Teaching Children to Sew - An Easy Doll Set and a GIVEAWAY!

First things first... we have a GIVEAWAY happening here today! I know you all love giveaways, because I do too. Two lucky readers will have the chance to win one of these cute doll sets I'm featuring here on this post today. But you'll have to read this post in its entirety to find out how to enter. So, stick with me here. It won't take long, I promise.

Now, back to the task at hand... Have you seen these cute doll panels make by Moda? When one of my granddaughters visited us recently, I hoped she'd enjoy sewing one of these kits with me. Turns out, she really did! Keep reading to learn how you can win a few doll panel kits for yourself. 

The panel pictured above is called "Lil' Red Riding Hood." This is what the panel looks like before it's cut out. For this particular project with my granddaughter, I used the panel called "A Walk In the Woods." Before my granddaughter's visit, I cut out the Moda doll panel. Just trying to speed the process along a bit... 

I let my 5 year-old granddaughter be in charge of pressing her foot to the sewing machine petal. After we got a few of the pieces sewn, she sat in the chair next to me and I showed her how to stuff the doll, pillow and the bunny and bear friend with fiberfill. 

She did pretty well staying on task and as I continued to sew the rest of the pieces from the panel, we talked, laughed and I kept telling her to "add more stuffing."

Her little fingers were perfect for stuffing those small spaces.

When I came into my kitchen the next morning, her doll, Gretel, was tucked under her blanket on the kitchen table with her bunny friend, her head resting on her ruffled pillow.  Also at the kitchen table was my granddaughter. She was busy stuffing Hansel with a smile on her face. This of course melted my sewing-loving heart.

Isn't this doll set just darling? I fluffed the kit up by adding a few additions. If you want your kit to look similar, here's what I did:

• Cut out the border from the kit and use it to make a ruffle. Sew the ruffle onto the left side of the pillow.
• Tie onto Gretel's side braids red, organdy ribbon bows.

• To the bottom of the skirt, I sewed a little left over white trim.

• Hand sew pom poms onto the backs of the bear and rabbit friends to make a more realistic soft tail.

And there you have it. Your cute little doll (and all her friends) are complete! 

Now... on to the really, really fun part of today's post. THE GIVEAWAY! Thank you Moda Fabrics!

Two lucky readers will win several of these doll panels! So, enter away! Ready, go... 

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:

• Follow me on Facebook at xoxo Grandma. 
• Leave a comment on Facebook. 
• For extra chances to win, tag a friend or two. 
• Winners will be chosen on August 1st.

The winners of this giveaway were Kelly Wood and Deanna Lynn.

Thank you to all of you that entered and joined me on my Facebook page.

These panels are an easy tool to teach others to sew - especially youngsters. But if you want to keep one for yourself, I totally understand. Enjoy!
-xoxo Grandma

Here are a few of these fun panels by Moda and designed by Stacy Iset Hsu, if you're interested in sewing one too: 

And fiberfill is a must for this project

Turn a Basket Into a Doll Cradle

This project is one I started more than three decades ago. After years of play, it needed a little refreshing.  

Back when I was a young mom, I made doll cradles for my little girls. I used wicker baskets and added rockers to convert those baskets into doll cradles. 

One of these cradles has been sitting in my storage area for a long time. I pulled it out to give to my daughter last year when she came to pick-up all her things, but since it no longer looked clean and new, she didn't want it for her little girls. Well, I couldn't just throw it away, it held too many memories. So I decided to refinish it. I removed the old, dirty cushion, that had obviously benefited from years of love and play and gave the basket some new life. 

Here's what it looked like after I refinished it:  

If you want to make your own doll cradle too, here's a list of the supplies you'll need: 

• Basket, (The basked pictured is 16 1/2" wide x 20 1/2" long x 9 high.)
• Foam
• Batting
• Fabric for cover, blanket and pillow
• Fiber fill
• Thread
• Plywood
• 4 wood screws
• Good quality wood for rockers, 3/4" thick

Take that basket and follow these steps to turn it into a cradle:
   

1. Cut a piece of plywood the size of the inside base of the basket.  

2.  With a saw, cut two rockers from good quality 3/4" thick wood - do not use plywood.  (My father-in-law cut these for me - I don't use electric saws, I'm afraid I'd cut off my fingers.) The size of my rockers are 15 1/4" long x 4 1/4" high x 3/4 thick.  Get the free rocker pattern HERE.  Print at full size two copies of this pattern and tape the sides together to make the rocker pattern complete.  Sand the rockers as needed making sure all edges are smooth.  (Keep in mind, the rockers pictured are over 33 years old and if I'm in the mood, they may get a little sanding but it's snowing today and I refuse to sand inside my home.)

3.  Using four long, wood screws, drill them through the wooden base and into the rockers, securely connecting these pieces. Also see the photo next to step one for screw placement.

4.  Make a paper pattern of the inside shape of your basket. Use that pattern to cut out a foam base which will become the cradle's mattress.

5.  Cover the mattress with batting.  I sewed the batting together to form a pillowcase shape.  Then I slipped it onto the foam and hand stitched the batting's opening closed. (On the original covering, I hot glued the batting in place and the mattress was very lumpy because when the glue dried, it gets hard. I do not recommend using hot glue with foam.)

6.  Use fabric to make a cover for the mattress. For my mattress, I used flannel.  I used a fabric marker to trace the foam mattress shape onto the flannel. Add a seam allowance around all the traced fabric. Cut out two pieces of this fabric. Measure the distance around the mattress and measure the height of the mattress. Add 1/2" to these two measurements to create your seam allowance to the height and width and cut out from your fabric the side of the mattress cover. Sew the side seam together along the width. Sew one of the side pieces to the top piece. Now sew the bottom piece to the side piece leaving one end of the mattress cover open. Slip the cover onto the batting covered foam and hand stitch the opening closed.

7.  Make any style of doll blanket making sure the blanket is a little bigger than the inside of the cradle.  You'll want to add enough width for a doll to go under the blanket. For my blanket, I took the scraps of fabric that I used to cover the mattress. Then, I cut the fabric into 16, 4" squares. I sewed those squares together alternating the fabrics so that I had 4 rows across and 4 rows down. Then with a fabric marking pen, I drew lines diagonally through the squares as shown above. Then using my sewing machine, I machine quilted along the lines. To get rid of the lines, simply rub with a wet rag or spray with water.

8.  Make a little pillow for the doll's head.  Any size of pillow will do as long as it's scaled to fit your basket. I added a 2" ruffle to the left side of my rectangular doll pillow and stuffed the pillow with poly-fill. 

Do you know a child that would love one of these cradles? I'm now positive my granddaughter will be thrilled to get this cradle for her doll.   xoxo Grandma

Here are the supplies I used:

    

Shared at: Threading My Way, Featured Here

Darling Baby Doll Carrier

See this darling little redhead in these photos? She's my spunky granddaughter and to say she loves her doll is an understatement. Last time I visited her, she tried to wrap a belt around her waist and stick her doll into the belt.  Her poor doll just wouldn't stay put in her makeshift baby carrier. So this time, before my next visit to see her, I made this darling little doll carrier with adjustable straps. I mixed several patterns to come up with this one, but my favorite looking pattern was the one from Oliver + S in a book called "Little Things to Sew."  If you were to ask me what my favorite part of this project was though... I'd definitely tell you it was how much time it took to make. From beginning to end this darling baby doll carrier only took me 45 minutes to sew. 

The straps on this carrier cross in the back and button in the front.  I added a second set of buttons 3" lower, so that when she grows, she'll still be able to use this carrier.  I even tested it out on her almost five year old brother, just to make sure. 

I added a pocket to the front of the carrier and tucked a 3" piece of black and white checked ribbon tag at the top, right side of the pocket.

I attached the bottom straps to the main straps with Velcro since this product needed to be very child friendly.

These carriers even work great for stuffed animals. Here's this cute little granddaughter watching the Presidential Inauguration with her dad the day after the rest of the nation saw it. Her amazing father (my son-in-law) is part of the U.S. Air Force and this cute family of theirs is stationed halfway around the world in Japan. That meant the actual inauguration aired in the middle of the night there. I'm so grateful for people like him, who willingly serve.

Back to the topic at hand... Do you have a child who loves dolls or stuffed animals? If they're trying to mimic their mom's who use baby carriers for their younger siblings, this might be a good 45 minute investment.  Don't want to make one?  No problem, go HERE.  xoxo Grandma

Featured at:  Threading My Way 

Make a Doll Sized Shopping Bag

It's coming down to the wire, Christmas is almost upon us.  Time to get that last minute shopping done.  To help with that shopping, I've created this doll sized shopping bag to share with you.  Never fear, this is an quick and easy sewing project.  An added bonus for this project is that today, I'm sharing with you my pattern along with the tutorial to help you make this darling doll accessory.  

These are so easy to sew together, you can make a bunch in very little time.  After you're done making your doll shopping bags, wrap a mini present or two and add them to your shopping bag.

These shopping bags also make a cute container to put a gift card into or a small piece of jewelry.   I'm sure you'll think of other creative ways to use these mini shopping bags.

Supplies needed:

2 beige felt squares,

18" of jute

Beige thread to match felt

Accent pieces of felt to decorate the bags

Mini red pom poms, optional

Contrasting embroidery thread

Free Pattern:  Download the pattern here.

Instructions:

1. Cut out beige felt using this pattern.  Pin the sides together and sew using a 1/4" seam.
2. Sew the bottom seam together using a 1/4" seam.
3. Fold the fabric together and punch small holes in the felt at marking.  (I used a tool called a Crop-a-dile to punch my holes.)
4. Pinch bottom seams on both sides of the bag together and pin.
5. Sew the bottom seams together with 1/4" seams.
6. Cut jute into two, 9" pieces.
7. Thread jute from the middle of the bag to the outside of the bag.  Tie a knot into the end of the jute.
8. Now the fun part, decorate the bag with small felt items like holly leaves and berries or mini red pom poms.

Have fun making this doll shopping bag.  Once you've made one, I'm sure you'll want to make more.  How are you planning to decorate your bags?  xoxo Grandma

Linked to:  Craft Gossip

Best Dressed Doll

For the past five months I've faced several challenges, resulting in very little blogging.  It all started out in January with two broken bones in my arm, which left me with major nerve damage that needed months of physical therapy. The same injury threw out my back and needed the help of a chiropractor to get it back into it's proper place.  Then a neighbor's dog bit my leg  (I now have a huge fear of dogs which means I plan my morning jogs by the trails without dogs.)! Next, cancer showed up on my arm and nose, resulting in a skin graft. The final trial (knock on wood) was when my computer died and I had to figure out what to purchase to take it's place (sure, that's not really a challenge, but I am technologically challenged, so it was a big one for me).

To get through my challenges, I've turned to my kind of therapy - sewing a slew of outfits for 18" dolls.  My husband jokes with me and says that my doll is the best dressed doll in town.  He's right of course!

So, sit back and relax while I share some of the outfits I've made, and patterns used, to create this doll's wardrobe.

Photo 1

-Five Layers of Ruffles dress:  added 2-3" onto my favorite shirt pattern and then evenly added layers of lace trim.

-Sandal Pattern:  Pixie Faire, Gladiator Sandals

Changed pattern as follows: created one wide strap each and made a simplified oval center strap.

Photo 2

-Tutu and Leotard: Tutu made up pattern using tulle, trimmed and topped with lace.

-Leotard pattern:  Lee and Pearl, Tweak the Pattern 1051a One Piece Swimsuits for 18" Dolls (free download).

-Ballet Bag Pattern: free pattern xoxo Grandma.

Photo 3

-Pink Ballet Dress:  Extend your favorite doll tee-shirt 2-3" longer.  Using 7 pieces of tulle 3" x 29" gather and sew to the bottom of the tee shirt.   

-Ballet Bag Pattern: free pattern xoxo Grandma.

Photo 4 

Red, white back to school playwear:  

-Shorts pattern & tutorial: xoxo Grandma.

-Backpack Pattern:  McCall's #3469

-Clipboard Pattern:  free pattern & tutorial xoxo Grandma.

Photo 5

-White Ruffle shirt:  take any tee-shirt pattern and add lace/tulle trim to the bottom of the shirt. 

-Blue pants:  Simplicity #3551, view D.

Photo 6

Pioneer Outfit Pattern:  McCall's #3627, view A/G

-Apron pattern: free pattern xoxo Grandma.

Photo 7

Red, white and blue dress pattern:  

-Pixie Faire, Yacht dress 

-Sandal Pattern: Pixie Faire, Gladiator Sandals, used sticky red felt for the material and changed pattern as follows: created one wide strap each, made a simplified, oval center strap and no sewing around all the small pieces.  

Photo 8

-Japanese Kimono Pattern:  xoxo Grandma

Photo 9
-Jacket Pattern: xoxo Grandma, Lace Hankie Into a Doll Top
-Skirt:  Left over scraps of fabric and trim sewn together, no pattern used.

-Top:  Camisole, self created pattern.


Photo 10
-Fishing Set Pattern:  xoxo Grandma

Photo 11
-Camo Cargo pants set: Pants added 2 side pockets to a basic pant pattern. Used a scarf for the fabric.
-Sandals:  same as in photo 7, the fabric was from an old purse.

Photos 12 & 14

-Party dresses: The fabric came from a fancy baby dress which none of my daughters liked. 
-The baby dress was cut up and turned into two party dresses.  
-The skirt pattern is McCall's #3627, view H.

Photo 13
-Lace sleeves and lace added to a basic tee-shirt pattern.
-Short skirt pattern, lace sewn underneath the hem.

Photo 15

-Peach tunic was made from a linen tea towel with crocheted edges. 

-Capri's: Simplicity #3551 view B, cut shorter to make capris.

-Sandals: simplified version of the gladiator sandals see photo 7.

Photo 16

Brown and Turquoise outfit:  
-Basic tee-shirt pattern, sewing leftover pieces of lace down the center of the top beads used as accent buttons.  

- Brown Leggings:  Simplicity #3551, view D.

Photo 17

-Poodle skirt:  Free Pattern xoxo Grandma.

My goal, besides diverting my attention from my injuries, was to use up all the little pieces of fabric I've saved without purchasing any more.  But I often get ideas for accessories to accompany an article of clothing I've just finished.  All these creative ideas occasionally result in purchasing a little "new" fabric. I'm beginning to think there needs to be a help group for fabrics addicts. Fabrics Anonymous, right? Ah well, at least I have the best dressed doll in town!  xoxo Grandma 

1958 Poodle Skirt for an American Girl Doll - Free Pattern

When I saw this 1958 McCall's pattern #2252 for an original poodle skirt, I just knew it would be fun to scale down the pattern to fit an 18" American Girl Doll. 

After sketching and playing with fabric, beads and a little ribbon, this is how my version of this classic 1958 skirt turned out.

Add white socks and some saddle shoes and this doll will be set to party like it's 1958.

If you'd like to make one of these skirts, keep reading because the directions and poodle applique pattern are below.

Materials needed:

• Good quality felt
• faux fur (I trimmed my faux fur to about 1/4" long)
• beads and or sequins
• 1/8" wide ribbon
• black felt or fleece for the poodle about 5" square

Directions:

1.  Cut out a 17" circle from good quality red felt for the skirt.  In the center of the circle, cut out a circle 3 1/4".

2.  Machine applique the poodle in place onto the felt skirt.

3.  With black thread, hand stitch black beads or sequins onto the felt in a curved line to form the leash.

4.  Make the dog collar, by hand sewing a sequin around the dog's neck then add a clear bead which will hold the sequin in place.

5.  Tie a tiny bow using the 1/8" piece of ribbon.  Hand stitch the bow onto the top of the dog's furry head.

6.  Hand sew a white bead in place for the eye.

7.  Cut a 1 1/4" slit down the center back of the skirt.

8.  Cut 1" x 11 3/4" red felt for the waistband.

9.  Sew using 1/8" seam, sew the waistband onto the top of the circular skirt, leaving 1" of the waistband extending beyond the skirt's top.

10.  Sew Velcro hook onto the 1" extended waistband edge.

11.  Sew the Velcro loop onto the wrong side of the other end of the waistband.  Your 1958 poodle skirt is finished.

Download the poodle applique' pattern here and enjoy making your own 1958 original looking poodle skirt.  xoxo Grandma

Doll Sized Dance Bag

Do you know a child that loves to dance and likes to play with dolls?  If so, this doll sized dance bag is a fun and quick project to make for that child.  An added bonus is you've probably got all the supplies you'll need to make it right in your scrap pile. 

Supplies needed:

• 1 Fabric name tag: 3 1/2" x 1 3/8"
• 2 Front and 2 back:  4) 3 7/8" x 4 1/2"
• Sides:  2) 1 3/4" x 14 1/4"
• Strap:  20" of single fold bias tape or 10" of double fold bias tape.
• 1 heart shaped button
• Thread

* 1/4 seam allowance for this project.

1.  Sew or hand embroider "I ...... dancing" onto the tag.
2.  Sew tag to the center of the front using a narrow zig zag stitch.
3.  This is the stitch width and length that I use on my machine.
4.  Sew back to side then sew front to side. As you sew, clip a small notch at each corner.

5.  Clip all corner of the bag.  Sew the heart button onto the name tag.
6.  Repeat step 4 & 5 for the bag's lining.
7.  The bag will look like this.
8.  Sew the bias tape together. Topstitch close to the straps edges.

9.   Baste the strap in place along both top center of the bag's sides.
10. Pin the bag and the lining together, matching seams. 
11. Sew the bag to the lining leaving an opening in one of the sides to turn the bag. Turn the bag and iron the top of the bag.
12. Top stitch along the top of the bag.
Pin the opening together and either hand sew or sew close to the edge using a machine (not pictured).

Your doll sized dance bag should be finished.  Enjoy this simple project!  xoxo Grandma