Custom Burp Cloths

After making a few of my own burpies I decided to go a different route...

For these I bought some new prefold cloth diapers from Target and added some personal touches.

Sewed on a strip of flannel fabric down the middle...

And added a decorative stitch in a matching thread color down both sides.

Also made a couple for my sister...

And taught myself how to add a monogram using my sewing machine.

(Too bad I didn't spend a lil more $$ to get a machine that did it all for me... Had to do this all by hand!)

Another Diaper Bag Sewn By Me!

Same design as the owl print corduroy one I made. With just a few adjustments. 

There's now 4 pockets on the front.

4 pockets across the back.

And 6 pockets on the inside lining. (Two of them made to perfectly fit my camera and my cell phone.)

I really like the colors on this one. The green fabric was an awesome find at Walmart. $3 for 2 yards of it! (Only wish I had bought more...)

Diaper/Wipes Case and Some Burp Cloths

 

I made these for a friend of mine who has a baby shower coming up.

(I hope she doesn't see these ahead of time!)

The diaper/wipes case is big enough to fit a travel size wipes case along with 2-3 diapers. These come in handy when you use more than one diaper bag... Just pull this out of one bag and put it in the other! The closure on this is a magnetic snap, but velcro would work just as well.

With the burpies I couldn't decide on what I wanted to make them out of. I wanted something absorbent... and I know that flannel will probably have the spit up roll right off. (Although I have tons of baby print flannel that I need to use up!) So I bought some terry cloth fabric... washed it and sewed one. I didn't really like the texture of it. A bit rough for newborn skin. So the next one I made with some white minky. Perfect. I'm not sure how absorbent minky is, but it's super soft!

I've decided I'm giving her both of them... I figure the one with the terry cloth would be good for some of the bigger messes as the baby gets older.

I'm definitely going to be making lots more of these in the next month or so. I need a diaper/wipes case to match my new diaper bag! I also need a bunch of new burp cloths for Baby Josiah coming next January. Not to mention for my sister and her new baby coming in February! :)

I have LOTS of sewing to get done in 4 months.

My New Diaper Bag

I found this cute owl print corduroy fabric on sale at Joann's a couple weeks ago and I couldn't resist. I knew I wanted to make something for myself out of it... I decided on a new diaper bag. I've been dreaming of sewing myself a bag for about 5 years now. (Crazy, right?) So I finally took the plunge yesterday!

I think it turned out really cute!

This bag measures about 18.5" wide by 12" tall. Magnetic snap closure on the top. 3 pockets on the outside front, one large pocket in the back and a large zippered pocket on the inside.

Now that I've finished the bag and have put all my personal belongings in it I can see a few improvements I would make for the next time... 

Instead of just putting interfacing in the pockets, bottom and straps I would also add it to the main body of the bag. Not sure why I didn't... I guess I figured having the pockets lined would be good enough. It works ok without the extra interfacing, but I think I like the feel of a more sturdy bag. 

I would also add a Velcro or button closure to the large back pocket... or even splitting up the back pocket to 2 smaller pockets. As it is right now it kind of falls open when the inside of the bag is full.

Another thing I would add is 2 pockets on the inside. One to fit my cell phone and one to fit my camera.

Other than those small improvements I really love this bag and I'm happy I decided to make it. I'll probably make one for my sister as a Christmas present with the improvements and see how I like it. Once I get things right I might even decide to start selling these! We'll see...

Throw Pillow Slip Cover - Made by Me!

What's this? Something that I actually made? AND I'm posting about how I did it!?

Weird.

I've been meaning to make a slip cover for this pillow form since I was pregnant with Brady... He's now 20 months old. It was originally meant to be made into a Disney Princess pillow for my niece. (I can't find the fabric any more. Opps.) So for now it has a Chargers slip cover in honor of my football team!

(Go Bolts!)

So here's how I did it:

1. I started with a pillow form that I bought from Walmart long, LONG ago. It measures 13" x 13". (Seems like a weird size to me, but that's what it is...)

2. Cut one big square measuring 14" x 14". (Added 1/2" all around for the seams.)

3. Cut 2 small rectangles measuring 9.5" x 14". (These pieces are the same length as the square piece on the long edge. The short edge is the length (14") divided in half  and add 2.5" ) Make sense?

4. I used a drinking glass to help me round the edges for a neater look. Rounded all 4 corners of the square piece and the top 2 and bottom 2 of my rectangle pieces.

5. Next I did a straight stitch across the edges of the straight sides of the rectangle pieces. Folding the fabric over twice to hide the raw edges.

6. Once I finished sewing, it was time to pin everything in place. Right sides together I pinned the top rectangle piece to the square. Then I pinned the bottom rectangle to the square.. overlapping the top rectangle.

7. When every thing was pinned in place I sewed around the entire square. Starting and stopping in the same place. 

8. Turn the slip cover right side out and stuff your pillow!

 

 

All finished and sitting nicely on my rocking chair. 

When football season is over I'll probably make a new slip cover to match our living room a little bit better. :)

I see more slip covers in my future now that I've realized how easy the are to make without using a zipper. Zippers are something I haven't mastered yet. They intimidate me!

My Finished Sewing Machine Cover!

Just wanted to show off my new sewing machine cover that I managed to make during nap time yesterday! It was pretty easy to do... Just measured the length, width and height of the machine, cut out a huge rectangle, a piece for the back and some pieces for the front ties and sewed them all together. I used the table cloth I mentioned in yesterdays post.

I think it turned out pretty well. :)

Front of the machine.

I didn't have any matching ribbon so I made the ties out of the same fabric.

The back of the cover.

Probably could have sewn that strap just a bit lower, but I think it still looks okay.

I Can Sew Again!

Last night my hubby took me out to buy a new sewing machine. (Love him!) I ended up choosing this one on sale. Not the machine that I've been dreaming about getting, but so far I think it's an awesome sewing machine at a really good price! Who knew sewing could be so easy?!

I've had it less than 24 hours and look what I've done...

This is the second trick-or-treat bag I've made in a week... 

The first one was made using my mom's cheap Brother sewing machine. It works ok, but nothing like my new one! My stitches were straight and even and it just feels like it's better constructed than the first.

Oh and did I mention how quiet this machine is? 

I'm in LOVE!

Second sewing project of the day was this fabric key chain I just made.

I posted about it several days ago.

I think it turned out pretty cute... Although it would have worked out better if I had a wider ribbon. This one was really hard to sew on because it was covering a thick seam. (Which by the way, my old machine would have laughed at me and then quit working. This one kept going like a total champ)

Next item on the to-do list..
Chargers throw pillow slip covers, sewing machine cover and a lip gloss cozy!