Instagram Quilt

Today I finished up a project I have had in the works for a while; The Instagram Quilt!

To make this quilt I edited together screen shots of my instagram photos into a big patchwork grid on Photoshop:

Then I uploaded the files* to Spoonflower and worked out how they would fit on a yard:

*I made 2 separate grid files with different photos

I then waited very patiently (a few months) for my fabric order to arrive. I was thrilled with how most of the squares showed up. I purchased a few metres of cotton batting and 3m of dark blue cotton lawn for the backing. After sewing my 2 separate yards together and ironing the seam flat I ended up with a quilt the size of a king single bed. Not as wide as I would like but will do the job.

I would say to make a baby blanket only order 1yard or to make a queen size you could order 3 different yards and place one at the top and one at the bottom and cut the other in half lengthwise and run it up one of the sides to get the extra width. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Yes my dog Geo loves a good photo shoot. 

Baby Sleep sack/sleeping bag tutorial

The last baby born into my family was my niece nearly 3 years ago. Now her new little brother or sister (we won't know till they enter the world) is due in 6-9 weeks. Everyone is very excited and I really wanted to make some nice things that will be useful for baby.

(Sofia 5 days old)

This tutorial and making this in one evening was really brought on by the fact that I wanted to do some embroidery...

But anyway on with the tutorial!!

To begin find a sleepsuit or long sleeve onesie that fits your baby and fold it in half to draft your pattern like this:

You should end up with a shape like this:

You will either need a layer of fleece or quilting batting to make it warm enough for winter. I used cotton quilting batting between my two layers that show.

Proceed to cut out a front piece in the main and lining (quilting batting too if using) before cutting out the back piece. The back piece will need to be higher in the neckline and have the straps approx 2" longer. Cut out the back pieces the same way as the front (main, lining and optional quilting batting).

Sew main to main and lining to lining as shown below. I pinned the batting to the back of the main fabric when I sewed this and it worked. Leave a gap at the bottom to attach the zipper for easy changing.

To sew the straps, arms and neck fold the main and lining in to face each other like this:

To finish sew in zipper, buttons and buttonholes (snaps are fine too).

Then, finished!

Some shots of my embroidery detail on front:

Quick instructions

Fabric used:
Cotton quilting batting
Quilting weight Winnie the Pooh cotton on main
Flannel for lining

Hooded Jacket pattern review

Finally getting some sewing other then underwear done.

This week I sewed up Whimsy Couture's Hooded Jacket. I have been eyeing it off for a while and bought the fabric for it weeks ago. 

The pattern pieces print on only 16 pages - which is fantastic for PDF patterns.

I sewed up a size 3. From printing to having it sewn up it took about 2 hours. I waited and did the buttons the next day; my Brother sewing machine recently had it and I have been borrowing a friend's cheapie Elna 21. I have bought a gorgeous vintage 1980 Bernina 801 - I am just waiting for it to get back from the shop. But all of that is another blog entry.

If I made it again I would change the pockets, they are very cute though. The buttons worked out fine - If I were to make it 100% reversible - easy to do as there are no exposed seams - I would sew buttons on both sides.

Pattern: Whimsy Couture Hooded Jacket
Lining Fabric: Blue Arctic Fleece from Spotlight
External fabric: Sarah Fielke "On the pond weeds - Green"

Fight the hungry undies!

Hello!

Since my 2.5 year old niece has been solely in undies for a while now her mother (my sister) and I have noticed that wedgies seem to be a pretty regular occurrence. 

Exhibit A

Now these aren't cheap undies, just regular store bought ones.

After seeing a blog post on the So Zo blog about some awesome undies she saw in berlin like these:

They looked so cute and colourful and VERY comfy. So I felt inspired to replicate something similar for little S. I have ordered some organic australian made jersey to use for the front and back piece and will use some 4-way-stretch interlock for around the hips and legs that will them feel more like comfy yoga pants then tight undies. 

Here is my first attempt at self drafted undies.

Very cute and according to S, very comfy. Clearly as here she is not wearing anything else! The best bonus though, no wedgies!

I will leave you with this final comparison. 

Tutorial for self drafting kids undies coming soon... As soon as I finish classes for the semester. 

Tutorial coming soon!

These are the new shorts I am stocking in my shop Morningstar Designs. I will be making a tutorial soon to show you how to turn any regular pants pattern into flat fronted, pocketed and with a lace trim. Please check back soon. 

To purchase your own pair check out our facebook page here.