The Mother Lode

Crafts and Crochet

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Guide to Quick Kid Costume DIY

Halloween is coming! I love dressing the kids up in fun costumes. (I may also enjoy dressing us all up as a family.) This year I admittedly wasn’t into it. We recently moved and My sewing supplies are completely disorganized. SO we are going with a re-wear for my youngest with an alligator we had and a hand-me-down lion costume for my oldest from my in-laws.

My 3 year old son on the other hand is determined to be a ghost. Everything I could purchase is too scary, so I knew I was going to break down and use the sewing machine. I thought I had a white fleece blanket somewhere in my giant pile of fabrics to be recycled and it was NOWHERE to be found. I moved to Plan B and found the bride of Frankenstein I had made on the fly for myself two years ago. It was an old long sleeve white t shirt with a long strip of fabric attached at the shoulders and two long pieces attached at the back. I basically trimmed it to fit my son, hand stitched a felt face on, and made a VERY fast white hat. DONE. It was seriously a total of 45 minutes to accomplish this and he loves it. Here are my tips for easy ways to throw your own costume together!

  1. Re-use old costumes in a different way (Like I did, cutting up an old costume and adding different elements.)
  2. Think about what everyday items you have on hand that could be used. I’m thinking cotton balls (steam, animal fluff), aluminum foil (candy, robot), plastic bags/newspaper (to stuff and reshape clothing)
  3. Search the house for old clothing that no one is wearing. What can you do with that old pair of pink corduroy pants? (I turned mine into a piglet costume a few years ago for my then 6 month old.)  
  4. What fun costume only requires regular clothing and a headpiece that you could make with hot glue, some felt, and a cheap headband or hat from the dollar store? I’m thinking animals and TV characters.
  5. Hot glue and felt are your friends. I made Tigger and a honey pot one year solely by hot gluing felt onto old clothing. (We had a Winnie the Pooh theme, clearly.)
  6. Hats are unbelievably simple to sew. Cut two pieces from the pattern and run through the sewing machine four times. That’s it! Here is the link for an easy, free, downloadable pattern from Fleece Fun. I made fleece ones last year for my kids Pokémon costumes and yesterday whipped up a white one with scrap pieces of knit and that worked, also! 

Comment with some of your ideas for easy costume DIY! 

Our family as Winnie the Pooh (re-used from my hubby’s childhood), Piglet (made out of old pink corduroy pants), Tigger and the “Hunny” pot made from old shirts, felt, and hot glue. 

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Make it yourself: Toddler Travel Pillow

In anticipation of our road trip to my husband’s family reunion this past weekend, I had decided to add one more little thing to the list of “must complete before Friday.” It’s true: I am insane. To my surprise, it only took about 20 minutes to sew a cozy travel pillow for my toddler. So perhaps I am only partially insane! Additionally, he absolutely loved it and had to use it while he watched Sesame Street. It was great to have in the car for when he fell asleep since it was a long 4 1/2 hours. Some may like the U shaped travel pillows, but I like this one because I wasn’t sure if he would really keep a U shape around his neck. This was easy to slide and re-position to wherever his head lolled after falling asleep.

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To make this little pillow, you need some cozy fabric and fiberfill stuffing. I used some fleece, but any soft fabric would be fine. Cut the fabric to a rectangle 10 inches by 12 inches.

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I went ahead and made a little pattern so that the next time I make one I can pin it and cut it quickly. Once the fabric is cut, fold it in half hot dog style, then pin the right sides together. Sew all three sides, leaving about half of the third side open for stuffing.

the-mother-lode toddler travel pillow

Cut the corners (and any excess fabric because you didn’t have the cuts even like me) and turn right side out. Stuff with the fiberfill to your liking. Fold the edges of the hold in and press lightly. Sew closed with an invisible ladder stitch.

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And there you have it: a little toddler travel pillow! Now if only it were as easy and simple to get your toddler to sleep in the car for most of the trip!

 

 

 

 

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DIY Comforting Heat Pillow

Many years ago, my mom bought a heating pad for my dad at a kiosk at the mall. It was made of blue fabric with stars and moons on it, and was shaped to drape around your shoulders. He warmed it in the microwave and it smelled pretty terrible. However, my dad LOVED it. He would warm it up in the evening when his shoulders were tight or even if just when he was cold. Eventually, the blue pad was either misplaced or fell apart. A couple of years ago, I decided to make him a new one! I followed a tutorial from the blog An Oregon Cottage. It turned out well, he really likes it, and it smells good!

A while back (I honestly cannot remember when) my sister-in-law was talking about some back pain she was having. I asked if she ever used a heating pad, and she told me that she borrowed one from her mom every now and then. I picked out some fabric that I thought she would like and months later I finally made her a heat pillow! If you have aches and pains (and a sewing machine), you should make one, too! I haven’t been sewing for very long and I was able to complete this project easily (once I had some time when the kids were napping and there weren’t piles of dirty dishes/clothes/toys everywhere.) I changed a bit from the original tutorial, since I didn’t love the finishing on the first one.

How to begin:

Cut a pattern from paper of a 12 inch by 20 inch rectangle. Use this to cut out your fabric. You should choose a fabric that is 100% cotton (so it won’t catch fire or anything in the microwave.) Thicker broadcloth and home decor fabrics are best.

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Fold the fabric in half lengthwise with right sides together. Sew together beginning on one of the short sides, putting in a few backstitches to keep it together. Stop a bit before the corner, lift the presser foot up, turn the fabric and continue sewing the long side. Turn the next corner and sew halfway up the short side, then stop, again with a few backstitches.

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Cut the corners off a bit so they won’t make for a bulky corner. Turn right side out. Fill about halfway with flaxseed. (I like flaxseed because it doesn’t burn in the microwave and it creates a nice, moist heat that is helpful for aching muscles.) Fiddle around with it to figure out how much you like, as too empty won’t keep the heat in as well and too full will be hard. I also add about 1/4 cup of dried lavender. You don’t have to, but it smells nice!

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Finally use a ladder stitch to close the hole up. I learned this stitch while fixing some stuffed animals that were torn. It is a great way to hide the hole and it honestly isn’t that hard, especially with this thick fabric. It takes about five minutes to learn from a few YouTube videos. I like this one:

 

Once you stitch it closed, you are finished!

IMGP7768 Diy warming pillow www.the-mother-lode.com

When you are ready to use it, heat it in the microwave about 45 seconds. Give it a shake, then heat another 20 seconds until it feels warm enough to soothe what ails you.

 

 

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