Tutorial: Make Your Own Mei Tai

I debated quite extensively with my husband about this tutorial. He saw how much time and effort I was putting into making it just right for you guys and he really wanted me to sell it.

I explained to him that I love you guys too much. Besides, it wasn't entirely my design and it's not like there aren't other tutorials out there.

So, download all my lovin' here!

In the tutorial, I mention that I didn't create pattern pieces for you, but I lied. I actually went back and created a pattern for the main body. You can download it here.

I hate disclaimers, but I have to have them. Feel free to make these for yourself, and for your friends. Please don't sell the pattern OR any Mei Tai Carriers that you make from the pattern. AKA Personal Use Only.

And pretty please. If you make one, take a picture and send me a link or an email. It makes me so happy!
Stay tuned for a giveaway on Monday!

Linked up here:

Fabric Covered Notecards (Don't Peek, MOM!)

A couple weeks ago, I saw some fabric covered notecards being given away on MADE. They were really beautiful. And it struck me that they were something that my mom would probably enjoy.

Good thing Mother's Day was coming! I don't REALLY think ya'll need a tutorial for this, but I took the pictures anyway.

You need:
Pre-cut Cards (or just hack down some cardstock to the size you want)

Fabric Scraps (mmm... I love me some fabric scraps.)

Heat N Bond (or Wonder Under, etc)
Rotary Cutter, Mat & Ruler - though... your mat will probably be in better condition than mine.. oy.

IRON
Sewing Maching (could totally be optional)

Step One:
Put on a good movie. I recommend this one.

Step Two (aka the real first step):
Cut your Wonder Under to the same size as the front of the card you'll be making. Mine was 4"x 5.5". Evs.

Step the Third:
Cut (or tear!) your fabric into random widths and play around with the layout.

Step Foursies:
Pretend you know how to quilt and sew them together all pretty like. Iron. Notice how I added an extra strip from the previous picture? As I was sewing it together, I realized it wouldn't be wide enough, so I improvised. I give you permission to do the same.

Step Five:
With your ruler & rotary cutter, cut down your mini quilt into the dimensions of the front of your card (and the piece of Wonder Under you've pre-cut. 

Step Sixaholic:
Iron your Wonder Under (sticky side down unless you WANT to ruin your iron) to the wrong side of your fabric. Follow the directions on your particular brand of sticky stuffs. Peel the paper backing off. You should be left with the back of your mini-quilt looking shiny. 

Step VII:
Flip it over and iron it onto the front of your card. The adhesive on the back of the fabric will fuse it to the paper. I do, however, recommend doing a better job at lining up your fabric than I did on this particular card. Duh. I had to pull it off quickly and re-iron. I'm a genius. 

Step Eight is Great:
You're done if you want to be. You could add some embellishment in the form of buttons, ribbons, etc etc.

I added a little heart shape that I cut out on my Cricut (yes! it cuts fabric too!).

Some other tips and ideas:

• I mentioned before that you don't NEED a sewing machine. True story. I made two without using mine. I simply laid my fabric strips (overlapped slightly) carefully on top of the Wonder Under and ironed them right to it. They stuck together. 

• You could add some decorative stitching after the whole thing is sewn together... I recommend doing it after you've applied the Wonder Under and peeled the paper off and before you iron it to the card. 

 That's it, mostly. Feel free to ask any questions. I had fun making them for my mom, and now I need some for myself.

Ready for Summer.

It has finally warmed up here in Florida. I suppose that's a little odd for those of you in colder climates. To you, we've always been warm, but frankly, this winter was the coldest weather we've had in the 4.5 years we've lived here.

But "Winter" is gone thankyouverymuch. And with the arrival of 70 degree weather, we've cast off our long pants and sneakers in exchange for shorts, capris and flip flops. Wahoo!

The moral of this story is that the end of "Winter" left me with a pile of these.


Almost every pair of jeans the girls own have at least one knee with a monster-sized hole in them. At least one of those pairs was brand new as of three weeks ago. Grrr...
As I am not yet ready to part with a large portion of my daughters' wardrobe, we're going to be sporting the fancy cutoff thing this summer.

And truly, this is basic, but I'm sharing how I did it. Consider yourself tutorialized.

Need:
Ratty Jeans with Holey Knees
Cute Fabric (I used a fat quarter)
Thread


First, I measured the leg width where I planned to cutoff the pants. Double that. Then double THAT. That's the width for the fabric that you'll need.


Pick your saucy fabric (this one is a Michael Miller print).


Go ahead. Cut em off!


Take your rotary cutter and cut your fabric. If you're cool like me, you're using your sweet quilting ruler that has been broken by your children who were riding it around on the tile as a skateboard.



I cut a 22 inch by 3.5 inch for each leg, but obviously, these numbers are custom for you. Go ahead and iron the strips in half.


(Um, so this is the part where you ignore that my fabric just changed, because I made two pair and forgot a bunch of pictures the first time, so I took them when I made the second pair.)

Open up the fold you just ironed, and with right sides together, sew the short sides together.



Refold along the ironed, uh... fold. You now have a loop.


Now, with your sewing machine stitch length the longest it will go, sew a basting stitch as close to the top as you dare, I did it just under a 1/4th of an inch.



With the right sides together, matching raw edges, and seams, pin your loop to your shorts.


I matched the seam of the loop on the inside leg of the shorts and then found the middle of the other side of the loop and pinned it to the outside leg seam. Does this even make any sense?

Now, pulling your top thread, gather it up. Pin frequently to hold it place.

Making sure to reset your stitch length to a normal length (which I forgot to do three times), sew your ruffle on. I made sure to sew just below where my gathering stitch was, so it wouldn't show on the right side.

Okay, I guess you could be done here, but I wanted to be sure my ruffles laid the way I wanted. Turn your pant leg inside out and flip the ruffle down. Stitch the seam allowances towards the pants.

Did I mention you're done?



Well, as soon as you do the other leg.

And that whole other stack of pants.

Aren't they just the cutest thing ever?! I'm contemplating adding a ruffle to the bottom of some of my shorts just because!

This may or may not be a picture of my 4 year old son, wearing his sisters pants, because I needed them modeled.

This little project only takes maybe a half hour, unless you have to stop to feed babies, make lunch or change diapers. Good luck to you.

Fortune Cookie Ornament - A Tutorial

Every year, I make each of my children a handmade ornament so that when they get married/move away from home they'll have a nice little set of ornaments for their first tree.

That's the plan, anyway.

This year, I decided on some fabric fortune cookies I had seen on this blog, and holy cow! I love them!
So, let's get started shall we?

Here's what I used:
1/4 yd felt (I used a 30% wool felt blend)
1/4 yd coordinating fabric (I used a Christmas flannel)
Thread
Pinking shears
Ribbon



I traced the bottom of a quart sized paint can onto my fabric. I used a fabric marking pencil, but you could easily use a regular pencil or pen because you cut the edges off anyway.

I layered one felt circle with one fabric circle and had my daughter (who is 7 and desperately wanted to help) pin the center and four points around the edge. I had her pin it mostly to give her something to do, but also so they wouldn't wiggle around too much while I stitched them together.

Then I sewed them together using whatever seam allowance it is to the edge of my presser foot (you can tell that I'm totally a professional).

Then, using my awesome new pinking shears, I cut around my circles. Don't cut too close to your stitching!

Now, fold your circle in half with the patterned fabric side being on the inside. Estimate the center (I guess you could measure, but where's the fun in that?!). Stitch about one inch down the middle, leaving it unsewn at the top and bottom (oh just see the picture!). Note: I moved the presser foot away from where I'd sewn so you can see. Also, it can't hurt to backstitch over it a couple times.

Now, this is the part where it looks complicated, but once you've got it in your hands, you have a *lightbulb* moment. Simply, fold/flip the edges over.

And it'll look like this:

Do it to both sides and it'll look like this:

Play with the folding and shape until you get it the way you want it. Then cut yourself a four inch-ish piece of coordinating ribbon. Loop it and sandwich it inside the corner of the cookie.

Now, stick it back under your machine and stitch the ribbon in place. I tried to stitch on my original seams to keep it clean looking.

And voila! You're done!

Making one took me about 8 minutes. So, go to it!

Make a bunch. Some ideas I had:
They could be used for advent!
Attached to a gift with the "To/From" inside
Make a set and stick them inside a takeout box as a gift set for a friend.
Add fortunes.

My intention is to add a slip of ribbon or paper (sewn in) with each of my children's names and the year on them.

But freak! if they aren't the cutest ornaments on my tree right now!