Tutorial: How to Make a Kitchen Towel with Snaps

In the spirit of towels, here is another fairly easy tutorial on how to make a kitchen towel with snaps. This way you can hang your towel on the dishwasher or oven, and keep it hanging.

Material needed:

-kitchen towel

-fabric

-snaps

Steps:

1) Cut kitchen towel in half (widthwise). 

2) Print and cut out pattern. (Click HERE for PDF)

3) Trace pattern on wrong side of fabric. You will need enough fabric to have two pieces that will be sewed together.

4) With right sides of fabric facing each other, sew along traced line (refer to pattern to see where to start and end). 

5) Cut excess fabric off (I leave enough at the bottom opening to fold in and leave a nice clean edge). Flip inside out. Fold bottom extra fabric in. Iron.

6) Scrunch up the raw edge of the kitchen towel. Stuff into the fabric opening (about 1-2 inches of the towel should be in the fabric pocket). Spread out so the pleats are evenly distributed.

7) Zigzag stitch two lines.

 8) Put in snaps.

I made coordinating oven mitts. This will be a housewarming gift for a friend. :)

Tutorial: How to make a Hooded Towel

I can't believe it's been half a year since I last posted! I know I keep making these empty promises that I will post more...blah blah... I'm just not gonna make promises I can't keep. Sorry! I will post when I can, and I am grateful you are still here to read it. :)

Anyway, here is a tutorial on how to make a hooded towel. My little kiddos have grown out of their baby hooded towels, so I decided to make my own. Here's how you can make one for your kid, as a gift, or even for yourself. ;)

Materials needed:

-bath towel

-hand towel

-fabric

Steps:

1) Get fabric that measures (length of hand towel+3") by 5" (or so...again approximating). Fold the top and bottom of the fabric and iron.

2) Lay the fabric on top of your hand towel an inch or so from the bottom (so that it covers where you folded the hand towel up). Fold the extra fabric under (I like to sandwich it between the fold of the hand towel).

3) Sew all the way around.

4) Fold the hand towel in half lengthwise (fabric facing each other). Sew along the right edge (reference photo below). 

5) Fold the bath towel in half and mark the center with a pin.

6) (Note: I think it is actually better to not cut the bulky stub, but I did so for the one I made here.) Open up the hand towel, so the bottom edge lays flat. Align the centers of the hand towel and bath towel.

7) Sew the hand towel and the bath towel together. I sew at least 3 rows to reinforce.

8) You can applique the initials of your kids so you know which towel belongs to whom.

Tutorial: How to Make Decorative Wooden Blocks

Wow, it has been too long!!! I am grateful to all those who have stopped by in the past few months, and I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long. Where do the days go? I feel like from the moment I open my eyes to the last few minutes before I fall asleep, I am completely ON! Having 3 kids under the age of 4 is no easy job. Phew~ Anyway, hope you are all gearing up for the holidays. I actually got my tree up already! (yes, I am one of those people who starts listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving has even passed) ;) I will post pictures of the tree at a later time. Hopefully it won't be months before I do.

I am glad to be putting up a new blog post. Seeing those burp cloths on my front page for so long was driving me nutso. Well, these blocks are dear to my heart. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I started my dreaming and longing for a sweet baby girl. I began to make these blocks to decorate my nursery. And of course instead of making them gender neutral (I made them before I knew gender of my baby), I made them obviously for a girl. And then I had a boy. I held onto them for the next few years, but with each sonogram revealing that beautiful boy part, I knew that using these to decorate our nursery was a dream that wasn't going to come true. So recently when a good friend of mine had a baby shower for her baby girl, I knew I wanted to give them to her. (and if one day I have that girl...I will snatch them back...kidding...).

Materials needed:

-4"x4" cubes of wood
-sandpaper
-scrapbook paper
-Mod Podge
-dark brown paint
-sponge brush
-vinyl (used for letters)

*Since I made these so long ago, I don't have step-by-step photos. But I think it is easy enough without seeing the photos.

Steps:

1)  Have a nice employee at Home Depot cut the wood blocks for me. Use sandpaper to smooth down the edges and corners.

2) Cut the scrapbook paper into 4"x4" squares. (I used 6 different sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper so each face of the cube would have a different design.) Then glue them on with Mod Podge.

3) After it has dried, use a sponge brush to dab dark brown paint on the edges. This gives it a vintage-y look.

4) Cut letters (or whatever designs you'd like) from vinyl (I used my Silhouette Cameo for this part).

5) I didn't do this, but you could mod-podge it after you're done so that it has a more finished look. I kept them as is in case my friend wants to remove them...(translation: "or in case I have that girl and I want to remove them"...kidding....)

The baby girl's last name is Choo. And her first initial "A". Hence "achoo"....bless you~ ;)

Note: These are not for the baby to play with. These are for decorative use only. :)

Tutorial: How to make Burp Cloths

Burp cloths are a necessity with a 2 month-old. Spit-ups are inevitable...and oh does my baby spit up. I like to have lots of burp cloths on hand (since I don't like doing the laundry every day). Here are some simple burp cloths that you can make during your baby's nap. They also make great baby shower gifts.

Materials needed:
-Tri-fold cloth diapers (I got these on Amazon. I purchased the Regular 4x6x4 size.)
-fabric (cut a little bit bigger than the middle portion of the cloth diaper)
-thread

Steps:
1) Place your fabric on top of the middle portion of the cloth diaper. Fold the edges under so that it makes a neat rectangle covering the middle portion. Iron the edges.

2) Pin the fabric onto the cloth diaper.

3) Clip the corners a little bit so there is no fabric sticking out.

4) Sew using an 1/8" seam allowance (or at close to the edge as you can get it). Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and end.

That's it! Burp away~! :)

Tutorial: How to make Beco Baby Carrier Strap Covers

Recently when my sister-in-law was in town, she asked me to help her make strap covers for her Beco baby carrier. I see several tutorials out there for making sucking pads/strap covers for the Ergo baby carrier, but haven't seen many for the Beco. The Beco strap covers are not for the thicker part of the straps, but actually the nylon part that clips onto the bigger thicker part (if you have one, you will know what I am talking about). This nylon strap is placed right where most babies' mouths are, and when sucked on, they leave red marks on the side of your baby's mouth. Not good. So if you have a Beco, you will want to make these. :)

Material needed:

-Fabric

-Batting (I use Warm & Natural cotton batting)

-Thread

-Velcro

Steps:

1) Cut four 6" x 6"  pieces out of your fabric. Cut two 6" x 6"  pieces out of your batting.

2) Place two fabric pieces together (right sides facing together) and then a piece of batting below that.

3) Sew layers together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Make sure to leave at least a 2" opening for turning inside out.

4) Clip corners and trim off excess batting. Turn inside out. Poke out corners. 

5) Topstitch using a 1/8" seam allowance all the way around.

6) Sew velcro pieces in place. 

 

Look at it in action~! :)

 

Owie Owl & Booboo Bear Tutorial

A while back my 3-year-old bumped his head pretty badly and I had to get an ice-pack to control the swelling. I went to the freezer to take out a bag of peas, but he started crying even more. He didn't like how cold and icy it was. My boy is a very sensitive child. So I decided to make an "ice-pack" for him that would be cute and distracting...and not so "icy". Booboo Bear has been a good pal in times of need. I made one for the school nurse as a thank-you gift as well. Owie Owl is a version I made for my niece. I think either one is great for a boy or girl! These are easy to whip up and make for cute little gifts. They are ice packs, but they can also be heated up in the microwave for use as a heat pack. (See below for a poem card to include if gifting these.)

Hope you enjoy the tutorials! (You can skip down if you just want to make Booboo Bear.)

*Please, for Personal Use Only...thanks!*


{Tutorial for Owie Owl}

Materials Needed:

• Fabric
• Felt scraps (for eyes/beak of owl)
• Fusible web (i.e. Wonder Under)
• Rice (short or medium grain)

1) Print out pattern. (Click HERE for PDF)

2) Cut out pattern. Trace eyes and beak onto fusible web. (Note: Trace "whites" and "blacks" of eyes separately.)

3) Trace pattern onto wrong side of fabric.

4) Trace onto right side of fabric as well. Make sure that the outlines match up. This is to ensure that we  place the eyes, beak and wings in the correct place.

5) Iron fusible web tracings of the eyes and beak onto the scrap felt pieces. Peal off backing of fusible web and iron onto the right side of fabric.

6) Zigzag stitch around eyes to secure in place.

7) I hand-sewed the beak to secure in place. You can also machine sew.

8) Zigzag stitch wings into place. (You can refer to the pattern to make sure you place them in the correct spot. They should stick out a tad beyond the traced outline of owl.)

9) With right sides of fabric facing each other, sew along traced line. (Note: I do this because I feel like it is easier than cutting outline first and then sewing a 1/4 inch seam allowance.) Make sure you leave a couple inches open at the bottom for flipping inside out and filling with the rice.

10) Cut excess fabric, leaving extra fabric near opening. (I find this helps with sewing opening closed)

11) Flip inside out. Fill with rice (don't overfill). Blind stitch the opening closed. And you're finished! :)

Owie Owl to the RESCUE~

Now for her partner....Booboo Bear...



{Tutorial for Booboo Bear}

Materials Needed:

• Fabric (I used flannel)
• Felt and fabric scraps (for eyes/nose/hands/feet/ears/tummy)
• Embroidery thread for mouth
• Fusible web (i.e. Wonder Under)
• Rice (short or medium grain)

1) Print out pattern (Click HERE for PDF)

2) Cut out pattern. Trace eyes, nose, hands, feet, ears, tummy onto fusible web. (Note: I label them so I will know which is which later.)

3) Trace pattern onto front and back side of fabric. (I lift up to light to make sure the outlines are matching up.)

4) Iron the traced body parts onto fabric.

5) Cut out body parts, peel off backing of fusible web and iron onto fabric.

6) Zigzag stitch around body parts to secure in place. With right sides of fabric facing each other, sew along traced line...make sure to leave opening (I left the top of the head of bear open). 

7) Cut excess fabric. Flip inside out. Fill with rice (don't overfill). Blind stitch the opening closed. And you're finished! :)

***Print out little poem to include if you are giving this as a gift. (Click HERE for PDF)

Owie Owl and Booboo Bear are coming to the rescue~ :)

Happy Sewing!