A pretty party dress.

A family friend gave Little Imp a very white dress and cardigan set a while back that looks home crafted and very pretty in its own way, but not really something she might wear before she grows too big to wear it at all.

We have a wedding in the family coming up in the next few months & Little Imp needs a party frock.

The cardigan to start with

Hating to see a gift never worn, but also not too happy with the outfit as it looked to start - too white, too boring  - I decided to give it a makeover.

The finished dress

Some gold ribbons and bows were sewn into the woolen dress & the skinny white bodice ribbon replaced with a thick gold satin ribbon to be tied in a large bow at the back.

                      

 

Of course I've also made a matching pretty gold satin hair clip for Little Imp (in an attempt to somehow tame her wayward hair, where on earth did the double-crown genes come from!?!)

Organised...Disaster

 I've been needing some new ribbon for a while, for embellishing cards, making some more taggy baby toys and no doubt many other projects I am yet to think of.  Scouting around Spotlight I chanced upon a whole 3 racks of  clearance ribbons by the spool, only 70c each, so I stocked up.

Looking at the state of my current messy ball of existing ribbons, and with my need for order I decided to fashion a ribbon box to keep these ribbon spools mess free.  I'd seen something along these lines a while back in a craft magazine, but that was much fancier than what I had in mind.  A cardboard takeaway box that I'd been keeping for goodness knows what was finally put to use.  3mm wide spools along one side, 10mm spool along the other and holes made to thread the ribbon through.  A bit of prettiness stuck to the top of the box and hey presto, ribbon box complete!

                            

    

 

..... And then....

.... Disaster Struck.... 

Disaster in the name of Little Imp.  

My fault really, leaving the box within reach, but oh what a tangled mess!

Basic 'How To':

• Find a box that snugly fits all the spools of ribbon you have either in one row or two
• Using a sharp implement poke/cut holes enough to match the number of spools in the box 
• Then poke through the ribbon from the end of spool and place the spools side by side in the box 
• This will leave you with a small piece of each ribbon sticking out each hole ready to unravel without tangle

ps. if you too have a Little Imp you might want to work out a way of securing the lid of your box better than I did first time around!

Crinkly, Crunchy Tag Toy

My take on the popular 'taggy' toys for little ones.

A few prototypes first before I was happy with my version.  Not only loopy tags of different textures to pull and explore, but a crinkly noise inside to go with any exploration of the cloth.  A piece of cello cushioned inside a thin layer of wadding within the outer velvety soft fabric to make it extra enticing for little fingers to explore.  Happy with the end product at last.  So I decided to make up 3 more as gifts for all the newborn baby girls I know.

Basic Tutorial:

• cut 2x 7inch squares of a soft fabric
• cut 4inch cello paper square
• cut 4inch square batting and tear in half to make 2 thinner pieces of batting
• sandwich cello in between batting pieces
• centre this 'sandwich' onto wrong side of one piece of fabric and hand baste to secure
•  on other piece of fabric pin different doubled over ribbon lengths in place (onto right side of fabric with loops pointing inwards).  Vary the textures and also tie knots in some of the ribbons for interest.  Machine stitch in place close to edge (use stretch stitch if using stretchy/knit fabric).
• Machine stitch both fabric squares right sides together, leaving a 1.5inch hole to turn right side out.
• Once turned right side out, straight stitch close to the edge around border, re-securing the ribbons in place and forming a nice neat edge.
• Sew a small 'X' over the cello & batting sandwich using a decorative stitch (don't go fully corner to corner as this makes the toy too stiff).  Easy!