Shelley Made: April 2012

Saturday 28 April 2012

Reversible Baby Beanie Tutorial




This is a tutorial for sewing up my cut and sew, pre-printed reversible baby beanies which are available on Spoonflower

UPDATE AUGUST 2012:  After a number of requests for a paper pattern for these little beanies, I've made the full pattern pieces and a PDF version of this tutorial available for sale on my online store.  That way you can use any stretch knit fabric you like!

Requirements:
  • My pre-printed fabric beanie pattern
  • Coordinating thread
  • Sewing machine or serger.
  • Needle and thread
 

Instructions:

1.     First step – prewash your fabric.  It will shrink.  Cotton knit does, but that is not a problem as I’ve allowed for shrinkage on my pattern. 

2.      Cut out your pattern pieces.  You will need two (2) matching pieces for one beanie.  They should each look like this:




3.      Fold each piece in half down the centre, printed sides together.




4.      Sew down the short seam at the top and bottom of the pieces, using a 6mm (¼ inch) seam.  I use a serger, but if you use a regular machine, use a zig-zag or stretch stitch.


You should have this when you are done...four seams altogether:



5.      Open the pieces out, and place them right sides together.  Make sure you match the patterns!




6.      Pin the pieces together – leaving an opening of around 1.5 inches for turning.  I find it easier to change the direction of my pins so I don’t miss them!  The opening should be about 2 inches from the centre of the side...  This way your handsewing or maching stitching will be hidden under the cuff.



7.      Sew around the circumference, again either with a serger or regular zig-zag stitch.  Don’t forget to leave that opening!!


8.      Turn the beanie right way through using your opening... 





9.      Push the raw edges through, and give it a press.  This will give you a good line for stitching closed the opening. 



Push one end of the hat inside the other, and press around the fold line to give a nice finish. Nearly done!




10.   Close the opening.  I prefer to handstitch, taking very small stitches on alternate sides (I use my knee to hold the hat while I stitch).  You could always take a very very small seam on your sewing machine if you are averse to hand sewing...





11.   Turn up your cuff and you are done!  Easy as that.  J



There you go...an easy reversible beanie for a little baby.  Enjoy!
Coming soon..a tutorial for the matching reversible bibs!


Friday 27 April 2012

Cut & Sew Beanies and Bibs

I'm rather excited...  I received my first set of my Cut & Sew fabric prints for babies yesterday, and today I found out the baby girl beanie design made the Top 10 in the Spoonflower Fabric of the Week competition! 

I was up late last night sewing one set up, so I could see how they turned out, before putting them up for sale today. 

This was the result:

Reversible Baby Beanie and Bib - Girls

Reversible Bib


Reversible Beanie

They are sized to be printed on Spoonflower's lovely soft organic knit (as it has a nice stretch to it).  I have a set of 5 reversible beanies, and a set of 7 reversible bibs - one for boys, and one for girls.  Each set fits on a yard of fabric.

Super easy to make.  I designed the bib back when my daughter was a tiny baby.  She had reflux, and we went through a LOT of bibs.  I wanted something not too big, and soft around her little neck.  I only wish Spoonflower had been around 4 years ago!


Each of the fabric designs used in the patterns are also available separately, so that you can make matching blankets, etc.

The designs are printed directly onto the organic knit fabric at Spoonflower.  There are the baby girl beanies (click on the images to see the details):

Reversible Baby Beanies - Baby Girl!

These are the baby boy's:

Reversible Beanies - Baby Boy

...and of course there had to be matching bibs, girls:

Reversible Bibs - Baby Girl

...and boys...

Reversible Bibs - Baby Boy

I'll be sewing more up over the weekend, so will have more photos to share soon, and I think I'll do a tutorial for them.  The instructions are printed on the fabric, but it never hurts to have some step by step photos!

I'm very pleased with how they turned out - what do you think??

I've just finished a tutorial on making the beanies - you can see it here.  I'll have one for the bibs soon.

:)

Monday 23 April 2012

My Fabric in Use...

I'm always thrilled to see what people make with my fabric, and I've had a couple of opportunities to see the end result lately.

First - Janice of Bluebird Mountain on Etsy has made some lovely Kindle covers.  She used both the grey and mid blue colours of my personalised fabric, which I designed for her with "Read" and "Books"



The other is Susanne, who recently posted about the neat quilted pillow she made on her blog Quilt It Out:

names fabric quilted pillow

If you have made something with one of my fabrics, and would like to share it, I've created a Flickr group.  Feel free to add to it - I love seeing what you make! :)