4 Sweet Baby Hat Tutorials

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Winter is coming. Sooner than I want to think about if I’m being honest. And since I’m expecting in February, it’s going to be cold. And I’m going to want ALL the baby hats for my new little man! To meet that end, I scoured the internet for some warm (and cute!) baby hat tutorials and thought I’d share my favorites here with you! So without further ado…

4 Sweet Baby Hat Tutorials

1. A Trio of Baby Hats by Zaaberry Handmade

This sweet trio of hats is everything you’ve ever wanted! Three styles perfect for any aesthetic. A regular beanie, a knotted cap, and a sweet hat with teddy bear ears! With the right fabrics they will be perfect for any baby’s style! Just whip them up and see how great they are for yourself!

2. Teddy Ears Hat by How Joyful

How adorable is this little hat! It’s so perfect for winter, being made of 2 layers of fleece. And those little ears just melt me. This is definitely a pattern I’ll be making a few of myself! Make sure you read this tutorial completely through for sizing tips before you do your cutting though! You’ll thank me (and How Joyful) later!

3. Winter Baby Bonnet by Purl Soho

photo courtesy of Purl Soho

This little bonnet is special in that you can tie it beneath the baby’s chin to keep it from falling off. Which is perfect if you live in a colder climate like I do. The sherpa lining is also a huge plus for warmth and comfort for a little head and ears. Purl Soho also has some other great tutorials if you browse their site to see!

4. Reversible Baby Beanie by ShelleyMade

photo courtesy of ShelleyMade

Two hats in one? What’s not to love about that? You can make one hat with 2 looks! And the reversible nature means 2 layers which add up to warmth again. The shape of this one is really great too and a little wider (I think) to fit slightly larger little heads. Another pattern perfect for boys or girls! *minor caveat: while this pattern was originally a tutorial for use with ShelleyMade pre-printed panels, but the maker has since created a pdf version of the pattern and released it as a paid $4 pattern. The link is in the tutorial and I think well worth it!*

I made 2 hats of my own using one of these tutorials! They were SO fast and SO easy and I can’t wait until I have someone who can wear them! 

What do you think? Are there any other free tutorials you’d like me to find or tackle? Leave your suggestions and requests in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Make It A BSD Halloween (Contest)!

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It’s only September, I know. But in my house, we plan for Halloween early. And that means costume time! Why not turn Halloween prep into something even MORE fun?

Make It A BSD Halloween (Contest)!

Sound like fun? It does to me! I LOVE Halloween! It is literally my favorite time of the year. And one of the best things about it is the costumes, right? Right. 

Imagination is key, but you can totally take a Bella Sunshine project and create a costume custom-tailored to you and/or your kids! For example, Melissa used Juliet to turn her girls into the sweetest looking little Nemo and Dory I’ve ever seen! Just see for yourself!

Juliet could also work well as a princess dress. Turn Hazel or Maggie into the perfect Sally costume. Take Eden and Regan to match her up with a Jack. There are SO many possibilities!

We have some other great inspiration here too, just look and see below!

This one was genius! Clementine slightly modified made a PERFECT Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter!

And Sahara made an ADORABLE Sally dress that’s been in this girl’s Halloween wardrobe for several years now! Gotta love that!

 

Now that you’re all good and inspired… this is going to be a contest in our Facebook group for the WHOLE month of September! Pick out a Bella Sunshine costume and turn it into an amazing costume! Then post it in our group with hashtag #BSDHalloween and we’ll choose a winner at the end of the month for an awesome prize! Either way, you end up with a great handmade one of a kind costume, so what do you have to lose? We can’t WAIT to see your costumes in the group!

The BSD Files: Video Help For You!

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Did you know that Bella Sunshine has a YouTube channel??? There are SO many amazing helpful videos there! Along with a few fun promotional videos if you want to see some sewn up patterns in action! Right now, I’m going to share a few specific things from our channel with you that might just be the video help you need!

The BSD Files: Video Help For You!

Pants: Two Ways to Blend the Waist

Making a new pair of pants and need help blending the waist for a perfect fit? We have a video for that! Watch Melissa go step by step through 2 different blending methods so you can get a great fit every time!

Sewing Tutorial: How to Ruffle Fabric Using Clear Elastic

Do you hate gathering? Well, there are a TON of options out there for making it easier. One of those options? Use clear elastic! This video tutorial will show you how it works and how easy it can REALLY be! Just watch and see for yourself!

Sewing DIY: How to Turn Tiny Spaghetti Straps the Easy Way

Have you ever fought FOREVER trying to turn teeny tiny spaghetti straps? I’m not gonna lie, I have. More times than I care to admit. But this video could change everything for you! Watch this for some great tips on getting them turned with little to no fuss!

The Key to the Perfect Fit: How to Blend Sizes

Like most people, I don’t usually fit any one size perfectly. But that’s the beauty of patterns, right? You can blend sizes to get the perfect fit for YOU! And that’s where this video comes in! So, watch this to learn all the secrets of blending to get a great fit for you!

The Key to the Perfect Fit: How to Measure Your Child

Finally, we bring you this. Children are hard. Hard to raise, hard to control, hard to measure. Well, we can help with one of those! Simply watch this video for some great tips on getting successful measurements on your kiddos. Then you can treat them to a perfect fit too!

We hope these videos helped! And if you want to see more videos, we have them! Learn blending tips for specific patterns, or just watch some super cute promo videos to lift your spirits or give you some inspiration! And as always, please share your makes in our Facebook group to inspire others!

Blue for Back to School

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Happy Back to School Sunshines!

Hi, I’m Becky and I normally blog at bigflynotions. I am excited to share this dress as part of the Bella Sunshine Design’s Back to School Blog Series.

Back to School Spirit Day Blues

My kids’ school has spirit days sprinkled throughout the year. The school announces the theme and children can decide whether to participate or not. There are things like Superhero Day, Wacky Wednesday, or Backwards Day (remember Kris Kross?).

The most popular day is sports spirit day. The kids wear blue during the hockey season to support the local team. My pink princess has “nothing to wear”. I went for the two birds/one stone approach with this dress: my daughter gets a new back to school dress and I am not caught unprepared for a blue spirit day.

                   

Blue on Blue on Blue

I could have used one shade of blue and made a lovely dress but why stop there? Bella Sunshine Designs has the perfect pattern for monochromatic bliss: (affiliate link) Emmaline. I purchased the ladies/girls bundle (affiliate link) in the recent Sunday Sunshine Sale and was eager to give it a try!

I used three different shades of cotton lycra from The Fabric Fairy. The pattern calls for knits with four-way stretch and good drape. Cotton lycra might have felt too boxy if I were sewing this dress for myself but it worked great for my daughter.  

Sewing Emmaline

I followed the pattern suggestions for selecting sizes. My daughter is slender and needs the size 12m for width and the size 4 for height. The pattern includes simple instructions for blending. Melissa also made this helpful video for blending sizes for the chevron skirt.

I did not perfectly execute the gathered sleeve. Next time, I will pay greater attention to evenly gather between the notches and ensure that I am not stretching as I insert the sleeve. Using a fabric with more drape might also make those small gathers a little easier to manipulate.

I really liked piecing together the skirt and watching the chevrons form. I sometimes worry about how blocked pieces will feel against skin. The skirt’s ease means this is not an issue with Emmaline. Ironing per the pattern instructions worked great but the seams would be simple to topstitch too. 

Tadah!

The outcome is a gorgeous dress with amazing twirl: 

Still intimidated by the Emmaline? You’ve got support:

 

*I used affiliate links in this post. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase,
I will receive a small commission from your purchase, at no greater cost to you.*

Back To School Crafts: Shabby Flower Hair Clips

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It’s that time of year again. The chaos and scramble of back to school is here! But you always have to accessorize, right? If your child is anything like my daughter, then the answer to that question is yes! So today, in honor of all of those bow and flower-loving kids out there, I’m going to show you how to make super quick and simple shabby flower hair clips!

Back To School Crafts: Shabby Flower Hair Clips

Supplies Needed:

Shabby Flower (s)

Felt

Alligator hair clips

Hot glue gun with glue

There are a number of places you can source these items, but if you want to make it easy, you can probably find most of these things in your local craft store. Or you can get it all on Amazon. I went all over… I got the flowers from a Facebook destash, the clips from Amazon, and the glue gun and felt from Michaels. Also important to note is to make sure the size of your flowers and clips are proportional. I used 2″ flowers and 1 1/2″ clips.

Prep Work

You can get your shabby flowers already individually cut, but my flowers were on mesh strips. If your flowers are still connected, carefully cut them apart. Then, equally carefully cut the excess mesh from around the base of the flower. Seeing a little mash peeking is fine, but you want it to be mostly invisible when the flower is right side up, like so:

You’ll also need to cut the felt into circles as well. I took a vitamin bottle lid that was about 1 1/2″ across and traced it onto cardboard so I could make uniform circles. You could also just eyeball it if you’d prefer. I then took that circle and held it still against the felt as I cut around it (tracing onto the felt is also an option).

When I was done, I had a uniform little felt circle. And then you’re ready for assembly!

Assembling Your Clips

First, plug in the glue gun. I always do that at this point for a few reasons. Obviously, hot glue isn’t going to work if it isn’t hot (haha). But, I wait until this point to conserve glue. If you plug it in too soon, it’ll just drip glue all over until you pick it up. Pro tip: When working with a glue gun, ALWAYS keep it on/over a paper towel or a plate of some sort. It will make your life SO much easier when it’s time to clean up!

When it’s all heated up and ready to go, take your felt circle and draw a glue circle just inside the perimeter. I also draw a line through that circle for a little more durability. Like so:

Then place that circle in the middle of the back of that flower and press it down gently. You’ll need to work somewhat quickly before the glue cools too much, but you should have time for fairly careful placement.

Now, take the glue gun and apply glue to the top of your alligator clip in a nice thick line.

And place it glue down into the middle of the felt circle.

That’s it! You’re done! Just let them cool completely (shouldn’t take long), and you have a beautiful new hair clip! These are great because you can dress them up or down. You can also find the flowers in a WIDE array of different colors and prints, so you can match almost ANY outfit! Also, try layering 2 flowers on a felt oblong with one clip for a slightly different look!

Will you be making ant fun school accessories this year? Let us know in the comments, as well as any other fun crafty ideas you’d like to see us try! And join us in our online community to share your fun makes, we love seeing them!

 

Pattern Hack: Adding Fringe to the Hazel Dolman

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Pattern Hack: Adding Fringe to the Hazel Dolman

Hi Sunshines! I’m An from Diskordia’s Curvy Sewing. I’m so excited to be your guest blogger today. I’ll be showing you how to do this very easy fun hack for adding fringe to your Hazel. The drawstrings on the shoulders of this pattern reminded me of a Mickey Mouse dress my mother bought me when I was a kid. It had the same sleeves as Hazel, but it also had this fun fringe at the bottom. It just had to be recreated! 

It’s awesome, cause you don’t have to hem the bottom, nobody likes hemming right!? and you get to play with your fabric, which is almost as fun as playing with your food as a kid ;). I guess our fabric is kind of like our food as a sewist if you come to think of it. Anyways, I’m wandering off. (This happens a lot to me) Another great thing is that you don’t need anything more than a pair of scissors or a rotary cutter if you are braver then me. Also make sure your fabric curls, if it won’t curl, you won’t be able to make the fringes. 

How to do it!

I cut this one at dress length and marked the sideseams where the tunic line hits. This mark will be the end of your fringe, so you can move that up or down as you like. Construct the dress as you would otherwise but stop sewing your side seam where the mark is. That’ll be the end of your side seam. 

I used a scrap for the tutorial pics, cause I’m a bit daft and I forgot to take them while actually making the dress. Round of applause!!!! :p

I then marked my scissors (using magnets) with the length of the fringe, so I didn’t have to mark the entire dress. Then cut strips the width you want it to be, I cut the strips about 1 inch wide. Do this around the entire dress. The hem is a bit curved, so keep that in mind while cutting, don’t be too worried about your cutting, once it turns into fringe you will not notice any too long or too short or too wide, etc. cuts.

Once that’s done, the fun starts, you now want to turn those strips into
a fringe, just grab hold of the bottom and the top, pull it a bit and it should curl up. It takes a bit of practice. You’ll get the hang off it after a few.  I did a short video on how I do one. You can find that here: Awesome Fringe Video.
Put on your favorite tv show, grab a cup of tea (or heck a glass of wine, I won’t judge) and get them all done, this will take a while! But hey, easier than hemming still…maybe. 😀 Once you’ve done this, you are done! Make sure to show off your hacked dress in our facebook group! 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Amazing (and Inclusive) Custom Fabric Groups You Have to Check Out!

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Last week we talked about non-custom fabric shops. But every once in awhile I splurge and spend in some custom fabric groups. Sometimes I just can’t beat the thought of a cute and limited edition fabric when the mood strikes. With all of today’s issues, I’m also on the lookout for ethical companies. I look for ones who are fully inclusive and make all of their members feel safe and valued. I’ve done my research, and now I’m bringing you a shortlist. Here are some of these amazing custom fabric groups for you to check out for yourself!

8 Amazing (and Inclusive) Custom Fabric Groups You Have to Check Out!

Q/A Fabrics

“Due to the lack of POC printed on fabric, specifically characters with black skin tones, this fabric company was created. I never had any plans of becoming a fabric host, but the lack of inclusion that continues to occur is just heartbreaking. I want my children to be aware that characters that share their skin complexion are beautiful and belong on any and ALL fabrics. Black women and men LOVE to sew as well and we only wish to be represented in the sewing community. Not just on occasion, but daily. We are here and we do exist!” This happens to be a fan favorite among custom fabric groups right now and you can visit them on Facebook here.

Emerald Curtain Fabric

“I started Emerald Curtain Fabric in May of this year. Emerald Curtain Fabric was born after I noticed a lack of diversity and inclusiveness in the custom fabric world. I am BlaQue (black and queer) and rarely find fabric in the custom fabric world that represents either of these parts of myself. Emerald Curtain Fabric believes that representation matters…not just in certain months but year-round.  We specialize in Afrocentric prints, LGBTQIA+ positive prints, and lots of fun, whimsical prints for everyone. The current pre-order is open until 7/26.” You can find Emerald Curtain on Facebook here.

Twisted Needle Textiles

 

 

“TNT is a POC (Inupiaq Eskimo) and Queer owned business. We banded together in 2008 to form TNT and branched off with Mini Me’s by TNT for the younger crowd! The physical part of the business is based in Ohio (that’s Tabitha!) and Melissa handles most of the internet based stuff out in Colorado.” Visit them in their Facebook group here.

Chicana Fabric and Dyes

“I started this business because I felt there was a need for more POC owned businesses in the fabric world. Inclusivity and diversity have been very scarce. I feel it’s becoming more diverse because a lot more BIPOC and POC persons are stepping forward. They’re basically tired of being spoken over and not being seen.

“My brand is a donation brand, my passion lies with helping out the Latinx culture. This means the families that are being separated, and the children that are left in cages. I would like to help the people that help them, so they can keep helping those people. But I would also like to expand my donations to things like Flint water crisis. To help out with funeral costs for lower-income families. And I plan on doing this through my fabric.

“Every round starting with round Cuatro there will be panels that 100% of their proceeds will go to either a domestic crisis or need or charity that I have researched fervently. I would like to also give to breast cancer survivors, mothers that are struggling, things like that. This is just off the top of my head.

“My dad was big on donating and charity work and I want his legacy to live on through me. So 5% of all proceeds will go to the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen Texas. and I’m also going to start doing panels that payout to help a different charity. I started my business making diapers and moved into the fabric world.” Visit her amazing Facebook group here.

RockerByeDestash

“I started RockerByeBaby in 2007 when my boys were born. In the years building that up I started designing my own prints for exclusivity in the items I was creating and selling. The more and more those prints made it out into the market, the more people just wanted the fabric! After about a year of running both the fabric side and the maker side, I closed RockerByeBaby. Now I focus entirely on RockerByeDestash Fabrics and love it! I sew often, still… but just for fun and strike-offs. And I LOVE the time I get to spend designing new and exciting fabrics!” You can find this amazing group here on Facebook!

Run Amok Fabric

“At Run Amok Fabric we love all things rainbow, monochrome, and whimsical. We offer playful prints for children, funny panels for adults, social justice themes, and everything in between. Run Amok has limited time pre-orders, a stock art library that is always open for pre-order, custom printed retail fabric, solid retail fabric, and interfacing.” Click the business name above to go to their website, or visit them on Facebook here.
 

Acheron Fabrics

“We are a small LGBTQIA differently-abled owned business that goes above and beyond for both customers and seamsters. Acheron Fabrics is inclusive, and we treat our seamsters as part of the core of our group. We are one of the first groups to implement programs to better our seamsters lives beyond just a few yards of free fabric. The prints themselves bring a perfect balance between the nerd world and beautiful fabric art. We like to use a mix of commissioned artwork/stock art to make amazing fabric designs focusing mainly on anime and nerdy themes.” You can preview this adorable fabric and get up-to-date updates on their preorders in their Facebook group here.

Finer Fabrics by Queenora

“Finer Fabrics by Queenora originated from my difficulty to find fabric representative of black and people for myself, my children and my clients. Outside of Ankara and African-print fabric, there was no fabric available to showcase any part of ourselves – of our history or our current culture.
 
“Something as simple as seeing a little black girl with a fro or a little black boy depicted as a knight that looks like them on a t-shirt can completely change the landscape of how a young black person views themselves.
 
“My goal is to cater to and provide fabrics for that everyday black person. In addition, my business has a goal to primarily work with other black and brown people behind and in front of the scenes. We include our artists, graphic designers, strike sewists, etc. We want to showcase the talent of these individuals and bring about collaboration.
 
“To learn more about Finer Fabrics by Queenora, we can found on Facebook through our private group or on Instagram at finerfabrics_by_queenora”
 
We could go on and on about these custom fabric groups, but really, they speak for themselves! Who are you excited to check out and possibly purchase from?

Places To Buy GREAT Non-Custom Fabric!

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If you sew, you shop. It’s just part of the deal, right? And sometimes the cost of custom fabrics are more than our budget can handle, as cute as they might be. So let us clue you into some great places to shop for non-custom fabric with great customer service and even better prices!

 

Surge Fabric Shop

Surge is a small family run business based in WI. They carry a WIDE variety of different types of knits in a huge selection of prints and solid colors. They’ve been in business since 2016 and are still going strong! They also have a fun tag for you to use if you sew with their fabrics and want to share on social media… just use #feelthesurge!

Amelia Lane Designs

Another group with a great selection of knit fabrics of all types. And they have some pretty great customer courtesy shipping options like “Hold my box” or “Fill my box” or “Bump my box” if you want to get the most bang for your buck in shipping costs! They also put together some pretty great coordinated bundles. Definitely a shop to drop in on and shop!

Olga’s Closet Fabric Destashing

Olga’s closet is very new to the scene, but is already making a splash with her fans! They specialize in knits and stock thousands of yards of brushed poly, french terry, cotton jersey and more in popular patterns like stripes, florals and many more! They do also carry wovens, so they are definitely a shop to check out!

Fashion Forward Fabrics

Fashion Forward has so many amazing knit prints and types! Like a super adorable panda cotton lycra, rainbow-striped swim lycra, and some gorgeous sweater knits! They also offer mystery and clearance boxes if you like surprises!

Fab Clique Fabric Shoppe

Fab Clique has a couple of things some of these other companies don’t. Among them are denim stretch wovens and hand tie-dyed rib knits. But if you want the tie-dyes, be ready! They sell out fast! They have a pretty large following who love their fabrics and service, and I can’t wait to place my first order!

Sly Fox Fabrics

Sly Fox is another fan favorite. With SO many knit solid and print options to choose from, along with faux fur and lace trims, etc, you’re sure to find something to love! Another perk of Sly Fox is their flat rate shipping of $6.99, so if you need more than a few yards, that shipping rate can be a HUGE bonus!

Know of any other fantastic online retailers we should know about? Share them in the comments below! You can never have too much fabric, right? *winkwinknudgenudge*

The Importance of Planning

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Like any other job or hobby, it is important to have all of the right tools before you start. This is especially true with sewing. Planning can make or break any project. So let’s talk it through!

The Importance of Planning

Know Your Project

Before you begin, it’s pretty important to know what you’re going to sew. Maybe you know you want to make a dress, but you can’t decide between Sahara or Alice. They are vastly different projects which require different tools or notions, so deciding on a pattern first is crucial to your planning.

Get Measurements

I can not stress enough how important it is to take current measurements of the intended wearer. Especially with kids. They grow SO fast. I know my daughter has changed measurements by quite a bit within a week’s time, so taking new measurements before you decide on a size to print is never a bad idea! This holds true with a lot of adults too, so always measure before you print to be safe!

Gathering tools

We’ll pretend that we landed on Alice to sew. Looking at the pattern, we will see we need woven fabric, thread, cutting tools, measuring tools, a fabric marker of some sort interfacing, an invisible zipper foot for the sewing machine, and a zipper. That’s a lot! And if you want the added details, you’ll also need bias tape and a belt slider. But if you know what you need and have it all together, you won’t be surprised later by needing something you don’t have on hand.

I will typically gather everything in one or two places. Like, I’ll put my uncut fabric near my cutting tools and fabric marker. I’ll set the zipper and trim to the side (near my machine with the zipper foot) and set my cut pieces with it as I cut them. This keeps everything organized and in one place.

Read the instructions first

It’s also a really good idea to read through a pattern before ever sewing a stitch. Having a general idea of the order of construction can save you a LOT of heartache and seam ripping down the road. The designers have a reason for the order they want things sewn and sometimes taking your own path can end in disaster.

Put all of these things together, and you will have a MUCH easier and more enjoyable sewing experience with everything you need right at your fingertips. And you can always use our Facebook group to get advice or help you to plan everything out!

How to Use a Seam Ripper

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I know, I know, we all know how to do it, right? Well, there is a more efficient way to use it if you know how. And I did it less efficiently for a long long time. So, let’s see if maybe I can help some more people out.

How to Use a Seam Ripper

What is a seam ripper?

There are lots of reasons we might need a seam ripper. Ever sewed the wrong pieces together? Sewed a seam too soon? Added a sleeve on backward? I’ve been guilty of all of that (and more!) during my sewing career.

I’ve used a LOT of seam rippers in my day. And there are SO many different kinds of seam rippers out there! But they all have a few things in common. They all have a pointy end that curves into a (hopefully) sharp blade for cutting threads. Your ideal seam ripper should always be comfortable to hold in your hand, so keep that in mind.

Using your seam ripper.

Always cut stitches from the top side of your work. I promise, it matters. Ideally, you will cut through your back stitches at the beginning and end of the seam and then cut a stitch every inch or so. This is particularly useful information if you are cutting long sections of straight stitches.

With that done, you can typically flip your fabric over and pull on the bobbin thread, releasing the whole row. It isn’t always going to be that easy though. With stretch and zigzag stitches, you’ll have to cut almost all of the stitches individually, unfortunately. The upside is, you’ll get to know your seam ripper really well!

What NOT to do.

There are a couple of things you will want to avoid doing in order to preserve your project. First, do not try to just pull on a thread without cutting stitches. You’ll only gather the fabric up and make the stitches harder to get out. Second, under no circumstances should you try to just yank the fabric pieces apart by sheer force. This will likely only cause you to rip your fabric, rendering it useless.\

The super secret method.

Check out this video. But before you try it, keep in mind your seam ripper needs to be REALLY sharp. And it will ONLY work on woven fabrics, so don’t try it with knits.

If you follow these tips, you should be able to correct any sewing mistakes relatively quickly and painlessly. I hope this helps someone out there! And we hope to see you over in our Facebook group for fun and friendships!

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