Infant scratch mittens: tutorial and pattern

7-22-11 Update: I am so happy to share this tutorial and pattern with all of you; it has in fact been the post that brings the most people to this blog.  As a reminder, this pattern and tutorial represent a lot of time and effort, and I have made the decision to share it with you for free- because I want to- as long as people are using it correctly.  So please respect that and give proper attribution if you share it on the web (no unauthorized redistribution, and no copying and pasting the tutorial, pattern and/ or photos please- 1 or 2 photos is fine however).  I would like to request that you use it for personal use only (exceptions will be made in certain cases i.e. charity- please just ask first- it's the polite thing to do!).  I know most of you are honest and would never take advantage- thank you so much!  

Well, my sweet little boy is three weeks old now, and I thought I would share a project with you all that I made last week to help prevent those long baby fingernails from scratching delicate skin.  I had a couple pairs of scratch mitts but most of them were too large and would fall off easily, or had scratchy elastic right next to baby's skin.  The tutorial I have come up with here is for a lined scratch mitt that has the elastic inside a casing.

You will need:
-Scratch Mitt pattern (included below)
-lining fabric (I used flannel- so soft and cozy, which is a plus in cold temperatures.)
-outer fabric (A fat quarter would give you more than enough fabric for one pair- probably two. Use a cotton jersey or other stretchy fabric for easier application!)
-thin elastic- 1/4" width or smaller
-coordinating thread and other miscellaneous sewing supplies

First, print out the pattern by clicking the thumbnail below.  Trim it to your desired size.  I made mine from the small size, which is about right for most newborns.  My little guy was 9 pounds, and it still fits him just fine!  If you are sewing for a baby on the petite side, or a preemie, you will need to trim it down smaller.  The medium and large sizes can be used for slightly older/ larger babies, or if you just like the mitts to be a bit roomier.

Click the picture to open the pdf (you'll be able to download and print).

Next, cut your fabric.  For each pair of scratch mitts, you will need to cut 4 pieces from your lining, and 4 from your outer fabric (pictured below are the pieces for just one mitt).

Now we start sewing.  Put two pieces of your lining fabric that you cut out together, and sew around the  curvy edge (don't sew the straight edge yet), from one corner to the other leaving about a 2" gap on the side.  If you look at the picture below, you can see two little blue marks where I stopped sewing.  Make sure to backstitch on each side of the gap.  Then trim all the way around the stitching, except for the area you didn't sew- leave the extra fabric there so it will be easier to sew up later.

Okay, now do the same thing for the outer fabric, with right sides together, and sew from one corner, around the curve, to the other corner- no gap on this one.  Try to use a smaller seam allowance, meaning sew closer to the edge if possible.  That will allow a better fit when the lining is inside the outer fabric.  Then trim any excess fabric and cut notches in the rounded part- you can see what I mean if you look closely at the picture below.  The notches will make it look better after you turn it right side out.

Now turn it right side out!  We will call this piece the outer mitt.

The next step is to put the outer mitt inside the lining so that right sides are together.  As you can see from the photo below, when I left the gap, I didn't sew down the second corner, and that made the next part more difficult.  I learned my lesson for the next one!  Now sew the raw cuff edges together, all the way around.

Now pull both the outer mitt and the lining through the gap in the lining so you have one piece that looks like this:

Push the lining down into the outer mitt and topstitch around the edge to make a casing for the elastic- the distance from the edge will vary based on the size of your elastic.  I recommend measuring the width of your elastic and adding 1/8" or a little more.  Remember to leave an opening on both sides of the seam that has the gap in it (see picture below).  That will allow you to thread the elastic up into the casing.

After the casing is sewn, you will need to cut your elastic.  I cut my elastic to 4 1/4"; cut it a bit smaller or larger if you need to, depending on the size of your baby's wrist (you can take your cut elastic and try it on your baby's wrist).  Pin a safety pin on one edge of the elastic and thread it through the casing.  Stitch the two ends of the elastic together.

Once the elastic is in, you can sew up the gap around the cuff, as well as the gap in the lining fabric- just pull the lining out, pinch the edges together with the raw edges pointing inside, and sew together as close to the edge as possible.

Stuff the lining back inside, and you've got yourself some cute- as- can- be scratch mitts!

Now go and save the sweet baby cheeks in your lives from flailing fingers!

A New Dress for Me! (easy sewing project)

This is my first clothing reconstruction project ever...and I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself! I just got a new sewing machine about a month ago, and have been trying to learn how to use it...as you can see, my first sewing project was the posey pillow just two posts ago. I have been so inspired lately with all the clothing makeovers and had to try one of my own.
I had this skirt (sorry for the ugly brown carpet background):

I think I got this when I was in middle school...no joke! I hadn't worn it for a very loooong time, but I knew that it had some potential. So, I held on to it, and lo and behold, I saw this dress tutorial at Grosgrain - where she combines a top and a skirt to make a dress! Genius. I already had this perfectly matching red shirt from downeast basics:

So, all I needed was an elastic for a belt. I think I spent 4 or 5 bucks for the elastic, and that was it for the entire dress!
here is what I did:

1. Figure out where you want the top of the skirt to be on your waist. Take in the seam on the skirt so that the top fits snugly on waistline
2. Take your elastic that you will use as the belt (I used some that was about 3" thick), and measure your waist. Add 1/2" to it, and cut it. Sew the ends of the strip together, with 1/4" seam allowance, and press it so the seam opens up and lays flat inside (so you don't get a funny bump).

3. Find the front middle of your skirt and elastic (I just folded them in half), and pin the middles together, right sides facing each other. Pin elastic all the way around the skirt.

4. Sew Elastic to skirt, stretching the elastic as you go - It will make it so the skirt will be gathered evenly all the way around, if the elastic is smaller than the skirt.

You can leave it like this if you want, and you now have a high-waisted skirt, that you can pair with any top.

5. For the top portion of the dress, try on the skirt with the top, and mark where you want the top of the skirt to be, on the shirt. Add 1/4" to that, and cut it.


6. Turn your skirt inside out, and put your shirt inside the skirt, upside down, with the right sides facing each other (whew! hope that makes sense, its easier than it sounds). Sew the bottom of the shirt to the top of the elastic band, with a 1/4" seam allowance.


7. Trim excess fabric from the shirt and skirt seams, and zig zag stitch the edges of the seams to prevent fraying.

8. Put your dress on!


9. I thought my top could use a little more spice, so I ended up using a ruffle shirt tutorial i found at Tea Rose Home...it was perfect for this! I won't go through step by step what I did to the shirt, because her tutorial is amazing, and I couldn't say it better. :)

Here is my finished product! I think I love this dress!




And to think - not only did I make this dress, but I made it from two things that I hardly ever wore...and now they will be worn way more.

I'm kinda proud of myself!!!



Linking up:
Reinvented
A Silly Little Sparrow - Toot your Horn Tuesday
Today's Creative Blog - Get your Craft On Tuesday
New Nostalgia - Anti-procrastination Tuesdays
Tip Junkie - Tip me Tuesday

Banana hanger repurpose

We got a banana hanger as a wedding gift a year and a half ago, and I think it is awesome. I put it on our registry, and was so excited when we actually got it. But its funny that we kept it for a couple of reasons:

1. We don't eat bananas (they give me stomach aches)
2. We therefore don't buy bananas often

Come to think of it, I don't know why I registered for it!


I didn't want to just get rid of it though, I knew there had to be another use for it, and I had to find another use for it, because I am still kind of attached to how cool it is (I know, I'm a nerd, getting excited about kitchen accessories). Here is what I did so I could justify keeping it:

1. I spray painted the base black
2. Then I mod podged some pretty red rose paper onto the base as well, for some added color

An EASY makeover, and now it is fit to hang pretty things on...like necklaces...

I was also thinking it might be cool to use the hanger as a candle/lantern holder....future craft project? I think so!

Posey Pillow

I was inspired by Vanessa over at V and Co., with her awesome "Snow Ruffle Pillow." I had been searching for inspiration for decorative pillows for my bed for awhile, and this one really caught my eye. She has a really helpful tutorial that shows you step by step how to make it, so I won't go through what I did step by step - go over and check out her awesome blog!

I cheated and only hot glued my flowers to the pillow, without sewing...but it worked like a champ! I love my new pillow!!!


Unfortunately my bedding is in storage for the summer (there were only so many things we could fit in the car when we moved to California for our summer job) so no pictures of the pillow on the bed :( I promise I will put some up once we get back in 4 months!


P.S. Rochelle had her baby finally! He was born on April 28, which I believe was his exact due date. He is a sweet little boy and everyone is very happy to have him in the family!




Linking to:
A Soft Place to Land
A Silly Little Sparrow
Get your Craft on Tuesday