Pack n' Play Sheet Tutorial

Pin It Now! It's time for another tutorial! This one is for a pack n' play crib sheet... such a simple thing, yet immensely practical and valuable to anyone with a baby. They are surprisingly easy to make... once you get the hang of it and know what you're doing, you'll be whipping these puppies out in 15 minutes*! I think these things are all made in a standard size (38" x 26"), but you'll have to measure your pack n' play mat to make sure. Deep breath and here we go...

*Disclaimer: In order to accomplish this in 15 minutes, use the "snip and rip" method to cut your pieces and also use a serger. If you don't have a serger, then you can use an overlock stitch on your sewing machine.

Materials:

♥ 1 1/2 yards cotton, pre-washed

Seam Allowance: 1/4 inch (serged or overlock stitch)

Instructions:

Step One: Quite the long materials list, eh? That's why I love this pattern... you don't have to mess with elastic! Ok, it is important to pre-wash your fabric. Otherwise, when your baby poos, pees and spits up on his/her nice new sheet and you go to wash it, it will SHRINK. It would be an utter waste of your 15 minutes. On the other hand, you don't want to sew your sheet too big, because nobody wants a saggy sheet... particularly the American Baby Association. So, do whatever tweaking you need to do in order to get your sheet fitting perfectly snug :)

Cut out your pieces. My preferred fast, and accurate way is the snip and rip method (see video for demonstration in my Ruffle Apron Tutorial). Rip out the large 49"x26.5" piece first. Then rip out two 29"x5.5" pieces for the side panels. I set my pack n' play mat in the back so you can see for comparison.

Step Two: Take your two side panels and serge along one of the long sides on each. The serged end of the side panel will face inward on the back side of your sheet.

Step Three: Line up the tail ends of the side panels and pin them to one short end of your sheet body right sides together. Make sure the serged sides of the side panels face inward. The ends of the side panels are just hanging down, unfinished.

Here is the serged end. It's hard to see the wrong and right sides of the this particular fabric, so I apologize. Make sure to sew everything "right sides" together.

Step Four: Pull the unfinished tail ends of the side panels until they meet with the opposite end of the sheet body that you just serged... this will cause the end to fold in order for those side panels to reach the opposite end. Now pin the side panel ends in place and serge down that side like you did the other side.

Now measure the length to make sure it is 38 inches. Take it in if you need to.

Step Five: Center the side panels. This should create about a 5-inch fold on each side. Pin along the long sides and serge.

Once again, measure to ensure that the width is 26 inches. If not, adjust accordingly.

Step Six: Sike! There is no step six... you're finished! Now turn the sheet right-side out and slip it over you mat. This is the reversed side:

And here is my happy, chubby baby with a ridiculously huge and frilly headband testing it out:

♥ ♥ ♥ This one's for you, Jacqui ♥ ♥ ♥

(cute baby not included)

Easter Pics

Pin It Now!

I've been getting requests for some updated pictures of the kids, particularly baby Tess. Sadly, it seems I take less pictures the more kids I have. We have a ton of baby pictures of Denny, a decent amount of Ashlyn, but hardly any of Tess. It's too bad because Tess is a stinkin' cute chubster of a baby.

Word of advice... don't show up late to an Easter egg hunt... not even two minutes. I know this, but I just keep underestimating how much longer it takes to pack up 3 kids to go on an outing. Hence, we were late for our neighborhood egg hunt and Denny didn't get any eggs. I was proud of him though... being a good sport, he just shrugged it off. Anyhoo, so we went home and did a little egg hunt in our backyard.

I'm so proud of Denny and Ashlyn... they adore their little sister and are so sweet and gentle with her. It's so cute how delicate they are with her... they always ask me beforehand if they can give her a hug. Then when they do, they give her an "air hug" barely touching her. Where did they learn that from? I don't know, but it's so cute and make me smile :)

Tess is such a good baby and a rock star eater. She weighed in at 14 lbs 3 oz at her 2-month check-up. I'm loving all those rolls!

SweetPod Baby Carrier

Pin It Now! Ever since I saw Jessica's pattern for her SweetPod Baby Carrier, I've been dying to make one. Denzil was friends with Jessica and her hubby in his college days, so we know firsthand how incredibly talented she is. This rockin' woman can seriously do it all and I admire her greatly.

The SweetPod pattern is beautifully laid out and easy to follow. I must admit, I was intimidated to get started because this is different that anything else that I've sewn before. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I did print the pattern... the pattern pieces line up perfectly and the instructions and diagrams are very detailed. It is obvious that a lot of time and expertise went into creating this fabulous pattern. I had a ton of fun making my SweetPod, and can honestly say that I didn't get frustrated once during this project.

I'm so giddy over my new SweetPod... I love, love, LOVE it! Baby Tess is still a bit too young for it (it's for 15 to 35 pounds), but she seemed happy enough while I was using her to model it. Jessica even has videos on how to wear it here.

See, now you want one too, huh!?

If you're interested in making one, I ordered my hardware, webbing and closed-cell foam from Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics. Shipping was about $10. For ease of ordering, here is the breakdown of my order (This is the hardware needed to make one SweetPod Carrier):

*I just ordered another heavy duty buckle in place of a streamline buckle.

I purchased my open cell foam from my local Joann's store.

♥♥♥Thank you, Jessica! You are an amazingly talented woman! ♥♥♥

Quilt Happy

Pin It Now! Just look at all the quilting one can get done when they close their etsy shop for two weeks! First up is a baby quilt for baby#3 due in a month. It's just a basic stacked coin design... I just used the fabric I had on hand and made it totally random. I really love how it turned out. Fast and simple... my kind of quilt.

This is the quilt back:

Washed, puckered and ready to go!

Here is a twin sized quilt I made for Ashlyn. She's in a big girl bed now and needed an upgrade from her toddler sized quilt.

♥ I heart pinwheels ♥

ps... Just so you know, I defied the laws of physics to make these quilts over a three day period, being HUMONGOUS pregnant and all.

♥♥♥

Sew a Quiet Book!

Pin It Now! Quiet Book \ˈkwī-ət 'book\ n. a set of fabric activity pages bound together with the intent of instilling calmness and restful playtime for babies and toddlers in the event of the numberless boring adult occasions that require a hushed atmosphere.

I've always wanted to sew a quiet book, but never wanted to invest the long, tedious hours it takes to make one. However, the ladies at church expressed an interest in making them for next big sewing project. We decided to meet once a month and work on two activity pages at a time.

To prepare for our first class, I sewed the mock up quiet book you see here, compiled a 13-page list of instructions and patterns (available for free download below), and purchased all the materials needed for a "Quiet Book Kit". I decided that we would have a better turn out if we made ready-made kits available for purchase. Not to mention it saves on cost. I admit that making the kits was a ton of work, but well worth it... I know that making them available lowered the intimidation factor for the ladies, and we did have a better turnout as a result. Fortunately, with Memorial Day sales and Joann's coupons, I was able to keep the kits under $10.

We met for the first time last night and everyone was able to complete the first two pages in about two hours. Last night my home was buzzing with 10 women and their sewing machines. We had so much fun!

Here are the 12 pages :

"Match My Colors"

"Snap Me on My Shapes" and "Feely Fingers"

"Call Me" and "Put Your Hand in My Mitten"

"Dress Me" and "Tuck Me into Bed"

"Traffic Light" and "Lace the Football"


"Zip the Tee Pee" and "What Time is It?"

"Button on My Flowers"

Here is a quiet book kit

Compiled, written and illustrated by me. Feel free to make as many quiet books for personal use or to sell, but please do not sell the actual pattern. It is intended for use by everyone free of charge. Thank you!

♥,

Jodell

Click here to download Quiet Book pattern (this will open the pdf through google docs... click "file" in the top left corner for the option to download or print)

♥ Happy Sewing! ♥

Little Mod Man Gift Set

Pin It Now! I centered this baby gift set on Alexander Henry's Hollywood print. Totally mod, yo. Set includes a Business Bib, Puzzle Ball, and Lounge Set. I no longer list Business Bibs in my shop, but will gladly accept custom requests.

This is a puzzle ball, and I find that adults enjoy playing with it as much as babies do. It comes apart in three sections... tricky, tricky. These are really fun to make, but a bit time consuming. My friend Janna makes the best puzzle balls in the world and sells them in her etsy shop, so check them out. She offers them at a steal of a deal for only $25. If you ask me to make you one, I'll charge you $50. I've been trying to talk Janna into raising her price on them, so get one now before I convince her ;)