Perfect examples of how to embellish kids clothing. Find inspiration in the different ways you can embellish their clothes. From lace to shadow-applique.
The goal was to help a child with a weighted vest that looked just like what other children were wearing. To achieve this goal, I weight a “store bought” children’s vest with a weighted lining. The vests are all custom made for your child. I order a vest and “load it up” with 2, 3, or 4 pounds of weight. Vests have the weights loaded into lining fabric and stitched onto the vest and are visible from the inside but not the outside (like the pink vest photo). The weights are permanently attached. Vests are a custom order and are not returnable or exchangeable. In the photo section there are size charts for unweighted Columbia vests. Please use as a guide in selecting the size - to leave room for weights, measure over a sweatshirt. Please leave a note with your color preference. If no note is left about color, I will send a gender neutral color - depending on what is available! *Custom prices may vary based on specific vest choices. Toddler vests can only handle 2 or 2.5 pounds of weight. The 4/5 can handle up to 4 pounds. 6/7 can go up to 5. Larger sizes can handle more weight, the up-charge for weight over 4 pounds is $10 a pound. Please contact me to set up a custom order for weight over 4 pounds. For a little extra weight, I recommend purchasing weights sacks. A 1/4 pound slips easily into a pocket. Weighted Vests are designed to calm children with autism, ADD, Sensory processing or sensory integration disorder and ADHD. Weight is often used to assist the child to self-calm and relax so that sensory stimulus can be processed. The use of a weighted vest provides the child with unconscious information from the muscles and joints. Children who are easily distracted, hyperactive and lacking in concentration respond positively to the additional weight or pressure a vest provides. Some therapists have also found that a weighted vest may assist with reflex maturity, body position awareness and coordination, balance, eye/hand coordination, spatial perception and hearing and speaking skills. Because of these anecdotal outcomes, many therapists working with children are recommending the use of a weighted vest. US shipping is free. Buyer pays for international shipping.
4 free sewing patterns for knit fabric beanie hats, tested for a toddler.
So we all love our Kelsey leggings! And if you don't own this pattern, you will by the end of this tutorial! It really is a must have! Okay so one you lovely ladies (don't ask me who, I have ADD) asked if there was a trick to adding the ruffles in a round (ruffle attached to the base of legging). Versus them being sewn onto the leggings. Now I will say that the way the Kelsey's are already written is by far the easiest way. But we totally understand that some prefer their ruffles in a round. So here is a super easy tutorial on how to this with our Kelsey's. Also note this could totally work on store bought leggings!! SWEET!! So to start make your Kelsey's as written for regular leggings. (ie. why I said you can do this with store bought) First, we are going to be drawing our ruffle placement lines on the bottom of the leg pieces. We will now attach one of our ruffles to the bottom of the leggings. Take the ruffle pieces, pin them right sides together, and sew along the short sides so we one continuous loop. Set the sewing machine on the longest stitch length possible. Sew 1/4" down from the top of each ruffle making sure not to backstitch at the beginning or end. Some seamstresses prefer to have two rows of stitching in case a thread breaks, however, if you are using high-quality thread as we do, then one row of stitching should be sufficient. Take the leggings and lay it on a flat surface for reference on how wide our ruffle needs to be. Begin gathering the ruffle by pulling the top 2 threads and moving the fabric back so it is gathered together. When it looks like it is the right width, we can begin pinning the ruffle to the leggings by putting the right sides of fabric and adjusting the gathers as we go. At this point we will know if it is gathered too much or too little and it is easier to adjust correctly. We can now sew on the ruffle. To sew the ruffle to the leggings we need to be sure to sew below the gathering line otherwise it will be visible on the outside when we are done. Now that the ruffle is attached to the legging we will now cut at the drawn ruffle line. I know it seems crazy. No really, I do. Just trust me. Now with that ruffle set aside we repeat the same steps again to the new bottom of the leggings. Then once again cut off and repeat. Now you will have a pile that looks like this. Now time to start attaching these all back together. Start off at the top. Flip the ruffle up and attach the connector piece to the bottom edge. And repeat with the next ruffle. This is what your inside will look like. And just like that you have your Kelsey leggings with ruffles in a round. Now on a side note, if you feel you have stretched your leggings out too much. lift each ruffle and add a row or two of shirring. This will help the leggings go back into shape. And the shirring will be hidden by the ruffles. And if you need a quick lesson in shirring, along with a little dance party. Follow this link to video how to from the CKC girls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfqAwJC_a6A Happy Sewing Y'all! Morgan
There are lots of ways to upcycle a store-bought tee, and lots of different reasons why you would want to do it. For today's tutorial I'm going to show how to take a tee that is too large for a child and make it into a hoodie that is just the right size for him/her. Fun! The same process works with any other top pattern you want to use. My tween son was excited when he saw this Minecraft shirt at the store but they didn't have it in his size. We bought the largest size available instead, with the promise that I could turn it into a Toby's hoodie for him. We took this t-shirt from an adult Medium size to a tween 11/12. You could do the same thing with child sizes too. Before doing any cutting, you will want to lay the shirt out on a flat surface to make sure it is large enough for your project. Lay the printed pattern piece on the shirt, paying attention to where the picture and the seams fall. Because this pattern is on the fold, it needs to fit on the shirt twice. It looks like we're safe to use this size! If you want, you could print two copies of the pattern piece and flip one of them over and tape them together, so you have one full, not-on-the-fold piece. I like using the fold though and haven't had a problem with it. Most t-shirts like this already have their picture exactly in the middle. Now it's time to separate the front of the shirt from the back, if you're planning to use both layers. Cut through the top layer close to the seams, as shown in yellow above. This will remove the front panel of the shirt. Your front piece will look something like this. Set it aside for now. The back of the shirt will look like this. You can remove the sleeves if you want, but its not really necessary. Fold the back of the shirt in half, trying to make the center of it as exact as possible. Line up the sides and seams, and smooth out any wrinkles. Lay the back pattern piece on the fold. You can put it up high or down low -- wherever it fits best. Just be sure that both layers are fully under the pattern piece. Cut around the pattern piece. You should now have a back shirt piece that looks something like this! Depending on the pattern you're making, you may be able to use the remaining sleeve scraps. I usually don't. Now you're ready to do the same with the front of the shirt! Carefully fold it in half with the picture on the outside. Make sure you have it centered, and smooth out any wrinkles. Place the pattern piece on the fold. Again, you may want to move the pattern piece up or down, according to where you want the picture to land. On this one, I didn't have a lot of room by the armholes so I had to move it down a bit. When you're done, your front shirt panel will look something like this. It's okay if you had to cut off bits of the picture. I have seen some really cool upcycles that cut off quite a bit. As long as you're aware of your placement, it should turn out great. Go ahead and cut the remaining pattern pieces out of your knit fabric, or other t-shirts if you have them. For most patterns it's good to have your neckbands etc made out of a knit with 50% stretch. In this case, my t-shirt wasn't super stretchy but the bands are, so it will still be comfy. Sew your pattern according to its instructions and you're good to go! My son got home from school just a few minutes after I finished this and he was SO excited! Now it's your turn! You can use tees out of your closet, your man's closet, a secondhand store, or even brand new ones. If you want to see some of our other upcycling tutorials, simply type "upcycle" into the search box here on the blog -- we have a bunch that we know you'll love. Let's Create! ~ Kristen
Learn how to hem pants the easy way! This guide covers how to hem jeans while preserving the original hem, hemming pants without sewing, and more.
Aren't these no-sew sock worms adorable!? And they're super easy to make! Seriously, if you have mismatched socks lying around the house, this is such a fun way to use them! You only need a few simple supplies that you can easily find around the house or at the dollar store and in less than 10 minutes you can make a cute little crawling creature. I can't decide if these little guys are worms or caterpillars? My first thought was worms. But my kids say they're caterpillars. And they have a good point because worms don't have antennae? Whatever you
DIY Disinfectant Cloth Wipes: all the convenience of the store-bought version, without the toxins or price tag.
Love having comfy pajamas and gowns waiting for you when you get ready for bed? When it comes to the coolest sleepwear, there is no need to spend tons of money on store-bought designer items or really anything when you can DIY your way into awesome dreamland attire. Learn how to make gowns, pajama shorts
What is in my stash? Typically, I’m a little of everything kind of girl, but over the past few years of the Flats Challenge, I’ve started to figure out what I like, what I don’t like, and what works. There are so many different types of flat cloth diapers that range from extraordinarily frugal to […]
Homemade Rice Crackers made with leftover cooked rice.
Salt dough is a great medium for making these realistic-looking starfish. We decided to hang them on a piece of jute to make a really cute garland for one of our boys' nautical-themed bedroom. They would also make great Christmas ornaments for a nautical tree. What You Need: Salt Dough: Mix 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 Cup Salt, and 3/4 to 1 Cup of Water Jute or Heavy Twine Toothpicks How You Make It: Take a chunk of the dough and roll it into a ball. Onto a lightly floured surface (to prevent sticking), use hands to flatten ball. Once you have your circle of dough, use a toothpick to press marks into the dough where the arms of the starfish will be (or are they legs?????) Remove dough between markings and use hands to round and shape the starfish form. Use toothpick to make long indentation in center of each leg and to poke small holes up and down arms of starfish. Poke hole in top of starfish (we used the non-pointy end of a ball point pen). Let dry, either by allowing to air dry, or by baking in a 200 degree oven for several hours until hardened. Once dried and cooled, apply coat of acrylic sealant. Tie small loop through hole at top of starfish with jute so the stafish will hang flat when suspended. String starfish on strand of jute to make garland. Submitting this project to: Linking up to: http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/ http://shabbyartboutique.blogspot.com/
Learn how to make this easy DIY Hooded Towel for baby, toddler, and kids. Step-by-step tutorial and free pattern.
To celebrate a friend’s birthday we did a “girls day” in NYC. Although none of my friends are sewers we all enjoyed the current exhibit at the Anna Wintour Costume Exhibit. The th…
Sewing Pattern sizes run differently than store bought clothing. For example, I might wear a store bought size 8 but when sewing for myself, my measurements might make me a pattern size 10-12. Children's patterns typically run the opposite direction. This Cargo Short/Pant pattern runs BIG. My son is 3 1/2 yrs. old, he wears an Old Navy/Gap store bought 5T short/pant. (I like his clothes to be on the baggy side), and in this pattern, I sew up a 3T for him based on his measurements. *Please use this size chart correction sheet in place of the one printed...
Store-bought backpacks don’t excite you? Make a unique, yet simple backpack for your child with bright straps and cheerful fabrics. Have your child pick out fabrics to make this project fun f…
An easy recipe for Homemade Graham Crackers. Made with 100% whole wheat flour and brown sugar, these are so much better than store-bought crackers!
Learn how to make this easy DIY Hooded Towel for baby, toddler, and kids. Step-by-step tutorial and free pattern.
Add a sweet gathered tulle skirt to a store-bought tee for a ballet-style dress for a little girl. Easy sewing tutorial includes step-by-step photos.
Want to make thick, creamy Greek yogurt? You just need a strainer and some cheesecloth. Works for store-bought yogurt, too!
Learn how to make this easy DIY Hooded Towel for baby, toddler, and kids. Step-by-step tutorial and free pattern.
Simplify bath & pool time with this easy wraparound DIY towel tutorial! Make your own elasticized terry cloth robe for adults or kids - easy sewing project.
An easy recipe for Homemade Graham Crackers. Made with 100% whole wheat flour and brown sugar, these are so much better than store-bought crackers!
as if you’d get one of those store-bought costumes!
Happy December 1st, y’all! With the seasonal festivities getting into full swing {or non-swing depending on how you approach it}, I thought it would be fun to share some fabulous Christmas Kids’ Crafts with you. I’m super inspired to create some of these projects with Ridley, so I hope you will love them too! These...
These are the easiest home made baby gifts to make for baby showers, newborns, and new mothers. You'll love these pictured instructions and full tutorials on how to make these adorable home made baby gifts. Easiest Baby Gifts To Make 1. Onesie Cupcake Tutorial ~ If you are giving onesies at a baby shower, why not present them as cupcakes in a cute basket? Complete them with hair bow toppings. 2. Wet Bag Tutorial ~ Wet bags are perfect for storing soiled diapers, wet undies, or a wet swim suit. Well, anything wet that you want to keep separate in your diaper
Back when I was a kid and I was first starting with hand stitching I did a lot of cross-stitch projects. Can you say, Precious Moments? I was all about the kits. :) But as I got older I kind of got out of the habit and just moved onto other things. Lately though I ... Read More about 21 Creative Cross Stitch Projects
Turn your home into a haunted estate with our best indoor Halloween decorations including DIY ideas for pumpkins, ghosts, bones, centerpieces, and more.
A couple years back, tutus became very popular! I bought my little girl a couple here and there from various kids’ clothing stores that I frequented…mostly ones on sale. Then, I was i…
Today I have another great baby project: Easy DIY Baby Swaddle Blanket Pattern and Tutorial which sews up quickly in 10 minutes.. This is perfect for anyone who wants to make a quick gift for a new baby! Often many store bought swaddle blankets are never quite big enough to get a good swaddle, by making your own you can make one large enough for baby to grow and still wrap them up tight. Also by using a knit, the fabric can breathe so baby doesn't get too hot and has a slight stretch to it to help keep them snug.
Have you been thinking of sewing your own wardrobe? In our next series: Learn How to Sew Your Own Wardrobe I'll show you how!
Last week I promoted the idea of getting that handmade Halloween costume look (without the work) by sharing my favorite Etsy finds. This week I’ve got a round up for those of you who want to put in some man hours and do the homemade thing for real. From embellishing store-bought clothes to a super …
Learn how to hem pants the easy way! This guide covers how to hem jeans while preserving the original hem, hemming pants without sewing, and more.
Create your own custom clothing labels for handmade or store bought items using twill tape, alphabet stamps and fabric ink.
In this tutorial we will be covering the tool that everyone hemming on a sewing machine needs – a twin needle!
I've been in full baby crafting gear lately. Last night I sewed a couple of little pants and I've been tinkering with the idea of making a onesie out of an old T-shirt. I have a special one in mind, but I thought I should test it out on a junker first. Success! It was about a 45-minute project. And here's how I made it: Materials: A small adult T-shirt, or a child's size shirt A store-bought onesie (to use as a guide) Velcro (the kind you have to sew on, not stick on) Stretchy materials needle (recommended, but not required) Directions: First, turn your T-shirt inside out and fold it in half down the middle. Fold your store-bought onesie in half down the middle and lay it on top of the T-shirt so the collars line up and the shoulders/sleeves run along the top. Cut around the onesie leaving about 1 inch of a border on the sleeves and sides but about 2.5 inches at the bottom crotch area. You should end up with one piece of fabric where the front and back are connected at the collar/shoulder/sleeve area. Trim the sleeve edges how you prefer. The sleeves just happened to end up right where the big shirt sleeve began so there was a sewn edge that made it easy to trim. Turn under the edges of the legs (there should be four of them) and sew in place. This looks pretty rough since I didn't have a mini screwdriver to install my stretch needle. When you sew jersey be sure you stretch it out as you're sewing it so there is give to the seams. Sew along the sleeves and sides of onesie using a half-inch seam allowance. Turn right-side out and turn under the bottom crotch flap of the front twice over. This will add extra thickness to better stabilize the velcro. Pin and sew in place. Next, turn up the bottom crotch flap of the back, but just once over. You want the back flap to be about two inches longer than the front flap once the edges are turned under. Pin and sew in place. I chose to use three squares of velcro, but a strip would work also. Sew the softer side of the velcro to the wrong side of the back flap. Sew the rougher strip of velcro to the RIGHT SIDE of the front flap. And there ya have it -- a make-your-own onesie. This would be a fun project if you had a sports team T-shirt or a TUXEDO T-shirt, which is the reason I wanted to try this out. Stay tuned for my tuxedo onesie in the next couple of weeks. And, as always, please contact me if part of this tutorial isn't clear.
Here's yet another way to patch a hole in a pair of pants. I was inspired by a pair of jeans I saw on my friend Gina, and I asked her, "did you do that?"
