Laptop Cover

A few months back I got a new laptop...

mainly because my old one was destroyed by a little man.

I didn't have a cover of the laptop

but didn't want to purchase a plain ol' black one.

So what does a crafty lady do???

MAKE HER OWN!!

Now this is not a tutorial by any means...

just a little bit on how i created my cover!

First I measured the width, length and depth of the laptop...

decided I would use some scraps I had from Wyatt's quilt

pieced them together

ironed a piece of fusible fleece to the back...

attached a piece of knit fabric (Rst)

and then stitched 3 sides together

flipped it right side out

covered the raw edge with some cute binding

folded right sides together

stitched the bottom edge and one long side

inverted and

shzam!!! a new laptop cover!

Again not the hardest project in the book

but definitely a cute one!!

Happy Sewing!

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Nice Washcloths for Young Kiddos

Apparently we have mean washcloths at our home...

now i am not exactly sure what a "mean" cloth is but

that is the word my son uses to describe our washcloths.

Luckily Becky from Becky Ann Designs

helped to solve the mean washcloth problem.

Becky gave Wyatt two flannel washclothes and soap

she made for Christmas.

Below is one of the two...

I sent her a message on FB to find out exactly what she did,

since i didn't want my little man going around telling everyone

about our extremely mean washcloths.

I was amazed by the simple nature of these washcloths

and wondered why I had made these before...

umm...I thought I was crafty!

Well yesterday (snow day 4) Wyatt and I sat down 

to make a bunch so he didn't have to suffer anymore!

He helped me pick out the fabrics 

attempted to help cut with his John Deere pilers

and then sat on my lap as we stitched them together.

We now have an even dozen NICE washcloths.

This would make a great beginner project for someone interested

in getting started sewing...

I will post a tutorial soon...

really its easy peasy!!

Please forgive the photo quality...my digital is broken..won't charge AT ALL

and these were taken with my camera photo!

The products of my toil!

This is how I sew most of the time.  Yes that is my two year old on my lap...helping!  It can be difficult be we do our best.  Above he is helping me with my clothes pin apron. 

So I began this weekend sewing with a ruffle pouch/clutch tutorial that I had been dying to try out.  It's not quite as ruffly as I wanted but I am going to make a few more today so I will see what I can do. 

This is the above mentioned clothes pin apron...too cute!  I love how handy it is to have my hands free when I am hanging out clothes!

This is Wyatt's quilt top.  The quilt is not finished by any means but the quilt top it done!  YAY!  I only had to cut, sew, rip seams, sew, rip seams again and sew a few 100 times!  I really should have paid more attention to my layout in the beginning but...live and learn!

This is Wyatt's new Cowboy Toy Bag (Hobo bag).  He loves to fill it up with toys and pretend he is traveling.  Please beware if you see a blonde little boy carrying this bag it is probably filled with die cast metal tractors which will result in injury upon impact!

And last but not least is this lovely little number.  A dress for Clara Wren.  But if you like I have enough material left to make another one.

So that concludes my weekend sewing event!  I had lots of fun but have lots more to do.  Don't forget in 2 weeks we will begin the Book sewing...any ideas on a name for this???

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Hairbows-Korker Bows

The second bow to make takes a little more time but not any more skill.  Any your little girl will love the cute new bow.

You will need: (not all supplies pictured)
Ruler
1/4" dowel rods
wooden clothes pins or binder clips
baking sheet
grosgrain ribbon 3/8"
oven
scissors
hair clip
needle
heavy duty thread or embroidery thread

1. Begin by putting your ribbon at the top of the dowel rod and securing it with a clothespin.  Twist the dowel in your hand and wind the ribbon snugly around the dowel.  Once you get to the end of the dowel trim the ribbon and secure the end with a clothespin.  Place the finished ribbon dowel on a cookie sheet.

Once you have all the dowels you need (or want) wrapped in ribbon place them in a 275 degree oven for 25 minutes.  You can bake longer if you would like, however I would keep an eye on them since each oven is different.

Once your ribbons have cooled completely remove them from the dowels.  I made a 3" bow so I cut my ribbon 2 1/2".  Depending on the size of bow you want cut accordingly (4" bow= 3 1/2" cuts). 

Once you have cut all of your ribbon stack them together. 

Begin placing korker ribbon on the needle but do NOT thread it all the way down (just yet).  Continue to stack the ribbon onto the needle, keeping your finger at the bottom of the needle to prevent it from sliding.  Make sure you put each korker in a different direction.  Now pull the thread through the ribbon until the knot in the thread stops it.  Push the needle back down through the middle of the ribbon.  You will need to do this several times be careful (needle pokes hurt).  Seal the ends of the ribbon and attach to a clip or barrette.  You can attach using hot glue or sewing the bow to the clip or barrette. 

(I will post pictures of the finished product later!)

Hairbows-pony tail holder

Making your own hair ribbons or pony tail holders is quick and easy and much cheaper than purchasing from a bonqtiue.  For all my supplies to make both of these items I spent less than $10. 

The pony tail holder is the simplest to make and requires the least amount of time.  You will need some scrap fabric, cover button kit, scissors, and ouchless elastic bands.

Next using the button shell trace the outline of the shell onto the fabric.  Trim fabric leaving a 1/2 inch of fabric around the shell. 

Using the mold that comes in the kit place the mold on a solid surface.  Lay fabric right side down onto the mold.  Push button shell into the mold.  The fabric will cover the top of the shell and the excess will be push out above the sides of the mold.  Trim the excess fabric.

Put the back of the button cover into the mold.  Using the pusher push until the back is firmly set into the shell.

Unmold the finished button.  Turn the button over to show the back.  Through the small hole insert a hair elastic and pull the long side of the elastic through the small loop that has formed. 

Pull tight.  The hair elastic is now secured to the button cover and is ready to use.

Enjoy your new hair accessories. 

Pillowcase Dress

Ok so I made my son's Easter outfit and vowed that even though it about beat me I would sew another outfit. I had told my sister-in-law that I would make my niece something, so....

Last night about 7 I was looking through patterns and could not fathom creating another outfit this weekend, especially not a dress with gathers or pleats. I put down the patterns and went online. I had seen a little girl in the store with a darling little dress and thought that it might be simple to make but I didn't know what it was called. As always when I go online I was sidetracked by checking emails and postings on my favorite websites. Thanks York County Mommies....without a posting from them I would have never found the pillowcase dress. This simple easy dress was completed in a matter of two and a half hours which part of was contenting with a toddler that really wanted to help.

Here is how to make a pillowcase dress....easy peasy!

If you have a pillowcase that you think is cute or you just want to try go right ahead and use it, if not you can use a piece of fabric that is 36- 40 inches long.

Beginning with fabric

Step 1. fold it in half, right sides together, and stitch up one side.

Step 2. Hem the bottom.

*Move on to step 2 below "beginning with a pillowcase"

Beginning with a pillowcase

Step 1: Cut the pillowcase off, leaving the hemmed end,

Step 2: Now that you have your fabric ready to start measure the desired length using the chart below

6 months - 14 1/4"

12 months - 16 1/4"

18 months - 17 1/4"

2T - 18 1/4"

3T - 19 1/4"

4T - 20 1/4"

Step 3. Then cut a strip from the leftover pillowcase (or fabric) that is 1 1/2" tall.

Step 4. Cut the strip open and then in half, so you have two strips, 1 1/2" tall by about 20" long.

Step 5: Cut out an armhole on each side. (to make this easier I folded the pillowcase in half and cut one armhole so that they would be exactly the same). Use the following measurements:

sizes 2T and below cut 1.5" in and 3" down

sizes 3T and 4T cut 2" in and 4" down

Step 6: Take the 1 1/2" strip and place it on the inside of the armhole, right side of strip to wrong side of dress. Fold down the top of the strip about 1/2". Meet the top of the fold with the top of the dress. Stitch the strip all the way around the armhole (from top front of dress, down armhole, to the top back of the dress). When you get close to the end of the armhole, stop and cut off the extra strip, leaving enough to fold down 1/2". Fold down the 1/2 and finish off the armhole.

Step 7: Fold the strip twice, once so that the raw edge is touching the raw edge of the armhole

Step 8: Fold that piece over to the other side of the armhole, binding the armhole.

Step 9: Fold like that along the entire armhole, pinning as you go. You could also iron.

Step 10: Stitch along the binding. Don't worry about trying to stitch the outside and inside perfectly, I would just concentrate on the outside. The inside is already stitched and it won't show anyway Do the same to the other arm.

Step 11: Fold the top of the front and back, first 1/4" then 5/8" to form a casing with no raw edges showing. Stitch this closed.

Step 12: Thread 1 yd of ribbon through each casing.

Step 13: Tie small knots in the end of the ribbons, gather the front and back, and tie bows on the shoulders.

Now you have constructed a pillowcase dress. I did not make these instructions up on my own. I modified instructions from http://www.andersonsplace.net/sewing/pillow_case_dress.htm. This site also has great pictures to go along with the instructions. Below are some pictures of my finished dress.

I really enjoyed making this dress, it was simple to create and cute as can be. I plan to make more in the future. If we ever have a little girl this may be all she wears! Enjoy!

Easter Outfit

OK so after searching the Internet for HOURS trying to find my son an Easter outfit that was traditional and cheap I decided that it would be cheaper to make one. This is the first official pattern I completed! Usually I start on one and then quit or I just make it as I go without any patterns. That only works on square pieces.

I started on this project about March 30th. I cut out the pattern and the fabric. About two days later I got the lining for the romper cut out. Finally after a week I got the pieces pin together in what I thought was the correct order. I began sewing seams soon after that, but Wyatt had other plans. I tried working on it on and off throughout the night but Wyatt was amazed at the sewing machine and I was concerned about him getting hurt. Finally after William got home and the two of them got to bed I focused on constructing the outfit.

I began by sewing the lining and the fabric right sides together. I left an opening in the leg so I could flip the piece right side out. This was easy enough to accomplish rather quickly. Once I had all the pieces lined and flipped I began pinning the pieces together. I really thought I was following the pattern correctly. I stitched up the seams and pieced the outfit together. I didn't realize until I was trying to finish up the legs that something major was wrong with this outfit. The legs wouldn't go together! I could not figure out to make leg holes without sewing the piece all the way shut! I was getting mad. The seam ripper went to work QUICK! I read the instructions again and again, pinned sections all kind of ways and then realized that I was trying to piece together the WRONG sections of the outfit. After this realization I corrected my mistakes and had the outfit finished in about 30 minutes, including buttons. This was really an accomplishment for me since I am a little challenged as a seamstress.

This outfit taught me a lot about patience and determination, both which rank high on my list of characteristics that need to be cultivated in a person. Even though I had a hard time creating this outfit I plan to make more for Wyatt. My next project is a dress for my niece, not sure how that will go but stay tune to find out....


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