Nursing Cover tutorial

Happy Wednesday everyone! Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week. It means the weekend is quickly approaching, but it also means my husband has basketball tonight and I have the TV to myself to watch SYTYCD and Love in The Wild. I'll admit that I'm a loser, but anything is better than basketball and other man shows. So, you may have noticed that everything I am making is for babies....Well, get used to it, at least for another 4-5 weeks. Thats when we are expecting baby Olive to arrive. Today I am going to show you how to make a nursing cover. I've looked at several tutorials and they are all about the same. It is an easy project and I think anyone can do it, even if it's your first attempt at sewing.

1. Start by picking a cute fabric. I have made a couple of these out of curtain type fabric. I like the heaviness of it. It doesn't seem to slide around as easily, however it is hotter. What you see below is just a lightweight cotton. Make sure the fabric is not see-through since that kind of defeats the purpose of a nursing cover. Isn't this pattern cute? It's actually for little boys, so I won't be using this one, I'll be selling or gifting it!

2. You can make one of these out of 1 yard of fabric that is 45" in width. I don't cut any off of the width, but I do shorten it to about 30" long so that it doesnt cover my knees and everything when I'm sitting down. After you've cut your fabric you will hem the rough edges on the 2 short sides and one of the long sides. Leave the other long side open because you will be sewing you straps into it. I fold my rough edges in about 1/4" and then fold again 1/4" so that the rough edges aren't showing. I pin mine down so that I don't have to fool with it the whole time. If you have a sewing machine with an adjustable foot, you can sew right over the pins and take them out after the fact. Most newer sewing machines have the adjustable foot.

3. After you've sewn the 2 short and 1 long side down, you'll work on your straps. I used some of the same fabric that I cut off the legnth in the beginning. I cut it about 20" long and 3-4 inches wide.

4. Take 1 strap and fold it so that the right sides are facing each other. Sew 1 end closed, the turn and sew down the legnth. Keep the other end open because you'll have to turn it inside out to see the pattern. Do this for both straps.

5. Turn them inside out. :) Easiest step of the day!

6. You can still leave the other end open. It will be sewn into the hem of the cover anyway. Hold your cover up to yourself to decide where the straps will feel comfortable. For me it is about 13" in from each side. I pinned mine in place so that I wouldn't have to measure again while I was hemming.

7. Begin hemming the top edge like you have the other three. Fold in 1/4" and then fold again 1/4" to conceal rough edges. When you get to the strap you will unpin it and stick the rough open edge under your hem. Then sew directly over it to hold it in place. Continue along with your hem until you get to the second strap and do the same thing. Some people like to add boning in between the straps to hold the cover open a bit. I personally don't like it, but if you want it, you just fold it into the seam making sure it is beding in the correct direction.

8. After you've finished with the top hem, go back and fold your straps facing upward since thats how it will be worn. Sew in place. I go over it about 3 times so that its good and strong.

TA-DA!!!! You can be finished here or you can sew D rings onto one of the straps. I'm low maintance so I'm totally fine with the tie. This was easy right? Now go make one and let me know how it goes. Thanks for looking!!!

Fabric Neck Scarf

Happy Tuesday everyone! What do you think of these fabric scarves? They have been a big hit for me. They are easy to wear, super versatile, and fit most styles. I love them. I have been using really light weight cottons so that I can wear them through the seasons and not just winter. I have kind of become obsessed with fabric. I search the internet daily looking for new prints. In other words...I need you all to buy 3 of these to support my habit! However, I'm about to tell you how to make these. Its EASY!

1. First just pick a fabric that you love. Think about the temperature you will be wearing it in. Also, the thicker the fabric the harder it is to get it to lay flat when wearing it so I definitly would not do any kind of home interior fabric for this one. I chose this pattern by Red Rooster called Yippie Daisies! Super cute, right?

2. I cut my fabric 45" long and 20" wide. You can change that up too if you'd like, but that looks the best in my opinion. If you make it too wide, once again it won't lay like it's supposed to. After cutting my strip of fabric I fold it long ways with the right sides facing each other (as below).

3. Once you have the fabric right sides together long ways, you will sew a straight line all the way down the legnth of the fabric. At this point the two ends are still open. After you've sewn your straight line, turn the fabric inside out so that you are looking at the right side (which has the print on it). Then, lay the fabric flat with the seam in the middle (as below).

4. After you've positioned the fabric so that the seam is in the middle, fold the fabric in half long ways so that the right sides are together. You can still see the print, but the sides with the seams should be on the outside and the smooth sides should be flat against each other. (as below)

5. Now you will just sew a straight line across the width of the fold so that it holds the two sides together. After my straight line, I go bag with a zig zag stitch to cover up the raw edges. You could also serge the raw edges for the same effect.

6. Ok...Dum dum dum.....flip it around and put it over your head with the seam behind your neck. You've got a very easy, and totally fashionable fabric scarve. I prefer these to the open ended ones because you don't have to figure out how to hang it on your neck and have hanging ends and what not. Once it's on, there is no need for adjusting or re-wrapping! Hope you enjoy! Now go! Make me proud. :)

Super easy burp cloth

I've been making a ton of these burp cloths and I keep thinking they would be great for gifts or to sell, but I want them all! Anyway, they really are super easy and there is a lot of different things you can do to dress them up. I make mine in a rectangular shape because I prefer them that way. If you want to contour it to fit the crook of your neck you could do that by adding a little dip in the middle while you're cutting the fabric. The rest of the steps would all work the same. I make mine about 22 inches long and 12 inches wide. There is no special formula to that, I just liked the way it layed on my shoulder.

1. You start by cutting out the fabric into the shape and size that you want it. I use a lightweight fleece so that it will be absorbent when the baby spews. Sometimes I will use a basic cotton and backline it with fleece. It's up to you, but just be conscious of what you will be using it for. Cut the shapes and lay them right sides together. Make sure they line up pretty good because this is how you will sew it. It there are raw edges it's not a big deal, they will be turned in anyway.

2. On the machine, start sewing about 1/4 inch from the edge. You will sew a basic straight line on all four sides, but be sure to leave an opening of about 3 inches so that you can turn the right sides out when you are done.

3. Next you will turn the fabric out of yuor opeing so that you are looking at the right sides of the pattern. Take the raw edge and fold in into itself making sure to line it up perfectly with the rest of the seam. You will not just hand stitch the opening closed staying as close to the edge as you can so that the thread won't show.

You can be done there!!!

However, I wanted to add a little flare to this one and decided to put a ribbon detail on the bottom. There is a better way to do it than this, but I decided to add it after the fact. Oops. If you want to add a ribbon it would be best to sew it on the side that you want to to show up before you lay the two pieces together in step 1. That way the raw edges of the ribbon are sewn into the burp cloth and you don't have to mess with them.

I didn't do that. So...I just folded down the raw edges and held them in place while I sewd over them. I did a straight line on each side of the ribbon as closely as I could sew it. If you are using a smaller ribbon, you could just sew one line down the middle and it would still look good!

I hope all of that made sense! This was my first attempt at a tutorial! Let me know if you have questions. If you make one I'd love to see it!!!

Welcome to my blog!!!

Hi Friends!

I'm so excited to share this new adventure with you. I just recently became a "Stay at home mom" and love it....most days. However, I am always looking for something to fill my time. Since my first daughter was born, I have been making little bows and crocheting. However, lately I have been venturing into the wide world of crafting in several venues. I have started sewing. It is gratifying and annoying at the same time. Every day is a learning experience for sure. I myself follow a couple of wonderful blogs which I will post below, but I was hoping to give some inspiration and courage to the moms out there who want to try crafting. I am not an expert by any means, but I have a few little tricks up my sleeve. I hope you enjoy looking through my upcoming posts. I'll try not to overwhelm you with pictures and comments about my kids. Although I will warn you My sweet Olive will be born in about 6 weeks and you will have to suffer through a few posts with photos! Let me know if you want me to make something you've seen. I may not be able to do it, but I'm always up for a challenge.

Oh yeah! Here are a couple of blogs that give me inspiration.

www.ohsohappytogether.blogspot.com

www.prudentbaby.com