Work at Home Mom

This winter, my littlest one discovered my sewing machine and all of its fancy knobs.  She pulled off two, and at first I thought it was just annoyingly cosmetic, but eventually I realized it had affected the stitch length function and it was getting worse.  Ack, another expensive tune up.

Enter the sewing machine cover, whipped up after reading the lovely tutorial at Art Nest.  I have a crush on anything patchwork, so this functional and patchy project was calling my name.  Although, it has occurred to me that this may actually attract the children...  I guess I should have made it ugly?

This little adventure reminded me of my efforts to find balance in motherhood and working at home not long after J was born.  Since then, sewing and designing have turned into part time employment which is exciting, fulfilling, and helps me maintain my sanity as a new mother.  I don't have it all figured out, but I feel much more confident than I did back in 2009.  So I thought I'd share a few things I've learned about being a work at home mom.  The first three are organizational, and the last one is more of a change in philosophy.

1. Routine.  The children and I are both more pleasant, have more fun, and get more accomplished when we have a somewhat structured day.  Routine does not come naturally to me, so I've had to work at this, but it's worth it.  I'm especially able to enjoy play time more and focus during chore time, when I know I have work time slotted in later.  
2. Efficiency.  I work in small increments throughout the day: during naptime, movie time, daddy time, and bed time.  I work in batches, doing a bunch of cutting at once, machine sewing, and hand sewing.  I save hand sewing for long car rides or tv time.  When someone wakes up, gets hungry, or needs to pee, I'm prepared to walk away.
3.  Space.  I have a dedicated work space - it's not pretty, but it's organized and my work table is out of the children's reach (ahem, unlike the sewing machine).  I keep works in progress neatly laid out on the table, and organizational notes on a marker board above it.  My scanner and pattern files are stored under the table, and my fabrics, scissors, and trims are all in reach.  This is essential to making my short bursts of work really productive. 
4. I let my children see me work.  During movie time, daddy time or quiet time - when they are awake but occupied, I get out my stuff and work.  I cut fabric on the floor near them while they play with John, I hand sew on the couch during their movie, and sometimes L plays on the floor in my studio while I work on the machine.  Sometimes they ignore me, sometimes they get involved, and sometimes they steal my fabric.  Either way, I feel this is valuable for them because being creative and productive is a regular part of their day.  Handiwork skills are easily accessible to them, whenever they are ready to learn.  Not to mention they get a chance to see me being both domestic and professional.

I've begun to realize that when I can keep the first three in order (and that's the hard part) the fourth point proves to be beneficial for me and my children.  But, of course, the most helpful thing has been to find what works for me, and go with it confidently.  We all get there eventually, I guess.  :)

What works for you?

Dress-Up Crown Tutorial

I made birthday crowns for my girls last year.  I had intended for them to be a special birthday thing, that we got out only once a year, so they would be extra special.  But, as these things go, the girls loved them, and they found a permanent home in our dress up basket.  I had no idea how much the kids would love them.  They are a regular feature around here.

I decided to make a bunch for an art fair coming up, and put together this tutorial while I was at it.  I have to add, there are a million great tutorials out there for crowns.  My version, as usual, just keeps it simple (I've left the elastic exposed), made use of what I keep on hand (sorry, not felt), and allows for fun use of trimmings.  And the trimmings are the best part, right?  I love dumping out my fabric and ribbons and sifting through to find just the right match for that funky ribbon, or finding a surprisingly lovely combination of fabrics.  Ah, that's what sewing is all about. 

I digress.  The directions are below, but you can also download the templates I used.  I tried to make a couple that were boyish, too - they're angular and not pink. My crowns have about a 17" circumference that will stretch quite a bit, so they're one size fits most - just use a bit more elastic if you have a big head. :)

Update:  Be sure to check out the Nicholas Crown Project that this tutorial inspired!  I'm giving away dress-up crowns!  Come help me out!

Instructions:
1.  Draw or print template, cut out.  If you draw your own, the width should be about 9 inches.
2. Pin pattern to fabric and cut out fabric adding a 1/4" seam allowance all the way around. Cut 2 (I like to used different fabrics for the front and back).
3.  Cut out interfacing and iron to the wrong side of your back fabric.  Alternately, you can just cut a third layer of heavy weight fabric and put it in the middle of your sandwich - both work well.
4.  Topstitch trimmings onto your front fabric.  I used ribbon, bias tape, buttons, lace, and a handmade crocheted rose.  The possibilities are endless.
5.  Cut a 9" piece of 1/4"-1/2" elastic.
6.  With right sides facing, sew around the edge of your crown.  Leave openings on the bottom inch of both sides.  You'll turn right side out through one of these holes, and later insert the elastic in each side.
7. Clip slits in seam allowance, especially in the corners.  Turn right side out, poking out all the little points and curves with a chopstick/pencil thing.  Iron sound that all the points are neat, and the openings have their edges neatly tucked in.  Don't skip the ironing - it really helps.
8.  Starting just after the opening on one side, top stitch around the crown.  When you reach the opening on the opposite side, insert on end of the elastic (about 1/2"-1" from the base of the crown) and back stitch over it a few times.  Continue topstitching around the crown, and repeat the elastic insertion with the other end.  Be sure not to twist the elastic.
 Feel free to sell items made from this pattern; however, if you do, please give credit to me as the designer. 

Dolls and their Clothes: Super Easy Patterns

My girls love their new dolls.  I love their new dolls.  In fact, I secretly wish the red headed one was mine.  Well, not so secretly.  I'm impressed with how easily you can clean the skin, and I love that the wigs can be styled in lots of ways.  It always bummed me out that the girl Cabbage Patch Kids had those huge bald spots when you took out their pig tails - but these dolls can have up or down do's.  I braided them now, but look forward to trying some other hairstyles as the girls get a little older.

I loved the Weir kit I used.  I know it would be satisfying to make one of these from scratch, but if you don't want to hunt down all the materials, and if you're looking to skip a few steps to save time, these kits are really great.

I wasn't sure if I'd get around to making clothes before Christmas. The Weir kit comes with clothing patterns that aren't too complicated, and the panties are so cleverly simple.  But, they were still more work than I really had time (read: motivation) for.  So, I fell back on this super easy pattern that I got from my Granny via an old bunny she made when I was a kid.  This is the same pattern I used for L's baby dolls a couple of years ago.  I also put together a quick pants pattern, that is pretty much the same as every pajama/baby/doll pant I've ever seen. 


The shirt pattern has several things going for it:  It's super easy and fast, which is great when you want to whip up a bunch to mix and match.   Another nice thing, is that it's easy for children to learn to put on themselves - which Mommies are always grateful for.  The elastic in the neck and the roominess of the blouse allows you to just slip it over the dolls head.  Plus, the basic shape is easy to adapt to fit most any shape or size doll.  I drafted mine for the 14" doll, but you can make it fit whatever you need.

So, when L told me she needed more pants, it gave me the motivation to get sewing again after such a long break.  Yesterday, I put together two more pairs of pants, two shirts, two dresses (the shirt only longer), and one nightgown (the dress in flannel).  The girls are really into dress up, so I'm anticipating lots of dolly dress up today.
 

 

I've put the pattern together for you, and it should work with most common 14" dolls (this includes Waldorf, American Girl dolls, and even Cabbage Patch Kids).  It's a 2 page pdf, and all the instructions are inside the patterns so when you cut them out, you won't have to keep a separate page for instructions.  Isn't that tidy?  I've included basic instructions and guidelines for adapting the pattern to different size dolls.  These are adapted from old doll clothes, so they aren't original to me - please, use them however you like.  Download it here.

A few tips:
1.  Pull the elastic in the neck tight so that it isn't too big.  Also, the waldorf dolls are pretty skinny, so the elastic in the pants should be smaller than you expect.
2.  To save time, cut out your pants with the bottom of the leg along the selvedge so that you don't have to hem the pants.
3.  Use knit, quilting cotton, or fleece.  This pattern seems to work with most anything.
4.  To add a little shape to the dress, tie a ribbon around the waist.

Waldorf Dolls

I gave up several plans for homemade gifts this year, but I still wanted to make something special for the girls.  I'm decided to make them each a 16" Waldorf doll - assuming I get it done in time.  I'm not into fairies and lots of Celtic stuff, but I really appreciate the Waldorf philosophy of keeping things simple to encourage children to use their imagination more.  I fell in love with these dolls after seeing a couple that my friend Julie made.  They are so much more beautiful in person than on the computer.  I could see myself loving one of these dolls, so I'm hoping the girls will, too. 

I bought the kits from Weir Crafts, and I'm pretty pleased with it.  I saw this great photo set on Flickr with step by step pictures here that helped me see the whole process.  There are a lot of steps, but overall it doesn't seem to difficult.

Weir offers pre-made heads, bodies, or wigs with their kits, and makes it super easy to put together the colors you want.  I opted for the pre-made wigs since I was worried about running out of time.  I just started these heads today, so we'll see how I do with time.  But I'm feeling confident.  I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Any tips for making these lovely dolls?  Anybody know if Cabbage Patch Kid clothes fit them?

Tree Costume Tutorial

You can download the one page tutorial here, which is almost unnecessary. I probably should have just typed it into the blog post, but I think I'm addicted to Adobe Illustrator now.  This tree body was super easy.  I sat down and sewed both in about thirty minutes.  The leaves were a bit more time consuming.  I cut them out and sewed them on the hat by hand (the sleeves by machine) while watching a movie after the girls went to bed.  It took awhile, but it wasn't hard.  You could probably do it all on machine much faster if you were motivated. 

I made both costumes from a fleece throw blanket and a pair of green sweatpants from Goodwill, under $5, you can't be that.  These fabrics are great since they don't unravel, so I didn't finish any edges.  Which I think is the way it should be for a Halloween costume.

Oh yes, I also used some scrap green knit for L's hat and a head band for J.  I couldn't keep the head band on her, so maybe a hat that I can tie on is still in the works.  We'll see.  At the last minute I decided to add a little pocket to each tree trunk so we could put little woodland creatures in the trees.  L is sporting a squirrel. 

L is a very happy tree, J is running off to join her fellow saplings in the woods.

Dressing Up

We're all costumes around here.  Last time I rearranged the living room (it's a small house, so I'm always rearranging to meet our changing needs), I put a basket of dress up things in the kids corner.  There are tutus, aprons, bandannas, hats, cat ears, and crocheted pinafores.  Having them accessible has made us dig in and put them on almost daily.  Today, I'm adding a few new things.

First, Spoonflower is having another themed fabric contest for Halloween masks (go vote for me!).  I couldn't resist, so I joined the fun.  My fat quarter has four masks: bunny, cat, dog and owl.  L has been begging me to make the cat and dog, so I finally did today.  They were pretty easy to whip together.  I put an elastic around the head, but the girls felt a little trapped like that - so I think for the next two, I'm going to leave out the elastic and just sew on some strings so it can be tied on or just held in place.

And Second, I had a good idea for a Halloween costume, and L is pretty excited about it, so we made a trip to Goodwill and got started.  Yes, my little girls are going to be trees.  It's taking everything I have to wait until I finish the costume to tell you all about it, but there will be a full tutorial when I'm done.  Which is good, because I need a good excuse for making their costumes a month early.  This is L holding her branches up sans leaves.

L may be a little confused by all the costumes.  She told me she's going to be a tree for Halloween and she's going to wear cat ears and say meow.

Cat Ears Tutorial

 I'm planning a mother daughter night soon.  L and I will be going to see the middle school play The Aristocats.  I'm too excited.  I want it to be an over the top girls night, three year old style.  I made these cat ears for L and I to wear to the play, and perhaps to the gelato place afterwards.  J isn't quite ready to sit through a play, but she'll get to wear the ears, too.  Any recommendations for making the night more fun?

I sort of figured out the ears as I went, and it turned out pretty easy.  I think the trick is that the ear fabric needs to be thick so that it will stand up.  I bought our headbands at the dollar store, and they have a fabric cover over them, which also might help hold the ears in place.  I meant to get some that were hair colored, but L liked these bright colored ones and they did seem comfier.  I think they turned out well.  I didn't sketch out a pattern, so you'll have to draw your own ear shape, which I'm sure you can handle.  I think bunny ears would be great, too.

Materials:

thick fabric, lightweight fabric

head band, matching embroidery floss

1.  Cut 4 ears from a thick fabric like fleece, flannel, or - like mine - an old baby sleeper.  

2.  cut 2 smaller ears for the inner ear.  Fold the raw edges toward the back and iron flat.  Top stitch or hand sew to on of the fleece ears. 

3.  With RSF, sew front and back fleece ears together.  Turn RSO and tuck bottom edges in.  

4.  Place one ear over headband where you'd like it.  Starting on one side from the back, stitch through the bottom edge of the ear, around the headband, and back in the bottom edge. Repeat along the entire bottom edge.  Repeat with second ear.

Hope that's clear enough!  Let me know if you need better pictures.

Mr. Fox

The dapper and cuddly Mr. Fox is now drafted into a pattern and available below. The pattern has a bunch of pieces, but is still fairly simple. It includes instructions for making your own little tie, too. I'm packing mine up in a box to send off to a sweet little boy and his new little sister tomorrow. Why is Christmas so far away anyway?

Download the pattern here until Friday at noon (I decided to extend it a bit).   Updated:  The giveaway is over, you can find it in the shop.  Enjoy! And please share your foxes in the wewilsons flickr pool!

Sidetracked

My sister asked if I would make a fox for my nephew for Christmas.  He's been watching a fox in their backyard and calling him Mr. Fox.  Even though Christmas is over 4 months away, I decided to start on the fox right away - I get excited about new projects.  


Anyway, I love how he turned out.  I usually make my little animals small and compact, but I wanted this guy to be really huggable.  So he's long and floppy, and made of oh-so soft linen, stuffed with wool.  I made him a simple little tie to make him more of a Mister.

I decided he'd make a great pattern, so I made a second one just to get all the details right.  Consider this your pattern-giveaway head's up.  I'm hoping to have it finished in the next few days.

Mark My Words

I have commitment issues when it comes to reading long books.  Perhaps its because I get distracted by the need to draw several punny bookmarks?  No, that can't be it.  Whatever it is, having a good bookmark is essential for reading a good long book - so why not have a clever one? 

Nose Stuck in a Book

Dog Ear

I drew mine on cardstock and cut them out.  I've put all three on a single page, so you can just print and cut them out.  I think you could laminate them and they'd make great stocking stuffers or favors for your next book club?   Download the bookmarks here.

Okay, back to reading.

Sewing, sewing

I've been sewing like crazy cakes lately.  I got some new wool stuffing and cotton batting, and I can't believe how awesome it feels.  Somehow, I've been much more productive than usual, and boy, is that fun!  Our new local Arts Commission is having an Arts event at the end of the month, and I really want to participate - because, seriously, isn't it great we have a new local Arts Commission?

So, I'm sewing and sewing. I've got a growing basket of turtles, flying pigs, a giraffe, crocodiles and sharks (yes, sharks!), turnover dolls (ooh, that's new, too), some old fiber art, and a few flip dolls.  Also, I'm finishing up a custom George and the Dragon flip doll, an Alchemy request, and working on a submission to the Renaissance Regional Art Exhibit, which was the inspiration for the turn over dolls.

So I need to show you these new Turn Over Dolls - at least that's what I'm calling them.   One set is a bunny on one side, and a duck on the other. The other design is a cat and fish.  Cool?

And check out my shark.  Yes, it's basically the Smile Crocodile pattern, but in a shark shape. I'll be adding the pattern to the shop as Hungry Shark, unless you guys have a better name?

I had a bit of housekeeping to do, to get legal with the new CPSIA.  If you don't know, all items intended for children now have to be tested for lead and labeled with the makers information.   Items made of fabric and natural materials are exempt from lead testing - thank goodness.  My crocodiles and sharks are made with zippers that I did not test, but the manufacturer did and has a certificate stating there lead free, and yada yada.  It's complicated, and I'm still trying to figure it out, but I'm trying to comply with all the  requirements.  And hey, don't my tags look super cool? 

Have you seen Alchemy on Etsy?  Buyers can describe something they'd like to have made, and then designers make bids for the job.  I've sort of ignored it until now, but now the possibilities for collaborating with interesting folks is totally exciting.  Right now, I'm working on a Plush Walking Stick (Bug) - I mean, what a fun idea, right?

 Whew, that's a lot of pictures for today.  After the Arts in the Alley, I'll be adding all the left over plushes to the shop, so be sure to check in at the end of the month.

Full Circle

The first flip doll I made was actually one of the first toys I made.  I made it for L for her first Christmas.  She was learning her first words, and so I made her a cat and chicken.  It was a little goofy looking, and I had to sew the skirt on by hand because I couldn't figure out a better way to construct it.  Nevertheless, all of you in craft-blog land were so encouraging it made me want to figure it out and make it better.

I started thinking about it immediately, but it was almost two years before I put together the Bunny and Fox flip doll.  This one is clever and flips snugly, and I was pretty excited to figure out a way to assemble it all on the machine so that it would be sturdy.  BUT... honestly, it was a bit cumbersome and big.  Susannah of Art Nest, says something like that in this sweet pattern review.  I thought I was satisfied, and so I made George and the Dragon and my Super Hero from the same pattern.

I got such a great response about these dolls, and several people asked me about commissions.  But I just couldn't bring myself to sew that cumbersome pattern again.  So I declined.  And it ate at me.  I wanted to make this pattern work. 

Finally, this summer, I decided it was time to work out the problems with the pattern.  So this is what I did.  First, I made the George pattern again, making both dolls according to the flip pattern, but not joining them, so that they are actually two separate dolls.

George turned out adorable, but I realized that if I had been starting from scratch, I would have made the dragon totally different. Both of them had seams and steps that were originally included to facilitate the flip, making them unnecessarily complicated without it.

So the next step was to redesign the two dolls as separate dolls.  This time I made them smaller to fit nicely in little hands, and I just simplified the pattern overall, making them more like simple rag dolls. 

 I had a little tweaking to do, but I loved this George and the Dragon about a million times more than the original.  So did I still need the flip?  I considered forgetting it altogether, but I remembered that it was the whole reason I'd started down this design path, so I took one more stab at it, joining the rag dolls in a simple way.  I worried it was too simple - but it turned out simple was the way to go.  Flip doll success!

Now that I've figured out the basic form, I'm on a roll.  I've got about six more designs stewing, and I'm starting to go into project overload!  I said that my next pattern would be an American folk hero (and he's still coming), but he's a little detail heavy, and I needed a little break.  So...

This week, J started saying, "kitty cat," and it reminded me of the cat doll I made for L three years ago.  So, I quickly made a very simple flip doll for J - the Owl and the Pussycat (I can't resist a literary reference!).  This is definitely the easiest flip doll pattern I've made.  With much fewer details and no pesky arms and legs, this little doll came together in no time.  This time, I know it will hold up with lots of play - plus it's pretty darn cute. 

Making this simple little cat flip doll for J was one of those full-circle moments.  Back to a super simple design, but one that I feel confident and proud of.  It feels like... growing up.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf flip doll pattern

Flip doll number two is here.  When, I made my first flip doll, so many people told me about the Little Red Riding Hood they had as a kid in the topsy turvy style (with the big skirt).  There are a bunch of vintage handmade ones on etsy - I'm amazed none of them look quite the same.  So I wanted to make one of these for tradition's sake.

My version has Red and the Wolf, and the Wolf has Grandma's hat so you can dress him up, making it perfect for storytelling.  Red's pocket is full of flowers she's been picking for her grandmother when she meets the sly old Wolf.  See more pictures on flickr. 

I don't have much else to say about this little doll - I hope she speaks for herself.  I was a little eager last night and posted the instructions without the pattern - I guess midnight is too late to be blogging?  All is well now.  So here's the deal - 300 free downloads right here.  As always, please let me know what you think of the pattern and instructions.  Update:  Thanks everyone!  I just cut off the giveaway at 335 downloads. 

George and the Dragon are in the shop, and one more flip doll is coming soon - here's a hint:  an American folk tale!

George and the Dragon flip doll pattern... and the Princess, too!

George and the Dragon are finally here!  When I made the first George and the Dragon last year, I assumed I would make a pattern - but there were a few design issues holding me back.  Maybe I'll write a whole post about that later.  A few experiments and three versions later, George and his buddy are a fairly simple ragdoll pattern with a twist.  Ahem, I mean a flip.

He still has the flip up visor and fancy plume.  The dragon has ric rac spines and yellow eyes and toenails.  A few new details include George's crest and the dragon's wings.  You can read a version of the story here and here. 

The pattern itself is much more user friendly that the Bunny and Fox pattern, although making all the little decorative bits can be a bit time consuming.  Still, I made the last one in about four hours - so not too time consuming.  Oh yes, and this pattern features hand drawn diagrams, rather than photographs, which I think turned out awesome, if I do say so myself. 

The pattern also includes a rag doll Princess pattern, and alternate instructions for making George and the Dragon into simple rag dolls instead of a flip doll - which I think is more appropriate for little ones who can't flip them yet.

 I have two new flip patterns coming over the next two weeks, and those will each have the usual limited time giveaways, so stay tuned.  There may even be a doll giveaway!  For now, George can be found in the shop.   

I made a couple videos of me flipping it.  I had a little assistant, so the videos are perhaps not the most clear, but still amusing, I hope.