Free Snack Bag Sewing Pattern for Easter

Head on over to my craftsy shop to download your free copy of this adorable carrot snack and treat bag sewing pattern.  You can make 2 bags with 1 orange and 1 green fat quarter and some satin ribbon.  The bags stitch up in under 20 minutes.  The downloadable pattern and tutorial have step-by-step, full color photos, instructions, and the printable pattern pieces.  I even teach you my super technique for fray proof seams without a serger or other special equipment.  In fact this is a basic pattern, easy enough for a beginner and can be sewn on the simplest machine.  Please share on pinterest or your blog with a link back!

Source: Free Carrot Snack & Treat Bag for Easter via GreenPatterns on Craftsy

Animal Party Gift

We have a birthday today and I thought that I would make up a couple sets of these little animals.  Kamille is completely obsessed with putting collars and leashes on her little pets.  So, I came up with the idea of using hair rubber bands to make the collars so I didn't have to constantly keep tying ribbon onto these little animals.  While I was at the Dollar Store picking up the hair bands, I also got those little plastic barretts shaped like bows for the animals ears, the clippy barretts to make earrings, and the ribbon for the leashes. 

 Last time I used some charms on the collars that I had in my stash, but I lucked out and found a pack of hair rubber bands that already had charms on there.

I just took a decent length of ribbon and hot glued it into the hair rubber band, covering the metal closure part.  Then, I looped around the other end and glued it into a handle like a leash would have. 

For the earrings, I took the little clippies and hot glued flowers and other doodads I had around the craft room onto them to make sets of earring.

I also made mini pet beds and outfits.  I will try to post the tutorial for the outfits with the pattern later this week. 

Gifts for the Musically Inclined

This post is inspired by our little brother who will soon be releasing his first EP.  Lisa & I are both so proud of how far he has come creatively.  Seriously, he used to color only in black.  Once, he drew what I thought was an ice cream cone.  He got really angry because it was a baby in a blanket.  Who knew?  You can check his music out here.

This is an ingenious idea - a cover for your old guitar strap.  Awesome.  Pink unicorns might be a bit girly, but I think that something screen printed with his band's name would rock his world.  The tutorial from Prudent Baby is here. 

For those who are old school and still rock the cds, check out the sewing tutorial for this car cd holder.  Looks like a great stash buster to me.  Click here to find the tutorial from Puking Pastilles. (Fun fact - I lived across the street from one of the most famous pastilles factories in France.  They are yucky =).

For the kids, I love these DIY rhythm instruments.  The tutorial is from my all time favorite blog Skip To My Lou.  Check it out here.

Check out this record bowl tutorial.  Everyone likes these and they are pretty much a free project if you have any old records.  Plus, you can always find old vinyl at thrift stores cheaply.  Having a recovering hippy for a mother, we have made many a record bowl around our house.  Love em.

This is fun little project.  My mom made me a few record purses several years back and everyone loved them when I carried them around.  Her design was much more complicated than this, but I like this tutorial.  Mod Purse tutorial here.

Another fun thing to do with old records is to make cuff bracelets.  They are easy to cut with a dremmel tool.  I have made about 100 of these back when I was doing craft shows.  They are really fun and people love them.  This is a great teen and tween gift item.  Depending on how you decorate them, they can end up being quite chic.  Check out the video tutorial from the Naughty Secretary's Club here.

This final one isn';'t a tutorial but an inspirational piece showing how creative you can get with the old records.  I love this and I see it being created as a Christmas gift for someone I know.  You can check out the designer's etsy shop here.

Neckwarmer Tutorial

This is a really easy project from the scrap bin.  I think that it took about 15 minutes.  Plus, it would make a nice gift for any child or adult.  P.S. I am trying a new format for the tutorials on the blog and trying to shrink the photos and make the tutorials easier to read and print out. 

I used fleece because I had a little scrap perfectly sized for this project.   

1) Cut a rectangle of fleece (or jersey) about 12"x24".  (8"x18" for a child's size) 
2) Using a piece of double fold bias tape about 14" long open the tape.  Fold over the raw edge about 1".  3) Pin in place down the length of the scarf.  Fold the bottom edge up and pin so that there are no raw edges on the bias tape.
4) Stitch down both sides of the bias tape and then down the middle using the crease as a guide.  Do not sew the ends shut.  They need to be open so that you can thread the ribbon.
5) The easiest way to thread the ribbon is with an elastic threader.  This little gadget costs about $3.00 and is worth every penny.  If you don't have an elastic threader, you can use a safety pin hooked through the end of the ribbon.  Start at the bottom. 
6) Go up through one side and then down through the other side. 
 

7) As you can see, you will have the ends of the ribbon hanging out of the bottom of the scarf.  Pull on the ends evenly to gather up the scarf. 

8) Fold the scarf RIGHT SIDES together and stitch up the side seam.  Trim off any excess.

9) Tie a bow in the ribbon at the bottom of the scarf.  The easiest way to keep the ribbon from fraying is to seal it with a lighter. 

10) Finished neck warmer. 

New Sew Halloween Treat Bags

So this year I am actually trying not to make all of our Halloween costumes and treat bags on the night before the Halloween party at school. 

I got a jump start on the treat bags with this little NO SEW bag.  Yes, it is still missing the google eyes because they have mysteriously vanished from my studio.  I made this bag no sew, even though it would have been easier to sew up or hot glue to sides because I thought that this no sew project would be a great way for kindergarten plus kids to practice fine motor skills and keep them busy making their own treat bag. 

First, I started with a rectangle of fleece.  You can make it as big or as small as you want.  I folded it in half so I would only need to tie the sides and not the bottom. 

Next, snip up the side to make a fringe.  I made the fringe about 1/2" wide and about 1 1/2" long.  IF you have a really small child trying to tie this, I would start with a larger bag and make longer pieces of fringe to make it easier to tie.

Then, I went along and cut off every other piece of fringe.  You can skip this step, but it does make the bag easier to tie. 

Knot the fringe up both sides.

Next, I cut out the handle. 

Finally, I just glued on the face.  I used hot glue, but fabric glue works just as well.

Some variations:

Cut a circle out of orange and make a pumpkin
Cut a circle out of white and make a ghost.
Cut a triangle and make a candy corn.
Cut a bag from black and make a cat.

Really you could use this to make any sort of bag that matches your child's costume.

Doll "Pillowcase Dress"

I was inspired by just how easy it is to sew up the pillowcase dresses to create this basic tutorial for a doll pillowcase dress.  The nicest thing about this pattern is that it will fit most 18" dolls plus a bunch of bears and other stuffed animals. 

I started with two rectangles.  The main body of the dress is 20"x9 1/2".  The bottom of the dress is 20"x7".  This is a great project to use up scraps.  Plus, you could make this dress with just 2 fat quarters. 

 Fold the bottom band in half lengthwise to get a piece that is 20" long and 3 1/2" wide. 

Pin the raw edges of the bottom band to the raw edge of the bottom of the dress.

 Stitch the two pieces of the dress together.  I like to finish the raw edge with an overcast zigzag stitch.

Then, I topstitched 1/4" above the seam just to keep the band in place.

Now you essentially have one great big rectangle of fabric. 

Fold the piece in half and then stitch the side seam.  This leaves you with a tube of fabric.

Fold it in half again.  You will have the side seam lined up with the folded edge of the mini pillowcase.  Mark off a section 1" deep by 5" long.  This is the armhole. 

 Here is a close-up of the section that you will cut out to make the armholes.

When I actually cut it out, I round the corner to make applying the bias tape easier. 

Apply double-fold bias tape to each armhole.  If you have never used bias tape, there is a tutorial on this blog showing you how to apply bias tape.  One trick I use for projects like this is to zigzag the bias tape on.  It adds an additional decorative factor and it makes it almost impossible to mess up putting the bias tape on. 

Here, you can see the armholes are both finished with bias tape. 

 Finally, you want to create the channel for the ribbon.  Fold it over 1/4" and then 1".  Repeat for the back of the dress.

Stitch the channel.

Last but not least, add the ribbon into the channel. 

Quick Appliqued Shamrock Shirt Tutorial

iCandy Handmade has an awesome tutorial on how to make this super cute St. Patrick's Day shirt for your little one (or maybe even one for your self).

It is simple and easy to follow! I'm hoping to fit this project in before sending the little one's off to school on Thursday. Wish me luck!

Konbit Sante Receiving Blankets

Lisa and I finally finished up the 30 tote bags and 30 receiving blankets for Sunday's party to benefit Craft Hope Project 11, Konbit Sante. 

Now I just need to make 30 tiny stuffed animals and we should be all set for Sunday.
By the way, if you missed it, the free tutorial for making receiving blankets in posted on our blog.  They make a really great baby shower gift. 

Meet Molly

Molly, Molly... so sweet and lovely, t'was bittersweet to see you go. Stitched up out of love and a little vintage fabric... some modern trims, she really got my heart.

I stitched up this pattern: Black Apple Doll

to make this doll for my sister-in-law to give to her niece (thanks Kate for supporting handmade!).

I think she probably made a little girl very happy!

An Emily Martin original, the Black Apple Doll.

Thanks Emily, I've used this pattern to spread joy several times now.

I hope you do too!

Glitter Scarf Tutorial

My niece and daughter are totally obsessed with glitter/sequin scarves.  Those things are expensive.  I personally have a hard time justifying spending $15-$18 on an accessory for a 3-yr-old or even a 7-year-old.  So, this Christmas, Lisa and I made up a bunch of the scarves at much more affordable prices.  I have a NO SEW and a LOW SEW version of the scarves below.  JoAnn and Walmart both sell a fabric they call confetti dot fabric.  It comes in about 10+ colors.  The fabric is about $6.00 a yard (but you can score it for much less with a coupon or buy purchasing a remnant).   

 Because this fabric does not run or fray to speak of, you can make a really cute scarf by just cutting an 8" strip.  If you cut anything narrower, it tends to roll (which makes a nice scarf for American Girl Doll).

I also made a doubled version by cutting 2 8" strips and stitching them together.  I left the ends open for turning. 

These scarves a played with/worn around here everyday.  The single scarf is about $1.00 and the double scarf is about $2.00 (when you buy the fabric with a coupon).

I made the no sew scarves a couple of years ago as party favors for my niece's glamour makeover birthday party.  They were a hit. 

Free Receiving Blanket Tutorial for Konbit Sante Craft Hope

This morning I put together this tutorial on making a basic receiving blanket.  No Serger Required. 

This tutorial will make a blanket sized for swaddling.  Most receiving blankets you buy from the store are sized 30"x30" which is not ideal for swaddling. 

  You start with a 34"x36" piece of flannel.  I cut it with the rotary to make sure that it was perfect. 

Next you can serge the edges or you can use an overcast zigzag stitch.  To make an overcast zigzag, you need to set your machine to the widest zigzag setting.  I keep the stitch length short.  You should line the fabric up in the middle of the foot.  In the right position, the needle will not catch your fabric. 

 In the left position of the zigzag stitch, the needle will enter the fabric.  This overcast zigzag will encase the raw edge to prevent fraying in the wash.

Stitch around the entire blanket.  It might cause the fabric to wave, so you will want to press the blanket when you are finished. 

Finally, I added a little double heart applique by ironing some craft fuse onto cotton and then fusing it to the blanket.