Baby Ball Toy

I can't remember where I first saw the idea for making these toys - but it's pretty simple.  You take 8 surfboard shaped pieces of fabric (mine were approximately 6" long but they could be any length depending on the size of ball you want to end of with), sew them together along the edges, and then cover the ends with fabric circles.

The original tutorial I looked at suggested using wool, but I made mine out of some t-shirt scraps (pink and navy/plum) and linen scraps (navy/green) from my reversible tote.

I sewed the edges together by hand using a blanket stitch for the pink and navy/green balls, and with my sewing machine for the navy/plum ball.  It was much faster using the machine, but sewing by hand is fun sometimes too.  For all three I had to sew the circles on by hand at the end.

I also added some loops of ribbon that I had on hand to two of the balls for some tactile interest and maybe a way for a baby to pull on or pick up the ball. 

I used fiberfill to stuff all of them until they were firm but not hard. 

Bookcase Makeover

I love books - and I love books with lovely covers.  But for the longest time I didn't have a lovely bookcase to put them on.  Since we're both book-lovers, my husband and I have "his and hers" bookcases.  

His is an old one that was his grandfather's - made of pretty dark wood that has some character to it.  Mine is from Target, made of particle board, and void of character.  

For a long time I'd lamented the ugliness of my bookshelf.  But I couldn't justify buying a new one.  We try not to spend money on furniture (almost everything we own was a given to us) and the bookcases that we did find in stores (that weren't as characterless as my current one) were way too expensive!

Thankfully I came across this post from Young House Love.  I never would've thought of redoing my bookshelf myself!

The first issue that needed to be addressed was how weak the bookcase was.  After being moved to 4 different locations and holding lots and lots of books, the shelves were warped and the whole thing was leaning to the side. 

We went to Home Depot and bought four 2" x 4" x 6' boards.  My husband nailed one board on each side of the bookcase and two boards on the back.  He strategically placed the nails so that they lined up with the shelves, thus reinforcing the shelves as well.  It worked wonderfully and made the bookcase very sturdy - no more swaying and bowing!

While at Home Depot we found 2 small containers of paint in the "oops paint" section.  They were only 50 cents each!  After lots of time spent painting and some spray-on lacquer we ended up with this:

And here's a close-up:

The whole project only cost us around $40 (much less than we would've paid for a new bookcase!).  I love having a custom-made bookcase that I know will last for years.  And I love how lovely my books look now!

Ready for a before and after?

Baby Bib

It's been a busy week getting ready to go away for a weekend fall retreat (can't wait!).  I haven't had any time to work on my current project so I thought I'd show you something I made this summer for a dear friend.... I'm typing as I scarf down my lunch.

My husband and I were given the honor of being asked to be godparents for a little lady that will be arriving sometime next month.  This is our first god-child and we are so excited to meet her and lavish her with love!  I wanted to make something special to give her momma at the baby shower.

I found a really cute tutorial for bibs made out of graphic t-shirts here.

Picture from alittletipsy.com

But I didn't have any cool graphic tees that I could use - so I changed things up a bit with the fabric, but basically followed the tutorial step by step.

I used a pinkish (salmon?) color for the front and a soft black t-shirt for the back.  I wasn't sure if the pink on the front would be absorbent enough but it's there for looks and the bib is reversible =)  It looked a little blah so I add a heart to the front.  I just opened up Word and searched the symbols until I found a heart that I liked.  Sewing the heart on was definitely the most time consuming part - not necessarily hard, just time consuming.  I used the steps for applique that I learned in Stitch by Stitch.

What do you think of the final product?

Can't wait to see her in it!

My current project

Currently I'm working on making this shirt bigger.  I really love it - but it's too small =(

More specifically, it's too tight.  Like spandex.  Ugh.  It's another thrift store find.  I loved the style of the neckline and couldn't pass it up, but I didn't try it on until I got home.  This is my new strategy - if it's cheap I buy it, I can always use the material!  And trying stuff on in thrift store dressing rooms is not my idea of a good time!

Making it bigger is going to be a lot harder than making my other shirts smaller.  I'll definitely take any advice that you have for me!

I do think I have an idea up my sleeve that might work out....  so far I've used my seam ripper a lot.

Stay tuned!

Tutorial: Refitting a t-shirt collar

I've mentioned a few times that my husband and I are big thrift store shoppers.  The prices are just unbeatable!  We especially like finding t-shirts at thrift stores because they can be so funny sometimes. 

One of our recent favorites had a picture of a cyclist and "Senior Olympics, To Participate is to Win" on the front.  So true and so funny.

The only problem with these t-shirts is that sometimes they just don't fit right.  Especially at the neck.  My husband does not like his collars to be stretched out and loose or super tight.  So I got to work trying to figure out a way to make them fit better.

Here are the steps that I use to make a too-snug collar looser:

1.  Turn shirt wrong-side-out and using a seam ripper, separate the collar from the shirt in the front.  Turn it right-side-out and it should look like this:

2.  Fold collar over so that the raw edges are touching.  It should look like this:

3.  Determine how much more room is needed in the front of the collar.  I typically need to add 1 inch for my husband.  With collar flipped down and raw edges touching, pull the middle front of the collar down 1 inch (or your predetermined distance) and pin it in place.  It will look like it does above, with extra shirt sticking out behind the collar.  Then pin the collar down on the sides as well, making a gradual slope to your center pin.  The collar should still be flipped down at this point.  If you want to try it on before sewing the collar in place use safety pins.

4.  Cut off the extra fabric that is sticking up above the raw edge of the collar (this will be 1 inch in the middle, sloping to smaller amounts on the side).

Super fuzzy picture, but you get the idea!

5.  Sew the collar in place (I used a 1/4" margin) using a straight stitch and then finish the raw edges with a zig-zag stitch or a serger.  Since all of the stitches will be on the inside of the shirt you can use any thread you have on hand - it doesn't have to match because it won't show.

Yup, this is a different shirt.  I was sewing a lot of them!

Warning:  I broke my needle by sewing over a safety pin!  This has never happened to me with straight pins before and it was a little scary!  Thankfully my machine came with extra needles.  I don't think I'll try sewing over safety pins again.

6.  Flip collar up and admire your work!

Murtle the Turtle

My niece's 4th birthday is coming up soon so I've been looking around blogland for something fun that I could make her.  She is a total animal lover (something we definitely have in common!) so I was really excited when I came across a tutorial for a stuffed fabric turtle on Make It and Love It.

After looking through my fabric stash I decided to use a fun blue and white pattern for the body and scraps from my tank top refashion for the legs, head, and tail.

Here are the pieces ready to be assembled:

Can you see how it's going to come together?

And here's Murtle, stuffed and ready to go!

How cute is that?  I love the sweet little "tattoos" on the tail and scattered around the legs and head.

View from above

Murtle was easier to make than Pippa and Rascal since there were less details to worry about.  If you are interested in making stuffed toys, Murtle would be a good one to start with.  Few pieces, simple constructions, and no hand-sewing of facial features.

Now I just hope that my sweet niece loves Murtle as much as I do!

Purple Throwback Shirt Refashion

I found this strange shirt at the Goodwill in Zelienople, PA earlier this summer.  It's definitely an odd one.  But I loved the purple plaid flannel and thought it looked like something I could improve with some simple changes. 

 I'm not really sure what style the designer was going for... puffy sleeves that cinched above the wrist, an elastic waist and then a flared bottom piece that had a slit in the middle.  Sort of an odd mix of the 70s and a peasant top.

The purple is much deeper in real life.  This picture is washed out.

The first thing to go was the elastic cuffed sleeves.  There is nothing flattering about a big poofy sleeve covering your arm!  I used my seam ripper to take the horrible elastic bands out, then ironed the sleeves flat.  Looking at it flattened out I realized how ridiculously wide the sleeves were.  So I turned the shirt inside-out and sewed a straight line (using a straight stitch) 1.5" in from the existing seam.  Then I cut off the extra fabric and serged the seam.  Ahhh... a thinner, less poofy sleeve.  I finished the sleeves off with a small 1/4" hem (shown below).

.

This is the real color of the shirt.  A nice autumn purple.

The biggest change by far happened around the waist.  Using my seam ripper I completely removed the bottom section, taking out a 1.5" band of elastic (ugly!!), lots of extra fabric that was used to cover the elastic, and a big round button from the front.  I ripped the seams out of the odd finished slit in the front middle of the shirt and then sewed the slit together and finished the edges.  Finally I sewed the bottom piece back on to the shirt.  Here's an up close look of where I sewed the slit shut.  Even though the fabric doesn't line up perfectly, it's still a huge improvement!!

I tried the shirt on and the only part that still looked goofy was up near my shoulders.  The actual sleeve started well past my shoulders, creating a big shoulder poof.  So I took the sleeves off of the mid section and reattached them about two inches closer to the neck line.  It made for a much smoother transition from my neck to shoulder, without a poof.

So here's the final product!  It was difficult to take a picture of the whole shirt (I ended up standing on my bed trying to get the whole thing in the picture) but hopefully you can see that my small changes made a big difference!  I think my shirt is ready to wear on the first cool day of the fall!

The sleeves are both the same size - this picture is a little funky.

Not the best picture, but no more poofs!