All-Occasion Chalkboard Banner

I admit it. I like to get the most bang for my buck.

And that's what you get with today's project. 

It's an...

Made from chalk cloth vinyl by Moda, it is erasable, and appropriate for almost any celebration. 

An un-birthday...check.

Because you're beautiful...check (I didn't intend for this font to make us see double...my apologies).

Because it's Tuesday...why of course. 

I know I'm not posting this on a Tuesday, but it just seems to be the cutest, most ordinary of days. :) And a day like that, deserves a little hoot and holler!

(* Disclaimer. I know this is not a novel idea. There are many version out this is just my version. :))

There is also space for Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Halloween and Happy New Year to name a few.

Want to make one?

You'll need:

Chalk cloth (Chalkboard Vinyl) - 1/4 yard is plenty (I used a 1/3 yard cut, split in half)

chalk

black thread

high quality felt (not wool) - 1/4 yard

3 yards ribbon, bias tape, trim (whatever you want to string your banner with)

First things first...You need to cure your chalk cloth. Don't skip this step. It will keep your chalk cloth looking nice. If you write on it without curing it, any drawings will be permanent or will leave an etched look.

You can try rubbing the side of your chalk all over, but if your chalk is new or has snags, it will leave etch marks. I found that it was faster and easier to load up a piece of scrap fabric with chalk dust and rub it in that way.

 Now, add felt to the back of your chalk cloth. I like to glue it to the felt first so it doesn't shift while sewing. A line of glue to the perimeter of the chalk cloth should be plenty.

 If you want to use the pennant shape I used, I have a free pattern HERE.

You will need at least 14 pennant shapes.

Quilt the felt and chalk cloth together. You need to sew a line on either side of the drawn lines so that you can cut each pennant out later. Roll the fabric to help it fit through the arm of the sewing machine so you can get the whole area quilted.

Now if you're worried about the vinyl sticking to your presser foot and being difficult to sew, don't fret! The felt on the bottom and the cured chalk dusted vinyl on top will help it glide almost effortlessly through your machine.

TIP: To turn the fabric, crank your needle in the down position, lift the presser foot and spin your fabric as needed. Replace the presser foot and resume sewing.

This can take some time, but it's worth it. You're making something intended to last after all.
Now cut out each pennant by cutting carefully in between the lines you sewed (and through some sewn lines at the tops to get the pennants separated).

Now it's time to add your ribbon/trim/bias tape. I used some gold single fold bias tape and hot glued it on. You can sew it if you like. I found that gluing it allowed me to keep some of my pennants (which I didn't sew the top of) open like pockets. 

Perfect for adding little flowers to...

...or maybe a tiny stuffed animal perched inside?

Too fun.

**Just be sure to add five pennants to the top banner and nine pennants to the bottom.**

Also, keep in mind that this step, even with hot gluing, is not quick. Take your time to get the pennants lined up just right and even with the top of the bias tape edge. I would say I took about 15 minutes to glue the bias tape to the pennants.

A couple tips for using and re-using (cool right?) your chalkboard banner:

1. When you erase it, use a chalkboard eraser or scrap piece of cloth/fabric. You may have to add a little persistence and elbow grease to your rub to get it completely erased.

*Do not wash with water. If you want to clean it with water, re-cure it after it is completely dry.

2. Try to use a blunt tipped piece of chalk. It helps to use the end of the chalk that you rubbed into your cloth for curing. Using a sharp piece of chalk could permanently etch the cloth, even if it's cured.

And there you have it. A pretty banner for any celebration, big or small.

Or even just for a pretty spot in your house...

...because it is. (a good day)  :)

Play It Smart Series

Can you believe summer is almost here?

Sun, swimming, and....activity hungry, boredom-prone kids who will be home allllll day. :) I don't think I am ready for that peanut butter and jelly....

Nah, I am excited to have my kids home, but I know I'm going to have to be prepared with lots of fun things to do if we are to sail smooth waters without the TV having to be on all. the. time.

So, I have organized a one week series dedicated to fun LEARNING activities you can easily and simply do with your kids. I am all about avoiding summer brain atrophy...

Sew A Straight Line and A Lemon Squeezy Home will be joining me. They are both sewing bloggers by trade but happen to be great moms that do fun stuff with their kids too. I am excited for what they have in store for us!

I'll be sharing some of my own ideas and rounding up other great ideas I have seen on pinterest as well. If you have some good ideas you want to share or link to, please do so in the comments. I might include it in my round-up.

My hope is to create a resource we can all refer to all summer long to keep our littles or maybe not so littles :) busy, happy, and learning!

The FUN starts on Monday, May 20!

P.S. If you usually read my blog for sewing or crafting inspiraiton, don't fret. The series only lasts from May 20-25, after which I have some more fun projects in the queue. ;)

Smocked Baby Romper Tutorial

I have to say baby rompers might be my favorite item of baby clothing. They are comfy, easy to slip on, and are so. darn. cute.

Yesterday, I made a white bonnet for Vintage May and today I am going to share the romper that was pictured with the bonnet.

It's a sun bather style romper that has a bloomer cut on the bottom. My husband scrunched his face at it and asked if I just made a baggy swim suit. Well...yes, sort of. :)

The top is smocked with elastic shirring and the legs are cinched with elastic casings.

Let's make one shall we?

Materials:

3/4 yard of fabric (any cotton, linen, etc. should do...I used quilter's cotton)
elastic thread
coordinating thread
3/4 yard of 1/4 inch wide elastic

*The measurements in this tutorial are for a size 12-18 month romper.

- Fold your fabric in half selvage to selvage. Your fabric should be about 42-45 inches wide. Mine was 42 ish (after washing and drying). *You want to fold it selvage to selvage so that the cross wise grain (more stretchy direction) extends from left to right. If you flip it and use the cross wise grain from top to bottom, it may sag and hang incorrectly.
- Using an existing baby body suit, determine how long you need your romper to be. I made mine 18 inches long.
- Cut your fabric into a long rectangle. My finished cut was 42 inches x 18 inches.

-Now cut that that rectangle in half so you have two pieces, each 21 inches by 18 inches.
- Fold those pieces in half short end to short end.
- Using a body suit, mimic the shape of the bottom of the body suit, but exaggerated so that you have space for the elastic to gather and cinch the legs.  Also, add an inch from the bottom the body suit so that you can fold it under to make the casing. The front piece will be more curved than the back piece. Be sure the bottoms (the crotch) are the same width.
- Finish the edges of the legs with a serger or a zig zag stitch. Iron it under 1/2 an inch.
- Line up the front and back pieces, right sides together, pin up the sides (unfold the part you ironed under for now) and sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

- Next, you want to finish the top of the romper. Fold it under 1/4 of an inch - twice. Iron it in place (so you won't have to pin it down and to keep it even). Sew around the top.

Now it's time to get shirring!

I hate messing with the tension on my drop-in bobbin, so I have an old basic Kenmore machine that I got when I first started sewing when Reid was a baby ($25...really basic). It can't do much very well, except for shirr! So, I keep it just for that.

If you have a drop in bobbin and want to shirr, Grosgrain has a great tutorial on that HERE.

Hhere are my tips for shirring with a bobbin like the one you see above:

- Hand wind the elastic onto your bobbin. You want a consistent tension that is not tight but not completely loose either.
- Only wind it about 2/3 full. If you fill it completely up, it might not work.
- Lengthen your stitch significantly (I max out my stitch length).
- Always do a test swatch. I never can remember just how tight I need to wind my bobbin, since it's kind of a fussy process. So, I wind it and test it first. Once I get it how I like it, then I proceed.

*My tips may or may not help you depending on your machine. Be sure to test it on a scrap of fabric until you get it just right.

**Also, be mindful that you will have to re-wind your bobbin several times.
This step is optional but, I like back stitch and then pull long (ish) tails off after each row and knot the elastic ends together. This ensures that the elastic thread never comes loose. It might never come loose if you back stitch at the beginning and end, but it's just my preference to do it this way.

Sew about 10 rows. It will look smocked but probably not quite tight enough.

Which brings us to the next step with is SUPER fun. :) Like pulling off a freezer paper stencil kind of fun. Heat up your iron and put it on full steam. Press (don't push back and forth) your iron over the shirred lines and...magic!

Watch the elastic pull together and smock your romper beautifully. :)

Next, it's time to finish the bottom of your romper.

Sew the casing in place (this where the previous pressing prep helps out). Measure the length of elastic you'll need  by using the existing body suit as a reference. I used 11 inches per leg. Once you thread it through, sew a line of stitching at each end to hold it in place.

Now, you have a choice. You can sew the bottom of the romper, right sides together. This is the simplest sewing option but would mean that you would have to pull the romper all the way off and on when diapering.

If you want to be able to open the bottom, add snap tape. You can pick this up by the yard in the notions section of most fabric stores.

Simply pin and sew into place. Make sure you sew the snap tape in such a way so that the back comes up to the snap over the front.

This means that one line of snap tape will be on the outside of the front piece and the other line of snap tape will be on the inside of the back piece.

Phew...we are almost there. Are you ready for straps?

The simplest option would be to sew on ribbon. You can also cut 1 1/2 inch strips of fabric (the picture shows 2 inch strips but I cut it down afterward) and make fabric straps.

Fold the raw edges inward and then fold it in half. Press it with a hot iron (pretty much how bias tape is made but the fabric doesn't need to be cut on the bias). Sew the strips and knot the ends. You need four of these straps, each strap at least a foot long. I usually make them much longer than that and then cut them down as needed.

To add the straps tie two pieces together into a bow. Pin them in place.

 I like to space them about 5 inches apart in the front and the about 2-3 inches apart in the back. This ensures the straps will stay on the shoulders better.

 Bar tack the straps in place. Or in other words. Sew a dense zig zag stich over each strap. Trim excess strap length as needed. Add a tag if desired...

And you are D.O.N.E.! Wahoo!

Pair it with a bonnet and some summer sandals...

(I just bought Natalie her first pair of Saltwaters. Love them! I have a feeling a new pair of Saltwaters will be a yearly Spring tradition.)

...and you're baby is adorably set for a warm day outside.

Natalie was obsessed with stomping ants during the whole photoshoot. She kept pointing them out to me, and then squealing as she danced and stomped all over them.  haha. I love how cute this age is.

Even though Natalie is 14 months (can't believe it!) she is very petite. So, there is a lot of room to grow into this romper all summer long. Her shoes too. She is still a size 2! The smallest size Saltwaters come in, are size 3.

Don't let her size fool you though. She is a pint size firecracker with a large, crazy, fun personality.

Fabric source: Honey Honey - Garden - Sunset by: Kate Spain from Southern Fabric. See listing HERE.

Hope you are having a beautiful day!

Vintage Brimmed Bonnet free pattern + tutorial

This post is part of the Vintage May series hosted by Craftiness Is Not Optional and Skirt As Top.

I am thrilled to apart of Vintage May this year. I usually lean toward modern aesthetics, but I believe that everything modern has a touch of the past.

I love the charm of vintage clothing because it's reminder of life when it was simpler. When laundry was hung on the line, when phone dials spun, when life seemed as slow as a sip of lemonade and babies wore crisp white bonnets:

I almost re-made THIS baby sun bonnet I made last year, but decided to add more vintage flair to it with a sweet, white eyelet fabric and a gathered back.

Even with the changes, it's as simple or maybe even simpler than the original.

Today, I'm going to share a pattern for making a 12-18 month bonnet. The back is adjustable, so this may even fit all the way up to age 2.

You'll need:

1/2 yard of fabric (I used a white eyelet fabric)
1/4 yard of very firm and thick interfacing
3/4 yard coordinating ribbon
matching thread

1. Print the free brim pattern HERE.
Please note that this brim is for size 12-18 months.
** It is also the brim I used to make this bonnet and hasn't been tested further than that. In fact, you may notice some of my stitches are not as crisp, because I had to unpick and rework the brim to get it just right. The brim pattern I've included is my revised version.

2. Cut your brim pieces on the fold. You need two of your fabric and one of your interfacing.

3. Sew your fabric and interfacing together like so:
 Put two of your fabric pieces together and then your interfacing on the bottom. Pin around the rounded edge and sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

4. Cut notches around the curved edges so that it will lie flat when you turn it right side out. Not pictured: also trim those notches down to about 1/8 of an inch.

5. Turn it right sides out, you will see how the interfacing gets sandwiched in the middle. Press it with a hot iron and top stitch close to the edge of the brim.

6. Cut a 16x16 inch square. Roll two parallel edges under twice about 1/4 inch each time, press with an iron and hem.

7. Fold it in half raw end to raw end, pin up the folded edge and sew a chasing about 5/8 inch wide. Remember to back stitch when you start and stop.

8. Sew the two hemmed edges together, you can sandwich the raw ends of your chin ties here about an inch from the edge if you desire. (I didn't)

9. Fold the raw edges of the main hat piece under about 1/2 an inch and press with an iron. Pin in the brim, following the curve and making sure the top and underside edges are as even as possible. Top stitch the brim in place. Add a second parallel line of stitching to secure it and to make sure you caught all the layers.

10. Using a safety pin, thread the piece of ribbon through the casing. Tie the ribbon in a bow and cinch the casing closed. Trim the ends of the ribbon and add Fray Check to the raw edges.

If you haven't already added ties, add more ribbon or strips of fabric pressed inward and in half and sewn (like double fold bias tape but it's not cut on the bias). Sew the straps on with an "X" at each corner of the bonnet.

This is just a basic tutorial. You could mix it up in a million ways.

Adapt this to a smaller baby bonnet by measuring around the baby's face from one side of her chin over her head and to the other side...adjust the measurements and the brim accordingly.

Make it reversible by using two different fabrics.

Add lace to the brim to add more vintage flair...I chose to keep it simple, because we really plan on using this bonnet, so I didn't want to make it too frilly.

As you can see from Natalie's ruddy cheeks, this bonnet will definitely come in handy this summer. She burned after 10-15 minutes in the sun without a hat earlier in the day. Poor fair skin baby.

I originally made this romper for Vintage May, but at the last minute decided it wasn't vintage enough. I plan on sharing that tutorial with you tomorrow!

I made the romper a little large so she could grow into it. It seems I also made it for a baby with chubbier thighs as well. ;)

See more great vintage inspiration from Craftiness is Not Optional HERE and Skirt As Top HERE!

Also, be sure to stop by Mad Mim to see Miriam transform a mu mu into something magnificent. (She is a must read and one of my fave bloggers as well!)

Thanks for letting me play Jess and Kristin!

*Please note that the pattern and tutorial is for personal use only.