HEADBAND SHOW DOWN featuring pattern Links to other Great Blogs

Our show case today features some lovely head band patterns from my favorite blogs. In the quest for the perfect headband i came across several pattern, so i picked out a few from trusted sources and thus began my quest.

        Our first contestant is this lovely little number from mmmcrafts (click for pattern and link to post). What a great idea! What a great pattern, all instructions are are printed with in the patter piece. No guessing where it came from, no having to copy instructions on to the pattern. She truly has an eye for details and is offering up the goodies for your taking. this band is great, i made several and have been changing the covers to match my outfit. Having one headband with several covers diffidently eliminates the clutter of having several hard bands.This is fun and fast give it a try.

Next up in our showcase the fat and skinny of it, better known by foofanagle as the Best Band Ever(narrow and wide versions). I do like this pattern, i like the wide for its unique shape, and the with of the narrow is perfect for wearing my hair down.

I chose to cover the band. Simply cut a 1.5 x 8 inch strip of fabric, make a tube and thread the elastic through the tube sealing it at both ends. Insert it into the open ends of your headband before closing and wah- la, a covered elastic band. Now before you do all this measure your head i found i did not need quite as long a piece of elastic(although my but is big my head is small???) All in all this was a nice band its length was easily adjusted and it looked great on. In fact i received the most compliments while wearing it and had several friend request one. Stand in line girls i still need a few more.

 
It's bonus time at the long thread where a great pattern exist featuring a nice wide band with a child size version. Hurray!!headbands for everyone(well except my husband, the girls couldn't convince him to wear his:) I covered the elastic here too. This way if you wear a pony and a headband it still looks cutie.

I loved doing all of these and have even come up with a few versions of my own that i will share with you a little later. Here are a few tip  for happy head band making.

•  Do cut the edges with pink-n -shears: it will turn easier and iron down better.

• Do use a light weight stabilizer:the added body helps to keep it nice and firm on the head

• Do get a pair of hemostats they flip any thing in seconds.

• Do encase your elastic: presentation is everything!
• Always, always iron down your work: saves on time and will help straighten things out, if you know what i mean ;)

Tatertots and Jello: Spring Project: Ribbon Wristlets!

Tatertots and Jello: Spring Project: Ribbon Wristlets!
OK I found a Project I Love, So i thought i would do a quick share. I love this blog and i think i love it a little more now. I will be adding this to my "pile of To-Do".

****Update: I made these for my girls, they love them! I will make more when time pernited.

Upcycling Lou-Lou's Memories

This lovely little number was Lou-Lou's favorite winter dress. It has been worn to the point of no return. Stains, tares, and a growth spurt has rendered it unwearable. Lou-Lou loves her cloths and does not relinquish them easily so i have come up with a solution, recycling this old girl . Truth be told i also have developed an affection for the dress, every chocolate soy milk stain, drop of pink nail polish,  and smear of blue paint  represents a season of her life that will never return. I must admit that i fussed every time she produced a stain, this disappointment has now been replaced with a bit of sadness. As i wait for her to grow out of this messy stage of life i watch her personality and body grow into the big girl shes been longing to be. I now long for my little messy baby girl.

The First step is to draw out  what ever kind of critter you would like to make. I am making a Bunny. I freehand drew with a washable marker, i uses these a lot as that my girls are always leaving them lyeing around and they wash out with water, if you are not going to wash your creation do not these instead use an air erase marker.Next sew it up! I used a stitch on my machine that is for sewing heavy weight knit  fabrics. It worked great. I then cut out what i had sewn leaving openings for stuffing.

Here is what it looked like when it was all cut out.   This was the hard part now time for the fun stuff!

Stuff the body parts but do not over stuff. I removed half of the stuffing before sewing bunny together, the over stuffing distorted the body shape and made her a little scarry looking.  I sewed on the head first, this always seams to bring things to life. You don not have to get fancy.  I found the sweater fabric very forgiving.

I used mismatched buttons to attach the arms to the body. By looping the thread through the shoulders i was able to keep the arms somewhat movable.

Next I contoured feet by simply stitching a little fold into the end of the leg. This is super easy and adds a great deal of detail.

To add a little bit of fun to the floppy ears (which is an essential part of a bunny) After stuffing i ironed on a little pink fabric applique style and stitched around the applique using a straight stitch. this created a slightly quilted look which turned out to be great.

For the puffy tail, cut a circle, and do it up yo-yo style. Stuff and sew.

Now to put a little soul into this bunny i chose the eyes form a collection of buttons which once belonged to my great grandmother. I painted black centers and sewed them on tight.

The final steps are the most fun of all, creating personality with nothing but string and scraps.

It turns out that Lou-Lou was actually very excited that i had turned her favorite dress in to a toy. She carried her to the store with us and told every one that Her bunny was once her favorite dress. This got me quite a few looks as that most people couldn't imagine what she was talking about