Christmas PJ's

In my little family, we don't have a lot of traditions yet, but we are working on it. We introduced a new tradition this year.

I was talking with J and H about why we celebrate Christmas, and said we were celebrating Jesus' birth day. Immediately J and H asked if he gets a cake? A birthday cake is necessary to the celebration they told me. And so yesterday, we baked a cake together, and put one candle on, for the first year we have done this, and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was a very sweet thing for me to witness, that my sons wanted to celebrate His birthday.

But there is one tradition we have done every year since J was born, Christmas PJ's. That is my job for today, 3 pairs of pj pants, and a nice thermal shirt. Use this post to make your own easy pj pants. I am using fleece and won't be hemming them.

What are your Holiday Traditions?

CHEF HAT!!

Remember yesterday when I showed you how to make an apron? Today we are learning to make the matching Chef Hat! I am so excited to see the boys in these, I think I am going to plan all sorts of meals for them to help me with.

CHEF HAT

You will need to measure your little guys head. J's head is 19" around. I am using elastic so I added three inches to the length. Cut one rectangle 22" by 6".

Start by making a circle pattern on freezer paper. I did mine by tracing a really big Tupperware lid and adding an inch all the way around-I was lucky I had a bowl big enough. I have also used two pens attached to a string to make a circle. Good Luck! 

Now the difficult part. The circumference of your circle (distance around the outside) should be the head size plus 3" (22). This is the math part-I apologize for this. 

To get the right circle size, first find the diameter (distance across) of your smaller circle. The formula is d=c/3.14. In my case,  d=22 / 3.14. d = 7.  I added my 8" for height. The diameter of the circle I need is 15". 

I then drew my circle, folded it in half, and cut it in half along the fold.

Place your half circle on your fabric on the fold. I did not use the fold from the bolt, but made my own fold closer to the selvage edge. I did this to make the fabric more usable, and I didn't want a huge hole in the middle. 

Now you should have one large rectangle (pictured folded) and one large circle. 

For the band, fold your rectangle in half matching 6" sides, and sew with a half inch seam allowance. 

Press the seam open.

Fold the band in half, matching the seams and raw edges, with right sides out.

Pin 3" away on either side of the seam to make a casing for the elastic. ***NOTE: When sewing and pinning, only get the back side of your band-it should still open like a circle! The pins should secure the wrong sides of the back of the band.

1.5" up from the bottom edge, sew a line parallel to the bottom edge. You now have a casing for elastic. 

Cut a 3" piece of 1" elastic. Using a safety pin, thread your elastic through the casing. Stop when your elastic is pulled to the edge of the seam. 

Pin your elastic, and use a zigzag stitch to secure it down. Continue pulling the elastic through the casing, and secure it the same way.

It will gather nicely for you and should look like this.

Now get your circle and use a basting stitch to gather. To gather, run a very long stitch around the whole circle, DO NOT BACKSTITCH. 

Hold the top thread tightly and pull the bobbing thread, this will cause your fabric to gather. Push your gathers back and continue until your circle now has a gathered edge that is rougly 19" -or the circumference of your little guys head.

See what the gathers look like? The sides of the circle will now stand up.

Pin the circle inside the hat band matching raw edges. Sew together making sure to sew towards the inside of the hat from the gathered seam. This will ensure that your gather seam is hidden. I like to serge the edges here, if you don't have access to a serger, use a zig zag seam close to the raw edges to prevent fraying. 

Viola! A Chef Hat!

Doesn't it look great? I am in LOVE with these aprons and think I may have to whip one up for the MR! He needs to match too, and considering he enjoys cooking and I endure it, it sounds like a plan to me!

What do you think? Do you have apron and chef hat making in your fute

LITTLE BOY APRONS!

My Little boys LOVE helping in the kitchen, and I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to wrap am adult sized apron around their little bodies. On Christmas Morning they will be opening  a custom fit apron and chef hat. I can't wait to see how they like it! 

CUSTOM FIT APRON

The first step is measuring your child. The measurements you will need are:

Length from just bellow center collar bone to just below knee. Mine: 22"
Length from center collar bone to waist. Mine: 7"
Length across chest at armpit level. Mine: 7"
Waist. Mine: 14"
Length starting at armpit level on one side, around neck, and to armpit on other side. Mine: 16"

Drawing your own pattern. Use Freezer paper and a ruler to draw your pattern. 

(1)At the top make a line that is half your chest across length. My line is 3.5".

(2)Using your ruler, draw your second line 7" down from the top line. Draw a parallel line that is half the waist length. My line is 7".

(3)Measure down from your top line the full length of the apron, in my case 22". Draw a third parallel line half the length of the waist. Another 7" line for me. 

Last connect line 1 to line 2 with a sloping line. This will be done free hand, just go slowly until you have the shape that you want.

Cut one on the fold of your fabric. I used a lightweight denim because I know these are for little boys and I wanted durability. Cutting on the fold ensures that both sides match.

Prepare your pocket. Cut a strip of fabric on the grain that is 22" by 6". Press in half matching 6" ends.

Sew around all three open sides, leaving a small opening for turning. This will leave all your edges enclosed in your pocket. Clip corners, turn and press.

Cut two 14" by 2.5" strips that will become the ties, and one 18" by 2.5". Sew all three into tubes with ends closed and a small opening to turn them on the length. Look at the bottom tube to see where I put mine. Backstitch at all start/stop points. 

Clip corners, turn right side out and press. Make sure to use a pencil and push the corners out so you have a nice clean corner. 

Instead of finishing all the edges by turning, and pressing twice. I put a binding around the entire edge. After binding I pinned one tie to each side at the waist point and top stitched down. I pinned the neck band to the top and top stitched there as well. Instead of binding you can use bias tape as well. Need help binding? I am going to send you to Ashley at MakeitLoveit for help. I do finish mine a little differently, but my pictures are blurry so my own tutorial will have to wait.

Pin your pocket onto the right side of your fabric. Make sure the opening you left is on the bottom so it will be sewn closed. Sew around three edges, leaving the top of the pocket open. I sewed right at the edge, and then another stitch 1/8" next to it. Then in the middle of your pocket, sew two seams to divide the pocket into two pockets. I sewed then 1/4" apart.

And that is it! I am so excited for the boys to open these! Along with some measuring spoons, wooden spoons, and a safety potato peeler. (utensils purchased at the dollar store!) 

Stop by tomorrow for the chef hat tutorial-You will be so happy to see how easy and fast it is!

Taking a break...today

I have a confession to make...I have only bough ONE thing for the kids so far this year. And today, MR and I will be out doing our shopping. I don't have a new project today, as I need supplies that will be purchased during our shopping adventure. I do have at least one more project for you this week, but I hope to keep this week simple and enjoy the Holidays with the kids. If you need some gift ideas, I have done some easy ones already this month.

Credit Card Wallet

Rice Bag with Cover

Bean Bags and Toss Bins

Child Scarves

Beaded or Chunky Watches

Home Made Key Fob

I hope there are enough ideas to last you until tomorrow!! Are you finished with your Holiday Shopping?

Credit Card Wallet

What a day it has been already! I seem to have 3 little boys who are unhappy-arguing and crying all morning, and the day isn't even half over yet! Here's hoping for a Mommy time out to rejuvenate my nerves. 

Last night I made a Credit Card wallet to match one of the key fobs I made. (Remember those? See them here.)

I started with picking out two materials, one for the outside and one for the inside. I picked a third fabric for one small piece as well, to be one of the pockets. 

I started by making a freezer paper pattern. Here are the measurements: 

CUT 2 5 1/2 inch squares, one of each outside and inside fabrics

CUT one piece from three different fabrics 5 1.2 inches by 7 inches

CUT 2 5 inch squares from light weight fusible interfacing.

To make the flap, draw one edge 5 1/2 inch line and 2 inches away center a 3 1/2 inch line. Draw a diagonal line from each end point to make a trapezoid shape. See my pattern pieces below. CUT one from each outside and inside fabric. 

Using your iron, fuse your interfacing to the wrong side of each 5 1/2 inch square. It isn't pictured, but you should have a small edge without interfacing around the edge. 

With right sides together, sew your rectangles (7 by 5.5" pieces) into a tube, matching 5.5 inch ends. Just one seam along the bottom, leaving the ends open.

Turn right sides out and press.

We are now going to make the pockets for the cards. On the right side of the inside fabric, pin one of the rectangles with the fold towards the top. I figured out where to place the pocket by putting a gift card on top where I wanted it to fit and then placing the fabric 1/4 lower. Sew along the bottom. See the arrows? Start with the tallest pocket, and add to it so that the seams don't close off your pockets. 

Continue with the next two flaps, only sewing along the bottom edge, with folded edge towards the top.

Mark the middle and sew one seam down the center, so you will have two rows of pockets. 

With right sides together, sew around three sides of your flap leaving the longest edge open. Clip corners, and turn right side out. Press.

With your flap facing inside (as pictured) pin the raw edges along one side of the inside piece. Baste. Your pockets should be secured only by the seams along the bottom and the middle.

With right sides together, pin your outer fabric to the pocketed inside. With a 1/4 inch seam, sew around all four sides, leaving an opening above the pockets to turn. Clip corners.

Turn Right sides out, push out your corners, press and top stitch along the top edge only. Measure and mark where you want your snaps to be. I used sew on snaps.

Test your size, and be impressed with how well you did! 

Doesn't it look nice paired with a key fob? Who should I give this to for Christmas? It makes a great thoughtful gift. 

By the way,  I have some great posts coming up for next week-I will be making some things for the boys and I know you'll want to see them!

Rice Heat Pack with cover!

I spend all winter Cold. Living in the mountains, as I do, I am subject to continuous cold weather. I love a nice heating pad. My problem with electric ones is that they are not safe in bed. So if I want to have my freezing cold toes on one, I have to be willing to get out of bed after I am all warm and toasty. See my dilemma? So today, I am making a RICE HEATING PACK. You will want to make one too, once you see how easy it is. 

Start by cutting out your fabric. You will need a lining and an outer bag fabric. I cut mine out each in one piece that was folded, but that is not necessary. The measurements:

Lining: CUT 2 11" by 7"

Bag: CUT 2 12" by 8"

Flap: CUT 2 12" by 4"

Start with the lining fabric. Because I cut one long piece of each I folded all my pieces in half. But I will instruct as if I had done it with two separate pieces of fabric-please imagine the last seam line.

With right sides together, sew both short sides and one long side together. On the remaining side, start a seam, and then leave 3 openings along it. Backstitch at your start/stop points.  These openings are the beginnings of channels for the rice. The pins mark where I will put seams later. Clip corners and turn right side out through one of the openings at the top. Press.

Sew 2 straight seams down the width of your lining bag, one seam in between each of your openings.  It should look like this. Use a funnel and fill with rice.

***NOTE:The purpose of the channels is so that the rice is not able to pool at one end and leave one end cold.

Pin closed after filling and hand stitch each opening closed OR if you are daring, carefully top stitch closed. (I don't recommend this option. It is hard to maneuver and more than one needle has broken trying to come down on top of rice...) Your rice filled lining is done!

Next, the flap. Sew around two short edges and one long edge. You want your flap to look like this. Clip corners, turn, and press. After turning, I serged the unfinished edge. If you do not have a serger, press the raw edge inside 1/4 inch and baste the opening.

For the bag body, finish the top edge with a serger if possible or fold over 1/4 inch and sew down. Sew around 3 sides of the bag body, along both long edges, and the bottom open, you want your finished edge left open. Clip corners, and serge the remaining seams if possible. Turn and press.

Pin your flap to the back of your bag body, matching serged/finished edges. Sew down with a 1/4 inch seam. 

Open flap, and press seam down into the bag, and continue around the whole opening. Stitch down as close to the original edge as possible. So my stitch is 1/4 inch in.

Add velcro or buttons to keep your bag closed once your rice bag is inside.

I left my bag big(The measurements I provided won't be this roomy) on accident. I did adjust the pattern size here.

VARIATION: My boys love to have something warm on their feet too when they sleep, and in keeping with the color tradition, J and H both get a rice bag in their correct colors. I made their bags with a washcloth, and I followed the instructions for the rice bag, but skipped the outer decorative bag. Their little toes will be so toasty!

Finished! Doesn't it look great? My toes are cold as I write this and I am headed to warm it up now!

TO HEAT: Place rice bag with out decorative cover in the microwave. Microwave for 2 minutes, and then check your bag. If more time is needed flip over and set again. If you want your bag to be cold, place in ziploc bag first and put in your freezer for 30 minutes. Enjoy! This would also make a great gift for someone on your Holiday list, and it's quick and easy! What do you think?