Water Bottle Tote

make-it-monday

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The kids needed water bottle totes for a summer day camp this week, so I came up with this quick and easy pattern. This one has elastic around the top to keep the bottle from falling out and should hold most smaller sizes of plastic and metal bottles (12-18oz).  And if you’re interested, you can read this review of BPA-free bottles.  This will work for adults too by simply lengthening the strap.

Click here to download the .pdf tutorial.

MATH ALERT: Luckily my husband was around today to help me with this one.  If you need to make your tote larger to accommodate a bigger bottle, simply increase the size of your bottom fabric circle.  To then determine what the width of your fabric should be, multiply the diameter of your circle by &#8719 (3.1415926….).

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Checking In

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What have I been doing?  Taking the kids to the pool, eating blueberries, burying dead aquarium fish.  The usual.

But not much sewing around here.  However, I have been making some last-minute birthday gifts for kids.  Last week I made this superhero cape that I posted about last year and it honestly took only 20 minutes.  It’s reversible too!  If you’ve never made this before, it may take you a little longer on the first try but it’s still a very easy project.  And it has a velcro closure which is handy so the kiddos can dress themselves.  This also works sort of like our cat’s break-away collar in case a kid gets hung up on something.  Seriously.  I say this because my kid got hers caught going down a slide and a tied cape might have been a problem.  Yikes.  Anyone on the CPSC recall e-mail list?  There is a drawstring hooded sweatshirt recalled just about every week.  Anyway, I keep a muslin pattern for this cape on hand so I can make them anytime.  This one is made from a vintage sheet and some shiny polka dot fabric.  Fit for a queen!

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Oh, and the girls and I made this popsicle stick project for my husband’s birthday last week.  So it was supposed to be a pencil holder, but he walked in and said “Oh, a beer holder!”, so OK –  a beer holder.  Truly, he doesn’t need a pencil holder anyway.  The man never writes anything down on paper, never prints out paper either.  He’s all digital.  I’m thinking of making a quilted lining to keep the brew cold, but that’s a project for another day (possibly another lifetime).

Reversible Headbands

make-it-monday

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Reversible headbands — again.  You’ll be getting some re-runs this summer.  I just made some more of these yesterday.  Interesting that I made headbands at the exact time last year.  Maybe I should just get a haircut.

Find my tutorial and template here.

I’m still using bits and pieces of this Liberty print (in a different colorway) that I love so much. It reverses to a plain cotton/linen blend.

Duck Dress

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Well, since my six-year-old is doing a project about ducks, she needs a duck dress to wear, right?  Maybe I’ve gone a little overboard, but when I saw this incredible fabric from Lizzy House at The Fabric Bar, I knew that my daughter would love it.  This clean, graphic design begged for a plain and simple dress.  I added a dip in the neckline and double rows of stitching around the neck, arms and hem.  I really love this fabric.

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Anyway, on to the importance of looking at your fabric before cutting.  My fabric was face down on the floor as I was cutting and I was so concerned with getting the seams to match the design, that (oops) the ducks are upside down on the left side of the back of the dress.  Can you tell?  Oh well, it adds some interest.

And if you liked that last dress I made with the Lecien fabric, check out this giveaway at Sweet Emmelie.  It’s a super-cute reversible dress!

Travel Doodle Bag

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Here’s a child’s birthday gift that I made.  It’s a travel doodle bag with an inside pencil pocket.

As I was sewing, I realized that the pencils on the inside of the bag would draw on anything you put in it, so I added the flap.  The pencil pouch holds 10 pencils and I made a special pocket for the little panda pencil sharpener.  And I included Doodles, by Japanese illustrator Taro Gomi.  Love all of his books.  And for more Japanese love, I used Echino cars and scooter fabric (like I used here).