dino saw

I’m back after 8 weeks away and itching for a stitch.

My mate just had a baby and I wanted to give her something crafty for the baby but have been a bit strapped for time.

So I picked up a project that I started at one of our first Den sessions.  Mrs B brought along a pattern for a dinosaur softie that her aunt gave her and I copied the pattern.  Unfortunately I did not write down any instructions (because I have this false sense of craftiness that I can create anything – which usually ends in failure!)

So I was guessing as I went along and like most Ikea projects ended up with some bits left over and had to restuff it after I realised I had left its bum open and stuffing it from there and restuffing would leave a messy… well bum.

Plus the fabric I used is curtain material and was fraying badly as I stuffed around with it.

If you don’t look too closely it turned out ok although I have had to give instructions for Raff not to play with it due to the small parts and some dodgy  sewing but looking at it, its ok.

Tips for young players – curtain fabric is not the best for softies – the fabric looked like it was going to pull and fray so more research into curtain fabric and sewing is needed (I have 5 mtrs of this fabric because I loved it!)

Anyway… dinosaur.  A cute little project that with different fabric, time and patience could be much better!

feed me seymor

I have a friend at work who is having a baby shower tomorrow and I mentioned some time ago that I would make her a feeding pillow.

My mum has made a bunch of them for friends’ daughters who have recently had kids and they all rave about how useful they are.

Mum gave me the pattern and I spent a lovely day last week with PG at Calico and Ivy looking at fabric…a dangerous move as I now have a new favourite shop!

This feeding pillow is so easy to make – with the overlocker and sewing machine it took about 10 minutes.

I love the fabric with the red flowers and the tiger,  owl and birds on it and I used a lime green fabric on the back for contrast.

I think this may be the new gift for new mums coming from the Den!

russian dolls

Another little craft flurry yesterday and a doll project that has been burning into my mind.

I  grabbed a couple of hours and finally got to sewing.

The pattern came off a Mixed Tape pattern that was sent with the last craftzine and I made them for little Parksie.

I sewed in some ribbon so the three sized dolls stay together when the little girls want to play with them.

sweet tweets

PG once again found a sweet craft activity for us…  this one comes from Spool Sewing.

So this week the Den girls got together and crafted up some these darling birds to give to Mrs B when her baby comes.

Well LRB came this week so bird production went into overdrive and today we presented her with her little bird mobile.

I also found a bunch of bells that we had lying around the house (don’t ask me why) and we included them so the birds jingle when you move them.

This was a fabulous project that we created together – and made a beautiful and original gift that  hopefully LRB will cherish (and doesn’t give her freakish bird nightmares!).

baby shoes

A couple of our little friends have just started walking and Lis has been talking about making fabric shoes so I did some digging around and found this pattern.

It looks pretty easy so we may give it a crack. 

And then I found these…  I think I’ll make some kimono shoes to go with the kids’ kimono we’ve made before.  How adorable!

This pattern comes from Homespun Threads and is a gorgeous twist on the fabric shoes.

I’m thinking of also adding some jiffy fabric or non-slip fabric to the bottom of them so the girls can actually walk in them without toppling over… hmm we’ll see.

Den girls get your fabrics ready!

layer pon layer pon layer

I’m really making up for not crafting much last year to crafting with a vengence at the moment.

It’s Zis’ birthday this week so I have whipped up this skirt for her.  It’s one I learned how to make at the Fremantle Arts Centre and is super easy.

 I’ve made one for myself before but modified it down to a child size (Zis is only 3).

You make  this skirt by laying three layers of fabric on top of each with a chiffon as the middle fabric. Cut the pattern out on the bias.

The skirt is supposed to fray but if you don’t cut on the bias it will just disintergrate.

Then you mark out lines and sew across.  Once all the lines are sewn you cut the top two layers and then sew the skirt together like you normally would -  sides then top.  I put a ribbon band on this because I wasn’t sure of her size but eleastic works really well (for my own I put in a zip).

There you have it.  Layered skirt.

baby doll

Children’s gifts and toys have been a focus of the craft group lately with all  the first birthdays that have come up.

Mrs B found this cute pattern for a baby doll called Black Apple.

Again its come off our fave site of the moment The Long Thread but it originates from the Martha Stewart site – which has video tutorials as well…

Mrs B made the purple dress Black Apple Doll as a prototype with the sewing machine and a red head doll for little VEs first birthday.

A red head for a red head – makes her daddy so proud!

kutest kimono

How adorable is this?

Lisa’s version of The Long Thread kimono.  Lis also took to making her own fabric buttons which totally finish off this top.

VE is a styling little one in this red and pink number!

sock monkey

Mrs B had a go at creating a sock monkey.  She hasn’t used a sewing machine for ages so she made this all with handsewing.

Little Red turned out beautifully…

beautiful kimonos for kids

Since we started crafting a bunch of the Den girls have been searching the web for other crafty inspiration.

PG came across this piece of gold on the Long Thread and oh my – its given us a bunch of projects to get on with.

We started sewing these gorgeous kimonos which were so easy to make and look amazing. This is little IW with a kimono I made for her first birthday.

You can find the pattern on The Long Thread

I’m going to try and modify the pattern for myself as well – gotta love free tutorials!