blog sewing – Cecelia's Spot

DIY Romper Time!

I decided it was time for the classic romper tutorial to come out. I decided to make my first one with a free pattern of dinosaurs for my little cute nephew for his first birthday! Now the size is 2-3t since he is not so little. But you can easily adjust the pattern to your little ones size, just size it up with one of your little one (or big ones) outfit and adjust! Easy Peazy!

Here are the parts of the free pattern..this is a 2-3t however just hold up a onesie or romper to the pattern and adjust for smaller or larger!

Also see the photo with the pieces cut out or the tutorial to see how they go together if you can’t tell!

pieces

2. TopBody

3. BodyMain

4. BottomMain

And here is the link to the youtube tutorial as always!

Here is the written one besides what is written on the tutorial:

What you need:

Fabric choice 1-2 yards depending on size. I used flannel fabric
If you want an alternate color/fabric for for neckline and bottom (a stretcher fabric is best)
Snaps/buttons/or velcro depending on what you want to use

Steps:

Cut out fabric pieces as written out on the pieces.
Take one main body piece and find the center by folding in half and one neckline piece (and fold it in half and mark the middle) and place pattern facing
pattern and stretch and sew. Look at the pictures below to see how you need to stretch it and sew (it is not easy if you are a beginner but it just takes practice! Also, if the neckline is a stretchy fabric it is much easier)
Line center to center
This is the end result, do for both main pieces
Turn to the backside of the main body piece and fold up and iron the seam line as shown below. Then fold the top down and iron to make it easier to sew and pin.
Turn it right side and either change pins to the front or be careful and take pins out as you sew bottom of collar
Sew both necklines like this then we will create an envelope neckline.
You are going to line up your front and back body piece with finished necklines and measure from the top of each side 1 to2 in down and this is where the top of one side touches the other side and you pin together (this may not be true if you need a bigger opening or smaller based on head size, adjust opening based on head size). Pin this on both sides
Fold sleeve piece in half and line up middle of sleeve piece (the curved part facing outwards as shown) and where the collar intersects with pattern facing
down and stretch and pin (see pics)
Then sew using a zig zag stitch (which keeps it strong). Do this for both sides and it will look like…

I then added double sided bias tape, for convenience and time saving, to the outside of the sleeve edge.

19. Body pieces and sleeve pattern facing pattern, pin around sleeve and down straight to bottom again I used the zig zag stitch. Then I trimmed the sides. Then you can iron it out.

20. Turn your project to the backside and take your football piece and fold in half and line up middle of football with middle of opening pattern facing pattern, pin middle and stretch and pin around then sew. Make sure the front piece is pushed out of the way (you don’t want to sew it shut! Just sew onto the back piece

21. Take two of your leg banding strips and line up pattern facing pattern and sew the outside 1/8th straight stitch and then do this for the other two as well and turn right side out and iron.

22. The binding piece ends up in the inside and it is used for the buttons or snaps (you can alternatively use fusible interface)

23. Next take your one banding piece and line it up with the front bottom with the fold on the inside and then stretch and sew (see video if this is too confusing!) You pin the outside and sew 1/8th zig zag around

24. Now you will sew 1/4 inch around (the white part as shown will now be in the inside after you do step 23.

25. Next (phew we are getting there- keep going!) is the back banding strip, Same method for the back piece, except you just sew the one time and not the second sew around as in setp 24 because of the flap (you will see what I mean after you do the first sew.

26. I hemmed the bottom leg openings and then did my snap buttons using the hammer method! I used thick material for the banding which I regret (also that it was not stretchy!) I had to use bigger than normal snaps to get it through the fabric!

Congrats you did it! Let’s see some pics!

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DIY Bandana Drool Bib

Once the drool starts it doesn’t stop! I saw an adorable bandana drool bib in a store and thought, I could easily make that! And you can too! It is a simple 5 to 10 minute project that makes a great gift and a fantastic accent and cute and functional accessory for your little one.

As always, there is a youtube tutorial and the written steps on here! Hope you enjoy!

This is for size 6months to 12months.

What you will need:
1) Two Fabrics (one side needs to be absorbent). I used a cute flannel fabric and then a yellow fleece material for the back.
2) Velcro or snaps to hold it shut

Fold your fabric in half. Cut out two triangles, one with each fabric (you can use my measurements or compare to your bib size for your little one) . I used the measurements of 9in long and 7 1/2in on the fold.
Next, you are going to make a cut for the neckline about 3 inches in from the side
and 2 inches down the fold.
Cut the little triangle off the very end, abut half an inch, this is where the velcro will connect.
Take pattern side facing pattern side and sew all the way around leaving a small
opening around 2 inches (this is where you will pull it right side out)
Now pull it right side out and hand sew the hole shut and VOILA! drool bib
complete!
Iron press it! You can also go around the whole outside and sew it if you like for the design look!
Next you want to attach either your velcro or snaps. I have iron on velcro I used.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial, if you have questions just post! Thanks

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DIY Child Bean Bag!

I don’t know about your little one, but mine sure does love to read! Well at this age, it is more like browse through the pages and pictures! She sits by the book shelf and pulls out book by book looking at each page.

At first I thought maybe I should purchase her a bean bag chair, and then I thought, well lets just make one! This can also be a great gift for anyone! I actually sometimes sit in it too (shhhh!)

So of course I have the video tutorial on youtube below and then the written and picture tutorial below that. Let me know if you have any questions!

What you need:

Fabric (you can use two or one color) 2 yards total of each color (or 4 yards of one color)
A 24 inch zipper (or you can use velcro or buttons)
4 yards of muslin or cheap fabric
Bean bag filling (100L) (I couldn’t find a large bag at my local craft store so I bought mine on amazon with free shipping)
Make panels of 40×16 inches. You should do 6 outside (3 of one color and 3 of the other color) and 6 inner panels.
Take one of your panels and fold once long way and once width. Have your fold on top and side when measuring to cut. Measure bottom to 6 inches (the long side) and start a curve and cut right up to the right corner. See picture below.
Line up two inside pieces and sew up and down one side. I did this twice for more strength. For the outside you will have the patterns facing inside towards each other and sew.
Once sewn open the panel up. Then place another panel on the original piece and sew the opposite side (you will end up with three pieces sewn together)
Then sew the other 3 inside pieces together and you will have two sets of three.
Take the two sewn together pieces and face pattern side in (doesn’t matter with the inside bean bag layer) and sew all the way around the outside leaving a couple inches hole.
Turn right side out. Then you will put the bean bag filling it! Ah what a challenge!
Note: I did not completely fill and sew this until I was sure the outside would fit over properly. I waited to finish this until the end of the project.
Take one of your outside panels and face the zipper down on the pattern. Line it up on your machine and sew the zipper on.Take one of your outside panels and face the zipper down on the pattern. Line up the right outside part of the zipper to the outside of the panel (as shown) and sew the zipper on.
See the video for more of a demonstration on how to attach a zipper
Sew pattern and right side of the next panel to zipper right sides facing each other (inside) and sew together.
Line up the part below and above the zipper with patterns facing each other and sew
Then sew your 3rd panel on…complete another 3 panels together as done with the inside pieces.
**Open your zipper all the way. Take each 3 piece panel set and place them facing each other (inside) and sew all the way around the edges. Do not leave a hole this time, you will pull it out through the zipper opening!
Next you will place your inside bean bag that is partially full inside. If its full then you are done! However, if you partially filled…continue to fill all the way and sew the inside bag shut.
Congrats you are done! Enjoy! Post your pics below!

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DIY Felt Christmas Tree!

Cece bear loves to pull toys out of baskets and put them back in. She also likes to build blocks and figure out other puzzles. So I thought to myself, what can I make for Christmas that she can play with? And a mini Christmas tree came to mind. Eventually, I figured out a felt Christmas tree with all sorts of sensory stimulation and Velcro ornaments would work! So I decided to get to work.

I decided to make three trees, one for each of Cece’s friends. It also made a great birthday gift for her friend Kyle’s first birthday! This is a great activity to do with older children as well. They can make their own ornaments and decorate the tree! There are a variety of ways to put the tree, ribbons, buttons, and ornaments together. The two I used were sewing and hot glue gun, but you can do one or the other as well. Just make sure if you have a baby, infant, or toddler, to make sure everything is very secure so they can’t pull it off!

As always, there is a youtube video and written steps and pictures. Feel free to add your own creativity and pizzazz!!!

If you have an older child, instead of using velcro to stick the ornaments on, you can use string or twine looped on the ornament and they can put them around buttons on the tree!

What you need:
*Green felt fabric (I used 1.5
yards for three trees)
*velcro
*Brown felt fabric (stump)
*Felt fabrics of various colors for
ornaments of your choice and design
*optional: buttons, ribbons,
and other accessories

1) Fold your green felt and make a tree outline on the fold (so half of it traced on). Then cut your tree out!

2) Next, if you want a stump, use brown fabric to cut one out! Once again you can trace it out. You can either sew it on the bottom or hot glue gun.

3) I wanted to make something to hold the ornaments besides just having them stick to the tree. So I decided a present with the child’s name on it would be perfect! So next I chose a color of felt I had and cut about 11x 7 inches.

4) Next, for one of the presents I made I wanted the bow long ways down so I sewed a piece of ribbon straight down the piece. (the other two I made have it across the box which you can sew on now or later)

5) The next step would be to turn it right sides facing inwards and sew to the length you want so you have the top of the present flap long enough. Check out the picture to see what I mean. Then turn right side out.

6) As you can see, I decided to iron on letters for the name of the child. These two presents are different sizes. Also, if you want to put a piece of iron on or sew on or glue gun on Velcro to the top of the present to have it stick now is the time.

7) Then decorate the present at will. I added some adhesive Rudolph stickers. I did hot glue them so they would be more secure.

8) Follow that, I sewed the present onto the tree. This is optional, you can have it separate or not have a present at all. I opened the top flap and sewed right along the fold to the tree. You can also hot glue gun it.

8) Now, back to the tree. Now is the time to get even more creative! Use ribbons, garland, buttons, or whatever you want on the tree! You can sew or hot glue gun them on. If you have an older child and want to have hanging ornaments on buttons then align your buttons!

9) Next, it is time to make ornaments. If your child is older they can help decorate and make ornaments. I chose actually Christmas items and one ornament and one light bulb. I used whatever felt scraps I had to make them. I also made a star at the end. Remember to Velcro your ornaments on the back using the hard side of the Velcro. You want to iron them on before you decorate the front! Otherwise you might melt or damage your decorations.

To hang the tree, I used 3m adhesive strips, but I have heard that the blue paint tape works well on walls. You can also use suction cups if its on the window or door. Ok enjoy! Feel free to post your tree below!

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Hooded Dress (Christmas Theme)

So I didn’t want the same old fancy dresses for Christmas that take FOREVER to make and are uncomfortable. Therefore, I strolled around the fabric store looking for inspiration. A tan plaid red and green pattern caught my eye. For some time I have wanted to make a plaid dress for my little one, but haven’t found the right fit. However, today, I thought to myself, “How about a comfy hooded dress in plaid?” And so, the Christmas Plaid dress was born!!!

I designed the dress myself, so be patient with the video since sometimes I change my mind after completing part of the dress. Oh, you’ll see what I mean when you watch it! As always, there is a youtube video tutorial and a written and picture form. The dress pattern is listed below and is a sketch I made of it. There are several sizes on there, but you can always adjust it by measuring your little one or making it bigger or smaller by moving the lines.

What you will need:

The pattern found here–> dress.jpg
Fabric (around 1 yard)
Thread
Sewing machine and scissors
Optional: ribbon, bias tape, buttons, felt, any other decorations, Velcro for hood

Lets get started!

Print the pattern and cut out the right size (note: make sure it is the right size for your little one by measuring)
Cut your fabric patterns out as instructed (decide if you want a hood and if you want it detachable. Also decide if you want long sleeves or no sleeves)
You can serge or zigzag stitch around all the pieces of fabric to prevent fraying.
After zigzaging or serging, sew the top part of the pocket on the main pocket
parts
If you want a button on your pocket sew them on now before you attach it
Next, make sure you align your pockets on the dress front by measuring in from the sides and from the top and bottom to get them as even as possible.
You can either fold your pocket edges and sew either a straight or zigzag stitch around the pocket leaving the top open, or you can just stitch around it as I have done since I liked the look for the plaid dress.
For the hood, have the pattern facing each other on the inside and sew the rounded edge!
Flip right side out and hem or add bias tape to outside
You can sew your hood on fabric pattern facing fabric pattern and sew across and flip right side out, or you can use buttons or velco. You will need to either make button holes or put velcro on the back of the dress to hold the hood. I used iron on velco. Note**If you are sewing it on wait until after you sew the front to back**
The front collar of the dress needs to be hemmed or sew bias tape on it
Next, is to sew the front to back of the dress. If you want the top of the dress to be velcro as well, you can have a jumper (but you wouldn’t have sleeves so skip the sleeve part).
To sew it together, turn patterns facing each other and sew . Also line up sides and pin and sew down underneath the sleeve opening. Then turn right side out.
If you are not doing sleeves, you want to hem or use bias tape on the sleeve holes after sewing down the side. If you are not doing sleeves then hem or use bias tape around the bottom and you are all done!
If you are doing sleeves, turn pattern facing pattern and sew. Then turn right side out.
Sew the sleeve sides together by facing pattern side to pattern inside. Do not sew the curved part as pointed to in the picture below. Then turn right side out
Turn your body of the dress inside out. Have your sleeve right side out. Place your sleeve inside the body with the curved open part lining up with the
armhole. Sew around.
This picture shows that you want the sleeve facing downward inside the body of the dress. the larger end to the hole and the smaller end (where the hand comes out) facing downwards.
You can hem or use bias tape on cuffs of sleeves and bottom of dress. Then add any embellishments you want and wah-la you are done!
Congrats! Feel free to post your pics below!

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1st birthday dress!

I wanted that special 1st birthday dress, but not that especially high price that comes with most of them! So once again, I searched pinterest, etsy, and other sites to find ideas. I ended up combining ideas, as well as making up my own, to design with the dress I created. The theme was rubber duckies for her party. Therefore, I wanted to incorporate duckies as well as other birthday fabrics. I went to the store and examined numerous fabrics, buying a yard of my favorites! The extra fabric I ended up using to create the crowns!

I purchased the iron on birthday 1 and ducky from etsy. The number is even personalized with her name! I also bought the duck buttons from the store. I used white hair bands that I cut to make the loop holes for the buttons on the top of the shoulders.

So how did I make this dress? Well that’s a secret! But I can give you some hints. If you are truly interested in a dress like this you can private message me or come back and look for my future etsy link!

The skirt of course took the longest because of the detail. I added yellow ribbon in between the rows as well.

Then I added the cute duck to the back of the dress. Personally, this dress could be used as a 2 in 1 dress because the back is also so cute! However, the 1 in the front personalized this as a 1st birthday dress.

Well check out the other tutorials, as well as the 1st birthday party theme page for more ideas! Feel free to share pictures of your little one’s first birthday dress!

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Easy Birthday Crowns!

Want to sew quick and easy crowns for a party or get together? Then you’ve come to the right place! I made a last minute decision days before my daughters’ first birthday party that we needed crowns! The theme was rubber ducky, so I decided to make birthday crowns instead of hats! Young kids and babies don’t enjoy hard hats on their head and also shouldn’t have a rubber band or elastic around their neck.

As you can see they are very cute for photo shoots as well! She didn’t particularly like keeping it on, but I got a couple good shots!

As usual, there is a YouTube video and also a written explanation below. I didn’t have a lot of time to embellish the other crowns but you can always spice things up with some ribbons, bows, glitter, rhinestones, or buttons!

To get started you need:
1) Choice of fabric and design
2) Scisscors
3)Thread
4) Closure for crown (velcro, button, ribbon) or you can sew all the way around if you know the exact size

Cut your fabric for the main part of the crown 4 1/2 x 18 inches
Make your own crown pattern by drawing the top on a piece of paper and cutting it out!
Cut your design onto your fabric to make the shape of your crown! If you want a felt backing with another color cut that out as well.
Next, pick out your ribbon if you are using one, if you want any other embellishments get them ready! I made a felt duck that I sewed onto
the crown.
Line up your crown pieces and sew all the way around! Then you are done! If you want to add button loops and buttons you can sew them on as well.
Congrats and enjoy the party! Check back often for new crafts or subscribe below!

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Baby Slippers Tutorial!

In one of my last tutorials, I showed you how to make a super cute sleeper. Now, here are the matching slipper shoes!

What you will need:

Fabric of choice
1/4 or 1/8 inch elastic
Thread color of choice
Optional: buttons or bows

I used a free pattern from marked crafts- > shoepattern

So lets get started! here is the video tutorial and below that is the written and picture format.

Cut your pattern out and decide on your color/colors you want to use (you can use two colors!
Cut out your pieces- there should be 4 of each piece
Take your upper pieces (the two sided rounded pieces) and place them pattern facing pattern as usual.
Then sew the non-rounded part only (the bottom of it)
Turn right side out, then iron you piece down with the right sides out and sew a nice little line across the outside where it is sewn together.

7. Take your heel pieces (the long rectangles), and place the pieces facing eachother (as usual) and sew just down one long side

8. Cut your elastic to 4 inches long (2 pieces). Pin it to one end of the sewn heel piece.

9. While sewing stretch the elastic and sew using your zigzag stitch across the length of the fabric

10. It will be curled up as shown above. Turn right side out. Pin and sew below the elastic and all the way around the whole piece to make it look nice and then trim as needed.

11. Place sole pieces together with patterns facing eachother, use a basting stitch (set your stitch to longest number and do not backstitch).

12. Pin together the heel and the front piece, adjust it to be the appropriate size for the baby/infant you are making it for.

13. Sew straight across where you already have the previous sewn line from the front piece. Then trim the rest off. This makes a nice neat line when you are finished.

14. Find the middle of the sole and the middle of the top part. You can do this easily by folding in half. Line them up together and pin. (the back of the sole is the smaller part). Have the top part the wrong side still out to pin.

15. Now sew all the way around! Almost done! Doesn’t it look so cute?

16. Trim the excess fabric being careful not to cut too close to your thread line.

17. Now turn right side out! And WA-LA you are done! You can add a button, ribbon, or any other accessory you want! Great JOB! Lets see those pictures

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Sew An Easy Baby Sleeper!

Ever love that oh so cute baby sleepers with the elastic on the bottom? I sure do, in fact I miss them now that my little one is getting older! However, I have many showers to go to and it is a great gift! The slip on sleeper with the elastic on the bottom is great for babies because you can easily change the babies diaper without fussing with all the buttons, snaps, or zippers. It also keeps the baby warm and comfortable; not to mention how cute he or she will look!

First off, you need the pattern. For this one, I used a neighboring sewing blog’s pattern since there are so many out there:

Stitched Together Pattern

So print your pattern making sure you unclick the fit to page (you want it letter size).

What you need:
*Fabric of chose
*Thread
*Elastic 1/4inch or
1/8inch
*Optional: bias tape (can
also make or just hem)

Below is the link to the Youtube video tutorial. Below that is written instructions with pictures…enjoy!

Print your pattern. Cut your fabric as instructed on pattern

You should now have one front and one
back piece, and two sleeves.

2. Next, you use your bias tape. If you don’t have bias tape you can hem the ends instead or you can make your own bias tape. Here is directions to make your own bias tape

3. Fold your bias tape on the ends of the sleeves, pin on
and sew straight on both sleeves. Do this also to the neckline of the front and back piece.

4. Next, You want to overlap your front and back gown pieces by either looking at the mark you made from the pattern or you can measure 4 inches of overlap from the top down. So you want to pin and sew the overlapping sides (the 4 inches)

5. Find the middle of the overlap and the middle of the sleeves. This can be done by measuring 2 inches in for the overlap or folding. The sleeve can be folded as well if you didn’t mark it. Line up the middle of the sleeve and middle of the overlap place pattern on pattern and pin and sew.

You have to bunch it and pin it for it to stay.

6. Turn your sleeper inside out and pin from the bias tape bottom all the way down to the bottom of the sleep. Then sew!

Almost there!

7. Turn inside out and make elastic casing by folding up the bottom 1/4 inch for 1/8elastic or 1/2inch for 1/4elastic. Iron or pin the area to make it easier to
sew. Don’t forget to leave a 1-2 inch opening to put the elastic through!
Remember to back stitch!

8. To get your elastic through use a safety pin on the end and put in the opening
and pull through by bunching the fabric and then pulling the safety pin.

9. Choose the tightness you need for your little one on the bottom and then sew your two pieces of elastic together. Then sew the opening closed!

That’s it! Congrats you have finished! Great job. Any suggestions questions please let me know. Look for the next post to be the matching slippers!

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Reversible Lace Baby Sunhat!

Are you looking for a cute sunhat to shade your little one from the sun?
Well, this matching reversible hat is the perfect one! It works great for pictures and photo shoots as well. The hat is also an easy pattern that can be completed in under an hour. The hat really completes the outfit as you can see above!!!

You can look back at my last tutorial on how to make a peasant dress to make a matching dress.

What you will need:

The free pattern here: sunhat 001
fabric (can do one color or two)
lace and or buttons (optional)
scissor
matching thread

For the people who enjoy a visual demonstration, below is the YouTube video. Following that, is the written and picture directions.

Okay, first you need to cut out your pattern pieces. You need 8 crown pieces and 4 brim pieces. If you want two different colors for each side then its half in one color half in the other!

Next, you take two of your crown pieces and place them together with fabric patterns facing each other. Pin and sew down one side. This is what it will look like unfolded.

Then take another piece and place on one of the two pieces sewn together. You again want fabric pattern to fabric pattern facing each other. Then sew the one side. Do this until you have four pieces. Once you have all four pieces sew the four side together as well.

And WA-La! You have your first crown hat completed. Now start the process again with either the same color, or if you are using a different color scheme on the other side of the hat use that. Complete another crown.

One you have the two crowns, you want to line up two of your brim pieces with the patterns facing each other. Sew the small short ends together as indicated on the pattern pieces. Then do this for the other two pieces as well so you have two full circle brim pieces.

Next, you want to connect the brim pieces to the crown pieces. You do this by magic. Hah, no just kidding, you face fabric to fabric again and sew around the edges.

Then you will end up with two formed hats! Trim around the seems.

Next you want to make 2 into 1!!! So to do this, you need to place fabric to fabric again. So put one hat inside out and line up the outside brim pieces again. Remember to match up the seems of the crown and brim to each other. Pin, then sew around the outside leaving a 3 inch opening. This opening will allow you to turn the hat right side out.

Once completed turn right side out by pulling the fabric through the opening.

Now, you want to sew that hole closed. To do this, fold in the edges and either press or pin to stay. Then sew it closed baby! Press the seems

So this is your hat. If you want to add a button or lace continue on.

I decided to add lace to match the peasant dress tutorial completed last week.

Line the lace up with the brim and pin. Then just sew on! AND WA=la! Beautiful matching hat complete!

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