Archives for February 2015

Bunny Banner

February 27, 2015 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I’m so happy Spring is here!!! All the trees have blossoms, the sun is shining, and it’s time to make things with bunnies!! I love bunnies – they are the cats of spring 🙂 This garland is a quick project that lets you use your favorite fabrics and can be mad in a few hours. I choose to use an assortment of Riley Blake Fabrics from lots of different fabric lines. This is a great scrap buster project. The bunny is cut with a Sizzix die cut – It’s my favorite!. You can see my other bunny projects here and here and here 🙂 The bunnies are stabilized by ironing a piece of Heat n Bond lite to the fabric and then ironing it to felt. Here’s how you can make one:

Supplies

Scraps of fabric

felt

cotton twine, cording, ribbon, etc for fabric ties

6-8 feet lace

scraps of lace

Heat n Bond Lite fusible applique paper

Sizzix Bunny die , flower die and bow die

Begin by ironing a piece of Heat n Bond Lite to the wrong side of the fabric.

Peel off the backing paper and iron it to the felt. Be careful when ironing to polyester felt, it can shrink and melt. Place the iron on the fabric side and only press until the felt is adhered.

Trim the piece to fit on the Sizzix die.

Run it through the Big Shot Machine.

Do the same thing with the flower pieces.

Once all the pieces are cut out, lay them on the desired length of lace. Pin in place and sew using a straight stitch. Make sure the bunnies are positioned just so the sewing catches the top of their back, if the bunnies are too high, they will flip over and hang upside down. The same with the flower, make sure they are bottom heavy. Once you have the shapes sewn to the lace, add the flower centers and bows. The flower centers are made by cutting 2 pieces of lace in a 2.5″ or so circle. Gather a little and tack down with the sewing machine.

To make the bows, I used the Sizzix bow die. I cut the background piece with felt, the “loops: with striped fabric and the center with dots. I glued them together. You can use hot glue if you like burning your fingers, or may I suggest Fabric Fuse for a burn free way of gluing fabric 🙂

Glue the bow to the bunny.

Baby Mufasa always loves helping 🙂

For the scrappy fabric garland, rip 1.5″ x WOF strips of fabric. Each strip will give you 2. Cut the strip in half and tie the fabric to the cotton twine. You can also add in lace, ribbon, etc. Keep tying and tying and tying! My friend ties the end of the twine to her foot. I found it helpful to tie the end of the twine to a door knob, you need to be able to pull the twine tight.

I like how the two look layered together.

You can also add a little space between them.

I have another Sizzix rabbit die – it’s a sitting rabbit. I made this smaller garland the same only used a cotton canvas for a neutral bunny. I might add some pom pom tails!

Ok, I just glued the pom pom tails on and I LOVE it!

I found this cute Easter printable from Yellow Bliss Road

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Tea Garden Dress

February 25, 2015 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I am crazy about tea parties, china dishes, tea pots, tea cups, and silver spoons!! When I saw this amazing fabric from Blend called Tea Garden I could not contain myself. I new immediately I wanted to make Sally a Tea Party Dress. I love the blue and white – it just looks like fine china!

It’s not quite an English Garden, but I do have a few flowers growing!!

I absolutely love how this dress turned out – and I pretty much made it up as I went along. It’s a girls size 8 and it is perfect for Sally!

If you would like to make a Tea Garden dress, follow these steps:

Supplies:

Fabric – I only had generous half yard cuts of each of the 4 fabrics. Make sure you have 20″ or more of each fabric.

2 types of lace trim, 3 yards of each

Heat n Bond fusible stabilizer for the sash

Fabric Fuse

velcro

scrap of felt

Create the peasant bodice. I am not a pattern designer. There are so many peasant dress patterns out there. Find one you like and cut out the size you want. Cut the bodice out of the Tea Garden Devonshire fabric and the sleeves out of the check. Follow the instructions until you have a completed bodice.

Assemble the skirt.

Cut (2) 10″ x WOF from the spoon fabric

Cut (2) x 10″ x WOF from the floral fabric.

Sew the long ends of the spoon fabric together (1/4″ seam) joining the two pieces to form one long rectangle. Do the same with the floral fabric. Press the seam open. Next take the spoon fabric and the floral fabric and sew them together long ways using 1/4″ seam. Press toward the spoons.

Top stitch the lace, centering over the seam.

For the hem…. Lay the lace on the bottom edge of the floral fabric right sides together. Stitch along the lace. Ziz zag the seam. Press the lace under so it looks like this:

Top stitch all the way around 1/8″ away from the edge:

Now join the two ends of the skirt with a generous 1/4″ seam. Zig zag to finish seams, press to one side. The skirt is finished! Sew a gathering stitch along the top of the skirt, stopping and starting at each side seam. Sew one gather 1/2″ and another 1/4″ away from the top of the skirt. Pull up the threads and evenly distribute the ruffle to match the bodice, matching the side seams. Sew the skirt to the bodice and remove any gathering threads. Zig zag to finish the edge. Press the edge toward the bodice.

For the sash… Cut a piece of fabric 6.25″ x 30″. Measure your child’s waist to see if this needs to be adjusted. It will need to overlap a few inches for the velcro closure and for seam allowances.

Fuse the stabilizer to the wrong side of the sash fabric. I had a piece already cut and was slightly narrower, it will be fine 🙂

Fold the sash in half, right sides together. Sew using 1/4″ seams along the edge. Leave a 3″ opening in the center of the sash for turning. Clip the corners. Turn right side out. Press and top stitch.

To make the rosette, cut about 2 yards of lace. Sew a gathering stitch along the edge. Pull up the gathers to form a ruffle.

Start twirling the gathers around to form a rosette. Tuck the raw ends under. I used Fabric Fuse because I was too lazy to hand sew the ruffles. Hot glue would work, I just didn’t feel like getting burned 🙂 The fabric fuse is great because it is a super strong adhesive designed for fabric. Cut a piece of felt in a circle. Add dots of Fabric Fuse to hold the gathers in place and finally to anchor it to the felt circle. Let dry for a few hours.

I added a little pleat in both ends of the sash. This is totally optional. Measure the sash to the waist one more time to determine the velcro placement. Sew the Velcro strips. Hand sew the rosette in place.

I think the sash and the flower give it just the right touch!

Whats also is great about this dress? Sally likes it!!! It’s super comfortable and she can move around in it. She didn’t want to take it off!!

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, clothes, FEATURED, sewing, Therm O Web

Baby Swaddler and Burper Shower Gift

February 23, 2015 by Amanda 15 Comments

I was invited to a baby shower this weekend and I had a hard time figuring out what to give as a gift. I love giving handmade items, especially quilts. Sometimes it isn’t possible to make a quilt in time for a shower. I came across this free pattern for a “Baby Snuggler or Baby Swaddler” by Lotta Jansdotter and I thought I would give it a whirl. You can print the pattern HERE. I read a few reviews and they all mentioned it was hard to print the pattern. I agree. I tried a few different browsers and printed in each. Then I pieced them together the best I could. This was the hardest part of the project. I thought a picture of the pattern pieces all put together would be helpful:

The pattern calls for 1 yard of outer fabric and 1 yard of minky fabric. I choose this cute print from Riley Blake Designs Apple of my Eye. Instead of working with Minky (it’s a love-hate thing) I choose this sweet flannel check also from Riley Blake Designs. I pre-washed my fabrics. The pattern sewed up really quick. It consists of a main body and the pouch part and Velcro closures. I choose to top stitch my snuggler which I don’t think it said in the pattern.

One thing I found confusing was the placement of the Velcro. I had seen this pattern sewn up in person it would have made more sense. I made this little Velcro guide to make it clear which side of the Velcro to put where. The pattern has the placement for the Velcro.

There is enough fabric left over to sew 2 matching Burpers. They are still my favorite! You can download my “Old School Baby Burper” pattern HERE. Cut 2 from the flannel and 2 from the floral. All you need is some ric rac. Baste the ric rac to the yellow floral piece starting and stopping on a straight side. Then put right sides together, sew around, following the basting stitch, leaving a 3″ opening on the side. Turn, press, and top-stitch all the way around making sure to catch the opening.

I think it makes a darling set! I wish I had made these swaddlers when I had babies!!

While I was at the shower, I borrowed my friends baby and tried out the swaddler. It fits perfectly!

I am for sure going to make more of these!!!

Filed Under: baby shower, FEATURED, gift, Riley Blake, sewing

{Pattern Review} The Potato Chip Skirt by The Tie Dye Diva

February 23, 2015 by Amanda 2 Comments

This is not a paid review, I purchased the skirt pattern from Tie Dye Diva’s online shop.

I am so excited to be sharing my experience of making this super cute girls skirt called The Potato Chip Skirt by Tie Dye Diva. I don’t think it’s possible to say how much I love this skirt, how it fits so perfectly and how wonderfully the pattern is written. Tie Dye Diva has many fabulous patterns and this is my first experience sewing one of them. You can purchase the pattern and download it immediately. The pattern was easy to tape together and assemble. The step by step instructions were very clear and thorough. I am confident a beginner could tackle this pattern as it is so well written. This pattern is sized from 12 months to size girls 14.

Baby Mufasa loves helping with the pattern pieces! He chewed one of the pieces and I had to tape it back together!The fabrics are from Blend’s The Makers line. The fabrics are a light whimsical feel with several panel prints. I fell in love with this print of a girl sewing with her kitty!!! The panel was slightly smaller than the skirt pattern so I added some coordinates: 5″ to each side and 6″ to the top.

OK, I really can’t get enough of the girl & the kitty!! I top stitched a little lace around the pockets. Sally is so thrilled to have a skirt with pockets!!!!

I also top stitched along the seams where I pieced the panel so they would stay in place after washing.

I love the scrappy look of this skirt, with the back having a totally different fabric. My teenage daughter was begging for one in her size 🙂

The skirt pattern has 3 options: no lining, lining, and reversible. I choose to make the reversible version. I love the weight the skirt has with the lining – it hangs really nice. The waistband is super simple because it has elastic in the back portion. I used some Heat n Bond fusible stabilizer in the waistband to give it some strength.

This skirt can easily be downloaded, printed, cut & sewn in 2 hours. It’s called the Potato Chip Skirt because you can’t make just one! That’s true, I already have several more in the works! Sally is happy because I pay her $1.00 for each modeling session 🙂

I can’t stop gushing about this pattern. The length is perfect and the fit is perfect. Sally is 7 years old, wears a size 10 and I cut out the size 9/10 skirt. It’s PERFECT!!!!

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, clothes, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, pattern review

Kitty Mini Quilt

February 18, 2015 by Amanda 4 Comments

My Mini Kitty Quilt Pattern is available to purchase from Emily Ann’s Kloset. The inspiration from this quilt came when I heard from a friend that her 6 month old kitten was diagnosed with a fatal disease. My heart broke in half. Of course this was devastating to her and her children. I have lost 2 kitties in the last 2 years and it hurts really bad 🙁 I wanted to send her something to show I cared. I came up with this Mini Kitty Quilt. I was inspired by folk art paintings of flying cats.

Of course my Kitty Muasa was very helpful in making this quilt!

Here are a few other versions of the Mini Kitty Quilt in different colors. It is such a fun quilt to make and you can make it in about an hour!

Filed Under: appliqué, cat, FEATURED, gift, Heat n Bond, My Patterns, quilt, Riley Blake

The Blythe Skirt – Magic Pattern Review

February 17, 2015 by Amanda 2 Comments

Today I am sharing my thoughts about this super cute pattern from Amy Barickman’s The Magic Pattern Book over on the Therm O Web Blog today.

This book is amazing with such cute patterns and styles. There are 6 basic patterns and then variations on each pattern which give 36 different styles! The CD has all the patterns included. I love skirts and I especial love this A-Line pleated front skirt. There is no zipper, not buttons, no hooks – super easy, right?

I love the two front pockets and I also love the length of this skirt. I can’t wait to sew up a few more!

Filed Under: clothes, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, Therm O Web

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2015 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I thought I would share my favorite Vintage Valentines and wish you all a a very Happy Valentine’s Day – I love that it’s on a Saturday this year!I think this heart is my favorite – made from Blend’s Clementine line – and it’s not even in traditional valentine colors. I have it hanging in my living room.

This heart is made with Blend’s Modern Lace. I do recognize that not everyone loves cats as much as me, so I made a few versions with vintage love birds.

This one is also made with the Modern Lace line – which I LOVE!

This print is also from Modern Lace.

I love this one made with the spoon print from the Clementine line.

My daughter and I made over 30 of these hearts!

A little peek into some Valentine decor in my home 🙂

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, FEATURED, Therm O Web, Valentine's Day

The Lucky Girl Dress {Review}

February 12, 2015 by Amanda 2 Comments

I am so excited to share my thoughts about this new dress pattern called The Lucky Dress designed by Lucy Blaire. Lucy is super talented and has created so many awesome patterns, contributed to books and magazines. You can read more about her and her patterns and designs on her website.

The Lucky Dress is sized from 12 months to 6T. It is a wonderful fitting dress sewn out of knit fabric; it has sleeves with a cuff, a hood, and a twirly skirt. As full as this dress is, there is no gathering which saves a lot of time. I agreed to do this pattern review as a way to force myself out of my quilty comfort zone 🙂 I have never sewn a dress out of knit before and I don’t own a serger – I was pretty intimidated at the thought of putting this dress together. I choose this darling print from Riley Blake Designs called Roots & Wings. This dress can totally be made on a home sewing machine and a serger is not necessary. It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around the PDF pattern assembly, but once I studied it over and read through the instructions, the pattern came together easily. I cut out the size 6T. It was clear how to lay out the pattern pieces and the fold lines and grain lines were marked nicely. The instructions were easy to understand the the illustrations were helpful. Bottom line: If I can make it, anyone can make it!

The kitten wanted in on all the steps of making the dress – especially chasing the scissors 🙂

Here are a few tips and minor changes I made:

1. If you don’t sew with knit very often, familiarize yourself with the stitches on your sewing machine recommended for knits. Then practice on some scraps to make sure tension is right and you like the stitch width and length. I did not do this, I jumped right in – I should have done this!!

2. I think the sizes are generous – which was exactly what I was hoping for. My daughter is 7 and she wears a size 8 or 10 and she is tall. I figured since we were working with knit it would stretch. I added 4″ to the length so it wouldn’t be too short on her. It fit my daughter perfect.

3. The pattern says to fold the hem under 1/4″ and press, then fold again 1/4″ and press. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS. The skirt is full, round, and stretches.

4. This dress was so much fun to make! From start to finish it took 2 hours – not bad! I can’t wait to make another one! I might try a shorter sleeves version because we live in California and my kids hate sleeves, pants and socks 🙂

I also made a matching headband out of the left over knit fabric. Cut a 5″ x 24″ strip and fold in half lengthwise, right sides together. Sew a 1/4″ seam and turn the tube right side out. With the seam centered on the back, adjust the stitch length to a gathering stitch and sew a serpentine/wavy seam down the center. I tried first to zig zag back and forth but the thread and the knit kept catching at the corners. The curvy line worked better. Then gather the threads to form a wavy type of ruffle. I was in a hurry so I hot glued it to an existing headband.

I think adding 4 inches to the skirt worked great for my tall 7 year- the hem hits right below the knee.

It was hard taking the pictures because all Sally wanted to do was make faces and play with a bug she found 🙂

I had to sneak the kitten in here somehow!!

Make sure to check out these other fabulous bloggers to see their version of the Lucky Dress!

5^th: Melissa (Sew Like MyMom)

6^th: Remona (The StitchingScientist)

12^th: Amanda (Jedi CraftGirl)

13^th: Becca Duval (BeccaDuval Photography)

19^th: Ren Murphy (TheInspired Wren)

20^th: Maryam (Hi and Hello)

25^th: Jen (Lea and Lars)

26^th: Julia Frazier (Riley Blake)
27^th: Lucy Blaire

Filed Under: clothes, review, Riley Blake

Tic Tac Toe Valentine Pillow Tutorial

February 9, 2015 by Amanda Leave a Comment

February is just flying by! I needed a little pick-me-up today and throw pillows always do just the trick! A friend of mine came over and we spent the afternoon sewing. I came up with the idea of this interactive pillow after sitting next to my little girl at church yesterday. We brought along the quiet book (circa 1980) and one of the pages is a tic tac toe game. I thought this would be super fun to incorporate into a Valentine’s Day pillow!

I love how it turned out and my kids LOVE it! They couldn’t believe I made something fun!! I think the fabrics make it – it’s the Flirt line by Dear Stella. I had some left over from my Valentine Bookmark & Sachet project.

Here’s how you can make one

Supplies:

fat quarter white fabric

small pieces of fabric for hearts and Xs – can use charm squares

cotton batting scraps

fat quarter for the pillow back

20″ pillow form

22″ or longer zipper

3 yards pink trim

2 yards pink lace

1/4 yard border fabric

10″ of velcro

Spray n Bond

X and Heart pattern, click here

Begin by cutting the white background fabric 15″ square

Measure and position the pink lace so it creates equal sections, taking into account 1/4″ seam allowances around the outside of the square. Using Spray n Bond basting spray makes positioning lace a snap. If you don’t have this, you can pin. Sew with matching thread. Next, position the next 2 pieces of lace to create the grid. Sew into place.

Print and cut out the X and the heart.

Layer a piece of fabric, cotton batting, and another piece of fabric like this with right sides facing out. You are making a mini quilt sandwich. These don’t have to look pretty. I cut mine with scissors and did not measure. Using basting spray, spray the layers so they stay together.

Pin and X or a Heart on the fabric.

Stitch all the way around the pattern piece.

Cut out the X close to the seam. Cut 1″ piece of velcro and position the soft piece in the center of the X. Make sure you use the same side of the velcro for each piece or they won’t be interchangeable 🙂 I had to use the seam ripper on one of mine 🙁

Sew around the velcro square. Do this to each heart and X. I made 5 hearts and 4 Xs. Sew the opposite sides to each velcro piece in the middle of the tic tac toe squares.

Prepare the boarders by cutting (2) 15″ x 3″ strips and (2) 20″ x 3″ strips.
Sew the 15″ long strips to each side using 1/4″ seams. Press toward the boarder.

Sew the 20″ pieces on in the same manner. Press. Sew the decorative trim around the pillow front, rounding the corners.

Prepare the back of the pillow. Cut a 21″ x 20″ piece of fabric (I add 1″ to the length just in case the zipper or the zipper seam differs). Cut at the 4″ mark. Insert the zipper. Trim off the excess zipper. With the zipper partially open, place the pillow front to the pillow back, matching the top edge and the side edge. There should be about 1″ extra at the bottom of the back piece. Cut this off after sewing all the way around the pillow. Sew all the way around the pillow using the trim seam as you guide. I like to sew just a little larger seam then the seam I created when sewing the trim on. Turn right side out.

Insert the 20″ pillow form and then place the game pieces on the velcro squares – whose ready to play!!

This is the back of the pillow – you can make it how you want – this is just a super fast & easy way to finish a pillow.

The fabrics are amazing!!!

Sally was being silly 🙂

Filed Under: FEATURED, pillow, sewing, Therm O Web, tutorial, Valentine's Day

Valentine Bookmark and Sachet Tutorial

February 4, 2015 by Amanda Leave a Comment

Don’t you just LOVE February!! I love all the cheerful colors, flowers, fabrics, and blossoms! It’s even been 80 degrees around here in the daytime! I’m super happy!!!

These fabrics from the Dear Stella Flirt line just scream Valentine’s Day. They make me want to throw a Jane Austen inspired Tea Party…..maybe I will!!

I love giving little gifts on Valentine’s Day and these sweet projects can be sewn up quickly. I love using fabric bookmarks in my books, this bookmark is flat and thin so it won’t damage your book.

This lovely lavender sachet is perfect to toss in a drawer or even in your car!

They make a lovely pair. I can’t wait to sew more of these! My full instructions are on the Therm O Web Blog. This project uses Heat n Bond Lite for the appliqué which makes it a snap. There is also a little Heat n Bond medium weight stabilizer in the bookmark to give it stability. I can’t wait to sew a few more!!

Filed Under: FEATURED, Heat n Bond, sewing, Therm O Web, tutorial, Valentine's Day

Archives for February 2015

Bunny Banner

Tea Garden Dress

Baby Swaddler and Burper Shower Gift

{Pattern Review} The Potato Chip Skirt by The Tie Dye Diva

Kitty Mini Quilt

The Blythe Skirt – Magic Pattern Review

Happy Valentine’s Day

The Lucky Girl Dress {Review}

Tic Tac Toe Valentine Pillow Tutorial

Valentine Bookmark and Sachet Tutorial

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