by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 13, 2015
Making softies for babies is fun. Making softies for my friends’ coming-soon baby that mimic their dad’s real-life photography job is even better!
I am really happy to be part of the Swoodson Says PDF Pattern Blog Tour today. This tour is promoting her Quiet Play Softies and the cutest Little Collector’s Backpack. All really great Christmas gifts for the littles in your life. (And on sale right now – see below! Just sayin’…)
I haven’t made many softies, I think I was scared of all the pieces, kinda like quilting! Truth is though, sewing up this Little Photographer Camera was really fun! I love puzzles, and appliqueing the dials, buttons and lens allowed me to let my inside-perfectionist out for a little while. You don’t need to be a perfectionist to make one, though, you just need a little monkey that enjoys imaginative play! Or a friend that is a photographer maybe?
The fabric for this project is a mixture of textures and thicknesses. The outer body of the camera is made from scraps of my Ella top, a nice heavier weight cotton. Of course, I had to use the best camera fabric ever (from Double Decker Fabric) for the front accent and camera strap. The lens is a mixture of faux black leather and 2 layers of white rip-stop nylon (to make it more opaque). It is fun that each one has a different feel to it. Hopefully the baby will think so too!
Speaking of perfectionism, for some reason I decided to go a little crazy and 2-step-miter the corners of the bias tape edging for the back window, instead of following Stephanie’s instructions. Don’t do it! It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r…. #thatllshowme I did do two things that helped speed up the project, though. I interfaced the outer camera pieces with a medium-weight fusible to make the fabric stiffer and easier to stitch everything to. I also used my favorite fusible web before stitching. If this project was for an older child I think you could use it alone and skip the applique stitches!
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention something new I found on my Janome Skyline S5. It has an amazing applique stitch and satin stitch foot. I even slid the speed down to super-slow while sewing around the lens circles. So much simpler and professional looking than I would have made with my old machine! It has even inspired me to plan some appliqued Christmas projects.
Win the Patterns, or Buy them at 40% off!
Stephanie has provided a coupon code: ‘SewAllTheSofties’ – for 40% off all patterns, expiring Sunday 11/16 – valid both on Etsy and Swoodsonsays.com. #buyallthethings And if you are feeling lucky you can enter below to win 4 Swoodson Says patterns!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Other Blog Tour Stops:
Monday, November 9th: Friends Stitched Together / Sew Happily Ever After / The Crazy Tailor
Tuesday, November 10th: Felt With Love Designs / Sew Not Perfect / House of Estrela
Wednesday, November 11th: Lulu & Celeste / Handmade Boy / Rebel & Malice
Thursday, November 12th: Rebel & Malice / create3.5 / Free Notion
Friday, November 13th: Paisley Roots / The Wholesome Mama / Amazing Adventures With Bubba and Bug / Thread Riding Hood / Hugs are Fun
Disclaimer: I received the Little Photographer Camera pattern for free in exchange for this review post. I only feature projects I love. Thanks for reading and supporting Thread Riding Hood!
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 11, 2015
When my oldest went back to school I got a burst of sewing energy and decided to make her several school-related projects. There’s something very satisfying about sending your child to school with unique and useful things. I’d love to make her backpack one year, but I’m worried it would get beaten up really quickly, and they like to pick them out store-bought anyhow.
Each project is made with fabric she chose herself – after a bit of (possibly unwanted) consultation with me about matching/not matching combinations. We used some of my favorites, since I’ve decided that stashed fabric is not useful fabric, and should be off the shelf. Easier said than done when acquiring new fabrics is kinda my job!
1) Pencil Case: This one is my favorite, took the longest and looks the least exciting when photographed. (#argh!) I love how this little case turned out. It’s so cute! Now that the pattern is drafted for one, they would be really quick to make again. The front and sides are stabilized by a rectangle of vinyl place mat so they stay up. The inside raw edges are finished with bias tape. I even got to use the fancy letter stitching on my Janome Skyline S5. Each project has our last name stitched right into it! The only thing I think I would change is to add a tab to each end of the zipper, so it is easier to open and close.
2) Marker & Pencil Crayon Case: The most annoying thing when making art is having to find colours when they are all lying down. Many thanks to ikatbag for posting instructions on how to make this amazing stand-up marker case! It zips-up flat and then the sides fold back to let it stand up. The base has a piece of plastic in it as well, similar to the pencil case, to allow it to be stable. The inside of the case is made with rip-stop nylon – wipe-able to keep it clean. The construction, let alone the pattern drafting, is not the simplest. It’s easy in theory, but has lots of layers and finicky bits, including the bias tape edge finishing. Definitely worth making, but be prepared to spend lots of time on it.
3) Dry Erase Marker Eraser & Storage: Sorry, I’m not quickly coming up with a better name for that one! They use dry-erase pens instead of chalk boards in her school, so she needed “an old sock for erasing” and dry erase markers to take to school. Of course my child is not going to use “an old sock” to erase with! (Hee hee!) I made a little lined zip pocket for the pens and backed it with a piece of a towel. Erase with the towel, store the pens for next time. At least I imagine that is what she is doing… though I can’t be certain until everything comes back home in June!
4) Clear Binder Pocket: This project was meant to be for teacher notes and homework. Unfortunately, there’s a pocket in her agenda book for that, so currently it is in her binder looking pretty. Ah well! I got to use scraps of her favorite unicorn fabric in it. And it reminds her that her mom loves her when she sees it, right?! Maybe she’ll need it next year?
I have in the back of my head that it would be fun to make a sale-able pdf pattern for the Pencil Case and Clear Binder Pocket. (Maybe the Dry Erase Eraser as well if it looks useful to someone else.) Would that be something many of you would be interested in? Maybe in time for next year’s back to school push…
What handmade items do you send your kids back-to-school with? Or do you prefer to buy everything?
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 9, 2015
I’m not a big fan of darts. The clothing kind – not the throwing kind! Their construction can seem finicky. And lining up the dart legs drives the perfectionist in me crazy!
Enter stage left, the Citronille Jackie coat and the Pleated Pencil skirt. They have 6 to 8 darts each. #aaaaarrrrgggggh I figured there must be a better way than “fold in half to match dart legs” and came up with a needle & thread hand-basting option that makes my detail-oriented heart super-happy!
If you’ve been here long, you know that hand sewing of any kind is low on my priority list. So, if I propose doing it, the technique must be either: 1) Amazing or 2) Really, really quick. This technique fills both categories! (If I can say so myself?)
Speed up your sewing! Find out how to get perfectly matched dart legs the easy way in this Crafty blog post.
Thanks for checking it out! What do you think of this technique? Will you use it on your next project?
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 2, 2015
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This year, due to a general time crunch this month, I almost bought our costumes. I say almost, because I actually took the girls (for the first time ever) to look at the costume aisle. And then I regretted it… too many flimsy costumes labeled $20 and $30! Granted, if you buy a $50 one it may last a while, but for a one-time use costume, I have a hard time justifying the cost. I’d rather spend more on fabric to make a quality costume!
Now, I know how this sounds. And I know a lot of you buy costumes. (Namely some of my good friends.) So hang in there! I’m not stuck up, or a super mom – trust me! Purchased costumes are amazing, fast and glittery and generally look way more pulled together than my versions. But since my job is to sew, I am going to sew my kids’ Halloween costumes! (And hope they don’t hate them.)
This year I accidentally leaned heavily on a few of my favorite bloggers for costume help. While trudging through the masses of online “easy”, “quick” and “handmade” costume tutorials I came to a list featured on the DIY Network that I thought would work. My kids picked their favorites and I was so pleased to see that they were written by two bloggers that I follow regularly! Simple Simon and Company wrote the Black Cat tutorial, and Jess Abbott from the Sewing Rabbit wrote instructions for the Garden Fairy.
I won’t elaborate too much on the construction of them, due to the time crunch I mentioned earlier, and the fact that I have now clogged this post with way too many photos! Suffice it to say they were fast and now they are finished! One night’s work last Tuesday, since (procrastinating as usual, of course) the girls needed them on Wednesday for their Ballet class party. I was also fortunate that this Halloween they wore them 3 times, and I know they will live in the dress-up box for years to come. The amortization on them is worth it alone!
If you would like to see more handmade costumes, you can also find Cinderella, Pirate Princess and Izzy (Jake & the Neverland Pirates), Princess Leia and Little Red Riding Hood.
What do you think?How do you feel about premade costumes… hate ’em or love ’em?!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 21, 2015
Many times I scroll through an online fabric shop‘s stock and see licensed fabrics – Princesses, Avengers, even Dr Who – and I scroll right past.
It happens every time. Not sure why? Maybe it’s the cartoon-y look, or the overabundance of princess gear everywhere? If my kids are with me they immediately notice, “Mommy, go back! Up there! I think I saw – insert character here -.“
Last month, an email from The Fabric Society showed up in my inbox. They asked if I’d like to work with them. I clicked over to their site and sat scrolling through their huge stock of licensed fabrics – sitting, for once, with no other option. I realized the reason I don’t use licensed fabrics is not immediately clear to me. I realized it’s not all about me, I may not generally use licensed fabrics, but my kids LOVE them!
Going forward, there will be more stopping and less scrolling.
Since I love making my kids happy I changed my mind. I wrote back to The Fabric Society saying, “… I’m sure one or both of my girls (or even my husband!) would love to have something made with your fabrics.” #truth And that is how my youngest ended up with a My Little Pony and Marvel Immortals reversible skirt – with pockets. (Pockets are super important!)
“It’s not all about what I think, I may not generally use licensed fabrics, but my kids LOVE them!”
The perfect pattern to use for these (non-sleepwear) fabrics is the Potato Chip Skirt from Tie Dye Diva Patterns. I bought this pattern last year, I think, and have made it twice already. It comes with or without the all-important pockets and you can make it unlined, lined or reversible. I love that it will last you a long, long time because it comes in sizes 12-18 months through 13/14!
The instructions are well thought out and easy to follow. The finished skirt looks professional and so cute! I love the a-line shape and the fact that the elastic back does not need fasteners for dressing. I can see using it a lot more – maybe making a denim one with back pockets or adding front patch or inseam pockets to a linen version. Honestly, I’m pretty sure there isn’t anything I didn’t like about this pattern. I followed all the instructions exactly each time. The only thing I changes was to lower the front rise by 1″ – which seems to fit my kids better with most patterns.
“Honestly, I’m not sure if there is anything I didn’t like about this pattern.”
When I sat down to look through fabric options with my kids, it took 45 minutes for them to decide on their favorites! We linked and saved and scrolled back, over and over (and over) again. After much (much) debate, my youngest chose My Little Pony and Avengers. My oldest has some Cinderella and Star Wars fabric waiting in my to-do box as well! The girls didn’t want to leave my husband out, so they chose something for him too – not sure what for yet, but I’ve added it to the stash. It will likely turn into another pair of pajama pants.
Join the conversation! Do you sew with licensed fabrics? Why or Why not?
One day soon I will post about the other two skirts. For now, I’m still recovering from my weekend away at BlissDom – a social media and blogging conference. It was amazing and I’m hoping to write and tell you about it later on this week.
Follow #alongforthreadride!
Disclaimer: The Fabric Society provided the fabric for this skirt at no charge in exchange for a mention in this post. My opinions are my own and I will not support or write about anything I do not love or believe in. Thanks for reading! (Privacy Policy)
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 1, 2015
Ever since I made four more Noodlehead Cargo Duffles at Christmas last year I’ve been wanting to make some for my girls. They would be perfect for overnight stays at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. And how cute would it be to go on vacation with some too! I’ve recently been looking for the pattern yardage information and it reminded me that I meant to post this yardage-saving information earlier this year. Oops.
Moving on! When planning to make my family their Cargo Duffles, I wanted to do it as cost effectively as possible. When all the pieces were laid out, I noticed that the Cargo Duffle pattern yardage can be reduced quite a bit if you are careful! Of course, if you like having extra fabric around, Anna’s suggestions are just fine – and leave you room for error. Always a good way to go!
If you are looking to save fabric and use up some smaller cuts, the cutting layouts below work great and save you an entire yard of fabric. I would recommend that you are VERY careful when using the Exterior Main cutting layout (see below). It fits absolutely perfectly into a 1/2 yard cut. This leaves no room for error, or pre-washing/shrinking even! Make sure that whoever cuts your yardage is precise – and that the print is on-grain or not obvious – so if it is not straight it won’t look wrong when you make the bag.
Note: These cutting layouts do not include measurements. These are available in the free Cargo Duffle Pattern by Anna from Noodlehead. All other measurements in the pattern should be used as they are noted in the original Cargo Duffle Pattern. These layouts do not include the binding and canvas, interfacing etc.
Hope it helps! Let me know if you have any questions. One day I’ll make some for my girls… (I hope!)
Have you made an Overnight-Style Bag before? What is your favorite one?
Other useful Cargo Duffle related posts I’ve written are here:
