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OVERSIZED HANDWARMER DIY

By rae on December 7, 2016 in CHRISTMAS, DESIGN, MAKE

So excited to bring back an old favorite today, homemade hand warmers, with a new design and bigger size. Just in time for Holiday gifting and the cold winter weather that has kicked in around here!

The hand warmers pictured are available in my Spoonflower shop as a cut and sew fabric pattern (perfect project for beginners or asking a friend that sews for help!) and takes a week or two to ship, so I recommend ordering ASAP if you want to make some before Christmas! Of course you can use whatever fabric you have on hand at home too. More details, links and instructions below.

All tied up and ready to make someone cozy-warm.

YOU’LL NEED:

This cut and sew fabric in my Spoonflower shop (a fat-quarter makes 8-10 — I like to use the linen cotton canvas but the basic cotton will work too), or any cotton fabric you have on hand
Sewing machine or needle and thread
Fabric scissors
Pinking shears
Long sewing pins
Rice

HERE’S HOW:

Cut around gray lines and patterns on the cut and sew fabric or cut 4-inch squares from other fabric. Place fabric wrong sides together. Leaving 1-inch open at the end (to pour rice through – see pic below), and using a 1/4-inch hem, sew around the two squares. Back stitch when you start each.
Pour rice into a small ziplock and cut a small hole in one of the bottom corners. Funnel rice into each warmer until approx 3/4 full. Place a pin next to each hole to keep rice from spilling out and sew closed.
Trim around each hand warmer with pinking shears… it keeps them from fraying and looks extra cute! Trim loose threads too.

To use, place in microwave until warm (about 30 seconds). Just be careful when handling or handing over to little ones.

One of my favorite parts (although at times an embarrassing part) is reading through old posts to see what I was thinking or feeling at that moment. One of the things I loved reading from the original hand warmer post that inspired this little DIY project was this:

“There is one thing I take very seriously… that my kids feel loved. Everyday. It would be easy for this task to become overwhelming, but luckily my kids have taught me that it’s the little things that matter. Just one act of love goes a looooong way.”

It’s so, so true. Especially this time of year when the hustle and bustle is real and our calendars are full. The little things go a long way.

Happy 18 sleeps before Christmas!!!

XO, Rae

ENVELOPE CLOSE PILLOW DIY

By rae on March 29, 2016 in MAKE

//Black brush stroke and teal tribal fabric from my Spoonflower shop//

I’m sure there are 100’s of these tutorials floating around the blogosphere, but it’s also one of those projects that saves money, can be done over and over again, get’s easier every time and always looks cute (even if the seams aren’t perfect) so figured it was worth sharing. Plus, we’ve probably all seen a yard of fabric or old curtain, shirt, sweater or blanket and thought, “Gosh that would make a cute pillow!” Amiright? Here is an easy way to make that thought happen…

SIMPLE THROW PILLOW (with an envelope close back)

You’ll Need –

Pillow insert (ikea or amazon is a great place to find these)
1-yard of heavy fabric or less of two different fabrics (home dec weight or cotton canvas)
Fabric scissors
Sewing machine
Thread and bobbin (color isn’t as important. You’ll only see a line of it on the back of the pillow)
Small piece of paper and pencil
Sewing pins
Iron (helpful but not necessary)
Yarn for pom-poms (optional)

Here’s How –

Measure your pillow insert. Add 1-inch to the height and width and write it down. Cut fabric to the size you just wrote. This will be the front of your pillow.
For the back of the pillow. Using the dimensions you wrote down earlier, divide the height in half and then add 3 or 4-inches. Using the same width as before, write down the second set of dimensions and cut two pieces of fabric to that size. (Example: if you have a 19-inch pillow form you’ll want to cut one 20×20-inch piece for the front and two 20×24-inch pieces for the back.). Next, fold the width of both back pieces towards the wrong side of fabric about a half inch. Run a warm iron over the top to hold in place. Fold the edge another half inch and iron in place. (If you like skipping steps, the second fold isn’t necessary.) Stitch along the folded edge using 3/8-inch seam allowance and repeat with the second back piece.
Lay your front piece patterned side up. Lay your back pieces, overlapping and patterned side down on top of the front piece. Pin in place (I usually pin each corner and where the back pieces overlap).
Stitch all four sides of the pillow with a 1/2-inch seam.
Turn right side out and stuff with your insert
To add pom-poms, use a seam ripper to make small holes in the corners of your pillow. Thread long pieces of yarn through the holes and hand-sew into place

If your pillow doesn’t come out perfect, don’t fret. Layer it with another pillow or two and I bet you won’t even notice! Or add to a kid’s room. Quirky things have away of fitting right in, in little kid spaces.

Of course this post wouldn’t be complete without Poppy on a pile of pillows being a ham…

When it comes to pillows, do you like to buy or DIY?

XO, Rae

PS – if buying is more your style you might enjoy this post from yesterday :)

EASY OVERSIZED BABY BLANKET DIY (+ A NO-SEW OPTION)

By rae on December 8, 2015 in DESIGN, KIDS, MAKE, winter

(My friends little girl, Bellamy with one of the blankies)

Shortly before Poppy was born I splurged on a couple jersey knit baby blankets. Partially because they seemed more swaddle friendly than the muslin version and partially because I adored the fabric patterns they came in… (justifying purchases comes easy to me in the 3rd trimester). But I had no idea just how handy they would be. I used them for everything from swaddling to nursing (because of the generous size) to wiping spit up and everything in between.

I also had no idea just how simple it would be to make a few. The ones I purchased were finished with a serging machine but I’m going to show you a no-fuss way to finish the raw edges with a regular sewing machine.

(I’ll share a NO-SEW version below as well!)

YOU’LL NEED:

about 1 to 1-1/2 yard of cute jersey knit fabric (stretchy legging type material – I made these designs bows/brrr/bears for a collaboration with Hen&Co. and they are available in my Spoonflower shop now!)
coordinating or contrasting sewing thread and bobbin
sewing machine
scissors (if you have a designated pair for fabric it helps!)

HERE’S HOW:

If needed, trim fabric to the size you want your blankets. Mine are 36×42 inches which is a generous size but could be a little bigger.
Thread sewing machine and set to: zig-zag stitch, stitch length 3, stitch width 7, and normal tension (mine is between 3-4). This is honestly the hardest part, LOL.
Practice sewing a 1/8″ seem along the edge of one of your jersey knit fabric scraps. If you don’t have a needle plate with measurements on it (see pic), feed the fabric through the middle-right of your presser food. The raw edges of the fabric bunches and rolls a little which gives it a rick-rack looking edge.
After a little practice, repeat the same technique, sewing a zig-zag stitch along all the edges of your blanket. Tie loose threads, trim and your done!

NO-SEW OPTION: Jersey knits don’t usually fray so you can actually just cut and use without sewing. The difference is that the edges will roll up and might get annoying so try brushing cut edges with a liquid stitch to see if that helps!

How sweet is little Winnie Wilde all swaddled up? You can also find leggings in the new winter fabric designs in her mama’s shop at Hen&Co on Etsy…. More on that soon!

Hopefully you have a babe or mama-to-be on your shopping list to gift one or more of these to. They really are so useful. Let me know if you have any questions about the DIY instructions or sewing in general.

XO, Rae

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