see kate sew

This post is sponsored by Nature’s Fabrics! Check out their selection of amazing knits and more here!

My kids are always fighting over blankets during movie night so I had to fix the problem by making them each their own blanket with an animal hood!. These are the right size for a kids hooded blanket and have fun animal hoods, too, which keeps the blanket in place but also makes it extra fun! I made 3 different hoods for all different personalities! A cat, a unicorn and panda bear (change this to a bear by taking off the spots!).

These are all made with cotton velour, so they are super pretty, lustrous and soft! Nature’s Fabric has a ton of great fabrics, tons of knits and a lot of substrates that you don’t find at any old fabric shop! They are all nice fabric blends too, bamboos, rayons, cottons! So many natural fibers at work!

I love their selection of velvets and velours so it was fun to dive into those for this project. I think everyone needs a velour blanket!

Materials//
–3 yards of velour for each blanket
-1/4 yard cotton for lining
–lightweight fusible interfacing
–1″ elastic lace
–iron-on vinyl or black puffy paint 
-pattern downloads + iron-on SVG files/ paint templates

Hooded Blanket Templates

  

Sven Sofa c/o Article

Cat Hooded Blanket//
–Victorian Mauve Cotton Velour 
-purple lining fabric

Bear/Panda Hooded Blanket//
–Black Cotton Velour 
–Off-white Cotton Velour
-grey lining fabric

Unicorn Hooded Blanket//
–Lilac Cotton Velour
-iridescent pleather/scraps for horn
-mane is scraps of

• Citrus Cotton Velour 
• Medium Blue Bamboo Velour
• Orchid Bambo Velour 

Instructions//

Use a 3/8″ seam allowance.

Cut yardage down to about 68/70″ by 80″

Fold under 3/4″ around all sides of the blanket to finish the edges. Sew at 5/8″ using a zig zag stitch.

 

Use the extra yardage to cut out the hood pieces.

Use a cotton coordinate to cut out 2 more hood pieces for lining. Cut 2 more lining pieces of fusible interfacing.

Use iron-on vinyl or puff paint to add facial features to the velour front.

Fuse interfacing to the back of the lining pieces.

 

 

Sew velour front to velour back with right sides together.

Sew lining front to lining back with right sides together.

Clip corners and trim seam allowance. Turn velour hood right side out but leave lining hood INSIDE OUT.

Slip lining over velour hood and match up the curved hem along the bottom of the front piece.

Sew FRONT ONLY along the curved seam.

Turn right side out and press front pieces. The back lining and velour will still have raw edges. Press them and match bottom edges together.

Topstitch the hood to the blanket in the middle of the longest side.

Use elastic lace to cover the raw edges. Sew on by creating a rectangle all the way around the lace.

And you’re done!

F0r the unicorn, cut out the unicorn horn piece from an iridescent or gold shiny fabric. Fold into a cone and sew along the edge. Fill with fiberfill stuffing. Flatten the bottom and baste to the center of the unicorn’s head.

Cut out strips of velour 3/4″ wide by about 12″ long. Cut between 8 and 12 strips and sew them to the top of the unicorn front piece. Finish the unicorn hood by sewing the back hood piece to the front with the horn and mane in between.

 

For the panda, back all the spots with fusible interfacing and appliqué them to the panda before adding facial features.

 

Check out Nature’s Fabrics for SEW much fun!

Have you hit the L.O.L. doll obsession yet? I’m officially obsessed. Ahem…I mean my daughter is totally obsessed with these dolls. And they need accessories!  These tiny little sleeping bags are perfect for any 2-3″ doll toy or figure. This post has a free pattern for this doll sleeping bag. The sleeping bag has a pillow built in that you stuff up.

L.O.L. dolls come in surprise balls, so you don’t know which you are getting, which I think is most of the thrill. As you unwrap the ball, layers reveal different characteristics of the doll. You’ll get clues, stickers, and then shoes, clothes and accessories before finding the doll in the middle! So fun! And they are all so cute together.

The L.O.L. dolls have little sisters too, you can try to collect matching sets. These sleeping bags fit 1 regular doll or 2 little dolls sharing! The best part about this project is that it’s a great stash buster! These are tiny little sleeping bags so you only need a piece of fabric. Time to raid your scrap bin!

Based on reports, the L.O.L. dolls LOVE THEM and they’ve already ordered more! :)

Materials//
-little scraps of fabric
–fusible interfacing
–fiberfill stuffing
–doll sleeping bag pattern download

Instructions//

Cut 2 pieces of fabric from fabric, they need to be mirror image of each other. I like to put two pieces of fabric face together and then use the pattern piece to cut them out.

Fuse interfacing to the back of 1 of the fabrics. Sew around the sleeping bag, leaving a 1″ opening on the flap side (on the left in the photo below). Trim the corners and turn.

Press well after turning and make sure the opening is pressed with the open edges inside.

Stuff stuffing into the top part of the sleeping bag to make a pillow.

Sew across to keep the stuff in the pillow part.

Fold flap over and pin. Sew along the bottom and right side.

Turn inside out and it’s sleepover time!

If you like sewing doll things, check out this doll sheet tutorial, a doll sleeping bag tutorial for bigger dolls, the doll Manhattan dress , a little doll quilt and this little doll dress.

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It’s finally back! I sent my Coffee Cup Quilt off for quilting with Crinklelove and it’s back and quilted! I love how novelty this quilt is. I designed it around Christmastime when I was drinking a LOT of hot chocolate with peppermint. Haha. That cup was just always sitting in my sewing room inspiring me. I don’t drink coffee but I think coffee culture is hilarious. So it can also be a hot cocoa quilt. I’m thinking about making one with red cups and greens for Christmas next year!

The Coffee Cup Quilt Block Pattern was a popular post and I’m so glad! It’s been updated so you should be able to download it just fine now!

I worked with CrinkleLove to have this baby quilted, they quilted it up for me as a courtesy. I have used this service 3 times now, once for this quilt, once for the You’re a Gem quilt, and a third time last month for April’s quilt block of the month! I haven’t received the third one back yet (turnaround time is 3-4 weeks), but Sarah shared a sneak peek on her instagram and it’s MY FAVORITE.

CrinkleLove is a mail-in long-arm quilting service! Which is perfect for busy people who don’t want to drop off a quilt and then go pick it up. Or if you don’t have a local long-arm service, this one’s for you! The process is incredibly streamlined…Here’s how it works!

-Finish your quilt top + put it in a box with your backing material

–Fill out a service order

• Pick your stitch pattern
• Pick your batting. You can either send your own in or just choose an option
• Send it to CrinkleLove!

In a few weeks you’ll get an invoice and shipping info. And a few days later you’ll have a quilt, finished, trimmed and ready for binding. It’s magic! I usually rip open the box and don’t look at anything, but with the Coffee Cup Block, I noticed this cute note enclosed. It tells you how many stitches were used on the quilt which I thought was fascinating.

This quilt pattern makes a finished quilt about 48″ by 57″ which is a great lap quilt size for your favorite coffee lover!

Here’s the quilt pattern and all the fabrics I used. In the coffee cup quilt block tutorial, I show you how to cut out the pieces on the Cricut Maker. It’s super fast and my recommended way to quilt! But if you don’t have the Maker, but have another model, the SVG file can be used to make a template out of card stock! The card stock will make the templates last longer. I’ve quilted using computer paper many times (triangle quilts!) but a thicker template yields straighter pieces for me.

Materials//
-2″ Binding, I used this brushed binding which is remade and soft. 
-applique backing for hearts, I prefer fusible

Solids-
–1/3 yard Solid White Cotton
–1/3 yard Solid Petunia Cotton
–1/3 yard Light Grey Cotton
–1/3 yard Black Cotton
–1/3 yard Rose Cotton
–2 yards 108″ dark grey backing

Prints-
–1/3 yard Black Criss Cross
–1/3 yard sparkle Rose Gold Metallic Hashtag
–1/3 yard cream on cream daisy 
–1/3 yard Swiss Dot Black/Rose Gold
–1/3 yard Swiss Dot White/Rose Gold
–2 yards Yes Please Dots for border

 

Each block is unique. (Crazy quilter!) But you’ll just end up cutting the whole block out of most prints and then scrambling them up.

Instructions//

Cut 3 full blocks (all pieces + heart) from:

-Hashtag

Cut 2 full blocks (all pieces + heart) from:

-White

-Black

-Grey

-Petunia

-Swiss Dot Black

-Cream on Cream Daisy

-Criss Cross

Cut 1 full block from:

-Rose

Extras:

• Black: 1 set extra lid piece
• 1 swiss dot white/rose gold heart
• 1 light Petunia Heart
• Border fabric: cut strips 6″ wide
  • two 6″ by 40″ for top and bottom
  • two 6″ by 58″ for sides
  • sew shorter strips together if needed.

Follow this chart to figure out which fabrics to put where:

Assemble all the blocks using this tutorial. 

Once each block is done appliqué the heart to the coffee cup using a blanket stitch.

Assemble blocks 4 in a row.

Sew rows together and press seam allowances.

Add border to the top and bottom first.

Add border to sides.

And your quilt top is finished!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out QBOM #1 and QBOM #3! 

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Happy Monday! This is the first in a series I am committing myself too: Monday Maternity Makes! I want to sew more maternity clothes for myself this time around so I’m hoping to share one new maternity sewing make every week or so. Emphasis on the OR SO because you know…I might be on the couch instead.

This first one is a version of the Blair Maternity Tee! The Blair was my first dedicated maternity pattern and it’s such a great basic. I try to add a maternity version to patterns where I can, sometimes all you need is one extra pattern piece with extra room in the belly.  I have 8 patterns that are perfect for expecting mothers right here, with a few more coming! 

I designed it originally because I wanted a maternity tee without ruching. I love ruching but I get sick of it when I’m pregnant because most shirts you find in the store are all ruched up! However, I did add a ruching option to this pattern so it’s a great all-in-one maternity pattern. Depending on how you carry you may prefer a ruched shirt or not.

This top is made with a floral brushed polyester from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. I really only want to wear brushed fabrics during this pregnancy I’m so uncomfortable already! The long sleeve version has bands at the wrist which I think are cute and a simple band neckline. This is the regular neckline, the pattern has two neckline options, a scoop neck being the other.

Weather is finally warming up so I may cut the sleeves down to make this last through the summer, but I love how simple it is for spring or even fall.

 

Fabric: c/o Raspberry Creek Fabrics
Pattern: Blair Maternity Tee

Shoes: Sam Edelman
Hat: Nordstrom
Maternity Jeans: Asos

Hey cute little cactus! This little cactus is actually a pincushion. If you’ve ever thought that your yellow pins needed a pincushion cactus to hang out it, it’s your lucky day! This cactus shaped pincushion is so easy to make!

I love the look of basic yellow pins in the cactus, they look just like little yellow buds. I also loved the idea of putting flower pins in there for a blooming cactus or plain metal pins for basic spikes. These pink ones are super cute. I used my machine for this project, but it could also be a great hand-sewing project to do in front of the TV or while traveling.

Materials//
–Cricut Felt, this pack comes with 2 shades of green to choose from. You need about 1/2 a sheet for this little cactus
–Fiberfill stuffing
-matching thread
-3″ plastic pot (or terra cotta if you want it to be heavier)
–fishtank rocks (optional)
-plain pins, yellow pins or flower pins
-SVG file for cutting with the Cricut Maker OR
-PDF file for cutting by hand

Cactus Pincushion Templates

Instructions//

Cut out 5 cactus segments.

Sew segments together, one by one along the long side edge.

Use a scant 1/4″ seam allowance and be sure to backstitch at each end.

Continue sewing the segments together.

When you’ve got 5 sewn together, sew the cactus together, joining the first and last segments. The seam allowances will remain on the outside of the cactus.

Now you’re ready to stuff!

Stuff the pincushion as much as you can and then trim the seam allowances down to about 1/8″.

Use a hand needle to roughly sew the bottom together. Just do a few quick whipstitches and tie a knot so there is a bit of a base to glue.

Use a hot glue gun to glue it to the felt bottom of the pot. Use lots of glue and push it in.

Stuff fish tank rocks into the pot. Glue a top layer of rocks along the top so they rocks stay put.

And you’re done! Stick a few pins in and you’ve got yourself a cute little pincushion cactus!

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