Clementine Crate Doll Bed - TUTORIAL

This time of year, we eat a lot of clementines.  As a result, we end up with a lot of clementine crates.  I can't stand the thought of throwing them away, so they end up kind of piling up.  So, I decided to make a few into some play doll (or in our case stuffed animal) beds.  Neither of my kids really care for dolls, but they love to play school and sleepover with their stuffed animals.

This was a fun project to do with my son on a rainy day.  First we sanded some of the rough spots and tried to smooth out some spots with leftover glue from the labels.  Then we painted.  I used a primer/paint/sealer in one that we had from a previous project.

After a couple coats, the previous print is pretty well covered.

I cut some 3/4 inch thick foam to fit in the bottom and made a cover.

I cut the same shape as the foam, with a 1/2 inch seam allowance added.  For the back side, I cut 2 pieces a bit longer than 1/2 width so I could overlap them and have an opening, in case I needed to wash the cover.

For each of the shorter, back pieces, fold the long edge over 1/2 inch and topstitch.

With right sides together, pin the 2 back pieces to the front, overlapping.  Sew around all sides with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Turn to the right side, iron, and work the foam into place.

I added a little pillow and blanket.

The kids added the stuffed animals.

These came out so cute, I'm going to be pushing the clementines even more, just to get the crates!

Boy's Muscle Shirt Tutorial Revisited

Last summer, I put together one of my first tutorials for a boy's muscle shirt. At that point, I only had a handful of posts up, and I don't feel like I really did the tutorial justice. So, now that it's summer again, and I'm feeling inspired by CTB Summer edition, I decided to add some updates to the tutorial.

First, I'll start off with how to make a pattern from a shirt.

Fold the shirt in half, inside out (I do this so I don't accidentally get marker on the outside) and lay it on your paper. As a side note, I use a roll of plain colored wrapping paper to make patterns. Much more economical than actual "pattern paper"


Trace around the sides, adding seam allowances to the shoulders and sides and mark the bottom of the neck where the ribbing meets the body.

I also mark my pattern for where the bottom hem would be if I'm re-purposing a shirt and using an existing hem as well as add 1/2 inch for hemming for when I'm not using an existing hem.

To finish drawing the shoulder and neck lines, hold the sleeve at the seam and trace. Do the same for the neck.

Here's my finished pattern for the front.

Cut out the pattern and lay it on top of the folded shirt to make any necessary adjustments. I ended up cutting a little off the shoulder and side seam allowance.

Another side note, pattern weights help a lot when making patterns and cutting knits. And, you can make your own with my pattern weights tutorial. They also double as fun sewing rooms toys for little ones.

OK, now on to the pattern for the back. First, trace your front pattern around all sides except the neck.


Then lay your shirt on top and mark the neck where the shirt body and neck ribbing meet. Draw the neck curve the same way you did for the front. Cut out the pattern and make any adjustments.

OK, now that we've got a pattern, we can make our shirt. My original tutorial has more detailed instructions, but I've added a little more detail about making the ribbing for finishing the armholes and neck here.

For this shirt I'm going to re-purpose a thrift store shirt from my stash, using the cute graphic on the front.

Here are the front and back pieces I cut using my pattern.


Sew side seams and shoulders with right sides together. Turn right side out and press.

Next we will need to make ribbing bands to finish the openings. Measure the neck and armhole openings. We will be using strips of ribbing 1.5 inches wide and 1 inch shorter than the measured opening.

So, my armholes were about 8 inches all the way around, so I cut 2, 7 x 1.5 inch strips. The neck was 14 inches all the way around so I cut another strip 13 x 1.5 inches.
Next, fold the strips in half matching the longer sides and press well.
Open up the folded strips, match the shorter sides, right sides together and sew with a 1/4 inch seam. I used my serger for all the seams, but you could also use a regular sewing machine. I would recommend using a longer stitch length than you would use on woven fabric or a wide zig zag.

Fold the ribbing back up with the seam allowance on the inside.
My original tutorial shows show to pin these ribbing bands to the shirt and sew in place. Basically, you match the raw edges on the ribbing with the raw edges on the armhole, pin and sew. Probably easier to understand when you see the pictures.

For this shirt I used my twin needle to sew a top-stitch along the neck and armholes. This is totally optional, but gives the shirt a more finished, store-bought look. It's helpful to iron your finished seams with a good amount of steam. It makes the fabric shrink up if it's been stretched and come together better.

All that's left on this shirt is the hem. Since I wanted to use the graphic on the shirt I was upcycling, I couldn't use the existing hem. So, I serged around the bottom, then folded it up 1/2" and used my twin needles to sew it in place.


Done! In the time it's taken me to write this post, I probably could have made 3 of these muscle shirts, they're that easy!

A perfect fit.

Enjoy. Let me know what you think. There's a lot between the original tute and these additions.....hope it's not too much to digest. Do send me a link or pic if you make one, I'd love to see!

Recycled Storage Jars

I've been on a bit of a kick lately to get my sewing room (and my head) organized. It all started when I bought myself this

and my wonderful husband (hope he's reading this!) immediately hung it on the wall for me. Suddenly I had this major urge to clean out the closet and desk drawers in my sewing room. I have major "out of site out of mind" syndrome.

So, I had some jars sitting around that I've been collecting and decided to give them a little face-lift.

I LOVE these jars, and luckily, my kids love the jelly. Win, win.


There is nothing genius or overly creative here.....just took some acrylic paint and painted the lids. Used one of my favorite colors.


The end result is very satisfying.

A Vest for the Boy

The fall weather is in full swing and the kids and I have been decked out in our vests. My son has been wearing this old vest that is a hand-me-down from his sister and really starting to be too small......but I LOVE it!


So, since the vest I made for my daughter was such a success, I decided to try my hand at a boy's vest. This posed a challenge since the one thing I avoid like the plague is sewing zippers.

I had this old blanket I'd found when cleaning out a closet. Yes, we had a Patriots blanket for our babies.....yes, we love football.....


And here's what it became....


I don't love the way this came out, it's okay. It's been worn and it's functional, but not exactly what I was going for. Oh well....sewing for boys is sometimes harder than it should be.

Winter Hats from Old Sweaters

I wish I had taken before pictures of the sweaters that these hats came from, but I was way too excited to cut them up and make these hats.

I've been experimenting with hats these days and was inspired by this post by Rae. I brought my experimental hat over to a friend's house on Friday to try on her kids' heads' just to get a sense for size. As many of my friends know, I have a really small head and usually HAVE to buy kids hats for myself, so it's really hard for me to judge size. Anyway, C loved the hat I made and sent me home with 2 of her husband's sweaters.


I used this pattern from Martha Stewart and used the sweater for the outside and a cotton knit for the inside. I decided not to the do straps and added a bird applique with felt on one hat and these beautiful sweater roses to the other.



Sorry, a little out of focus! These roses are so beautiful and so easy to make. I was inspired by this project and tutorial.

I even got my almost (1 week to go!) 4 year old to model.

I hope Matt doesn't miss his sweaters! What do you think?

Look for more of these in my shop soon!