{Mini} Swaddle Baby Dolls

Mini Swaddle Baby Dolls are great for humanitarian aid projects, for little girls in foster care or shelters, baby gifts, and birthday gifts.

I saw a  little doll similar to these at my sister's house the other day. I thought it was brilliant- the way the blanket and the doll are connected  solves some serious little girl issues!!. I said to myself, "I must come up with a pattern for this and share it!!"  Several days later, I found that there is a similar pattern out there. I saw THIS swaddle baby pattern from  Becca....and it's adorable!

This is my own spin, which is a bit different.  The great thing about these mini dolls is that 1/4 yard of flannel makes 8 little dolls.

Little girls love them...

If you want to make one or a whole bunch.....
(**If you do this for a service project, it would help to have a few people make the heads and 1 or two people make the bodies, then connect them.)

Supplies:
9 inch square flannel, small amount of skin colored cotton fabric, felt (I like wool felt), embroidery thread, small embroidery hoop, 3 inch circle to trace, pinking shears, sewing machine, stuffing. 

First, trace {approximate} 3 inch cirlcles on skin colored fabric.  Then draw little faces (I drew 2 half circles for eyes, then added some line for eyelashes, and another half circle for the mouth) ... don't worry, they're not supposed to be perfectly drawn.

Trace another 3 inch circle, and sketch some hair in to the circle. (Again, don't try for perfection- it gets stretched and pulled anyway).  Trace the hair onto felt, and cut it out.

Embroider the faces, and sew on the hair. The hair can be sewn by hand or machine... I found it easier by hand on this size of doll.

Cut out a 3 inch felt circle for the back of the head.

With the wrong sides together, sew around the face.  Leave a small opening to turn right side out.

Turn faces right side out. Stuff. Sew the bottom (not shown) and set aside.

Cut a 9 inch felt square.

Fold in half and press.

Repeat, if doing more than 1 :).

Find the middle point of the triangle. (It should be 6 1/2"). Measure just a little more than 1 1/2 inches on both sides of that point. (the body of the baby is just a little larger than 3"). Mark those points with a pencil. Measure up 3" on both sides. Mark those lines. Connect all the dots with a pencil or ink that erases.

Sew the two sides. Stuff the "body", and then sew shut.

Open one side of the flannel, and sew the head on. First sew the bottom of the neck (not shown).  Then stitch all over the back of the head so that it will stay on the "blanket". 

Top stitch the triangle together. Then with pinking shears, cut the 2 edges you've sewn.
With magic stitch, glue a little piece of trim or lace over the neck. This will hide the stitches here, and looks like the top of a baby blanket. Tie a little bow and glue it one.  (Be sure to glue it together first with magic stitch, then it won't untie).  If you are worried about the bow being a choking hazard, just don't put it on, or embroider it.

That's all!!

Now go make some for the little girls in your life :)!

XOXOXO,

Nancy

 Linking to:  Thursday Favorite Things   Easy Living Mom   A Glimpse Inside

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Personalized Crayon Tote Bag Tutorial

Do you need something to keep your cute little kiddos quiet during church or even for a few minutes at home? Here's a solution...

  I always bring a bag with a few coloring books, crayons, and a few toys to church. Still, there is always at least one fight during the quietest part of the meeting (grrrr). I saw a little girl with her very own little coloring bag the other day.  She seemed so quiet and entertained. I knew that I must make some for my kids. 

 There are several crayon roll and bag tutorials and patterns out there, but this is my spin. They're a perfect size for toddlers and preschoolers to carry. A child's own name, and very own stuff makes them totally excited.

I had so much fun making these, that I couldn't help but whip some up for some nieces and nephews birthdays.

Another variation is with one pouch of crayons in the front and one in the back....

Supplies:
white fabric
embroidery floss or stencils and fabric paint
1 fabric fat quarter for the outside of bag and handles
1/4 yard fabric for lining
1/16 yard fabric for crayon pouches (or 1/4 yard if you want to do the handles with this color as seen above in "Shae")
fusible web... I like "Steam a Seam" which comes in a package pre-cut perfectly for this project
coordinating thread
coloring book and crayons

To Make the Bag
First, personalize the name. Type and print the name on the computer and then trace on to white fabric. Use the back stitch or split stitch... depending on the look you prefer. In the bags above, Abby, Jane and Ezra were stitched with the back stitch. Max and Shae were stitched with the split stitch.  Or make stencils with card stock and a Cricut or Silhouette. Then paint with fabric paint.

Cut all pieces of fabric...
2- 9 1/2" X 12 1/2" rectangles with outer fabric
2- 9 1/2" X 12 1/2" rectangles with lining fabric
2- 2" X 16" Strips with fabric for handles
2- 5 3/4 "X 8 1/2" rectangles for crayon pouches
2 pieces fusible web either from "Steam a Seam" package or cut 2- 9 1/4 X 12 1/4 rectangles
2 pieces of interfacing 3/8" X 16" for handles
trim the embroidered or painted name to the desired size

Lay fusible web on top of one 9 1/2 X 12 1/2 lining rectangles.

Lay the the rectangle for the outer part of the bag on top of fusible web.

Fuse together with iron. Iron both sides on cotton setting until fused together.

Repeat with the other two rectangles.

Zig zag stitch around the edges of the fused rectangles, and the name. Cut also with pinking shears if you want for extra coverage.

Take the 5 3/4 X 8 1/2 rectangles. Fold in half, right sides together. Put a few pins in if you want, and sew 1/4 " seam around the edges, leaving a small space at the end. Turn right side out. Press!!

Decide which piece you want for the front of the bag. Set all piece in desired place and pin.

See proceeding bags for a guide if needed.

** Very Important: Pin the seam end of the crayon pouch on the bottom. It's much prettier and easier to sew each small crayon section if you do this.

Pin each crayon section about 5/8", or wherever the lines or polka dots are on the fabric that can serve a a guide for a straight line. If there is nothing to use as a guide on the fabric, use chalk or a disappearing ink pen and draw straight lines with a ruler.

Sew everything into place. When sewing each individual crayon section, start top stitching at the bottom (where the seam is) and sew to the top. Make sure to back stitch in both places.

Now place the other rectangle on top, right sides together. Pin. Sew 1/4" seam around the sides and bottom of the bag. Go one more time around if you want it to be really sturdy.

Cut a small square out of each bottom side. Then sew a diagonal line as shown below. Trim with pinking shears.

Turn bag right side out. (Not shown).

Now make the handles.

With one 2" X 16" strip, iron both sides in 1/4".

Then fold in half and iron (it's hard to see that this handle has been folded in half and ironed). Put 3/8" X 16" interfacing inside. Fold in half and iron again for reinforcement.

They should look like the ones below. Top stitch down both sides. Repeat with other handle.

Take the bag, turn down the top 1/2 inch to 1 inch (whatever looks best with your fabric). Press!! Sew around edges.

Pin handles where you want them. Sew back and forth into place.

Sew around the top of the bag again making sure to secure handles into place, and to keep the top folded down.

That's it!!

My little girls LOVE them. Even first thing in the morning when the hair's still a rat's nest..

XO,
Nancy

Linking to:
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Make-A-Monster With the Kids

My family went on a stroll a few weeks ago through a lovely outdoor mall. The words "Build-A-Bear" jumped out at my kids and they insisted that we enter the store. We did, and they scampered with excitement as they saw all the cute bears and the machine of stuffing that spins round and round. Even the little hearts for the bears made my kiddos want one. SO. BAD.

I was seriously wanting each of my kids to get one too... with all the cute accessories including fancy underwear. I realized though that I would have to spend at least $200.00 if each of my four children got a bear with a few accessories. Ouch. We oohed and aahed over the cute fuzzy creatures and the adorable add-ons, but I said "not today!"  Sadly, we left the store.

My mind kept spinning with thoughts of Fall and Halloween.  I knew I would be getting out the sweaters soon, when suddenly this idea entered my mind.

Since my kids think monsters are the coolest thing ever, I decided to let them design their own monsters and use their old sweaters and hats for materials.  Even though it wasn't Build-A-Bear, my kids thought Make-A-Monster with mom was great.

Make monsters to kick off the Halloween season, and keep them all year round 'cause monsters are always chic with the kiddos.


Meet our monsters:

Our monsters have received lots of hugs:

 and even a few kisses:

 They've joined us in all sorts of activities:

It's just a whole lot of fun to have some monsters around!


I felt some major benefits as we worked on these monsters:
-Gives mom and kids a chance to be creative together
-Quality time for parent and child
-Teaches children sewing and cooperating skills
 -A fun memory 
-A new and free toy
-Teaches recycling or making do with what you have
-Helps the kids who are scared of monsters to laugh at them   instead
-We always appreciate more the things we work for. The kids work for this toy, and they love it.



How to Make-A-Monster with Mom

1. It's so fun for the kids to design their own monsters. But, it's hard for kids to just pull one out of the blue, unless they've had an imaginary friend monster, of course :).

Start by drawing some basic monster parts for them to choose. If they don't like what you've drawn, let them  choose whatever is in their imagination.

My kids came up with monsters like this:

2. Cut out shapes that resemble the monster. Also cut out hands, legs, ears, and other body parts if they are not already attatched to the monster body. I didn't get a picture of the limbs here.

Monster Louisa's pouch was made using the pocket that was already in the sweater.

 3. Lay the pattern on the sweater or whatever cloth you've chosen. Be sure to cut out both a front and back of each monster body part.

4. Make the face. It all depends on what your little designers drew. We cut out felt circles for the eyes, felt teeth for some of the mouths. I also did some simple straight stitch embroidery on two of the monsters.

please ignore the background clutter!!! When kids are helping- it's never neat and tidy:)

5. With some liquid stitch, glue the facial features into place. Put some heavy books on top of the monsters overnight for extra reinforcement. Or, sew everything in place.


6. Get the arms, legs, ears, horns.  With right sides together, sew around the edges, except a little bit to stuff.  Turn right side out and stuff.  Then pin limb to the main body...

7. Sew all of those little limbs on.

8. Put the back side of the monster fabric on top of the front side, right sides together. Sew all the way around except for a little bit to stuff.

9. Turn right side out. Let the kids stuff those little monsters as full as they want:

They think this part is really fun.

10. Whip stitch the opening for the stuffing closed.

Add any accessories.

That's it!!

Now turn on the Monster Mash, and dance with those monsters (both live and stuffed!).
Nothin' like the Monster Mash to get into the Halloween spirit!!

XO,
Nancy

PS. Did you know that Halloween is the third biggest party day of the year behind New Years' Eve and Super Bowl Sunday? Find some fun and interesting facts about Halloween here.