by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 5, 2013
Today I’m bringing back an oldie-but-goodie! The I Spy Bag has been around for quite a while but the most recent tutorials that pop up on my Google search are from 2011. It seems the trend to make these has died down. When I went searching for a tutorial for this myself it was used to make gifts for the kids at my youngest’s first birthday party over 2 years ago! I went searching high and low through my bookmarks trying to find the same tutorial I used then and I can’t find it anywhere. So… I have made a new tutorial for you based on what I can remember with the usual “few changes” of course! (If you happen to find an I Spy tutorial made this way can you tell me? I’d like to give proper credit where it is due. Thanks.)
It’s amazing how quickly these go together. Once you have the supplies it only requires a few seams and you are good to keep your kids busy for a while! They make great party favours, easy gifts or stocking stuffers and are great to give with a new baby gift so any siblings don’t feel left out. Despite their ease, I have a confession to make. This is one of those projects that has been on the back burner for far too long. If I have calculated it right I promised to make these 2 years ago… oof… how did that happen? I’m pretty embarrassed about it, and feel guilty that I know the friend I’m making them for will be super gracious about it. I am really relieved to have finally finished these. I suppose telling you this is a somewhat cathartic exercise for me – though I’m not sure I feel entirely “better” having confessed! It is just good to have finished.
I am always surprised at the number of projects I start that I have not finished even a year later (never-mind two!). I have a friend who will only work on one thing at a time and won’t move on until she is finished. How I envy her discipline! I’m curious how you handle your projects – do you finish everything you start? Or begin and end when the mood strikes?
Either way – here is the tutorial so you can finish a bunch, or leave them on your shelf for a year! (and “either way” – be sure to pin it so you don’t forget!)
You will need:
- 2 pieces of 5 1/2″ square fabric
- 1 piece of 5 1/2″ square clear vinyl – I used 8 gauge vinyl
- 5″ length of ribbon or twill tape
- mini objects for spying (beads, pom poms, buttons)
- cardstock printed or laminated card with items
- fabric glue for extra durability – I used Liquid Stitch
- plastic pellets – I got mine from Michael’s with a 40% off coupon
Here we go:
(1) Make the cards with the listed items. I used a business card size and found a self-laminating kit at our local Dollar Store. Punch a hole in one corner. Feed the ribbon/twill tape through the hole and fold it in half. Stitch through the tape close to the card to hold it in place.
(2) Draw a 3″ square in the middle of the wrong side of one piece of fabric. Cut through the small square from corner to corner diagonally (see photo).
(3) Fold each triangle back along your drawn line to make the I spy window. Centre and glue the vinyl on the wrong side of the fabric. Glue ONLY around the window area.
(4) When the glue is dry, trim the excess fabric “triangles” to approximately 1/2″ (see photo). Stitch twice around the window area. I used a decorative stitch. If the presser foot sticks to the vinyl try using this trick. Do not trim the vinyl, it adds extra strength to the toy.
(5) Glue the window (with vinyl backing) and outer back fabric, right sides together around the edge. Leave a 2″ opening in the top left hand corner for turning. ** Make sure the glue is only within 1/2″ of the outer edge so it is in the seam allowance when you sew it. When the glue is dry, stitch around the edge with a 1/2″ seam allowance, making sure not to stitch over your opening. Clip corners and trim all edges to 1/4″ except at opening (see photo). Finish your edges by cutting with pinking shears or use a zig zag stitch on all edges except the opening.
(6) Turn the bag inside out. Fold the opening edges to the inside. Iron the edges, be careful not to melt the vinyl.
(7) Fill with the plastic pellets. I used 1/2 cup. Fill with a funnel and be sure to insert your mini objects. (I usually double-check that I have the correct objects as I put them in, just in case!) Insert the ribbon 1″ into the opening and glue the opening shut.
(8) When the glue is dry, unpin the opening and re-pin around the edge of the bag, forcing the pellets into the centre. Top-stitch around the edge of the bag, this will also close the opening. Double-stitch over the ribbon to make it extra secure. All done!
I’d love to see your I Spy Bag! Post your project on Facebook and it might end up in a “You Made It” post here on the blog. I’d love to hear if you liked this tutorial or any changes you might make. Thanks!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 31, 2013
I got it done! Hooray, I finished the costumes! Maybe not 1 hour a day for 7 days in a row, like the KCW challenge – but they are done! And one full day before Halloween! Oh, and Happy Halloween to you and your family… The kids wanted to be princesses again this year, but (rightly or wrongly) I dissuaded them because every girl this age is a princess – and we did the Cinderella thing last year. Still we ended up with a princess – but at least a Pirate Princess – and my youngest is Izzy, both from Jake and the Never Land Pirates. And – most important – my girls are very happy!
I realized soon after starting, that I was never going to finish them if I did a full tutorial – but if you are curious how part of it went together please feel free to ask! I am going to post a tutorial (ignoring the fact that it will be after Halloween) for the Pixie Dust bag Izzy carries and the Pirate Hat on my oldest because I think they will transfer well into other costumes and party ideas. And the little bag would be a cute matchy addition to a little girl’s handmade dress. Or a boy’s treasure bag if you shorten the strings – maybe for carrying all of those tiny cars around?!
Here is a run-down on the Izzy costume. I used the raglan sleeve dress pattern from ikat bag again to make the shirt. She has kindly provided a size 5 and a size 3 version – but it is very easy to add extra room to this style of dress if you want to re-size it – just add the width to the edge that is on the fold when you are cutting the fabric. I used the size 5 and added a bit of width because I want it to fit over her fall jacket. The leggings are Fancy Pants Leggings in a super sparkly stretchy purple knit. I about pulled my hair out stitching these the first time, but sorted it out when making the second pair – since they each have one. Seems my machine would stitch horribly through 2 layers, but it worked great with 3 layers. So I cut 3/8″ wide strips and fed them in under the presser foot along the seam allowance as I went. Now we have amazing sparkly seams on the inside too! I would show you but the pants are with my daughter at school – hmmm… forgot to think ahead there.
Izzy’s Pixie Dust bag tutorial will be coming soon and I’ll try to remember to link this post to it. (*Update: Izzy’s Pixie Dust Bag tutorial link) The bandanna was not too bad – a triangle with extra length at the corners for tying. I hemmed the front edge, added elastic in a large rounded shape so it would gather, then tied it on my daughter’s head for size so I could stitch the tie in place – Now they can play dress-up without asking me to tie it on each time! The white swirls are “puffy paint” dried in 10 minutes with a hair dryer (yes, I am that impatient!).
Pirate Princess photo via
For the Pirate Princess (does she have a real name?!) I was required to be a bit more creative. Again, an ikat bag dress as the shirt with elbow length sleeves. I wanted the dress to be elasticized across the back – similar to ready-made ones, so they can fit more than one size. To do that I made the front fabric a bit slimmer than the original size 5 pattern and added extra to the back dress bodice piece. I cut the vest to the same size as the shirt pieces and stitched them on together. Then I added elastic across the back in two places so it still fits without being too baggy.
The vest “corset” lines are yellow bias tape stitched under and over the edges of the vest fabric. The skirt is a long rectangle rounded on both bottom corners with a ruffle along the edges. The waist is sparingly gathered leaving room for stretch and then attached to an exposed elastic waistband. I attached the shirt to the elastic as well so it is one piece – easy on and off for the kids (again with playing dress-up in mind!). The “real” Pirate Princess carries a sword with a diamond on the end to make rainbows – but we already had a diamond wand at home and there have been no complaints, so we’ll leave it that way! Ditto on the boots – they are “supposed to be” purple with a scalloped yellow edge – but that takes more time so the purple rain boots stand in. I’ll link up a tutorial to the Pirate Princess hat when it goes up as well.
It’s a good thing my kids aren’t too picky about the little details yet! I was sewing these like a crazy person and used my pinking shears to their full potential to finish the edges on all of the (one fold) casings and hems. Saving time is very important around here!
We’ve got a rainy day today – with the potential for a very wet night. And of course it is chilly, being up North, so Izzy and the Pirate Princess will look like they have gained a bit of weight with coats underneath! But I’m sure they will be excited to get their fill of candy anyhow – wet or not. And I know these costumes will get a lot more use because the kid’s love to act out their favorite shows – one reason why I still “bother” to sew their costumes! Ok, that and the look on their faces when I am finished – makes it worth every hour spent!
Did you make your kid’s costume? I’d love to see it. If you want to check out more costumes I am linking this one up to the Project Run and Play costume link-up, and to the KCW site as well (click below) – since it really was a KCW project anyhow!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 24, 2013
This one took two nights, but it is not the fault of the tutorial, it is my fault for trying to do too many things this week! KCW Day 3 I sorted out the measurements/fabric for the skirt and KCW Day 4 I made it. Tomorrow it is on to Halloween costumes – Izzy for my youngest and the Pirate Princess for my oldest (from Jake and the Never Land Pirates) – so you will likely not hear from me until Monday again!
I found the Daffodil Skirt tutorial when Jenya (While She Was Sleeping) commented on something here a while back. I love reading and answering everyone’s comments – and I also love checking out your blogs. I’m a super curious person, so I have to see what everyone is up to! I pinned her cute little gray daffodil maxi skirt tutorial and thought this would be a good time to make one. She has provided a nice tutorial for a flat front waistband skirt, the back of the waistband is elasticized for easy dressing. While you are thinking about it – can I just say how much I LOVE comments and hearing what you think about what I’ve written, and I ALWAYS answer back! Thank especially to everyone who takes the time to comment on a regular basis – it means a lot!
(back to the skirt…) When I saw that Jenya had used a small wale corduroy for her skirt I was especially excited to make it for the fall season, since corduroy is such a warm and cozy fabric. I have to admit that the colours are not very fall friendly – and that I am envisioning lots of mud stained eyelet. Especially since it is only 2 inches off of the ground! The reason I still used the fabrics is that my daughter chose the light pink with lemon coloured dots and green pears last November, and I still had not made anything with it. I already owned the darker pink and some eyelet – and they seemed like a good stash busting combination. I now have about half of the pink and lemon dots, enough eyelet to make a tiny dress (yay!) and I’m done with the darker pink – HOORAY! Right now I’m loving using stuff up.
Even thought the extra tier makes this skirt more “Little House on the Prairie” than Jenya’s version, I’m glad I added it in. My daughter loves it and it’s one of the only things she’s gotten in the last while that she’s been happy with enough to ask to wear it for the rest of the day. She tries to suggest numerous changes to most things I make anymore! I suppose when you are almost 6 you are allowed to have your own fashion sense. For now I’m happy to go along with it, even if she’s not the trendiest kid on the block – as long as she is happy!
ARRrr me hearties! I be off to stitch up some tiny pirate duds…. (Have a great weekend! I’ll be having fun at Creativ Festival on Saturday. Check me out on Twitter if you want to follow along!)
Click on the button above to visit the KCW site. If you want to see my Daffodil Skirt on the KCW site you can go here.
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 23, 2013
I was looking for a quick project yesterday for KCW. I had some client work to do, and my daughter is not in Nursery school on Tuesday and Thursdays – so it’s always a bit busier. I’ve used this mitten pattern from ikat bag a lot! I’ve made them several times in fleece and flannel, once or twice in rip-stop nylon – though it doesn’t work as well, even if it is waterproof. I reviewed the pattern last year here. And, believe it or not (likely you believe it!) I have had this pair in my project basket since I posted the last pair (see the previous same link for confirmation!).
I re-puroposed one of my daughter’s fleece sleepers for this project. I love the brown dotted fleece and it matches her fall coat really well. I’m hoping to use the rest of the sleeper to make a hat and some kind of neck warmer – though I am having difficulty finding anything safe besides this quick release scarf that I’m not sure she can manage on her own. And which, incidentally, I just pinned to my “For the Kids – Clothes” Pinterest board.
I used the cuffs from the sleeper as the cuffs on the new mittens. If you are curious how I cut it, I left the sleeper sleeves sewn together and lined up the pattern pieces with the ends of the cuffs. I cut the outer back piece from one side of the sleeve and the bottom palm piece from the other side of the same sleeve. Make sure, if you do this, that the sides line up. It should look something like the photo below when you are done cutting those two pieces. Now you can proceed as per the instructions, sewing only to the bottom of the open areas when directed to sew the sides.
I also figured out a way to keep the thumb lining inside the thumb – which is seriously exciting to me! It’s actually a small step, but it makes a big difference when your kids are expected to easily wear the final product. Take a look at the photo below (both lining and outer are inside out)…
- Match up lining palm to outer palm to get the right orientation for the thumbs.
- Now line up just the thumbs and zigzag over the seam allowance of both lining and outer thumb ends before turning the mittens inside out.
- Turn them together using some kind of pointy object (I used a Sharpie) to push the outer thumb into the lining thumb while the outer is inside out.
- Then turn the entire mitten so the lining is right side out (as per the directions to sew the casing).
Easy! I suppose you could also do this with the finger portion of the mittens… but I didn’t think of that last night!
On to KCW Day 3. What are you sewing?
Click on the button above to visit the KCW site. If you want to see my ikat bag Mittens on the KCW site you can go here.
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 22, 2013
Here is my KCW Update: Day 1! I made two pairs of Fancy Pants Leggings (Sew Fab Fall 2013 Pattern Bundle). I have been saving this jegging-esque interlock knit since my trip to Hamilton in June of this year. I wanted to make legging with it – so this was the perfect time.
The Fancy Pants Leggings pattern is really well written with TONS of information about sizing, knits, adjustments… Laura (Craftstorming) has done an amazing job of writing up easy to follow instructions with well taken photos. On the topic of photos – if you bribe your kids by telling them they can jump on your bed for a photo shoot be sure to tell the responsible older one to stay still while the smaller one jumps. It helps to keep at least one person in the photo in focus!
I got to do some altering of the pattern based on my kids’ sizes. They each spanned 4 sizes based on height, inner leg length, hips and waist! In the end I traced the correct size for each part of the body and re-drew the connecting lines. It worked really well and they fit perfectly everywhere I altered them (hooray!). Unfortunately I forgot that my kids leggings usually have a shorter rise and I should have shortened this one significantly. I think I will go back, remove the waistband and shorten it so they will get more use.
The cutest part of this pattern is the separate bum panel. I had to resist the urge to add in a crazy coloured knit there – but for leggings my kids will wear out of the house I don’t think it’s probably a good option. I would love to try a pair of pj pants with multi-prints and colours now though – it would look so cute! Especially since I now have an almost perfectly sized pattern piece for each of them!
If you want to visit the KCW website to see some other great projects click on the button below. If you want to see my Fancy Pants Leggings on the KCW site you can go here.
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 21, 2013
I have decided to take on the Kid’s Clothes Week Challenge this fall! I feel a bit behind, since everyone else has been doing this for like… forever… I even had to look up what it was. (Shhh… don’t tell anyone!) So, just in case you don’t know what it is either I will give you my 2 sentence understanding of the challenge. 1) You agree to sew for your kids (at least) 1 hour every day for 7 days starting today. 2) You load your photos up to the kid’s clothes week website and blog about it if you want to. ~ Sounds easy?
I’m excited because my oldest actually needs a few things this fall. Cardigans, leggings, zip-up sweaters, dresses… ummm… 1 hour a day is not going to cut it! I’m also excited because I’ve got some great patterns to work with from the Sew Fab bundle. I was going to write out my plan for the week, but I still have to think it up! I will see if I can get more organized tomorrow. Are you going to join the challenge, I’m curious, what are you going to sew?!
Back to today, this Made by Me Monday’s project was going to start on Friday night. I have a Sewcial club, we named ourselves the Material Girls, at my place once a month and I had everything ready to cut out. Until it didn’t happen… turns out it was more fun to talk about sewing than actually sew something! So, I worked on it Saturday night and finished it late Saturday early Sunday, in time to wear to church.
When I first saw the Sally dress from Very Shannon patterns (luvinthemommyhood) it made me want to sew it. It looks like such a happy dress – and I love the square neckline and giant pockets. (Helps that her daughter looks super-cute in it too!) Anyhow – because my bloggy budget is not huge I put buying things like patterns on the back burner – fabric comes first! – and about jumped for joy to see it included in the Sew Fab bundle. Really! It was the second pattern that I printed the instructions for a few weeks ago and while I was waiting for some others to print, I decided to design it up a bit and doodled on the pattern cover like so:
Awesome! It was so easy to design it when I drew over the lines in the photo and I’m super excited that the end result looks very much like my drawing! I had some green Kona and California Dreamin’ from my Bee Modern Fabrics trip. And, since my youngest daughter had chosen the California Dreamin’ herself I decided to make her the dress.
Overall I am happy with how the dress turned out. It is SUCH a cute pattern! I love the neckline and the elbow sleeves (and the giant pockets!). It is very well written and includes very detailed instructions, including how to fully line the bodice the “proper” way. All of the instructions are illustrated – making everything very professional. It was also nice to only have 2 pages to print out for the pattern pieces – the bodice and the sleeve!
The details I added were pretty easy, though time consuming. The large pleat – similar to Figgy’s Scirocco – and the 2 pintucks on either side. Also the tiny pleats on the sleeves that I had so much fun ironing (ha!). The tiny pompom trim was the thing that gave me the most trouble. It had almost no flat space to work with beside the pompoms, so I tried stitching it on with a zipper foot – only to have to try again – and rip stitches and again – and rip stitches and… again. Argh! I should have hand-stitched it on – but once I had figured that out I was on the last pocket, I’m slow to give up on machine stitching something!
Unfortunately, there is one thing I am not so happy with. I think I gave this pattern a run for it’s money by not making a muslin of the bodice. Since it does not have any zippers or button closures, it turns out that it is super hard to get on and off of my daughter. I was a bit worried about it when I was adding the long sleeves that it would not have enough room, and I suppose I should have listened to myself. If I was making it with long sleeves again I would add in enough room to put a long-ish zipper in the back, one that extends past the bodice and into the skirt – since the bottom of the bodice is the tight area that makes it hard to get into. I also have to say that my daughters both have arms that are not super skinny – so that likely doesn’t help either!
I’m curious to know what you think of the Sally dress – will you give it a go? It is SO cute… I’m wondering if I should make a sleeveless version for my oldest for KCWC because she loves to wear her summer dresses to school in the winter with long sleeved tops underneath. I also think that removing the sleeves will allow for her to more easily put it on. We’ll see!
