Tutorial: 10 Minute Fleece Pillow

Here's an incredibly simple, inexpensive, no-sew pillow to make! I made one for my almost 2 year-old daughter and she LOVES it because it is so soft. 

What You'll Need:

-3/4 yard of fleece

-Pillow form 14" x 14"

-Fabric scissors

 Steps:

1. Take your pillow measurements (I say it this way because you may want a bigger/smaller pillow form than I used) and add 6 inches to those numbers.

2. Fold your fleece fabric in half but don't worry about using the folded edge. Cut those two layers in a square with the measurements you came up with in step 1. 

3. Cut strips into the edges of your fleece about 4" in depth and about 1" in width. Cut out the corners as you go. 

4. Put your pillow in-between the two pieces of fleece and start tying them together. I used square knots. 

You're done! Enjoy!

New Items On Etsy

I don't believe I've mentioned this here... but I am expecting baby girl #2 on the 20th of this month! So you may not hear from me, but I hope to keep up with posting. In the meantime, I've added a great amount of items to my etsy shop, Itty Bitty Fashion, and wanted to share!

You can see all of my items on etsy here.

Here's some quick pictures:

Link-Up: Christmas Table Runner

This is a fun table runner to make, and it comes together pretty quickly. I wanted to share the link to where I got the pattern from: 

Quilt Bus Table Runner

And actually you can use this pattern with any fabric to make it whatever type you like, but it makes for some good little Christmas presents to friends! 

**I do have to give credit to my sister for making this table runner pictured above; I made a whole bunch and gave them away so I guess I'm lucky she made one for me! (What are sisters for, right?)

Quick-Tip: How Much Fabric For Binding A Quilt?

I always use 2 1/2" wide strips for binding my quilts. 

Here's a formula to figure out how much fabric to purchase to bind your, well, any project that requires binding really! 

(width of quilt in inches + length of quilt in inches) times 2 + 24" = amount of inches for total binding. 

Divide the total by 40 and round up, that = the total amount of strips. Times that total by 2.5 and that = the amount of inches of fabric needed.

Make sense? Here's another way to look at it:

(width of quilt in inches + length of quilt in inches) x 2, + 24" = amount of inches for total binding.

Amount of inches for total binding divided by 40 = the total amount of strips to cut (round this # up if a decimal). 

(Amount of strips to cut) x 2.5" = amount of inches of fabric needed

Tutorial: Thanksgiving Banner

In trying to make my own Thanksgiving decor, here's a banner I made to hang on the wall. I only spent $0.74 on the burlap since I already had the other supplies!

Supplies:

4" Cut of Fabric (for the letters)

1/4 Yard of Applique

1/4 Yard of Burlap

1 1/2 Yards of Ribbon

Here's how I made it:

1. I grabbed a fabric I liked and ironed on applique to the wrong side. 

2. In Microsoft Word, I used "American Typewriter" font, size 250, and in Text Effects I picked an outline of the font for easy cutting. 

3. Trace the letters backwards onto the applique and then cut them out.

4. I also made my triangle shape in Microsoft Word using the Shapes button.

5. Then I cut out the burlap using my triangle pattern and sewed a 1/4" seam around the edges of them to prevent fraying. 

6. Peel off the applique and iron on the letters to your burlap.

7. Cut 1" straight lines into your triangles for the ribbon to go through.

8. String through the ribbon and you're done! 

Tutorial: Scrappy Thanksgiving Wreath

This Thanksgiving wreath is quick and easy to make, especially if you have a lot of scrap fabric! I wanted to decorate for Thanksgiving but didn't want to spend any money, so this is what I came up with: 

All you need is a hanger, fabric scraps, and fabric scissors.

1. Start with your hanger, bending it into a circle.

2. Cut your fabric into strips - I used different widths but kept the length at a foot.

3. Tie your fabric onto the hanger in square knots (right over left, left over right). Switch between colors in a random order and continue until your wreath is complete.

Feel free to trim up your fabrics if you want, and you're done!

Lady Bug Costume

I wanted to share my first homemade Halloween costume for my little girl! It came together nicely so I'd love to share how I made it. 

Sorry for the lack of a cute background, but we had to get in pictures before she ripped off any of the attire!

The hat is crocheted, with added crocheted black circles. The antennas are made using black pipe cleaners and are secured on the hat by threading them through the crocheted holes already there. 

I bought a plain red shirt and added black circles of felt that I cut out. I cheated and hot-glued them on instead of sewing since I was out of black thread!

The wings I found at a local thrift store for $1.00! But I can easily see them being made with hangers, red nylons (if there is such a thing), and some paint. The arm bands are elastic, covered with red fabric which stay on quite nicely.

The skirt is a piece of elastic measured to my daughters waist size, with black tulle and red fabric tied in knots around it. VERY easy and I'm sure you've seen the technique before. Then of course she has on black tights. 

This costume is custom made for the cold Utah weather! But as you can see it wouldn't be hard to make some changes if needed. In the meantime,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Halloween Monster Wreath

My door needs to be re-painted, but hopefully that doesn't detract too much from my Halloween monster wreath! This didn't require any sewing as I used a hot glue gun for everything, but I thought it was cute and appropriate to blog about! 

I took a hanger, shaped it into a circle, took some feather boas, and wrapped them around it. You could do any color really but this is what I had in my craft bag. I made the "googly eyes" out of felt pieces, as well as the monster hands and tongue. The hands and tongue are hot glued onto the back of the wreath. 

It's that easy! I made it in one night, and it's something different than your usual Fall wreathes! Plus it would be a fun craft that your kids can help with.

Quick-Tip: Chain Sewing

This could have a different title, but I call it "chain sewing." It's a really fast way to put together multiple quilt blocks that are the same. Plus it saves you a ton of thread. 

Take a look!

Here is what I would like to sew together (the beginnings of a star block).

Start with one side, place right sides together, and start sewing. Place your needle in the "down" position if you can on your sewing machine. 

Sew down until you have about 1/4" left and get your second piece ready. Place that piece a couple of centimeters away from the first one and sew right onto it. It's okay if you sew a stitch or two and there's no fabric under the sewing needle. 

When you've sewn all of your pieces, you'll have a chain like this one:

Don't snip your pieces apart just yet! Do the other side (if this applies).

NOW go through and snip your threads that are between the sewn pieces. 

That's it! This process will save you tons of time if you've got a big project to do! 

Tutorial: Eight-Pointed Star Block Pattern

This quilt block will end up measuring 6"x6". I will be referring to the inner fabric as your "star" fabric, and the outer as your "square" fabric. Sew with a 1/4" seam. 

This is a great block for scraps! 

Steps:

1. Cut two 2 7/8" squares from your star fabric and then cut once diagonally across on each. I used more than one fabric for my star because I only had honey bun strips. You can use one fabric!

2. Cut one 3 1/4" square from your star fabric and then cut it diagonally twice to make four triangles.

3. Cut one 2 1/2" square from your star fabric.

4. Cut four 2 1/2" squares from your square fabric.

5. Cut one 3 1/4" square from your square fabric and cut it diagonally twice to create four triangles. 

6. Time to sew! Sew your star and square quarter triangles (from steps 2 & 4) on the top right side as shown in the picture below. Be sure to place your fabrics right sides together with the square fabric on top. If you don't do this correctly your star won't come out right! Don't worry though, I did some unstitching too... After sewing, open the triangles and iron open the seam. Repeat this step for all of your quarter triangles.

7. Take your triangle from step 6 and sew onto it a half triangle from your star fabric (from step 1). Sew with right sides together, on the long side of the triangle. Iron open. Repeat this step to make four star-point squares. 

8. Here are what your star-point squares will look like: 

9. Start sewing your rows together. First row: square fabric 2 1/2" square, star-point square, and a square fabric 2 1/2" square again. Iron.

10. Second row: star-point square, star fabric 2 1/2" square, and star-point square again. Iron.

11. Third row: 2 1/2" square fabric, star-point square, and 2 1/2" square fabric again. Iron.

12. Now you have three rows that, when you place them above and below one another, should look like this:

13. Sew each of your rows together, remembering to line up the seams so your star comes out as beautifully as possible! Iron and straighten out your edges (by cutting) to make the block exactly 6"x6". 

Tutorial: Crib Dust Ruffle

I couldn't believe how quickly I was able to make a dust ruffle for my soon-to-be baby's crib. Now I'm contemplating making one for my king size bed! Oh boy. 

Forgive me for not having step-by-step pictures, but really this is a VERY simple and straight-forward tutorial.

Supplies Needed:

2 yards of fabric for underneath the mattress

3 yards of fabric for your dust ruffle (about 3 times the length of your crib sides)

*These measurements are based on a standard size crib*

Steps:

1. Cut your fabric for underneath the mattress 28" x 50".

2. Cut your ruffle fabric 3 times the length of the side it will be sewn on to. I first cut strips of 12 1/2", then made them 150" long for the two sides. For the short side of the crib I did 12 1/2" x 84".

3. I hemmed each panel of my ruffle fabric by doing a rolled hem on my serger. I did this to the short sides and one long side to prevent any fraying. 

4. Ruffle the remaining long side.

5. Sew your ruffle fabric onto the other one (right sides together). I did a rolled hem again on my serger.  With each panel, leave an extra 3 inches on each side to sew to the next panel so you have extra coverage on your corners. 

Done! Enjoy your incredibly cute and custom-made dust ruffle! 

Tutorial: Crib Sheet

Pardon my absence of posts lately, I just moved and all sewing projects were on hold. It about killed me not to sew for this long - mostly because I am excited to make my own crib bedding for my new baby girl due this Christmas! 

First on my list was a crib sheet. It was SO easy! If you want a special fabric print or custom color, I would suggest making your own. If you just want a basic one color sheet, I hear Wal Mart has those for $4.00 which would be worth your money and time to get. 

Supplies Needed:

2 yards of fabric

2 pieces of 1/4" wide elastic - 23" long each

Steps:

1. Cut your fabric 40-45" x 69" (The 40-45" is open to whatever the width of your fabric is when you purchase it. Your sheet will fit as long as it is within those measurements)

2. Now remove (cut off) an 8"x8" square from each corner.

3. On each cut out corner, fold the cut edges together with the fabric right sides together. 

4. Now serge those together. 

Here is what it should look like (I did a rolled hem because really it doesn't matter to me!):

 *If you would like for your sheet to fit the mattress in a "more snug" fashion, sew a line from the bottom of where the diagonal starts (in the left side of this photo) up to your sewn edge with a more gradual incline. 

5. Place your sheet right side down. Go all around and fold your fabric edge in 3/4", 

then fold it again about a 1/2" and pin. This is to make sure no raw edges are showing so you don't have any fraying when washing your sheet. 

6. Before sewing, make a mark of an inch long 8 1/2" before one corner and 8 1/2" after the next corner on each short side of the sheet. You'll have four marks each and you'll leave these open to insert your elastic.

7. Sew around the perimeter of your folded edge. I only left about a centimeter of folded fabric to secure the fold down as well as leave enough room to thread my elastic through the inside. 

 

8. Insert your elastic into one opening and thread it through to the other opening. I pinned my elastic to a small safety pin to help thread it through. 

9. Once your elastic is threaded through, sew over it diagonally a couple of times and then sew that opening shut. 

You're done! Congratulations!