My Tote Stain Solution

I managed to acquire a stain on my favourite cotton tote! This happened when I placed my daughters painted picture from nursery into my tote. Then my daughter placed her drink bottle into my tote, without the top being fastened securely so that it leaked. This meant that the paint from the picture leaked onto my tote.

I tried to wash this as soon as I returned home, but unfortunately the stain wouldn't budge! The photo above shows where the stain was on my tote. I apologise for the photo, this was taken as soon as I had washed the tote, before ironing it!  I really loved this tote because it was a great size and was really useful to carry heavy items in when I do the grocery shopping.

At first I thought about adding some kind of pocket to the outside so that it covers the stain, but the pattern is so detailed I didn't think that would work.  I then decided that if all the bag was pink, then maybe you wouldn't see the stain, so that is what I did.  I dyed the whole of the bag 'Pink'. Below is the photo of the bag after I had dyed it pink and ironed it this time!

At first I wasn't very sure about this, but now I really love my bag. I think it adds a bit of colour, I am really pleased with the outcome. I now have a bag that is totally unique and  I am so glad that I managed to save it from the trash!

Pirate Costume Tutorial

Above is the photograph of my daughter in her 'Girly Pirate Costume'.

I have previously mentioned that my youngest didn't want to dress up as a pirate at her Nursery unless it was 'girly'. I have been gathering inspiration from everywhere to help make this costume. I will try to tell you as best as I can how I made this costume. I have previously written a post on how to make the Pirate Hat, here is the link:Pirate Hat Tutorial

Last week I also posted a tutorial on how I made the tutu, here is the link:Tutu Tutorial

The photograph below shows the pirate shorts that she wore under the tutu, these were originally long leggings that had a hole in one of the legs, but I kept in case I wanted to make them into shorts! I simply cut them down and gave them a ragged edge, very simple and quick!

For the headband I used a red headband that belonged to my eldest daughter. I hand sewed a couple of stitches in the end to make it a bit shorter. I used 3 strips of pink fabric and fastened them into a long braid. I then placed this onto the red headband. Once she was finished needing this for her costume, I simply unpicked the stitches and my daughter had her headband back to its original form.

I already had a plastic sword and case in the house which used to belong to my son many years ago. I simply attached a thin belt so that it would fasten around her waist.

I designed her t-shirt with a cute skull and crossbones design and then sewed onto the neckline some coins on a pink band. The coins were originally from a gypsy belt that we had in the house but had never been used. The coins from the neckline can be easily unpicked so she can wear the t-shirt for everyday use.

The photograph below is a photograph of her without her pirate hat. I made a pirate headband because I didn't think she would manage to keep her hat on for long!

All the children at the Nursery looked great in their pirate costumes. The parents were invited to come along and listen to the children sing some pirate songs and do an obstacle course.  She really enjoyed herself and all the children were given a medal for participating, which they thought was great!

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Tutu Tutorial

I made my first tutu! I have wanted to make one of these for a long time, but never got around to it. They are so easy to make, that even my 9 year old daughter could make one of these. You only need to sew the once, either by hand or the sewing machine. The photograph above is my daughter modelling her new tutu I made for her.

I made this tutu quite long and the choice of colours were picked for a reason.  This tutu was made in less than an hour!  I already had the tulle (fabric) in the house from a past project that never was! The only item I purchased was the black elastic, which I needed for this particular project, I always have plenty white, but didn't have black. The 5 step tutorial below shows you how I made this tutu.

Items needed:
Scissors or a rotary cutter
Elastic
I metre of each colour tulle (I used 3 colours, black,pink and red)
Needle and thread or a sewing machine

Step 1: Cut the tulle into strips, a rotary cutter would be easier, however scissors are fine too. You can cut them any length or width you wish, but remember the wider the width, the less strips from the fabric!

Note: 1 metre of tulle cut into strips of 5cm wide would equal 20 pieces of tulle, strips of 10cm wide would equal 10 pieces of tulle. The length of the fabric is your choice, obviously the younger they are, the shorter the length. I used mixed length for this particular project, but normally you would keep the lengths similar. If you know what length you want for the tutu then double the length for the strips when cutting, because you will be folding the strips!

Step 2: Cut the required amount of elastic. (Elastic should be the same length as the child's waist.)

Step 3: The only sewing part, sew the two ends of the elastic securely together to make the waist band. (on the photo you can see that I pinned these together with a safety pin until the end, and then sewed)

Step 4: Place the elastic over a chair back, you could even use your thigh!

Step 5: Place one piece of tulle under the elastic on the chair and make sure both ends even up and tie into a knot to secure it on the elastic. Repeat this step for each piece of tulle, remembering to alternate the colours. You now have your tutu, if needed trim any lengths that are uneven.

Below is another photograph of the completed tutu. As you can see I have made the pink strips longer!

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