Talk about last minute - these elephant goodies were not dreamt up and made until the eve of the birthday in question. I had a box of LEGO in reserve, but luckily for the elephant lover (and her mother who indulges her) the creative juices were flowing and the sewing gods smiling on me, and all went pretty smoothly.
Leftovers from the elephant t shirt I made a couple of weeks ago. And some pink pom pom trim, which the birthday girl herself had requested I use to make her a handbag.
With very limited time available, I overcame my desire to overcomplicate things (was originally going to make a miniature t shirt for the bear) and this super hero cape is what happened. Took all of about ten minutes. Love that kind of sewing.
The bag was a trickier customer. I had originally intended to just make another version of the party bag. And then came the idea for a child sized messenger bag. Once I'd got my head round making something that was to the taste of my four year and not me, I had loads of fun with this. No pattern, or particular plan in mind - I just completely winged it and made changes along the way as I thought necessary.
As the jersey was not ideal for bag making, I used some firm iron on interfacing to stabilise it. It worked a treat, and made the sewing process much easier, too.
The finish would quickly fail a factory inspection (the gathering on the join of the lining and main bag would be enough to make my mother weep, or roll her eyes and tut at the very least), but the clash of the pink pom poms and the array of elephants meant it was an Instant Hit with the person it was intended for.
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| Secret pocket for putting tiny things in. |
And if the things pictured above were last minute, here are a couple of items that were planned out well ahead (in the birthday girl's head, that is).
I made a number 3 t shirt for her last year - well, I embellished a shop bought tee with a bit of Bondaweb and nicely coordinating scraps I had. And because she liked advertising her new number so much, she has been politely requesting a new one at regular intervals for the last six months.
The skirt wasn't part of her request - but rather, an attempt by me to get her all coordinated. For once. Not rocket science - I just let my birthday girl choose the fabric she liked, cut a big rectangle strip the width of the roll, sewed it together and put some elastic in. and added a pocket. For more treasures, of course.
These birthday tees seem to be a big hit with most little ones - and a perfect beginner project, so I'm including this as an option on the new Gifts for Children Beginners' Course.
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