WAZZU Sock Monkeys!

I happen to have many many family members, from both sides, who are huge WSU Fans. One of my aunts recently commissioned three sock monkeys made from Cougars socks! I thought it was a great idea... and they look so cute!

This one is for my niece Kiya. I'm not sure who the other two are for, but there are so many Cougs fans in her family, I'm sure she won't have a problem finding these monkeys loving homes! :)

 

These team sock monkeys would make a great gift... what's your favorite team?

Wedding Gift

I have seen some lovely embroidery designs like this around the internet, and thought it would make the perfect gift for my cousin's wedding. I have made one before, but unfortunately have no pictures (they weren't backed up before my computer crashed). This is a relatively simple gift to make, because you only need to use one embroidery stitch. Just make sure your lines are as smooth as possible, and your stitches are all uniform size, and it looks so pretty! I want to make one for myself next, to adorn our new home.

 

I used some natural unbleached cotton, I like the look of the little flecks in it. For the arrow, I tried some sparkly thread to add just bit of a glittery accent! 

I don't know what happened to my camera here, but I'll pretend like I did it on purpose... the effect is soft and pretty! This is the back, all nice and neat so you can't see any raw edges and the messy underside of the embroidery.

I hope she enjoys it! :)

New Elephants in the Shop!

These took a while to make, because this little guy:

*aww, sweet kisses for mama!*

is my new boss! He tells me what to do all the time, and it's usually, "hold me!". I am only too happy to oblige! But somewhere between baby, getting ready to move, karate classes, and more, I did manage to make a whole parade's worth of elephants! (Among other things, which are not quite ready yet).

I have so much fun deciding what the fabric combinations on these will be! These elephants look good with more "realistic" (gray) colors, with crazy bright colors, or pretty pale colors.. you just can't go wrong! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

The light gray one has already sold, the dark gray one with red and white striped ears has already been put into two treasuries, and lots of people have hearted them! So if you want one, don't wait too long, or they might be gone! :)

Quick Shark Pajamas

I found some really cute pajama pants in great condition at the thrift store the other day. I picked them up for Kade, but he wanted a matching set- so I grabbed a navy blue shirt, and and orange shirt, at the dollar store, and did a quick project!

 

I found the shark silhouettes on Google and printed them out. I traced them onto Heat'n Bond, and used the orange shirt and some light blue fabric I already had to make some big sharks for the front of the navy blue shirt.

It took less than half an hour, and looks really cool! Kade is very happy with it!

When the weather gets cold later this fall, I can use the rest of the fabric from the orange shirt to make long sleeves. Perfect! :) 

Tutorial- Baby Mittens

Hello!

I have another tutorial for you today!

There are lots of tutorials for baby mittens around the internet, but I haven't actually seen one for my favorite style. These have a stretchy cuff that is snug enough to keep the mittens on baby's hand, but not too tight like elastic can sometimes be. The inside is lined, and there are NO raw edges, anywhere!

You can make these out of any type of material. Above, I have soft jersey knit (gray), quilting cotton (hounds-tooth), and super-soft minky (striped). I like them all, but I think my favorite is the knit. It's more lightweight for this warmer weather we've been having.

Baby mittens aren't just for winter! They keep baby Cole from scratching his face with his quick growing fingernails. I also like to use them on cool early morning car rides to take my oldest to school. Cole also loves chewing on his fingers, and chewing on fabric, and this way he gets to do both at the same time!

Shall we begin? Here is what you'll need:

*Pattern
*Ribbed knit (or very stretchy jersey knit)
*Fabric for the outside (jersey knit, quilting cotton, flannel, or soft minkys)
*Fabric for the lining (a soft lightweight knit works best)

Pattern- You can very easily make your own pattern. For the cuff, you'll need a 4" square. For the mitten, you need a square that is 3.5" tall, and 3.75" wide. Just gently round the top two corners to make a nice roomy mitten shape. I started rounding in at about 1.5" up. See below:

Step 1: Cut two 4-inch squares from your ribbed knit.
*IF you decide to use stretchy knit fabric instead (like t-shirt fabric), make sure it has a lot of stretch to it! The direction of the stretch will be important when we sew the cuff, so pay attention to which direction is the stretchiest.

Step 2: Cut four mitten pieces from your lining fabric. A nice soft lightweight knit would be most comfortable. I just re-purpose old t-shirts for this!

 

Step 3:  Cut four mitten pieces from your outer fabric.

  

Now that we have all our pieces cut, it's time to start sewing them together!

Step 4: Pin everything, right sides together!

For the cuffs- fold the ribbing in half, so that the lines run in the same direction as the fold, and the same direction that you will be sewing your seam (along the long bottom edge, opposite the fold).
*If using stretchy knit instead of ribbing- Direction of the stretch is important! Using my photo below as an example, the LEAST stretchy direction is right to left (or side to side). It is stretchiest up and down, so that the cuff can easily stretch open to put it over baby's hand.

 

Step 5: Sew!

-Sew up the long side of the cuff. (I use about a 1/4" seam allowance for everything) Do not stretch the fabric as you sew!! 

-Sew the outer mitten pieces, leaving the flat bottom open. 

-Sew the mitten lining pieces, leaving a 1.5" opening on the side of each one for turning.

This is just a closeup of the lining pieces, so you can see the opening I left for turning.

 

Step 6: Clip little triangles around the curves of all mitten pieces. This will reduce bulk and make everything lay nice and flat. Don't clip too far in and cut the seam! Here is what everything will look like after you have sewed all your seams and clipped the curves:

Step 7: Turn JUST the lining pieces right side out.

Step 8: To fold the cuff over so that the seam lays flat, here is what I do. Open the seam up and grasp it in the middle where you're going to make your fold. Holding your thumb over the seam to keep it open, fold the right side down so that the ends meet. Then adjust your grasp to pinch both seams together.

Then flip the edge that is on your thumb up and over to the edge on your other finger, turning it right side out. Now you'll have a fold on the top of the cuff, and all the raw edges will be on the bottom.

 

Step 9: You're going to put all your pieces together to sew the final seam. This picture illustrates in what order they will be- the cuff goes inside the outer mitten pieces. The lining (right side out) will go inside the cuff.

When you put the cuff inside the outer mitten piece, line up the seam of the cuff with one side seam of the mitten.

 

Then slide the lining inside the cuff. It will be a tight squeeze, but it will all work out! Making sure all four of the raw edges line up, and the seams are lined up too, pin on each side seam.

 

Put your fingers inside all three pieces and stretch it out, from side to side.

Place a pin in the middle of the top and bottom. This will ensure that the cuff is stretched evenly.

Now both mittens are assembled and ready to sew!

 

Step 10: Sew! You'll be sewing from the inside. Slide the edge under the left side of your foot, and line it up so you have about 1/4" seam allowance. Start sewing by going back and forth a couple of stitches to secure it.

Now stretch as you sew, stretching the cuff out to the size of the outer mitten piece. It's OK if the lining becomes a little bunched in places. Stretch and sew, all the way around, going back and forth again when you get back to where you started.

It's all sewed up!

Step 11: Pull the lining out, and then pull the cuff and the outer piece through the opening. Everything will end up right side out.

Step 12: Close up the opening. You can hand stitch, but I chose to just machine stitch it closed. Fold in the raw edges, and then sew it closed, as close as you can get to the edge.

Step 13: Tuck the lining up inside the outer piece, flip the cuff down, and you're done!!

 Thank you for following along, let me know if you have any questions! And if you make a cute little pair of mittens, I'd love to see them!!