This was one of those moments I love, when something just pops into your head and you think ‘yes, yes, yes I know what we’ll do!’ and it WORKS! Originally it was supposed to be an octopus (8 legs) but Mr3 is calling it a spider and I think it looks a bit like a jellyfish, so what ever floats ya boat I suppose!
Mr8 chose green fabric, but I really wish we had used something a bit more fun. The purple and white string livens it up a bit though. Just run over or click on each photo for the steps.
These were so quick and easy to make and I could not be happier with the results.
I picked up this wool a while back with nothing particular in mind, I just loved the colours. The styrofoam tree shapes are available just about anywhere at this time of year. These came from a $2 shop. However, there’s no reason you couldn’t just make a cone shape from cardboard and achieve similar results.
I tied a tight knot in one end to stop fraying, then pushed through the wool and down into the middle of the cone. Then gently began wrapping the knit around the top of the cone, before fastening again a few rows down so that it doesn’t spin off. Continue down the full length of the cone until you reach the bottom. Cut with enough room left over to tie another knot, then secure with a 3rd pin. Done!
I was just saying to my other half, I find it odd how many people think the ability to use a sewing machine is something rare or difficult. He agreed that it is very simple, no harder than driving a car. 2 minutes later as I was taking up Miss 4s curtains, I managed to catch the middle of the curtain in the seam, creating a huge unpicking job, and of course my quick-un-pick has grown legs and run off, so I had to do it the hard way. Murphy and his law are cruel, and now I see why many people choose not to sew!
That aside, I still think we should all learn the basics of sewing, even if the days of making your own clothes to save money are long gone (fabric is SO expensive!). So when my boys showed interest in sewing after my last little project, I jumped at the opportunity to teach them some basics on the machine. The easiest thing to sew has to be a scrunchie!
The process is very straight forward, so I am sure I don’t need to go into much more detail than what is in the caption on the pictures. Apart from a pretty wonky seam by Mr9 (which you can’t notice once finished), they were a success and Ms4 was happy to model their efforts to the world. We used fabric with lines on it as I figured that would be easier to follow for beginners, but you can use just about anything, make them any size and thickness.
Gotta love a bit of 90s hair fashion! Where’s the crimper!
I dont know if I have ever mentioned here before my love of elephants? Anyway, I think they are very awesome animals, and elephant toys are the cutest. I actually made this a while ago, but never got around to blogging about it. I have been soooo slack this school holidays, so this is my token effort for the week.
I just googled elephant softie pattern until I found something that looked simple enough. I copied the image, pasted into a word doc and blew up as big as I could. Printed it out and stuck it all together again!
The kids helped cut out all the pieces, pin them to the fabric and cut out the fabric. Then it was sewing time.
I really didn’t take enough photos through this process, but it was all very straight forward. The line across the middle is the piece you need to make for the inside of the legs. You can see this piece folded over in the image below.
Now here is a hint – make sure you put the eyes on BEFORE you finish sewing it. Because this little guy is now getting around the house blind, as I couldn’t put the backs on his eyes!
Anyway, we love the little blind guy. I want to make a whole herd!
So my scrap material collection is looking quite impressive at the moment, I thought I’d give another softie a whirl. I was ready to make an owl or elephant, but DS talked me into a snake. That sounded easy enough to make with no pattern. We discussed how big he would like it and he picked out the colours (to match the colours in his room).
I free hand drew a template for the top ‘scales’ panel of the snake.
Then, with a bit of fiddling around, joined them together, flat edge to flat edge to make the top part of the snake – less the head;
Sewing along the flat side between each section (I only picked the wrong side once, lol)
Make the last panel only a half panel, so the head will eventually be facing forward. Once sewn, iron flat. Then lay on chosen fabric for underside of snake. Trace around the edge to make it the same size. I drew the underside of the head in at this point too.
For the top part of the head, I cut out and extra diomand shape, cut a slit into the centre of the head, and sewed the diamond in, to create a 3rd dimension. Don’t forget to add the eyes BEFORE you start stuffing. Hand stitch along the back of the neck (you can use this opportunity to tuck in and create a bend in the neck too if you like.
Really need to invest in a fabric pencil, to avoid those black lines! lol.
He’s a bit funny looking, but not too bad for a slap together job. DS thinks he is great, even with his crazy eyes.
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"Creativity Never Retires..."
The everyday adventures of a classy lady and her curious cat.
Barely coherent ramblings of a yarn-obsessed stay at home mom
Lessons learned from raising a child with Down Syndrome
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