Sewing a fabric book for baby

A cute little gift to sew with love, and a nice way to use up some of your fabric scraps!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-Some colorful fabric scraps

-Assorted thread

-Batting, not too thick. You could also use polar fleece.

-Fabric glue or sticky fusible web 

-For the embroidery machine version: you can download my embroidery files for free

-For the sewing machine or hand sewing version, go to the download page and choose the files handembroidery 1 and 2. They're templates you can print.

All the files can be found here.

Of course you could also design your own.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Decide what your book will look like, page by page. For an 8 page book, you'll need 4 rectangles of fabric. For a square shaped 15cm book, cut four 32cm x 17cm fabric rectangles (this includes the 1cm seam allowances). The page order is illustrated here.

2. If you use the paper templates, transfer them on you fabric using some tracing paper and a tracing wheel or a sharp pencil. Cut. Place the pieces on your rectangles of fabric in the order shown in the first drawing. Use fabric glue or sticky fusible web to hold them in place temporarily. Sew them with a narrow zigzag or a simple straight stitch. Don't forget to leave space for the seam allowances when placing the designs.

For page one, draw, cut and sew letters to write the baby's name or embroider a nice message. :) 

If you use the machine embroidery files, place the applique fabric on top of the book fabric and embroider. If you want to use several different fabrics in a single animal, here's how to do it. The machine will first embroider the design as a single line. Pause the machine after that first step and arrange your fabrics using the line as a guide. Restart the embroidery. When it's done, cut the excess fabric as close as possible to the embroidery. If you're like me, you may need a little practice and patience to get good results : I recommend doing some tests on scrap fabric first.

3. When all the appliques are done, put two pages right sides together (1-8 with 2-7, 6-3 with 4-5), and place your batting underneath. Sew as shown, keeping a short space free for turning.

4. Trim the fabric close to the corners.

5. Turn inside out, fold the free seam allowances on the inside and press.

6. Topstitch close to the edges.

7. Assemble your pages with a straight stitch in the middle. For closing the book, you can sew a nice ribbon or add a piece of fabric with snaps or velcro on the side. You can add it after the book is done or catch it between pages 1-8 and 2-7 on step 3 (if this sounds confusing, just leave me a note and I'll add a drawing).

Happy sewing!

Christmas stocking for a little girl

Here's a fairytale stocking to give your favorite little princess.

INSTRUCTIONS

Download the free pattern here and tape it together, joining the crosses and putting the green letters side by side.

Cut the pieces as shown:

1: cut 2

2: cut 2

3: cut 2

4: cut 1

5: cut 10

6: cut 10

You will also need some narrow ribbon and some lace (optional).

Pieces #2, #3 and #5 can be cut in the same fabric if you prefer.

All seam allowances are in red on the pattern and are 1.5cm wide except for piece #4 which is 6mm.

For both sides of the stocking sew piece #2 on piece #1 using a satin stitch or short zigzag.

Sew both pieces #2 right sides together. Do the same for pieces #3 and turn that part inside out.

Sew the lace as shown or finish the hem by folding the edge and topstitching.

Fold piece #4 in two.

Sew 6mm from edge and turn using a safety pin.

Fold the tube in two as shown.

Sew both parts of the stocking together, right side facing wrong side, inserting the folded tube in between the layers (you may align it with the side seam or place it in the middle as shown).

Turn inside out.

Cut five ribbon pieces and place them on the stocking with the flowers (pieces #5 and #6) on top. They may be glued or sewn on.

Eco-friendly recycled wool quilt

This warm and comfy quilt is made entirely from recycled materials.

You can play with patterns and textures, make it small or large, muted or funky. It's a fun, creative and inexpensive project.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Several wool sweaters (don't use cotton or synthetics, they won't felt)

A sheet or blanket for the lining

Another sheet or large fabric scrap that will be cut in strips for binding the blanket edges

If you're using a sheet or thin fabric for the lining, you could use quilt batting to make it thicker. I used fleece as my lining so it wasn't necessary.

The number of sweaters you'll need depends on the final size you want for your quilt. Keep in mind they'll shrink a lot when felted.

For a baby quilt like the one in the picture, I used 6 large sweaters.

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS

1. If you don't have enough old sweaters on hand, try garage sales or goodwill.

Don't forget to look through men sweaters, they're usually larger which is good.

Machine wash them in hot water with soap and put them in the dryer.

2. Cut the felted sweater into squares - the size is up to you. They will be easier to combine and sew if they're all the same size.

Of course you can use other shapes if you prefer.

Place the squares on the floor and decide how you'll combine them.

3. Sew the squares together as shown using a zigzag stitch, letting them overlap just a little. Assemble the squares into strips.

4. Sew the strips together using a zigzag stitch.

5. Place your work on top of the lining, wrong sides together. Put your batting in between if you chose to use some.

Pin and assemble by sewing over the zigzag stitches with a straight stitch.

Pinning is important so that both layers remain flat against each other.

6. Edges:

Cut four fabric strips. They should be 6 times larger than your desired binding width and a bit longer than each corresponding blanket edge.

Fold the strips in two and press. Sew the first strip along one edge as shown, on the lining side of the quilt.

7. Fold against the right side, pin and edgestitch as shown. Do the same thing with the opposite edge.

8. Finish with the two remaining edges, folding and sewing the ends as shown.

I used this tutorial as my inspiration.

Sew cute bloomers for your baby or toddler

This fun project doesn't require a lot of fabric so you can recycle old t-shirts and tops instead of buying new fabric. The bloomers in the picture are cut in one of my sister's old tops.

Use only stretch fabric for this project.

PATTERN AND CUTTING

For a 3 year old, print the pattern so that the reference line on the right measures 10cm.

Scale it up or down for an older or younger child (you won't need to scale it a lot).

A: Cut 1 in main fabric

B: Cut 2 in main fabric

C: Cut 1 in main fabric

D: Cut 1 in contrasting fabric - optional

E: Elastic, 1cm wide or narrower (enough for waist and both leg openings, depends on your toddler's size)

Dotted lines: place on fabric fold

Red lines = seam allowances

Grey areas = wrong side

White areas = right side

Illustration 1 shows how to place the pieces on the fabric fold (use a different fabric for piece D). However, there are better ways to do it if you want to save fabric.

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS

Sew the heart or any other appliqué you like on piece A, using a zigzag stitch. Don't place it too close to the edges.

Cut your elastic. Waist: your child's waist circumference minus 3cm (I cut 42cm for my 3 year old).

Leg openings: your child's thigh circumference minus 1.5cm (26 cm for my 3 year old).

Assemble piece A and both pieces B as shown, sewing 1cm from the edges. If your machine doesn't have a stretch stitch, use a very narrow zigzag stitch.

When you're done, roll up piece A so that it stays out of the way.

Sew piece C as shown, right side facing up, 1cm from the edges.

Trim the seam allowances to reduce bulkiness.

Turn inside out.

Sew 1cm from the edges. Trim and finish sides with a zigzag stitch if you like.

Fold the waist edge as shown (1.5cm wide). Sew along the edge with a narrow zigzag, leaving a 3cm hole to insert the elastic.

Attach a safety pin to the elastic and slide it inside waistband.

Sew the elastic ends together, tuck it in and finish the waist.

Do the same for the remaining elastics.

Please note that the panties in the first pic were finished using a serger. With an ordinary machine and the zigzag stitch method described in the tut, it will look more like this (use a narrower elastic for a more discreet finish):

Make a crochet roll

This cute crochet hook roll is quick to sew.  Decorate it with embroidery of fabric paint for a more sophisticated look.

PATTERN

A: cut 1 in main fabric and 1 in contrast fabric. You can cut it longer if you have lots of hooks to store (make sure piece B is the same length).

B: cut 1 in main fabric

C: cut 1 in main fabric

D: ribbon or yarn, cut 1

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS

1. If you want to embellish your roll with embroidery or fabric paint, do it before you start sewing (on right side of piece A, main fabric).

2. Fold, press and topstitch pieces B and C as shown.

3. Fold and press pocket as shown. Sew pocket on piece B, right side up. Topstitch vertically to create divisions.

4. Place piece B over piece A (both must be right side up). Pin. Topstitch as shown to create divisions.

5. Assemble the roll, right sides together. If you embroidered or painted the fabric, make sure your art isn’t upside down (I made that mistake twice!) Sew as shown, leaving 10cm open for turning. When you’re done, trim the corners a little to make turning easier.

6. Turn the roll inside out and press. Topstitch all around. Attach the ribbon.

If you find your crochet hooks have a tendency to slide out, you can either roll it tighter or fold the top part over the hooks before rolling.

Simple tote for groceries

This sturdy tote features a large, comfortable strap, handles and a pocket to store your change. It can be embellished with appliqués, embroidery or fabric paint. It doesn't take a lot of time to sew and makes a nice, practical gift for friends and family.

SEWING PATTERN AND INSTRUCTIONS: