Throw Cushions

Cushions, a photo by saucypotato on Flickr.

When the quilt is done, why not make matching throw cushions? In reality, I just had a lot of leftover fabric. Fat quarters go a surprisingly long way!

I started with small filler cushions from IKEA. They're perfect for a small budget, though very lightweight. I picked up this tutorial on how to make a ruffle for the center of the larger cushion. It's quite easy - the trick is the make sure you have enough length to actually ruffle! For a nice finished edge on the ruffle it's helpful to do a roll hem, but I don't have the proper foot for my machine. I instead improvised by making the tiniest hem possible! It still turned out, so I have no complaints.

Animal and Polka Dot Crib Quilt

Quilt, a photo by saucypotato on Flickr.

Second ever crib quilt, meant for my own little one this time!

No tutorials this round. Fat quarter fabrics are courtesy of Fabricworm, a one stop shop for Fabric awesomeness.

More images after the jump.

Baby Girl Headband

Making stuff for kids and babies is fun. The projects are less daunting, the materials can be loud and colourful, and since everything is smaller it puts far less stress on my simple sewing machine.

This little headband was made for a sweet baby girl who lives roughly 3400km away. Since I had no means by which to measure her head, I had to rely on rough sizes from online tutorials. I mostly followed this fabric headband tutorial for my measurements. The flower (or yo-yo) was cute and easy to make. I will definitely use it again for future projects.

Luckily the band turned out to be a bit larger than needed, though next time I would add more fabric around the elastic than what the tutorial calls for to allow more stretch. All in all, not too shabby for my first baby headband.

Pencil Case

In addition to the messenger bag below, I made a pencil case in matching fabric. I followed this tutorial but made the case approximately 2cm taller in order to fit more pencils.

This was my first time actually working with a zipper, and I thought I could get by without a zipper foot on my sewing machine, but ended up breaking a needle! Let that be a tip to other sewing newbies. As frustrating as that was, it all seemed to work out in the end.

Boys Messenger Bag

Far too much time has passed since I've made an update, so it's about time I catch up on projects!

What a better way to start than with an awesome messenger bag I made for my nephew. After much searching I found this tutorial for a really easy and simple design. The size was also just about right for a young boy, with enough room for a couple of books and some supplies. While I like the camouflage fabric in the tutorial, I instead used a dark olive green decor fabric, and a light green cotton for the lining.

More tips and pics after the jump.

Robot Crib Quilt

I have finally finished my first quilt! I love modern quilts and opted for a simple and less traditional pattern in order to better showcase the awesome Robot Factory fabric by Caleb Gray. These little bots are adorable, and perfect for the little guy this quilt is going to.

As this is a crib quilt, it measures roughly 3x4'in size. The top-stitch/quilted part follows the lines of each fabric block (options for this are limited without a long arm sewing machine), and the back piece is a very fine and super soft fleece.

Full quilt after the jump.

Felt Coasters

Just for a little fun, I thought I'd try making a double layer felt coaster. The concept is pretty simple, but in practice a few things can go wrong. Felt stretches quite easily, and can go askew while being stitched or ironed. This makes it tricky to get the edges evenly lined up, and some final trimming may be needed. In this case it's a good idea to cut the pieces slightly larger than what the finished coaster would be.

YOU WILL NEED:
two felt colours (one bright and one neutral for more 'pop')
white heavy weight thread
double-sided fusible interfacing
sewing machine and iron

Full instructions after the jump