Sewing tutorial and pattern: Mermaid dress up tail for kids

We love dress ups at our house. Little by little I've been adding to the kids' collection of costumes for play.

I wanted to make Miss 4.5 a mermaid tail that would grow with her and not be too tight at the ankles that she wouldn't be able to walk or play in it. 

You can download and print the pattern for the fin here.

First, choose your main fabric. I wanted something shiny, so I went for this sequined fabric. You'll need a rectangle - it should reach from your child's waist to the floor (length) and wrap around their body with a 15cm overlap (width). You can allow a little extra for hemming. Hem around the rectangle - I rolled approx 0.5cm over, then rolled over again and sewed along.

Cut two mermaid fins on the fold. Optional is to also cut iron on interfacing to iron onto one of the fin pieces to make the fin a little firmer.

Place right sides together and starting at the top right, sew around the edges, finishing at the top left. The fin can be sewn to the skirt along the bottom.

For fastening the waist, sew velcro along the waistline.

I trimmed the edging of the fin with some of the left over sequin fabric, but it is totally optional.

Top 5 ... sock animal tutorials

There's something about sock animals that I really love. I think it's got to do with the need I have to not waste even the smallest scrap of fabric. All of these sock animals use every last piece of the sock or pair of socks.

1. My all time favourite is the sock monkey. I used the tutorial at http://www.web-goddess.org/writing/tutorial/Image0.html to make my first every sock monkey and it was so easy to follow, with clear instructions and lots of pictures.

2. Sock bunny. I made these two bunnies for my kiddies for Easter this year. The idea came from http://www.craftpassion.com/2012/05/sock-bunny-sewing-tutorial.html/2.

3. and 4. Sock elephant and giraffe from http://www.ebygomm.ourownlittleworld.org/2010/12/sock-critters-including-sock-elephant-tutorial/

5. This gorgeous sock pig that is next on my list to make: http://freecraftarticles.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/another-wonderful-free-pattern-by-lisa.html

Have you got a favourite sock animal tutorial? Please post a link in the comments below and share!

Lesley :)

Tuesday Tutorial: toddler girl skirt and top from men's business shirt

This post is about the second upcycle that I've done for Mia from one of her daddy's business shirts. The first upcycle was this dress:

Cute, right?

But today we're focussing on making a skirt and top:

The first thing I did was to remove the pocket and the collar by unpicking the seams around them. Next I cut out all of pieces, trying to keep the original seams as much as possible. This is a different shirt and a very rough picture, but it gives you some idea of how to cut the pieces from the shirt.

You'll need to take lots of measurements.

 For the top:

• Check that the neck width suits the size of the child. Sew along the seam where the collar was removed.
• Measure from the neck to the edge of the shoulder where you want the armhole to begin.
• Measure the length of the armhole you require.
• Allow an extra 1.5cm for armhole hemming.
• Measure the child's chest and waist and allow 4cm on each side.
• Measure the length required from shoulder down and add 2cm for hem.

Hem the armholes, by turning over twice and ironing down. Turn right sides together and sew down the sides. Hem along the bottom.

For the skirt:

• Measure the waist and hips - cut a rectangle that is 1.5 times the largest of these measurements.
• Measure the length required and add hem allowance.
• Cut a strip for the waistband. I wanted 2.5cm wide, so I cut a 10cm strip that was the same length as my daughter's waist measurement. Fold in half and iron, fold the edges to the centre and iron again.

Run two gathering stitches along the top of the rectangle. Pull in to match the length of the waistband. Insert the gathered skirt between the layers of the waistband and sew along. Topstitch around the top and sides of the waistband. Hem the skirt. Sew a button on the waistband and add a buttonhole.

Done!

Felt snacks: watermelon, strawberries and cupcake

Watermelon

For each watermelon:

1. Print and cut out the paper pattern. Cut out two red pieces for the watermelon flesh and one green piece for the rind.
2. Sew the two red pieces together along the straight edge with a blanket stitch. I used three strands of a green embroidery thread.
3. Line up the edges of the rind with the curved edges of the watermelon flesh. Sew along one side with a blanket stitch and then two-thirds along the other edge.
4. Fill with polyester filling or felt scraps and close the seam.
5. Use three strands of a dark coloured embroidery thread to sew seeds randomly on the watermelon.

Strawberry

For each strawberry:

1. Print and cut out the paper pattern. Cut out one red piece and one green piece. Fold the red piece in half. Cut the tip off from one end, to make a flat tip as right. Sew together along the bottom and side with a blanket stitch.
2. Sew a running stitch around the top. Fill with polyester filler or felt scraps and pull the running stitch tight. Fasten to close the top.

3. Fasten the thread to the top of the strawberry. Place the green piece on the top. Sew in a cross to hold the green part to the top of the strawberry.
4. Using three strands of a light brown embroidery thread, sew a small, well-spaced running stitch on the strawberry to represent seeds.

Cupcake

For each cupcake:

1. Print and cut out the paper pattern and felt pieces. Using a blanket stitch sew the cake top to the cake side.

2. Sew the edges of the cake sides together.

3. Sew a running stitch along the bottom edge of the cake side. Fill with polyester filler and pull the stitching tight to match the size of the cake base felt piece.

4. Sew the base to the cake side using a blanket stitch. Pull out the running stitch.












5. Sew sprinkles or other decorations onto the top of the cupcake.