Velour Satin backed Blankie

So Boo (our almost 2 year old), fell in love with a blanket I made her when she was a few months old. It is a velour blanket with a satin self binding back. She is attached to it so much so that it was becoming hard to wash it. My timing had to be just right so that it would be clean and dry at both night time and nap time.  So just this last week I made her a second. She calls it her "Kiki," which is about the cutest thing ever right?

This time when I made it I took some pictures of how I did it. Not the most impressive of projects but a quick easy one to do and makes a nice baby shower gift too.

-First gather your supplies.
-1 yard Velour or Minky fabric (I'm using bubble velour)
-1.5 yards Crepe Back Satin (it has kind of a cotton backing on it and is machine wash and dry able don't confuse it for the satin in the dress/apparel section).
-Coordinating thread.
-Tape measure
-Pins
-Scissors

Pre-wash your fabrics!!! This is so important or else you will get shrinking of different amounts when you do launder your blanket (and baby blankets get laundered A LOT). Then iron the satin fabric.

Triangle method for square cutting.

For my blanket I chose to make it square about 36"x36" and it has a 2" satin binding trim around it. So for cutting the fabric I measured a 36"x36" square from my velour fabric. I did this by folding a triangle with my fabric and checking the 2 sides adjacent to the right angle were both 36." ( I forgot to take a picture of this but it looks just like the picture for the next step only with the bubble velour fabric.)

The satin it needed to be 4' larger on all sides. You can either lay out your satin with the velour on top and measure 4" around all sides and cut or used the same method as above (with the triangle) and make sure your 2 sides adjacent to the right angle are both 44" (36+8).



Now lay your 2 fabrics down and center the velour on top of the satin with the wrong sides together.

Conrail you can thank me for the plug latter.

With a ruler measure that you have 4" on all sides of your satin fabric. It is also important to make sure your satin is lying flat or you will get lumps and bumps in your backing once sewed. Trim any extra if you have it.







To make the binding just fold your satins raw edge to the edge of the velour...

and then fold it over one more time.










For the corner it is easiest just to show you a picture. But here's the best way I can think of to describe it. Fold the edge you have been working on all the way to the end of the fabric. (As if more blanket was there but it is the 4" of satin on the next side)

Now make a corner by laying the outer edge of the binding fabric along the new edge (the next side) right along the velour fabric.

Then fold your next sides raw edge in to the velour.

Then over again (like you were doing for the binding originally) to form your corner.

 Pin, Pin, Pin to hold the corner. Continue folding in the binding till all 4 sides are done. The more pins the better to hold the slippy silky fabric in place and keep it from causing unsightly bulges in your stitching. (My picture doesn't have enough pins, I added more and should have added even more cause I had a few tucks in the satin when I stitched).

Speaking of stitching. Now is the time. Stitch with a straight stitch about 1/8"-1/4" from the edge of the binding starting in a corner. I just lined it up to the edge of my presser foot cause that was easier. A walking foot may have made this easier but I don't have one. So I just had to make due with what I had.

That's all you have to do, but if you choose to you can use a ladder stitch to close the mitered corners on the binding. I haven't done this on either of my blankets and it hasn't been a problem.

Hope your little one enjoys the blanket.

Flannel Rag Quilt

Well this is about the 4th rag quilt I have made. I have found some tutorials online but well can the Internet really have too many tutorials?

If you have never tried quilting and have limited sewing skills (like I can only sew in a straight line) then a rag quilt is perfect for you. It doesn't have to be perfect and you really only have to sew in a straight line.

So here are the materials you need...
These measurements are for a baby sized rag quilt approx 31"x46"

1.25 (44" wide) yards of flannel for the back of the quilt
1.25 (44" wide) yards of flannel for the middle of the quilt (this can be neutral or contrasting)
1.75 (44" wide) yards of flannel for the top of the quilt (I break this up a bit and use different fabrics)
            in this quilt.... .5 of the Green Bugs, .5 of the Blue Bugs, .75 of the yellow gingham.
Thread (either matching or contrasting it is up to you
Raging spring loaded scissors
Roller Cutter, cutting board and ruler (optional you can use scissors and a ruler too)
Washer and Dryer

Step 1:
Cut your fabric. I sued 6" squares for this quilt.
Cut 48 for the back, 48 for the middle, 48 for the top (for this quilt 12 Green, 12, Blue, 24 Yellow)



Step 2:
Layout your quilt. Depending on how you are designing your top you may need to play around with placement or your squares. For this one I used a diagonal pattern as you see in the picture. For my quilt I did 8 rows of 6 squares each. (I admit this quilt is actually only 6x6 since I was short one of my fabrics but the point is the same).

Stack the rows together.

Each row is now in a stack.

This just shows the order

Step 3:
Make your sandwiches.
Place a bottom, middle and top piece together (keep the tops in order of your rows for your own sanity latter). You want to lineup your sandwiches the best you can. The picture shows you the order (and the bottom piece is face down) don't have it all spread out like this.
NOTE: When placing the sandwiches together make sure the bottom is right side OUT and top is right side OUT, the middle doesn't matter.

Step 4:
Pin squares together. Bottoms together and top side out. This is back wards for what most sewers do and put the right sides together and hide the seam in the back. Here we don't want to do that we want the seam on the top.



Step 5:
Sew each square in the rows together with 1/2" seam allowance.

Seams going in opposite ways.

Step 6:
Pin rows together.
Hint... Make sure you keep you seams going the same way through out it will make life easier. I fold the top seam over  one way and the bottom seam the other (bottom going with the sewing machine cause it is easy that way.)

Step 7:
Sew rows together with 1/2" seam allowance. Make sure to back stitch  at the end of each row.

Zigzag Binding

Step 8:
Add a binding around the edge. Some people use an actual binding, I don't I just use a binding stitch. In this case a simple zigzag stitch about 1/2" from the edge of the quilt all the way around to hold the edges together.

Step 9:
Clip the seam allowances about every 1/4" on ALL your seams. You will want to use those spring loaded ragging scissors now or you will get blisters and a cramp in your hand for sure. Make sure at the corners you only clip in one direction where they meet or you will end up with a hole in the seams.
Hint... Have a system for doing this part so you don't miss any seams.

Step 10:
Machine wash and Dry your quilt.
Do this with NOTHING else in the washer or dryer as it will loose lots of piece of string, and you will be picking it off of other things forever.
Dry it on a medium setting to really help the ragging fluff nicely.

Step 11:
Check your seams to make sure you didn't accidentaly clip any seams. If you did then sew over those again so your quilt wont have a hole (I always have to do this no matter how careful I am).

Your quilt is now finished.

My Other Martha Hat (no I'm not Martha obsessed)

So I made the "jester hat" for my older daughter but for my younger one (who can't make her own decisions) it will be a simple standard 1 pom-pom hat.

As I mentioned in my 1st post. These hats are both taken straight from Martha Stewart's website. The link is here if you would just rather look there. I am using the Solid color hat pattern and there are no mistakes that I found in this pattern (unlike the jester hat where I did find she missed one step).

So what did I need:
Fleece (not much but I bought a yard and could make many)
Matching thread
Pins
Sewing machine (or lots of patience)
Tape measure
Scissors

Step 1: Cutting
I did measure my child's head to know what size to make. K is almost 1 so I wasn't sure if I should use the 6-12 Month size or the 1-3 years size. I went with the larger size of the 6-12 and use 19".

If you are measuring instead of using the given measurements then please add 1/2" to the measurement for the seam allowance.

Cut one piece the width of the head you are fitting (or use Martha's size suggestions), by the length of 10 for a child and 13 for an adult hat.

My piece was 19x10

Step 2: Sewing

All but one section turned up 3" and under 1/4"

1. Pin the long side  (though mine is actually the short side but it is the side of the length of the hat) with right sides together.
2. Sew up the side a 1/4" seam allowance
3. Trim very close to the seam
4. Turn up the hat (to make the cuff) 3" then under turn 1/4" (so no raw edges are showing.)
5. Pin and sew very close the the hem of the cuff.
6. Now pin and sew the top of the hat with a 1/4" seam.

Step 3: Finishing
1. Turn hat right side out.
2. With a needle and thread sew the two corners of the hat together  at the top of the hat.

Step 4: Pom Pom
1. Cut a piece of fleece about 4"x24" (for a large pom pom I used about 17" for a little smaller pom pom)
2. Fold the strip in half width wise and cut frays into the fleece.

3. Roll the fleece.

4. Sew it together by putting the needle through from one side to the other then wrap the thread around the pom pom a few times and re thread the needle through the pom pom.

5. Attach the pom pom to the top of the hat.

Here is your finished hat (actually this is my hat but yours is done now too).

My Martha Stewart Hat

So last fall when I was pregnant with our now almost 1 year old K, I wanted to make matching winter hats for the kids. So I searched the Internet for some fleece hat patterns. I found a few and tried out a couple before deciding that Martha Stewart's design was the best. I found the write up on line to be a little confusing and it actually had some mistakes in it but the idea was enough to get me going.

Now we are a year latter and both the girls have grown and don't fit in their hats anymore but I really wanted some more matching hats. So we picked out a fabric (actually S, our 4 year old, had most of the input on the fabric) and I just got started on them today. I finished the hat for S. She also got to pick out what design she wanted. Martha has a few designs, a traditional with a pompom on top, a boxy hat with 2 pompoms on either side, and a "jester" hat with 3 pompoms (amongst others). But they all start with the same basic design.

You will want to check out Martha's Post for lost of the details, like how big to make your hats for different ages and such, but I'll be giving you some pictures and notes on the ones that I am making.

S picked out the Jester hat. She thinks it looks like a crow so that is why she chose that.

As you will see out fabric has a very defined pattern to it so I had to modify some of the steps to make my hat look nice.

Step 1: Measuring and Cutting.
Martha says to cut 4 pieces but since I was using all one fabric I ignored that and cut the fabric in the width (child size was 20") plus the 1/4" seam allowance (on both sides) by the length (Child size 10" but I used 11" since my child is a little older).

You can also follow Martha's guides for measuring your child or yourself for a hat too.

Step 2: Sewing
With right sides facing, fold the fabric in half width wise, pin, and stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Trim the seam allowance closely (since fleece doesn't fray you can get close and still have the seam hold forever).

Here is where Martha seems to make a mistake in her tutorial, She says that you now go straight to making the points in the hat but then never gives a place to turn up the cuff on the hat. So now we are going to turn up the cuff of the hat. Fold the bottom of the hat up (still with the right sides facing) 3" then pin.

Fold under 1/4" (so there is a nice clean edge) and pin frequently around the hat.

Sew very close to the edge of the cuff line around the hat.

Step 3: Measuring and Cutting
Take a crown measurement (from one ear to the other over the head like you are wearing earmuffs).

Find the center line of your hat (I had to add this step since I didn't have a center seam)

With a soft tape measure hold one end at the bottom left corner and arc the other end over (to your crown measurement) to the bottom right corner.

Measure up from the highest point on the arch 3" and that will be your bottom line for the points.

Measure up from the bottom line (you just drew) 1 1/2" (for a child's hat) or 2"( for an adults hat). That is your high point.

Now connect the high points to the low points in a V shape (I found the center point on each half and used a straight edge to connect the points).

Sew along the line you drew. Trip the extra very close to the seam)

Turn your hat right side out.

Step 5: Pompoms.

Martha's Pompom description is great for this.

I made my pompoms 2" wide on this hat. My strips were about 10"x2"

Cut 3 Strips

Fold strip in half and then clip leaving about 1/4" of unclipped area in the center.

Roll the strip

Sew through the pompom and wrap thread around the pompom a few times

Sew the pompoms on the hat and poof you are done!

Little Mermaid Costume Pt. 2

Well I finished it and S has been living in the costume since then. I think it was a hit. She is a little bummed that the top is not actually a bra but a shirt (she is 4 and it is Fall in the north country so there was no way that was happening anyway). I made the shirt adjustable with ties in the back so it could go over a jacket or be let out as she grows.

I used the same fabric as I did for the fin except in a blurple (blue purple) color, and I can now say I will never use this fabric again. I hatted it. It was hard to sew without puckering and pulling the fabric, couldn't be ironed without basically melting (even on my lowest setting), and is only dry cleanable. Luckily I only spent 2.50 on it, so if I ever have to replace this fabric I can without worrying about how expensive it was.

Materials: 1 yard of fabric for the top, I used the shinny blurple I described above, but bathing suite fabric would be ideal for this or something else that has a little stretch (I guess I'm not that smart).
4 yards of ribbon (or bias binding). I used a sheer teal color. Matching thread, pins, paper and a pencil.
So how did I do it.

Step 1: Measuring
- Measure around your child's chest (not too tight or anything) we'll call this #W
- Measure from how high on their chest you want it to how low (i.e. how tall the top will be). Here if you want to to be more of  a crop to you could) we'll call this #H.
- I also measured from the center of her chest to under her arm (in a line parallel to the floor not sloped) so I would know how far I had to slop the pattern down to the back part.
- Measure from the top of your child's chest H measurement over the shoulder to the center of her back about half way down (where the top of the shirt will come in the back), we'll call this #S.

Step 2: Making a pattern.
I decided to take some large paper and make a pattern for this step. I took my measurements and a pencil and went to work. I added 2" to all (except the under arm) measurements to allow for a 1" seam allowance (because of my horrible fraying and tricky to work with fabric) if you want a more traditional 5/8ths seam allowance then add about 1 1/4" to your measurement.
The pattern will be placed on the fold of your fabric so you will only be creating half the top (and therefore it will be symmetrical once cut.)

-To get the height of the patter measure up one edge of your paper H+seam allowance.
-Next measure on the adjacent edge (W/2)+seam allowance.
-From the far edge of the mark you just made draw a straight line up (H/2)+seam allowance.
-Now from the top mark (the first mark you made) and the top of your line you just made make a sloppy ski jump type line.
-Now is when you need the measurement you took to under your child's arm. you need to make sure you slopped quick enough but not too quick.
(Once you look at the picture this seems so much less confusing than actually explaining it. It is actually quite easy.)

Step 3: Cutting fabric.
Now cut out your pattern (you can hold it on your child to see if it will be about right just remember to hold it in the center of their chest).
Place the pattern with the H side on the fold of your fabric. Cut one piece.
Repeat so you have 2 of the same pieces (if you wanted you could do this in 2 different color fabrics.) Your top is going to be 100% reversible.

Cut your ribbon.
- 2 pieces at S+seam allowance.
- 4 pieces at about 8" (for tying the back together so give or take what you think you will need).

Step 4: Pinning

With right side of one of the shirt piece facing you pin one shoulder strap into place. I wanted about 4" between the straps so I measured from the fold line to the side 2" and placed the strap there and pined it. Line up the strap so it is even with the edge of your fabric and laying down the front of the shirt. Repeat on the other side.







With the same strap find the spot on the back you would like the strap (the closer together the better for keeping on the should but not close enough that it will be in your seam allowance (I did 1 1/2") and pin it there (it is tricky to find what way the strap should face so it goes smoothly over the shoulder without twisting but take the time to figure it out cause I didn't and had to use the ol' seam ripper). Repeat on the other side.

Next take 2 tie straps and place them on one of the sides and pin..


Now take your second top piece and lay it (with right sides together) over top the other piece and pin around the top, side (with the ties) and the bottom of the top. You will leave the one side open for turning.

NOTE: I added some extra ribbon on the bottom of the top you can too if you want. It just added a little more to it. Just pin it in when you are pinning all the ribbon for the straps and ties but keep it out of your seam allowance on either side. I used some liquid stitch on it so it wouldn't fray the ends.

Stitch around the 3 sides. and turn.






Now fold the seam allowance in on the raw edge and insert your ties and pin.

Top stitch around the entire piece.





I had to tie the ribbons so they wouldn't fray. And you are done!

Hope you and your little one enjoy.

Here is as back view. I had to take some extra ribbon to tie the should straps together in the back cause they were a little long and kept sliding off. If I were doing this again I may cross the straps over to the opposite side. But live and learn.