Cowgirl Halloween Costume

I could pretend that I made this costume for L, but as anyone who has ever hand sewn sequins knows...I made this costume for me. When J was 2, I made him the first version of this costume, and it wasn't quite what I had envisioned. I was new to sewing, had never drafted my own anything, and the end result was respectable, but not quite right. I had some unfinished business with the cowboy/girl and I had to finish it this year. 

This vest is a modified Hansel and Gretel Vest. The chaps are self-drafted using a few basic measurements. The button down shirt is a hand me down Theo Button Up from J's outfit in Stylo 3. The boots are from eBay, the jeans from Lands End. 

The belt buckle is layers of wool felt and embroidery. I've never embroidered before (the internet taught me how) and the biggest obstacle was transferring the image. I usually use a window as a light table, but I did this well after bedtime the night before L's school party. I wish there was no shadow of the pencil I traced the image with, but the singer marking pen let me down, and I was too tired to much improvisation.

My kids have never (ever!) had a full sized candy bar, and tonight they each have two. I think that about sums up our trick or treat experience. Philadelphia is a city that is more than happy to chew you  up and spit you out, but somehow Halloween and free candy (and free wine) bring people together!

The skeleton below was made by my mother-in-law 30-ish years ago! It's aged well and J was thrilled to wear Grandmom's creepy costume (which is lucky considering how long it took to sew on all those sequins!). 

Happy Halloween!

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Vest Pattern: Hansel and Gretel Vest by SweetKM

Main Fabric: Sew Classic Micro Suede from Joann

Accent Fabric: From my stash

Wool Felt: from Felt on the Fly

Chaps Pattern: Self Drafted

Button Down Shirt: Theo Button Up by Zonen 09

Boots: Old West 

Valentine T-Shirt Wrap Bracelet Tutorial

While in search of something simple and fun for the kids to give as Valentine treats I decided to give the t-shirt wrap bracelet tutorial a Valentine makeover. The old ones are still in popular rotation, and I thought they would be a great fast project for Valentine giving and wearing.

I'm demonstrating with hearts, but you can bedazzle these with any shape (like the triangles we used last time), or letters to spell out a Valentine message or the name of a special someone.  These can easily be made with scraps you have on hand and are a great stash busting project.

You will need:
- 1 Strip of jersey (or other knit that rolls at the edges) fabric 1"x18", an old t-shirt will work great
- 4 (or more) 1" shapes cut from wool felt, vinyl, leather or other material that won't fray
- Sewing machine or needle
- Coordinating thread

Assemble all materials. Cut hearts out of the wool felt.

Pin the strip of knit together at the short ends, wrong sides together (so the seam allowance will be hidden when the fabric curls. Stitch about 1/8" from the edge.

Cut 4 hearts out of the felt that are 1" or less in their largest dimension. Pin the hearts at intervals around the loop of knit. Make a short line of stitching at the center of the heart. The stitching should run perpendicular to the way the knit stretches so that is does not hinder the stretch.

That's it!  Wrap them around the arm, wear them as a necklace, tuck them in a card for your sweetheart.

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In the Shop - Conversation Heart Valentines

Oh, it's that time of year again. Valentine season. One of my very favorite holidays, for its tiny gifts full of sentiment. Again this year we've got sweet little Valentine pins perfect for all your friends. I've even toned down the sentiment this year, after all the agonizing my first grader did last year over who should receive the "xoxo". All of our messages can be given to anyone as a token of sweet, simple friendship. They come in sets of 5 pins attached to a simple card that reads "Happy Valentine's Day" on the front and "to" and "from" on the back. The card/pin colors are mixed to make each card as much fun (and as gender neutral) as possible. Our set of conversation hearts is perfect for flexible classroom giving, party favors, or place cards at a special dinner. 

Get your own in the SweetKM Etsy Shop.

 We'll be wearing all 5!

Field Trip Raglan Kitty Cat

My sweet little children are all over the place at Halloween. They change costume choices daily, most  of their choices are virtually unmakeable (a single pink Smartie!?). We barely trick or treat, I hate costumes that are overly specific or that they can't put on themselves to play with later, and I veto any licensed characters. All of this adds a whole lot of complication to costume planning. This year we set two parameters 1. I can make it with a useful clothing pattern 2. it will be an asset to our existing dress up bin. With that in mind today we are exhibiting L's Tippy Cat Costume.

L wants a kitty of her very own vey badly, but mommy just isn't ready. Until I am, she uses Gramma's cat Tippy as a substitute. He gets the first hug hello and the last kiss (for real) goodbye when we're at the farm. Last year she had a Tippy Cat birthday cake, this year she has a Tippy Cat costume.

The costume is the Oliver + S Field Trip Raglan. It is sewn in gray fleece from Joann, and some furry stuff that is so crumby and synthetic on the reverse side that I had to line it with a cotton knit.  I made it a size bigger than normal to accommodate the thicker fleece and the minimal stretch. I added a few inches at the hem, and a waistband so I had a good spot to attach the tail. Of course, I added thumbhole cuffs pawsThe hat is just a fleece square with the corners sewn shut to make the ears, and I used the same mask template to make a kitty face.

Stop by on Monday for J's bat costume (here is a sneak peak), and some exciting news for SweetKM.

Happy Halloween!

Free Toddler Witch Hat Sewing Pattern

I have a vast archive of homemade halloween costumes that I have never blogger about. If L looks conspicuously young in this photo, its because its two years old. And the hat was made almost two years before that. Yes, L was a witch for her first halloween. I wanted to make her a hat that would stay on her little toddler head, and that she would be pretty likely to keep on. The result has a very tall point, a very short brim, and very cute on a tiny little witch. 

This free pattern includes a PDF download of pattern pieces, and the pictorial instructions shown below. There are only 3 pieces to this hat, and only 4 seams to sew. I made the hat out of synthetic felt from Joann. Sewing with felt is sort of like sewing with construction paper, it's easy to work with and there are no seams to finish. All of this makes this little witch hat the perfect starter sewing project. 

For me the fun part is adding the decoration. Sure it could be a plain ol' witch hat, but I love this oversized purple felt bow. I sewed on a giant green plastic spider that was a birthday party favor, but you could use one of the mountains of spider rings your kid brought home last year, or pick some other little creepy crawly up at the party supply store. 

Download Pattern Here:

FREE TODDLER WITCH HAT PATTERN

Sizing:
12 Months - 2T approximately 18 1/2" head circumference.

Supplies:
Scissors
Tape
1/2 Yard Black Craft Felt  54" Wide
Matching Thread

Optional Embelishments:
Ribbon
Yarn for pompoms
Plastic Creepy Crawlies

1. Print pattern pieces, use the 1" square box on each sheet to be sure it is the correct size.

2. Match up the grid and the letters in the corner of each page, then tape the pattern pieces together.

3. cut out each pattern piece on the cut line. Pin pattern pieces to fabric, aligning with fold where indicated, but out fabric.

5. Here are the pieces first folded in half, then unfolded. You will have cut 1 Hat Crown, and 2 Brim pieces. One will be the Top Brim, one will be the Bottom Brim.

6. Right sides together (hint - wool felt has no wrong side!), fold the crown piece in half at the fold line. Sew a line of stitching 1/2" from the open edge. Back stitch at the beginning and the end as close to the cut edge as possible. 

7.Trim the corner of the tip. Press open the resulting seam. Carefully turn the crown piece right side out. Use a knitting needle, or pencil tip, to push the tip of the cone of the crown to the sharpest point possible without pushing a hole in the end of the cone. 

8. Using a long basting stitch, sew 1/2 line around the bottom brim piece. Trim from edge up to (but not through) the line of basting at 1" intervals. Flatten the tabs to be perpendicular to the cone of the crown.

9. Place the top brim over the point of the crown. Align the inside edge of the top brim piece with the basted line on the crown. Pin the top brim to the tabs along the bottom edge of the crown making sure they are flat up against the top brim piece. Sew the crown to the top brim by sewing a seam 1/8" from the inside edge of the top brim.  

10. Place the Crown/Top Brim assembly on top of the Bottom Brim piece. Make sure that all of the edges of the two Brim pieces align, and that the tabs of the Crown are sandwiched between the two Brim pieces. Pin along the inside and outside edges.

11. Sew the Bottom Brim piece to the Top Brim/Crown assembly 1/4" from the inner edge of the Top Crown piece. Sew the two Brims together 1/4" from the outer Brim edge.

12. Lightly press your hat (make sure to use the lowest setting on your iron if you are using synthetic felt). Embellish as desired. 

This is my first attempt at multi piece pattern sharing.  Please send any helpful feedback to:

 sweetkm1 (at) yahoo (dot) com 

Share your finished projects on instagram:

@kristi_sweetkm

#sweetkmpatterns

Secret Valentine Exchange

I am very excited to be participating in the Secret Valentine Exchange organized by Sanae and Ute. I was feeling stuck in a post Christmas knitting rut, and after a few attempts at some truly sad fingerless mittens (but I'll keep trying), I went back to my linen/wool scraps leftover from the Shape Shifter Scarves, and knit until I ran out of each color, with a few dabbles in between.

After I took the photos, I realized L's dress fabric would be a nice little accent, so I whipped up a Sweetheart Ornament to go along with it. When the whole thing was wrapped up and ready to go, I threw in a Conversation Heart Valentine Badge, so my secret Valentine is getting the full SweetKM Valentine treatment. Everything I have ever made with a heart on it, is on its way across the Atlantic (is that too much of a hint?!).

If you're interested in what other's are sending to their Secret Valentine, check out the Flickr pool.

Vintage Toddler Dress

I love this fabric from Denyse Schmidt, and I still have vague plans to make something for myself out of it. In an uncharacteristically realistic move, I made a dress for L instead. I went on a two month quest to find the perfect dress pattern for the fabric. It took me so long to decide on a pattern that I found myself up at 3am on December 23 trying to finish the dress for L to wear to church on Christmas Eve, piles of unwrapped gifts all around me, cursing Singer's fiendish buttonholer. This vintage Simplicity is as close as I could get in a 4T. It called for a stand up collar, and it wasn't lined (come on!). I also lengthened the hem a skosh. 

Pattern: Tweaked Simplicity 5730 from 1983
Fabric: Denyse Schmidt Shelburne Falls Multi Floral Maple
Buttons: PA Fabric Outlet (on Fabric Row in Philadelphia.) I also got the buttons for J's halloween costume rings there. If you haven't seen their button selection you should.
Bluebird: Eve's Little Earthlings I have a minor obsession with these little creatures, and they were well represented on L's Christmas list.

Happy Holidays

I have a few homemade Christmas treats to share as soon as I find the inclination to iron and photograph them. Until then, here is a sweet little homemade tree of sorts. I pulled the tree out of a box, before I had a chance to find the ornaments, little hands had found some of their own: key chains, hair ties, carabiner, eraser, museum admission clip. Better than what I had to offer.

Gingercake's Lola the Owl Bag

I have been smitten with the Lola the Owl Pattern since I first saw it on the Gingercake blog. Virginia offered to share a copy of it with me as part of her Holiday Gifts Sewing Series. What little girl wouldn't want to snuggle up with a Lola pillow at bedtime, or tuck a few treasures into this sweet little Lola purse? My daughter can't leave the house without a book, a snack, and a toy, so I was thinking the purse would be just the right size to keep her stuff together, and in her care (rather than mine).

My goal was to make this project without any pesky trips to the fabric store. Infact, I finished the whole thing, in my pajamas, in less than 2 hours. I usually just start to get going when I realize all the stuff I forgot about, but this project is the perfect way to use up fabric leftovers. The body is denim from Joann (left over from this project), vintage quilting fabric from my Mom's attic and a few wool felt scraps.

Such a matchy, matchy look. L normally won't wear this sweet little coat (she thinks its too boyish!), I bribed her with lollipops for the pictures. I couldn't resist topping the look off with a bright red pixie bonnet.

You're going to love the Lola the Owl Pattern, I thought of 3 other things to do with it just while cutting out the pattern pieces (will share one of them later). Virginia's blog is packed with homemade gift ideas, and even more great patterns, be sure to check it out.

Printable Valentine Treat Bag Labels

You may have heard me at the playground railing against the overload of sugary snacks that come home in my kid's backpack after any school holiday party. Eighteen candy canes. A bushel of candy corn. I sent nothing to school on those occasions (except for the specific requests of room mom and teacher, which I can promise you were healthy), and you can be sure I never will. As J was inventorying his 14th Christmas candy cane, it occurred to me that maybe another kid somewhere in the vicinity was taking particular note of the lack of candy cane from my kid. So, for the sake of the kindergarten status quo, I am going to try to put my scrooginess aside, and come up with some sort of treat for my favorite school holiday, Valentines Day. There is nothing I love more than a paper reflection of my love.  Finding a homemade way around the box of trademarked cartoon characters with a caned message from the mega mart, brings me more joy than a truck load of candy ever could.

This year's class is enormous, too big for all the cutting required of last year's recycled finger painting masterpieces. The solutions: Printable Cracker Valentine Treat Bag Labels. LOVE is spelled out on the front is Scrabble Jr. Cheez-its and the card is made to fold over a snack sized zip-lock bag filled with the actual cracker. J wrote his name once and I photoshopped it to the back of the card. Cut, fold, staple, done! Not a particularly healthy snack, but a shade or two better than the boxes of candy hearts I am bracing myself for.

You can download a copy of the Cracker Valentine Treat Lables to print on your own. I printed mine in color on white card stock at a copy center. Feel free to share the PDF with friends by giving them the link directly to this post.

Sweet Heart Valentine Ornaments

We have moved far too many times for me to consider myself the kind of sewer that has a "stash." But I am scrap happy with these little hearts. After barely rummaging through a single fabric box I found pieces my mother saved from her early 80's quilting phase, torn oxford shirts, vintage ebay finds, and all the pieces of fabric I bought with big plans that never actually happened. Thirty seven mini hearts later, I realize I have quite the "stash" after all.

The simplicity of this idea makes it infinitely adaptable. I've made an advent countdown (more on that later), Christmas gift toppers and two magic wands with this pattern. I'm sure even a beginner could come up with ten more ideas before the first heart is cut out. It's numerous uses merit a formal, written down tutorial, with clear step by step instructions, FREE (heavens, what's gotten into her!?) right here for all to share.

I can see little hearts at each place at your Valentine table, or tucked into the pocket of an unsuspecting beau. So, download away. Please keep me up to date on any Sweet Heart innovations that simply must be shared with the world.

Download now: Sweet Heart Ornament Pattern

Fine Print: Please do not redistribute this pattern. You can share to your heart's content by linking directly to this post. Thanks.

Last Minute Gift : Craft Bags

There is just nothing like making a project out of a project. Like most moms, I make everything during a fleeting window when Kid 1 is at school and Kid 2 is napping. How hard can a drawstring bag be? Easy as pie, right? No reason to plan ahead or even think anything through.

You'll notice the slight variation in detailing between the two. One was made during nap. No time to reference the vast body of interweb wisdom. MUST GET IT DONE! Just reinvent the wheel. The second was done after my walk to pick Kid 1 up at school. The stupidly simple solution washed over me, as soon as the stroller hit the pavement.

I hate to call these craft kits. Kit implies a prescribed end result. While I can wonder down the path of possibility, who am I to tell this kid what to do with her art supplies?