putting the final touches on my first ever pattern for sale. I couldn't be happier about everyone's responses on my gathered clutch tutorial and wanted to take it one step further by making it into a pattern.
Don't worry, I'll still be sharing lots of free tutorials, but I wanted to accomplish a few things with the pattern:
- I wanted fellow sewists to be able to make the clutches and sell them either online or at local craft fairs or farmer's markets (of course on a home-based production scale only).
- I wanted to share a few additions/alterations to the clutch for those of you who want to mix things up a bit and maybe don't want to figure it out on your own or don't know how to.
- I added a few tips on sewing with zippers and how to shorten them and a few other suggestions on the pattern that I just couldn't squeeze into the original tutorial.
kidlets for the kidlets
Trying to tidy up the joint bit by bit. I've loved looking at everyone's kidlets in JCasa's flickr pool. Yes, I love all of JCasa's creations and it's been fun seeing her on Sew, Mama, Sew each month! Anyways, I had wanted to make two for the girls for their hats and mittens during the winter, but for now they'll just hold some sunglasses and maybe a pair of crocs.
My dad helped me out big time with the coat racks. He helped make and install them a while back and it has been so nice! Adults get the upper rack and kiddos get the lower one - perfect. No more coats dangling off of every chair in our house.
I made the blue/yellow version for Emily since she is so obsessed with kitties (probably because we don't have one). She'll crawl around like a kitty, meow like a kitty, and of course be the first to point out a kitty in a book or at the store. The kitty was actually part of a vintage hankie I picked up at an estate sale, I got lucky that time.
| Kidlet Tutorial by JCasa Handmade |
My dad helped me out big time with the coat racks. He helped make and install them a while back and it has been so nice! Adults get the upper rack and kiddos get the lower one - perfect. No more coats dangling off of every chair in our house.
I made the blue/yellow version for Emily since she is so obsessed with kitties (probably because we don't have one). She'll crawl around like a kitty, meow like a kitty, and of course be the first to point out a kitty in a book or at the store. The kitty was actually part of a vintage hankie I picked up at an estate sale, I got lucky that time.
Also just wanted to say a special thank you to everyone who bought my first ever pattern! Your kindness and encouragement is overwhelming. And just to let you know the free tutorial is still over on my tutorials list.
Bathroom Design
The one is perfect for a roll of toilet paper and the other had some odds and ends in it.
Fall dresses for the girls
This is a cute one of Natalie swimming in fabric. It's actually Heather Bailey's Pop Garden and I'm planning on making this awesome looking! I'm hoping I have lots of leftovers because the colors are just so beautiful.
goofy
just a day in the life...this is how it went down. Me: can I get a nice picture of you? And here is what I got:
just plain goofy
black and white bag
I didn't really intend this bag to be all black and white, but I love the fabrics! I know, who do I think I am, Mila from Project Runway? (hehehe, I wish)
I love the simplicity of the bag, but yet it's so stylish. I ended up reducing the size of the pattern down to 80% because I didn't want it to be so big that I couldn't find whatever I needed in a hurry.
I also added a magnetic snap and used canvas for interfacing to make it a little more substantial.
| Practical Bag Pattern from Tanya Whelan Grand Revival Designs |
I love the simplicity of the bag, but yet it's so stylish. I ended up reducing the size of the pattern down to 80% because I didn't want it to be so big that I couldn't find whatever I needed in a hurry.
I also added a magnetic snap and used canvas for interfacing to make it a little more substantial.
Now that I've been using it for a bit, I really love it. No more dives to the bottom of the bag to find stale cheerios or crumpled up receipts from four months ago! I definitely think I'm going to try the full size pattern and have that handy for trips to the pool this summer.
bicycle bucket tutorial
Just want to say thank you to Vanessa from V & Co. and all her wonderful readers! Thanks for letting me be your guest today.
Ready for a fun summertime project?
My husband and I were doing some tune ups on my daughter's bike earlier this spring - you know, new tires, paint the handlebars, fix the seat, fun stuff. So, when we were out tire shopping I saw the cute bike baskets at the store. I was like "oh, we have to get her a basket, it would be so fun" and he's like "you should just make one". So here we go!
Materials:
5 inch piece of 3/4" wide velcro
scrap of medium weight fusible interfacing
thread, pins, etc.
Pattern piece
Cut your materials:
From exterior fabric cut one piece 8.5" wide by 7" tall, one piece 12" long by 7" tall and one piece from the pattern (it's the bottom of the bucket - use the solid line). Cut the same size pieces from the lining fabric.
For the tab that attaches the bucket to the bike handle bars cut a 6" wide by 11.5" tall piece from the lining material and cut one piece 21.5" wide by 4.5" tall for the top binding of the bucket.
From the double sided fusible interfacing cut one piece 7.5" wide by 6" tall, one piece 11" long by 6" tall and one piece from the pattern following the dotted line.
{All seam allowances 1/2" unless otherwise noted}
Sew the exterior and lining:
Place the short rectangle (8.5" wide by 7" tall piece) RIGHT sides facing to the bottom bucket piece. Sew.
Open up the piece you just sewed and take the long remaining rectangle, find the center (should be at 6") and pin it to the center of the curved bottom bucket piece.
Starting from the pin sew following the curve of the bottom bucket piece, adjusting as you go.
When you reach the seam that joins the bottom bucket piece and the short rectangle, stop with the needle down and lift presser foot, rotate the pieces so that the two rectangles are facing RIGHT sides together. Put presser foot back down and continue sewing. Go back to where you started in the middle of the curve and sew the remaining side. {When lifting the presser foot and rotating the pieces so that they align, it might feel and look kind of wrong or weird, but I promise they'll line up and look great when you turn it right side out.}
Clip curve. Turn RIGHT side out. Repeat same process for lining pieces.
Assemble the bucket:
Take the double sided fusible interfacing pieces and place them into the exterior of the bucket.
Then place the lining into the bucket.
Press on all sides (exterior and lining and bottom) of the bucket to fuse in place. Set aside.
Make the handle bar attachment:
Take the 11.5" tall by 6" wide piece and fuse on a piece of medium weight interfacing.
Fold in half lengthwise RIGHT sides together. Sew along all open sides leaving a 2" opening in the bottom for turning. Clip corners, turn right side out.
Topstitch around entire piece.
Now take one side of the velcro, sew into place along one of the short edges.
Take the remaining piece of velcro and sew into place on the other end and opposite side you just sewed the first piece of velcro on (as pictured above).
**Now here is where you could do it differently, I sewed this handle bar attachment onto the bucket on this next step, but you could also hold off and sew it on as the very last step, your choice.
Sew attachment to bucket:
Pin the handle bar attachment to the bucket about 2-3" from the top. Sew two straight lines completely across the attachment piece about 3/4" apart.
Finishing with the binding:
Now take the binding strip and press it in half lengthwise, open, and press raw edges to the center. If you've ever done quilt binding, we're going to finish this the same way.
Unfold the binding strip, pin in place aligning raw edges at the back (center) of the bucket. Start sewing along the crease towards the edge of the bucket (where red arrow is pointing) and continue around to the other edge.
It should look like this now:
Trim the binding piece so that they overlap by 1/2" (see tiny red arrows above).
Now grab the bucket and give it a squish and place the binding 'tails' RIGHT sides together. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance.
Now un-squish the bucket and sew the remaining part of the binding closed, again along the crease.
Flip the binding over the top and in towards the lining. Topstitch along exterior close to the seam. Press!!!
That's it, one complete bicycle bucket ready for a trip to the park. Have fun!
Don't forget about the boys!!
Just wanted to add that if you're looking into different bike basket options, Christie from A Lemon Squeezy Home has a couple cute tutorials as well: Vintage Inspired or her Boy's Basket.
Terms of use: For personal use only please.
Ready for a fun summertime project?
My husband and I were doing some tune ups on my daughter's bike earlier this spring - you know, new tires, paint the handlebars, fix the seat, fun stuff. So, when we were out tire shopping I saw the cute bike baskets at the store. I was like "oh, we have to get her a basket, it would be so fun" and he's like "you should just make one". So here we go!
Materials:
2 fat quarters of coordinating prints
stiff double side fusible interfacing5 inch piece of 3/4" wide velcro
scrap of medium weight fusible interfacing
thread, pins, etc.
Pattern piece
Cut your materials:
From exterior fabric cut one piece 8.5" wide by 7" tall, one piece 12" long by 7" tall and one piece from the pattern (it's the bottom of the bucket - use the solid line). Cut the same size pieces from the lining fabric.
For the tab that attaches the bucket to the bike handle bars cut a 6" wide by 11.5" tall piece from the lining material and cut one piece 21.5" wide by 4.5" tall for the top binding of the bucket.
From the double sided fusible interfacing cut one piece 7.5" wide by 6" tall, one piece 11" long by 6" tall and one piece from the pattern following the dotted line.
{All seam allowances 1/2" unless otherwise noted}
Sew the exterior and lining:
Place the short rectangle (8.5" wide by 7" tall piece) RIGHT sides facing to the bottom bucket piece. Sew.
Open up the piece you just sewed and take the long remaining rectangle, find the center (should be at 6") and pin it to the center of the curved bottom bucket piece.
Starting from the pin sew following the curve of the bottom bucket piece, adjusting as you go.
When you reach the seam that joins the bottom bucket piece and the short rectangle, stop with the needle down and lift presser foot, rotate the pieces so that the two rectangles are facing RIGHT sides together. Put presser foot back down and continue sewing. Go back to where you started in the middle of the curve and sew the remaining side. {When lifting the presser foot and rotating the pieces so that they align, it might feel and look kind of wrong or weird, but I promise they'll line up and look great when you turn it right side out.}
Clip curve. Turn RIGHT side out. Repeat same process for lining pieces.
Assemble the bucket:
Take the double sided fusible interfacing pieces and place them into the exterior of the bucket.
Then place the lining into the bucket.
Press on all sides (exterior and lining and bottom) of the bucket to fuse in place. Set aside.
Make the handle bar attachment:
Take the 11.5" tall by 6" wide piece and fuse on a piece of medium weight interfacing.
Fold in half lengthwise RIGHT sides together. Sew along all open sides leaving a 2" opening in the bottom for turning. Clip corners, turn right side out.
Topstitch around entire piece.
Now take one side of the velcro, sew into place along one of the short edges.
Take the remaining piece of velcro and sew into place on the other end and opposite side you just sewed the first piece of velcro on (as pictured above).
**Now here is where you could do it differently, I sewed this handle bar attachment onto the bucket on this next step, but you could also hold off and sew it on as the very last step, your choice.
Sew attachment to bucket:
Pin the handle bar attachment to the bucket about 2-3" from the top. Sew two straight lines completely across the attachment piece about 3/4" apart.
Finishing with the binding:
Now take the binding strip and press it in half lengthwise, open, and press raw edges to the center. If you've ever done quilt binding, we're going to finish this the same way.
Unfold the binding strip, pin in place aligning raw edges at the back (center) of the bucket. Start sewing along the crease towards the edge of the bucket (where red arrow is pointing) and continue around to the other edge.
It should look like this now:
Trim the binding piece so that they overlap by 1/2" (see tiny red arrows above).
Now grab the bucket and give it a squish and place the binding 'tails' RIGHT sides together. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance.
Now un-squish the bucket and sew the remaining part of the binding closed, again along the crease.
Flip the binding over the top and in towards the lining. Topstitch along exterior close to the seam. Press!!!
That's it, one complete bicycle bucket ready for a trip to the park. Have fun!
Don't forget about the boys!!
Just wanted to add that if you're looking into different bike basket options, Christie from A Lemon Squeezy Home has a couple cute tutorials as well: Vintage Inspired or her Boy's Basket.
Terms of use: For personal use only please.
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