Rolled Felt Flower Tutorial

This felt flower is super easy, so much so that I feel silly calling this a tutorial!  Nonetheless, here's some basic instructions for making this simple flower.

Start with a felt square.  Mine was 10" x 10".  Cut into a circle.

Then, spiral your circle as pictured below.

Start rolling the felt, starting at the end of the circle, NOT the center.

I like to keep the bottom of the flower flat and flush so that the top has some dimension and depth.  This will make more sense in the next step.

When you get to the end (or the center, rather) of the spiral, allow the circle to sit on top of your rolled felt.  Use hot glue to anchor it down.

Hot glue a pin onto the finished back.

Flip it over and smile!  Fluff the petals out if needed and use it to accessorize your favorite shirt, purse, scarf or headband!

Bandana Dress, Bibs and Snack Bags

To coordinate with the Ruffle Blankie, I added a few hot pink and lime goodies for sweet Lawson.

A bandana dress- the two polka dot bandanas ($0.99 each) and the ribbon was from Hobby Lobby.  If you've never made a bandana dress, it's a super easy beginner sewing project.  I'll try to post a tutorial soon, but you really don't need one. 

Bibs and a Snack Bag- I backed the bibs with a lime green hand towel.  I love the pop of color it gives to this already vibrant fabric.  I had just enough fabric left over from the blankie for these two projects.

Placemat purse with a felt flower.  I love how the Dollar Tree has bright placemats that I'd probably never use on my table, yet they make great purses.  It's so easy to sew two sides together and add gussets to the bottom.  Stitch ribbon on the top for handles and you're done! 

I'll share the tutorial for the felt flower early next week.  Trust me, it's super simple but makes a big impact!

A pink and green coordinated gift- what more could a one year old want?

Ruffle Blanket

Remember this amazing cake my friend Stephanie made?

Well, in return, I promised her a Ruffle Blankie for her daughter's first birthday.

Stephanie chose this amazing flannel by Riley Blake.  Summer Song is the exact name of the print.  She paired it with lime green minky and hot pink satin. 

I thought I'd share a few tips about making ruffle blanket-- both for my own records and as a semi-tutorial. 

This requires intermediate sewing skills- not a beginner project.

The first thing I did was to make the ruffle.  My satin was 60" wide, so I cut 6 7" strips.  I sewed them together, right sides together, which made a strip that was 360" long. 

I chose to make soft pleats on this ruffle.  I could have ruffled it in the machine with a ruffle foot and then pulled the bobbin threads, but chose to pleat it since I don't have much experience with ruffling. 

It doesn't really matter how big your pleats are, as long as they are uniform around the entire blanket.

Once your ruffle is complete and stitched down, pin it to the flannel.  Make sure the raw edges line up and sew around all four sides of the flannel.

The corners:  One of the more challenging parts of this project!  I'm so thankful that I leared to mitre corners last fall when I made a table runner.  There is an excellent tutorial for mitreing on the Diary of a Quilter blog.

Once your ruffle is stitched onto the flannel, it's time to attach the minky!  Keep the ruffle folded down towards the flannel, and put the minky on top.  All raw edges should be to the outside.

Sew all the way around, but make sure to leave an opening for turning.  Turn and press.  Topstitch all the way around the blanket.

All done!

I had a little fabric left so I made a doll blanket and pillow, too!

And a pillow for the sweet birthday girl!

It's fun to take on projects that I know will be challenging, and this sure was.  I wouldn't do this kind of gift for just anyone, but it was truly my priveledge to shower Stephanie's sweet baby girl with such a special blanket and pillow.  She is such a dear friend, and knowing her has truly been a blessing!  Happy birthday, sweet Lawson!

Charger Station - Bread Box Repurposed!

Today I decided to fix a huge problem in our home--the cell phone charging station.  Up until a few hours ago, we charged our phones/iPods/bluetooths in a corner of our kitchen.  It was always a mess of cords and electronics, and usually looked like this:

I finally grew sick of looking at it and did something about it today.  Many months ago, before I worked full time, I made my own bread.  Cooking is something I've had to compromise on since I went back to work and although I miss it, I know I can't do everything, so we eat a lot of things that are less-than-homemade.  I had this bread box from my former bread making days and thought I could repurpose it for this project.

I bought this bread box at Target last year.  I think it was $10, maybe $15.  I'm sure they are also available at some thrift stores or yard sales.

First, I painted it.  I chose a spray paint from my garage called Heirloom White by Rustoleum.  It's the same color that I used a few weeks ago on the crib rail that I also repurposed. 

As you can see, I didn't paint all the way to the back of the box, as I had plans to cover this area.

I learned this tip from a craft blog (can't remember where):  If you cover an area - like the magnetic closure - with tin foil, it will conform perfectly to to area and keep it from being painted.  Excellent tip.

Next, I drilled a hole in the back of the box.  Yes, I actually did this.  (Insert gasp from my father and husband here.)  I know it's not the neatest looking hole or perfectly symmetrical, but nonetheless, I was the only adult home and I did it by myself.

On the inside of the breadbox, I placed a surge protector strip.  I threaded the plug through my newly drilled hole and started plugging my electronic chargers into the power strip.

I chose to plug in four items- iPod charger, my phone charger, my husband's phone charger and my camera battery charger.

I wound the excess cord into a circle and taped them together.

I taped each loop of cord down to the bottom of the bread box.

 This next part was the most difficult (yes, even more so than drilling the hole!).  I cut a piece of posterboard the exact size of the opening.  I made four small slits in the bottom of the posterboard.

 Because I wanted a pop of color, I chose to paint my posterboard this lovely shade of green.  I repainted an end table a few weeks ago, so this beauty was in my garage as well.

 I carefully taped the posterboard to the inside top of the breadbox.  I taped it where it would not be seen, but left the bottom untaped so that I could remove the chargers when we travel or upgrade.

The chargers are all ready to be plugged in when needed.

In the rare event that nothing needs to be charged, the door closes up and it is fully disguised on our countertop.

But most of the time it will look like this in my kitchen.

I love how it brings organization to my kitchen, reuses something that was sitting in a cabinet, and is fully functional every day.

My inspiration for this came from Pinterest. 

This post is linked to the following sites:
Under The Table And Dreaming ~ Sew Many Ways ~ Little Rays of Sunshine ~ Tatertots and Jello ~ Funky Junk Interiors ~ The 36th Avenue ~ Be Different Act Normal ~I Heart Naptime ~ Creative Jewish Mom ~ The DIY Home Sweet Home Project ~ CRAFT ~ Made By You Mondays ~ Sew Chatty ~ Keeping it Simple ~ Dittle Dattle ~ It's so very Cheri ~ Sew Can Do ~It's So Stinkin Cute

See my complete list of Link Parties here.

Girl's Dress Upcycled from a Man's Dress Shirt

Many of you know that my sister and brother-in-law are moving to NYC very soon.  You can learn more about why they are moving by clicking here and watching a brief video.

In an attempt to downsize, I was given many old dress shirts from my brother-in-law, Josh.  Knowing there must be something I could make from all these dress shirts, I gladly accepted them and began brainstorming ideas about how to make this shirt into a dress for my two year old daughter.

I had seen other tutorials about how to upcycle a man's dress shirt, but they all contained sleeves, which I didn't want to bother with and would likely be too hot for our 100+ degrees in Florida.

So, I made my own pattern.  And better yet, I'll share it with you.

Please keep in mind that my daughter is a skinny two year old, about 23 lbs.  Adjust your measurements accordingly.

You will need:
a man's dress shirt
elastic
sewing machine
coordinating thread
contrasting fabric for sash and flower pin, if desired

First, cut off the arms and the collar of the shirt. 

Then, remove the pocket with your seam ripper.

Next, determine how wide you want your dress to be.  Length does not matter right now.  I would advise using a current dress as a sample.  You should add at least one inch one each side for seam allowances, and then additional inches if you want the dress more full.  

Finish the side seams.  Since I do not have a working serger, I chose to do a double hem on the side seams.  This means that I iron the fabric with a small (about ¼ inch) hem, and then fold it over again so that no raw edges are showing.  Do this on all four side seams.

Next is the neck casing.  The width of your elastic will determine the width of your casing.  Make your casing the same way as the side seams, with the double hem method.  Make sure that you only stitch at the bottom of the casing, not on the sides which would close your casing up!  Repeat this for the back side of the dress.

 Now, you should have two pieces (front and back) with three finished edges.

For my daughter, I made the arm holes 5 inches long.  You may or may not need to adjust the length for your child.  Put your two pieces right sides together and pin.  Make a mark or place a special pin at 5 inches (or where your desired armhole should be).  Sew from the marker pin down towards the bottom of the dress.  Repeat for the other side.  

Now, the hem.  Determine the length of your dress and cut it about 1 inch longer than the desired length.  Again, use the double hem method to sew a hem around the bottom of your dress.  If you like really wide hems, you will need to add more than 1 inch to the desired length before cutting your fabric.

Now, take your elastic.  Mine measured 18" but yours may be different.  You can measure your child by loosely stretching the elastic from one shoulder, around the neck, to the other shoulder, around the back and back to the first shoulder.

Put a safety pin through through one end of the elastic and thread it through the casing  you made earlier.  When you finish the first piece, just continue threading through the second piece until you reach your original starting point.

Sew your elastic together, using your backstitch many times to reinforce.  Thread it into the casing where it will be hidden from the outside.

The basic dress is done!  Now for the fun part....

Let's embellish it!

I chose this red and white polka dot in honor of Independence Day and a pop of color.

I made a sash for the dress by cutting a strip about 5" wide and folding it in half, right sides together.  I ran a long stitch down the unfinished side and then turned it right side out.

Finish the ends with the double hem method.

Anchor it to the dress somewhere.  I chose to anchor it on the side seam, but you could stitch it down anywhere, or in more than one place.

I also chose to add a fabric flower to the top left of the dress.

Pin it on and you are done.  Now, go chase your little girl around the house and make her put her dress on.... please tell me I'm not the only one who has to chase a toddler to put clothes on!

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.  Please let me know if you have any questions and I will either answer them in the comments or edit the post if needed.

 

This post is linked to the following parties:

Dittle Dattle 

It's So Very Cheri

Sew Can Do

Sew Chatty

Crafts Keep Me Sane

Craft O Maniac

The Girl Creative

DIY Home Sweet Home Project 

I Heart Naptime

The DIY Showoff

By Stephanie Lynn

Creative Jewish Mom

No Time for Flash Cards

Sew Many Ways

Itsy Bitsy Paper 

Making the World Cuter Monday