Category: Sewing

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Sewing

Sew Gabba Gabba Shirts In 5 Steps

Do your kids love Yo Gabba Gabba? Mine do and in fact they are rather obsessed with the show and of course the characters. When the girls were about two we took them to see Yo Gabba Gabba at the Opera House. They were so happy and hysterical when their favourite characters graced the stage. At the time Lillian’s fav was Foofa and it has remained. Julia loved Muno, and still does but now is wanting everything Toodee.

I of course was online and fell across an advertisement saying that Yo Gabba Gabba was going to be in Sydney. Yes another show! It was going to be at Luna Park and we were all lucky to attend last Saturday the 28th, and how amazing it worked in being the first weekend of the school holidays.

So what do you do for your very obsessed kids who want to look the part when they attend the concert of their dreams? You make each child a t-shirt with their favourite character on it. Yes that is what I did! What a nice mummy I am.

Sew Yo Gabba Gabba Shirts in 5 Easy Steps
Sew Yo Gabba Gabba Shirts in 5 Easy Steps

Here are the instructions on how I created these super wonderful shirts that would make any child obsessed with Gabbaland amazingly happy. Trust me, the twins thinks they are amazing.

What To Do:

Disclaimer: I am not selling these shirts or profiting by the Yo Gabba Gabba characters. I am just a mum that wanted to do something special for her kids.

Step 1: Pick shirts that are similar colours for the character you are wanting to add to the shirt/long sleeve top. I made sure to pick a bigger size as I did not want to do all this work and have the girls grow out of them too quickly.

Step 2: Find a picture of the character that you would like, Muno, Plex, Toodee, Foofa, Brobee, or DJ Lance Rock. I found that having just a head shot and limiting it to just top shoulders was best. This allowed me to Just focus on the face and spend time getting that right.

Once I had the picture of the character I made the image bigger in Photoshop. Once I had this image the right size, I then printed it out. I found printing with Microsoft word gave me the right alignment on the a4 sheet better than just printing the image itself. To make it easier I created a word doc of each character and then all I had to do was print.

I used these pictures, but you can find them all online if you do a simple Google search.

Step 3: You will need to print the same character several times. The reason for this is so that you can cut out all shapes that go into the character, eyes, pupil for the eyes, body, nose, mouth, teeth, whiskers, flower and so on. Think about what you need for each material colour and cut it out accordingly.

All the bits to make Foofa out of material. Getting there.
All the bits to make Foofa out of material. Getting there.
All the bits to make a material Toodee. Looking good so far.
All the bits to make a material Toodee. Looking good so far.

NOTE: Make sure to wash your fabric before use. You don’t want to spend all this time to then wash it and it shrinks or the colour in the fabric runs. I used cord for the dark pink on the Foofa shirt and it is fraying more than the Toodee shirt. Next time I will pick just plain cotton material and make the patch in that before I sew it on the shirt.

Step 4: Sew the bits to make the character. Do all the creating before you attach it to the shirt. It can get a bit fiddly but stick with it. You will be amazed at yourself when you are done. Trust me!

Step 5: Once you have your character all finished, pin to the shirt and sew it on. Now you should have finished shirts or one if you just making one. I have to do things in twos.

See the finished product

Here are the girls before the show at Luna Park wearing their new shirts mummy made

Happy girls with their new Toodee and Foofa shirts.
Happy girls with their new Toodee and Foofa shirts.

Here are some pictures of the day at Luna Park

Amazed and happy to be at the Yo Gabba Gabba Show
Amazed and happy to be at the Yo Gabba Gabba Show
The girls took their toys that we got at the last Gabba Show with them. They wanted Muno and Foofa to be there with them. While the kids were dancing Foofa and Muno had a rest.
The girls took their toys that we got at the last Gabba Show with them. They wanted Muno and Foofa to be there with them. While the kids were dancing Foofa and Muno had a rest.

DANCING TO MUSIC IS AWESOME!

How cool to be so close to DJ Lance Rock and all the characters from Gabbaland.
How cool to be so close to DJ Lance Rock and all the characters from Gabbaland.
We had a 4pm show at Luna Park and when we left it was dark. The ferry trip was amazing for the twins. They loved seeing the city lit up.
We had a 4pm show at Luna Park and when we left it was dark. The ferry trip was amazing for the twins. They loved seeing the city lit up.
Managed a great shot of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and city while on the ferry. Hubby did a great job with these shots.
Managed a great shot of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and city while on the ferry. Hubby did a great job with these shots.
Categories
Sewing

Sew an Easy Layered Skirt

The twins love wearing skirts and due to them being small and very petite they are hard to fit. So I have decided to make them. Yes more skirts and outfits are on their way soon due to my new sewing machine I got for my birthday. However this skirt was made with my old one.

I also love dressing the kids in different one of a kind clothes. It is great to have something no one else does.

So how do you make a layered skirt?

It is just like a normal skirt with an elastic waist, however you had a layer to it. For the layer that sits on top you need it to be shorter than the overall length of the skirt.

You can also have one layer on top, the second layer being the main part of the skirt and make a third for the border or accent trim for the end of the skirt. I have chosen not to do the third addition to this skirt and only did the two layers. I was thinking of using a border of the first layered fabric to hem the skirt and by using the same fabric on the top of the skirt, tying in the pattern.

What material did I use?

I used fine cord material for the main part of the skirt, which is the pink material and cotton for the top patterned layer. I chose this as we live in the Blue Mountains and it is getting colder. The kids love skirts but I would like them to be warm, hence the warmer cord. Using cotton for the top part of the layer works well as it has more flow and movement being a lighter fabric.

The fabric I used for the skirts. The pink and purple are cord and the pattern one is cotton. Will use the purple one for another project.
The fabric I used for the skirts. The pink and purple are cord and the pattern one is cotton. Will use the purple one for another project.

You can use whatever fabric you have available. One thing to remember is to make sure that each fabric blends and goes well together. You don’t want to pick something that does not match very well. I like to choose materials that have similar colours but not all of them and to have eye catching patterns. I use patterns on some material and not on others as too much pattern will be overwhelming and hard on the eye. Again, whatever you wish to use is fine. It is your creation and art here.

Also the type material is dependent on the weather so light cottons obviously for summer and heavier fabrics for cooler weather.

Note: Make sure to wash all fabric before use. This will make sure no colours bleed or fabric shrinks. You don’t want to make the perfect skirt to find it shrinks later.

What do you need?

  • 2 contrasting fabrics that work well together.
  • A big table to stretch and put all the fabric out, trust me this is great if you can have it.
  • Elastic for the waist.
  • A big safety pin to not lose the elastic.
  • Matching cotton for the fabric.
  • Binding or trim if you did wish to give the skirt a fancier finish/you could use the other fabric and make your own. Have not done this but know this can be done.

How do I measure my fabric for the skirt?

Well my kids are small so it might not be right for you if you have taller and bigger kids. This is what I did to get the measurements right.

For the top layer I needed to make this shorter but not too much as I had to allow for the hem and the waist band.

The top layer: 30cms that includes hem and waist allowance

The main and bottom layer: 45cms that includes hem and waist allowance.

Note: If you have a wider waistband for the elastic you will need to make sure you allow extra in the fabric or else the length will be shorter than anticipated.

Material that has already been cut. Now it is ready to make a skirt.
Material that has already been cut. Now it is ready to make a skirt.

You need to measure your child to see where skirts are sitting and for the length. I made a layered skirt before and it was all about 30cms. These skirts still fit the twins, however as they don’t have many I would make more. Since I looked at the old ones I realised that they had grown and I needed to make them longer so they could get more wear out of them.

With my kids the waist has not changed much just the length needed changing.

At least with this skirt if you have the wrong length you can alter it and add a new layer or just do the hem and be done with it. No one will know if you don’t tell them. I will keep your secret!

 

Step by Step Guide – Sew an Easy Layered Skirt

Step 1: Measure and cut out all your fabric. Make sure you have double fabric as it is for both sides of the skirt. I like to fold it over to make sure I cut double at the same time.

Step 2: Sew the edge for the top layer

Step 3: Hem the top layer as it will be harder to do it later when attached to the bottom layer

Hem the top layer. It is easier to do it now than when it is connected to the bottom layer.
Hem the top layer. It is easier to do it now than when it is connected to the bottom layer.

Step 4: Sew the both sides of the bottom/main layer of the skirt. Don’t do the hem yet as you will want to make sure that you have the right length when your child tries it on.

Step 5: Join both layers together. To do this you need to put both layers inside each other so they both meet together at the top. Once they are both lined up and pinned you can sew the top area together.

Joining both layers
Joining both layers

Step 6: Fold over just enough for the waist band up the top of the skirt. Depending on how wide the elastic is you might need a wide waist or it could be narrow. When you sew around the waist band make sure to leave a gap so you can add the elastic.

Step 7: Put the elastic in and make sure to check the size on your child before you sew it off and finish the waist. It is a good idea to get the size right first then you can close the gap in the waist and move onto the hem.

elastic2

elastic1

Step 8: Put the skirt on your model (otherwise known as your child) and see if it is the right length. If all good, do the hem. If not, take it up the right amount to make sure it sits correctly.

Now you have a finished layered skirt. I told you it would be easy. I am sure that this will be a hit at the next party or outing.

 

Now to see the finished product

The girls in their new skirts. I think they look great. What are your thoughts?
The girls in their new skirts. I think they look great. What are your thoughts?

 

 

Categories
Sewing

9 Steps to Make A Book Bag

The twins as you know started school last week. In the guidelines for the school they needed a draw string bag for library books. We did have something like that but it would be like all the other kids at the school. How would my little ones make sure that their bag was theirs, and instantly see it without taking another kids bag?

My tip was to have fabric that is bright and colourful and is unique to the girls bags only. If we had the same as the rest of the kids it would get mixed up. I chose a strong drill cotton fabric as it is going to be getting a workout with kids and especially the books that they put in it. See below for the fabric that I used.

The bright funky material I used for the library bags
The bright funky material I used for the library bags

9 Steps to make a Book Bag

Step 1: I measured a tote bag and then made it a little bigger height wise. I got a large book that the kids loved and used that as a guide. You don’t want to have it not fit larger books.

Step 2: I had a large piece of material and cut out each piece by leaving it joined together. This meant that I only had to sew the left and right edges and make the casing for the elastic. The bottom of the bag was already part of the material and did not need to be sewn.

Step 3: Once I had each bag material organised, I then decided to make a pocket for each bag. On each pocket is each child’s initial. One has a J and the other has an L. This was used to so each child knows whose bag is which.

Pockets with Letters on them for each child
Pockets with Letters on them for each child

Step 4: Cut out the letters from your choice of fabric. Have the pockets or patch material squares or whatever shape you have chosen. Once you have the letters, pin them to the material and sew them together.

 

Sewing the L onto the pocket
Sewing the L onto the pocket

Step 5: Once you have your pockets ready to go, then pin them to the right side of the bag and attach now. If you wait to do when the bag is done it will not be as easy. Now you have the pockets or patches on the bag.

Pocket attached to the bag. You will also note that the material is joined on the bottom and the left and right sides still need to be sewn.
Pocket attached to the bag. You will also note that the material is joined on the bottom and the left and right sides still need to be sewn.

Step 6: Now you need to sew the left and right sides of the bag together. Don’t sew all the way up as we need to leave a gap so that we can make the casing. I stopped about 5cms or little bit more from the top of my bag.

Step 7: Now fold down the sides and sew them. You can see this in the photo. Make sure you don’t close the opening as this is how the elastic goes in and out for each sides of tie.

Sew the sides and join them with a sitch that joins them together but does not seal the opening.
Sew the sides and join them with a sitch that joins them together but does not seal the opening.

Step 8: Now you need to fold down the top to make the casing. Best to use an iron for this and other parts when you need to have it folded down and more accurate. Once you fold it down pin it and then sew around the edges, but make sure to leave the opening not sewn.

Sew around the edge to hold the top bit you folded over to be the casing. Make sure to join the gap so it holds but don't sew it closed.
Sew around the edge to hold the top bit you folded over to be the casing. Make sure to join the gap so it holds but don’t sew it closed.
Folding down the casing and pinning it on the ironing board
Folding down the casing and pinning it on the ironing board

Step 9: Once you have sewn it all round the top of the casing, you now need to put the elastic in. I used one continuous elastic but you can have different things like ribbon. Why not have different ribbon on each side and add some beads? Nice decorative touch. I ended up sewing the ends of the elastic together so that it does not get lost in the bag. Before I did this I added some beads to make it have something extra.

Sewing the casing
Sewing the casing
Make sure to attach a safety pin to your elastic. It makes it much easier to find and push through the casing.
Make sure to attach a safety pin to your elastic. It makes it much easier to find and push through the casing.

So would you like to see the finished products?

Finished Book Bag
Lillian’s Finished Book Bag
Julia's Book Bag. Note the beads.
Julia’s Book Bag. Note the beads.
Works well and even has a book in it already!
Works well and even has a book in it already!

These did not take long at all to do. I took a day and did some finishing touches in the evening. However, I think I will be quicker next time and be able to get it done in a matter of hours. So what do you think? I think they came out quite well and at least the twins have a book bag that they know is theirs and can look after the library books.

Let me know how your projects are going? Have you made something for school yet? Send in our comments.

 

I’ve cut the steps down to 7 and now you can download the PDF Guide

Categories
Sewing

Make Your Own Tea Towels

I thought what could I make to be Christmas presents and decided on tea towels. Yes I am making tea towels as part of my Christmas gifts to family. I have made some and need to finish off quite a lot to be ready for next week. I really have my work cut out for me.

My finished products. Don't they look good.
My finished products. Don’t they look good.
I loved this fabric as well. You could either make tea towels, a table cloth or an apron out of this material. Very much for the chef.
I loved this fabric as well. You could either make tea towels, a table cloth or an apron out of this material. Very much for the chef.
One of the fabrics I chose. I love it as it is different and great for a Christmas present.
One of the fabrics I chose. I love it as it is different and great for a Christmas present..

So how do you make a tea towel. Well you need to do the following:

  • Pick material that is 100% cotton. I chose thicker cotton material that will wear well as a tea towel.
  • What size will you make them? Will they be larger or the average size for a tea towel?
  • If you have a favourite tea towel why not measure the size of that and base the pattern on this size. This way you will be happy with the size and also the fabric as well.
  • Make sure to have the right colour cotton thread to match as this makes it look better and not to see all the seams is nice. However if you are clever you can make a nice decoration with an alternate colour thread. It is up to you and depends on the look you are going for.
  • I purchased 3 metres of each fabric and that has given us 10 tea towels of each type. You might get more depending on the size you make them.

TIP: To get a neat edge, fold over a little edge all round and iron. Then fold over again. This way when you sew it all round you will not see the bits left or any part that might fray. As it is cotton material there is a tendency to fray. If it is folded over and sewn in then this will not happen. Also it looks like a better professional finish

 

So a tea towel is just a piece of material that is neatly sewn all around. You can make them fancy by adding patches, fabric stamping and the like. If you have a tag to add you can add that as well so everyone knows you made it.

I am now thinking of making more and getting more creative with them. They are fun and easy to produce. Maybe I could be the tea towel queen if I ever get really good at it. Look out I might be at your local markets soon with a supply of home made tea towels.

So now I need to get serious and get onto to finishing my batch that I need for Christmas. I have also been cleaning the house, entertaining kids and now they are on holidays! Lets hope that my plans go well. They of course have not had a great start today as I have not stopped sneezing and feel like I am very sick currently.

I need to power on and make more tea towels as hubby would not be pleased with me if he came to find all material not created into towels for the kitchen. So in the next days until Christmas I will be busy working away in my hidden workshop, otherwise known as the dining room (I don’t have a dedicated room for sewing or craft) working away to complete the job.

What have you made or are making for Christmas presents? Send in your comments.

Categories
Sewing

Layered Skirts Done

Tonight I have finally completed a layered skirt for both girls. Yes, I am very pleased that I have completed them and they don’t look half bad. I am practicing as I would like to use some material that I have that has more of a pattern for a feature for the bottom layer of the skirt. I might even if I dare add another layer to the next one I make. Yes I might make it even harder or fancier than these.

So what did they look like? Why not be in awe of my wonderful sewing achievement today. I know it is not as grand as others in the sewing world, and of course those with much more experience. I am proud and pleased that I have completed it and it is ready for the twins school photos.

Layered skirt created by Suzanne
Layered skirt created by Suzanne
Don't you think it looks pretty?
Don’t you think it looks pretty?

Had to share my latest triumph. What have you created lately? Send in your comments.

Categories
Sewing

First Reversible Bag

I have now finished my first reversible bag. Yes I know, wonderful and exciting. I am very pleased but think I could improve on it in the future. It is for one of the twins friends and we are off to her birthday party this afternoon. I wanted to add the soap from lush that we had purchased, we got the Fun play-dough soap, you can create things out of it and wash yourself also. Very clever for kids.

So check out my latest finished project. I got the pattern from Very Purple Person so check it out.

Have you finished a great project in sewing or something else that our proud of? Let us know what you have managed to do.

Categories
Sewing

One pair done another to go

Pink Pants
Pink Pants

Hi All, I have finished one pair of the pink pants for the girls, but had to cut the sides. My sewing machine cannot handle little cuffs and I could not get it on to sew it, so thought that would be a good solution. Now need to edge the sides of the cuffs where I had to cut, and do the second pair of pants. The jobs left for the other pair of pants is to put the elastic in, and hem them.

Do you have any sewing or craft projects you are working on? Do you want to share your triumph in pictures or just let us know. Mummy to Twins is keen to hear about what you have been up to, send in your stories.

Visit our Facebook page to upload images of your projects and continue the discussion – http://www.facebook.com/Mummy2twinsblog

 

Categories
Sewing

Project sewing

I have been cleaning and sorting so I can be more productive. Well that is the plan, and crossing fingers and toes it happens.  My aim is to make things to eventually sell, but the most important thing at the moment is that the girls need pants to wear. As they are slight and petite, they have a small waist, they seem to be growing length wise but not much around the middle. I would love to have this problem but to no avail.

Material has been washed, have the pattern and when I am refreshed will give the pants a go. I cannot wait. When complete will post pictures.

Have you been hanging to do a project? What has held you up? Is it kids, yourself or just exhausted with everything else on your plate?  Tell us what you are plotting and how you make time to do your pet project. Send in your comments.

 

Categories
3 years and beyond Sewing University Study

Questions answered for week 1 at least

Today dropped the kids off at school, but before that, there were many meltdowns. I don’t want to wear those shoes mummy and not that shirt or dress. Oh, why can’t we just put clothes on and get out the door. Then the running around to avoid mummy as she wanted to brush hair. So after all this carry on, we were late getting to school. The only up side to getting to school today was getting  a park and dropping the girls off without a fuss, like the other day. YES!

Finally back home, I make a cuppa tea, put the heater on and a jumper. Very cold today, and not happy about that, but pleased that the house is warm. I am at the computer to tackle my first week of tutorial questions from university. I am just amazed at all the theories about the same area that are surfacing. I am sure that they were there before, just was not exposed to the idea before now. Today I managed to learn about complex adaptive and transactional models in project management. I have also addressed the difference between a manager and a leader, and why in some examples certain projects were failures or a success.  I finished it all, uploaded it online to the university’s site and all is good, very pleased and happy with me today. I know small things make me happy.

I am not sure that I was o.k with all my answers but pleased it is completed. Now on to read more and to get started on my individual assignment, organise a day per week to meet with my group for our assignment and generally research the whole subject. This will be done a piece at a time, not that clever it can all happen in one day or week. After reading this it made it sound like I am super study woman.

Today I had hoped to see if I could finish the pants that I am making for the girls. It was rather cool today, so thinking winter will be very cold indeed. Oh well at least the uni thing this week is not needing to be done and now I can do the pants without thinking about uni. The problem is that if I know I need to do something and want to do something else, I think about the other as it needs to be done before the other. I know, it is hard. However, having limited time to ones self is hard to try and fit it all in.Is this just me that does this. I used to be so organised with a day job, children have thrown me around a bit.  I need to get my to do list organised.

So the weekend I think will be making and finishing pants time. I promise pictures to come soon.

If you have had some time to yourself this week, what did you get up to? Are you studying? If you are studying, have you managed to get things done? Wishing you all luck if you are in the same boat as me, and that you will get all your work done.

 

Categories
3 years and beyond Sewing

Pants fabric and paper for craft

Sorry have not posted for a couple of days. Have not been feeling the best, stupid sore throat. Hoping to rid my body of it soon.  Yesterday the girls great Aunts Denise and Jean came for a visit, the girls had a great time showing the Aunts things like hopping, counting, dancing and singing.  Wednesday evening Julia said:  “I need to go get my keys so that I can lock my pram” She got the keys. Hit the button and then said, “All done”. I just had to share as it was so funny and clever that she thought to do it. I had to stop myself from falling off my chair laughing.

On Tuesday we all went off to playgroup and they ran, played, painted and had a very active fun time with their mates and were very busy little girls.

Today we were supposed to be going to playgroup again, but I need to sort out some pants that fit the girls better before pre-school starts. As the girls are hard to fit, I have decided to make some new pants. This will be a good thing if my plan works for these pants, I can then do a similar thing to sell for my business idea, my online shop and take them to the markets. We will see. With the time that I have when girls are at school, I hopefully can sew and create more product to sell.

So today I thought we might take off to Spotlight in Penrith to see if we can get some material to make some funky new pants. Also while at Spotlight, I think we might look for some paper for the girls to draw/paint and do collage with. They might have a cheaper way to purchase a bunch of paper for art purposes. You can only hope, using printer paper is getting expensive and annoying, as when you go to print you don’t have that much paper left to print jobs.

I hope to get inspired by pretty colourful fabric that will make the perfect pants and must make sure to get all that I need for the project, elastic and anything else. Now just need to check if I have available money to spend before I go might be a good idea. When the pants are finished I will post a picture of the finished product.

It is raining yet again and just another miserable day, so not a good day to go out. What are you all doing today?  How has the rain and bad weather impacted what you do with the kids or yourself? If it was not for kids, I might still be in bed.

Update: I ended up getting denim and some pattern cotton fabric for the new pants for the girls. Now need to measure them and create a pattern. I am copying a pair of pants that is Lillian’s favourite that I know fits both the girls well. Will add some length and make it a bit roomier. I also need to make them easy to get on and off, as the girls need to be able to take them off quickly to go to the bathroom.

Shopping with kids in a fabric shop has its own challenges. Julia loves pink and Lillian loves purple, so they picked up every fabric with the appropriate colour and tried to bring it to me. Julia was especially keen and got a roll of fabric off the table and tried to carry it to me. Pity that the fabric was too thin that it would not suit my needs for their new pants. I had to tell them that although pretty that we needed something thicker and warmer. This was still greeted with, “Mummy, look at this purple one, Mummy look at this pink one, It is so pretty!”

Also at the shop the girls left their toys and we had to go and save them. Lillian had her 2 dogs from the RSPCA and Julia had her Dugong, once we found them the girls claimed that they were playing hide and seek, they were happy to find them.

I was a bit disappointed that they did not stock any cord fabric yet as that is what I was after, pretty patterns in cord. However the denim will work as it will be tough wearing and also will keep them warmer in cooler weather.  As we live in a cooler climate and we are going into Autumn soon it will be a good thing to have warmer clothes. Going to school in Blackheath will mean also making sure the girls are in warmer clothes. It snows and gets colder there, so should be interesting.