Easy toy quilt tutorial

Okay, calling this thing a quilt is a stretch. Or possibly an insult to quilters everywhere. But! It does make a fantastic baby toy. I whipped this up in a hurry one day when I was in need of quiet baby toys. Olive's got a thing for scrunching up textiles. (hooray!) My goal with this was to make something with a variety of textures for her to enjoy.

Here's what you need:

• 3 - 4.5" x 12" (11.4 cm x 30.4 cm) pieces of cotton


• 1 - 12" x 12" (30.4 cm x 30.4 cm) piece of fabric for the back (I used a cheap, silky one...the better for scrunching.)


• 4 - 4" x 12" (10 cm x 30.4 cm) pieces of fleece (Please ignore the obviously 14" long pieces in the photo. I was going to try something else, which wound up not working. IGNORE!)

Step 1- Sew together the cotton
Placing the right sides together, sew the long sides of two pieces together.

Connect the third piece in the same way. You'll wind up with something like this:

Press the seams open in the back:


Step 2 - Assembly
Pin the back fabric to the front, wrong sides together. Lay one of the fleece pieces underneath at the top, and fold about half of it over like so:


Pin into place, and sew the bottom edge. Repeat this process with the opposite edge:

Place another piece of fleece on one of the open sides, making sure to overlap the already sewn on fleece. Pin, and sew as you did the last two. Add the final fleece piece in the same way. (Yes, I could have been typing "binding" all this time, but you have to admit "fleece piece" is much more enjoyable to say. Try it.)
Using a 1/2" seam allowance, sew around the outside edge of the quilt:

Trim the threads, and baby, you are done!

Notes:

• This is totally machine washable. And dryable. Unless you use some fancypants fabric that is not, alas, machine washable.


• I wish I had spent a little more time on this project, honestly. The tiny format would be perfect for trying out new patterns.

The most effective baby toy ever - Tutorial!

Behold, the best baby toy ever. At least, that's what Olive thinks. This little toy has bought me all sorts of quiet time. Dude, she is playing with it right now as I write this post. As someone who has long considered herself a toymaker, I have mixed feelings about this toy. On the one hand, it works! The baby likes it! Isn't that what it's all about? On the other hand, boy, is it ugly.
In any case, I'll let you decide. Here's a tutorial. Make it for the busy little ones in your life.

What's really cool about this toy is that you can just use whatever you have on hand. Here's what I used, though:

6" square of silky fabric
6" square of fleece
Felt in 3 colors
Various ribbons in various lengths
Polyfill
Thread
Needle & thread
Sewing machine (Optional, but helpful)
Scissors

First, cut two circles roughly 6" across. Seriously, roughly is fine. This thing is going to get spit all over it.

Then cut your ribbon into various lengths. I used 9 pieces of ribbon ranging from 13" to 4". Cut your felt into three 2.5" x 2.5" squares.

Stack the pieces of felt on the right side of the fleece. I staggered them a bit, like so:

Now sew them in place.

Here's where it starts looking crazy. Arrange your ribbons on top of the fleece, wrong side up. Pin the ends in place. You may want to turn some of the longer ribbons into loops. Just pin both ends to the edge in that case.

See the big fat purple ribbon on top? LOOP!

Now, carefully carefully carefully sew the ribbons in place. Just sew in a circle, making sure to catch at least one end of each ribbon.


Place the silky circle right side down on top of the fleece piece. Pin in place, being careful that all ribbons are tucked safely in the center. Sew in a circle, leaving about a 1" opening.

Now, it should look like this:

A total mess. Anyway, turn that bad boy inside out, stuff it with polyfill, and then sew the gap closed thusly:

Needle, thread, pinching the raw ends in. Boom.

There! You're done! I hope this toy brings you and your favorite little one hours of enjoyment.

Notes!
This is machine washable. Toss it in the machine cold, then hang it to dry from one of those loops you put in. Easy peasy.

How to Make a Blythe Hooded Capelet

Once you've crossed into the territory of making snuggies for your Blythes, a hooded capelet isn't that much of a stretch. And it's not that much more difficult, either.



You will need:

• The Pattern

• Fabric for the top

• Fabric for the lining

• 18" (45.7 cm) thin ribbon (I like 3mm, personally)

• Needle & Thread, or a sewing machine

• Scissors

Download The Pattern Here!
Piece 1
Piece 2

Cut out the pattern pieces, and then cut out:
2 hood pieces from the top fabric (You may want to fold the fabric in half, right sides touching, to cut two mirror images of the fabric at once.)
2 hood pieces from the lining fabric (Ditto the folding and the cutting.)
1 cape piece from the top fabric
1 cape piece from the lining fabric
2 - 9" (22.8 cm) pieces of ribbon

Sandwich the hood and cape pieces together, right sides touching. Make sure you wind up with the hood pieces being mirror images of each other, like so:


Assemble the cape:
Starting in the middle of the top, sew the cape pieces together. Leave about a 1/4" seam. Carefully place the ribbons at the top edges, making sure to tuck them inside. Leave a 1" gap so you can turn the whole thing inside out. Turn it inside out, and stitch up the gap at the top. Be sure to backstitch!


Assemble the hood:
Starting at the middle of the bottom seam, sew the hood pieces together. Leave about a 1/4" seam. Sew all the way around, leaving a 1" gap for turning inside out.

Turn the hood pieces inside out. Sew up the gap on the bottom. Then sandwich the two pieces together, and sew from the top front of the hood, all the way down to the back. Be sure to backstitch! This will leave the front and bottom of the hood open.

Place the hood and cape together, right sides touching, and sew. Again, be sure to backstitch.


Trim the loose threads, and that's it! You're done!


Feel free to make as many of these as you wish. If you wind up selling them, please link back to my blog in your listing. These tutorials take forever! ^_^

(Behold the fun you can have with other fabrics. This capelet is one of my favorites.)

10 Fast and Easy Handmade Gift Tutorials

You need gifts. What you have is craft supplies. No problem! The internet to the rescue, again!

Make your own scented bath salts, courtesy of this Instructible by Belsey.


For the brown-bagger in your life, why not try making this adorable lunch bag?

Variations abound at The Long Thread's site, as well as a free downloadable pattern.

Speaking of portable, um, food:

An Altoids tin martini kit. Brilliant. Thank you, Spookylean!

This mini sailor's scarf is adorable! And with a sewing machine, it would come together in a snap. Plus, all you need is a fat quarter!

photo and tutorial by Because She Started Knitting

These button rings are really, really fast to make:

Tutorial and photo by CRAFT.

Perfect for the camera snob in your life: DIY Camera Strap Cover, with pockets so that pesky lens cap won't go missing (again).

Pattern & photo by Simply Modern Mom.

Make a Yoda hat for the Star Wars loving little ones in your life!

via Dollar Store Crafts

This Brown Sugar Scrub looks amazing!

Tutorial over on Craftzine.

Another one from the hallowed halls of Craftzine, this time by the very awesome Jenny Ryan:

It's a coloring kit! I know this is *technically* for kids, but I know several adults who would be more than a little thrilled to get it.

Finally, this may just be the ultimate tutorial on how to make surprise balls:

Not Martha for the win! (and the finale!)

How to Make Coasters

I don't know what happens in our house, but I can never find a coaster when I need one. (Which is pretty much all the time.) It's not from lack of trying. We bought a passel of lovely ones from Handmade Julz at a previous Renegade. However, with a massive amount of relatives set to show up soon, I decided now was the time to start making my own coasters.

These are so fast and easy to make. Plus, they're a great way to use up leftover bits of fabric. I think a small stack of these tied together would make a really great hostess or housewarming gift.

Here's what you need:

• Cotton for the top


• Cotton, flannel, or vinyl fabric for the back


• Batting


• Thread


• Sewing machine, or a needle and thread


• Scissors


• Double fold bias tape (optional)

Cut the following 4.5" x 4.5" (11.4 x 11.4 cm) pieces of fabric: 1 for the top, 1 for the bottom, and two pieces of batting.


Stack them together, quilt sandwich style. (Top piece wrong side up, bottom piece right side up, then the two pieces of batting.)


Starting in the middle of one side, sew around all four sides. Be sure to leave a 1.5" - 2" (3.8 - 2 cm) gap so you can turn it inside out.


Trim anything that's sticking out weird. (You want to have 1/4", nice even seams) (.6 cm)


Turn it inside out. Use a chopstick or a seam turner to get those pesky corners.


Sew up the open gap.


Iron it flat, and call it done!



OR, if you think it needs a little extra something:

After sewing up the gap,  and taking care to iron the bulky edges flat, attach a piece of bias tape around the edges.


Then call it done!

(You can probably do a much better job at this than I did. Oops. We'll call it, um..."rustic".)