sewing for you :)

If you like to sew, what about some new things for you, and not for the kids! I tried out a Yoshiko Tsukiori pattern book last night and it was great and easy. This one is for you.

magnetic diorama

Last week we received some beautiful hand-me-down toys. One of them was a simple road-themed shape puzzle. Although my son is a little too old for this type of puzzle, I gave it to him because the vehicles were so nice. He really liked arranging the vehicles outside the puzzle on our coffee table, especially making the tow truck tow the others. We tried putting magnets on the backs so he could arrange them on the fridge instead and it worked out really well. He had a lot of fun with it and it only took a few minutes to make. A couple of the pieces were missing from the vintage puzzle, so I felt alright about repurposing the pieces.

If you would like to keep your child out of the way of the fridge for awhile, a cookie tray makes a good diorama back, too.

We used a glue gun because it's so fast. Otherwise regular glue, or wood glue left overnight will work.
Craft stores, dollar stores and stationery stores all carry small magnets.

free summer hat patterns for children — notes

This month I tried out a couple of free patterns for children's summer hats and these are my pattern notes. Links and details are below. They are both available online. Making a summer hat is surprisingly easy, these each took about 3 hours. For a fast sewer, probably more like 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours.

Materials for both hats

—about 1/3 yard of medium-weight cotton or linen fabric for one side
—about 1/3 yard of a contrasting fabric
—sewing machine, thread, etc.
—1/2 a yard medium weight sew-in interfacing

Reversible Bucket Hat by Oliver + S
Available from Oliver + S
Unisex
Sizes available: 6–12 month, 12–24 month, 3–5 years and 6–8 years
Time: for me this was 4 hours from beginning to end. I am not a very fast sewer.

I made this hat first in the 3–5 year size using a lightweight cotton canvas by Daiwabo for one side  — you can find it here — and a plain cotton poplin on the reverse. I didn't worry too much about making it truly reversible and let the crown of the interior be a little bumpy.

The sizing is good, running toward the small. I'm not sure if this will still fit my son when he's 5, but it fits his 4 year-old head pretty well.

Good features: the pattern has very comprehensive directions with clear diagrams, good for a confident beginner. It is in inches and is in English.

Baby/Boy's hat from By Miekke
Available from Miekke Patroon:  direct link to pattern PDF  and instructions at her blog
Boys
Sizes available: my approximations are "Baby" 6–12 month (45 cm, 17 and 3/4 inches), "Dreumes" 12–24 month (48 cm, 18 and 7/8 inches, "Peuter" 3–5 years (51 cm, 20 inches) and "Kleuter" 6–8 years (20 and 7/8 inches). Each size includes a 1 cm seam allowance. Definitely measure your child's head before selecting one of these.

Time: 2–3 hours

I made this in the "Peuter" size. Which was a good fit for 3–5. My son picked this leaf pattern out from some scraps of lightweight canvas I had, I think it's by Kokka.

So, this pattern is in Dutch. I don't speak Dutch. I copied and pasted her blog post into google translate and it was quite straightforward to follow the directions. I don't want to post her instructions on our blog, however, if you need help, please email me at windyandfriends at gmail dot com.

Good features: This is actually a much simpler pattern than the Oliver + S pattern, however, it is presented in a more informal way.  For boys I do love the straight brim of this design.

Modifications: I used interfacing on the brim, but the pattern doesn't call for it — I just wanted a stiff brim.

When you are sewing the sections together, one of the pieces will be a tiny bit bigger than the other. The Dutch instructions seem to suggest folding in the difference as pleats. I preferred to clip the smaller piece inside the seam allowance until the sizes matched. These are small, straight cuts, not like the v-shaped notches you clip out when sewing a curve. Clip whichever piece is tighter, the cuts will stretch it out so it matches the larger piece. I also found it easiest to spend 10 minutes loosely tacking or basting the crown in place by hand, clipping and then sewing.