Lion Monster


This didn’t quite turned out as I imagined, but here it is anyway.  I asked my five-year-old to draw something for me to make into a stuffed animal for her birthday.  She quickly drew this “lion monster” and I used felted sweater, fabric scraps and felt to put it together.

Sewing with felted sweaters was difficult for me and I found it hard to avoid this lumpy look without overstuffing it.  I think it would be helpful to use iron-on stabilizer when working with sweaters.  I cropped this photo intentionally because my construction on the bottom is terrible!  It helps me to think of my awful hand sewing as folksy and quaint, rather than messy and uneven.  Whatever works.

House Ornaments

I made these little house ornaments the other night.  I used the template from Orange Flower, but ended up changing the shape a bit as I made more.  Still don’t have one that’s just right. So I’ll be making more!  I think they would be nice in all white too.  There are lots of house ornaments available on Etsy too (see yesterday’s post).

Kimono

It was International Day at the children’s school today so our girls represented Japan.  The five-year-old wore this kimono, made with a $5 piece of fabric from IKEA.  And the three-year-old was really excited to wear a Hello Kitty shirt!  For the kimono I used a bathrobe to figure out the pattern pieces and changed the shape of the sleeves.  It managed to work out that the bottom hem and sleeves were selvedges, so no extra sewing.  Then I used some raw silk for a sash.  I was surprised at how easily this came together, which was a good thing since both children have been sick (and grumpy) with strep throat this week.  Ugh.

Vintage Fabric Dress

Here’s what I did with the bulk of this vintage fabric.  It started off as a shirt that was rejected by my three-year-old, so got a new life as a dress with the addition of a ruffle.  It’s blousy, but so comfy and free.  A little hippie dress.  I love this fabric and am holding on to the last tiny scraps.

Bias Tape Crown

I love bias tape.  Not really into making it, but I like the kind you can buy.  I made this little crown in about 20 minutes using iron-on interfacing and double-fold bias tape.  And it’s reversible.  I’d like to try one without the interfacing so that it lays down like a kerchief — a crown for everyday.  This little princess would like that.