Fitted bed sheets are one of my favorite modern inventions. It annoys me to my core when flat sheets slip, get crumpled at the corner of the bed and I find myself on the bare mattress in the morning. When I buy a single bed sheet I always opt for fitted ones. However, I also buy duvet covers as a set and most of the bed sheets included in the sets … [Read more...]
Upcycle: Sweatpants to leggings
My daughter has been wearing only leggings for quite a long time. She doesn't wear jeans, any type of fabric pants or sweatpants. She prefers tight and soft fabrics. That's fine during fall and spring but leggings are not cold-weather clothes. Definitely not for Chicago cold. Even though I consider myself a laid-back mama when it comes to kids' … [Read more...]
DIY: Hairdressers cape with window
I cut everyone's hair in our household. I have a small kit including Conair 21-piece haircut kit and a hairdressers cape.I'm fairly quick but kids love to read books when I'm cutting their hair. Then hair clippings fall on to the book. It's annoying and hard to get rid of all the hair from the pages. I decided to put a clear vinyl window on the … [Read more...]
DIY: Bedside organizer caddy with printable pattern
We still have bunk beds in our children's room. They don't have bedside tables to put their things on. They like to read and write. My daughter needs a place to put her eyeglasses away and likes to mark her calendar. My son needs a place to put his bedtime medicine. I have been planning to make this bedside organizer caddy for a long time. In this … [Read more...]
DIY: Minecraft knee patch for kids – w/ printable pattern
My son had already ripped two of his pants' knees before I was able to prevent them from being ripped. Those were good sweatpants. I didn't want to trash them. So I decided to patch them. You can find really neat knee patch ideas on Pinterest. My favorite is monster knee patches. My son wanted Minecraft instead of monsters.So I did it using … [Read more...]
How to prevent knee holes in pants
My son's pants never survive more than a month. It doesn't matter whether he is wearing jeans, sweat pants or cargo pants, knees get ripped within few weeks. Considering my son's growth rate, reinforced knee jeans are not that economical. Patching knees isn't easy either. I decided to do something to stop pants' knees from getting ripped.I got … [Read more...]
Little Purple Riding Hood
Red is so overrated. This purple velvet fabric was to be a regular cape but my customer changed her mind to a "Little Red Riding Hood" style hooded cape afterwards. I used Fleece Fun's Red Riding Hood Pattern for child. You can print her children's red riding hood pattern at home and and easily put it together with her instructions. Once I cut the … [Read more...]
DIY: Batman cape costume for children
When I was buying fabric for my daughter's Butterfly Wing Cape, I got two pieces of velvet fabrics for capes. My son asked for black fabric for his cape. Initially, I was going for a plain cape. Then I decided do sew him a Batman Cape costume for pretend play. I googled for resources and found Vanilla Joy's "The Nearly No-Sew Batman Cape" … [Read more...]
Easy butterfly wing cape for children
I had no plans to sew a butterfly wing cape for my daughter, until I came along with this amazing fabric at Hancock Fabrics. It is a sheer fabric with eye catching rainbow colors. All my materials were rainbow colored, including fabric, ric rac border and the thread.Materials: 3/4 yards sheer / light fabric (60" width) Ric Rac … [Read more...]
Cake Tutu for Ballerina themed birthday party
A friend of mine baked the birthday cake for my daughter's ballerina themed birthday party. I sew a tutu for the cake. The inspiration is from Pinterest. It's very easy to make. I sewed it with my sewing machine. If you are patient enough, you can sew it by hand as well.First order of business: Know the circumference of the cake, in order to … [Read more...]
DIY shirts, Father’s Day gift for Simpsons fans
This is the gift we, I and the kids, gave to my husband last year as Father's day gift. I think he's tired of the Homer Simpson themed shirts, I buy for him. So this time, I decided to make a matching set of t-shirts for him and the kids.I purchased iron-on fabric transfer sheets and plain shirts to design the t-shirts. I found the images … [Read more...]
Repurpose: From toy chest to ottoman bench
We've been making some decor changes in the house since the kids are transitioning from a toddler, preschooler setup to elementary setup. I have been trying to get rid of unused items through craigslist or simply by donating. I also try move around some items to reintroduce them with a better purpose. This almost-7-year-old IKEA toy chest is one of … [Read more...]
Ghost costume for kids- DIY
This is the easiest Halloween costume ever. My son came up with the idea and loved it. He got so many compliments for his costume. Sewing part was easy. The only issue, I really had to work on was his safety with the length of the costume.Materials:2 yards of white muslin fabric White thread Black … [Read more...]
Decorative bunk bed curtains for children
Since the children moved into their bunk beds, I have been planning to sew decorative curtains that would reflect their own interests and likes. We went to the fabric store together and they picked their own patterns. I wanted to get a black sky, stars and galaxies fabric like the one I used for a shirt for my son, we could only find this blue. … [Read more...]
Beaded summer dress for girls
Maxi dresses are in fashion this summer. I love them myself. My daughter has been asking me for a maxi dress for her, whenever I put on one of mine. So I found these at Jo-ann fabric. Not exactly a maxi dress model but still works. These were readily elastic thread gathered at the bustline and frilled at the skirts. I just needed the fabric cut to … [Read more...]
Boys’ shirts for space fans
I've shared the easy sew dresses that I've sewn for my daughter. Sewing for girls is fun, with lost of fabrics, patterns and accessories choices. Choices for boys are very limited. In any case, I sewed few pieces that my son would like. He chose his own fabrics. I chose the patterns. This fabric was cotton, bright and colorful. I saved the … [Read more...]
Easy wearable blanket for children
My daughter grew out of her Cozy blanket with arms for children. I decided to use one of her existing blankets and turned it into a wearable blanket. It's the easiest solution to keep the kids covered with their blankets while asleep at night. Materials: 1. Blanket big enough to cover your child 2. Ribbon 3. Bias (optional) Directions: 1. … [Read more...]
Easy sew girls’ dresses
This week's posts will have a lot of photos. Today, I present you two dresses I sewed for my daughter. The fabrics are thin corduroy, 100% cotton. Loved the fabric patterns. Both were pretty simple.Simplicity It’s so easy 2306. Looks complicated but I finished it pretty quickly.McCall’s M6154: I did this one first, so it went a little bit … [Read more...]
How to sew apron for children
Kids have arts & craft aprons but they are short and have long sleeves. I wanted to sew them a water resistant apron where they could use for cooking and other messy stuff.MaterialsTarpaulin fabric (oilcloth) Velcro Piping for the edges (bias tape) Fabric for straps ThreadInstructionsTake your child's … [Read more...]
DIY: Cozy blanket with sleeves for children
My daughter is quite independent and can dress up and down by herself. Which is really good. Except when we find her stripped to her underwear when we go to check up on her after she goes to sleep. it's really hard to get her dressed when she's asleep. Not because she won't fall back asleep if she wakes up, but she gets really upset if she wakes up … [Read more...]