Sweater Knit Lady Skater

I'm finally getting around to sharing another dress made with my favorite pattern, the Lady Skater Dress.  This is my, wow, fifth dress from this pattern.  My others are here and here and here.

I wanted a comfy, sweatery (I made up a new word), warm, dress to wear in the winter.  This dress really fit the bill.  The fabric is a sweater knit from Joanns.  I made the skirt even less full than in my previous versions  and I'm happy with the result.  I had a little trouble in the back this time around.  It's a little looser than I intended, though I'm not sure why.  I still love it and wear it a lot. 

It's been a bit warmer here than is typical and is making me think about Spring.  So I started working on a new dress that's a little outside the box for me.  It's a commercial pattern and it's a woven!

 

 Hopefully I'll have dress to share soon!

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!

Fleece EARwarmer - Tutorial and Pattern

 I started out on my earwarmer quest, inspired by the beautiful ones over at Delia Creates.  Sometimes, you don't quite need a hat.  An earwarmer is a fun way to add a pop of color and stay warm.

Using Delia's as my inspiration, I came up with a slightly different way of putting it together.  And, I made a downloadable pattern too.

Download pattern HERE. (link fixed!)

All you need is some fleece and thread. 

Download and print the pattern.  Place the marked edge on the fold of the fabric and cut.  Be sure to pay attention to which way the fabric stretches the most, and lay your pattern down with the direction of stretch.  You'll need 2 pieces cut this way.

A note on sizing; the pattern is sized for my child-sized head and fits my 7 year old well.  Yes, I do have a very small head!  However, if you want make it bigger, all you have to do is slide the pattern over from the fold and cut it a bit larger.

You should have 2 pieces of fleece that look like this.

With right sides together, sew along the 2 long edges, leaving the shorter sides open.

Turn right side out.

Topstitch.

Match the shorter sides and sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Try it on and make sure the fit is good.

Sew the seams flat.

Add a pretty embelishment.  Done!

So easy, you can make one for every day of week.

What style will you make?

Slipper Desperation

 Winter is in full swing and I'm desperate for slippers.  The kimono slippers I made back in October have gotten a ton of use and unfortunately, didn't hold up too well.

 I do really love the pattern, but it definitely needed an adjustment for my narrow feet.

 I pulled the insole out of my running shoes and adjusted the width of the base.  Last time I used grippy fabric for the base and within 2 months, I tore a hole through it.  So this time I did the sole in vinyl and made the insole with vinyl and fleece. 

 I made these slippers using fabric sitting around in my sewing room.  Hence the red soles.  We'll see how these hold up.

Nothing better than cozy toes on a cold day!

NICU Shirts

A friend had a baby recently that needs to spend some unexpected time in the NICU.  Not really knowing much info, I felt desperate to do something to help.  

I thought that some kind of shirt with lots of snaps might be useful. 

 I used my baby hat pattern to make some matching hats.

 The shirts are reversible and have snaps on the front and at the shoulders.

We've been fortunate and none of my kids have ever spent any time in the NICU, so I don't know if these are helpful or not.  Nonetheless, I'm sure they will be appreciated.

In A Snap; Kids Wallet Tutorial

Here's a quick project you can whip up in a snap!  Makes a nice little stocking stuffer for some lucky little one.

What you'll need

• 2 pieces of exterior fabric, 5 x 9 inches
• 1 piece of exterior fabric for pocket, 5 x 5.5 inches
• 1 piece of contrasting fabric, 5 x 7 inches
• 1 piece of medium weight fusible interfacing, 4 x 8 inches
• 1 snap fastener

Fold pocket pieces in half, press and top-stitch along folded edge.  Your pocket pieces should now be 5 x 3.5 and 5 x 2.75 inches.  (note, depending on what size snap you use and the weight of your fabric, you may want to insert a small piece of interfacing between the layers of your smaller, exterior fabric pocket, so the snap doesn't tear the fabric over time)

Lay the larger pocket on top of one exterior fabric piece.

Layer the smaller pocket on top.

Place the other exterior fabric piece on top.

Pin through all the layers and round the top.

Sew around with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Leave an opening just above where the pocket begins.

Carefully turn right side out and top-stitch all the way around.

Fold the flap down and add a snap.

Super fun and easy.  Make 1....or 8.

Social Media Buttons!

Spent some time this evening doing a little blog maintenance and decided it was finally time to figure out how to add those fun social media buttons I see everywhere.  I'll be honest, it was not easy for a non-techie like myself.  I followed THIS tutorial, which was great.  Just had some trouble with linking to Picasa Web.

The bigger news is that I finally made a Zaaberry Facebook page.  You can check it out, and maybe hit the like button if you want...

Thanks for reading!