Fabric Yo-Yo's

Fabric Yo-Yo's

I found a great tutorial on this website.
Great pictures.

And that's what I used to make these:

Use hot glue to attach some yo-yo's to the front of a blank card. I attached some ribbon first for some added color.



You could also attach a yo-yo to a paper clip to use in your office to bundle papers or you can use one as a book mark.



Or you can add some to your favorite black dress.
Or a shirt, or a purse, or anything else you think of.

Diaper/Wipes Case

Source: Love it and Make it

YAY!!!! We're up and running again. You never realize how much you use the internet until you don't have it any more. I even rely on it to get my recipes for dinner some nights. I had all the ingredients Monday night for a recipe that I found online but then couldn't make it without the internet. Darn.

So, my latest creation has been a fun one. (come one, which ones aren't fun?? haha!) I have seen homemade wipes cases all over the place. (and directions too.....just google it, you'll see) So cute. Nice and chic. Yup, everyone's got one. But I have 2 kids in diapers: a boy and a girl. So I couldn't decide whether to make it girly or boyish. Then, I decided to make it both. Along with some diaper cases.....one for each child in the coordinating fabric.




What you'll need to make all 3 things:

• 1/4 yard of fabric of each of the two colors
• 1/2 yard lining, any color you like
• 1 empty wipes case
• felt
  
• sewable velcro
• ribbon/embellishments for wipes case
• thread
• hot glue gun
  
• sewing machine
• scissors
  

***Adjust quantities if you only want one diaper case.
***Also, measure your fabric and decide where you're going to cut what, before cutting. You don't want to waste fabric.


First of all, I am using the Huggies brand diaper wipes portable case. (If you can't find any at your local stores, here's a LINK to some on Amazon.) Measuring along the top, down to the middle of each side, I decided that I needed pieces of fabric that were 9 x 5 inches. So the diaper case, if you're not sewing strips together, is pretty fast and simple. Just cut out a piece for the top and bottom that are 9 x 5 inches and then skip the next part.

If you do want the strips, cut 3 pieces of 2 x 5 inch rectangles, in each color. So you have 6 strips total. Sew them together, using a 1/4 inch seam. Iron flat.




Now, cut out 2 pieces of felt that are 9 x 5 as well. Glue your piece of felt to the top of wipes case, being sure to center it in the very middle of the piece of felt, and then trim around the felt. The felt doesn't need to go down the sides at all. It serves its purpose of covering up that center opening thingy (you know what I'm talking about?) and makes the top slightly softer. Also it hides the glue marks. Then hot glue your top piece (your stripped together piece or your plain one) on top of the felt.



TIP: Just glue a little bit at a time so that your glue is nice and hot while attaching the fabric to the felt, creating a secure hold. Trim this fabric as well, but a little longer, making sure that it almost reaches the middle of the sides. Do the same thing to the bottom.

And it's okay if it's not perfectly straight or doesn't line up with the middle exactly. See look, here's mine. Don't try to perfect this part.....it'll get covered up anyway.



Then attach a wide piece of ribbon to the top, making it just as long as the fabric. Then glue some thin ribbon around the upper and lower edge, hiding all of those edges of fabric (and your ends of wider ribbon). Take your time and only glue a little at a time, to make sure your are attaching your ribbon to HOT glue. This will help it stay in place permanently. Just don't burn those little fingers. Ouch.



I started and finished at the back, to hide the ends.



Oh yeah, glue (or you could hand stitch) some embellishments to the top. I added a fabric yo-yo from this project and a button. I've realized you can use these little yo-yo's on anything. Cute.





Okay, on to the case.

To make one case you'll need:

• Front piece - 8 x 12 inches
• Back piece - 8 x 15 inches

Cut out a front piece in your outer fabric and your lining fabric. And a back piece in both as well. So you'll have 4 total pieces of fabric for one case. If you're making two diaper cases like I did, cut out another two pieces of the front and two pieces of the back. Go it?

Now, we'll begin with the outer fabric. Sew the front piece to the back piece, right sides together. (1/2 inch seam allowance)




Then sew along the sides and the bottom, where the two fabrics meet. Do the same thing to the lining. That extra section of pink sticking out, will become your flap.

Ultimately, what you're going to end up doing, is attach the lining with the outer fabric at the openings, with right sides together. You're not going to sew it closed completely, so that you can turn it right side out. So, place your front piece and your back piece together, with the right sides of the top flap together. Pin the two flaps together. Now, be patient with your fingers (and me) with this next part. You're going to also pin together the sides (where they meet at the seam), and then your fabric jets out at a 90 degree angle. Pin it here (where the front opening/lip will be on your finished product) as well as about an inch in on each side. Your going to leave the rest open, so that you can turn it right side out. Sew all along here, taking your time to match everything up.



Here's a picture of the front opening.
(Don't let my pictures confuse you.....I switched between the pink and green cases because I kept forgetting to take pictures of the one or the other at certain steps. Sorry.)



(Sorry, back to the pink) Be really careful while sewing the corners where that front opening meets the lining. I'm not talking about the corner on the flaps, though those should be precise too. I'm talking about 3 inches down, where the front edges meet. Make it a nice crisp corner or it will look sloppy when you're all through.



Up a little closer, here's the corner I'm talking about. Also, make a diagonal cut, almost to the thread. This will help everything lay flat when you turn it right side out.



Now trim all of your corners, so that when you turn it right side out, your corners will look crisp. Don't know what I'm talking about? Sorry, I didn't take a picture. But here's a picture from the nursing cover tutorial.




Okay, now turn the pink (or green) piece right side out, sticking a pencil down into the corners, to poke them out nicely. Then shove the the lining (brown in my case) down into the outer fabric. It should look more like a case now. Fold down the fabric at the opening and pin it into place. Iron if necessary.

Now, you're going to sew all along this opening, really close to the outer edge.



Then, attach your velcro to the flap, and the front opening/lip.



Add your diapers.



And you're done. If you're anything like me......you probably have several diapers swimming around your diaper bag. Annoying when you're in a hurry to find the right diaper. Now they are tucked away in their little cases, ready for a quick bum change. Perfect, really.

Felt Hair Clips

Source: Make it and Love it

Do you know a little girl who loves putting clips in her hair?



Want to make some?

Come on, of course you do......who doesn't have/know a little girl that could use some loveliness??

They are a fuss free project. And no sewing machine skills required. Only a little hand sewing......and only if you want to. Completely optional. :o)


You'll need:

• Snap Clips (no idea what they are really called)

• Variety of Felt

• Thread

• Hot Glue

• Buttons/Beads/Etc

First, cut out your background piece of felt (using the clip as a sizing guide), that will later be attached to the clip.



Cut out whatever sort of shapes you'd like to place on top of your background piece.



Stitch around your shapes with some thread and add any buttons, beads, etc.



(I used these little beads for the eye.)


Stitch around the main background piece, just to finish off the look. Then attach the whole thing to your metal clip, by stitching on each end. (Mine had little holes to stitch through but you could also just loop it around a section of the clip.) Be sure to only go halfway through the felt while attaching the clip to it, so you don't see any of the thread on the other side.



Then I dabbed a little hot glue over my knots, just to secure them. And really, you could use any type of glue. I just love my 'ol glue gun. She serves me well!!



Then cut out another piece of felt that is the same color and shape as your main background piece. Make a slit on one end and slide the skinny part of your clip through. (Can you see the slit in my picture? If not, click on the picture to enlarge it.)





Glue this piece of felt to the main piece, right around the edges. This just keeps everything clean and neat.




Then, clip right in to your little lady's hair.

So Lovely.

Stuffed Animal Part II

Source: Make it and Love it

.

Now for the Giraffe.
(A continuation of yesterday's post.)




I guess it doesn't take a lot more explaining but here's another cuddly little friend for you all.

Cut out your giraffe, the same way you cut out your elephant.





But now, you'll need to make sure and add your ribbon to the neck, as well as the tail.



Then pin right sides together, with lots of pins. Because remember......the minky slides around a lot.





Sew all the way around, leaving a 3 inch opening along the back.



Turn right side out, pushing the legs and head out with the eraser end of a pencil and stuff full of batting.



Hand stitch that opening closed and you're........



......done.

Scrap-Pieced Baby Bib

Source: Make it and Love it

First of all.......did you notice the new look? Okay, it's only slight, so maybe you didn't. But I just wanted to mention that there are actual buttons under the blog header now, that will direct you to different sections of the blog. I think the most helpful will the the FAQ section as it is taking me longer and longer to get back to some of you that have asked me questions. (sorry!) Hopefully this section will help answer your questions sooner. Also, some of you weren't aware that I had an email address listed before. I'll admit, it was a little tricky to find before. But now, there's a link right up there are the top. (So if you've been getting updates on your google reader about new posts.......that's why. It's because of these new buttons. Tricked you.) Also, I have been playing around with section header on the sides but am not sold on what I have up right now. So yeah, I'll probably change it 17 more times before I leave it alone.
:o)


On to the BIB.....


Wow, it's been baby central around here lately. Lots and lots of baby items. Here's one more for you all. I know there is always a baby shower to go to.......so these tutorials might come in handy for you. Or maybe you have a drooler that always wears a bib.

Might be fun to have a sassy little bib on your little one.



You'll Need:
(This totally depends on what size bib you'd like to make)

• Scrap pieces of fabric
• Larger piece of fabric for backing
  
• Thin quilt batting
• Velcro
• Thread
• Sewing Machine

Now, the way I did it, is I traced around one of my little guy's bibs.....but made it a little longer. Then I traced around it again but added another 1/4 inch, for the seam allowance. Oh, and I also adjusted the 2 end pieces to come out as squared ends. Why? I just like the look of it. No other reason. :)





***If you don't want to trace or you don't have a bib to trace around, I found a great bib pattern/tutorial online that you could use HERE. I'm not sure how big it is or how easy the instructions are because I just wanted to hurry and measure off of a bib that I knew fit my little guy. So I just traced. It's up to you though. Both ways will work great, I'm sure.***

Okay, getting back to work........
Then I cut out my paper pattern and laid it down next to some scrap pieces that I kind of fit together and trimmed and made sure that they would be big enough, including 1/4 inch seam allowances. This is where you can get really creative and abstract. Try making just stripes, maybe all squares, maybe just one strip along the bottom, or how about all sorts of shapes......might be fun to experiment with. And if you do......send me a picture. I would love to see what all of your creative minds come up with.





Then iron your pieced fabric flat. Then cut out your bib front, using your pattern.





Then cut out a back piece from one solid piece of material and also a piece from your batting.



Then place your 2 fabrics together, with right sides together and then lay your batting on top.



Pin in place.



Sew around the entire bib (all 3 pieces), leaving about 4 inches open at the bottom.



Trim around the curve of the bib so that it will lay flat after you turn it right side out.



And then trim off the corners of the 2 end pieces.



Turn right side out and shove a pencil into the ends, to poke the corners out nice and sharp. (Be careful not to puncture your fabric.) Then fold down the fabrics of the opening and pin closed.



Now, sew around the entire bib, close to the edge. Then, attach some velcro to the 2 end pieces and add buttons to the front. The buttons are totally optional and impractical really. But they sure add a fun little touch to the bib.

Now place on your baby to protect that brand new white shirt........or any color. (If you have a baby.....you know they've stained about a million of them. Seriously.)