DIY Heart Pillow Cover

I am not one to go overboard for Valentine's Day. It's a fun day and the kids love it but I don't think I've ever decorated my home in hearts or anything like that. Until now. I'm a minimalist by nature but who can resist a little (or big) hot pink heart here and there? Not me.

This tutorial is SUPER easy and is a quick way to add some pop by dressing up a plain pillow cover.

What you'll need:

• A plain pillow cover (I prewashed mine). If you don't have one on hand and don't want to buy one, there are a ton of great tutorials online for sewing pillow covers (I'm not that ambitious).
• Pillow insert (both my pillow cover and insert came from IKEA but you can find them all over)
• Felt - I used Rainbow Classic eco fi felt on this one because I'll probably need to wash it
• Sewing machine (you could always hand sew it if you don't have a machine)
• Scissors, pins, and paper

Getting started:

My pillow cover measured 20 x 20 so I taped four sheets of paper together to measure the same. I hand drew a heart on the paper. You can  get a heart template online but I like the wonky style of a hand drawn heart.

Use your template and cut out the heart from your felt.

Place your heart on your pillow cover and pin it into place (be sure to pin it to just the top of layer of the cover).

Slide the opening of the cover onto your sewing machine arm and sew into place. This part was a little tricky because my pillow cover is really thick so I really had to maneuver it around the arm of my machine. Be extra careful to only sew it to the top layer of the cover.

Stuff your pillow inside and you're finished.

Super easy and fun. Quick enough and inexpensive enough that I'm happy to have it out for just a few short weeks.

Let me know if you have any questions. Cheers!

DIY Skeleton Costume

I love making the boys Halloween costumes each year and I'm busy prepping for this years costumes. Finley wants be a super hero (Super Fin) and Oliver wants to be a bat. I'm glad that they both chose things that are still kind of classic and will be fun for me to make. I hope to get them made soon so I can document the process in case any of you would like to see.

 Some of you might remember that I made skeleton costumes for the boys last year. I've had a bunch of questions about the construction of their costumes so I thought I'd share how I put them together. These were a bit more labor intensive (time wise) than other DIYs I've posted but they were not hard to make and they turned out RAD! Totally worth the effort.

What you'll need:

• Long sleeved t-shirt 
• Matching leggings 
• White felt (Eco-fi felt by Kunin is the best for holding up in the wash)
• *Fusible webbing (I used Heat n Bond Ultrahold for this project)
• Scissors (small scissors with a pointy tip work best)
• **Skeleton Template - download here. The mask is not included in the template.
• Embroidery floss in color of your choice (I used black on Oliver's and red on Finley's)
• If you make the mask, you'll need elastic for the band and a piece of black felt and white felt

*Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package.

**I scoured the web last year for a template I could use for the boys' costumes. I wasn't able to find one so I came up with my own by taking measurements of the kids. I'm warning you that my template is pretty rudimentary but I like it that way. It would most likely fit costumes in the 3T/4T size range. If you want to make the costume bigger or smaller, just adjust the size of the template.

I did not take photos when I made these costumes but I know you guys are smart and I will answer any questions you may have. If you want to see photos of my applique process, check out any of my applique tutorials and you'll get a good idea of what's in store for you.

Directions:

1. Print out skeleton template and adjust size if needed.
2. Place the template under your fusible webbing and trace all of the bones.
3. Iron the webbing/bones that you traced onto your felt. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt for about 3 or so seconds
4. Cut out all of the bones. Small, pointy scissors will make it easy to get in between the ribs and cut out some of the small openings.
5. Peel off the wax paper from the back of the bones.
6. Carefully place the bones where you want them on the shirt and leggings and iron them on for about 10 seconds (remember, no steam). For this step, I like to place a scrap piece of fabric between the applique and the iron for extra protection. Check to be sure that all of your bones are firmly adhered.
7. Now that your bones are attached, you're ready to start the applique process. You can do this with a machine or by hand. I'm a hand stitcher and although it took a while with both of these costumes, it was totally worth it - the stitching was the icing on top! To stitch by hand, cut about 3-4 feet of your embroidery thread. Your skein of thread will have six strands. Separate two of the strands from the piece you've cut and thread them through your needle. I used a blanket stitch for these costumes but a straight stitch (running stitch) would look great too. Pop in a movie (or two or three) because this part takes the longest. 
8. I do not have a template for the mask and to be honest, my kids hated wearing them. If you want to make one, it's pretty simple. I took two pieces of different colored felt (I used black and white for one mask and white and grey for the other) and cut out two matching ovals that would cover the top half of their faces.  I guesstimated where the boys' eyes were and cut out circles through both pieces of felt for the eyes. For the nose and teeth, I cut out just the white felt so that the darker, contrasting felt would show through. I then sewed an elastic band in and hand stitched them together using the same blanket stitch that I used on the body of the costume.

Once you're done, sit back and marvel at the handmade awesomeness that you've just created for your kiddos! And remember, it doesn't have to be perfect - that's part of the charm.

ETA: The leggings and tees are from American Apparel.

As always, feel free to comment or message me at finleyandoliver@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

DIY Personalized One Piece

A friend of mine is having a baby girl in the next couple of weeks and I wanted to make her a small gift to celebrate her upcoming arrival. Appliqued one pieces are usually my "go to" gift because they are fun to make and people always appreciate the thought and uniqueness that goes into them. Baby Liv will be adorable in this. How could she not?

Making personalized one pieces and t-shirts is super easy following the exact same steps in my appliqued love tee tutorial. The only difference is that you will create your own template. Simply type up the name or word of your choice in the font of your choice. A larger, chunkier font is always easiest for cutting and stitching. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will need to flip the text so that it is backwards on your template. The image will be reversed once you've put your applique together. (If you have questions about making your own template, feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to help).

These one pieces whip up pretty quick and make an awesome handmade baby gift.

 

Try it! I promise - super easy. Your friends will thank you. And so will their babies.

Follow the instructions in the tutorial here.

DIY {BE...} Appliqued Tees

This is going to be one of the very few tutorials I post over the summer and I'm really excited to share it with you. My good friend Laura of Laura Winslow Photography and I were chatting over dinner a few weeks ago how our little guys (both just 5 years old) are *already* starting to feel pressure from friends and classmates to act a certain way, hang out with certain kids, or do certain things. We both feel strongly (really, I'm sure most parents do) that it's our job to give them the confidence and sense of self worth that they need to be comfortable with who they are. We came up with these designs and this super fun shoot to help our kiddos learn to embrace who they are and let their unique personalities really shine. 

Laura is not only an amazing photographer, but she is the one person who can really get my kids to be themselves in front of the camera.  They had such a blast with this shoot and it was so fun to see Laura in action. I'm pretty sure her mantra is BE AWESOME - because she totally is. To see more photos from our fun day (and to read a far more eloquent reasoning behind this idea), you can visit Laura's blog here. Take your time. It's pretty amazing.

We thought it would be fun to create a tutorial of this and share these three designs with you all. Yay for you! Aside from the designs you see in these photos, you can create so many others...BE UNIQUE, BE YOURSELF, BE HAPPY, etc. I kept these designs short so I didn't have to sew too many letters. 

What You'll Need:

Blank t-shirt, one piece, or tank (pre-washed)

Felt or fabric piece for the applique (I prefer to use eco-fi felt by Kunin - it holds up great in the wash)

  Sewing Machine or embroidery floss and needle

Scissors (small scissors with a pointy tip work best)

Fusible webbing

  Templates for the applique (download here - BE RAD, BE COOL, BE KIND). Adjust the size of your template as needed. 

 Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me and I can help you. 

Getting Started:

The first thing you'll want to do is take the template and place it under a sheet of your fusible webbing. Take your pencil and trace your letters on to the webbing. Any time you applique letters or numbers, you'll want to trace them in the reverse since you will flip them when you adhere them to your garment.

 Next you'll want to iron your webbing onto your felt or fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks like this:

Carefully cut out your letters. Peel off the paper backing.

Place the letters exactly where you want them on the t-shirt with the glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the appliques on to the t-shirt pressing for about 10 seconds. I ironed BE first and then KIND second. Again be sure to use the wool setting with no steam. Check to be sure that the appliques are firmly adhered to the shirt.

At this point, you can either hand stitch the letters using a basic straight stitch (great tutorial here) or you can use a sewing machine. I usually prefer to hand stitch but for this project I used my machine. If you use your machine, you'll do a running stitch just inside the border of each letter.

Once the letters are stitched, trim the thread and you are finished.

Easy, fun, cute, encouraging.

 As always, if you get stuck on a step, feel free to let me know so I can help!

A HUGE thank you to Laura Winslow Photography for these amazing photos and designs.

DIY Appliqued Dream BIG Tee

I wanted to make an updated version of my original dream BIG tee for the boys (this is a great design for girls too). The previous font I used was when I was on a big circus kick. This time around, I wanted to update the font to something a little more modern and clean. I love how it turned out and apparently, Oliver does too.

The technique for this is very similar to my appliqued love tutorial - just a bit more involved and time consuming since there are more letters.  

What you'll need:
Blank t-shirt, one piece, or tank (pre-washed)

Felt or fabric piece for the applique (I prefer to use eco-fi felt by Kunin - it holds up great in the wash)

  Embroidery floss and needle

Scissors (small scissors with a pointy tip work best)

Fusible webbing

  Template for the applique (download here). Adjust the size of your template as needed. If you're intimidated with the detailed lettering, blow it up a bit - that will make it easier.

Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me and I can help you. 

Getting Started:

The first thing you'll want to do is take the template and place it under a sheet of your fusible webbing. Take your pencil and trace "dream big" on to the webbing. With the "dream," I made the lines connecting the letters together slightly bigger when I traced so it would be easier for stitching. Any time you applique letters or numbers, you'll want to trace them in the reverse since you will flip them when you adhere them to your garment.

Next you'll want to iron your webbing onto your felt or fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks like this:

Carefully cut the appliques out. This applique is a bit detailed so having small, pointy tip scissors will come in handy here.  I use the micro-tip scissors from Fiskars and they work great.

Place the appliques exactly where you want them on the t-shirt with the glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the applique on to the t-shirt pressing for about 10 seconds. I ironed "dream" first and then BIG second. Again be sure to use the wool setting with no steam. Check to be sure that the appliques are firmly adhered to the shirt.

Now that your appliques are attached to the t-shirt, you're ready to start the applique process. To stitch by hand, cut about 3-4 feet of your embroidery thread. Your skein of thread will have six strands. Separate two of the strands from the piece you've cut and thread them through your needle.

For this t-shirt, I use a straight stitch. It's a basic stitch and great for a beginner. You basically bring the needle up through the t-shirt and back down making straight little stitches about a 2 cm in from the edge of your applique.

A great video tutorial for the straight stitch is available here. The nice thing about sewing coordinating thread (floss) on felt or fabric is that it's hard to see so it's very forgiving if you're a beginning stitcher. If you're an experienced hand stitcher, it is fun to experiment with contrasting threads and different stitches.

Once you have finished stitching all of the appliques, you are finished. You could play around with different colors or even create your own design using different fonts.

If you get stuck or have any questions, please let me know.

Blogging over at Sewing In No Man's Land

March is {Sew for Me} month over at Sewing In No Man's Land and today I am showing everyone  how to make a super easy and cute chevron stripes applique top (it might look familiar to some of you.) Pop on over and check it out. Give yourself time to browse all of the other tutorials and guests that Kelly lined up for Sew for Me - some seriously amazing talent over there!

And totally off topic but I've dropped the ball on BOY style this week. I actually photographed Oliver yesterday but the weather, his pants, and my photos didn't all cooperate. Stay tuned for next week. He's got some new duds that we can't wait to share.

DIY Bunny Applique

I feel like I'm still recovering from the holidays yet Easter is just around the corner! I'm not sure I'll ever get caught up but I did manage to eek out this really cute and *super simple* bunny applique. I'm not a huge fan of pastels so I decided to keep with the spring trend and go for a hot pink bunny. Of course, you can do this in any color you like. (This would be cute for the little guys too!)

What you'll need:

• Blank one piece, t-shirt, tank, etc. (pre-washed for shrinkage)
• Sheet of felt or piece of fabric in the color(s) of your choice - if you're using felt, I strongly recommend eco-fi felt by Kunin. It's made from recycled bottles and holds up really well in the wash.
• Heat n Bond or other fusible webbing (if you plan to machine sew the applique, be sure to use Heat n Bond Lite)
• Scissors
• Sewing machine *or* embroidery floss and needle
• Bunny template
  
  

Getting Started:

Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package.

Print out your template and place it under your fusible webbing. Trace the pattern with a pencil. 

Next you'll want to iron your bunny webbing onto your felt or fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks like this:

Carefully cut out your bunny.

Take your bunny and peel off the wax paper layer from the back. Place the bunny exactly where you want it on the t-shirt with the glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the applique on to the t-shirt pressing for about 10 seconds. I like to place a scrap piece of fabric over the applique while pressing just to be safe. Again be sure to use the wool setting with no steam. Check to be sure that the applique is firmly adhered to the shirt.

Now that your bunny is attached to the t-shirt, you're ready to start the applique process. You can do this with a machine or by hand. To stitch by hand, cut about 3-4 feet of your embroidery thread. Your skein of thread will have six strands. Separate two of the strands from the piece you've cut and thread them through your needle.

For this piece, I used a straight stitch. It's a basic stitch and great for a beginner. You basically bring the needle up through the t-shirt and back down making straight little stitches about 2 cm in from the edge of your applique.

Once you've finished the stitching, you're finished.

This little number won't take you long at all. Maybe 30 minutes or so depending on how long the stitching takes. It's well worth the effort when it can make your kid *this* happy!