Sewing tutorial and pattern - Balloon cover

These covers were one of those things that I had seen around and thought was such a great idea. "One day I'll make some of those...". When I finally got around to experimenting and going through with it last week I couldn't believe I had put it off that long! So easy and fast. And they have been the number one toy here with both Mr 2.5 and Miss 4.5 since I finished them. We love balloon covers!

You will need two contrasting fabrics and the pattern (available here).

Cut six of the curved strips on the fold, and three of the hexagons on the fold.

And now start sewing. Choose one of each fabric and place them right sides together. Sew down one side only. Now take a new piece and place it right sides together with the contrast fabric. Sew down the next side. Take another new piece and place it right sides together with the contrast fabric. Sew down the next side. Repeat, repeat, repeat until there are no curved strips left. Place the two open sides right sides together and sew down to join.


Prepare the ends for sewing. Place two of the hexagons with right sides together. Pin a line through the centre across the hexagon. Sew from the outer edge inwards, leave a gap (approx 4cm) and then sew through to the other outer edge.

Fold down the pieces so that you now have wrong sides together and right sides showing.

Top stitch a few millimetres from the centre line on both sides to secure and to reinforce the slit that has now been formed in the middle of the piece.

Pin the hexagons into the ends of the ball, right sides together and sew along to enclose the ball.

Poke a deflated balloon through the opening at the end, keeping enough on the outside to blow the balloon up. Blow up the balloon, tie off the end and tuck it in.

Sewing Tutorial: Putting together your Quiet Book pages to make a book

You've spent hours cutting out little felt shapes, positioning them on pages, sewing, stitching on faces and finishing touches and now you have the pages all made for your Quiet Book. Well done! It's no easy task. No doubt plenty of patience, glasses of wine and cups of tea have passed between you and your Quiet Book pages. So let's take a look at one way to put it all together and make a book out of what you've got in front of you.

Work out the order of your pages and then pair them up in front to back pairs. Put them right sides together. Sew around with approximately 1cm/0.5 inch seam, leaving a gap wide enough for turning out the right way. Trim the corners as in the picture below.

Turn out the right way and push the corners out to neaten. It should look something like this:

Then sew a top-stitch a few millimetres from the edge to neaten it off and close off the opening.

Covers can be made in the same way (you'll need front and back covers):

• right sides together
• sew around, leaving an opening
• trim corners
• turn out the right way
• topstitch edges

I like to add a button tab to my cover. The length and width depend on the thickness and size of your book. Cut two rectangles, allowing a 0.5cm/0.25 inch seam and follow the same steps as above.

Of course there are loads of options for putting your pages together, but my favourite way is to use binder rings. I then sew two buttonholes on each page where I want to place them. Easy! Especially if your sewing machine does automatic buttonholes as mine does :-)

Miscellaneous projects

With my Etsy shop getting stocked and Mia kitted out with some very cute dresses for the upcoming months, I decided to do some gift-making.



First, a baby shower gift. I found this lovely soft cotton with colourful elephants and thought it would be perfect. I was very happy with how it turned out. The diaper change pad rolls up nice and small for the baby bag, and the diaper and wipes case is the perfect size. I used just a bib of Mia's to cut out the pattern for these bibs and they turned out perfectly.

Then, a gift for a 7 year-old soon to embark on a long plane trip. I wanted to make the stationery bag as compact as possible, so none of the existing patterns for fold-out stationery organizers were really appropriate. I cut out four long rectangles on the fold and sewed around each of them separately, before putting them together and sewing around all four of them together. With some home-made binding, I enclosed all the rough edges and added a zipper to keep everything in. On one of the layers, I sewed a pocket, in this case to hold a pencil sharpener.

Next, a cute doll for a friend's new baby, although with the hair and dress, she won't be able to play with it until she's quite a bit bigger. I found a doll pattern and tutorial on http://missyballance.typepad.com/crafty_carnival/2007/02/free_doll_patte.html and thought she looked very cute.

Finally, another baby present. This chicken comes from http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2009/04/spring-chicken-pattern/.








I've made extras of the stationery bag and baby shower gift and these can be viewed in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Utsukushiiya?ref=pr_shop

Next? To combine some ideas and come up with a new project! Stay tuned...