Easy Girls Apron

I can’t believe it is almost February. These months fly by for us as we have 2 birthdays within a week of each other, whew! Here in Northern California we have finally had rain to hopefully keep all the farmers, cities and ski resorts happy (at least for a while!) I am just thankful to be getting back into the swing of things. I am super excited about the new year and am reading some great books (oldies but goodies) on child rearing. I am definitely going to highlight them in a post, so if you are interested, keep posted!

In craft world, I have made a couple of these aprons for gifts and thought I would share this with you. Usually I can make these in about 1 hour so it is a quick and easy gift! Many times I will add some felt food to keep in the kitchen theme :) and add a bit more to the gift.

Below is a picture of all the fabric I cut to make this apron. In order to get the correct measurements for the length and width of the panel I used my 2 year old as an example. I would recommend trying to measure the person that you are making this for and measure their length from hip to above the knee. My measurements ended up being 9” from hip to knee. The width of the panel needs to be a bit bigger since it is ruffled at the top. Take a hip to hip measurement and double it for the width of the panel. Add 1” to each number for seam allowances.

After you cut the panel the first step is to cut out pockets. I just eyeballed the size that looked good on the panel I had cut and made 2 identical ones. Then I ironed the sides of the pockets and sewed them onto the panel.

I ironed down all the sides and then topstitched one edge that will become the top of the pocket.

After I sewed those on I finished 3 edges on the main panel using a 1/2 inch hem. I have learned the the iron is my friend when is comes to sewing. I iron my edges and then sew them shut.

I then have a panel with 3 finished edges and 2 pockets on it.

I then gather the top edge of the panel that has not been finished. I like doing this by setting my machine to the longest stitch and doing a quick stitch through the top of the fabric. I then pull the bobbin thread to bunch of the top. This may sound a bit tricky, but I promise it is easy! After this portion is done I do the small panel that goes on the top of the apron. To get the correct length I take the measurement from hip to hip and make that the length of the panel and the height is 7” for a smaller girl. I then ironed it in half and then the 3 edges flat to make it look like this.

I then take the raw edge and pin it to the gathered edge of the panel and sew it together right side to right side.

Once that is sewn on the ties need to be made. to do that cut 2 lengths of fabric at least 16” long and 5” wide. Place them right side to right side and sew them together to create a tube. Then turn it right side out and iron flat.

Then place one end of the tie in the open top panel and another tie in the other side.

After this is done, fold over the top panel and pin it shut. Then top stitch around all the edges. This will close this panel and will secure the ties in the panel.

That finishes off the apron. I like to add a personal touch to this, so I took some fabric and ironed fusible interfacing to the back. I then cut out the letter “C” for the little girls name and ironed it on the pocket.

And that is that! I really like making these and have fun in the process. Here is another one I made with some felt food.

See, fun and easy gift! Have a great day!

Rope Bracelet

I am thankful to be back blogging after a couple of sick days and the end of our time in Southern California. Christmas always goes by in a flash and then it is the new year. Maybe some of you had seen these, but I had seen these bracelets on Pinterest and really wanted to try making them. I was SO sad when I couldn’t find them again (note to self, pin if I like!!). I looked and looked and finally found the tutorial. I was super duper excited! Here is a picture from sewcraftcreate and a link to the tutorial on her blog.

I thought I would show you what mine looked like and how they would turn out if you didn’t have a sewing machine handy and a couple other tips I found handy.

The directions on her blog are excellent! I found that I really preferred to use a fabric that frayed well instead of one that was stiff. I didn’t use any knit, but I’m sure those would turn out well. Also, using a needle and thread was nice to be able to attach the buttons with out having to get up again (yes, I am lazy!).

This is what I started with. I found that it was just as easy to use a needle and thread rather than a sewing machine to sew the ends to the main fabric. I loved that I was able to make these while watching a movie :)!

Here is a picture of my close up stitching! I know, not so straight, but it works!

I followed her directions and ended up with this. These were fun to make and definitely a quick project. I have lots of new projects to finish this year which I hope to show here. Thanks for reading!

Quick Doll Carrier

Happy New Year everyone!! I have had a great couple of weeks with lots of family, food and fun galore! I am spending a couple weeks in Southern California and so I have been taking a bit of a hiatus from making things, but it couldn’t last too long! We were invited to a birthday party for one of my dear friend’s daughters. I have been thinking about making a doll carrier for a while and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make it happen. I fashioned this carrier after a Baby Ergo. My daughters loved playing with this and hopefully our little friend will too!

This is a picture of the carrier with my ever-so-willing daughter modeling it. She was only willing to make crazy faces that day, so this is one of the best ones we have, but you get the picture of how it works :)

To start I used:

1 -  12 x 18 in. piece of fabric

2 – 4 x 45 in. strips of fabric

iron on interfacing

scrap fabric

This is the fabric I used for another carrier that I made. Mostly just extra fabric that I had saved in my stash.

I took one of the long strips of fabric and sewed wrong sides together.

I then flipped it inside out and pressed it to create a nice seam.

I then took the length of the strip and put the middle lined up with the middle of the 18x24 piece. The panel piece I finished with a hem on all four sides.

I then topstitched around the edges of the strip and sewed it to the panel piece. I finished the ends of the strip by folding the ends in and stitching it shut.

This is what the piece looked like after it had been sewn together.

I then sewed the other strip of fabric together and turned it inside out as shown above. I then sewed it with an X stitch at the top of the panel. To make the stitch start at one corner and make a straight stitch until you hit a corner. Leave your needle in and turn your fabric and continue stitching until you finish the square.

This is what it should look like when you are done. I then cut the strip in half and finished the edges. It should be tied around the back on the bottom and around the neck at the top. I also used interfacing and scrap fabric to add a monogram for the little girl that this was for.

My daughter also tried it on her back, but but preferred it on her front :) Happy New Years to you all!