A Graduation Gift Set for a Drummer

I may have mentioned this, but I’m really bad about giving graduation gifts on time. It takes me a while to figure out just the right thing!

My cousin’s son graduated high school during the pandemic and started college at Troy University playing drums. I’m just a year late on this one!

I had the bright idea to make him a drum stick bag. My original idea was much more simple than I ended up making! I mentioned it and was introduced to the world of drum stick bags on Amazon. No drawstring bags here… But I was up for the challenge. Pockets and straps and handles, oh my!

I also took a while to figure out how I wanted to make it special. Then the idea of cork came to mind. I ended up ordering some black and grey cork from Sew Sweetness and it’s just perfect. The school colors are black, grey and burgundy, so I stitched the outline in burgundy thread.

The biggest detail on the outside is the T. I love how it turned out. But I also added handles and a key fob and a little cork detail to finish off the double zipper.

The inside has 4 pockets and a long adjustable strap. The strap can hook onto the side of a drum and hang there for easy access to the drum sticks.

I also made a bucket. For the drum stick bag, I just made up the pattern as I went. But for the bucket, I used the free Faithwell Storage Bin pattern by Sew Sweetness. I’ve used this pattern before with my cross stitch koala and love it. I have never included the handle, though.

The storage bin actually came out of a mistake I made on the drum stick bag. I originally sewed in the T in the wrong orientation. So then I was was like what do I do with this extra Troy T? I make a bucket! Perfect!

I followed the directions, but changed it up some with the cork. The directions call to use fusible foam and fuse it to the exterior fabric. I was hesitant to add to the cork, so I flipped it and added the fusible foam to the lining. I was also concerned about the seams in the cork, but they turned out great!

I also made a key chain with the scraps from the cork pieces. I used my own tutorial for that!

Then I filled it with fun goodies. Seattle Chocolates, a WA state flag, a Troy pin, some Legos, and a stress ball thingy! I was super excited about how it turned out. and I’m pretty sure the kiddo liked it as well.

Do you have a favorite Graduation Gift you like to make?

Another Handmade Backpack

OK, I’m a pretty bad blogger these days. it’s been a while since I showed anything… I missed back to school, when most people are blogging about back packs! And I made this back pack a while ago… But despite all that, here I am!

The first backpack I made was really cool! I loved the alien backpack! It was designed by the kiddo and so is this one! I don’t know where the design came from, but I have to say it was quite a bit easier to put together than the alien!

I didn’t use a pattern, but there are some great backpack patterns and tutorials out there! There’s one by Crazy Little Projects that is pretty similar to the one I made. I also love Sew Sweetness Bags and she has two backpack patterns, the Cumberland and Edelweiss patterns. And I like the pattern that So Sew Easy has on their blog. It’s small, but you can enlarge it for a larger kiddo or yourself. I haven’t made any of these patterns, but they can help you make your own, if you don’t want to wing it like I did!

On the inside I used a laminated cotton fabric. A bright laminated cotton fabric! I made this while I was at a retreat and I didn’t take a non-stick foot, and it did not treat me nicely! But I pushed on anyway!

I love to add key fobs…

The design on the outside is what the kiddo designed. It was much easier than the alien, but it was still tricky! Keeping those lines straight wasn’t as simple I thought it would be and especially without the right foot.

The other thing I think all backpacks should have is the side pockets. I always include elastic, so when it’s not being used, it scrunches up close ot the backpack and doesn’t flop around.

In the back I padded the straps and angled them out a bit.

And the kiddo liked it! That’s the best part of the whole thing!

 

A Harry Potter Project Pouch

This week is Harry Potter’s birthday and I have a couple of projects to share for the celebration!

I made a project pouch for the kiddo! I’ve been realizing that there are a lot of projects that I want to make, but I end of up quilting more than making fun things as well. I’ve been wanting to make some project pouches so when I got issue 76 of Love Patchwork and Quilting and saw the pouch project, I decided to make one!

The project is the Zip It Up Pouch by Minki Kim. I’ve kinda become obsessed with magazines, but now I have too many with too many projects to make! It was fun making this one! Even if I might not have followed the directions 100%…

I love the little clear pocket on the front. I think on my next one, I might put a snap on the pocket. I thought about putting in some elastic, but decided against it.

The pouch in the magazine was actually quilted. I decided not to quilt mine, but you could. I also took out the quilted back and used a piece of clear vinyl on the back so you can see which project you have in the bag.

I tried my hand at machine binding… I’m horrible at it. this corner is the best one. I know, I should show the corner I messed up, but I’m not going to! Ha! It was the best way to sew on the binding with the vinyl, but I think I have a slightly different plan for the next one! I think I’m faster at hand sewing the binding than at machine binding because every time I machine bind something I have to pull part out and try again!

What is your favorite pouch pattern? I really like this one! And I’m excited to make some more for each of the projects I want to take on vacation!

 

 

A Mountain Pillow- Quick and Easy Handmade Gift!

Every year my office has a White Elephant gift exchange with a theme at our Holiday party. Last year the theme was High Low.

We never really tell each other who got what, so I’ve never actually made a gift for the exchange. This year, I had a little problem…

I bought these beautiful beaded snowflakes from Blair at Wise Craft Handmade. They start high in the sky and end up low on the ground… Get it? High Low….

Well, the day of the party I decided I didn’t want to give up any of my ornaments and I needed to come up with something else to give at the party!

I’d been seeing a lot of these mountain pillows. I got the ornaments at our local handmade craft show. And at the craft show, there were a few people selling these mountain pillows. Most of them were made of beautiful felt and were way over my price range. But I kept being drawn to them! And then I had a great idea…. I’d make a new gift. I’d make a mountain pillow! High Peaks, Low Valleys… High Low!

I just happened to have this grey fleece that looked kinda like the felt that all the others were made of. And I had this fluffy white fleece, which I totally think looks like fluffy snow!

Although I didn’t actually made a tutorial, I’ll tell you how I made it! It was so easy and quick, I didn’t even have time to think about pictures! ha! I cut out the mountains, sewed on the snow on top. I made a front and back, with snow on both front and back sides. Next I sewed the front and back together, right sides together and then turned it right side out and Boom! A mountain pillow! SOOOOO easy!

And the pillow was stolen a couple of times, so it was a hit!

These were all adults that loved it, but they could be fun in kids rooms too! Adventure themed rooms… So many possibilities and such a quick make!

 

Ted Wiggins and his Unicycle!

This project is a kinda old one, but I never showed it! And it deserves it’s spot on the blog, in my opinion…

A while back my friend wanted a Ted Wiggins doll with his unicycle for her son, but couldn’t find one online. So she asked me! I love the Lorax, but was blanking on who Ted Wiggins is! He’s the kiddo in the lorax that goes and meets the Lorax outside of town and learns the whole story. In the movie he has a unicycle. A big red unicycle. And of course, I bit and took the challenge!

This isn’t a real tutorial, because I didn’t measure everything and I didn’t save my templates, or any of that. But I do want to show you a bit about how I made these guys! First up is Ted.

I started with the Mikey Monkey doll pattern from mmmcrafts. I have made this pattern before when I made Bear and his best friend Pear for my kiddo. I altered it a bit then for the monkey to be a bear and I did it again for the monkey to be a boy.

The main alteration was the shape of the head. I didn’t want it to be as round as the monkey head, so I worked that out. One reason I wanted to use this pattern is that he comes with accessories, like shoes and a baseball cap. I knew I needed a helmet, so I altered the baseball hat to be a bike helmet. I had to make a trial hat to make sure it fit on the new head shape though! I also added more pieces of fabric for the shirt to match the look of his shirt!

And I winged it on the hair and face! When I stitched the hair on the back of the head, I also stitched up through the brown to give it a little more dimension, instead of just along the edge. I didn’t like it just straight across the back, so I added a couple of curves. And the hat turned out great! I put the front and back together and then hand stitched the flames on. The hat is removable. In hindsight, due to the age of kiddo that this was going to, I probably should have sewn the helmet (and the shoes) on the doll! I wouldn’t be surprised if they got lost pretty quickly!

And I love the shoes!

I had fun taking pictures of him as he was being stuffed and coming to life!

And his unicycle!

The handlebar… So for the handlebar, I wanted it to be skinny and stand up straight. I tried a few things and this is what worked best. I sewed on the red pieces to the longer sides of the grey ‘x’. I included the seam allowances, ironed those over, folded it in half, wrong sides together, and then topstitched. I left the bottom open and one side of the handle to stuff in the pipe cleaners. Then stuffed the pipe cleaners in. As many as I could! Then sew up the other side of the handlebar!

For the bottom of the unicycle, I totally winged it and drew it out. I cut the black and red based on my drawing. The design is to have two sides and one long stripe going around the sides, like a box pillow.

So I sewed the two red sides to the handlebars.

I measured out how much black and red sides I’d need. Made long side strips. Pinned the sides on (yes, missing some step photos, but not a full tutorial here!) to the front and back, right sides together and sewed it all together, leaving a hole in the bottom. For stuffing I used foam pieces. I used two pieces of foam so that the handlebar would be situated between the foam.

And, like the helmet, I hand sewed the flames on the unicycle.

And there you have it! Tedd Wiggins and his Unicycle! I think he turned out pretty cute!

 

The 1-Hour Dopp Kit

I love patterns that say 1 hour!

Ha! Whatever! Well, it takes me almost that long just to pick the fabric. And if you quilt it, right away the one hour is out the window! Right? And maybe once you’ve made it once it will only take an hour, but the first one never takes me just an hour. Maybe you are faster than I am!

For this one I used the 1-Hour Dopp Kit Tutorial from the Craftsy Sewing Blog. Even though I’m complaining about the one hour part, I like the pattern and would like to make another one. This one was a Christmas present for my husband, but the kiddo took it instead!

I love the little handle! You could do two, but I chose to do just one. You only carry it on one end, so why do you really need two handles?

Although the inside corners take some thought, the turned out great. This feature was one reason I headed to this tutorial over some of the others. (ignore the toothpaste spots. It’s proof that it is actually being used as a toiletry bag and not a bag to carry toys!)

And the bottom! Do those stripes look familiar? I used scraps from my 2016 SMQG BOM Medallion quilt!

So what do you think? Would you give it a try? Do you have a favorite Dopp Kit pattern? I’d try a different one next time. I kinda want to make a leather one… Have you?

 

FLIP this Pattern!

Have you been following the Flip This Pattern series over at Francis Suzanne???

 

If you remember, I met these wonderful gals during our stint on Project Run and Play! I was honored when they invited me to participate in their fun series! And then when I saw the patterns, I knew exactly which one I wanted to do!

Be sure to click on over and check out my FLIP!

 

 

Long Beach Board Shorts

Or should I call them Orange Beach Board Shorts? Obviously they fit in perfectly on any beach! I’m in love with this Long Beach Board Short pattern from Terra’s Treasures.

It was one of the patterns in the Sew Fab Sale and I’m loving it! And so is the kiddo! I wanted them to actually be swim shorts and not just shorts that look like swim shorts, so I started looking for boys swimsuit material. It’s not so easy to find! I did find some at this place called The Fabric Fairy, but it was kinda expensive for my first try at this… Sometimes it’s hard to spend 20 or so on fabric for a swim suit that I can get already made for 8 or 10 at Old Navy, etc… I love handmade more, but sometimes….

 

So I started looking at thrift shops. Then I just happened to find a solid pair of blue and a printed pair that matched perfected! On sale for 5 bucks for the two! Then I wanted the contrast and found another pair of adult swim trunks for 1 dollar!! I did use adult swim trunks for the fabric. And if you want to, be sure to find a pair without all the pockets! My blue pair I had to be very careful with how I cute the adult pair to have enough fabric.

The pattern is super easy to put together. It helps if you aren’t chatting with a long time best friend that you haven’t seen in a year though. I did sew together the back part upside down the first time adn I couldn’t figure out what in the world was wrong the pattern! Of course, it wasn’t me!!! Then I realized, HA! it was me! And of course, I had finished the seam allowances and everything before I figured it out….

Then I got back on track and I love it. I would totally make short short out of it too. As in not actual swim shorts.

And check out that piping! Sorry, for the booty shot, but it was the best picture of the piping I had. It was my first time doing real piping. I used a nylon cord for quicker drying. This one is for my Aunt! I’ve been talking to her about doing piping for years. She keeps telling me how wonderful it is and how you’ll get hooked. She was right!

And I also added in the swim suit undies. I cut these out of one of my pairs (yes, thoroughly washed, multiple times!) The pattern doesn’t give directions for this piece, but I just sized it based on my sons other bathing suits and then tucked it up under the fold of the wait before I sewed that piece down.

I also reused the ties from the other shorts for the tie on this pair. The directions call for ribbon or bias tape. So I just used the ties ans sewed them on some elastic.

And the kiddo loves them!

 

The Eared Earflap Hat! a tutorial

Bringing another tutorial home today! Things are crazy here! I’ve missed sharing with you this week! I’ll be back to normal soon, I hope! But while I’m doing too much at once, why don’t you make a fun hat!!

I was competing in Project Run and Play and got behind in other things. If you are following along this season of Project Run and Play, this hat might look familiar… It’s my ‘Eared’ Earflap hat for the kiddos!

It’s a quick one that you can do with some larger fleece scraps you might have around the house! All you need is two pieces of fleece (or you could use just one color too) and cutting tools! And you can download the pattern here.

Step 2: Cut out the pieces. You’ll need 2 of each color/print for the main pieces and the little ears. And a 3 inch strip about 15″ long (you’ll trim this later, so it doesn’t need to be exact!)

Step 3: Cut the slit in the outside fabric. You can do it on the inside pieces, but I’ve found with fleece that it doesn’t really need the darts on the inside.

Step 4: Make your ears. Sew the ears together and then turn right side out.

Step 5: Place the ears in the hat.

Step 6: Sew it together! First sew the ear slit closed. Then sew the middle 3″ slit between the two side pieces. And sew the middle strip and side pieces of the inside pieces together too.

Step 7: Trim the excess of the middle piece off. I trim it in a slight curve between the two sides.

Step 8: Put the inside and outside together, one inside the other, with right sides facing.

Step 9: Sew along the side edge. You do need to leave a hole, about 2 inches.

Step 10: Optional, but you can trim the curved pieces. With fleece it’s not quite as critical, but if you were sewing it with a different fabric, this really helps to get the fabric to lay flat. Since the fleece kinda stretches around, it’s not as critical.

Step 11: Pull through the hole.

Step 12: Hand sew the hole.

And you’ve got a hat! Pretty easy! It would also be fun to recycle a sweater for this project!

And what about in green?? Do you see it? A frog hat? hehehe!

The Jack and Jill Shirt turned PJ’s

Last month I was a lucky lady who got to work with a fabulous woman (who you probably all know), Shannon, the woman behind the blog, Little Kids Grow. Shannon has recently started a pattern line called Peaches and Peanuts. And I got to test her first pattern, the Jack and Jill Color Block Shirt.

The pattern is a unisex pattern with all sorts of options in sizes 4 through 12! You’ll have to check out Shannon’s story on why she started her new pattern line. It totally makes sense! And so far, she’s on the right track!

Our shirt is a little wacky, so I thought I’d show you how the other testers made theirs. Theirs are a bit more reserved. And it just goes to show how lovely this pattern can be. When I saw Shannon’s son in the shirt, I knew I was in love! He’s adorable! It’s just a lovely shirt that can be very dressy, casual and as I’m showin’ ya, very casual!

I chose kinda crazy fabric for a couple of reasons. One, that’s the way the kiddo and I roll. Bright and Crazy! And Two, I knew I wanted the shirt for some PJ’s. I think Shannon was looking more for the not so crazy, but she was sweet about our craziness just the same!

The pattern has a few details that make it stand out from other boy’s shirts patterns. I’ll start with the back detail. The back pleat is a nice detail that I think makes the shirt a bit more comfy. From the front it looks like a slightly fitted shirt, but you know there’s some real room to run and play in it!

The sleeve detail is also a refreshing change from the usual. I got a bit confused by it. But that’s why I was a tester and Shannon quickly updated the pattern (before publication) based on my confusion so you won’t be confused! Look how cute it looks once I figured it out!

I’ve always been a bit confused about dress shirts and collars. But that is a confusion of the past! After working her pattern a light went off and I have figured it out and am no longer afraid of dress shirt collars!

And what do you think about that pocket? The long pocket is fun! Especially since my monsters fit perfectly for the size of the pattern!

The pants are not part of the pattern. They are my own pattern that I made using my tutorial for Comfy Pants.

So, I asked the kiddo to model his pj’s and it was like pulling teeth to get him out there. I said, ‘you know you love it once I’m taking pictures.’ And he said I could only take 3 or 4 pictures. But do these pictures look like he hates having his picture taken? Um. No. He even made me take more and more! What a ham!

Be sure to check out Shannon’s Jack and Jill pattern for your kiddos! I know one kiddo who’s happy to have it!