Stitch This: Appliqued Baby Banner with Polka-dots and Robots

Appliqued Baby Banner

My little sister is 8.5 months pregnant and little tucker will be here before we know it!  I always like sewing a project (or two) for the little ones in the family.  I think it started when my niece, who is starting college this year, was born.  I made her an over the top frilly crib set...it was a little bit country and not rock and roll.

For Tuc, I settled on making him a banner that can hang in his room.  It was easy as pie to stitch.

DIY: Tie-dyed & Ribbon Embellished Burp Cloths

Altered burp cloths made from diapers are such a fun way to insert a little of your personal style in a new parent wardrobe.  They also help keep your clothes drool free.

This set was designed in the color palette of the school where my little sis teaches.  We began with 3 cotton diapers.   Pre-washed them with no fabric softener and used no dryer sheets when drying.

Make it: Baby Sling - easy pattern

Make it: Baby Sling

Baby slings can be a big-ticket item in stores; you can save a ton of money and add a personal touch by designing them yourself. They only require 2.5 yards of fabric and this pattern is so simple to stitch up.

Baby Sling Materials:
2-1/2 yds. tightly woven cotton fabric, 44" to 48" wide
sewing machine
thread
heavy-duty needle
2 - 4" rings made specifically for baby slings

Fabric pattern tips: Both sides of the fabric will show when you use a sling; you may want to choose a fabric that does not have a "wrong" side.

1. Turn under and press one of the short edges of the fabric; turn under an additional inch and press to create a clean edge. Stitch in place. Repeat for the selvage (long) edges. Leave one of the short edges raw.

2. Line up the raw, short edge of the fabric against a ruler or self-healing mat with measured grid marks. Fold in a deep (3" or so) pleat. The pleat should be oriented with the fold line parallel to the long edges of the fabric. Pin the pleat 1" from the raw edge and 9" from the raw edge.

3. Continue pleating the fabric with smaller 1" pleats. Pin each pleat 1" and 9" from the raw edge.

4. Stitch across the 1" and 9" pins through all thicknesses of fabric to secure the pleats.

5. Zigzag the remaining raw end through all thicknesses of the folded fabric.

6. Pull the pleated end of the fabric through both of the rings, folding through the rings to line up the 1" stitch line lines with the 9" stitch line. Pin in place.

7. Stitch through all thicknesses using a smaller stitch length to add strength to the seam. This seam will take a lot of stress; it is important to have a strong seam that it is backstitched on both ends. Sew an additional seam along the zigzag line for extra security.

8. To wear the sling, one end should extend from the back over the shoulder to the front torso. The other end wraps around the waist to the front torso. Thread the loose end through both of the rings and then back through one ring. Pull the loose end to tighten or loosen.

RESOURCES :
Baby Sling Rings: slingrings.com

Plaid Craft TV: Iron-on Nursery Art with special guest Sonya Nimri

Yea, Yea, Yea.....Designer/author Sonya Nimri joins us on Plaid Craft TV for this episode featuring iron-on nursery art! We are also exploring painted polka-dot techniques using house-hold items.

For Complete Instructions Visit This Link

This bonus idea is a quick and simple mobile that is made with ribbon, iron-ons and a dowel rod.

For Instructions, please visit this link!

Painted Baby Tee Kurtas

 

On The Set Of Creative Juice

Get your paint on with this fun and easy traditional Indian design, these Kurta-style tees use dimensional fabric paint to add a little pop to your kids’ wardrobe.  Mix and match colors, use bright and metallic paint for extra flair.

Supplies:

Light colored baby T-shirt (your choice of color)

Lumiere Metallic Acrylic Fabric paint

Fabric ball and brush pens

Dimensional fabric paint by FolkArt

Pencil with an eraser

Wax paper

Iron

Steps:
1. Pre wash and dry the t-shirt to remove any sizing. Place a piece of waxed paper in between the front and back of the t-shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through.

2. Begin by painting large polkadots according to your design by dipping the eraser end of a pencil into fabric paint and dab it onto the t-shirt. Allow it to dry for 24 hours, then heat set using an iron.

3. Next, Paint any lines using the ball and brush pen, allow to dry, no heat setting necessary.

4. Finally add dimensional highlights with the dimensional paint. Allow to dry.

Chick a Boom Painted Kids Tees

Chick a Boom...

Painted Kids Tees

Adorable painted chicks are the perfect design for these Easter t-shirts. To make perfect circles, use stencils made from shelf liner.

Supplies:
Light colored kids T-shirt (your choice of color)
Fabric ball and brush pens by Marvy
Dimensional fabric paint by FolkArt
4”X4” square of adhesive shelf liner
Flat paintbrush
Wax or parchment paper
Xacto knife & cutting surface
Pen or pencil

Steps:

1. Pre wash and dry the t-shirt to remove any sizing. Place a piece of waxed paper in between the front and back of the t-shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through.

2. Paint a tree using the paint pens. Just an easy free form squiggle with a branch. Use tape to mark start and stop points.

3. Cut a circle shape with your Xacto knife (any dimension) from the center of the shelf liner square. Remove the backing from the shelf liner and stick the square where you want to paint your chick. The circle is the body of the chick.  Fill in the circle by working from the outside edge going towards the center and be careful around the edges of the circle. Allow it to dry and remove the shelf liner.

4. Use the fabric paint pens to create the legs, beak and feathers. Use the dimensional paint to create an eyeball and tips of feathers. Allow the paint to dry.

Stitch This: Baby Booties pattern

 Handmade Baby Booties

Keep your kids’ feet nice and toasty with incredibly cute, easy-to-make fleece booties.  This project is from the Babies episode of Creative Juice on HGTV & DIY.

Supplies:
Booties pattern - see below
1/4 yard fleece fabric
9 inches 1/4” soft elastic
16” Decorative ribbon
Sewing machine
Matching thread
Scissors & pins

Steps:

1. Pin the pattern in place on the fleece fabric (make sure you place the pattern on the fold of the fabric) and cut around the pattern. Repeat this for the second bootie.

2. Remove the pins and open the booties up, place them right sides down.

3. Cut the elastic in half (1 piece for each bootie) and following the pattern, sew stretched elastic across the appropriate stitching line, repeat on second bootie.

4. Fold the bootie in half (rights sides together). Cut the ribbon in half (1 piece each bootie) and fold the ribbon in half and pin in the marked spot (see pattern). Pin and sew around the edge with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

5. Turn right side out and tie the ribbon in a bow. Use your scissors to cut fun fringe at the top of the bootie. Repeat steps 2-4 for the second bootie.

click to download - enlarge or shrink to adjust the size.

Baby Ideas Archive

Fleece Booties Pattern

Baby Sling Pattern

Washcloth Puppets

Painted Baby Tees

Baby Yoga Mat

Washcloth Bath Puppets

Quick Sewing Idea: Bath Time Puppets

This project is from my book:
Creative Juice - 24 Re-crafting Projects to Make With Recycled Stuff

Bathtime just turned into an imaginative puppet show! Ordinary hand towels and felt become fun bath puppets in the shape of frogs, piglets, monsters or anything else a child can imagine.

Materials:
1 hand towel
embroidery floss
felt scraps
embroidery needle
scissors
sewing machine
permanent marker

Steps:

1. Choose a hand towel and felt in colors appropriate for each puppet.

2. Fold the towel in half end to end. Place a hand on the folded towel with your arm pointed toward the towel ends and a finger pointed toward the fold. Spread your pinky and thumb as far as possible and, with a wide stroke (approximately 1-1/2" from your hand), trace around your hand (like a hand turkey) with the marker.

3. Cut through both layers of the towel on the traced line and pin for sewing. Sew around the puppet, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance; leave the bottom part of the puppet open for your hand.

4. Clip the curves of the seam allowance to increase flexibility and turn right side out.

5. Adding features is the place to get creative. Cut circles for eyes, funny noses, floppy ears, etc. Hand-stitch with embroidery floss and add extra details with a simple satin stitch.

Mommy Monday: Baby Sling Pattern

Make it: Baby Sling

Baby slings can be a big-ticket item in stores; you can save a ton of money and add a personal touch by designing them yourself. They only require 2.5 yards of fabric and this pattern is so simple to stitch up. For safety, be sure to wear the sling properly and don't use on infants.

Baby Sling Materials:
2-1/2 yds. tightly woven cotton fabric, 44" to 48" wide
sewing machine
thread
heavy-duty needle
2 - 4" rings made specifically for baby slings

Fabric pattern tips: Both sides of the fabric will show when you use a sling; you may want to choose a fabric that does not have a "wrong" side.

1. Turn under and press one of the short edges of the fabric; turn under an additional inch and press to create a clean edge. Stitch in place. Repeat for the selvage (long) edges. Leave one of the short edges raw.

2. Line up the raw, short edge of the fabric against a ruler or self-healing mat with measured grid marks. Fold in a deep (3" or so) pleat. The pleat should be oriented with the fold line parallel to the long edges of the fabric. Pin the pleat 1" from the raw edge and 9" from the raw edge.

3. Continue pleating the fabric with smaller 1" pleats. Pin each pleat 1" and 9" from the raw edge.

4. Stitch across the 1" and 9" pins through all thicknesses of fabric to secure the pleats.

5. Zigzag the remaining raw end through all thicknesses of the folded fabric.

6. Pull the pleated end of the fabric through both of the rings, folding through the rings to line up the 1" stitch line lines with the 9" stitch line. Pin in place.

7. Stitch through all thicknesses using a smaller stitch length to add strength to the seam. This seam will take a lot of stress; it is important to have a strong seam that it is backstitched on both ends. Sew an additional seam along the zigzag line for extra security.

8. To wear the sling, one end should extend from the back over the shoulder to the front torso. The other end wraps around the waist to the front torso. Thread the loose end through both of the rings and then back through one ring. Pull the loose end to tighten or loosen.

RESOURCES :
Baby Sling Rings: slingrings.com

Make a Kids Felt Book

Make a Kids Felt Book

Keep the kids occupied on long road trips or flights with a travel book that combines a little felt, some buttons, ribbons, and snaps, and a lot of imagination. The book can be customized in so many different ways....the sky is the limit! Have fun getting creative!

Supplies:
3 Ring binder
Zipper binder pouch
Felt rectangles– 2 per page
5/8” grommets – 3 per page
Small scissors
Grommet setting tool
Self-healing mat
Decorative scissors
Fabri-Tac Glue
Scissors
1 piece of 3 hole punched paper
Marker

Decorating pages supplies:
Buttons
Lacing
Ribbon
Felt scraps
Rhinestones
Beads
Charms
Permanent markers
Snaps
Snap setter
Additional grommets
Fabri-Tac glue

Steps:

1. Use fabric tack to glue two rectangles of felt together. Allow the page to dry.

2. Lay a sheet of 3-hole punched paper over the felt squares, use a marker to mark the position of for the holes. Use a small pair of scissors to make a very small snip where each grommet will be attached.

3. Push the male piece of the grommet through the hole. Flip the felt page over insert the female piece of the grommet over the male. Attach the grommets using the grommet setter and a hammer. Repeat for the other two grommeted holes on the page.

4. Cut around the edges of the page with decorative scissors.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each page you wish to make.

6. To make a “Buttons & Snaps” page: Cut two small identical panels of felt and attach two grommets to each panel to make a “lacing section”. Place in the desired location on the page.

7. Cut another shape from felt for the “snap” section. Using a purchased snap kit, attach the male piece of the snap to the top of the shape using a snap setter. Attach the female piece of the snap at the appropriate position on the page by cutting a small hole, pushing the piece through to the front and using the snap setter. Snap the felt piece to the page.

8. Cut another shape from felt for the “button” section. Slice a small hole into the felt shape to make the button hole. Use a pen to mark where the button should be stitched. Stitch the button using a needle and thread. Button the felt piece to the page.

9. Use Fabri-Tac Glue to attach the outside edges of the grommeted lacing panels, the bottom of the snap panel, and one side of the button panel to the page. Allow the glue to dry.

10. When the page is dry, add decorative stitching such as whip-stitching where the panels attach to the page. Lace the grommets of the lacing section with narrow ribbon.



Other Ideas for decorating pages:

Seek and Find Page: This is great for road trips! Make cut outs of road sings, buildings, cars, animals, trucks, etc. Use craft glue to attach them to the page. Have the kids look for them while on long trips.

Alphabet game: Cut out each letter of the alphabet and attach to a page. Look for the letters on buildings and signs as you head down the road

Tick Tack Toe: Cut strips of felt and glue them in the crisscross pattern. Ct X’s and 0’s for the game. The game pieces can be stored in the zipper pouch.

Lacing: Cut a shoe out of felt and attach mini grommets to the shoe, add a shoelace. This great way for kids to practicing tying.

Getting Dressed: Cut out a small felt person and attach to the page. Cut out all sorts of clothing, shoes, hats and accessories. (store the clothes in the zipper pouch) Kids will be entertained four hours getting them person dressed.

Counting: Cut out numbers and/or mathematical symbols (age appropriate) for counting and adding.

make it: baby yoga mat

make it: baby yoga mat

Babies can stretch out with this no-sew yoga play mat that seamlessly combines soft fabric and padding.

Supplies:
Fleece – green and brown
1/2” foam
Scissors
Yardstick

Steps:
1. Prewash and dry your fabric before starting. Cut the foam into a 24” x 36” piece. Cut a piece from each of your fleeces that is 30” x 42”. (To make a mat with your own dimensions, cut the foam to the desired size of your mat, and cut the fleece to that dimension plus six inches.)

2. Lay down one of your pieces of fleece. (If the fleece has a right and a wrong side, the wrong side should face up.) Center the foam on top of the fleece, and place the second piece of fleece on top of the foam, right side up (if applicable).

3. Cut a 3” square from each corner, cutting through both layers of fleece but not cutting through the foam. Lay your yardstick on top of the mat so that the yardstick edge is flush with the edge of the foam. Make cuts through both layers of fleece at one-inch intervals, stopping when you reach the foam. Do this on all four sides.

4. Use an overhand knot to tie the green fringe and the brown fringe together along all four sides of the mat.

5. To care for the mat, remove the fleece by untying the knots and wash. Place the foam in between to two pieces of fleece and retie the knots.

make it: baby snapuit and nursing necklaces

make it: baby snapuit and nursing necklaces

These cool breakaway necklaces look stylish on mom, but are totally safe for little hands. They are made with magnetic clasps and links so they won't break. Alter a baby snapsuit with homemade flavor by using patches and glitter fabric pens.

Nursing Necklaces

Supplies:
Jewelry beading wire
Heavy-duty magnetic clasp
Round-nosed jewelry pliers (two pairs)
Jewelry wire cutters
Glass beads in birthstone colors, donuts and crystal shapes
Large jump rings
Donut shaped pendants (acrylic or shell)

Steps:
1. Use the wire cutters to snip a 3-4” length of jewelry wire. With the round-nosed pliers, create a loop in one end. Thread on an assortment of crystal beads. Clip the un-curled end of the wire with enough room to make another loop. Loop the end.

2. Use the round-nosed pliers to open a large jump ring and attach to one end of the beaded wire. Continue making links for the necklace in this way until you reach the desired length.

3. Thread a donut shaped pendant onto the necklace.

4. Use the round-nosed pliers to attach jump rings to each end of the necklace, and attach either piece of the magnetic clasp to each of these jump rings.


Buddha-ful Onesie

Supplies:
Solid, non-printed onesie
Iron-on Buddha patch
Iron
Pressing cloth
Blue painters tape
Glitter fabric paint pen
Wax paper

Steps:
1. Pre-wash and dry the onesie to remove sizing. Position the Buddha patch on the onesie in the desired position. Set the iron on high and place a pressing cloth over the patch. Put the iron on the pressing cloth and apply even pressure for 30-40 seconds. Turn the onesie inside out and iron the back of the patch for 20 seconds to reinforce.

2. Turn the onesie right side out and slide a piece of wax paper inside to prevent paint bleeding through to the back of the shirt. To help you keep the text straight, place a piece of blue painters tape on the onesie where the bottom edge of the text will be.

3. Write “Buddha-ful” on the onesie with a glitter fabric paint pen; you can use a computer printout of the text to refer to as you write. To activate the pen, press the spring-loaded tip down on a piece of scrap paper until paint flows. Allow the paint to dry flat overnight and heat-set with a hot iron.

4. Care for the onesie by washing and drying on the delicate cycle.

Make it: Kids Hoodie Towel Wrap

This soft, cuddly, kids towel wrap is perfect for after the bath. Kids will the hoodie with ears. You can use bright colored towels or go wild with animal print towels.

Materials:
1 extra large bath towel –animal print
2 washcloths towel – tan color
Sewing machine
Upholstery weight needle
Matching thread
Sewing pins
Felt squares – tan
Hand Sewing Needle
Scissors

Steps:

Pin the two washcloths together on two sides so that the pins form an L-shape. Sew along the pined edges approximately 1/2" from edge using an upholstery weight needle. Lengthen the stitch length if it is difficult to get through the thickness.


Lay the large bath towel on the work surface and mark the center of one long edge of the bath towel with a pin. Working with right sides to right sides, align the stitched seam of the hood with the center of the towel and pin in place along the edge. Stitch the hood to the towel approximately 1/2" from the edge.

Add ears by cutting 2 triangle shapes from bits of felt and hand whipstitch the ears to the towel on both the right and left side of the center seam on the hood portion of the towel wrap.