Monday 28 November 2011

Tagged Blanket Tutorial

tagged blanket tutorial muslim blog
The photograph above shows a tagged blanket I recently made. I made this for a baby gift for a friend of mine.  I have seen these many times in blogworld and are similar to the the ones sold in shops and called 'Taggies'. These are ideal for babies, who love nothing else than playing with the tags on toys and clothes!

These are extremely easy to make and can be done really quickly!  This one I actually made by hand as my sewing machine was out of order at the time. With a sewing machine this can be done under 30 minutes! The sizes vary but are normally in a square shape. Some are made as a simple toy and are quite small, others can be made as a full size blanket. You can use the same fabric for the back and the front or choose a different style if you wish. There are many tutorials available online, one that I saw recently can be found here: appliqued-ribbon-blanket-tutorial.

Below is my own mini tutorial of how I made mine. I tried to save a little time by attaching the ribbons to both pieces of fabric with one row of stitching, if this is too fiddly then attach the ribbon to one piece of the fabric and add the top piece of fabric afterwards as in the other tutorial I have linked to! Always make sure the tags are sewed securely for the safety of the baby!

My Mini Tutorial

Supplies
  • 2 x Square pieces of fabric (mine was 30cm x 30cm)
  • Sewing Pins
  • Different styles of Ribbon (I used 5 styles)
  • Needle and Thread or Sewing Machine
 Steps
1) Cut out 2 square pieces of fabric (See Picture1)
2) Cut out 20 pieces (more or less if you prefer) of ribbon. (Length 5 inches each)
3) Fold the ribbons in half and place onto one of the pieces of fabric (pattern facing) leaving an even space between each piece of ribbon. Pin these into place all around the square. Attaching the top piece of fabric as I went along. (See Picture 2)
4) Sew along the whole square securely fastening each piece of ribbon the fabric. Leave a small gap (so to turn inside out). (See Picture 3)
5) Once finished sewing, tun the square inside out (now the correct way!)
6) Iron the square into shape.
7) Topstitch -sew all around the edges of the square. This also helps with securing the tags. You are now finished. (See Picture 4)

I also made some other matching baby gifts which I hope to share in future posts.
 
 This week you might find me linking this post with some or all of the following link parties / blog hops:
  Pink Hippo Party Monday Monkey Hop at Mommy of Two Little MonkeysPhotobucketTipMeTuesdayButtonConfessions Of A Stay At Home MommyhomeworkPassionately ArtisticKatie's Nesting SpotbuttonDearCreatives HookingupwithHoHTodays Creative BlogSomewhat SimpleThings that make you say:

Monday 21 November 2011

Plastic Bead Bowl Tutorial


plastic bead bowl tutorial muslim blog

I saw a great tutorial a while back on how to make a plastic bead bowl (shown below) over at Chameleon Girls, this is a great mother and daughter run blog, here is their link: chameleongirls.blogspot.com


I have tried to demonstrate using pictures how I made this bowl, here are the steps:

Step 1: Find all those unwanted small craft beads that children have (the ones that are meant for ironing!)
Step 2:  Find an ovenproof bowl and cover the inside with cooking oil, then add the beads.
Step 3: Spread the beads out so that you have the whole bowl covered. They should stick to the sides easily with the oil.


Step 4: Make sure there are no big gaps, use your fingers or a knife to smooth out as much as possible to make it even looking.
Step 5: Once the bowl is completely covered in beads, place into a pre-heated oven (about 200 degrees). Depending on the size of the bowl/beads the time in the oven can vary, keep checking frequently.
Step 6: Once the plastic has melted, remove the bowl from the oven. Allow to cool down. Once cool, submerge bowl into some water, this makes it easier to remove the plastic bowl from the ovenproof bowl.
Step 7: Use the finished bowl for whatever your needs, decoration, storage or as a gift!


Please note:  I am not an expert regarding melting plastic so I can not say if there are any toxic fumes warnings to actually give. I would suggest that if you are concerned then you should do your own research on the matter. I have since seen these tutorials on a few sites and nobody is really mentioning any warnings. I would however recommend you have the windows open because it did give off a strong smell!

 This week you might find me linking this post with some or all of the following link parties / blog hops:
  Pink Hippo Party Monday Monkey Hop at Mommy of Two Little MonkeysPhotobucketTipMeTuesdayButtonConfessions Of A Stay At Home MommyhomeworkPassionately ArtisticKatie's Nesting SpotbuttonDearCreatives HookingupwithHoHTodays Creative BlogSomewhat SimpleThings that make you say: