Monkey madness - link to free pattern

My cousins are expecting within days of one another and I wanted to send something handmade for their little bundles of joy.

I found a pattern for 'Molly Monkey' by mmmcrafts several years ago and have been waiting for an appropriate time to give it a burl. Larissa has been so generous as to offer the pattern for free/donation.

I love this pattern. Having made lots of other softies, I love how easy this one is to turn inside out. I altered it a little bit to make the ears bigger and the faces easier to complete. I tried to make gender neutral versions as I'm not sure what 'colour' these new babies will be.

As a kid, my favourite toy was a monkey puppet my Dad bought me so this seemed like a nice gift to pass on.

And here they are - not quite finished, but almost ready to take their long voyage over to Europe to be with their new little owners :)

How to make a mermaid tail

The things we do for kids, hey? 

A few months ago Miss Piggy asked me if I would make a mermaid tail. I, of course, was very non-committal, suitably vague and said something along the lines of, "Well, maybe in the holidays.." I hoped she would forget about it. She didn't. 

On the weekend I took a trip to Spotlight to buy some new blinds and Miss Piggy innocently volunteered to come with me.

When she mentioned a tour around the fabric section I began to smell a rat, but it wasn't until she produced a $20 note and said, "Daddy said I could buy the fabric for my mermaid tail," I realised I'd been conned. 

So we wandered through the dance fabrics and swim fabrics perusing all sorts of shiny, scary, sequinned type material until we found one that was just right. Green and shiny like Arials. Luckily it was on sale. 

On the way to the counter I reminded her mummy is a beginner with sewing, that mummy would try her best but couldn't make any promises - this mission was bound to end in disaster. At the counter Miss Piggy cheerfully announced to anyone who was listening, "My mum is making me a mermaid tail!".  All the ladies around the counter looked at me with pity and smiles. It seemed like an impossible errand. 

But today was a designated crafty day for Miss Piggy and ... guess what? By some miracle, we managed to make a mermaid tail!!! The stitching may not be grand - and it may have lost some of it shine on its first trip out - but we achieved our goal, nonetheless. 

Step 1: trace around the legs of the prospective mermaid, leaving a seam allowance. Trace onto folded fabric (right sides together). Make sure the stretch goes ACROSS the body. I traced all the way up to her arm pits - just in case!

Step 2: draw in the flume

Step 3: pin, cut and sew around the outside of your pattern, leaving the top and bottoms open

Step 4: turn right side out, mark and pin flume.Sew along the marked line.  I marked the shape of the tail in yellow texta, it rubbed right off the shiny fabric when I was done.

Step 5: cut strips along the bottom of the flume, being careful not to cut your stitching. 

Step 6: cut the strips into waves for that 'floaty' effect in the water

Step 7: try on! Enjoy! 

I scrunched and folded the top to form a waistband at the appropriate height, this allowed for some slippage in the water without the tail falling off. You could add elastic for the same effect. 

Here are some action shots:

 

We had to race straight over to Nana's pool to try it out!

Actually, this project was simpler than I thought. The only real issues I had was having the wrong needle for sewing Lycra. Luckily, after a quick 'emergency' phone call, 'Daddy' visited the fabric shop and brought home the correct needle during his lunch break - Miss Piggy can be quite persuasive, especially when it comes to her daddy!!!  

I wonder if today is a day she'll think back on when she is older? I hope so, it was a good one :) I'm happy I made her smile :)

Summer dress - mini tutorial

I love simple clothes for home. It is just so hot here most of the year, it's nice to feel comfortable.

I found an Espirit quilt cover at Dimmeys a few months ago and just loved the colour combos it had. I also liked that the design was assymetrical - I thought it had potential for an interesting beach dress.

I am not a great sewer and I also know that I get bored if a project takes too long... so this was a make-in-an-afternoon job. Enjoy the pictures!

 I cut a rectangle that had the width I wanted around the legs (nice and open enough to walk comfortably, approx. double my waist measurement)

 Shirred the waist - three rows for comfort

Sew the edges together and turn inside out.

Bias bind the arm holes and neckline.

RESULT: A nice, relaxed shoulder V-neck dress :)

Glad I saved the orange and red parts of the quilt though, while this microfibre weave feels soft on the skin, it is super sweaty to wear!!!

Linking up with Flaming Toes Think Pink Sundays :)

Handmade dolls

I finally caved and bought a great doll-making pattern. I usually enjoy the challenge of working out how to make things on my own - like my mermaid pattern or my babushka dolls but this time I just couldn't get the result that I wanted.

My dear friend Jo and I sat down a couple of afternoons in the holidays and cut and sewed some dolls for our daughters. It was really fun, and the pattern from Dolls and Daydreams was super easy to follow.

This doll was mad for a first birthday with a ladybird theme. I hope she likes it! You can definitely buy a doll a lot cheaper than making one, but I enjoy the process of creating and gifting a one-of-a-kind item to someone special (especially someone who has two older sisters and loads of toys at her disposal).

I can't recommend these patterns enough - even for the beginner sew-er. They are simple, have full colour instructions and they arrive via email very quickly.

Christmas decoration from scraps

Because I work with small people, I'm always on the lookout for simple, quick and cost-effective (ie almost free) craft activities. Here's something I came up with in front of the telly. It's one of the projects that didn't make the 'cut' for doing with a large group of kids as it was a bit too involved for small hands to do independently. More of a one-on-one type activity if small people are involved.

Puffy fabric tree decoration:

1. Locate all materials - fabric scraps and embellishments.

2. Cut four identical squares. Trace circles onto two of them.

3. Sew felt embellishments onto the circle - mine are felt hearts and I sewed them on using the machine. You may choose to hand stitch.

4. With right sides together, sew around the circle line you traced at step 2. You can sew directly on the line or just inside the line. Up to you. Leave a gap at the top for turning inside out.

5. Trim and notch the edges of the circles. Or just cut around with pinking shears if you aren't too fussy (I'm not).

6. Turn inside out and stuff.

7. Now decorate. You can use the open part at the top to sew in a ribbon if required. I crocheted a border around the outside, you may choose to sew or glue on lace, ribbon, anything. Remember, this is a project for kids, so I'm keeping it simple!

8. Go delight grandma with your beautiful home-made ornament. Or hang on your own tree!

Enjoy! I'll be back tomorrow with an even simpler ornament - a sew along I did with more than a dozen kids.

Lil Birdie Designs

I got a parcel this week! We get a lot of parcels round here due to our penchant for homemade-or-unusual-curiosities (me) latest-state-of-the-art-technological-things (him). This time I had ordered a waistcoat and capri shorts for my Small Boy.

It was a very late night purchase on a FB sale - not something I usually do - but I just couldn't resist that quirky little set! It's so hard to find 'nice' traditional-type clothing for small boys and I wanted to have something special for my littlest man to wear at Christmas (the kids always dress up for church).

Ruth from Lil Birdie Clothing kindly sent me some fabric scraps (to match the set I bought from her) and I made him a little flatcap to match. Jase said I am cruel and unusual for dressing him in 'golf clothes' but agreed he looked cute!

The workmanship on this little set is awesome - such neat stitching and hard-wearing fabrics. I recommend you check out Lil Birdie on facebook if you're looking for high-quality, one-of-a-kind clothing for your little one.

The hat is another story... I'd give it an A for effort, and... well, let's just say I'd rather you not look too closely! It's a proto-type and I have just enough fabric to make a second edition! Who knew it was so impossible to find a flatcap pattern on the internet! I had to make my own... After looking closely at an old hat we had here, I just kind of winged it. It's OK, but I think I'd like a second shot at getting it right!

I might add the pattern here when I get it just right... anyone interested?

Simple dreams and craftiness

I got home from a work trip yesterday, it was the first time I'd left my Small Boy to go anywhere and it was difficult being away from my lovely little family. They seem to have had a great time without me (a certain boy even managed to talk his way into a day off school) but Mr Z, Little Miss and my Small Boy have been giving me extra cuddles all day long :)

Anyway, Little Miss asked me if we could make something today. It's our thing and I know she had been waiting for my return so she could unleash her creativity. I said yes, thinking she meant baking scones or cupcakes but she beamed and said, "We'll make ballet shoes!".

I love that at this age, they think you can do anything. She asked me a few weeks ago to make her some wings, "that really fly!". That was an interesting afternoon that almost ended in tears. What do you say to that?* I thought about telling her that I couldn't make ballet shoes, but I want her to grow up thinking that anything is possible. Plus I'd spent a big portion of our telly time last night explaining what a cobbler was, and telling her that once upon a time people made shoes by hand instead of programming computers and machines to do it for them**.

So, I decided to give it my best shot and we set to work figuring out how to make some ballet shoes. We had some baby slippers that we had previously taken apart, so after looking at the shapes and measuring her foot, we made our own (wobbly, inept) pattern. We found some coral fleece lurking in the back of the sewing cupboard (left overs from the blanket we made last year, see Mr Z's version here), it was purple but, "It's ok if it isn't pink, Mum. You're doing your best."

We cut, we pinned, we sewed, we laughed that they were two different sizes, we sewed, we cut and sewed some more.

And then they were done.

How lovely to be able to make dreams come true! What a special time in my life - to be so much to three small people who mean everything to me. Happiness really is so simple to a child :)


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* I hope I didn't say that Tinkerbell wasn't real, but I may have. Oops. I told her she'd have to grow up and be clever enough to design and make some clip on fairy wings that would really work and I would buy the first pair from her.
**It sounds like a heavy conversation for a Friday night, but we were singing along with Hans Christian Anderson (the storyteller and cobbler) at the time.

Make your own mermaid... part two!

This is part two of a tutorial. For part 1, click here.

Step 7

Cut around your pieces, leaving 3 - 4 mm around the edges. Clip the curves

Step 8

Using a crochet hook or similar (the finer the better), carefully turn your pieces inside out. I won't lie, this is very frustrating, so make sure you have some patience handy!

Step 9

This step gives the tail some shape and structure. Carefully stitch around the outside of the tail piece, sewing stripes along the fin for a detailed look.



Step 10

I love sharpies! My hubby sometimes brings me one or two home as a little pressie, such is my adoration of them! You can use fabric markers if you like, but these are cheap and just as effective. Be bold, draw that mermaid face in! Of course, you might be more careful than me and have a practise on a piece of scrap first, but I always think there's nothing like diving in. That's probably why this mermaid looks a bit cross-eyed!


Step 11

Lightly stuff both pieces - starting with the head and arms. I overstuff the head a teeny bit to give it a fuller shape. The back end of a crochet hook also helps to get stuffing right down to the hands.


Step 12

Trace and cut out your hair pieces. I used felt for structure and because it doesn't fray.


Step 13

Using colourful cotton (I used silver and red) sew in some hair strands. You will need to sew strands on each piece separately. Join the two pieces together using a row of stitching around the outside only.


Step 14

When the two pieces are joined, you are ready to slip your wig on your mermaid!


Step 15

Stuff the body inside the tail, add the wig and secure using hand stitching. Then you are ready to decorate!

Click here to see some variations on this pattern.

 

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Please let me know if you made a mermaid! Feel free to make them for friends and family or to sell on your craft stall. If you'd like to share this with a friend, please send them on over to take a look!

Mermaid update

I've had a few emails wondering when the pattern is coming! Never fear, it's on its way - I have the pieces traced onto one sheet, am just working on some photos to make the instructions easier to follow... Bear with me :)

We made mermaids!

Miss Piggy has this fascination with mermaids at the moment. Along with mermaid stickers on her walls, she has a mermaid DVD and a collection of eight shop-bought mermaids. When I mentioned we might make a doll over the holidays, she immediately jumped in with a mermaid suggestion.

So worth sacrificing my TV time to finish them at night -

she opened her eyes after I took this picture, looked at

the mermaids and went back to sleep with a smile on her face

We lined up all the mermaids we could muster from around the house. They range from tiny $2 toys to a Dora version that swims alongside you in the bath. We then had a look at patterns for mermaid dollies on the internet (here's one by Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls) but we couldn't quite find what we were looking for. Soooo with Miss Piggy's bossing me around careful guidance, I drew a picture we both liked and set about making it in fabric. She chose all the fabrics, helped to cut them out, pushed the sewing machine pedal when it was safe to and generally watched the whole process with anticipation and patience.

And when I'd finished one, of course I had to make her a friend. You know, so we could play mermaids together.

I made the red mermaid a wig which I later sewed on, the blue mermaid had her hair sewn in before I turned the project inside out for stuffing. Like the Wee Wonderful pattern, I sewed the doll in two pieces (body and tail) before stitching together and embellishing. I did most of the sewing by machine and it all came together really quickly. I'm looking forward to making one of these with my niece next time she comes to visit.

If you'd like a copy of my pattern pieces, please leave me a message below and I'll get back to you with it :)