Baby music toy

I have a friend who likes to tease me by saying that I am addicted to felt. I've always denied, but apparently she's right. The first project I shared with you on this blog was with felt and today's challenge is as well.
But .. both the fishing game and this music toy can easily be made in cotton if you prefere. You just add 1 cm seaming allowance, put the fabric with the right sides together, finish the seams, leave a small opening and turn inside out.

For a lady bug music toy you'll need:

- black felt,
- red felt,
- two black buttons (or red ones if you like a more crazy look),
- a piece of ribbon,
- filling material (fiberfill),
- a needle,
- fabric scissors,
- two pieces of wire,
- thread,
- pins,
- small music box with rope (can be found here, here, here, here and here),
- a print of my free pattern (ladybug) or this one (owl)

Copy the pattern to an A4-page. Attach the pattern pieces to the felt with pins and cut out the forms. Cut the ladybug's antennas a bit broader than the pattern (if you use felt). It's easier to cut of excess fabric, than to sew perfectly along the seams.

Put a piece of wire between both sides of the antennas and finish the seams. Close all sides (otherwise the wire will fall out).

Attach the dots, the head and the stripe to the front piece of the body with pins and sew them on.

Sew on the eyes/buttons. Attach the antennas and a piece of ribbon between the front and the back piece. Pin everything together.

Sew with a 1 cm seaming allowance. Start at the head side so that the ribbon and the antennas are fixed. Stop in time to leave an opening large enough to insert the music box. Fill with fiberfill, add the music box, fill some more. Close the opening carefully. Do not sew over the pulling cord from the music box.

And done.. A superfast project with a nice result.

I made a musical owl some months ago.

Zipper pouch by Miss Stik

The original tutorial is by Miss Stik (in Dutch).
She was so friendly to answer all my questions. Thanks to her, you find below an easy way of making a zipper pouch with a lot of beginner explanations from me.

You'll need:

- pins
- fabric scissors
- a rectangular piece op fabric double the size of the pouch you want
For these pouches a heavier cotton is best, with lightweight fabrics the pouch puffs up a bit.
Miss Stik uses a piece of fabric that measures 14x21 cm, so did I for the pouch below
- nippers or a pair of old scissors
- a plastic zipper (+/- 4 cm longer than the shortest side of your fabric, in this case I used a 20 cm long zipper)
- thread
- a zipper foot for your sewing machine
- a piece of ribbon (optional)
- decorations you like (optional)
- pinking scissors (optional)

Cut a piece of fabric in the wanted size. If you are a lazy seamstress (like me), use pinking scissors. They prevent the fabric from raveling.
If you are a conscientious seamstress, stitch the sides of the fabric with an overlock or zigzag stitch.

Decorate the right side of the fabric, if you want decorations.

Pin the wrong side of the zipper to the top of the shortest side of the fabric (right side up). Attach a zipper foot to your sewing machine. Stitch the upper part of the zipper to the fabric with a straight line. To do this start stitching, backstitch a centimeter, continue stitching along the line of the zipper and backstitch at the end.

Turn your work around. The right side of the zipper is now facing you. You fold the fabric down along the seam or a little closer to the zipper, whichever way you find prettier. Now the right side of the fabric faces you. You topstitch along the line of the zipper.

Fold the fabric double. The wrong side of the fabric is now on the outside. Stitch the other side of the zipper to the fabric.

Turn inside out. The right side of the fabric is now on the outside. Open the zipper entirely and topstitch the second side of the zipper/fabric.

Turn inside out again. The wrong side of the fabric is now on the outside. Fold the fabric to position the zipper where you would like it to be. Do not forget to open the zipper partially!

If you want a loop or a small handle, put a piece of double folded ribbon between the pieces of fabric. The loop is inside and the ends of the ribbon stick out.

Close the outsides by stitching a straight seam. Be careful to stitch slowly when you come across the zipper. Cut of the redundant parts of the zipper with nippers or old scissors.

Turn inside out and use a crochet needle or a pen to push the corners out.

If you still don't feel up to it after this explanation and the many pictures, one last tip: I'll be giving away two of the pouches soon on my other blog.

Other pouch tutorials:

Noodlehead
Skip to my Lou
Instructables (without sewing)
U handbag (with a plastic cover to put transport cards in)
Squidoo (with a flat bottom)
The crimson owl
The purl bee (heart shaped)
Balancing everything (double pouch with button)
Make it modern (box pouch)
Twelve 22 (double sided zipper)

In Dutch:
Miss Stik (with lining)
Anni-tas
Prutsen

Fishing

I made this game for Daan's children.

If you want to make one too, you'll need:

- a few pieces of colourful felt;
- a sewing machine or a lot of patience (if you sew them by hand);
- fabric scissors and normal scissors;
- filling material (fiberfill);
- pins;
- a needle;
- small but powerful magnets (without covers);
- thread in contrasting colours;
- a stick;
- a string of wool;
- a small piece of adhesive plastic;
- super glue;
- embroidery thread (optional);
- buttons (optional).

Here are the silhouettes I used. Cut the paper forms out with your normal scissors. Pin the fish bodies to  two pieces of felt and cut them out with your fabric scissors.

This way you get a back and a front which are perfectly similar. The sewing will be easier if you cut them out large (after the stitching you can cut of the excess felt).

For the upper and under fins you need only one piece. The side fins and eyes are in pairs.

Sew the eyes (small circles of a different colour felt or just a cross with embroidery thread or a button) and the fins on the front and back pieces. These small details you can sew by hand.

Pin the fish bodies together with the right sides out (i.e. the sides with the eyes and fins on). If you want an upper or under fin, pin it in between the front and back piece. Stitch along the seam almost around. I like using a contrasting colour of thread, but of course you could use a similar colour if you prefer it that way.

To turn your fabric (to change direction or to make a round line) leave the needle in the lowest position (i.e. inside your fabric). Then raise the pressure foot, pivot your fabric in the wanted position, lower your pressure foot and continue stitching. On one fish I do this about ten times.
Leave an opening of 7-8 cm. *Use a needle to pull the threads through the fish to one side, tie them off and use a needle to pull them into the inside of the fish. This way the loose ends won't be visible.*

Fill the fish with fiberfill and place a magnet in the middle. Carefully place it back under the pressure foot and stitch the opening close. Repeat this part **.

The great thing about felt is that it's so easy to work with. It doens't fray, so you don't need to finish the edges. The last part in completing the fish is simply cutting of the excess felt.

For the fishing line you attach a string of wool to a magnet with super glue. If you want to, you can make it look nicer by wrapping it in adhesive plastic.

Then simply tie the string to a stick and you're ready to start fishing.

Start to sew

As long as I can remember I liked to craft.
Made small fish out of towelling. Handicrafted crazy envelopes for the many letters I wrote as a teenager. Modelled little man in clay. Thrifted angels for the christmas tree.

During the passed few years I tried sewing with a machine and since last winter I sank my teeth into it as an antidote for the difficult times in real life.
The problem is I never learned to sew. In my grandmothers age this would have been unthinkable, but nowadays you can easily finish high school without ever touching a sewing machine, a pressure cooker or a drill.
Luckily we have this thing called the internet and you can find (almost) anything there: sewing techniques, free patterns, tips, inspiration. The downside is that it takes a lot of time to actually find the thing you're looking for in the overload of information. And a lot of times the tutorials are made for intermediate or expert seamstresses and not for beginners.
That's where this blog comes in. Every month I will try one of the patterns I find and I will explain every little step. I will find solutions for every problem to overcome and I will write about them here.
'Cause it's a lot more fun if other people can enjoy the benefits of my undertaking. So welcome and let's start sewing.