I made this project for my students and really enjoyed it, so I thought I would share. I can make three headbands with one skein of yarn and I can often make one in one sitting.
It is a great easy project to do when you just want to make something quick.
I use this headband as an ear warmer, so they are great for winter and also great for gifts!
One of the things I love best about crochet is how portable it is. Crochet takes very few tools and supplies. As a result, it is easy to take on the go. You really only need a few things to get started, yarn, scissors, stitch markers (you can also use scraps of yarn in varying colors), and a blunt-tip yarn needle. Since so few tools are needed, it is also very affordable to start the hobby. For $10 or less, you can be ready to crochet!
This project only requires a few stitches, chaining, single crochet, and half double crochet.
Supplies:
Approximately 1/3 skein (80 yards) of worsted-weight yarn
4.5mm crochet hook
Pattern:
Chain 15
Row 1: 3sc, 8hdc, 3 sc (14) Starting in the second chain from the hook
Row 2: Chain 1, turn, BLO 3sc, 8hdc, 3sc (14)
Repeat row 2 until the desired length. (Around 60 – 70 rows for an adult)
A friend asked me to make an alien plush for her daughter, and I had so much fun with it that I decided to share the project.
I started by making the larger fur aliens and then decided to add the smaller fleece option, which takes less fabric and is easier to construct.
The antenna and large eyes give these plushies a lot of personality.
Regular-Sized Plush
The large aliens are made with a swirl faux fur fabric (also called rose minky) for the body and regular minky for the accents. They measure approximately 20 inches tall and have finished (sewn) legs.
Small Sized Plush
The small aliens are made with fleece for both the body and the accents and have unfinished (unsewn) legs. The small size measures approximately 15 inches tall when finished. This is 75% scale of the regular-sized plush. This plush feels considerably lighter and smaller because of the reduced size and because the unfinished legs eliminate a lot of bulk.
Finished v Unfinished Legs
You have two legs finish choices when you make the alien, finished or unfinished. The small fleece aliens have unfinished legs. This means that they are not sewn. The fabric is simply cut into strips, the edges are left raw, and they are sewn directly to the plush. This shortens the construction time by quite a bit and reduces the difficulty of the project.
The regular-sized faux fur aliens have finished legs. The finished legs are sewn individually prior to attaching them to the plush. I chose to finish the legs on the faux fur to minimize shedding and to make them stronger. The finished legs take more time and more fabric.
UNFINISHED LEGSFINISHED LEGS
Accents
The eyes and antenna of the aliens bring out their fun personalities. The eyes are sewn into balls with minky or fleece fabric and then decorated with buttons. There are two options for making the antenna, the first which is shown on the small fleece plush, is simply to bend a pipe cleaner and hot glue pom poms to the ends. The other is to cover the antenna with fabric, which is shown on the larger fur aliens. You make a fabric tube, insert wire or pipe cleaners, and then sew pom poms to the end. The single pipe cleaner option is definitely faster and easier, and I prefer that look best, but the covered option is much stronger and helps the antenna stand out.
Supplies:
Refer to the Cut Layout included with the free pattern for fabric quantities
I was recently asked to help with a service project at our school. Parent volunteers are making curtains for all the classroom windows! They are going to be so nice!
Our school will be attaching the curtains to the door using velcro. If your school isn’t doing that you can use magnets, or ribbon loops with 3M hooks instead.
There are two magnets at the base of the curtain which will help it stay in place when in use. If you don’t want the magnets to be visible on the outside of the curtain, select a darker fabric print.
A ribbon and button will hold up the curtain when it is not being used.
This is a quick and easy project and can usually be completed in 15 – 30 minutes.
Supplies:
3/4 yard of cotton fabric (this is enough fabric for two curtains)
1/2 yard ribbon (1/4 inch wide) – (You will need more if you plan to attach the curtain using loops)
One Button (3/4 – 1 inch wide)
Sew-on Velcro (Loop side only – Approximately 1/4 yard)
Two Magnets (18mm) – (I needed 6 magnets to attach the curtain to the frame without the velcro)
Coordinating thread
Tools
Sewing Machine
Ruler
Fabric Marking Tool
Zipper foot (optional, but may be necessary on some machines)
I have long been meaning to post a tutorial on how to make a dress for the Sloth plush, but it always seemed to slip my mind. A special thanks to Carol for reminding me about it! The dress is a cute little addition to the sloth plush and a lot of fun to make.
I don’t have a video for this one, but I do have several photos. I hope you find them helpful.
Here are some quick instructions on how to make the dress.
First, cut out the pieces. The skirt rectangle is approximately 3 x 18 inches, but you can adjust that as desired.
Hem the bottom and two sides of the skirt with a double-fold narrow hem. Approximately, 1/4 inch wide.
Gather the top edge.
Pin two of the bodice front pieces to a bodice back piece, right sides together. Align the dashes marked on the pattern.
Stitch the side seams with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Only sew above and below the dashes, leaving a gap in the middle. This is for the sloth’s arms to pass through.
Repeat this process again for the other front and back pieces. You should end up with two identical dress bodices. Press the side seams open on both bodices.
Fold up the bottom edge of one of the bodices 3/8 inch. Press. Keep the bottom edge of the other flat.
Lay the bodice with the bottom edge flat (the one you did not press) right side up. Place the skirt right side down on top of it. Align the gathered edge of the skirt with the raw edge of the bodice. Let the bodice extend an extra 1/4 inch on each side beyond the skirt. Stitch the skirt in place along the gathered edge with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
Flip the skirt down and press the seam allowance toward the bodice.
Place the dress right side up. (You can disregard the topstitching shown on the bodice in the photo. It’s not necessary in this step. We will get to that later.)
Lay the other bodice, the one with the folded bottom edge, right side down on top of the dress. Align seams and edges of the bodice pieces. Make sure the seams are open and flat. Sew all of the way around the edge of the bodice with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, everywhere except the bottom edge where the skirt is attached, that will stay open. (None of your stitches should be on the skirt section. Only the bodice fabric is being stitched.)
Clip the curves and corners.
Flip the bodice right side out and press. Carefully align the bottom edge of the folded bodice so it covers the gathers and hides the seam allowance on the inside. The folded bodice edge should extend about 1/8 inch below the stitch line of the skirt. Flip it over. Pin in place as needed. From the front side, topstitch along the bottom of the bodice edge (more detailed photos below) and then press again. The skirt will now be sandwiched between the two bodice layers.
I usually topstitch with a 1/8 inch seam allowance.
Notice there is an opening for the arm hole.
Topstitch around the slit with a 1/8 inch seam allowance.
Add decorative ribbon, buttons, or trim if you like.
Try the dress on your sloth and then attach a closure. Velcro, buttons, and snaps all work great.
And your dress is done!
Happy Sewing!
(FYI, the shoulder seams were done differently in this picture. I still love the dress but prefer the technique described above.)
With Valentine’s Day coming up I was inspired by a cute new idea! A Lovely Little Llama Valentine!
This little llama has a blanket with two pockets that can deliver valentines for the big day 🙂
Not only would this llama be adorable for Valentine’s Day, but any holiday! Change the colors to green and red and you have Christmas. Dress it up for birthdays, Easter, or even Halloween. Changing the colors, accessories, and fabrics will completely change the feel of the project.
The pocket pouch is definitely my favorite part of the project, aside from the overall cuteness, of course! You can place notes, treats, and gifts in the little pockets.
The pattern is available in two sizes. The small size measures approximately 9 inches tall without the ears, and the large measures approximately 11.5 inches tall.
It is constructed with swirl fur which is great to work with and is super fluffy! It just calls out for cuddles 🙂
This project is fairly simple, but the fur does add a bit of difficulty. I would say it is about a 4/10 in terms of difficulty. You need to be comfortable using small seam allowances and sewing curves. Experience with fur or plush fabrics is also helpful.
In this lesson we will learn several topics that are applicable in a wide variety of sewing projects. The drawstring bag introduces how to make a casing or channel that can be used to hold, a drawstring, elastic, ribbon, and more. This skill is used everywhere from bag making to garment construction and makes the drawstring bag a great project for beginning sewers.
Lesson Category:
Machine Sewing – Straight Seams
Lesson Topics:
Making a Drawstring
Making a Casing
Sewing Straight seams
Finishing Seams
Pressing
This bag measured approximately 13.5 x 15 inches when finished, but could easily be adapted for other sizes.
The bag features a 1/2 inch wide drawstring made by piecing and folding 2 inch strips of fabric.
This project was designed to only use 1/2 yard of fabric, and as a result the drawstring is pieced, but you could use more fabric if you prefer to make the drawstring out of a continuous piece of fabric rather than multiple pieces.
It has a wide casing for easy threading of the drawstring. I’ll show you a quick way to make sure the sizing of your channel is consistent.
It also introduces finishing seams, which is a great skill in general. If you are interested in learning more about finishing seams check out my Skill Building Video on the topic!
In the video also introduces tips for how to turn a corner exactly, how to finish the edges of the drawstring channel and more.
This is a classic zipper pouch! It is a great project to start sewing zippers if you want to learn. These make great pencil bags. They are also fun to fill and give as gifts.
This is also a fun project to use decorative stitching on. I love adding a cute stitch to the contrasting bottom panel.
This is a flat pouch, kind of like a pencil pouch. So, it does not stand up on its own.
That said, it still holds quite a bit!
You can easily adjust the size of the rectangles to make the bag as bid or small as you would like.
The bag I made has final dimensions of approximately 6 x 9 inches.
Supplies
Two 7 x 10 inch rectangles for the lining fabric
Two 7 x 10 inch rectangles of lightweight fusible interfacing (optional)
Two 4.5 x 10 inch rectangles for the outside TOP fabric
Two 3.5 x 10 inch rectangles for the outside BOTTOM fabric
I have finished my rag doll pattern! I’ve been working hard to create the instructional videos and I am happy to say that I have the body instructions ready to share with you today.
I really enjoyed working on this project and mixing and matching fabrics to create the body of the doll.
I love all of the different styles you can design to make the doll uniquely your own!
This project is a bit more time consuming than others and does require a bit of patience. It is probably a 5/10 in difficulty just for the amount of time needed to hand stitch the hair and for the exactness of seam allowance that is needed. When sewing plush projects, a small error in your seam allowance can make a big difference in the appearance of your doll. You also need to be comfortable slip stitching and working with small curves.
The doll measures between 14 and 14.5 inches tall when finished.
A rag doll was one of the project brainstorm ideas that I posted in my sketchbook recently. The project is a bit time consuming, so I opted to do other projects first.
However, this weekend I was quite excited to have the time to work on the project.
First, I drafted two pattern options. After testing them both I made some adjustments to my favorite version and found a shape I was pretty happy with!
Next came the daunting task of tackling the hair! I do have to say that it took longer than expected to hand stitch all that yarn! Thank goodness for comfy couches and Netflix. It definitely helps the process.
Once I was happy with my rough drafts, I went on to test the project!
I have to say, I was quite happy with the results! I love all of the hair! It took about a half skein of yarn, but I love how puffy it is!
I hope to have instructions and patterns ready to share soon!
This was a really fun project to make! It took me a few tries to perfect the sizing, but I was very pleased with the results.
When I designed this project I was looking for something to lounge around in, especially in the summer.
Pockets are a must for me, so that was the first thing I decided the skirt needed.
Next, slits were a priority for ease of movement. I also ended up choosing an elastic waistband for simplicity. The elastic doesn’t have a casing, but is exposed on the inside of the skirt.
Then, I looked at my huge stack of flannel. That definitely needed some attention. You don’t necessarily need to make the skirt using flannel fabric, but that is the only fabric I have tested the project on.
The skirt is designed to sit at your natural waist, where you bend, and is very comfortable. Here is my casual skirt in action as I tried to take photos. My dogs decided it was a great time to be helpful. Unfortunately, their photography skills are lacking. Luckily, they make up for the lack in cuteness.
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