A Friend or Two

Floppy Sun Hats

2011-04-18T08:43:00.000-06:00

My girls love to play and dress up, so why not make have some fun hats to use inside our out.

Or for a rocking horse to use!

You will need about 2 yards of fabric, 1 yard for the outside of the hat including the small flowers, and 1 yard for the lining, stripe, and other flower.

You start with this basic shape a triangle with slightly curved sides. For the hats I made the triangle measured 6 inches tall and 4 1/2 inches across the bottom. These hats were a little big for my girls, but that just makes them look more floppy.

You need 6 of these triangles for the outside of the hat and another 6 for the inside lining layer of the hat so 12 total.

First you sew 3 of the triangles together by the side seams so it looks like this. Do this for all triangles. You will have 4 sets of 3 triangles.

I wanted my hat to curve at the end of the top so to make the curve I place the hat down with a string to help mark the curve. Tape or pin a string to the top point of the hat. Make the string so it reaches to the lowest point of the curve then tie a pencil to the string and use it to draw your curve.

Then cut along your curve line so you have a nice rounded part to your hat.

Now to make the stripe on the hat I folded the triangle pieces in half and traced the bottom of the curved hat and up the side about 1 1/2 inches. This gives you the bottom of the stripe and the sides. I cut the fabric on the fold because I only traced half of the hat. I needed 2 of the stripes so I could have a stripe all the way around the outside layer of the hat. I did not do a stripe on the inside. You could if you wanted to make the hat reversible.

To make the brim of the hat I did the same thing with tracing the bottom of the hat. That line will be the top part of the brim where it will connect to the top part of the hat.

I knew I wanted the brim to be 3 inches wide so I measured down 3 inches and drew another line.

I then added 1/4 inch to the top and bottom for a seam allowance. So the finished piece was 3 1/2 inches tall.

You don't need to add to the sides because one side will be on the fold and the other side will be sewn into the hat.

Then cut from your fabric on the fold 2 for the outside of the hat and 2 for the inside of the hat. You will also want to use some type of interfacing to make the brim stiff. I went to Walmart and found the thickest stuff and used that. It wasn't iron on, but it still worked. Use the same pattern piece to cut the interfacing just cut a 1/4 inch smaller for the interfacing so it will be just inside your seams.

Now to make the rest of the hat. I took the stripe and ironed the top edge down 1/4 inch

Then lined the bottom of the stripe to the bottom of the triangles and sewed the stripe in place along the top edge.

Then you will want to attach the brim to the outside. So with right sides together sew the top part of the hat to the brim. When you start the fabric is curving opposite ways so you need to pull the top layer of fabric over as you are sewing so you can get the curve around the hat. Once it is sewn clip the curves

Now you want to attach both halves of your hat together. Make sure the points of the top triangle and the edges of the stripe and brim line up. You don't want your hat to look different from the front to the back.

To make the lining you want to repeat the same process. The only thing you want to do different is before you attach the front and back of the lining you want baste or Iron the interfacing in place on the wrong side of the lining. Then sew the front and back together.

Once you have the lining and the outside of your hat sewn you need to connect them together. Pin the right sides together. You will have the wrong side of the outside layer on the top and the wrong side of the inside layer on the bottom with the interfacing on the wrong side of the lining.

Sew the layers all together make sure to leave a small opening so you can turn your hat. Clip the curves and turn the hat. I ironed the brim flat, make sure to iron the opening edges inside so you can close the opening.

Then on the right side of the fabric do 1/4 in seam all the way around and you can close the opening of the hat.

I did several more 1/4 in seams so it was all secure all the way to the top. Make sure the lining layer is smooth under so it doesn't get puckers. I also made some crushed fabric flowers following the directions from Make It and Love It here

Gold

2011-03-21T12:33:00.000-06:00

For St Patrick's Day we made gold for the leprechauns

And for us!

It is so easy to make. You only need Ritz bits, butterscotch chips, and waxed or parchment paper.

pour the butterscotch chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt them according to the directions on the bag. If you don't follow the directions the chips can overcook and then they are all clumpy and won't work. The chips will maintain their shape even if they are melted so you need to stir them.

Once it is stirred then you add your Ritz bits. We used the peanut butter ones because I like them better then the others. Stir the Ritz so that they are covered in the melted butterscotch then take them out of the bowl and set them on parchment paper or waxed paper so they can dry.

My girls loved helping with this. It was so much fun to get messy and make a treat at the same time.

And if some only make it to mouths, well that is what tends to happen around my house.

We made this the day before St Patrick's Day so that on the day the leprechauns could come and steal the gold. Then we had to follow the clues on a treasure hunt to find it

Duck Tape Flowers

2011-03-09T16:01:00.001-07:00

These are pen toppers or as I made it to be a pencil topper and are actually kinda cool I think. My 4 year old loves them and a few 12 year old girls have told me everyone in their school loves these.

So my daughter decided this was for her. The first thing she did was smell it. She turns to me and said "Mom this flower doesn't smell like any other flower." I asked her if it was a good smell. She assured me it smelled wonderful because it is a flower. It smells like duck tape, not the best smell, but if you spray it was body spray then it smells better.

So if you want to make one you need a few things. Pencil, or pen, and colored duck tape. The tape I used was from Walmart and was under 4 dollars for a roll, and I could make many flowers from this, or make giant flowers.

You could make it all one color or use more, but I chose to use two. Pink and purple because those happen to be my girls favorite colors.

Tare or cut the duck tape so it is about 2-3 inches long. if it is shorter the flower will be more open, if it is longer the flower will be more like a budding flower and closed tighter.

Fold one corner (I folded the bottom right) over so that the tape sticks to its self. Leave a small edge not covered so it can still stick to the rest of the flower.

Then take the other corner (I took the bottom left) and folded it into a triangle on top of the one I had just made. When that is done you will have a triangle with a little of the sticky part sticking out. If you used a 3 inch piece of tape it will be more in the shape of a house, you will have a wider strip of the sticky stuff left.

Then wrap it around the pencil or pen so the point is up and sticky stuff sticks to the pencil.

Repeat this process until the flower is the size you want.
I did 1 pink for the middle, then I did 1 purple. The next layer I did 2 pinks. Then 3 purples. Then 4 pinks, and for the last layer 4 purples. You can always add more and make the flower bigger. It will get heavy if you add a lot. You can then leave it how it is, or you can use green and make a few of the triangles to be the bottom of the flower and then cover your pen or pencil with green tape to be the stem of the flower. If you are using a pen make sure to keep the air holes in the side or at the bottom of the pen open, or the ink will not work for very long.
Have fun making one!

Felt Flowers

2011-03-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

So I think I have completed my St Patrick's Day decor. I don't do much, because I like things simple, So this is my felt flower balls with my subway art. I saw the idea for this here on craftily-ever-after. I loved how she made it look and decided to make my own for St Patrick's day.

I did what she did and cut circles out of felt. I folded the felt in half so I cut out two at a time. I cut a total of 64 circles. This was because I needed about 30 to cover a 2 inch styrofoam ball.The circles are about 3 inches across.

I wanted my flowers to look like the carnations that are white and green for St Patrick's day like this one here from google images.

So I used white felt and painted green acrylic paint on it with a sponge brush. I wanted it to be darker in some spots like the flower so I added more paint to some spots and less to others. I wish I used a different green, but I already had this one so I used it.

After you paint one side of the circle wait for it to dry and then paint the other side. This was the part that took the longest painting all 64 circles and letting them dry.

Then you fold a circle in half. Then in half again so it makes a little triangle.

Then you stick a pin into the point and stab it into your ball.

Keep doing this until the entire ball is filled.

See up close you can see my paint skills are lacking, or my lack of patience in taking the time to do a good job painting, but from not so close you can't tell.

St Patric's Day T-shirt

2011-03-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

My girls love new clothes, anything I can make into something new is very exciting. So for St Patrick's day I decided to make them new shirts. Well the shirts are not new, but the shamrock is and that makes it new to them.

This was easy and quick to make. I took a T-shirt that my daughter almost never wore and used some scrap green fabric and wonder under to make this.

First trace the shape onto the fabric and cut it out.

Then use your cut out shape and trace it onto the paper side of the wonder under and cut it out.

Wonder under has two sides, one is paper and the other is stuff that melts onto your fabric. put the non paper side onto the fabric and iron on top of the paper so it sticks to the fabric.

Take the paper off and you can see where the fabric is and how the wonder under gives it the shinny look.
Place the shinny side, the side with the glue, down onto the shirt and iron it in place. If you want you can then sew around the edges to help hold it in place, or just leave it ironed on.

Shamrock Decoration

2011-02-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well I finally finished this project. It has taken me a while, but it is now done.

So to make this I got the idea from this blog here This one was for a valentine wreath but I thought the little rosettes could look like any flower, so I made them green for St Patrick's Day.
On the other blog there are some directions that might be easier to follow, but I did it a little different from her so here is what I did.

First I found the supplies I needed. An empty cereal box, some tissue paper, glue, and scissors.
Then I traced a shamrock onto the inside of the box.

Then cut it out. and cut your tissue paper into long strips about 1 inch wide. I think I used 5 1/2 sheets. I covered my work space with parchment paper, because I didn't want the table to get glue on it. You will get sticky with this project.

Then place a line of glue onto the tissue paper and smear the glue so it covers the paper.

Roll one end so that it makes a small ball.

This one is kinda hard to see but you roll the paper half way around and then twist the tissue paper so what used to be at the bottom is now at the top. Then continue the twisting and rolling until you reach the end of the tissue paper. Then stick it onto the shamrock.

Use the next strip of tissue paper and do the same thing. Keep repeating until the shamrock is full. This is what took me forever. Maybe it is in part because I turned on movies to help pass the time.

Once you are finished with all of it add some ribbon to hang it with. Hang it up and enjoy your decoration.

Adjustable Pants

2011-02-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

My 4 year old is very skinny and she hates when I make her wear pants. I asked her why and she told me because they fall off. So I found some with an adjustable waste. They have a button and elastic so you can make the waste smaller or larger so you get a better fit.

She loved these when she put them on, for about 30 min. Then she started complaining that they hurt her sides. So I looked and her sides had red marks from where the elastic rubbed. So I loosed the pants thinking maybe we had them too tight. Well that didn't work. So I came up with another idea. Why not cover the elastic with something soft.

I used some left over fleece I had. I measured how wide the waste band was and then cut fleece that was that width and long enough to cover the elastic that stuck out. mine was about 1 in X 4 in

Then I hand stitched the fleece over the elastic.Click Here for a great tutorial on hand stitching. Make sure you only stitch one layer of the pants so you can't see the stitches on the outside. Leave an opening on the bottom and one side, or you could leave one on the top. That way if she gains some weight before she gets to tall I can adjust them. Or I will be able to use them with my next daughter who is bigger.

Problem solved. She loves the pants and told me they are "supper soft now". It is like wearing a "soft kitty, not pants"

Child's Bathrobe

2011-02-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I got a new bathrobe, well that led both my daughters into thinking they needed one too.

So I have finally made them both robes. And they love them. They both keep asking if they can take a bath.

Here is how I did it. Sorry the pictures are combined from me making the two, so the towel changes colors.
First I bought a bath towel. One towel for each robe you want to make. The towel I used was 30 in X 54 in.

To get the right size I used a shirt that currently fit so I would know what size to make. I folded the towel in half so it was 30 in X 27 in and placed the shirt folded in half on the towel at the top near the fold.. I added 2 extra inches to the middle because I wanted there to be plenty of room for overlap.

I then traced around the back side of the shirt adding 1/2 in for the seams. when I got to the bottom of the shirt I just continued the line down to the end of the towel. If the bottom of the towel is used then you won't have to hem it!

To make the neck line for the front I knew I wanted it to swoop, like the new robe I have, so I drew how I wanted it to look (the blue line). It took a few tries to get a line I was happy with. Then I cut it out.

This is the front pieces of the robe.

To get the back piece I used the front piece so I wouldn't have to add the extra for the seams again. I folded the center of my front piece back the 2 inches that I had added, because I want the back to not be extra large. I also made the neckline in the back higher because I didn't want the back to scoop down like the front.

After I cut the pieces I lined them up to make sure they would overlap and would fit how I wanted them too.

To make the sleeves I folded the towel so I could place the sleeve on the fold. I only wanted a seam on the under part of the sleeve. Just fold the towel over enough for the sleeve to fit, because you want to be able to make both sleeves. I then added a 1/2 in to where I would put the seam, so the not on the fold side and where the top is so it can connect to the robe.

I then checked that it matched the arm hole on my top and bottom so I knew if it would actually fit.

Cut the first sleeve out and use it as a pattern for cutting the second one out.

I then sewed the shoulder seams together using a straight stitch with a 1/2 in seam and then used a zig-zag stitch just inside my straight stitch so the towel wouldn't keep fraying. If you have a serger use that, but I don't so I zig-zag. Then sew the sides together and zig-zag that as well. Now you just have to attach the sleeves.

To attach the sleeves I sewed the sleeve right sides together along the raw edge using a 1/2 in seam and zig-zagged again. So it makes a tube to put the arm in. Make sure you don't sew either of the ends closed.

Turn the sleeve right side out and attach it to the rest of the robe. To do this the sleeve is right side out and the rest is on the wrong side. Slide the sleeve into the arm opening and match up the raw edges and match the side seam of the robe with the seam on the arm.

Sew around the opening and zig-zag that too. Do the same for the other side.

Now if you want you can hem any raw edges like around the neck or add a strip of fabric to cover the raw edges.

I measured around the edge of the robe, Down the middle of the front the neckline the back neck and down the other side. Then I cut a strip 4 inches wide and as long as I needed. I had to sew two pieces of strips together to get the strips as long as I needed.

I ironed the raw edges under 1/4 inch and then folded and ironed the strip in half. Then pin the strip around the edges of the robe so the robe is tucked inside 1/4 inch. Sew the strip on.

Now to make the ties. I made my daughter try on the robe to see where in needed it to tie and then marked it. I cut squares that were 2in X 2 in folded them in half and sewed around leaving the bottom edge open so I could turn it. I cut the corners so it would have a sharper edge. then turned it right side out.

Make as many of these as you want these are the loops to hold the tie in place. I made 4 placing one in the center back and one at each side seam and then one on one side of the front. I only did one in the very front so it could overlap on one side. Now hook these onto the robe. Measure from the bottom how high you want them and pin them in place. I then sewed right on the edge so I would have room to place the tie through the loops.

To make the tie I measured around my girls to see how long it would need to be. The fabric I used doesn't fray so I just left it in a long strip. If you need to cut the fabric twice as wide as you want it to end up, so if you want the tie to be 2 inches wide cut it 4 inches so you can fold it in half right sides together and sew the raw edges. Then turn it so the right side is facing out. Thread the tie through the loops. I was worried about my daughters taking the tie out and strangling themselves with it. So a friend of mine suggested sewing the tie in place so that is what I did. I threading the tie where I wanted it and then sewed on top of the tie in the loop.

Now clip all the extra threads and you are finished. Now my kiddos can take baths all they want.

St Patrick's Day Table runner

2011-02-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

The other day my four year old said to me "Mom I wish it was the day the leprechauns steal gold." So I told her we there was actually another holiday before St Patrick's Day called Presidents Day. Well she didn't think that one sounded very fun, so I told her we could decorate for St Patrick's Day as soon as February was over, but that we could start making some decorations now. That made her happy, so I have started on more St Patrick's Day decorations. I made a table runner.
To start I used three different fabrics that I liked. I cut the fabric into 5 inch squares. I cut 9 squares from each fabric for a total of 18 squares.

I then arranged the squares into a pattern I liked. I tried both a rectangle and a square to see what I liked better. The square one finished is about 23 inches

The rectangle one is about 40 inches long and 14 inches wide. To make the triangle pieces I just cut the square piece in half diagonally and then for the smaller triangle on the very ends I cut each diagonal in half again.

After you have the pieces arranged how you like then pick up one row and sew it together. I used a 1/4 in seam. Then sew all your rows together.

Once all the pieces are sewn together lay the from part on a larger piece of fabric and trace around it. This will give you the back. If you want you can place a thin layer of batting in the middle. Then you "Stitch in the ditch" which means you sew on the top of your fabric where the seams are. You sew the front batting and back pieces together on the right side of the fabric going along all your squares.

finish your table runner by using biased tape around the edge to give it a nice finish.

St Patrick's Day Subway Art

2011-02-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

So now that Valentine's Day is over I have decided to start getting ready for St. Patrick's day. My Sister-in-law showed me Subway art, and I think I like the stuff. I found it is fun to make, So I made one for Valentines day and now I have made a St. Patrick's day one as well.
I hope I did the 4shared download right, So if you want one here is the link
http://www.4shared.com/photo/H45hkHil/St_Patricks_Day_subway_art.html
This is for the jpg version.