Felt Play-food Sandwich

Here is a little something I prepared earlier!…no seriously I had not a clue what to give a friends little girl who is turning three tomorrow, and after nearly breaking the bank to get the dog sorted out, it needed to be economical on the family purse.

Thinking about the things that the Tallest has really enjoyed playing with (and in some cases still does enjoy) over the last year or so, my mind turned to the rather large stash of play food and how much the Tallest gets out of playing cafes and the like…so….a few offcuts of the right coloured felt and some embroidery silks later and there you have it…

I’m sooooo pleased with the result, and a work colleague has even suggested that she might quite like a tomato as a brooch / badge as a gift for one of her son’s (who incidentally hates tomatoes – but whom she assures me would LOVE one of these!) Felt, for me at least, has always had such a tactile and appealing quality to it and these pieces are no exception.

The tomatoes and cucumber slices being the most successful (after the bread, which is stuffed with wadding) as there are three layers of felt in each piece, making them such satisfying things to hold, they have real substance and withstand being played with, which is I suppose the whole point!

Hopefully i’ll post the pattern up for these at a later date, but its all pretty self explanatory really.  Happy Snacking xxx

Log Cabin Patchwork

Our cushion covers are looking rather sorry for themselves of late, the corners have worn through as the fabric has worn so thin. So here is the first offering to the sofa,modelled very ably by the snoozing Tallest after a hard day at Nursery…

This one was made in honour of Mr GT, I am planning to make one for each of us according to what we like, evidently the girls cushions will be pink / fluffy / sparkly, but hopefully I’ll be able to make as tasteful offering as possible, so that Mr GT doesn’t feel the need to remove them to their bedroom!

The button embellishment works really well, and has fascinated the children, so I will definately be doing some more.

Happy Sewing / Growing

GT

Decorated Hairslides

I actually had time to sit in front of the sewing machine for an hour this afternoon, while the Tallest is at Nursery and the Smallest has a monster afternoon nap. And this is the result…

I think that I know what all the little (and not so little) ladies in my life will be receiving for Christmas gifts this year!

And not just buttons, I’m thinking toadstools, flowers and strawberries appliqued for starters, ooh I love little projects like this they’re so much fun.

(please excuse the photo – it was done on the phone  GT)

Recycled Wool Longies

A jumper that I never wore was turned into a shrug…which I wore…and then it got put on the hot wash!…so now it has a new lease of life as a pair of wollen longies for the smallest.

This is what I used to make the longies, as the sleeves were WAY too tight, thanks to the hot wash.

Already they make an obvious pair of strides!

One of the easiest ways to see if they fit is to directly compare them to your child, the Smallest is not too fused about tape measures so guesstimates are the way forward.

Using a stich unpick, open the seams up to the length of your childs inside-leg, unpicking rather than cutting will ensure that the knit does not run. Quite simply sew the two pieces together starting on one edge, work iot the crotch and up onto the other edge, you may need to stitch over the crotch area again, as I often find that I have missed on the first go, and have a little hole where the seams meet.

Turning the waist band over leae a gap in the stitches large enough to thread through your elastc. Streatch the elastic to give a tighter fit, and sew ends together, tuck them into the waistband and sew up the gap, and there you have it.

All done, all that needs doing is soaking in a solution with lanolin to ‘lanolise’ them ready to wear.

I haven’t had her in them yet, but I have the sneaking suspicion that they aren’t going to go around those chubby little thighs of hers, well we await tomorrow to find out, and now to find the rest of that jumper I massacred so I can make a shortie soaker out of it! Poor old hubby is never going to get that jumper I promised to knit him!

Happy sewing!

Felt Flower Brooch

I have been making these as little gifts for friends and family members. They are simply put together from seven pieces of felt as below.

The flowers are made by snipping into the circles and then rounding the ends of the ‘petals’ this takes a little time but you do get into a rhythm after the first two or so.

The flowers are held together with three or four stiches through the centre and I have added a mother or pearl button and a butterfly bead for embellishment.

The leaves are running stitched together and held in place at the back when stitching the embellishements on. Then add a brooch back or a safety pin and there you have it a very easy little gift for a girlfriend or relation.

Fabric Play Kitchen

The Tallests imagination was running riot yesterday, and she was busy playing kitchens. She is getting a lovely wooden one for Christmas, but in a blinding flash of inspiration I decided to sew her one to fit over the wicker stool that was her cooker. Its not in the least bit complicated or particularly well finished – but until Father Christmas arrives with the more robust version it will certainly do.

Here she is washing her hands before she gets started on dinner! It is simply pieces of felt stitched onto an old crib sheet stitched to fit the stool. She has requested a washing machine and a dish washer! (thank you Nanny) So perhaps after the wooden one arrives I could make her a cover with those on to complete her kitchen. This one could be kept to (hopefully) solve arguements whilst playing with the Smallest when she gets a little older. (I live in hope!)

Sweet Slippers

We are currently engaged in an ongoing battle with the Tallest to get her to keep something on her feet, so I thought that some super cute slippers might be the way forward. She calls them her princess slippers and anything that keeps her bare feet off the cold wooden floors is definately a good thing!

I used a pattern that I already had for a baby shoe and drawing around the Tallests foot as a guide just enlarged it fit her size 10’s (big I know!) The materials are really just what I had to hand. The uppers are felt with a fleece lining, and the soles are fleece lining, felt, fleece again and non slip fabric. I had to use the stuff for carpets and mats, as the non slip dots type doesn’t seem to exist round these parts! (The hunt continues!)

Here are the pieces cut and ready to use. Machine stitch (or handsew if you have the time!) the uppers together all along the inside edge (the top part nearest the ankle) attaching one part of the elastic strap on the long side. I used what I had, but if I make some more I’ll use lace elastic so that it’s a bit cuter. Then snip the corners, turn it right side out and then top stitch the inside edge again. This gives it a neater finish I feel.

Add your embellishments, sewing only to the top layer of the upper so that there will be no knots or stitches by the toes.

Put all the layers of fabric together and then top stitch round the entire slipper. Try to catch all the layers with each stitch, and if the top layer of the upper is slightly larger than all the others when you draw the stitch down it will cover the layer edges and give a neat finish. I finished mine with a couple of mother of pearl buttons at the side, I did not want a seam by the ankle as they would be worn without socks mainly. But alter the pattern to suit your needs.

Next time I need to make the short edge longer and the long edge shorter (does that make sense?) so that I have more to play with for finishing, and can make a better job of it. Each time I make a pair I’m sure I’ll adjust it to suit.

Give them to your ‘little princess’ to enjoy.

Oh, and as an aside, I made these in about three evenings probably spending around 90 minutes each night. Not including the breaks to deal with a poorly baby! So not actually that time consuming and IMHO worth the effort. Slippers cost around £6 at our local discount shop – these were all made with materials that I already had – so a saving all round and fun to make to boot.