Boy Elf onesie!

Girl Elf onesie










YES! I know, another onesie refashion, but come on they're so cute.
I won't be posting the tutorial for this one cause it's the same as all others. You can find my other tutorial (words only with pictures no video) by going to April 2012 in this blog.
  With the added exception that I added bells to the tips of their little feet.  But really all you do for that part is just sew the bells on the feet!  Just make sure that they are securely fashioned so that the baby can't pull them off!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

This is a personalized pillow order that came through my website.  Her niece's name wasn't something that you could find easily so she want something girly and personal. Her niece was young and I wasn't sure if it would be a decoration pillow or actually used, so I made it washable.

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME: About 90 minutes

ESTIMATED COST TO COMPLETE: $15-$30 depending on fabric choice (I had all the fabric on hand, so it didn't actually cost me anything.)

THINGS YOU'LL NEED:

Fabric for background (the actual pillow) This particular customer wanted the lettering and the pillow to match.
Contrasting fabric for background behind lettering
Fabric for the letters (if you don't want it the same as the pillow)
(She also wanted a bow, so I used ribbon)
 Basic fabric to enclose the pillow (this makes the "cover" washable)
Stuffing
Zipper
Scissors
Sewing machine
Needle and thread (Yes, there is a part where you'll have to (or not, I just didn't want my machine eating the stuffing) sew by hand.... GASP! J/k!)

(ADAPTATION: You could easily make this one of those keepsake memory pillows too.  Instead of using fabric for the letters, choose your child's favorite shirt or special item of clothing and cut the letters out of it.)


1. Pick out the fabric colors you want for each part.

2.  Cut out the letters to the name you want.  (I free hand them, but you could use stencils, a Cricut, just about anything)

3. Sew the letters to the background color.

4.  Sew the background (with letters attached) to ONE side of the pillow fabric.  (Since she wanted a bow (play on name there), I sewed a piece of black ribbon around the edge of the background color (which was nice for me because I didn't have to tuck the fabric under and was able to cover the "seam" with the ribbon) ensuring that the bow met in the middle and I had enough ribbon to make the bow and tails. This was going to be for a smaller child, so I didn't want the chance that the bow becomes untied and becomes a strangulation hazard.  So I tied the bow the way I wanted it to look and stitched it in place.  I went over those stitches a few times so that it wasn't coming undone!")

5. Turn the fabric inside out and sew the other side seam closed.  VERY important here, DO NOT sew any of the top or bottom pieces closed.  You should basically have a cuff now. 
 
6.  You're going to sew on the zipper now.  For mine, this still just looked like a piece of fabric lying on the table.  GOOD! Fold it in half and pin the zipper to the top (or bottom depending where you wanted it). I didn't want the zipper to get caught in hair, so I made a little "overhang" (real technical, I know) at the end, so the zipper head could be pushed up into it.

7.  Sew the zipper in place.  Turn the fabric right way out now.  At this point you should have three out of the four sides stitched up.  Unzip part of the zipper (not all the way and not too little that you can't fit your finger in to undo the rest).  Make sure your pillow looks right.  If there are any issues fix them now.

8. If there aren't any issues, go ahead and turn the pillow inside out again and stitch up the remaining seam.  This is why you've left part of the zipper undone, now pull the pillow through the zipper to return it to right side out.  You may need to pull out your knitting needles (or something similar) to get the corners out.  You've made the "pillow case."

9. I wanted the pillow to be extra fluffy and full.  So I made the inside pillow the same size as the pillow case.  This was a standard pillow.  I just took a plain black piece of fabric, folded it in half and sewn the two other sides in place.  I sewed about 2/3 of the last seem in place and then turned it right side out and stuffed it full of filling.  I then just stitched the rest of the seem by hand (I didn't want the stuffing get caught in my machine.)  Squish the pillow into the case, this will be a tight fit because it is so full, just work with it carefully.  Once you've squashed it in, zip up the pillowcase, and YOU'RE DONE!!!

Well, it has been a HOTT minute since I've posted anything.  That's not to say that I haven't made or done stuff this past year, but I've been incredibly busy.  I think it would take me a year just to upload all the things I've done.  So I better get started. ;o) 
So here are some stockings that I made for a girl on base.  She donated me some uniforms to recycle (which was kinda cool anyway cause it gave some authenticity to the stockings).  She had the name tapes printed (the BX/PX/NEX will print any word/name so long as it isn't offensive, I totally didn't know that) at the BX.

Alright here we go.

ESTIMATED COMPLETED TIME:  (A lifetime isn't long enough. Lol)  Once the material has been separated and you find the areas that are most usable or you're using printed fabric, the time is about 45 minutes to an hour.  (If you're choosing to recycle the uniforms and "rip" apart the seams, be prepared to spend about 4 hours per each one.)

ESTIMATED COST: $5-$10 per stocking (if you're recycling the uniforms) anywhere from $35+ if you're buying the printed material.


THINGS YOU'LL NEED:
Material or recycled uniform
Name tapes
I would highly encourage a sewing machine since the fabric is thick. 
Scissors
Pins
(Patience, and lots of it!)


1. If recycling uniforms separate all the seams to include removing the pockets (trying to keep them in shape as much as possible, if you can imagine just lifting the pocket off the shirt, that's how you want it to come off).  Remember to IRON the pieces after you've separated them.  (I'm not an ironer when it comes to sewing things, but this really needs to be done.  Most uniforms will have creases in the arm sleeves and if you're using that part (which I HAD to, do get every bit of fabric I could) you'll want the pieces as flat as possible.)

2. If you're using fabric, just go straight for cutting out the shape of the stocking you want.  (Remember to turn it backwards for the opposite side.  Also, you will need to leave a seam allowance of 1/4 to 1/2 inch so add about an inch of width the size you wanted.)

3. Once you have your shapes cut out put them together just to make sure they fit each other (you're not sewing them together here, just a "dry fit").  If they fit, you need to decide which way you're going to hang them.  "J" or "L"   Whatever side you want to be your front, you'll sew the pocket to it.  If you want the flap to lift up, only sew the top of the pocket down and up the sides of the pocket (though you will need to sew a 1/8 inch across the pocket so it doesn't separate), if it isn't going to be a functional pocket sew around the whole thing (not forgetting underneath of the flap). 

4. Line up the name tap.  I personally feel that it is easier to cut off the excess, but if you want to tuck it under and sew through it, go ahead.  Once you have the name centered, sew it on. 

5. Turn the pieces inside out to where the print is on the inside.  Pin in place remembering to leave the seam allowance.  You may have to play with the way you want it to look.  You can see that not one of the three look the same as far as shape goes. 

6. Sew the pieces together.  Slow and steady here folks.

7. Turn it right side out.  In order to get your toe out, you may need to use the eraser side of a pencil to guide it out. You now have your basic stocking.  YAY!

8. The cuff.... oh.... I hate the cuff.  Not the way it looks, but the sheer involvement of it!  I'm sure there is an easier way, but these were my first (and probably last) attempt at making stockings at all.  I took a piece of fabric and laid it on the stocking until I found the length I wanted.  Then I wrapped it around the stocking to make sure it would go all the way around (by this time I was running low on fabric).  You'll be sewing this to the top so you need to make sure to add a good 2 inches to the length so that it will fold over the top.  (The cuff does hide all the inside mess since these were not lined.) It is slightly easier to sew if you make what will be the top of the cuff (inside of the stocking part) not as wide (only slightly smaller though maybe 1/4 inch less wide). It would look kind of like this / \ instead of | |.  If that makes sense. 

9. Sew the seems together for the cuff (the part where the ends of the fabric meet on the extra piece of fabric, you're not attaching it to the stocking just yet.)  inside out.

10. Leave the cuff inside out so that when you attach it to the stocking the printed side will be the cuff and not the underside.  Since this is going to be the top of the stocking, you'll want to fold down about 1/4 inch underneath (this will be your seam so it isn't too ugly inside).  Once you've folded the seam down, pin it in place.  Your stocking should have a 80's "Kid in Play" type "hairdo" now.  I like to line the seam from the cuff and the seam on the stocking up so it isn't quite as noticeable.

11. Sew the cuff onto the stocking.  Once your done sewing, turn the cuff down.  If you've left enough seam allowance, all you should see is the cuff at the top no messy lines. 

12.  Now, you need something to hang it with.  This part is a little frustrating too.  You don't want your hook to be too wide cause it will make it hard to fit on stocking holders or command hooks, but the skinnier the hook, the harder it is to turn it right side out again.  If you don't mind seeing the little stitches on the hook, just fold a 3-5 inch long piece of fabric down the middle (so it will still be 3-5 inches, just skinnier) and sew it "closed".  If you don't want to see the stitchings (and these weren't mine, so I didn't want to see it) take that same piece of fabric and fold it in half longways inside out and stitch it "closed."  In order to flip the hook right side out, you'll need to use something (a knitting needle works good if you have one of those on hand, if not a pencil is ok, but break off the lead, leaving the point intact.) to push it through.  You'll flip your cuff back up at this point (so as not to sew the hook through the cuff).  Pin the hook to where you want it on your stocking and stitch it straight onto the "seam".  I did a row across and back-stitched  and back across three times to ensure that the hook would not come apart if something heavy was placed inside.  Turn the cuff back down and finally, YOU'RE DONE!!!