DIY tooth fairy pillow - the perfect new baby gift :)

This beautiful tooth fairy pillow makes a lovely 'present for the future' for those new babies. 

Who doesn't love a one of a kind, handmade gift? 

( I made the pillow in the picture using a patchwork style fabric - you could also try making a pillow using real patchwork?) 

You will need: 

. Two pieces of pretty fabric, (approximately 10" squared) 

. A piece of ribbon 

. Soft toy stuffing 

. A smaller piece of fabric (approximately 1" squared) 

. A few pins 

. A sewing machine 

. Needle and thread 

. An iron or seam steamer 

Step one: 

Chose which piece of fabric will make the front of your pillow. Take the tiny 1" piece of fabric and carefully iron the edges in all the way around, so the edges are neat and will not fray. Pin this onto the centre of the front piece of fabric. 

Step Two: 

Sew this little piece of fabric on, leaving the top edge unsewn, so it makes a tiny pocket. This is where the tooth goes. 

Step Three: 

Lay the front and back piece together, right sides touching, with all edges and corners lined up. Pin in place. Sew all the way around, leaving a gap in the centre at the top (maybe around 3 inches). 

Step Four: 

Take the pins out. Turn the pillow case inside out (so it's the right way around) and stuff fully with soft toy filling. Get your piece of ribbon and push each end into the inside of the cushion, so it makes a loop. 

Step Five: 

Neatly sew the gap together, either by hand or by using the sewing machine, securing the ribbon in place. 

TA-DA! Your tooth fairy pillow should be completed! 

Thank you for reading; I really hope this post was helpful. All comments are very appreciated and welcome :) 

Aimee Laura x 

Starter kit for sewing beginners :)

Hello :) 

This post should help anyone wanting to start sewing as a hobby gather everything they should need to get started...

I have listed everything I currently have in my sewing supplies, as I have just about everything I need by now: 

. A sewing machine (it does not have to be anything fancy or expensive - it just needs to have all the basic functions. E.g, mine has 12 stitches and a backwards stitch.) 

. Bobbins and cotton

. A tape measure 

. Fabric scissors and smaller scissors 

. Needles with a variety of eye hole sizes 

. Pins 

. A stitch unpicker 

. Buttons, Velcro, zips, ribbon etc

. A variety of fabrics 

. An iron or seam steamer 

A lot of sewing machines come with an accessory kit, as mine did. This is always good! :) 

Hereis a picture of my sewing machine, and as you can see, it's not really anything that fancy! 

I hope this list of sewing must haves was helpful. As you go along, starting new projects, you will begin to gather more useful items such as zips, binding and ribbon. These always come in handy :) 

Patchwork Cushion Cover Tutorial :)

 

 

 

 

This cushion cover makes a  beautiful accessory for the home, and a lovely gift for friends and family. It is relatively quick and easy to make, providing you are confident with patchwork. I will be uploading a 'How to do basic patchwork' post later on, but for now, I will skip the basics of patchwork and go straight to assembling this cushion cover :)

You will need:

. a sewing machine

. 32 4 inch x 4 inch fabric squares

. a piece of matching fabric, 6" x 16"

. pins, scissors, thread, needles

. 9 identical buttons 

. a strip of velcro 

. an iron 

Step One:

Lay the fabric squares out into two 4 square by 4 square formations, to make the front and back of the cushion cover. Once you are happy with this, take the squares that will make the front of the cushion cover and sew them together. 

Step Two:

Take the squares that will form the back of the cushion cover and sew them together into two halves. 

Step Three:

Attach the matching 6" x 16" piece of fabric to the wrong side of the top half of the back. Sew it, following the join between the two rows of squares.

Step Four:

Attach the velcro to the matching piece of fabric you have just attached, keeping the two pieces of velcro attached together, sticky side up. Carefully lay down the bottom half of the back on top of this, so the back of the cushion cover lines up to look like the front.

 

 

Step Five: 

Sew the 9 buttons to the front of the cushion cover, in each of the + shapes, where 4 squares meet.

Step Six: 

Hold the front of the cushion cover to the back of the cushion cover, right sides together, so that the edges and corners line up. Sew all the way around. 

 

 

Step Seven:

 

Open the velcro and turn the whole thing inside out. your cushion cover should look like the pictures :) Congrats :)

 

Thanks for reading; I really hope the tutorial works, but if it doesn't, please let me know so I can clarify or edit it :)



Pom Pom Rug Tutorial :)

This weekend I decided to make this beautiful rug...

I've never really been able to knit so I was excited to find out out there was more to wool than just knitting. This rug is slightly time consuming, yet an easy, relaxed project with a satisfying result :)



Here's the tutorial for how I have made it:



Step One: Purchase/gather all materials and equipment needed.

This includes:

. Wool (I used 3 rolls of wool in each colour)

. Your hand

. Your other hand

. Scissors

. A piece of strong material OR a rug base (mine was 22x27")

. A wide eyed wool needle



Step Two: Make the pom poms



A rug of this size requires around 100 pom poms (this sounds daunting, I know). Make the pom poms by wrapping the wool around the widest part of your hand 150 times.

 

 

 

Now cut large a piece of wool, maybe half a metre. Then push the roll of wool that is around your hand so it sits on your fingers. Thread the large piece of wool in between your middle and ring finger and tie the pom pom in a double knot.

 

 

Now pull the pom pom off your hand and cut all the way around it.

Step Three: Assembling the rug



Once you have made enough pom poms, you can attach them to your rug base or material. Thread one of the wool pieces (that tied the pom pom together) through your needle and push it through the material or rug base. Do the same with the other piece of wool, and push it through about an inch away from the other piece. Turn the material or rug base over and tie the wool pieces together.


Step Four: Continue



Continue attaching the pom poms in a linear pattern to the base (in rows). Make sure the pom poms are pushed close enough together so that you cannot see the base or material in gaps.

 

And once you have covered the whole base with pom poms, your rug is completed! :)))



Top tips:



. Use as many different colours as you like! You could even vary the size of the pom poms you make by wrapping the wool round less fingers (eg. Around 2).



. Make a stronger base by adding wadding inbetween two pieces of fabric, rather than just one piece.



. Make sure you have a hoover! Wool pieces will be everywhere!