Sale!! Check out my Facebook page!

Hello Everyone!

It's been a long time hasn't it! I have finally decided to stop selling on Etsy for now and am selling off my remaining stock. Almost all of my craft supplies have sold but I still have some lovely hair accessories, jewellery and a couple of sets of push pins/thumb tacks left.

I opened a Facebook page to sell my remaining stock. It is called Stitches and Love. All items have been discounted so there are some great bargains there! You can buy simply by commenting on photos of the items you want. Payment will be by direct deposit and I can post anywhere at the buyers expense.

Here are some photos of some of my items. You can buy and see more at my Facebook page.

This cute navy polka dot headband is my only headband that has custom spots available. You can get this made in any size you choose from newborn to adult. There are 8 spots available.

Cute mini puffs! In 0-1yr and toddler size.

Mini puffs and polka dots. In 0-1yr and toddler sizes.

Large tulle flower in older child/tween/teen size.

Classy mini tulle combo. In 0-1yr and toddler sizes.

Fold over elastic hair ties!! Printed, plain and tie-dye fold over elastic.

Glitter elastic hair ties.

Sweet hair combs.

Super cute push pins or thumb tacks.

I have a few different types of earrings.

For more details on anything, head on over to my Facebook page and have a look! Thanks!

Ideas for Boy's Themes

If you're new to making things for boys, it can seem daunting and quite tricky coming up with themes or ideas of things to make. To help you out, I've brainstormed a heap of themes that boys love. You should find something there to get you started. :-) I've avoided anything branded as I think some of the best homemade stuff comes from our own imagination or at the very least, is based around a timeless theme, not the most popular TV show. Feel free to make any suggestions of extra themes that could be added to the list! I know I'll be adding more as I think of them. :-)


Submarines
Planes
Cars
Trucks
Motorbikes

Trains

Bikes & Scooters

Skateboards

Ships

Construction vehicles
Town & Roads

Jungle

Under the Sea
The Beach

Desert

Wild West, cowboys, indians

Arctic/Antarctic animals and landscape

Snow

The Zoo

Pirates
Castles
Knights
Dragons
Robots
Aliens
OuterSpace
Cave Men

Bugs
Farm Animals
African Animals
Birds
Fish
Reptiles
Mammals
Pets
Dinosaurs

Explorers
Detectives
Armed Forces - Army, Navy, Airforce
Firemen/Fire trucks
Policemen/Police Cars
Ambulance Officers/Ambulances
Doctor
Roman Soldiers
Inventors
Detectives
Secret Agent/Spies
Kings & Queens

Sports (football, soccer, hockey, basketball, cricket, athletics etc)
Cooking/Food

Music/Instruments

Building/Tools

Computers

Computer games & consoles

Free Taggie Blanket Tutorial

Here's my tutorial for this cute taggie blanket/toy. It is so quick and easy to make, not to mention inexpensive so it makes a wonderful gift for your kids or someone else's. :-) There are so many variations you could do but for this tutorial, I will just tell you exactly what I did. We can look at variations later. In writing this, I've realised I should have taken a lot more photos so I'll add more in next time I make the blanket...it's only a few weeks before the next baby is due. :-)

Requirements

• 2 coordinating fabrics, at least 35cm of 110cm wide fabric (you may want a little more to account for crooked cutting by the salesperson)


• Scrap of velcro approx 1cm x 1.5cm


• 1.6m of ribbon approx 1.5cm wide in your choice of colours (this will be cut into 10cm lengths)


• Sewing thread in appropriate colour

1. First we need to cut out our fabric squares. Follow the instructions in this step for each of your 2 coordinating fabrics. 

I cut out squares for 4 blankets at once using a rotary cutter, quilting ruler and self healing cutting mat. First you need to make sure the cut edge of your fabric is straight. Fold one of your fabrics in half matching the selvages (the non-cut edges). Line up the selvages and the cut edge of the fabric on your cutting mat against 2 perpendicular lines. (2 lines at right angles) Make sure the cut edge hangs just over the line so that you can trim it straight. The bigger the cutting mat, the easier this is as you won’t cover up the whole mat with your fabric. Line up your ruler along the line that is only just covered up by the cut edge and trim it straight with the rotary cutter. 

Divide the width of your fabric (110cm) by 4 which equals 27.5cm. Measure 27.5cm from the cut edge at regular intervals and mark. Then rule a line across the width of the fabric using these marks so you have drawn a long rectangle that measures 110cm x 27.5cm. You can do this with the fabric folded in half with the selvages together or laid out flat as one long strip. It saves a bit of time if it is folded in half and I found it was easy to cut through 2 layers of fabric at once. Now line up your ruler on the line you just drew and cut out your strip.

Cut your strip into 4 even squares.

You just need to cut the strip into 4 even squares now. On the long edges of your rectangle, measure 27.5cm intervals and mark. Rule lines at each interval to divide the rectangle into 4 even squares. Then line up your ruler along each line and cut. You should now have 4 squares that measure 27.5cm on each side. Once you have cut out both fabrics, you will end up with 8 squares in total, enough for 4 blankets.

The 8 squares ready to be sewn up.

2. Now you need to get the ribbon ready. Cut the ribbon into 16 tags for your blanket that are 10cm long each. What ribbon you use is totally up to you. You can use only 1 colour, 2 alternating colours or as many as you like. I used 6 colours because I couldn’t settle on only 4 and matched them with the colours on the fabric I chose. 4 tags on each side works well for a blanket this size. Because I used 6 different ribbons, this didn’t work out evenly for me in terms of having an even number of tags of each coloured ribbon but it still looked good. It’s totally up to you as to how many colours you choose and how you arrange the ribbon. 

Taggies all ready to go!

Lay out the ribbons in whatever pattern suits you.

3. To make the velcro loop, you will need to cut out 1 rectangle of fabric that measures 25cm x 5cm.  Use the already straight edge from one of the fabrics you cut squares from as your starting point and simply measure out the rectangle using your ruler. Line it up with the lines on your cutting mat to make sure it is straight and each corner is at right angles. Cut it out. 

Fold this rectangle in half length ways with the wrong sides together. Using a 1cm seam allowance, stitch along 1 short end, down the long side, and then across the other end so there are no open edges. Cut it in half so you have the two pieces of the 'loop' approx 11.5cm long each. This give you open ends for turning. Clip the corners. Turn them out the right way with a chopstick (or something else pointy) and press so they sit nice and flat. I then just hand stitched a small rectangle of velcro to the finished end of each piece. Choose a corner of one of the squares and pin the 2 loop pieces on top of each other onto the right side of the fabric having the velcro ends point towards the centre of the square and the cut end almost lining up with the corner. Make sure they are the right way around so the velcro can close without twisting the loop once it is sewn in. 

Where to pin the velcro loop.

4. Now we’ll pin the ribbon tags in place. To determine where the ribbons need to be pinned, you need to divide up the sides evenly. First, take out the seam allowance so you know how long your finished side will be. For a 27.5cm square, with 1.5cm seam allowances, you will have a 24.5cm finished side. Then divide this by 5. Eg. 24.5cm ÷ 5 = 4.9cm. 

Along one edge of the square you pinned the velcro loop to, with right side up, measure 1.5cm from one end for the seam allowance, then mark intervals of 4.9cm. There will be 6 marks in total but you will use the center 4 marks to position your tags. Mark all 4 sides of the square in this way.  

Fold each ribbon in half and pin them on to the 4 central marks on each side. Line up the cut edges of the ribbon with the cut edge of the fabric so the folded end of the ribbon is pointing towards the centre of the square.

Please ignore the fact that I have a larger gap between ribbons in the centre of every side! ;-)

5. Lay the square of coordinating fabric on top of the first square with right sides together. Pin it together. I left the pins in the ribbon and just used extras to pin the two squares together between the ribbons. Then stitch around the square with a 1.5cm seam allowance making sure you leave a gap so you can turn it out the right way. Start near the middle of one side at a ribbon and finish back on that side on top of the ribbon right next to the one you started with. That way, all the ribbons are sewn in place before turning it out the right way and you don't have to fiddle to line any up after you turn it out the right way. I found that even though it was a small gap, it was just enough to be able to turn it out.

6. Clip the corners and turn the blanket out the right way. Press the edges so they sit flat and neat. Then sew a row of topstitching approx a 1/4 inch in from the edge right around the whole square. This seals the turning gap and helps it all sit flat.

Topstitch around the edge.

The finished blanket back - soft flannalette.

The finished blanket front - bright cotton.

Free Fabric Balls Tutorial

***UPDATE 15/03/12: I have finally gotten around to making up a pdf for my own pattern that I have since used after making the original green and blue fabric ball you will see in this tutorial. I have never been totally happy with the finished shapes when using free patterns I found online. They never gave a really nice, spherical ball. I know...I'm fussy! 

So I got hubby to help me with his wonderful computer skills and we came up with a pattern that is based off a perfect sphere and I'm very happy to say it has produced lovely, round balls! In the end, you will always get a little bit of irregularity cause that's the nature of stuffed toys but you just squash it back into shape and it looks great again. Here's a pic of a few I made Sam for Christmas! I put bells/rattles inside each one.

Hmmm...these actually look a little wonky and out of shape. lol Maybe I need to get a better pic. But anyway, they are definitely better overall. I also have a couple of tips I have learnt that help to get a better ball.

1. Use a shorter than normal stitch length...about 1.5-2mm. This allows for firmer stuffing and seems to minimise breakage and give smoother seams.

2. Stuff it as much as you can! It looks so much better and retains a much better shape if it is firmly stuffed. Just keep stuffing until you can't fit any more in! I said to stuff it firmly in the original tutorial but I want to emphasise....stuff it EVEN MORE FIRMLY! My original ball really doesn't look that wonderful now.

You can download my free fabric ball pattern right here! Please feel free to make this for yourself, friends, or even to sell in small quantities!***

Well I finished my first project since starting this blog and am very excited to tell you how it went. I have been planning to make some fabric balls for my boys for Christmas and wanted to make a trial ball to see how I liked the pattern and if it worked. Here's what I found. I will probably have to post a 'perfected' version of this tutorial at a later date. You will discover that I can be a bit of a perfectionist at times...I just like my sewing to be neat. Although other times, I just want something finished so am not as picky. :-)

PLEASE NOTE: This is quite a simple project but I have just explained lots of little things in detail to make sure it is nice and clear and to help you get good results. So don't freak out if you think it is a bit long!! Also, the photos are from my trial and I used fabric I didn't care too much about so they're not the prettiest. I will make sure I take more photos next time when I use my good fabric. :-)

I am always trying to improve my tutorials so PLEASE feel free to comment if you have any suggestions or if you simply like it! Thanks!

Fabric Ball Tutorial

Requirements
- Fabric scraps of choice
- Sewing thread
- Filling
- Bell/Rattle (optional)


1. Print out your template and cut it out. The template includes a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I used a free template from Grand Revival but am in the process of creating my own so I will post that at a later date. Here is the post from Grand Revival and here is Grand Revival's template. Edit: Get my pattern here.

2. Pin template to your fabric and cut out 6 segments. I chose to cut out 2 segments each of 3 different fabrics. To get a nicer shaped ball, cut the pieces on the bias (at a 45 degree angle to the grain of the fabric).

3. Arrange your pieces in the order you want them to appear around the ball. For example, I used teddies, green, blue, teddies, green, blue. Then pair them up starting at the beginning. Eg. teddies and green, blue and teddies, green and blue. Place each pair of segments with right sides together and pin ready to sew the seams. Stitch down 1 side of each pair using a 1/4 inch seam. Press all seams open. Clip a little of the excess seam allowance off carefully near the ends so that when you sew the pieces together, the point where each piece meets isn't too bulky.

4. Place 1 side each from 2 pairs right sides together and pin. Make sure you choose the correct segments so that the ball follows the pattern if you chose to do one. Also make sure you pay careful attention to make sure the existing seams match up if you would like the end of your ball to look neat and all seams to meet up at one point. This can be fiddly but is well worth it. Once you have it pinned in place, stitch the new seam. Again carefully cut away excess seam allowance at each end and press the seam open. You will now have 4 segments joined together like the picture below.

5. Using the same method as in step 4, pin and stitch the last pair of segments on to 1 side of the first 4. Don't forget to continue your pattern of fabric and carefully line up the existing seams before sewing. Cut away excess seam allowance at each end and press seam open.

6. Pin the last 2 sides together lining up the existing seam allowances. Leave about a 2 inch gap in the middle for stuffing. Cut away any bulk in the seam allowance at each end and turn ball out the right way. If you can manage it without ironing major creases into the rest of the ball, press the ends where each segment meets. This will help them sit flat and look neater. Also press the seam open so that the section that was left open for stuffing has a clearly defined edge for when you sew it up later. Don't worry if the point where all the segments meet isn't neat...you will find a solution for hiding this in step 8.

7. Stuff the ball with polyfill or other soft stuffing. I found that if you stuff it firmly, it keeps a nicer shape. If you want to include a bell or rattle, insert it into the middle of the stuffing keeping it at the centre. Then stitch up the opening. Be careful to stitch along the ironed edge to keep the seam even. Otherwise you will get a wonky line along this seam that is quite visible once the ball is finished.

8. If you didn't manage to get the segments to match up properly, you can cover each end with a circle of fabric hand stitched over the ends. You could also use buttons or stitch on small iron on patches. It isn't too hard to sew it up neatly though so don't give up if you don't get it the first time. :-)

So that's it! The finished ball. I wasn't 100% happy with the shape which is why I am now drafting my own modified shape thanks to my wonderful husband who can make 3D graphics on the computer and then make a flat net for me to use. :-D Hopefully that will help me get a better sphere. Despite that though, Max got a hold of it and absolutely LOVES it so it just goes to show it doesn't have to be perfect.