Owlie Howly Pacifier Leash Tutorial - Mother Crafter

Vanina from Mother Crafter is here to share her Owlie Howly Pacifier Leash Tutorial, today...

If you have a pacifier baby, you know how tiring it is to pick it up from the floor every 5 or 10 minutes and have to wash it. Or how easily they disappear when you need them and the sleep deprivation doesn't let you remember where you put it. Paloma likes her pacifier so we needed a clip or a leash, but didn't like the ones that are in the stores. And why would I buy it if I could make it? Better yet, if I could make it using stuff I already had at home. So I did a couple of leashes for her chupete (pacifier in Spanish) using the clips of some lanyards Michael got at a couple of special events and a piece of fabric. 

If you keep EVERYTHING and try to re-purpose EVERYTHING like me (you have a mess- hopefully an organized mess) and here it is- a use for those lanyards! It is so easy and fast that I would call this tutorial the Fast and Furious Tutorial! :) Before we get to it, I want to give a big thank you to my friend Julieta (Emma's mom) for the awesome pictures she took for this post. You will see next, they are amazing! You will need:

• Fabric
• Lanyard with clip
• Snap Fasteners (a kit or sew on)
• Plushie (This is optional. I used a keychain I bought at Old Navy at a Christmas Clearance in 2009. They were $1.47 each! So I bought four of them.)

 

Okay, Manos a la obra! Cut a 10 1/2" by 2 1/2" strip out of your fabric.

 

Fold in half lengthwise, right side together, and sew along the edge and along one of the short edges with a 1/4" seam. 

   

Turn the strip right side up. You can use a safety-pin - be careful if a baby is in you arms :) or just your fingers (I always use my fingers).

  

  

Iron it flat. Now disassemble the lanyard so you will only have the clip.  

   

 Fold the open edge of the fabric strip inside itself at about 1/4" and iron flat. 

   

Take your clip and fold the same end at about 2" over the clip.  

   

Pin and sew. Use your back-stitch setting in your sewing machine and sew it again to reinforce it.  

  

  

Next you will install the snaps, either with the tool and a hammer or by sewing them on, at the other end of the strip at about 2" apart. 

   

Now get your plushie and attach it to the clip. If you are using a keychain like I did use the ring to attach them together. I had two different clips so I am showing you both in the next picture (we took the picture before sewing the strip to the clips.

   

And you are done!  

  

Attach it to your baby's binky and go for a stroll to celebrate. We sure did it with Julieta and Emma!  

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Sunglasses Case Tutorial - Clippie Dips

Hi all! Amy from Clippie Dips here again! :) 

Now that I live in Texas, I use my sunglasses year 'round. Yes, even in the winter! Because of that, of course I had to make a cute little case to carry them around in! How could I not?! :) Today I'm going to show you how to make your own!

Supplies:

fabric scraps

felt scraps

sewing machine

rotary cutter and mat (optional)

scissors

thread

Cut (2) exterior fabric pieces 4” x 8”.

Cut (2) interior felt pieces 4” x 8”.

Cut (2) fusible fleece 3 ¾” x 7 ¾”.
**If you wear really large frames, you may want to measure your own sunglasses**

Iron fleece onto the wrong side of your exterior fabric pieces. 

Now is the time to embellish it the way you want. You all know how much I LOVE banners, so I cut out mini triangles, placed them on the front making sure to keep them inside the seam line. Then I pinned them and sewed them on.

Place exterior pieces right sides together and sew with a scant ¼” seam as shown.

Clip your corners and turn it right side out. Then set it aside.

Now, take your interior felt pieces and place them right side together. This time when we sew, we’re going to leave a 3” gap on the side as shown.  Sew as shown. Then, clip corners.

Take your exterior case piece and slip it inside the interior piece as shown.

Match up the seams and make sure it's even across the top and pin.

Sew all the way around the top with a ¼” seam, backstitching at the beginning and end.  This part can be tricky but thankfully it’s a short distance to sew. Go slowly!

Reach into the gap you left for turning, and pull the exterior out through the opening.

Pin the opening closed and sew as close to the edge as possible.

Push the lining down into your new sunglasses case! ALL DONE! Super easy, right?!

These are so quick to make and there are so many ways to embellish them! I know you're going to have so much fun making these! :)

Men's Remodeled T - Stone Cottage Adventures

Marci is here today from Stone Cottage Adventures... 

How exciting to become part of the Inspiration Cafe team!  I just can't stop grinning about it!

I have a new project for you, but first, let me set the scene!

Basic T-Shirts are a staple for Summer.  They are comfy and cool.  I struggle to find T's that fit because, well, let's face it.  This Old Gray Mare just ain't what she used to be!  I'm short.  I'm curvy and I'm not a size 2.  (sigh)  My budget isn't all that great either.

My solution?  Remake men's T-Shirts into ones that fit!  Sometimes I get lucky and find good ones at yard sales or thrift stores.  Have you noticed those packs of men's T's that are something like $10 for four shirts?  Those are GREAT for remodels.

Last August, I figured out how to turn a T into a Tank.

It saw a lot of wear when our temps were so brutal in late summer.



 Lil Fashionista got one, too!  Check it out here!

This graphic was a total score from Yards and Yards of Yard Sales and only cost $2.00.  It became A Boatneck,  my favorite shirt for grocery shopping early in the morning.  (Oh, and by the way...  If you are one of the people who wear their pajamas to the store, please stop it.  Sew yourself a cute T and get dressed.)

If you are interested in the other T-Shirt Remodels, check out my Sewing Page.

Are you ready for today's project?

It is a Maxi Dress!

All you need is:

one T-Shirt (two if you mess up the first one)
Fabric for the skirt

A Shirt or Dress that fits to use as a pattern.

 (Brace yourself.  My hair is naturally curly and it's really humid today!)

 I found a three pack of V neck T's on sale for only $5.00!  Score!

The first thing you need to do is try on the T you are going to remodel.  Does it fit anywhere?  I liked the fit of the collar, so I left that part alone. 

Using the same technique for My Basic T, I placed a dress I like on top of the T for a pattern.

I cut down and sewed the sides to fit.  The next part was kind of tricky.  Wanting an empire waist dress, the first try was cut  WWAAAYY  too short.  (It's a good thing I had three shirts!)  Back to the drawing board.  On the second try, I cut it about three inches longer and that worked out well.  What can I say?  My chest is about the size of Connecticut. 

Make sure the top part fits before adding the skirt.  You may have to start over!  'Just sayin'.

 I was torn about adding sleeves or not.  Thanks to messing up the first try, I experimented with cutting the shoulder just a little long.  I like that smidge of a cap.  I think I'm leaving the dress sleeveless.  I don't know.  Maybe I should cut it right and add a sleeve.  What do you think?

Next, the funky red fabric (found at a yard sale from Pickin' Time on 59  for 50 cents  WOO HOO!)  was measured about 1.5 times wider than the bottom of my remodeled T.  The red fabric was sewn up the sides to form a tube and then slightly gathered until it was the same width as the top.  With right sides facing, they were sewn together. 

Even with having to completely make over the top, this project only took one evening!

I picture this dress floating as I walk along a beach at sunset. Wait.  We don't have beaches in Arkansas.  Maybe I can wear it to Farmer's Market?

It's comfy, cool and vibrant!  Perfect for Summer!

Do you think I should change the sleeve?  What about accessories?  Which jewelry?  Belted, or no?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

What is your favorite summer outfit?

;-)  -Marci

Ruffly Waist Tie Skirt - Mammy Made

 Adele is here from Mammy Made, today...

 

Hi everyone. I'm Adele and I live in England with my two gorgeous babies, Leyla who is 4 and Naomie who is 2. I am so excited to be contributing to Inspiration Cafe again today!

I usually blog over at Mammy Made. I like to write about crafting, cooking and homeschooling, although I am only homeschooling part time at the minute. I have tons of tutorials on there so come by and say hi, I’d love to see you! I am also currently blogging about growing vegetables in my small back yard so come and check that out :)

This month, I would like to share a beautiful skirt I made last Easter for my eldest daughter. It turned out so cute and actually still fits her over a year later. She gets lots of compliments on it, which makes my day :)

Do you want to learn how to make one?

First of all, take your little girl's measurements. Mine were 20" waist and 11" waist to knee for my skinny 3 year old. These are the measurements I will be using in my tutorial today but I will show you how to easily change this to your measurements. 

Second, add 3" onto your waist to knee measurement. This is the length. The width will depend on how wide your material off the bolt is. Mine was 44" for the main piece and 58" for the ruffle. I didn't think you could get 58" wide material but apparently you can!

To make your own you will need:

• 1 x long rectangle, in colour A, measuring the full width of material" x length", mine ended up being 44"x14" (this is for the skirt)
• 1 x long rectangle, in colour B, measuring the full width of material" x 4", mine was 58"x4" (this is for the ruffle)
• 60" piece of sheer ribbon, mine was 1-1/4" wide

Cut the selvages off the large piece. This took my material to 43.5"x14". Fold the two short ends right sides together and stitch with a straight stitch followed by a zigzag stitch in the seam allowance. Oh, speaking of seam allowances, I always use a 1/4" seam allowance. It makes it much easier to just line my material up with the edge of my presser foot. I find I get much neater lines if I do it like that! Make sure you backstitch a few stitches at the beginning and end of your line of stitching. You will end up with a tube of material.

Make the hem on the bottom of your skirt. I always struggle getting perfect hems so I have come up with a cunning trick to make sure they are always perfect. I usually fold over 1/2" then another 1/2" so all raw edges are enclosed. To make sure I get this perfect, I take my washable marker and my long ruler and I draw a line 1" above the raw edge, all the way around. I then fold my raw edge up to meet the line and then over again, iron it down, and there I have my perfect hem. I like to stitch it with two lines as it looks more professional that way :) Remember to backstitch a few stitches at the beginning and end of each line of stitching.

To make your ruffle, cut your width x 4" material in half, lengthways, so you end up with two width x 2" pieces. Stitch the short ends, right sides together, with a straight stitch followed by a zigzag stitch in your seam allowance. You should end up with a really long, thin tube. Zigzag around both of the raw edges. You want one side of your zigzag to be on the material and the other side to be over the edge. This will stop the material from fraying. I went round both edges twice, to make double sure they wouldn't fray. You don't want to get your skirt out of it's first wash and realise your cute little ruffle is ruined! 

Set your stitch length to its longest then do a line of stitches right down the middle of the tube, making sure NOT to backstitch at the beginning and end of stitching. A nice little trick when making ruffles is to set your tension to the tightest, then stitch as above. Your fabric should automatically ruffle. Depending on how long your material is, you may have to further tighten it (I did because mine was especially long) but this way takes most of the work of ruffling out for you!

To attach your ruffle to your skirt, you want to mark the four quarters on the skirt and on the ruffle with pins. Match the pins, adjust the ruffles if needed then stitch down. I stitched mine just a little bit above the hem lines. Make sure you readjust your tension! I nearly didn't. I know a lot of people like to unpick their basting stitches once their ruffle is sewn on but I don't bother. I just try and line up the two rows of stitches as well as I can.

Nearly done :) Now you need to make your waistband. I used 1" wide elastic cut to my 20". To make the casing, you will need to fold over 1/2", iron down, then fold over another 1-1/2" and iron down. Pin down and then stitch as close to the top of your waistband as you can get, remembering to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching. Mark two points on your casing, preferably at the back seam, to insert your elastic through. I used a red pin and a green pin because I'm a geek like that. Start sewing at your green pin, remembering to backstitch a few stitches. Sew all the way around your casing, as close to the edge as you can get, until you get to the red pin. Backstitch! I know I've said it a lot but it's important to stop your stitches unravelling.

Take some 1" elastic and cut it to your waist measurement. For Leyla this was 20". Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic then insert it into the casing, Use your fingers to guide the pin around the casing until it comes out the other side. Overlap the elastic 1" and stitch together, making sure it is not twisted. Rearrange the gathers and try the skirt on your little girl. If it fits then great! If not then you will want to unpick the stitches on your elastic and shorten/lengthen it slightly.

Next you will want to stitch the opening in the casing shut. Pull the fabric tight and stretch the elastic. Make sure you do not stitch the elastic down when you're sewing or it will not gather! I learnt this the hard way back when I started sewing. Attach a label if you have one. I made mine out of cotton tape, a laundry marker and my iron! Nice and simple and it adds a professional touch.

Looks cute already, doesn't it? You could leave it like this if you wanted. I wanted to add a little bit more cute factor though and what better way than with a bow!

To make sure my ribbon was in the right place, I put the skirt on my little girl and tied the ribbon around her waist and into a bow. I made sure it was sitting right, then checked where the sides were on the skirt and pinned the sides of the ribbon exactly where I wanted them to fall. This makes the ribbon a bit gappy on the front when it's not on, but it needs that gap to stretch with the elastic when the skirt is on. I pinned two sides and one in the front, then I stitched two lines of straight stitch down the sides of the waistband.

I wasn't going to stitch the front because I thought it might look a bit messy but the ribbon kept sliding up so I had to in the end. It looks really nice though and I'm glad I did it. I just stretched the elastic out to match the ribbon again and sewed along the top and bottom. I think it looks quite fancy because it slightly ruffles the ribbon to match the waistband!

So there you have it. Your very own Ruffly Waist Tie Skirt for the very lucky little girl in your life :)

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial. Thank you so much to everyone behind Inspiration Cafe for letting me contribute again. It's been fun!