Archives for "Sewing"
Button-Up Cube
My 2.75 year old loves buttons – especially the process of buttoning and unbuttoning. Bedtime routines take far too long these days – she insists on buttoning up her flannel pajamas. And dressing for the day takes just as long.
So I decided to make her this:
"Button Toy"
She calls it the “Button Toy”.
Here are some pictures of the process:
Hello Kitty
Who would have thought that Hello Kitty would come back into popularity. When I was in primary school, having Hello Kitty stickers in your sticker album was a really cool thing. Come to think of it, having stickers back then was a real treat – when my siblings and I got a sheet, we would divvy them up and then keep them in a safe place (meaning we don’t use them).
Anyway, I digress. I never had Hello Kitty stickers or anything Hello Kitty. The only Hello Kitty thing I had were sketches and drawings I drew of Hello Kitty. It was a fun thing to do, and my friends and I would spend our recesses comparing sketches.
I decided to make Hello Kitty the other day for a little girl’s upcoming birthday. I made two, just in case one went a little wonky. As usual, I used LiEr’s tutorial – Thank you, LiEr for your very many great ideas!
Hello Kitty
The one in the yellow dress will be boxed up with a few more dresses and accessories. The one in the pink dress…. well, Miss S has called dibs on it.
Singlets for winter – Part 2
As a continuation to my first winter singlet post, I made the 50/50 wool/cotton singlets. It’s surprising how much easier this fabric is to sew compared to the cotton knit, and it was a really nice fabric to work with.
After making 4 for my toddler, I attempted to make one for Mr K. Same method – got an old singlet, traced the front and back pieces, cut and sew.
4x toddler singlets & 1x adult singlet
This picture was taken before I threw them in the wash.
They came out quite a bit shorter than they were originally – argh!
ALWAYS wash the fabric before cutting and sewing.
But they will still be worn. No one will see the imperfections – they are singlets after all.
Winter skirts
I found some plain cord fabric in the garage the other day. I’d bought it in 2004 to make some overalls for a little boy and had less than a 1/2 metre left. It was just enough to make a skirt for my 2.5 year old.
I’ve always wanted to try to make a pleated skirt and LiEr at ikatbag has this great tutorial on how to make one.
My pleating technique needs a lot of work, but it was really fun to make.
Singlets for winter – Part 1
As we approach the cooler seasons, shops are starting to stock thermal and woolen undergarments. My 2.5 year old has outgrown her woolen thermals (it’s about time really, as they were her 12-month ones). But because they are priced from $10 (for synthetic fabric singlets) to $30 (for 100% wool), I find it hard to justify paying so much for such a small item of clothing.
So, starts my experimentation. I am going to attempt to make woolen undergarments for my toddler.
Felt Food – Part Two
My daughter’s felt larder has increased in the form of donuts, sausages, lettuce leaves, and some disastrous looking cupcakes/muffins.
Donuts - chocolate, strawberry & vanilla
The donuts were really fun to make.
Continue Reading
Felt Food – Part One
I’ve finally started the mission of making felt food for my little girl. I had to as we received this wonderful package from my parents that contained these little stainless steel cooking pots and pans and a set of utensils to go with them. (These are from Ikea’s Duktig range for kids 4 Piece cooking set + kitchen utensil set).
Stainless steel play cookware
I’ve looked at getting her some plastic play food, but they were either too expensive or not durable enough. Then I looked at the wooden options. They were really cool, but they were too expensive as well.
More Bags
I think I went a bit overboard.
But they are destined for new homes. My little one’s friends are going to be very happy. 
Next project – the messenger bag.
The New Bags
This is the bag I have been using for the last 2 and a bit years.
The Buzzy Bee Bag
It was given to us when our little girl was born – to be used first as a nappy bag, and then later on as a kindy/school bag.
I decided that I should stop using it as a “nappy bag”. Problem was my old bag was just too small – long gone are the days of just having the wallet, the phone and the keys in the handbag.
So after some net surfing, I found this blog called ikatbag. Lier (the owner of the blog) has a wonderful pattern/tutorial on how to make a tote bag. It looked easy enough to attempt. So after some canvas shopping, the sewing machine had a workout (I made lots of mistakes so had to unpick a lot), and a little one the next day (I decided to make one for my daughter too).
The New Bags
The mini bag is so cute that I’m going to make another one just for my wallet, phone and keys for when I don’t have to lug toddler essentials around.
The New “Not Invisible” Cloak
I was rooting around in one of the boxes in the garage and found this shiny piece of red fabric. There is a story to how I came to own this fabric, but that comes later.
I thought to myself, “A cloak for my little girl. She can pretend she is a princess or a queen”. A fitting end to the story of this fabric that I have kept all these years.