Tote Bag

I made this tote a few weeks ago when my old one ripped. I wanted something big enough to hold lots of books. I used this tutorial on Make it and Love it, one of my favorite sewing blogs! In hindsight, I wish I would have made a pocket to throw my keys and wallet in. Right now, they just float around the bottom. I was thinking about making a zipper pouch though.

I used leftover fabric from Rebekah's yellow t-shirt dress, so the cost was free! (Wasn't she cute!) The flower is a yo-yo with a button (google how to sew a yo-yo, you'll find lots of tutorials).

Rebekah's First Sewing Machine Lesson

A few days ago I gave Rebekah her first sewing machine lesson.  She really wanted to use some felt that she got for Christmas, and she saw an older girl hand sewing a simple purse a while ago.  So, she asked if we could make a purse out of her felt.  Permission granted.  I tried to have her hand sew it at first, but it was difficult, so we went to the machine.  I showed her how it worked, then had her push the foot petal while I helped her hold it in the right position.  She was so excited to be able to use the machine!!!  Now Caleb is begging too!  We just folded a piece of felt in half, sewed two sides of it, and then sewed on a ribbon handle.  Simple and quick, a perfect first project.  She still needs to learn a lot about the sewing machine to be able to use it herself, but I think I'll enjoy that teaching time!

Shepherd's Bags And Heart Hangers

Many of you know that we are using My Father's World First Grade for school.  This past week (Day 107) we learned about David, so one of our activities was to make shepherd's bags.  The curriculum didn't have directions on how to make them, so I'm going to try and tell you how I did it.  These were so simple, they only took 5 minutes each!

First, I let them each pick a fabric and ribbon from my stash.  We cut a piece about 16 x 8 inches.  Fold it in half, right sides together.  With the fold on the bottom, sew up each side, you now should have a bag, turn it right side out.  To make the casing for the ribbon, fold the raw edge down about 1 inch, so the raw edge is on the inside of the bag, and sew completely around the bag.  Then sew another line about 1/2 inch above the one you just sewed.   The two lines should be far enough apart that your ribbon fits between them.  You should now have a bag with a finished edge, that has two lines sewn around the top.  Very carefully, use a seam ripper or scissors to cut a small slit between the two lines (should be perpendicular to the seams).  Thread the ribbon through (put a safety pin on one end to make threading easy), then just tie the ribbon in a knot.  That's it!  I hope that makes sense (see picture below), feel free to leave a comment or email me with a question.

Remember the sewing kits I made my kids for Christmas?  Well, they actually completed their first project using a real needle (you know the sharp kind!).  They both did a great job, and no one screamed because they got poked!

Fleece Teddy Bear and Tote

This wonky little teddy bear is going to be a gift for a three year old boy.  I also made him a tote to put his bear in.  I have made lots of totes before, take a look at this one, and then try to make your own!  I attempted to make a little coat and hat for the bear out of the fireman hat fabric, but they didn't turn out good...

To make the bear, I just drew a bear on a piece of poster board, not including the ears.  I cut it out while the paper was folded in half so that it would be symmetrical (apparently my sewing wasn't as symmetrical as my cutting!).  I cut two pieces out of red fleece, then cut 4 pieces for the ear.  I sewed two pieces together for each ear, then turned them right side out.  Then I put the eyes and nose on, and also embroidered the mouth.  Once that was done, I made the bear sandwich: both large pieces right sides together, with the ears sandwiched in between, with the raw edges together.  Then I sewed it up, leaving a hole.  After turning it right side out, I filled it with stuffing and closed the hole.  He's a little wonky, but I hope a 3 year old will love him anyway!

Girls Jean Skirt Purse

This skirt was too small for Rebekah, but it was so cute, I couldn't get rid of it.  Instead, I turned it into an adorable purse!  The picture below shows what I started with.  The fabric belt came with the skirt, and made a great shoulder strap.  I used a seam ripper to remove the pink eyelet fabric and used it on a different skirt you can see here.  One thing I wish I would have done, was add a magnetic snap to keep it closed.

 

Then I laid the skirt on top of my lining fabric and traced around it.  I cut two out and sewed them together leaving the top open, shown in the next picture.

Then I sewed the bottom of the skirt closed.  As an alternative, you can leave the bottom of the skirt open so you can see the lining fabric.

I then pinned the lining into the jean skirt, folding the raw edge under as I went.  Make sure you pin your straps in too!  Then sew around the purse to secure and that's it! 

This purse was given to my niece for her 5th birthday.  A girl can always use another cute purse!

Waterproof Zippered Bag

 

This is a waterproof zippered pouch that I plan on carrying in my diaper bag, also called a wet bag.  I will use it for wet clothes, burp clothes, or dirty cloth diapers.  It's finished dimensions are 10 x 12 inches.  Would you like to make one for yourself?  Here's how:

You will need:
Outside Fabric #1 Back 11 x 13
Outside Fabric #1 Front 4 1/2 x 13
Outside Fabric #2 Front 7 x 13
Lining Fabric (2 Pieces) 11 x 13
Iron on Vinyl (2 Pieces) 11 x 13
13" Zipper (or larger - I salvaged mine from an old ugly dress)
13" Piping
Thread

1.  Sandwich the piping between the outside fabric front pieces as shown in the above and below picture.  It helped me to pin the piping to the first fabric and then move the pins when I put the second one on top.  Sew as close to the piping as you can.

2.  Open it up and press it.  

3.  Follow the directions on the package of iron on vinyl to cover both pieces of Lining fabric.

4.  Cut your zipper to 13 inches if it's too long, and sew a few stitches at the end so it can't come apart.

5.  Lay your zipper on top of the outside front piece so that the right side of the zipper is laying on top of the fabric.  Lay one of your lining pieces on top of the zipper, right sides together, and pin in place.  Sew on the zipper using a zipper foot on your machine.   

6.  Open it up and turn it so the wrong sides are together and press near the zipper.

 7.  Repeat on the other side of the zipper with your outside back fabric and the other lining fabric.  Once this seam is done, it should look like the picture below.  It's a good idea to make sure your zipper works now too!

8.  Pin the outside fabric pieces together, and then the lining fabrics together, like the picture below. 

9.  Sew around the entire rectangle leaving several inches open on the bottom of the outside fabric.  I left about 5 or 6 inches open (see left side of picture below).

10.  Turn the bag right side out.  You should be able to just flip the outside fabric over the lining.  Unzip the zipper to make it easier. 

11.  Hand sew the opening closed, and you are finished!

I'm linking up with Naptime Crafters today.

Diaper Bag

Here is my new diaper bag, I made it myself!  I'm so proud of this bag, I even made my own piping!  I found the tutorial on Warehouse Fabrics, Inc. after scouring the web for a good diaper bag.  This bag is big and has lots of pockets!  It wasn't hard to sew at all, but it takes time to cut out all the pieces, iron, and making sure every step is followed in the right order.  All my fabric came from JoAnn's and is home decor fabric.  I spent about $50 on all the supplies (and that's with several coupons!), but since this is baby #3, there really isn't much for me to splurge on! 

As far as the tutorial, it was very easy to follow.  However, I found that I needed 1 1/2 yards of the lining #1 fabric, and only 1 yard of fusible fleece, not 2 (maybe her fleece was not as wide as what I found).  Then, I had two extra pieces that were not needed that she had me cut out, they were the bag sides, exterior, lining fabric #1.  This could be the reason I used more fabric than called for originally.  Lastly, make sure you get interfacing that is fusible, mine was not, and I spent a lot of time adding steam-a-seam!

 

Both sides of the bag have 2 large pockets on them.  Inside, there is a main divider to keep things tidy.  One side of the divider is lined with elastic pockets, there are enough to hold 6 bottles and then a larger elastic pocket to hold whatever I need.  I don't ever plan on carrying 6 bottles with me, but the option is nice, and I can always fill them with other things, like diaper cream.  The other side of the divider also has pockets, but not with elastic.  I made two small enough to hold pens so I won't have to rummage around the bottom of the bag to find them.  

Here it is with a few things stuffed inside.  

Won't I look cute!  I plan on making some accessories to match: a diaper/wipes case, a pacifier pouch, a wet bag for dirty clothes, and a nursing cover.

Girl's Ruffled Purse

This is the most adorable thing I've ever made!  I think my niece, who is turning 4, is going to love it!  She's also getting a few Hello Kitty trinkets, because I can't give a purse as a gift without filling it with something.  I found the idea from this blog: The Tip Junkie, which has free tutorials for 24 purses!  I mostly followed this tutorial on The Project Princess, although I didn't have the directions in my sewing room, so I improvised a little bit.  She recommends using canvas or denim to stiffen the purse, but I used rip away interfacing, which did tear a little on me, but works well enough (it was the only kind I had!).  I also used a magnetic snap as a closure.  I can't wait for her birthday party! 

Baby Toys

I made a tote bag full of baby toys for my sister's baby shower gift, and included a book from my favorite children's author, Sandra Boynton (we really like Snuggle Puppy and Pajama Time too).  I made a stuffed chicken, a stuffed block, and a cloth chain ready to be chewed on.  The cloth baby rings came from Make It & Love It, as well as the idea for the block, although I just made up my own pattern for the block, it has 3 sides of cotton fabric, one terry cloth, one fleece, and one corduroy.  I wanted to make it a little more textured.  The rings were not hard to make, but turning them right side out and stuffing them was really a pain!  I don't know if I'd ever make them again, well, maybe I'd make it a little bigger so it'd be easier to work with. 

The idea for the chicken also came from Make It & Love It.  She made an elephant and a giraffe, which was really cute, but I wanted a chicken to match the bedding set that my sister has picked out for her baby's room.  I drew a chicken free hand and used red ribbon for the tail and crown, and orange ribbon for the feet.  The lower picture shows the orange fabric on the back.  I may try and PDF my drawing later today for anyone that wants to make their own.

Camouflage Baby Gift Set

This gift set went to my sister-in-law, who is an avid hunter (as well as her husband).  The fabric is camouflage on the outside and an orange with white polka dots on the inside.  The set consisted of a tote bag with inside pocket, a diapers and wipes case, 3 decorative burp clothes, a vinyl lined pacifier case, a blaze orange fleece hat, and 2 wee wee wigwams!  The wee wee wigwams were the funniest things, everyone had a good laugh at their baby shower!  The pattern came from Make It and Love It, my favorite new blog!  They were so easy to make, only took about 5 minutes for both of them, and they only used scraps of fabric!  The hat pattern came from Jesse's Branch Charity Crafts, and would also be adorable in a knit fabric.  Check out the tote pattern in my previous post here, the diapers and wipes case here, and the pacifier case here.  I also made a felt book (shown in the background), which you will see up close in a future post!

Pacifier Pouch

This is amazing!  I really could have used one of these when Rebekah was little!  How many of you ever pulled a pacifier out of the bottom of the diaper bag and it was covered in who knows what?  No more!  This pouch is lined with vinyl so that the pacifier stays lint free!

I found this pattern in my awesome 2010 sewing calendar, but I looked it up online to get more pictures.  It's from Lola Again.  It's a little tricky sewing the finishing seam, I poked myself several times, but I think it was worth it.  I added the loop on the side so that you could attach it to the diaper bag with one of those plastic rings, although next time I may add a snap or Velcro instead so you can attach it directly to the diaper bag strap.  Have fun sewing!

Tote, Zippered Pouch, Notebook, and Felt Hair Clips

This is what I made for a 4 year old little girl's birthday gift.  I hope she will find lots of joy in it!!!

The tote and the zippered pouch were made using the directions at Skip to my Lou.  It is a wonderful blog with tons of homemade gift ideas.  The zippered pouch took about 30 minutes and the tote took about 1 hour.  I am very happy with the results.

The notebook and felt hair clips are my own creations.  For the notebook, I stitched on a matching scrap of fabric and then tied ribbons onto each curl of the wire binding.  I lifted up the ribbons and ran a line of hot glue on the book and then pushed the ribbons to the front.  This was so that they stayed in the front and covered up the edge of the green notebook.  I am also going to include a small pink pen with the gift.  I will post a tutorial for the flower hair clips in the next post.

After posting this, I noticed on facebook that the birthday girls' mom has a birthday tomorrow too!  So I quickly made another tote to give to her.  This one took me 45 minutes.  I absolutely love this green fabric.  I might have to make another one for myself!