Pretty Primavera Flower Baby Blanket

My sister is having her third baby very soon and with my newly gained confidence in regards to crochet squares from the doll blankets I made my daughters this spring (here and here) I decided to do a slightly larger blanket (ha! so I thought! Try multiple times bigger!) for my soon to be born niece. It was a lot more work than I expected but the yarn I used and the pattern for the squares were a very enjoyable mix. It took me two months, but that was through the summer so sometimes it was just way to hot to crochet in the evenings. Please pardon the ugly carpet in these photos!

I used DK yarn, Sirdar Snuggly Bamboo for the flowers and Berocco Vintage DK for the green and grey. It gave the flowers a nice sheen that made them pop out a bit more from the matte green and grey. I joined them all with a single crochet join.

The only thing that bothered me with the free tutorial on the squares was that while the squares are free, and she tells you that she joined with single crochet I would have had to buy an $8 pattern to do the same border as she did. The pattern is so much because it's for a cushion cover, including a fabric backing that she made with these flowers. I didn't want to pay that just for a border though. I also would have had to buy more yard because I was running low so I just kept it simple with single crochet in grey and then one more single crochet with the pink bamboo.

The blanket is 8 squares by 10 so it's a good size, but that means it can be used on a toddler bed and then as a lap blanket after that so I'm glad it should grow with the child for quite a while.

The tutorial for the Primavera Flowers Granny Square by Dragana Savkov can be found here.

A Crocheted Basket

This is the first basket I've crocheted but it won't be the last. I used the free tutorial from Crochet In Color. I had first tried one that used single crochet for the entire basket, but I like the half double crochet for the base much better. 

The yarn I used is a Marble Chunky which turned out to be more textured than thick so I started off using 3 strands. I got as far as the base and the first two side rows but they were quite floppy so I frogged it and started over using 4 strands. It's nice and sturdy now. I used 2 large skeins and I had hoped to add handles but I ran out of yarn and rather than buy another large skein I stopped. I'm very happy with the sturdiness of the basket.

I expected to use an 8 mm hook but after experimenting I used a 6 mm. It was easier to make than I expected, but tiring on the hands so I couldn't do much at one time.

I did the whole basket in spiral instead of joining my rounds. I would do that again for the sides but not the base of the basket.  A seam underneath wouldn't be visible and I don't like the jog on the side of the base.

The free tutorial is here: http://crochetincolor.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/ombre-basket-pattern.html

Sewing 18" Doll Clothes - the Liberty Jane Flounce Skirt and Peplum Top

another version of the skirt...

My daughter has had Kelsey, a Journey Girl doll from Toys R Us for a couple years now and absolutely loves her, but she didn't have many clothes to choose from. I had whipped up a few when she first got the doll, but they were all made from free tutorials or my own ideas and they weren't great. Not that tutorials don't work, but they were all for American Girl dolls which are a slightly different shape and I didn't have much fabric to work with then. I decided to make her a new wardrobe for Christmas, and this time I had quite a bit of small pieces of this and that, most too small to work for anything child sized but perfect for doll clothes.

I discovered Pixie Faire patterns. They are fairly inexpensive and the clothes they turn out are impressive! My favourite are the Liberty Jane patterns. The Pixie Faire website has just added Journey Girls to the dolls they sell patterns for, but they weren't there yet when I made these before Christmas. I found, though, if I hit the 'shrink to fit' option when printing the pattern pieces and then lengthened them a tiny bit the patterns for the AG (American Girl) dolls fit Kelsey just fine. I didn't shrink the Peplum Top in the picture above, so it's a bit big. By the time I made it we had decided to get her another doll for this Christmas, a Newberry Doll from Sears, Allie. She's closer to the size of the AG dolls. We find all the clothes work can be worn on either doll and that's a real bonus.

Kelsey has a plastic upper chest as opposed to Allie's cloth body up to the neck so tops like this peplum one look better on Kelsey.

The skirt Allie is wearing came with her and the leggings are from the free pattern and tutorial by Sew Adollable. They are so easy I made a few pairs in different lengths. I checked off 'shrink to fit' for this pattern as well.

Peplum Top 18" Doll Clothes Pattern by Liberty Jane from Pixie Faire

Picture Day Outfit Flounce Skirt and Top for 18" Dolls by Libery Jane from Pixie Faire

Did you know? Pixie Faire gives a pattern away for FREE every Friday. Awesome, right? They also have free tutorials and patterns, so go take a look!

http://www.pixiefaire.com/blogs/freebies-and-giveaways

Make Your Own Personalized Magic Heating Bag With A Cover

I've had a couple microwaveable magic heating bags now and love the idea but they just weren't quite perfect. For one thing, they were always ugly fabric, and they were just one long tube so all the filler slipped from one end to the other so it was difficult to get the heat exactly where I wanted it. One more thing they were missing was a slip off cover. Once they were dirty they pretty much had to stay that way or be replaced. How do you wash it when it's filled with corn or rice?

I don't know why it took me so long to try making one, it's not like it's a large project or very hard, but wow I love my new one! I made the purple flower one for me and they various others for christmas gifts. It's a great way to use up various bits of fabric you already have.

I did my research before I started - thank God for Pinterest! That makes the job a lot easier. I found out what fillers work best and it turns out flaxseed had the best heat retention and I figured the small size would be a nice feel. I would absolutely fill the next ones I made with flaxseed again. I'm very happy with it. Rice was the filler in my last one and it wasn't nearly as soft and didn't hold the heat nearly as well, even when brand new. I find I don't have to get the flax-filled bag nearly as hot because it holds the heat better.

I looked at a few tutorials and I followed this tutorial from howdoesshe? I absolutely love the patchwork covers she made for her heating pads but that would have been too much work since I was making about a dozen. I used her basic dimensions but changed it up a bit depending on the size of the chunk of fabric I was cutting up.

Filling them was the only part I was slightly nervous about but it was pretty simple. 

First and foremost, use a funnel and secondly, don't over fill the sections. You want it to be flexible and comfortable. I sectioned the bag into quarters and marked with pins, then filled it to about 3/4" below that and pinned across to keep the seeds in place while I sewed above. You could draw a line across in chalk but i just lined up my presser foot where the first pin is and sewed straight across. Depending on the length of the bag, as they varied slightly, I put in 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups flaxseed per section. I zigzagged across the very end a couple times to seal them off.

And there you have it! Time to go give it a try. 

What will you fill yours with?

Long Loom Knitting Video Tutorials For Beginners

My 10 year old daughter got a long loom knitting set for Christmas. I haven't attempted to knit since I was her age so this is a learning process for both of us. She's been making rainbow loom type bracelets for the past year, so she's caught onto this quickly. I've been searching pinterest and youtube for easy to understand (yes, that's the tricky part!) tutorials for us to learn and I thought I'd share the best ones I've found for starting in case you or someone in your home is also starting this.

My girl with her work so far

This first video is the Figure Eight Stitch as seen in the photo above:

This video will not teach you how to finish off your project, so you should watch the video below as well. It's a similar stitch and there are more complete instructions. This is a good, close up view of how to start.

This is a very easy Zig Zag Stitch, the most basic I've seen.

Notice how much thicker it looks? That's working with two pieces of yarn together instead of a single strand. This video will teach you how to finish off your project.

If this one is helpful, check out the rest of the loom-related tutorials from this channel

This stitch is similar to the Figure Eight - Twisted Knit Stitch

There are is a huge Knit (Loom) Playlist here on various different looms, including these two with good information on different looms, buying yarn and tools, etc...

Loom Knit: Looms, Tools & Basic info Part 1 of 2 with CC

Loom Knit: Looms, Yarn & Basic info Part 2 of 2 with CC

How to knit a square on any loom 

There is some really unique and useful stuff on the LoomaHat Youtube Channel, such as looming with elastic bands (hello rainbow loom!). Also check out the website www.loomahat.com for more tips and tutorials.

Are you a loom knitter? What's your favourite pattern or stitch?

Follow Shauna's board Loom Knitting on Pinterest.

How To Make Mini Velcro Hairclips - A Tutorial

You will need:

• glue gun
• elastic thread, or regular sewing thread will do if you don't have it.
• 3/8" grosgrain ribbon
• scissors
• lighter or such to melt ribbon ends
• velcro
• cardboard or something to protect your table from the glue gun

To make the little clips, cut a 2 1/4" piece of ribbon (or two for a set), singe the ends to keep them from fraying, and fold it in half. 

Cut your velcro down to fit on the ribbon (about 3/4" long), stick on your self adhesive velcro, or use a hot glue gun to secure it if it's not sticky on one side.

Now to make the bow, loop one side over towards you, 

and then loop it back over top and cut off the end about even with the tip sticking out underneath.

Pinch your bow between your thumb and forefinger, as above, and wrap the elastic thread around it, pulling it tight and tie a knot. 

Then cut a 1" piece of ribbon to go around your bow. Attach with glue on the wrong side of the bow, wrap around and glue again.

Now all that's left is to attach your bow to your little clip! Hot glue and press on gently.

Pretty easy, right?

All I did for presentation for the gift was cut a piece of card stock with two parallel lines 1/2" apart down the middle and clip them on. Gift complete!

Quick, Easy and ever-so-Sweet Baby Shower Dresses!

Petunia and I did some sewing last week for a baby shower. I made one dress and she made the other with just a bit of help. These two dresses were quick and fairly easy to make, and turned out so cute!

The smaller dress is the one that Petunia made pretty much on her own. It's the Summer Breeze Baby Dress by Shwin&Shwin. It's a free PDF pattern and tutorial. There's lots of gorgeous stuff on that blog, so be sure to take a look. The wonderful thing about this dress is that there a onesie sewn into the skirt to keep an infant's tummy warm and out of a draft, and it eliminates any need for a diaper cover. Genius!

The bigger size dress is based off the Shanty Onesie Dress Tutorial by Shanty2Chic. What I did differently is made the skirt a few inches longer because I was making it with a 6 month onesie instead of what I figured was a 3 month size. I used 15" instead of 12", and I made a small hem at the top and bottom instead of doing a rolled hem with my serger ... because I have no idea how! 

I also covered up the line of gathers with a ribbon and added a fabric bow to the top of the onesie because I had to take off a pink decoration that didn't match. Easy, quick, comfortable, but also very cute. We searched our local fabric store for cute fabric and I'm happy with what we came away with, but I was beginning to worry until we found this purple butterfly fabric. Pretty scary selection, sometimes!

Throw in some homemade hair bows and you've got a gift. The ones on the right are these Double Layer Chunky Hair Bows, which I love. I use them all the time in Sweet Pea's hair. 

The little ones on the left are mini velcro hair bows from this tutorial.

What have you been crafting this summer?

Easy DIY tangle free no hassle embroidery floss wrapped headphones!

Ironman is constantly trying to use headphones that look like this ...

... all jumbled under his chin with about six inches of play connecting to his music. If I catch it I fix it for him but it drives   me   nuts! I tried making gift cards into headphone holders but I got sore fingers for nothing. They only work if they are used, and only while the headphones are physically on the holder. 

Then very recently I came across this Pinterest pin by Apartment Therapy. Aha! A solution!

There is a great tutorial for how to do this on wikihow, and you can see a video tutorial on this post I did on making a Simple Knot Friendship Bracelet which is the same technique.

The one thing I did differently from these tutorials is just use one colour at a time, and then knot the next one on when I was ready. It took approximately 40" of floss to do a three inch segment, and that includes room on either end to be wrapped underneath. The whole thing took 3 skeins of floss, which would cost about $2.50 or less if you bought them in singles. Nice cheap project!

A Learn To Sew Project - A Doll Dress

My oldest daughter is nearly 10 and is learning to sew. I've found it daunting to try to teach her the basics and then find projects that are fun and interesting for her but don't frustrate the heck out of both of us. This little dress worked out well. She was able to make it with minimal help from me.

We followed a Pillowcase Dress with Ribbon Trim for 18" Doll Tutorial by Leigh Laurel Studios. There's a very simple downloadable pattern and the instructions are very clear and easy to follow.

This is definitely something to keep in mind next time we need a birthday gift for a friend.

How To Make A Loopy Flower Hair Clip - A Tutorial

The first step is to gather your materials. You need a ribbon covered alligator clip. There's a great tutorial on how to do this and make it no slip at Make It Love It.

You'll need 4 pieces of ribbon 4.75" and 4 pieces 5.5" as well as a 6" piece of green and a small piece of white for the center knot.

Take one of your strips and glue the two ends together, forming a circle.

Then twist it to form a figure eight, and glue the center to hold it. Do this with all nine pieces of ribbon.

Now you have this:

Now glue the green piece of ribbon (the leaves) to the alligator clip. Center it over the clip.

Now we'll form the flowers. Layer the four matching figure eights onto each other one at a time. It's best to do this first without glue to figure out the spacing. Do this for the both the top and bottom layers of the flower.

Once you've done this, glue the bottom layer of the flower onto the leaves.

Add the top layer and a knot and you're done!

How to make the center knot

HAPPY CRAFTING!

see more . . .

Baby Hair Bows

Mini Korker Hair Bows

Rosebud Hair Clips

Double Layer Chunky Hair Bows