Tutorial: Santa Sack

I wanted to revisit a tutorial that I made back in November 2011 for home made Santa Sacks.

I don't know what your Christmas was like as a child - but one of my highlights was the stocking. The arrival of Santa (Father Christmas) and the stocking was huge. The stocking was one of my father's thread bare socks (it was not at all attractive.) So when we had children I knew that the stocking was going to be one of my little Christmas obsessions.





I had made a few of these sacks back in 2011 - but only kept 2. I knew when bunny #3 came along we would have to make another sack. I know he will notice Christmas this year - he fully understands the concept of presents now. In fact I am unsure how we will restrain him.

This new sack came together really really quickly and if you shop at JoAnns for cheap fun stuff these sacks came be made very inexpensively. I love the sacks - they are so cute. The girls sacks have held up really well AND they can fit a surprising amount of bounty in them.

My little chap was very pleased with his sack but could not understand why I was shoving his toys into it and asking him to hold it while I took photos. 

His older sister - bunny #2 - was all too eager to stick her favorite toys in and pretend it was Christmas!

So if you feel like making some sacks this year - either to use as stockings like we do - or as just pretty gift sacks please remember my tutorial which you can find here - it seems to still make sense (to little me at least!)

 Santa Sack Tutorial from November 2011

Cherry Blossom Tulle Pom Poms

We had a birthday party at the weekend so I made some tulle pom poms as a gift. They also reminded me of our cherry blossom tree outside they were so pink and full. I used 3 different colors of pink in the pom poms. They are so quick and easy to make - you can find the tutorial here.

I hope you had a fun and sunny weekend too.

Tutu Tutorial (Part 4): Using Fabric Scraps - Tutu Ideas

This is less of a 'tutorial' and more of an ideas page of how you can use fabric scraps to make tutu's.

Recycled Shirt Tutu
Using the No Sew Crochet Elastic Tutu method I made this tutu. I had some strips of cotton left over from this fun project in 2008 (yes I keep scraps from that long ago!) - so I decided to make them into a little fabric tutu. I don't know it it reminds me of a little kilt or one of those raggy morris men outfits!

(Men's cotton shirts yield a lot of fabric that can be recycled into all sorts of things - you might remember I recycled lots of shirts into a quilt. We still have it - in fact is it now in our little boys room.)

Silk Tie Tutu
Using the No Sew Crochet Elastic Tutu method I made this tutu. The 1st layer is white tulle and the 2nd layer is re purposed white ties. Because of the size of knot that the ties make the ties are knotted on every other space in the crochet elastic. I used a binding stitch on the end of the tie pieces to try and minimize future fraying.

 

Previous Tutu Tutorials: No Sew Tulle Tutu

                                        No Sew Tutu with Crochet Elastic Ribbon

                                        Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu

Stay tuned for my next post:

- Basic Sewn Tutu 

How to fix Barbie clothes

I really hate it when things get broken. We have a pot called 'the fixing pot' were anything that needs mending gets put. I fear our first born thinks that Mummy can fix anything and everything and it is always a nasty sad shock when I can't and things end up in the trash. Once in a while we go through that pot and glue things back together. Recently our Barbie clothes have been suffering from the untrained but determined hands of little people. I don't know how they make Barbie clothes fit so tightly, with such detail, in such shiny slippery materials and with such small seams! The materials they use fray so easily. The fraying means that there seems to be no fabric left to sew the dresses back together. They seem impossible to fix - so I wanted to show you my method of mending them.

Turn your barbie outfit inside out. 

Iron a small amount of fusible to some cotton or other light weight fabric - try and keep the hue of the fabric similar to that of the frayed fabric. I stuff the outfit with some rolled up scrap fabric - which makes handling the dress and ensuring you don't get burnt by the iron a bit easier. Peel off the backing of the fusible and iron a small strip onto the frayed fabric.

Now you have 'rebuilt' the fabric - sew the seam. Invisible thread will be your friend here if you don't have a whole host of different cotton colors. I use a combination of a straight stitch and then a small tight binding stitch. Trim any remaining frayed threads bits away.

When you turn your Barbie dress right side out it will look like new.

This method will also help you mend holes and rips in random places that don't have seams.

 

Don't be afraid to replace ribbon straps, velcro strips and hem dresses shorter where the fraying is out of control. I also can't say enough about snipping all those frayed and pulled threads away. Just tidying up a little bit - can make those barbie outfits look like new again - and give those little hands months more play with their favorite dresses.

I hope this helps you save some of Barbie's favorite outfits in your household!

Tutu Tutorial (Part 3): Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu

Using the same knotting method as you would make a No Sew Tulle Tutu you can also make tutu's out of plastic bags. It was SO quick and easy and the girls had a blast.

You will need:
- Strip of non roll elastic (please see my chart for waist sizes) 
- Approx 20 standard plastic grocery bags (I stuck to plain white, Target and Trader Joe plastic bags - a red and white color scheme)

1) Cut the handles off your bags.

2) Cut the bags down the middle in half.

3) Cut up the edge seams.

4) Using the same knot as I used in the No Sew Tulle Tutu knot your elastic bags onto your elastic.

(Image from http://www.craftster.org/)

5) Fluff, scrunch and fiddle with your plastic bags to get maximum volume on your tutu.

I can see some really cool Halloween outfits being made using black trash bags!

Previous Tutu Tutorials: No Sew Tulle Tutu

                                        No Sew Tutu with Crochet Elastic Ribbon

Stay tuned for my next posts:
- Tutu using Fabric scraps
- Basic Sewn Tutu

Tutu Tutorial (Part 2): No Sew Tutu using Crochet Elastic Ribbon

Again for this type of tutu I have used the same knotting method as you would make a No Sew Tulle Tutu - but instead of using any type of elastic or ribbon as a waist band you use crocheted elastic.

You will need:
- some crochet elastic ribbon or a pre-made crochet headband
- strips of tulle or some other fabric
- ribbon or other optional decorations

1) Cut and secure your waist band. 
I used 2 1/4 inch crocheted elastic cut from a spool for this project - but you can buy pre-made crochet headbands at most drug stores. This stuff is VERY stretchy - you need to make your waist band much smaller than you think e.g. I made my waist band about 6" smaller than I needed.

I roughly tied the elastic together with a scrap piece of tulle before I started knotting. Once the tutu was finished I braided the join with satin ribbon and tied a bow. 

2) Cut your strips of Tulle
I chose to buy bolts of tulle and I cut them into 6 inch strips with my rotary cutter. This was much cheaper than using tulle ribbon on spools  and it was very quick to cut it this way.

You need to cut your strips twice as long as you want your tutu to be. I cut 26" strips for this tutu. Each round took approx 40+ strips. I knotted 2 rounds of tulle strips - so estimate you will need approx 55-60 yards of 6" tulle for this project. The finished tutu is extremely full. I have seen some tutu's made this way just using one round of knots - so this could be an option for you too.

3) Tie your knots into the elastic

(Image from http://www.craftster.org/)

Wrap the elastic band around something big (I used a sofa cushion) and start knotting. I started to tie my knots into the second row of the crocheted elastic. Use one strip of tulle for each knot.

Continue tying knots until you have completed the first round. Start tying knots for your 2nd round - each knot will sit between the knots on the row below. I think 2 rounds of knotted tulle yields better results that just one round - you could do more rounds - but the fluffiness does get a little out of control!

4) Fuss, Fiddle & Enjoy
The more you separate the strips and tulle and fuss with the tulle - the fluffier your tutu will be.

Previous Tutu Tutorial: No Sew Tulle Tutu

Stay tuned for my next posts:
- Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu
- Tutu using Fabric scraps
- Basic Sewn Tutu

Tutu Tutorial (Part 1): No Sew Tulle Tutu

I ordered too much tulle for decorating Baby Bunny#1's birthday - and as she and her sister just love to play dress up and dance I decided on embarking on making some tutu's. I couldn't find any tutorials for a sewn tutu - lots of other tutorials for no sew tutu's. My next four (possibly five) posts will be all about different ways to make tutu's - I hope not to bore you or reinvent the wheel! And I really hope my notes on tutu making will help you make your own.

Knotted Tulle Tutu
Here are some great tutorials that will give you a tutu with similar results:
Paige and Brooke Tutu Tutorial
Treasures for Tots Tutu Tutorial - a piece of ribbon is used instead of elastic
Ribbon Treat Tutu Tutorial - this lady uses a different knot to encourage tulle to go in more directions and therefore give you extra fluff

You will need:
- Elastic
- Strips of 6" tulle

1) Cut and secure your waist band. 
I used a 1" no fold elastic - which is quite sturdy stuff so I sewed the two ends together (does that mean I cheated on this no-sew tutu?). If you chose a thinner elastic or a ribbon you could just knot it. If you are using elastic you will want to make your waist band about 8% smaller than the persons waist. Here is a chart to help you.

Waist (inches)	Elastic (inches)		Waist (inches)	Elastic (inches)
15	13 3/4		23	21 1/4
16	14 3/4		24	22
17	15 3/4		25	23
18	16 1/2		26	24
19	17 1/2		27	24 3/4
20	18 1/2		28	25 3/4
21	19 1/4		29	26 3/4
22	20 1/4		30	27 1/2

2) Cut your strips of Tulle
I chose to buy bolts of tulle and I cut them into 6 inch strips with my rotary cutter. This was much cheaper than using tulle ribbon on spools  and it was very quick to cut it this way.

I used 3 strips of 6 inch tulle for one knot - this gave the tutu's great volume. You need to cut your strips twice as long as you want your tutu to be (e.g. 22" strips will yield a 11" long tutu). I used 36+ knots for this tutu. (Which means I used 66 yards of 6" tulle strips for this tutu.) I wrapped the same cutting board I used to make my tulle pom poms to make strips for the tutu. 

I cut the strips at an angle at the bottom of the board only. The angles at the end of the tulle give the tutu a lighter more flouncy feel. Don't worry about the strips being slightly different lengths. The different lengths will also help to give the tutu more volume.

3) Tie your knots

(Image from http://www.craftster.org/)

I used the first knotting technique shown above to knot my strips of tulle around the elastic. The second knotting technique is used in Ribbon Treat's Tutu Tutorial. Continue knotting until you think you have no more room.

Once you think you have no room left - wiggle and tighten the knots a little - try and squeeze in some more strips. You really want to pack them in as tight as possible.

4) Fuss, Fiddle & Enjoy
The more you separate the strips and tulle and fuss with the tulle - the fluffier your tutu will be.

You can tie ribbon/bows, stick on pom poms, sew on flowers etc - the options are endless.

Stay tuned for my next posts:
- Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu
- Tulle Tutu (using Crochet Elastic)
- Tutu using Fabric scraps
- Basic Sewn Tutu

Tutorial: Tulle Pom Poms

We are planning a birthday party in the near future for Baby Bunny#1 - she turns 4 - I can't believe 4 years have gone by so quickly. We are having a Princess Tea Party for her - we (although it sometimes feels like she is) planning a very princess and pink affair!

For decorations I decided to invest in some tulle. I found it very reasonably priced at the Tulle Shop.

There are lots of tutorials out there for making pom poms from tulle. This is my favorite from Nashville Wraps on You Tube - but I prefer to use ribbon to tie my pom poms as tulle rips when it is tied very tightly. (I'm that weird person who goes around collecting all the ribbon after Christmas - wrapping it up carefully waiting to find a second use for it - this is the perfect 2nd use for it.)

You can use 6" pre-cut tulle ribbon - though I cut a 54" bolt of tulle into 6" strips. I didn't take the tulle off the bolt I just cut the tulle and cardboard right the way through with my rotary cutter. It was very quick. The tulle strips do not have to be perfect for pom poms.

 

You will need:
- Tulle - (I used approx 30 yards of 6" wide tulle)
- Ribbon or something else strong for tying and hanging
- Scissors
- Something stiff-ish to wrap around - cardboard or a book would do the job too.

1) Wrap the tulle around your chosen object 50 times. I used an old cutting board (11" long) to use for my pom poms.

2) Tie ribbon at the center point on one side.

3) Take the tulle off and tie the other side securely - you should have a big puffy looking bow tie shape.

4) Cut through all the loops as evenly as possible. Trim so all the lengths are approximately the same. Again - precision is not needed.

5) Puff and fiddle with the tulle. The more you fiddle and fluff - the fuller and fluffier your pom poms will be.

Hang your tulle pom poms and enjoy! #1 Bunny has already demanded some for her bedroom too.

NOTE: Your pom poms will crush easily - store them carefully if you want to be able to protect their beauty and use them again and again.