I picked up my crochet hook again recently after a spell of almost a year. After my son, Eliot, was born last April, I took to learning how to crochet because of many a late night spent nursing him. The doctor had us put him on a frequent feeding schedule because of reflux, so I figured it would be less painful for me to stay awake between feeds rather than sleep for 45 minutes at a stretch.
I made a bushel full of amirugumi toys and soon developed my own patterns. When he turned a month old, I made the first Happy Little Red Egg.
Yesterday, Eliot turned one year old! Happy, happy, birthday to my dear boy.
So here are a few other companions to the first Little Red Egg to join in the celebration. I made Happy Little Pirate Egg, Chef Egg, and Cowboy Egg - all wonderful characters with alot of personality.
With Easter is just round the corner, I thought it would be fun to have plenty of yarn eggs to hunt down instead of the usual candy variety. They are easy to make and I put the patterns in my little etsy shop. My sweet husband suggested I make enough eggs to fill a bed so our kids can jump into a a giant nest full of eggs. Awesome idea but last I checked, he doesn't crochet, so nope I don't think its going to happen any time soon.
But I think if I knit a few every year, my children will have a basketful of characters by the time they're all grown up. I can tag them by the year so they can look back and see when each little egg was made. Now that, I can do. Happy, happy!
When I was little, my grandmother made me a hand-stitched quilt with a silk panel and a blanket foldover hem. I remember the quilt to this day, even though its no longer with me, because being all grown up now, I realize just how much work it took her to make it.
The silk panel on the front always felt soft and cool to the touch, perfect for the hot humid nights where I grew up. The back panel was made of a scratchy synthetic fabric, which chaffed and irritated my skin.
I remember being conflicted about whether to sleep with the silk panel right side up, which was the pretty and proper side, but which left me struggling under the scratchy side. Or to forgo looking at the pretty pattern and sleep with it side down next to my skin, letting the dull side face the world.
I don't know why I bothered to struggle with this trivial decision every night because it seems like such a odd thing for a child to obsess about. But I suppose I was that kind of a child. I wanted things to look good and feel good at the same time.
Now decades since receiving my grandmother's quilt, I set about making my first one for my baby boy, Eliot.
I'm not a quilter, and have indeed, not made one before. However, I knew I wanted it to i) it look good and also feel good next to his skin, and ii) be mostly handsewn and iii) be made from material that he will cherish as much as I did that silk panel on the quilt from my grandmother.
Slowly, I had been saving up particular pieces of out-grown baby clothes from both my kids, thinking that I will harvest the material someday to make new things. And this well-worn and well-loved fleece pull-over from Eden was the perfect piece to use for Eliot's quilt. It had blue circles, which is just the kind of simple motif that little ones can appreciate. And it was cuddly and soft.
I first cut out all the blue circles, and then realizing that there were too few, I traced circles onto the remaining green fleece and cut out as many as I could. The key is to use up all the material if you can - some of my favorite circles have seams in them from pockets, armholes etc, which just makes them more interesting.
Next, pin the circles on to the top panel of your quilt. I used a soft blue fleece and I arranged the circles in a free-flowing pattern, concentrating them on one edge and letting them "fade" out towards the opposite edge. Alternate between the blue and green ones in a random pattern. Placing some along the edge also makes a more dynamic composition. Just trim the ones that hang over the border so you're left with some partial circles.
Using 3 strands of embroidery floss, stitch around each circle with a straight (running) stitch. Knot off after each circle and start the next one with a fresh knot. It took many nights in the company of the late night news to finish this step.
Next, I made my quilt sandwich with needled cotton batting and a back panel of the same fleece. There are many great instructions about how to do this on other blogs - I don't know if I did it the right way. But I just put my top panel with the circles directly on top of the batting material and cut around it. I did the same with the back panel.
To make the quilt sandwich, I placed the batting on top of the back panel, and the top panel of circles on top of the batting. Then I made long continuous lines of pins from one edge to the other, around the circles.
These pin lines mark the position of the quilting lines I will later stitch on the machine. There is no order to the lines since I was going for a free-flowing effect. I think of the lines as eddies of current moving around circular stones. This is what it looked like after pinning.
Machine stitch along the pinned lines, removing the pins as you go. Don't sweat it if you don't follow the pins exactly. I improvised as I went along, making sure that they were evenly distributed and all the edges had sufficient lines of stitching so that the batting is secure. I love the finished effect of the quilted lines flowing around the circles.
The final step is to bind the quilt. I used pre-made quilt binding, machine stitched it on one side and slip stitched it on the back side. There are good instructions on the Purlbee blog here. (Coincidentally, Purlbee put up a post today about a Circular Applique Mini Quilt using their Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabrics.)
Here's my first quilt all done! I am one proud mama.
My good friend, Mel, threw a birthday party for her sweet little girl a few weekends ago, which gave me the occasion to make these letter pillows that I'd dreamed up a while back but hadn't gotten round to doing.
The birthday girl has the initial C, but her older brother's name begins with M. So, I thought why not bring them both pillows since in my house, good things always come in twos.
The pillows have envelope backs (see my post on how to make an envelope closure), and fusible-web applique letters. You can put a whole set together for a nursery, use them to spell a word or just do special letters or dates. Lots of possibilities here - so I daresay I'll be making more of these soon.
But on the subject of birthday parties - check out this party favor that Mel put together.
She saved these baby food jars for months and turned them into favors by adding nifty personalized labels. I totally loved how she found such good use out of an ordinary thing but more so that she was planning and thinking of celebrating her daughter's big day, every day that she would put one of these away. What better way is there to repurpose what you've got than by sharing your efforts with loved ones.
My new year's resolution for 2011 is to make what I would otherwise buy - which led me to sew this pillow and blanket set for Eden, when her preschool teacher said she needed extra bedding for naptime.
Its a cute little fleece set, patterned with firetrucks, ambulances and police cars (which she helped pick out). But after it was finished, she refused to bring it to school. (You see a pattern here re: my post about the slippers.)
So this has gone to little brother Eliot, who is much more accommodating when it comes to wearing or using the things his mother makes.
This was a really simple set to sew up, and experienced readers will not need any instructions here. But since I've benefited from very basic tutorials - I thought, why not write one anyway for all my friends out there who don't fancy themselves crafty. Children's bedding tends to be expensive, so if you're inclined to make your own - read on, its a cinch.
Materials
Fleece - 1.5 yards (adjust for bigger or smaller sets)
13 inch pillow insert (Ikea carries a really inexpensive one)
Sewing machine & coordinating thread
Ball-point sewing machine needle (suitable for knit fabrics)
Disappearing ink fabric or chalk marker
Instructions
Lay out your fleece fabric on your cutting surface wrong side up, measure and mark a rectangle 36" x 48" for the blanket . With the remaining fabric, mark a rectangle 14" x (14" + 6") for the pillow. The extra 6" will form the overlap for the envelope closure. My pillow insert is 13" square, so the 14" width gives me a half inch seam allowance on each side. If you want a poofier pillow, make the rectangle 13" x (13" + 6"), and it will give the pillow a nice squeeze.
Make sure you mark both rectangles before you start cutting. Since mine was a patterned fleece, and I wanted to make sure I got a couple of the firetruck/car images intact on the front of the pillow, I didn't end up with the most efficient/fabric saving layout.
For the Pillow
With the wrong side of the fabric up, fold in a half inch seam on each of the short sides of the rectangle, pin and stitch. If you feel comfortable, you can start stitching and fold as you go along.
When you are done sewing the seams on the two short sides, fold the fabric over so that it overlaps as shown in the photo above. The wrong side should be facing you, and the distance from the top to the bottom folded edges should measure 13". Secure the side edges with pins.
You can flip open the flap, to check that you have it folded correctly. Take the time to make sure that your pillow front will show the pattern that you want to end up with. The pillow front is the bottom most layer in the photo above. You can adjust the location of the flap to ensure this.
Stitch a half inch seam on the sides, (where you have secured with pins). You should end up with a seam as shown in the photo above.
Flip the pillow inside out. You now have a finished pillow cover, with an overlapping flap as shown (otherwise known as an envelope closure). That overlap is what allows you to insert your pillow and keep it secure without zippers, buttons and what-not so little fingers don't get into trouble.
Flip it over to see the pillow front. If you've checked on the position of your pattern in the previous step, you should end up with a happy outcome - voila! One intact firetruck and ambulance! Stuff your insert and you're done!
For the Blanket
This is the simplest part - just fold in a half inch seam on all 4 sides and stitch. And there you have it - your finished blanket and pillow set all ready to keep your little one snuggly and warm.
Given all the hype lately about whether children are better off going or not going to sleepovers, (a.k.a. Tiger Mom and her book), guess what popped up in one of the blogs I follow, Sew, Mama, Sew? A Pillow Contest for the entire month of February!
Well, I've entered plenty of "serious" contests but never one dedicated to pillows, so I thought, what the heck, it'll be one of those fun and random things to do.
Here is my first entry - my favorite pillow this winter - 4 red birds made out of re-purposed fabric from a vintage work shirt, appliqued on a light blue fleece, and embellished with free-form machine stitching.
I love this pillow because this is what started it all for me - all my other creations with the birds motif came out of this one (see etsy shop sidebar). It would be so neat if it got a little recognition from the Pillows Hall of Fame. But either way, I'd love it just the same.
Sign up for our February Giveaway to win a lovely hand-stamped dish towel with this same leaf pattern here.
Bringing your own bag to the grocery store is all the rage now so its no wonder that every store seems to have its own store-branded recycled "I-used-to-be-a-plastic-bottle" carrier.
For one thing, they are usually not the most attractive bags - the graphics can be screamy and even worse, the news media reported last December that lead was found in some of the bright inks that were used to logo these totes.
I love to bring my own bags, so I thought I would try to make some that would be fun to carry around. Here's what you need:
Materials
Blank cotton bag (I found muslin bags at my neighborhood dollar store)
Rubber stamps of your choice (bold graphics without alot of fine lines will work best)
Instructions
1. Prewash the bag in cold water, and dry without using fabric softeners. You need to wash the sizing out of the fabric or the ink will not print well. Press and smooth flat.
2. Figure out how many stamped impressions you can make on the fabric, mark the center of your design and start there. For the bag shown above, I made two rows of 7 impressions, so I marked the middle and stamped to the left and right. If you are meticulous about spacing, you can mark each spot and stamp from one end to the other, but I find it easier to eyeball it from the middle.
3. Prepare your ink. If you are using screenprinting ink, scoop out what you need with a clean spoon and spread it on your plate or cookie sheet. You'll get better results if you mix at least two colors together and don't use it straight out of the jar. Its an old habit of mine from my painting days, and I know from experience that the color comes out much richer this way. Use a clean spoon for each color.
4. Mix the colors directly on your plate and use your brayer to smooth out a even coat. Apply the ink onto your stamp using the brayer. You should transfer an even coat onto the stamp. Always test on a scrap piece of fabric! Once you have gotten the hang of transferring the right amount of ink onto the stamp, press firmly onto the fabric with even pressure. Do not wiggle. Lift quickly. Repeat.
5. Clean the stamp well before changing colors. For the bag above, I did the top row with Peacock Blue mixed with White, and bottom with Brown and a little Black.
6. When the prints are dry to the touch, put a piece press cloth over it and set a hot, dry iron on it for about 20-30 seconds.* This will heat set the ink and render it washable. Make sure you cover every part of your design.
*Actual heat-setting time will depend on how hot your iron is. You can do it a little longer to be safe, as long as you use a press cloth to protect your fabric.
**If you are using the fabric stamp pads, you can skip all the mixing and brayer action but you will still need to heat set it.
Hand-printed muslin tote by Eden and Eliot
Finally, a close up of my totes. I made a run of 6 bags and was going to put them in my Etsy store but ended up giving most of them to friends. Make a personal label for it, and fill it up with goodies for a hostess gift. Or stamp a bunch of them for birthday party favors. They will also make a fun afternoon activity with older kids.
If you do end up making these, I'd love to hear from you. Have fun!
Valentine's Day is just round the corner so I thought I would make a lovebirds themed onesie for Eden, who is always running out of play clothes. While I was at it, I put together a simple tutorial for anyone who would like to try making this. A hand-crafted onesie makes a sweet, personal gift for a birthday girl or new baby.
Materials
1 blank onesie or t-shirt
3 fabric scraps in red, pink and/or red-pink combo
Tear-away stabilizer (eg. Sulky iron-on or self-adhesive)
Sewing machine needle for knit fabrics
Sewing machine with satin foot
Sewing machine thread in red
Hand-sewing needle
Embroidery floss in red
The first thing I do is to gather my scraps and put them together on the table to see if the colors will work well together. Since this is a Valentine's Day design, I decided to go with a red bird and a pink bird, with some other accent fabric for the hearts.
Trace the outline of the birds on a piece of iron-on fusible web. (You will draw on the paper side of the web, the other side is the bumpy side which contains the heat-activated adhesive.) Remember that you will be fusing onto the back side of the fabric, and then turning it over, so your applique cut-out will be a mirror image of your drawing.
Cut out the shapes of the birds from the fusible web, leaving a quarter inch surround. Place the cut-out shapes of fusible web onto the back side of the fabric. I like to do this over a light-table or hold the pieces up against the light in order to make sure the outline encompasses parts of the print I want to capture.
Set a hot iron (no steam) on top of the two pieces, and fuse the drawing onto the back of the fabric. Carefully cut out the shape of the bird, along the traced lines. Do the same for the second bird.
Arrange the two birds on your onesie, making sure you mark their position with a pin. In this case, I wanted the two beaks to be close to touching.
Peel the paper backing off the birds, and using a hot iron with a press cloth, fuse one bird at a time. This is to make sure you have one fused in place so that you can reposition the second bird if you need to.
At this point, I decided to add some hearts, so I found a pair of Eden's old shorts with a cute polka-dotted print and cut a few out in various sizes. I played around until I was happy with the composition and pinned the hearts in place. The top three hearts will be fused onto the shirt, as I did the birds. The bottom largest heart, I reserved for doing the raw-edged applique.
Turn the shirt inside out and apply the stabilizer (either iron-on or self adhesive) onto the back of your designs. Make sure that the stabilizer is a large enough piece so that it provides coverage under both the birds and the hearts. Flip the shirt back right side out and prepare to sew.
I have a very basic sewing machine, so I used a tight zig-zag stitch. If your machine has a satin stitch or other embroidery functions, you may want to use a fancier stitch. I love the scribbly effect of a zig-zag because it has that hand-made look, so don't sweat it if you don't stay perfectly on the edge of your shapes. A little bit of a wiggle here and there actually gives it a personal touch. Go slow and always pivot with the needle down.
When you are done, flip over to the back side and carefully tear away the excess stabilizer until you end up with something like this.
Fuse and zig-zag stitch the remaining heart onto a scrap of jersey knit fabric using the same method as described above. In this case, I'm using a scrap of heather grey jersey that matches the blank onesie.
You'll want to make sure the scrap is large enough so that you can securely pin around it. Thread a hand-sewing needle with three strands of embroidery floss, and stitch around the heart with a tight running stitch. You may use an embroidery hoop to help you, but I just sew it with the pins in place.
Keep the stitches even and close together. Hide the knots behind the heart.
When you're done, carefully trim leaving an even allowance around the stitches. Because of the knitted material, the edges won't fray and with washing, they will eventually curl giving it a quirkly, hand-made character.
and a back panel of the same fleece. There are many great instructions about how to do this on other blogs - I don't know if I did it the right way. But I just put my top panel with the circles directly on top of the batting material and cut around it. I did the same with the back panel.
, machine stitched it on one side and slip stitched it on the back side. There are good instructions on the Purlbee blog 
), guess what popped up in one of the blogs I follow, 
, or
stamp pads
and plate or 
(if using screenprinting ink)
is just round the corner so I thought I would make a 
themed onesie for Eden, who is always running out of play clothes. While I was at it, I put together a simple tutorial for anyone who would like to try making this. A hand-crafted onesie makes a sweet, personal gift for a birthday girl or new baby.
)
or self-adhesive)
to help you, but I just sew it with the pins in place.
