I WAS FEATURED!

Today my hooded puppy towel was featured over at Ladybug Blessings. Head on over there and see all of the other great items featured!

Warm fleece hat

 I found a great tutorial online today on how to make this fleece hat. I had the materials on hand so I decide to stitch it up quick before I pick my three year old son up from day care. Yes, I did say quick. It only took about 45 minutes. He loves it!! I put it on his head and he tore off running around the daycare showing it off. You would have thought that he had just got a new bike!

The tutorial is well written with a lit of great pics. It also has a downloadable pattern that prints to a 1:1 scale. It is an easy project that you'll have a lot of fun with. Here's the link. http://fromanigloo.blogspot.com/2010/09/warm-winter-hat-pattern-and-tutorial.html

I could of used a brighter back drop

Hooded puppy towel tutorial



I decided to create a tutorial for the towel pictured above. This is how i made it and I am by no means an expert. How ever it turned out fantastic!

The materials needed: One large bath towel and one hand towel of corresponding color.

One hand towel of contrasting color for the ears and the spot

Two large buttons for the eyes and corresponding thread colors

We're gonna start off by making the hood.

Take the hand towel that is the same color of the bath towel and cut it in half as shown in the picture below. Your only going to need one half.

Find the center of the bath towel and one half of the hang towel. You can fold them in half to find center. Place the cut hand towel onto the bath towel matching the centers with the raw edge of the hand towel 1/4 inch away from the edge of the bath towel as shown below and pin the two together.

Sew the two edges together staying about 3/8 inch from the raw edge of the fabric. I used a zig zag stitch for this step. remember to back tack the beginning and end of the stitch.

 

Flip the hood up and run a stitch along along the edge of the bath towel. this step will conceal the raw edge of the fabric and keep it from unraveling. See the two pictures below.



Fold the towel and hood in half with the right sides out as shown and pin them together. This will enclose the top of the hood material creating the crown of the hood. I chose to make it curved.

Sew a curved seam around the top of the hood leaving a minimum of 1/8 inch seam allowance. Trim the excess material off leaving the 1/8 inch seam allowance. Fold the hood wrong side out and sew along the edge of the top of hood staying about 3/8 inch in from the edge. This will finish the hood with a french seam. Now just turn it right side out.

Sketch out a pattern on a piece paper of what you would like the ears to look like and the add 1/2 inch to the edges for the seam allowance. Transfer completed pattern to the contrasting color hand towel and cut out four identical pieces.

Place two pieces togather and sew them leaving a 1/2 inch seam alowance.YOU MUST LEAVE THE TOP END OPEN. The clip in the picture is place at the top of the ear. Repeat for the other ear.

Fold both ears inside out and you have two puppy ears.

Fold the open end of the ears back inside of them approximatly 1/2 inch and pin to the hood. Remember to change the color of you bobbin thread and not to sew through both sides of the hood.
Sew the ear to the hood using stitching along the edge of the top of the ear and the 1/2 in ch down the ear. I used a zig zag stitch. Repeat process for the other side.

That's what they should look like.

Using the remader of the contrasting hand towel cut out a spot. Use a unique shape that you like and place it anywhere and pin it down.

Sew the spot to the hood using a zig zag stitch that over laps the edge to keep it from fraying and the pulling away from the hood.

Lay the hood flat or have a child put it on his/her head to determine placement of the eyes and mark the center of where each eye will be attatched. Once satified with the placement of the eyes go ahead and sew them on.

Now that you have finished the sewing you need to wash it. After it has been washed inspect the towel and trim any loose threads.
That's it!

Sewing Satifaction

I get the look of disbelief when people find out that I enjoy sewing. A common misconception is that sewing is exclusively a hobby for women and feminine men. I am neither of them. I have a wife and three young sons and have been accused of being to Manley to father a daughter! For me sewing isn't about something pink and girly. It is about Creating something from nothing. Sewing is truly an art form.

My goal with sew is to hone my skills to the point where I can create a quality garments. I still have a long way to go, but i am sure that i will get there eventually.

Baby burp cloths

This is two sets of three burp rags that I have made. They are super simple to make and make great gifts for expecting mother. They are made with three ply Gerber cloth diapers and I used a decorative flanel clothe for the front sides. they are aproximately 17 by 18 inches. It is very important to pre was all of the materials. You should be able to find the diapers at most department stores.



A set that I made for a baby boy




Front and back view



Why can't my wife learn how to sew?

I was hesitant at first when my wife asked me to sew something that was pink and girly. She was having a gift exchange with some of her girlfriends and they agreed that the gifts were not to cost over ten dollars each and they had to be hand made. She came to me asking if I would make 5 fabric clutches(small purses) for her. I told her no, I have no interest in making something that is pink and girly. Besides, what would their husbands think when they found out that I was sewing purses? It took about a week before I said why not. Who cares what color it is or what its purpose is, it was a lot of fun and very rewarding to make. She found the tutorial at http://www.marthastewart.com/article/fabric-clutch.