Little Friends for Owen

For my baby nephew, I made him some little friends from the book Baby Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo.


From this book, I made him a towel bunny...


















...and a Little Spittle bib.

Hopefully his friends will be there to catch his drools!

A Panda Hat for Izzy

Following this pattern and instructions from From An Igloo, I made a panda bear hat for Izzy, my friend's daughter. Perfect for a trip to the zoo.

Not only this hat is simple to make, but the double layer of fleece makes it the perfect hat for the cold Canadian winter!


My cat Ninja, and the panda hat.

Makin' Monsters!

For my niece and nephew's Just Because gifts, I made them some monsters. I found the book Make a monster by Fiona Globe at my local library. The monsters are cute, and quick to make. Here are a few that I've made:

A dress for Emily

This was a holiday dress I made for my niece Emily. I came upon the Daisy Maisy dress, from Sewing In No Man's Land. For my first dress, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out in the end. I've learned to sew sleeves, create my own pattern, and the hardest part — sewing the waist. Looking back, I can't believe I made a dress!

Felt Zoo Animal Puppets

For my twin nephew's 3rd birthday, I wanted to make them each a set of puppets after seeing this Old MacDonald Puppet Tutorial & Pattern from Just Another Day In Paradise.

Here are the set of farm animals I made for Ben:


For Adam, I wanted to make a set of zoo animal puppets. Using the existing Old MacDonald Puppet Tutorial & Pattern as a starting point, I've added/modified some pieces to make the zoo animals I wanted.

Here are the zoo animal patterns:





















































Notes on a few animals:











The Canadian Moose
— except for the antlers, much of it is adapted from The Horse pattern












The Giraffe
— The mane and face are adapted from The Horse pattern
— The tail is from The Cow's tail pattern
— Spots are randomly cut, using The Cow's spot pattern as a guide












The Lion
— The mane is from The Horse hair pattern
— On the front, hand sew the ears and mane in place












— On the back, hand sew the lion's mane, leaving 1/4 inch space around the head












— Before sewing the puppet together, I "tacked" the outer mane towards the center. You could use pins, but I find it's too "bulky".












— Once sewn together, cover up any "bald spots" by hand sewing on more mane.












The Kangaroos
— The adult kangaroo's face is a combination of The Horse and The Cat pattern












The Zebra
— Identical to The Horse Pattern
— Stripes are cut free hand, using The Cat's stripes pattern as reference












The Zoo Keeper and The Snake
— The collar is made by cutting a small slit down the middle of The Farmer's shirt pattern, fold down, and sewn into place

— The felt is too delicate for the snake's tongue. I used a piece of ribbon I already had on hand

DIY — Cross-Over Dress (or Top)

For both of my friends' daughters, I made them each a little dress. I found the pattern and tutorial here.

What I love about this dress is not only it's super easy to make, but it also converts into a "top" once the baby outgrows her "dress".

My friend added she's going to sew another set of buttons on the back to make the outfit reversible!

Soft baby book

For my friend's baby daughter, and my sister-in-law's baby boy, I made them each a soft book. Here's briefly how I put the books together:

First, I cut three pieces of felt 4X8 inches for the book. Then I printed out the cover and images with my printer.

Position the image on the felt, and insert a piece of carbon paper between the image and felt. Then lay a layer of clear plastic (I use a zip-lock bag) over the image, and pin into place.

With a pen, pressing really hard, trace over image.







Once the image is transfer, I can begin to embroider.












Here is the animal book I made for Elise:


























































Here is the leaf book I made for Owen:


























































To make the pages "crinkle" cut a cereal bag to size and place it between the pages before you sew the book together.