Posts in Category: DIY projects

Hooded Towel DIY

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For Christmas I like to follow the guideline of giving each child four gifts, as per this cute saying:

Something they want,

Something they need,

Something to wear,

Something to read.

So one thing my little boy really needs is towels. He outgrew his little baby ones a few months ago, but I love the hood feature so I didn’t want to just get plain ones. So I made my own hooded towels. They are so easy and I’m excited to share it with you because who doesn’t love inexpensive, simple diy? I made these for my daughter more than a year ago, and hers are still in great condition.

What you’ll need:

  • Full size towel
  • Matching (or coordinating) washcloth
  • matching thread
  • sewing machine (or needle to sew by hand)
  • Scissors (if you want to trim your seam, or cut tags off)

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First, I cut off the tag, then fold one side of the washcloth in half, right sides together. Sew a straight line. Depending on your washcloth, you may want to sew a 1/2″ seem, I did a little bit bigger because mine had a folded edge, then I cut the edge off.

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Next you pin your hood to the towel, right sides together, with the pointed hood part on top (not pinned to the towel). Boy, I haven’t written out a sewing tutorial for a while, I hope this is making sense. Please ask if you have any questions. After you have it pinned as below, sew through both layers. You should backstitch at the beginning and the end (both ends of the hood) to make sure your stitch doesn’t come out.

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Heres is lovely picture of me sewing the grey one.

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Trim your threads and voila, you are done. These are my favorite towels for kids because they are so easy to make (seriously took me less than 20 minutes to make two) and they are full sized, so they will wear out long before the kids outgrow them. Happy Sewing!

 

December Kickoff: Christmas Ornament Party

I Built a Doll Crib

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The things we do for our kids . . . For Christmas my little girl got a Bitty Baby doll from Grandma. Of course she needed a doll crib to put said doll in. Or at least I thought she did. So way back in January I found these plans, modified them, got the wood, and built this crib. Then I was eager to paint, and tried in April. Ha! It was about 45 degrees Farenheit and was going to take FOREVER to dry, never mind that it needed multiple coats and I was painting it before putting it together. So, yeah, it sat in a box and I kind of forgot about it. Not really, it was just one of those “I’ll get to it” projects. So a few weeks ago I decided I had time and wanted it done. After I got it mostly painted, I put it together and did touch up paint and a glossy clear coat.

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Then I had to make a mattress. I took a 2″x22″x22″ foam chair pad and cut it down to size. Then I sewed white fabric around it because it was green and I did not want that showing through.

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After that I made a tiny crib mattress that matches her room. It looks even more darling that I expected, but it feels weird that it’s finally done. I know someone who’s excited. When I brought it in the house after it was painted, she started putting dolls in it, even without the mattress. I’m so glad it’s all done and I can just let her play with it.

Next up: a doll high chair so she can feed her baby like mommy feeds brother.