fleece scarf tutorial

okay, so I cannot take credit for this cute scarf, but I can tell you how to make one.  My mom made two of these for my girls for Christmas, and my girls love them (so do I).  They are so warm, but have charm too.  They would be so easy to make too.

see what I mean, this is all it is.

Materials: 1/3 yard fleece fabric
thread
scissors

cut two rectangles of fleece, measuring 6"x"45 inches each
lay them on top of each other and sew one seam down the center (attaching them together)
cut fringe, measuring 1" between cuts.  Fleece wont fray, so that is it, you are done!

thanks mom for the great idea! (oh and for the cute scarves)

Tutu tutorial

Last year I did a post about a tutu I made, but this year I decided to make one that was more tutu like, and less skirt like.  I have seen those no-sew tutu's before, and I followed the same idea here, but I wanted petals in my tutu's.
 

 

supplies

 

 

a roll of tulle, usually found near the wedding isle at a craft store, the more tulle, the fuller the skirt.  I just used one 25 yard roll for each tutu

 

petals, I got this box 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and I barely made a dent in it.  For the pink Tutu I happened to find a bag at the dollar store, who can beat $1

also you need:  matching ribbon, elastic, for the waist, and thread for sewing, a fake flower and hot glue gun

 

I measured how long I wanted my tutu to be (I just measured my little girls hip to just above her knee) and I doubled that (since I will be folding my strips in half) and added about 2 inches, to make up for the knot that is tied at the end.  I just made as many strips as the roll would make, I believe I had 30 strips in the pink, for the 18 month old, and 20 strips in purple, for the almost 4 year old

 

I folded the strips in half, length wise, and sewed around the edges, stuffing some petals in each end, before I finished sewing it shut (I had three petals in each end).  You can see the thread in my tutu's, which I am okay with, but next time I might try either turning the strips inside out, after they are sewn together, or using invisible thread.

 

I measured how long I wanted the elastic waistband (just measured right on my kid) and sewed it into a loop. Then I tied the strips on, making a look in the middle, and wrapping it around the elastic by pulling the two ends through it

 

 

here is what it looks like with them all tied on.  If you like this look, you can leave it like this (although you may want to do more strips than I did, if you are going to leave it like this, so the elastic is hidden better)

 

I sewed a matching satin ribbon, If you get a wide enough one, you could actually fold it over the elastic, covering both sides, and then sew it.  I just sewed it on the outside.  Remember, the waistband needs to be stretchy, so I pulled my elastic as I sewed (which bunched the ribbon at the end).  You may prefer to use a zig-zag stitch, so it stretches better.  I just used a straight stitch, but had it set at the longest stitch length.

Leave a long tail, so you can tie a bow

 

then I popped the fake flower off the stem and hot glued it right over the bow

cleaning gloves

Don't we all hate cleaning!?! I know I do, and to be honest, these gloves probably wont make me like it, but at least I might smile while I am cleaning.  I followed this tutorial here

I bought the gloves at IKEA (but I have seen some pink ones at Albertson's last year, and white and purple at Target a long time ago.  I just buy colored gloves when I see them at a good time.  I bought the oilcloth at a local craft store, Ben Franklin Crafts (but i have ordered laminate fabric online before, and it worked great too).

make your own chenille baby quilt

first off, I apologize for the bad pictures, I did not realize the camera was in the wrong mode, until I was done with the project

Here is a baby blanket/quilt I made for a friend, I just found a cute piece of fabric and layered it on top of four layers of muslin (five layers, one yard each) to make my own chenille.  The process of making my own chenille happens to quilt the top.  This is not too hard, but it takes a long time (4-6 hours) and a lot of thread

here are my five layers lined up on top of each other

then you sew diagonal lines down the back.  I just use your presser foot as a guideline, and do them 1/4" apart.  I did mine a little bit wider, because I wanted my quilted lines to follow the diagonal lines on the argyle print, so I just quilted on front, using the argyle for my guideline.  This made the chenille a little wider than I normally prefer, but I still like the look. 

next you get one of these nifty chenille cutters (scissors will work, but make it more difficult)

I got mine at Michael's, I don't remember how much, but I had a 40% off coupon.  You can always find a good coupon to Jo-Ann's and get one there too

.
you cut the bottom three layers (make sure not to cut the top layer, or the top layer of muslin)

next bind your quilt, there are some good tutorials out there, here is one I like 

then you wash it a couple times, and it looks like chenille


after I made this quilt, I found another great tutorial for a similar blanket, with a twist. I think I will try it her way next time

car seat blanket tutorial

I have been wanting one of these all winter for my baby, she always kicks her blanket off when I am carrying her around in her car seat. I finally figured out how to make one, but since winter is ending, I decided not to make one for her. I did make two for my expecting sisters though. I hope these steps make sense, let me know if you have questions

I started with two coordinating flannels, one yard of each. I folded each in quarters so I could trace and cut my pattern (make sure you have the folds in the right place)

I do not have a printout of this pattern, but I am hoping you can see the measurements when you click on the picture to enlarge it, and use the measurements to make your own (I just taped pieced of 8.5 by 11" paper together). Make sure your folds are in the right place, and trace the pattern on each piece of flannel

unfold the fabric and mark where the strap holes should be cut (enlarge the two above pictures to see where to measure and cut for the strap holes) mark it on each piece of flannel. Or, if you have a carseat handy, you can put the fabric in your carseat and mark it yourself

cut and press where you will need to sew around the strap holes (do not sew yet!). Pin the fabrics right sides together and sew around the blanket, leaving a gap for turning it right sides out)

pin in place the pressed holes together and sew (if you try to sew them before the previous step, you will not be able to turn the blanket right sides out)

top stitch around the blanket, sewing the gap closed

place blanket in carseat and strap baby in

then swaddle

here is the second one I made

Thank you Heidi for informing me of something I did not know (check comments)

AFTER READING HEIDI'S COMMENT I TRIED TO SEARCH ONLINE FOR VERIFICATION. THIS IS THE BEST THAT I FOUND

http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/a/carseatcoat.htm

it does state that the warranty may be voided (you could call your carseat company)

it also gives guidlines for you to check yourself if your baby is safe in his/her carseat

"Check All Winter Coats for Car Seat Safety
It's easy to check and see whether a baby's winter coat or infant snowsuit is too thick to be safe in a car seat. This test will show you how thick the coat is and how much the coat will compress during a crash.

1. Take the car seat into the house.
2. Put the winter coat or snowsuit on the child.
3. Put the child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
4. Take the child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
5. Take the coat off your child.
6. Put the child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.
7. If you can fit more than two fingers under the harness at the child's shoulder bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat."

it also says, near the bottom, "

However, there are no federal guidelines governing after-market car seat accessories. These extra car seat covers and buntings could interfere with the function of the car seat harness, and many car seat manufacturers will void your car seat warranty if after-market accessories are used. "

It could still be useful for a carseat that is strapped into a stroller, rather than a car. Or with any five point harness device, such as a stroller itself, or a swing or a bouncer

minky blanket tutorial

I made a couple minky blankets over the weekend. I bought the fabric months ago on clearance, and I have been wanting to use it, but scared it would be hard to sew with. and when I attemped to about six moths ago, it was. Then I was told to use a walking foot, and it was a breeze.

I found this silky ruffle blanket binding at walmart

after cutting th minky to my desired size I `pinned the ruffles face down to the right side of the fabric

then I pinned the back piece of fabric , right side down, on top of that. I stitched all the way around, leaving an opening to turn, turned it right side out, and sewed the opening closed. I did use my walking foot, and I did not top stitch, I was afraid it would bunch, and I like how it looked without the topstitch. It took me about half an hour to make one

here is the second one I made

I made this one for my own babes for Easter, I used the same tutorial as my receiving blanket. This was so easy, I thought it would be hard with minky fabric, but it was so forgiving, the binding fabric is so plush, that you cannot even see the seems.

tablecloth

I have been looking and looking for four years for a tablecloth long enough to fit on my kitchen table, with both extensions in (110"), not only are then hard to come by, but if I do find any, they are EXPENSIVE!, and usually not my style. I saw this and it inspired me to do the same thing, but for a tablecloth. I really want to get a ruffler foot, but for the sake of saving $30 (that is how much they are at Hancock fabrics, they also have a "hemmer foot" (see below)for $20) I made do without, and it turned out OK

I bought the painter's drop cloth at Ace hardware. It says it is Canvas, but it is really lightweight material, and easy to sew, it looks kind of like linen. Make sure to get the canvas one, some of the other ones can lock in moisture, which would ruin your table. This one is HUGE, but that is because I wanted it so long, I still have enough to make about two more, average size cloths. Since I bought the biggest one, it was $30 , but that's not bad for three tablecloths

I measured the top of my table and cut the cloth +1" on each side (for seam allowance, you could probably get away with only 1/2"). I did not pre-wash it, and I may be regretting that when I wash it and it doesn't fit my table with both leaves, but it should still fit with one). I would recommend pre-washing it.

Then I cut 5" wide strips to make the ruffle with (I think I will do 6" strips next time). I cut about 2.5-3 times the length of my perimeter. My little sister Beth let me borrow her "hemmer" foot and it was a lifesaver! I must get me one of these. I ran both edges through the hemmer foot so it would not fray when I washed it. (if you don't have a hemmer foot, you could hem it the old fashioned way (you may need to cut a wider strip though, the hemmer foot did a rolled 1/8" hem) You could also just cut your strip twice as wide and fold it in half, with the folded edge on the outside, if that makes sense, then it would still have a clean, non-frayed look, it would just be 2x as much fabric. or you could serge it if you are lucky enough to have a serger

Since I did not buy my coveted ruffler foot I just eyeballed the ruffles by hand, I did not pin, I just did it as I sewed.

I used some of my left over ruffle strips to rolled up these flowers, there was no rhyme or reason (sorry, I just finagled them until I like them) and I sewed them in place

I am happy with my finished product (those are not stains, those are watermarks from ironing it) I am going to make a much shorter one (which should be easier to cut and maneuver) for my outdoor table. It took about three hours to make, but most the time was hemming the ruffle strips.

pj pant tutorial

well, I said I would write a tutorial the next time I make p.j. pants, but I found this tutorial and it happens to be exactly how I made these. so now I don't have to write my own tutorial. Now go make yourself some p.j's

crochet scarf tutorial

okay, so I will do my best to explain how I made this. I have never written a crochet pattern, so someone familiar with following a lot of crochet patterns may think I did it all wrong, but I will try to at least help you get the end result, without too much confusion.

I used a size k crochet hook, but you can fiddle with it, I probably wouldn't go smaller, because the flower will get smaller as you go to a smaller hook. I have not tried a bigger one, it may produce a fuller looking flower, but it may have too much "empty space" if that makes sense.

you can use any yarn you want, I always thought the fuzzy yarn would look cute, but I have a hard time seeing one crochet from the next when I try, so I took the easy way out. (By the way, I just used 100% cotton, worsted weight 4-ply yarn)

First, ch. 5 and slip stitch to form a ring

ROUND 1:ch 1, work 9 sc into the ring, join with a sl. st. in first sc to form a ring

ROUND 2: ch 1, 2 hdc into each sc around (18 hdc), join in first dc

ROUND 3: ch 1, sc into each hdc around (18 sc), join in first sc

ROUND 4: ch 1, 2 hdc into each sc around (36 hdc), join in first hdc

the end result should look like this

next, ROUND 5: ch 1, sc in same hdc as joining, *ch 6, sk next 5 hdc, sc in next hdc; repeat from * 4 times more, ch 6 sk next 5 hdc, join with sl st in first hdc (6 ch 6 sps)

it should look like this

ROUND 6: in first ch 6 sp, (sc, hdc, dc, 3 tr, dc, hdc, sc), repeat in all 6 ch 6 sps, join to first sc

Next, I don't really know what this is called, but I slip stitched vertically down until I reached round three (about three sl sts)

ROUND 7: ch 1, sl st around post of sc on round 3, *ch 3, skip next 2 sc on round 3, repeat from * 4 times, ch 3 skip next 2 sc on round 3 join with a sl st on first sc (6 ch 3 sps)

in first ch 3 sp (sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc) repeat in all ch 3 sps, join and fasten off

your flower should look like this

I make 10-12 flowers (you decide how long you want the scarf, try it on and tie it how you like to decide length) on the last two scarves I made, I just got a needle and matching thread and sewed the flowers together, petal to petal, by hand. On the second one I made, I crocheted the flowers together, petal to petal, usling a slip stitch (this worked fine, but took a long time). On the first one I made, I crocheted a back piece (by doing rows of 8 hdc, ch 1, and turning). Then (having left a long tail in each flower) wove the flowers onto the back piece with my crochet hook. I liked the fullness of the first scarf the best, and since it looked more full, I only made a single layer flower for each flower, rather than a double. However, this took me a really long time to make the back piece, and a lot of yarn, so that is why I have by passed it on the other three scarves. I made 12 flowers on the first scarf too, 11 on the 2nd and 3rd, and only 10 on the last one. I also did 7 petals on the first 3 and only 6 on the last one (I am still trying to figure out the best pattern, one that looks good, but doesn't take forever to make). I can make about 3 of the flowers shown in this post in one hour, to give you an idea

this is a very forgiving pattern, it doesn't matter if all your flowers are slightly different, or if one of your rows ends up with more crochets than it should, just adjust your pattern and keep going. Once the flowers are all hooked together, you can't tell where mistakes are. Also, it doesn't really matter if you can, because the flowers don't need to look exactly alike. Just use this pattern as a guide line, figure out what works for you, where I made mistakes (or where I wrote the pattern confusing) and just dive in a try.