STITCHED

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tutorial: "I Spy" Toddler Travel Game

One of my favorite ways to keep my toddler busy when we are out is to have him look for things. When he starts to get a little restless I will say things like "can you find something blue?" or "look for some flowers" and he will quietly look around until he finds what I asked for. This game works great in places with lots of stuff like a restaurant or grocery store, but not so great in other places. I mean, how many times can your two year old find the coffee pot while you wait on your oil change before he decides mom's game is not so fun?

So I came up with this little game. It is just a tiny little quilt made with some fabric scraps, but it can roll up and fit in the diaper bag and provide hours of entertainment!

For little toddlers, like mine, you ask them things like "can you find an apple?" or "point to a dinosaur?". When they are a bit bigger, you can work on color recognition with questions like "can you find something red?" If you use fabric with numbers or letters on it you can even work on letter or number recognition. If your kids are spelling, you could try things like "where is something that starts with the letter L" or "find something that rhymes with rug". Even older kids could have fun with this playing the traditional "I spy" game.

To make the game, you need:

44 rectangles of fabric that are 3" wide x 4" tall with different objects on them (22 for the front and 22 for the back)
a rectangle of batting 28" x 8 "
a little over 2 yards of bias tape or binding
one rectangle of fabric 2" wide x 10" long
a snap or velcro

Sew your rectangles into 4 rows of 11. Two row are for the front and two are for the back. Press the seams of the two rows in opposite directions.

Sew the two front rows together. Repeat with the two rows for the back.

Sandwich the batting between the rows and quilt some rows about 1" apart across the whole thing.

Fold the 10" by 2" strip in half and sew the long end and one short end.

Turn the strip right side out and press it. Baste the raw edge to one of the short ends of the game.

Bind the raw edges or sew on bias tape. Click HERE for help with binding.

Add one end of the snap or velcro to the end of the strap you sewed on.

Roll up the game and wrap the strap around it. Mark the position the other end of the snap or velcro should go then add it to the strap.

Roll up your game and throw it in your diaper bag. You will be happy to have it next time your toddler gets bored!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Tutorial: Easy Fabric Bows

Emily's hair is just getting long enough now that her little bangs hang in her eyes. I wanted some little clips to hold them off to the side and out of her face. I made up a bunch of little fabric bows and attached them to alligator clips, they work like a charm and look cute too!

These bows only need a tiny strip of fabric and a little piece of ribbon, I was able to use a bunch of stuff from my stash. The clips come in a box of 100 for just over $6 (I got mine at Sally's). So not only are these bows adorable, but they are cheap too, score!

I made a whole army of them :)

To make a bow, start with a rectangle of fabric 3" x 7"

Then fold it in half and sew the long end with 1/4" seam allowance. (you don't need to use coordinating thread because none of the stitching will be visible)

Turn it right side out and press the seam in the middle.

Fold the ends into the center and overlap them just a bit. Sew them in place.

Scrunch up the middle of the bow and wrap the middle with ribbon, I used 3/8" for all my bows.

Secure the ribbon at the back with glue, I like E600. Use a clothes pin to keep everything in place while the glue dries.

Don't have any coordinating ribbon? Try yarn instead!

Once the glue is dry, attach your clip to the back. I used the same ribbon to cover my clips before I attached them.

Once the glue dries on the clip your bow is ready to wear!

You can just use it as a hair clip or clip it to a headband.

The finished bow measures about 1" wide and 3" long. You can vary the size by using different size rectangles. I made the bigger one in the photo below by using a 9"x4" rectangle. I used the bigger size for the bow I made Emily to match her t-shirt dress.

Try it out, they are fun!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses

I am excited to be a part of the "Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses" blog tour, featuring finished projects and giveaways from Sweet Seams' latest book.

The designers at NYC-based Sweet Seams have created a collection of 28 dresses that all start with a simple T-shirt. You can upcycle any T-shirt, maybe even an old favorite that doesn't quite have the same fit anymore or one that's stained near the hem.

I received the book in the mail at the perfect time too, Emily has been growing like a weed and is in desperate need of some new summery dresses.

All the dresses in the book have directions for sewing dresses size S (2/3) to XL (7/8), but I found the directions were easily adapted to make a dress to fit my baby girl (who, by the way, turns 10 months old today...yay Emily!)
I decided to make the "Peachy Keen" dress for Emily, I like the pleated sash on this dress.

It is hard to find t-shirts for babies under 12 months so I started with a simple white onsie. The directions were easy to follow and the dress sewed up really quick.

The apple print on the dress is "Farmdale Orchard" by Alexander Henry and I used a coordinating solid and some pink grosgrain ribbon I had on hand for the sash.

One neat thing about using a onsie to make the dress was I was able to sew the skirt on the dress and keep the bottom of the onsie intact. Instead of cutting off the bottom like you would with a t-shirt I just drew a line where I wanted the skirt to go, that way I could sew the skirt on straight. Now I don't have to search for a matching diaper cover when she wears the dress.