Winter Bow-tique

I originally posted this over at So You Think You're Crafty - but decided I should have the tutorial up on my own blog too - there is a pattern for these bows included too!!!


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Bow Bow Bow, Merry Christmas!!!
I'm Suzanne from Winter Wonderings..., and I am so excited to be sharing this tutorial and pattern with you all today.

(pattern to make these felt bows further down)

So I decided that this year I was going to make as many handcrafted gifts for my family as possible.  I wanted my gifts to be usable and things that I would want to receive.  There are so many great hand made gifts out there that it can almost become overwhelming to decide WHAT to make, but for the little girls in my life I had some good inspiration early on.

Not only do I have my baby girl, I also have 2 nieces that are in the baby-toddler range.  Some baby girls are blessed with tons of hair (I am so happy mine has as much as she does), but some babies don't get their hair until later.  I knew I wanted to make hair accessories for all three girls - things that could be work with different outfits and compliment any time of the year, so I knew I needed versatility!

I fell in love with these bows on pinterest and knew that I wanted to attach them to baby clips for the littles.  But what if my nieces don't really have enough hair for clipping yet???  What to do, what to do?

So, I came up with an ingenious (to me at least) way to create bows they can grow with.

My idea was to create a system of bows and elastic headbands that work together.  Elastic headbands are amazing for babies, but eventually babies heads grow and all their pretty elastic headband bows go out the window... or not.  Attaching clips to the back of bows allows them to be worn on anyone with hair (don't judge me if you catch me out and about with a cute bow)... but clips aren't easy to just pop on an elastic band because they go the wrong direction once clipped on.

By attaching a loop of felt to the elastic band, I have created a place for bows to clip on in the right direction.    Now all of these bows can be used on baby now and then as clips for years to come!

Let's make one!!!

(I will be hand stitching, but you can use glue)

You will need:

Felt

Sharp scissors

Ribbon

Elastic Headband

Needle and Thread (or glue gun)

First:  Cut a strip of felt 1.5 inches long and 1/2 an inch wide

Second: Wrap your felt strip around your elastic headband by folding it in approximate thirds.  By attaching it where the metal bracket is, you will protect your baby's head from any metal touching their skin.

Third:  Stitch the overlapping layers together (or glue the overlapping layers together)

Fourth:  Now stitch the bottom of your felt loop (side stitched/glued together) to the elastic so that it will stay in place. Making sure that the top remains an open loop for your clip to slide into.

Voila - a headband with a felt loop attached - yeah, now you need BOWS!!!!

I'm sure I am not the only one to be severly disappointed that there was no template for these gorgeous Japanese felt bows.  Disappointing no more, here is a pattern for you to make your own! (you could free hand it, but it took me quite a few attempts to get the dimensions close to the originals.)

DOWNLOAD

*I recommend cutting the pattern out of thin cardboard or cardstock 

-Cut out your three pieces (if you want matching sets, double over your felt and cut two of each piece at once so that they will match each other fairly well.)

Source

Tip:  Fold the outer points of piece #1 toward the center facing you.  Hold edges in place and put piece #2 behind and stitch the two together (the raw points of piece 1 are still visible facing you at this point).  Then wrap piece #3 around the center and stitch in the back. This will give you that great bow look!

Want a ribbon bow too????

No problem!

-Cut two lengths of ribbon 4 inches long.  And one 1inch long.

-Sew one into a loop

-Fold the other length in half (to 2 inches) then fold up in half.

-Cut a diagonal along the open/non folded edge

- Now sew the raw edges of your 1inch long section together.

-You will now have three pieces that look like this:

-Place the large loop on top of the clipped 4 inch section and then wrap the small tube(formerly 1 inch section) around the center and stitch in the back.  Voila - pretty bow.

 Finally, attach small clips to the back of all your bows (I used super glue here, but you could stitch them on)

(these were cheap clips I found at the $1 store)

Whew!  Headbands, bows, clips; oh my!

Now put it all together, and enjoy on your little girls for years to come!

I think Baby Girl is happy with her bow clip!!!

Hello 2013!

Why hello there 2013... I will probably mess up many times over the next few months and still write 2012 on things ;o)

I don't really make resolutions going into a new year, but I do have a few things I want to work on in this year.

1) I will continue to work out and work on getting back to being happy with myself physically - this is not an overnight goal or even just a 2013 thing - seeing as I started in 2012.

2) One room at a time, I will work on getting better organization. Key Areas: Office and Basement.  Why does the kids stuff EXPLODE over the whole house????

3) I will keep sewing for my kiddos - starting with PR&P, but then continuing to find new challenges and things to push my abilities and creative passion.

That is it - three things to work on.  I could make a huge list about being a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc.... but truthfully those are lifelong things I need to work on and I will be better in my relationships with others as I am happier in my own skin and less stressed dealing with the chaos that is life (I can't get rid of the three tornadoes, but I can make the physical space less chaotic).

So here's to 2013!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone - I hope that you had a wonderful time with your family and friends and that your days were merry and bright ;o)

I made it under the wire with my handcrafted Christmas - well about 99%   I had my mom's casserole carrier complete and just needed to add the velcro - the last step, and one of the easiest... but where oh where did the velcro go???  Don't you hate that, when you have something in your hand one day -set it aside for later - and when later comes you can't find it!!!  Gah - I seriously need a better system of organization, or some kind of system of organization.  You neat and clean crafter/sewers would cringe to see my sewing space.  I work in a system of piles.  This pile is fabrics I may want to use soon, that pile is projects in some form of assembly, and those ten piles over there are my 'stash' -hahahah.  And then it isn't exactly cordoned off from the kids, so my husband is constantly trying to 'help' me by moving sharp and dangerous items out of their reach - which creates the daily 'where is my seam ripper' hunt.

But out of my chaos comes beauty - both in sewing and life I think.

So anyway, my mom returned her almost completed present (which I did wrap and give to her) with some velcro from her -much more organized- stash, so that I can finish it tonight.

I'm also starting the final details and finishing touches of look one for PR&P today.  I can't wait to share my finished projects with you all - and the stories of how they came to be (yeah there is a reason that I have been in a daily hunt for the seam ripper ;op).

The New Year is right around the corner and I think 2013 has great things in store!!!  

4 of the 7 sets of PJ's that were gifts this year - not a great pic, but the winter kiddos all have matching pants and the 3 boy cousins got t-shirts with an appliqued polar bear from the pants fabric. *Yep - the photographer didn't remember to take any of her 4 cameras to Christmas, so photo credit goes to

Uncle Art ;op 

Light at the end of the tunnel...

So when I set out to do a handcrafted Christmas, I think I seriously underestimated how much time it would take to accomplish.  Maybe next year I'll start in July - or go the 'skipping Christmas' route.
Luckily the boxes for my brother and sister's families are in the mail and slated to arrive on Christmas Eve.
I have sewn 9 pairs of PJ pants and finished coordinating T's for most of them.  Along with many other projects.
I also had no idea when I set out on the project that I would audition (let alone MAKE IT) for Project Run and Play.  My brain feels fractured in these last days leading up to Christmas - trying to finish the final gifts while designing and testing outfits for the competition.
Layer onto that a wedding last weekend that I am committed to finish editing this weekend, and a family photo session on Sunday, and then another wedding on the 29th that I need to do final prep for.  Oh yeah - and there is Christmas in there somewhere too.
We are staying home this year which helps.  And I can't wait to see my inlaws when they arrive and share food, laughter, and new memories.

Now if only someone could find the missing parts of my brain for me - I would be ever so grateful!!!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!!!!!!!!!!

Guest Post: So You Think You're Crafty

I almost forgot that today I am guest posting over at SYTYC!!!!  AND I AM SO EXCITED.
I'm sharing a great gift idea for all the little girls in your life along with a pattern for these awesome bows!!!

Head on over and join in the fun!

VOTE VOTE VOTE

I can't believe it, but I made it into the top five of auditionees for Project Run and Play!!!!!

I'd love for you to vote for ME, but everyone is super talented, so just go vote!!!!

VOTE

Puttin' On the Ritz...

Wohoooo - I made it to the top 5!!!  Help me get on Project Run&Play by voting 

HERE

(voting closes Sunday)

So, most of you probably saw my original post for my JCREW knock off dress last week over and Elegance and Elephants (if not, go check it out - there is a full tutorial for making your own, if you dare ;op)  And you may have noticed that there was a lack of pictures of baby girl IN said dress.  Well, every dress needs the perfect accessories - the accouterments/bling/shall we say 'FROSTing' (name that movie!) that make an outfit perfect.  And I was just slack on putting together the finishing pieces after finishing the garment itself.
Here is the knock off comparison:

JCREW's

Mine

I knew all along that I wanted some kind of sash and every girl needs something in her hair!

The sash is just this great sparkly black ribbon tied in a big bow - I didn't want it to take anything away from the dress itself.  And the Headband is an extra  ruffle gathered into a rosette with a button jewel sewn into the center with silver thread.  The rosette is sewn onto one of those great elastic headbands you can find in a 6-10 pack at the $1 store.  Easy peasy.

I am absolutely in love with the finished look - so thank you Leslie, for asking me to be a Bridesmaid in your wedding 7 years ago, so that this dress could someday come to be!!!
(*Oh yeah, everything is upcycled - except the ribbon sash and elastic band for the hair piece)

I am so excited (read nervous) to be entering this ensemble into the Audition pool for Project Run & Play.  If I learned anything by sewing along last season, it is that there is no shortage of talented women in the world sewing for their 'littles'.

And here is baby girl (who I think, just maybe, enjoys all the modeling her mama forces her to do):

what says 'Christmas dress' better than hanging it in a fir tree?

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you like what you see ;o)