Strawberry Jam and Pancakes

Made-from-scratch buttermilk pancakes and homemade Strawberry Jam.

How's that for domestic?

Fancy Baby Socks Tutorial

I recently bought Little Miss an Easter dress (I resisted the urge to make yet another dress out of the same pattern as all her others...) and I couldn't help but buy some little white shoes to match. She's going to need something to match her fancy dress for my brother-in-law's wedding anyway... So that makes it a thrifty purchase, not an impulse buy... Right?

Bad news is they're a little too big to wear with bare feet or tights. She needs a pair of socks on her little fit to make sure her shoes stay on. Now i know that you can just buy fancy socks with little ruffles on them, but I was feeling too cheap and lazy to go to every store in town to hunt down a pair. SO... here's how I fashioned a pair on my own:

You'll need: One pair of socks, some tulle (ribbon would work too), a needle and thread, and a sewing machine.

Start by cutting two strips of tulle. Mine were 2 inches wide by about 20 inches long. You can change these measurements to change the way the socks look. If your strip is wider, the ruffles will be longer. The longer your strip is, the more fluffy your ruffle will be.

**The strip should be AT LEAST twice as long as the circumference of the ankle of the sock. My socks were about 5 inches around, and my strips were 4 times as long.

Next, fold strip in half, and baste along the raw edges.

It will look something like this.

Next, pull string to gather until ruffle is the same length as the circumference of the sock. Pin ruffle to sock, all the way around (use more pins than you see in the picture).

Run through the machine on a stretch stitch. This is the stitch I used.

** It's important to use a stretch stitch... if you don't the sock won't fit around her little ankles.

Originally i wasn't sure what I was going to do about the raw edge after I sewed the tulle to the sock. Fortunately, the stitch secured the tulle really well and covered most of the edges. I just trimmed the bits that were still sticking up above the stitch.

All Finished!

**I had planned to try and figure out something to cover the edge of the tulle/stitching. But I think that the stitch I used looked okay all by itself. Just try to pick the cutest stretch stitch on you're machine and you'll be good to go. If you're feeling really ambitious you could also sew on some beads or sequins or other trim.

How cute are these fancy feet!

Little Birdie Magnets

My Little One has taken a liking to magnets lately. She's been stealing the magnets off my fridge, so I decided it would be fun to make her some cute, nondangerous magnets she could play with. These Little Birdies are what I came up with. Here is how to do it:

You will need:

Cardstock and a pen

Scraps of Fabric

Batting

Fusible Interfacing

Needle and thread

Embroidery floss or buttons for eyes

Felt for beak

Magnet

Iron

(sewing maching not required, but oh so helpful)

First, draw your pattern on a piece of cardstock and cut it out. It doesn't have yo be a bird, you could do any shape, really.




Trace your pattern onto three pieces of fabric. One for the front, one for the back, and one to make a pocet for the magnet. I used a patterned fabric on the front, solid on the back and an old penstained white curtain for the inside.

Iron interfacing to the inside piece of fabric, peel of paper. This inside piece of fabric is important. It keeps the magnet from getting lost inside the bird.

Iron Back and Inside fabric together with magnet sandwiched in the interfacing. Interfacing isn't completely necessary, but it keeps the magnet from sliding around.

Cut out one little wing for each bird. I used a contrasing print.

Cut out a triangle of felt for the beak.

Use a needle and thread to sew on wing and eye (use a button or just make a knot with embroidery floss). Pin beak on facing IN.

Sew front and back together with right sides facing. This is the part where the machine comes in handy. Sew most of the way around, but leave a gap wide enough to fit the magnet through so you can turn it rightside out.

Turn, stuff with batting, and sew closed by hand.

Back view: Magnet is sandwiched safely between layers of fabric so little ones can't pull it off and swallow it. **Make sure your magnet is strong enough to stick to the fridge with a piece of fabric in the middle.

Front view: No detachable parts that can be swallowed or choked on. **I used a button for the eyes of the first two birds I made. Little Miss has already pulled off one button eye. I wouldn't recommend using buttons unless the birds are going to be used purely for decoration.

She loves them! Three for my Little Miss, three in the mail for a special little girl's birthday, and three Birdies coming soon to my Etsy Shop.