Monday 27 February 2012

Wrist Wallet Tutorial

wrist wallet tutorial
The photograph above shows a wrist wallet I made recently. These are really quite easy to make and can be made in any kind of fabric design. This particular one was made for a boy so I used a soft denim type fabric. You can use 2 different types of fabric instead of using the same style, it really is up to you how you want these to look. You don't need to follow my exact sizes - measure the wrist the wallet is for and make sure that you have the right length to fit the wrist! Mine was made for a small child.

I originally saw these over a year ago on another great bloggers page and my tutorial was based fairly similar to hers except that I didn't use any fusible interfacing! This is her link: http://www.lemonsqueezyhome.com/2010/09/lunch-money-cuff-tutorial.html She has some great tutorials and I highly suggest you pop along and visit her blog.

Requirements:
  • 4 Pieces of fabric (each 20cm x 7cm)
  • Small 3" zip
  • small piece of Velcro
wrist wallet tutorial

Step 1: Make sure you have all the pieces needed. (Pic 1)
Step 2: Place one piece of fabric onto another piece (right sides together). (Pic 2) Pin these together.
Step 3: Draw a rectangle shape, where you want the zip to be placed. Make sure it is centred length ways and not in the way of the seam edges. It should be a rectangle about the size (1cm x 7cm approx). (Pic 2) Sew a line along the rectangle.
Step 4: Now make a slit in the centre of the rectangle. Use a seam ripper, scissors or a cutter for this.

wrist wallet tutorial
Step 5: You need to tuck the fabric through the slit. (Pic 5)
Step 6: Once you have the fabric through the slit, straighten it down with your hands. (Pic 6)
Step 7: Iron the fabric straight at this point so it is neat. (pic 7)
Step 8: Insert your zip. Place it underneath and attach. Stitch around in a neat rectangle shape. (Pic 8)
wrist wallet tutorial
Step 9:  Place the sewed pieces onto one of the other pieces of fabric (pattern facing), then place the last piece on top of them (pattern facing). So that the sewed piece is sandwiched together. (Pic 9) Pin together in place.
Step 10: Stitch all the way around, leaving a small gap (to turn inside out). I left the gap in the bottom corner,however I would recommend to leave the gap more centred so it is easier to restitch when turned! (Pic 10)
Step 11: Turn the fabric inside out. (Pic 11)
Step 12: Iron out straight and stitch all along the edge. (Step 12)

wrist wallet tutorial
Step 13: Attach the Velcro to the wrist wallet. It is best to attach the rough side of the Velcro to the top piece (Pic 13)
Step 14: Attach the other piece of Velcro to the underneath side of the wallet. (Pic 14)
Step 15: The wallet is now ready for use for coins or notes. (Pic 15)
Step 16: Its now ready to wear -place on child's wrist! (Pic 16)

These really are very easy to make. I have been wanting to make one for ages, but to be honest I was a bit hesitant because I normally avoid tasks that involve zips! However, this was so easy to make and fairly quick too. I think I will try to make a girls version next.


You may find me at the following parties:
  Pink Hippo PartyMonday Monkey Hop at Mommy of Two Little MonkeysKeeping It SimpleA Marvelous MessThe Girl CreativeMixitupmop it up mondaysThings that make you say: apinchofjoy.comOur Delightful Home




Monday 20 February 2012

Rag Doll Tutorial

rag doll tutorial

The photograph above shows a rag doll that my 9 year old daughter made with only a little help from me to attach the hair!  These really are very easy to make and can be done by hand in a couple of hours or by machine even quicker.  It took my daughter a little longer as she isn't very fast at hand sewing. I have written below a tutorial on how this doll was made.

Items needed:
  • Fabric for the doll (I used white but it really doesn't matter!)
  • Needle and threads
  • Wool (for the hair)
  • Stuffing
  • Fabric pens (for the face)
  • Fabric (for clothing)
  • Bows/Ribbons/Hairbands (to decorate the hair if required)
  • Clothes for the doll (you can make your own!)


rag doll tutorial


STEPS:
Step 1: Find a doll template (many are free online) I used this one: dollchamber.com
Step 2: Print out all your pattern pieces onto paper
Step 3: Cut out your fabric templates
Step 4: Draw a face onto your doll (you could do this at the end but I prefer at the beginning!
Step 5: Pin the matching pieces together (eg: front part of head with the back part of the head). See my diagram above.
Step 6: Start sewing the legs and arms (eg. sew around the leg leaving gap at the bottom to insert stuffing and to attach to other body parts!
Step 7: Attach the legs and arms to the main body, making sure to leave a gap to insert the stuffing later. Turn the body inside out to the correct way. For the pattern I used there is a video you can follow, but I did it differently to the video as I didn't quite understand the video! Here is a link to the video showing you how to make the rag doll: dollchamber video
Step 8: Start inserting the stuffing into the doll. I used a blunt pencil to push the stuffing to the ends but anything that is slim enough to go inside will be fine.
Step 9: Sew up the gap and you now have the main part of your rag doll!

rag doll tutorial

Step 10: Now you need to attach some hair: I found various tutorials online which show you how to make the wigs to attach to the dolls, I just used the easiest version because my 9 year old was making this doll. Decide how long you want your hair - then find something similar in length that you can use to wrap around your wool. I used a container and wrapped the wool around until it was thick enough for what I wanted. Remove the wool carefully and cut at the loops making the wool hair one length!
Step 11: Then place some wool around the centre of the wool hair and tie it securely.  Another option is to attach the hair in the centre to another piece of fabric and sew across securing the wool to the spare fabric. You then attach the fabric to the head and hand sew the hair onto the head this is a much more secure way but a little bit too much work for my young daughter.
Step 12: Then hand sew the hair onto the doll (I helped to do this bit as it was a bit fiddly for my daughter!)Sew only into the centre of the hair so that you don't see the stitches.
Step 13: You can cut some of the hair different lengths for different styles!
Step 14: Attach ribbons or hair accessories to decorate the hair.
Step 15: Add clothes or make your own. My daughter simply used a rectangle piece of fabric and sewed up one side to make a tube dress - very simple and effective. She used a scrap piece of long fabric for the dress belt.

My daughter loves her doll, she has made some more clothes and changes the style daily. She can't wait to show her friends at school!


You may find me at the following parties:
  Pink Hippo PartyMonday Monkey Hop at Mommy of Two Little MonkeysKeeping It SimpleA Marvelous MessThe Girl CreativeMixitupmop it up mondaysThings that make you say:



Friday 17 February 2012

Book Review - The Iron Wall

book review iron wall

This is my own personal review of one of the books I have bought for my own children. The title is 'The Iron Wall' Quran Stories for little Hearts.

This book is about 'Dhul Qarnayn' who was a magnificent king during the sixth century BC. He was a righteous man and this book tells the story of Yajuj and the Majuj (Gog and Magog). They kept attacking tribes through the mountain passes. Dhul Qarnayn arranged for the iron wall to be built.

This is a great story for the very young and has great illustrations alongside the text. It is a story from the Quran which is made more understandable to young readers.

My eldest read this many years ago but he still has a peak to remind him. It is quite a short story with only about one sentence per page but the illustrations make the story! My youngest aged 4 loves this story.

Title: The Iron Wall
Publisher: Goodword Books
ISBN: 8178980797

Quran Stories for little hearts series are a wonderful way to explain stories of the Quran to young children.


Monday 13 February 2012

Snowman crafts

snowman crafts sewing

The photograph shows a snowman softie that my 9 year old daughter made recently.  As it is snowing here in the UK, I thought I would share these snow related crafts on my blog.  These are really easy to make and as the photograph below shows these can be altered to make crafts for the toddlers/youngsters too!

You need to print of a snowman template - these can be found all over the internet!
Also make little templates for eyes, nose and buttons etc.  For this project I used my fabric scraps.  I originally just had my eldest daughter making these but then my 4 year old daughter wanted to make a snowman softie too! As she is not ready for the sewing stage yet, we decided to make a snowman picture instead.  I cut out all the same templates in fabric for her and she put them all together and glued them all down by herself, she really loved doing this!

snowman crafts sewing

I didn't really plan to make a tutorial on this project so I haven't got any step by step photographs to show - Sorry!  However if you want to make one of these softies, they really are very easy to make. Just make sure before you sew together the two main snowman bodies that you sew on the eyes, or fabric paint on your face first! My daughter just made different hats and scarves from scrap fabric she didn't use any particular patterns she just used her imagination!



Above is my 4 year old holding her snowman artwork.

You may find me at the following parties:

  Pink Hippo PartyMonday Monkey Hop at Mommy of Two Little MonkeysKeeping It SimpleA Marvelous MessThe Girl CreativeMixitupmop it up mondaysThings that make you say: