Toys are twice the fun when you make them yourself! Easy DIYs let kids be their very own toymakers.
Children CAN learn how to sew! This post includes a variety of activities to introduce the concept of sewing to young children.
Gather together these simple supplies to make a sewing basket for your toddler or preschooler.
An essential in every baby's first wardrobe is a Classic Baby Sweater. Knitted sweaters like this one will get baby off to a good start in life - cozy, comfortable, and cute as ever. This sweater is basic and handsome, with a simplicity you don't often seen in knitting patterns. Free baby knitting patterns are often cutesy and over-the-top, but this is just the thing for you parents with more classic tastes. The best part is that it fits any occasion, so try knitting a few of different colors for the newest member of your family.
Do you know what is perfect for a rainy day? A playdate? Any sick day? Or a just-about-an-anything day? Homemade musical instruments! If you're not sure what to do with those little ones, making a homemade musical instrument band is the answer! There is so much fun to be had and amazing memories to be
One of my all time favorite games, memory. As a kid my siblings and I spent multiple hours playing the old school Milton-Bradley version. I loved it! As Mae started to get old enough for games I couldn't help but go out and buy a version for him. However, I soon realized that a two year old not only lacks the attention span for a very long game but also the cards were bent and twisted in a short amount of time. So last September as his birthday approached I thought I would create a version that could stand up to a two year olds wear and tear. With inches of snow in the city we are stuck mostly inside and found this set of cards dejected in the bottom of the duplo bin. It must have been tossed aside for all the trucks and other toys he received for his birthday and soon after Christmas. And honestly I forgot about them! With their rediscovery today Mae was so excited and we have played many rounds this morning. The truck fabric is actually from a queen sheet that I bought at Goodwill assuming it was a twin. (Really who would need a queen sheet with this print? Maybe why I found it at Goodwill.) I cut the sheet down and finished it for Mae's twin bed and saved the extra knowing I'd find a use. I cut out two of each truck, a spotted backing, and a batting piece to make them a bit thicker. Sewed right sides together, turned inside out and topstitched all the way around making sure to close the opening. They came together fast and are definitely durable. I see many games of memory in our future. What is scary is Mae is really good.
Kids Handmade in Australia - Handmade Gifts For Kids - Craft DIY Hand-Made Creative Design Art Sewing Babies Toddlers Kids
My friend Erin just sent me this cute picture of her little joy Xaver staring at his new friends.. Thanks Erin :)
Whilst clothing is available in the Neonatal Unit for parents to dress their babies in, the outfit included within the Tiny Sparks WA Neonatal Care Package is the parents to keep and does not go back in to the communal clothing pool. The feedback we have received about these outfits is exceptionally
Over the past few years I have collected some commons afghan and blanket sizes to make it easier to design projects to certain dimensions. These sizes are meant as a starting point. When you are
Homemade toys that your toddler will love! These home made toys are perfect for kids under four years old and include pictured tutorials for softies, felt toy patterns, super hero capes, hobby horses, a play kitchen and a toy workbench. As always, the Tip Junkie Homemade Gifts site has over a THOUSAND pictured tutorials with free patterns so you can always search there if youre looking for something specific. {wink} Homemade Toys 1. Mini Memory Game Tutorial ~ Small wooden disks stamped with animals to make a mini memory game. This would make a great gift for a toddlers birthday party, or
I recently made one of my most favorite toys for my kids, and I just had to share. It's a DIY plantable felt garden box. I love it so much!
Knitted toys are a great gift for small kids -- they're soft, lovable, cute, and can be made to be both durable and washable. As long as there are no
I made this activity book for Lara's birthday. It's made out of old clothes and some Freecycled fabric, and has pages of clothes-fastener activities with facing pages featuring poems about the fasteners. The pages are each stuffed with two layers of felt I had around the house. I cropped the poems (which I wrote) out the pictures, but I am transcribing them under each page. I'm so happy with how it came out! Good thing too, because it took fo-e-vah to make. Why is everything I do so laborious? I think I must just be a very laborious person. Anyway: “Buttons are delightful doodads,” Says a fishwife who reviews shads. “They will last through any new fads,” States a pair of kangaroo lads To their neighbor, Marilou Gladds. Adds famed button expert Clay Kee: “If you snub them when you wakey, Then you’re making a mistakey, Coming to eat breakfast nakey!” There are two sides to a zipper, Each side full of little teeth – As you pull the slider upward, They’re connecting underneath! These small teeth are not for chewing (That your own teeth do with ease) – These teeth keep you warm and toasty, Even in a frosty breeze! Let’s unwrap The word “snap”: It can be a beatnik clap, Or a fish biting a scrap, Or some sudden colder weather that requires a shoulder wrap, Or a cookie made of ginger that can break in a mishap, Or an angry little yap, A quick photo of a chap, Or a football hiked behind from beneath the center’s lap Or a task so that is so easy it’s like taking a short nap! Old MacDonald had a farm (E-I-E-I-O!) And on his farm he worked quite hard (E-I-E-I-O!) He herded his sheep, and he milked his cows, Tended chickens, walked his dog, Every night went for a jog! Old MacDonald one fine day (E-I-E-I-O!) Didn’t buckle his overalls all the way (E-I-E-I-O!) How his animals laughed when his pants fell down Cows said MOO-ha! Pigs said OINK-ha! And his doggie barked a WOOF-WOOF-ha-ha! They sent a new dress to the Duchess of Veldt, A dress that was loose and too baggy, she felt. To make it fit better and make her seem svelte, The shrewd Duchess cinched up her waist with a belt! A man and his dog were out walking one day Through a field of dry grass that looked kind of like hay. Then later he petted his doggie’s soft fur Where a grass seed was stuck, a seed known as a burr. He looked at the seed – it was covered in hooks That held tight to the dog hair’s looped crannies and nooks. Inspired, he made hook and loop strips to use As buckles (called Velcro) for everyone’s shoes. The silky curls and swirls in Lara’s hair Are golden, hazel, auburn – scarcely brown – When loose, they gleam in ribbons in midair, Twisting themselves into a copper crown Of knots and tangles that a comb despair; It’s better in the wind to clip them down.
Use these top 10 sewing patterns for toddlers to make the cutest gifts for your children. Easy patterns you'll want to try out now!
Other titles: Godey's lady's book and magazine; Godey's lady's book for 1861; Godey's magazine and lady's book.
Welcome back! When I think about Dress A Girl Around the World I think about pillowcase dresses. It is a great little dress pattern…the length can be adjusted with the ties, and the width has plenty of ease. This tutorial includes step by step instructions for making the standard pillowcase dress with ties on the shoulders. This is a chart of the finished dress lengths. Sometimes it is difficult to make a dress the correct number of inches so here is a range. Do you know what size dress you would like to make? Take a look at the chart below. Size/years old Finished Dress Length Infant 14-16 inches 1-2 years 17-19 inches 3-4 years 20-22 inches 5-6 years 23-25 inches 7-8 years 26-28 inches 9-10 29-30 inches 11 31-33 inches 12-14 34-35 inches There is one quick thing you need to do before we get started. You need to draw a template for the arm opening. Here is a photo of my templates in S, M, and L. Get out a piece of paper or cardboard to draw your template on. I am going to give you the measurements for the width and length. The curved line should go straight down for about 3 inches and then curve in a J shape. No matter how your curve looks it will work out as long as you have the length width measured correctly. Template measurements: (width then length) Small 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" to fit infant to size 4 Medium 2" x 5" to fit child size 5 to 9 Large 2 1/4" x 6" to fit child 9 to 14 Let's get started! For those of you that bought a pillowcase, choose the length of the dress that you wish to make and add one inch. Take into consideration the width of your pillowcase particularly if it is large or king size. Some king size pillowcase are pretty narrow and you don’t want to make a dress too narrow to run or play in. If you are more of a visual person (like me) take a tape measure and measure the width of the pillowcase x 2 and put the tape around your own legs just below the knee. What do you think? Is it too narrow? If so make a smaller size and you can use the leftover fabric to make pockets. Lay your pillowcase flat on a flat surface. With a yard stick measure from the hem to the desired length + 1 inch. Cut across the closed end. Pillowcase people skip the following paragraph and pick up at the pink sentence below. (scroll down) For those of you that bought fabric, choose the length of dress that you wish to make and add two inches to the length the width will be whatever the width of the fabric is… we’re going to take advantage of those selvages. Go ahead and cut your dress the length you’ve chosen. Put the selvages together and seam the length of the dress. If you do not have selvages zig zag from top to bottom to make sure that this seam does not come apart. Now let’s put in a hem. On one end of the fabric tube turn up ½” all the way around the dress, pressing as you fold. After you’ve completed this go around again folding up another ½”. Stitch close to the edge of your hem with your machine. We should ALL have a tube of fabric with a hem on one end. Lay your tube out flat with the seam on the side rather than down the back. It will be much less noticeable and both the front and back will appear seamless. Trace and cut your arm openings. Your fabric should look like this. It’s starting to look a little like a dress isn’t it? On the top front fold over ¼” and press. Now fold over ¾” and press firmly. Flip the dress over and do the same thing on the top of the back of the dress. Stitch close to the edge along the fold on the front and the back. After you finish, press the casing one more time. Dress Size Elastic Length 6 mo to 5 6” 6 to 9 7” 10 to 12 8’ Select the size dress you are making. You will need to cut two pieces of 3/8 or ½ inch elastic. (If you prefer you can leave the elastic in once piece for example if you are making a size 6 dress you will cut the elastic 14 inches and mark the center with a pin or marker. (I like to do this because it is easy for short pieces of elastic to get away). Put a safety pin on the end of the elastic and push it through the casing. When the center of your elastic reaches one end, pin or secure with a few stitches, clip the end of the elastic and continue across. While the safety pin is still attached fasten the end securely with a stitch or pin. Do not stretch out to distribute the gathers…we’ll do that later. Turn the dress over and repeat on the other side. If you used pins to hold the elastic tack all four of the elastic ends using a zig zag stitch. Make sure that you can see the ends of elastic so they will be well secured. This is what your dress should look like…if it does give yourself a pat on the back. Now for the ties. Find the length of ties that correspond to the size dress that you are making and cut two. It will take one package to make one dress unless you are making an infant size dress. If you buy 2 packages you will have enough tape to make 3 dresses. Size Tie Length Infant 24 Small 30 Medium 36 Large 38 If you look very closely at most bias tape while it is folded, one edge will appear to be a little wider. You can see it pretty well on the tape edge on the left. The wider side will go to the inside of the dress that way when you sew the tape about the arm opening you won’t have to worry about catching the edge of the tape that is out of sight. Fold in and press the ends of the ties. Fold you ties in half and mark with a pin. With the right side of the fabric facing out pin the center of the bias tape to the center of the underarm. Remember the widest edge of the bias tape needs to go on the inside of arm opening. Make sure the dress fabric is all the way in to the fold. Pin every inch or so to make sure that the fabric doesn’t slip out. Lay your dress out with ties laid up like this. You start sewing on the top of the left tie. Sew the edges together with a straight stitch. When you get to the dress fabric keep sewing removing the pins one at a time and then continue sewing up to the end of the tie. You will be sewing a giant U. Repeat on the other side. *If it is easier you can sew around the U with a zig zag stitch. Look on the inside of the arm opening and make sure that you caught all of the edges. Turn your dress inside out and clip all the threads, check your seams and the hem. You are finished! Flip your dress right side out, tie you ties and hang your dress up and admire your work. GOOD JOB! Now it is time to embellish your dress and make it your own!
Sewing Room Storage and Pegboard Organization • I had an EPIPHANY last week when suddenly I realized I could not work in my office in it's current state any longer. I had product samples strewn all over
We've put together a few knitting patterns that will get almost everyone in the mood to knit. So enjoy the selection.
A simple toddler friendly sewing project.
Make a first sewing basket for kids using simple, age appropriate materials that encourage open-ended creativity, fine motor skills and independent fun!
Make a kids adventure belt for to fuel their imaginative play. Add clips for all of their gear and loops for their swords. You can use upcycled belts to...
Here are 20 awesome DIY projects for frugal and crafty parents.
I loved sewing on lacing cards as a child. Print some sewing cards for your kids!
27 amazing baby doll activities for kids of all ages. Gain all the benefits of playing with dolls while keeping them busy & entertained for hours!
Kids in summer art camp, ages 5-7, learn about the Japanese art of tie-die, called Shibori, using traditional indigo dye.
** I've redesigned Eliza entirely for my new pattern company! Please come meet Eleanor!** Her name is Eliza, unless, of course, Evie is in a name changing mood, in which case her name, and the names of all of her dolls, change by the minute. Most of the time though, she is Eliza. I'm not sure where she got that, maybe it's all the hours of listening to show tunes in which My Fair Lady plays a significant roll. She goes most places that Evie goes these days. To school, to the library, to wherever- tucked under her arm or buckled into the seat next to her in the car, in their matching shiny red shoes, Evie's from one grandma and Eliza's from the other. I've been meaning to post a tutorial for the doll I knitted for Evie for a while but my notes disappeared sometime over Chirstmas(ack!). Thankfully they turned up yesterday in Briton's backpack (why? Eight year old boys are such pack rats!) When I started this doll I had a pattern from Pick Up Sticks but that pretty quickly turned out not to be what I wanted. The head was too small proportionally for what I had in mind and even knitting it with bigger needles wasn't going to work. Instead I just started knitting and hoped for the best, changing things as I went until I ended up with a size I thought would work. This doll needs to be lightly felted to work. The felting both fuzzes the increases and decreases on the head so they aren't noticeable and also allows you to stuff the head without ripping your knitting, the felting shrinks the knitting around the stuffing to create a tight, slightly weighted head and body, much like a Waldorf doll. *Edited to add* Yay! The Eliza pattern has been published in the Winter 2012 issue of Living Crafts Magazine. You can purchase a digital copy of the magazine here! Have fun knitting! Make the hair: Find a book about 5 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Wrap the hair colored yarn around until you have a solid layer about 5 inches across. Cut a strip of masking tape long enough to tape across all the yarn on the binding side of the book. Cut along the opposite edge of the book from the tape to create a flat layer of yarn strips with tape down the center. You'll need to create two of these and a third smaller one if you want a side part. With your sewing machine, stitch down the center of the tape on each piece of the "wig". Remove the tape and, using the yarn needle, sew one of the larger "wig" pieces down the center of the head. Stitch small bunches of hair around the base of the neck, starting closer to the "ears and working down around the back. Sew the second layer of the "wig" over the first, without stitching down the back. Setting the smaller piece just off center to create a side part, sew this in place as well. Trim the hair to an even length. Most 18 inch doll clothes and doll clothes patterns will fit this doll so you can hunt around for clothes and patterns or just jump in and make some simple clothes on your own. Have fun!
Easy to make dancing bells for toddlers and preschoolers can be worn on the ankles and the wrists.
Zu viel Angst, zu wenig Selbstvertrauen: Familientherapeut Jesper Juul ermutigt Eltern, wieder mehr die Führungsrolle in der Familie zu übernehmen. Die wi...
I was feeling less than unmotivated in the post-Xmas slump. Then I went on a solo road trip to the Trash and Treasure Blogmeet. Nothing like a meeting with like minds to restart your creative engines! I've been re-energised and am so keen to get into my studio and sew like crazy! I've even been making things like dresses for my own daughter, can you believe it!? Yes folks, it's like the wife who has a plumber for a husband. She'll have that leaky tap at home for weeks before he gets to it. I am always sewing something but more often than not, 'It's for the shop'. Poor neglected child! This time Enid Gilchrist came to the rescue and I used this pattern from Enid's Three to Six book. It's a draft-yourself type pattern which was really easy. Got to love a pattern for a good old frock. And one that apparently 'Makes washing easy'. I just love the little flower pocket detail! And this is the result... And I've also been busy sewing for Silly Gilly. You've seen the smock and library bags and today I posted off some more wet bags to Oz Baby Trends. Look out, bloomers for 18mths - 3yrs and new Japanese craft print library bags coming soon to Silly Gilly...
En blog om børnetøj, babytøj, stof, jersey, sy, sy selv, økologisk børnetøj, håndlavet,
