a few sewing projects for baby...

I didn't get to the vast majority of my baby project list before my little girl was born, but I did get a wee bit of sewing done this summer.

Here are a few of my popular reversible flannel receiving blankets...

Done in girlie fabrics, of course.

And I also made some center stripe changing pad covers.

This fabric reminds me of rick-rack. So cute.

And I made a quilt top using these lovely fabrics (and a few others not pictured)...

The quilt is basted and just sitting by my sewing machine, waiting to be quilted and bound. Hopefully I will get to that soon. But with a cuddle bug newborn and a potty training toddler to attend to, I have virtually zero time to myself these days. I'm just itching to tackle my to-do list...patience is difficult!

rick-rack trimmed car seat canopy...

I'm finally getting in gear and working on some baby girl projects.

HOORAY!

This car seat canopy turned out so gosh-darn cute.

This tutorial is very similar to my original car seat canopy, but I updated some of the measurements and added adorable rick-rack trim.

For this project you will need:

Two co-ordinating fabrics (1 1/4 yards each)

Jumbo rick-rack trim (5 yards)

Sew-on velcro

Contrasting thread

Start by cutting your co-ordinating fabrics into 40 x 35.5 inch rectangles.

Place them right sides together, then use a bowl to round the corners.

Pin your rick-rack around the inside edge of the bottom fabric.

(This is the most tedious part of the whole project. Blerg!)

I made sure I could see the edge of the fabric in each dip, but I wish I would have gone a little deeper. (It has to be pinned in farther than you think, so when you turn it right-side out, the trim actually shows.)

Next sew 1/4" all the way around, leaving a gap for turning.

Before you begin, you might want to iron your fabric WAY better than I did.  Haha. :)

Clip the corners to reduce bulk, then turn it right side out.

Press the entire canopy with your iron so it's nice and flat, then topstitch 1/8" all the way around.

Now for the straps...

Cut four 8 x 4 inch rectangles from one of your fabrics (I went with the contrasting print.), and press the top edge about 1/2" to the back.

Pin rick-rack to the right side of the fabric down each long side, leaving a little extra hanging over the top folded edge.  (You will tuck it in later.)

Pin one of the other 8 x 4 rectangles on top.

Sew 1/4" all the way around, leaving that top folded edge open for turning.

Clip the corners, turn right side out, and press with your iron.

Tuck in & pin the edges of the rick-rack at the top, then topstitch 1/8" all the way around the strap.

I actually did two rows of topstitching, just for cuteness.

Cut some approx. 2 inch pieces of velcro...whatever fits your finished strap best.

Sew one to the top of your strap, and then make sure to sew the other to the bottom of your strap on the opposite side, so when you fold the strap the hook and loop sides meet.

Next, you will need to position the straps so they will fit around the handle of your car seat. If you have the seat you are going to use, you can create a custom fit so the straps attach to the handle just the way you like. Here are the measurements I used:

(Be aware I like mine a little further apart so the straps aren't in the way of the hand grip. If you are making one as a gift, you may want to scootch them toward the middle a little bit.)

Now you just need to do three rows of stitching in the middle of each strap to secure them to the canopy...

...and you are DONE! :)

You can tote your sweet little guy or gal around in style!

Fabrics I used:

Floral--"Maisie" Blend Fabrics

Aqua Lattice--JoAnn

Coral rick-rack--JoAnn

homemade fleece minion hats...

I love a good do-it-yourself halloween costume.

And I also like to not kill myself making one.

So this is what I came up with for my little fam this year...

I used this free pattern from Fleece Fun and contrived my own minion embellishments--black pipe cleaners for hair and felt cutouts for facial features.  My son will wear his with a yellow onesie and overalls, while the hubs and I don simple yellow long sleeve tees.  (Adult overalls seemed like a horrifying investment...haha.)

Have a DESPICABLE Halloween! :)

adjustable fabric bunting...

Ummm...I accidentally took a 3-month-long blogging hiatus.

Whoops.

I guess I figured I wouldn't look back 20 years from now and wish I had blogged more often.  And I spent years praying for a baby, so I'm going to enjoy him!

With that said, I have really missed documenting my creative endeavors.  I {obviously} don't spend as much time making things, but you didn't think I'd given it up entirely, did you??

Anyway...

Now that my son is 10 months old, I'd better finish sharing the little DIYs I did for his nursery. (And then I'll show you the finished product!)

Fabric buntings aren't anything new.  However, I wanted one that was easy to rearrange or change-up.  A lot of tutorials out there have fabric flags sewn onto a ribbon or bias tape or something... I made mine adjustable!

I began with 6 fabrics that I had leftover from my kiddo's quilt.

I cut twenty-five 5x12 inch rectangles.

I'd like to share some brilliant mathematical equation I used to come up with this number...but I pretty much just looked at the wall where I wanted to hang it and guessed how many flags I would need.  I estimated perfectly...a.k.a. got lucky. :)  But if you over- or under-estimate it's no big deal.  It's adjustable, remember?  You can easily add or remove flags.

Next, I pressed the both of the short ends 1/4" toward the wrong side of the fabric.

(Don't mind my hideous, water-stained ironing board cover!)

Then I folded each rectangle in half, right-sides together, with the pressed ends at the top and sewed 1/4" down each side, leaving the top open for turning.

Then I clipped the corners, turned right-side out, and pressed flat.  The top is still open, but the raw edges are inside.

Next, I pressed the top edge down 1/2" and stitched as close to that open edge as I could to create a little pocket.

I threaded some twine through the top of each flag, hung it up, and slid the flags around until they were spaced to my liking.

The bunting looks bright and festive hanging over my little one's closet.

And if he decides he hates dinosaurs when he gets older, I can easily swap out the offending fabrics.  Or if we move into a new house, I can add or remove flags to fit it to a different length of wall without having to re-do the whole thing! 

"One Nation Under God" hanging banner...

Independence Day is just around the corner, so I made a patriotic banner for my (conveniently) red front door.  I used my favorite part of the Pledge of Allegiance as inspiration...

It's part of the Red White Blue series at Sugar Bee Crafts!

{Be sure to check out the other patriotic goodness.}

Back to the banner...

This project requires a little straight line sewing and an easy freezer paper stencil.  Here are the supplies you'll need:

2 pieces of canvas cut to 11.25"x 14.5"
12 inch craft dowel
fabric paint
freezer paper
free template
xacto knife
twine
printer & sewing machine

Start by cutting your two pieces of canvas to 11.25 x 14.5 inches.

Then cut a notch in the bottom by making a mark in the center of your fabric 1.5" from the bottom...

...then cut from that center mark down to each corner.

Now sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving the top open for turning.

Clip the corners, turn right side out, then press well using a hot iron.

Next, fold the top down 3/4" and sew straight across to create a pocket for your dowel.

(Yes, I left that edge raw.  It's not really going to get much wear-and-tear and I'm lazy.  But feel free to serge it or fold it down 1/4", then 3/4" to encase the raw edge.  This will add bulk, though.)

Now for the stencil...
(If you've never worked with freezer paper stencil before, check out this tutorial for tips.  It should answer most questions you might have.)

Download the template HERE.

Cut a piece of freezer paper 8.5" x 11" and tape it to a regular sheet of copy paper (shiny side down) and load it into your printer so the design will print on the freezer paper.

If it smears, don't worry.  It won't matter.

Cut out the design with an xacto knife.
(Make sure you reserve the center pieces of the O's, A, D and R.)

Then iron the stencil to your canvas banner.

Now paint in each shape with your fabric paint.  It may take two coats.  (You may also get blue paint all over your thumbnail trying to peel the little foam seal-thingy off the top of the paint bottle...)

Since my door is red, I did black lettering with blue stars.  But you could easily do red and blue instead.

Peel off your stencil and let the paint dry.
Then tie on some twine or string for hanging.

Now display your hanging banner on a door or wall...wherever you please.

In Utah, we have two July holidays--Independence Day on July 4th as well as Pioneer Day on July 24th (to celebrate the founding of our state).  It kind of turns into a month-long patriotic celebration, so this baby will be on my front door until August!

asymmetrical circle scarf...

I started this project thinking I'd make one of those scarves from an old t-shirt that have circled blogland, but once I cut up the shirt, the serged side seams of shirt bugged me.  So used some fabric to fix the problem and came up with my own take on the circle scarf.

I just winged the first one hoping for the best.

It turned out great so obviously I had to make another, taking photos along the way.  All you need is a t-shirt, some coordinating fabric, and the usual sewing stuff.

Start by cutting your t-shirt like this...

The body of the shirt will make up your scarf.  You can cut it shorter if it's a long shirt and you don't want it to be too bulky.  (The purple one I made first has more fabric and I actually like it better.  But adjust for your own personal preference.)

Grab that tube of fabric and stretch it so it becomes more scarf-shaped.

See those pesky serged seams on the inside?  We're going to cover those up.

Cut two pieces of fabric slightly longer than the width of your scarf.  Make one piece wide and the other skinny...the asymmetry will add visual interest to the finished scarf.  I didn't even measure.  Just cut two strips however you please.

Grab one of your fabric strips and iron each of the raw edges under...

...then pin over the top of the serged hem.  (The inside of the shirt will become the outside of the scarf.  With most t-shirt knits, this shouldn't be an issue.)

Top-stitch all the way around your strip of fabric using a stretch stitch (looks like a lightning bolt) or zigzag stitch.  This will allow the knit to stretch without popping the seam.

Repeat this process with the other fabric strip and you're done!

The purple knit shirt had more stretch to it and I think it drapes way better.  The watermelon one is kinda droopy.  Still cute though.  Experiment and see what works for you!