Firetruck Birthday Shirt

We have a young friend who will be turning three soon. He has been really into firetrucks for some time. A basic number shirt didn't seem like it would be enough. While thinking about this shirt, I thought a shiny red truck would be cool. Fortunately red pleather goes on sale right about now for costume making time. Though I did have concerns about how it would sew and wash.

I used felt for all the other details and glued them on before stitching. Then I satin stitched most parts before placing the truck on the shirt.  Finally I added some heat and bond and very carefully ironed the truck to the shirt. Using some batting in between didn't damage the pleather, but also didn't really adhere the truck. Finally I flipped the shirt inside out and ironed through the back, which worked pretty well. 

Using the new Teflon foot may have helped in some instances, but I wonder if it slipped too much when I was sewing on mainly felt. There were a couple places where the satin stitches looked less than perfect. 

I am thinking the birthday boy will just see a firetruck with a yellow number three.

Firetruck Birthday Shirt

Even Easier Luggage Tags - A Tutorial

After making a few luggage tags with multiple layers, I decided I wanted a simplified method and after making a few of these and tweaking the design a little, I thought it was worth sharing.

These luggage tags are the perfect size for a business card or just a name.  Different prints can be used or a combination of pieced fabrics with or without some ribbon.

Luggage Tag Tutorial

Step 1 

Cut

• two 3.25" x 5" fabric or piece together for a different look
• two 2.75" x 4.5" of heat bond craft interfacing
• one 5" x 1.25" strip for bias
• one 1.5" x 12" strip for the handle
• one 3.25 x 4" of clear plastic vinyl

Step 2

Center interfacing on the back of each 3.25" x 5" rectangle and adhere

Step 3

Make small bias tape.  The strip is 1.25" x 5" which is pretty narrow.  Making it a big bigger would work too.  Iron in half, then open, iron each long side towards the center line, then iron together making a bias tape.




 Step 4
Place bias on top of clear plastic sandwiching one of the 4" sides, sew close to bottom edge.









Step 5
Layer pieces for sewing.  With right side up of print, add plastic with bias on top, then with right side down, place other print on.  Right sides are then together for each print and the clear plastic is sandwiched in between.

















Step 6
Sew around edges with a 1/4" seam allowance being careful not to have the plastic slip.  Begin near top corner, leaving a small opening for turning.  Clip corners and any bias or plastic not lined up.

Step 7
Turn right side out.  This is certainly tricky; the materials are stiff and the opening is small.

Step 8

Push all four corners out with a pencil or chop stick.  Being very mindful of the plastic, give a quick iron on the back and all edges.  Turn under the open edges and iron.

Step 9
Take 1.5" x 12" strip and iron in half.  Open back up and iron each long end towards the center line.  Then fold in half and iron again.  Sew down the long edges of the strap close to the edges.

Step 10

Insert both raw edges of the strap into the luggage tag.  Center the strap.  Insert about 1/2" of ends.

Step 11

Sew a box around the ends inside the luggage tag.  Then top stitch around the whole luggage tag being sure to catch both sides of the opening at top.

Luggage Tag

It's tricky to sew over the plastic.  Tissue paper can be used under the presser foot or a special teflon presser foot can be used.  I've done both and the new to me foot is worth it.  Holding the presser foot up a bit while sewing helps going over bumps and at the corners.

Luggage Tags

My daughter started the flute this year and it is a used flute.  The flute case had a plastic luggage tag on it that broke after one trip to school.  I suggested making a luggage tag for her and she finally warmed up to the idea.  I found many great tutorials, but this one from Sid's In Stitches stood out from the rest.

While my daughter was still deciding on fabric, I made up a black one to practice.  It was good to see where I could be more precise and that all the guidelines I made make a difference.

Round two did come out better and it matches her recorder bag.  We were happy to find that there was just enough left over.

More Heart Pillows

More heart pillows are ready for delivery!  I enjoyed doing wonky stripes and then using the leftovers for piecing.  The pieced hearts look like crazy quilting.

The Letter "K" Pillow

After playing around a bit more with the Slice and Insert quilting method, I thought the letter "K" might work for it too.

My three year old chose purple sparkly fabric for the "K".  After I cut out 3" strips and arranged them into a K shape, I realized that piecing together made more sense.  She then chose the Minnie Mouse print for the background.

I started with the top diagonal, then the bottom and added to both sides.  Then I added the bottom diagonal to the top and finally added the straight piece.  I added borders, then batting and quilted through the top and batting.

I added batting to the back piece too to give the pillow a better form before stuffing.  It is about 13" square.

Slice and Insert Mug Rug

My daughter is very excited about her new fourth grade teacher and even asked the teacher her favorite colors.  I was enjoying the Slice and Insert quilting method and mug rugs are a nice place to practice new things.

Lining up a diagonal "slice" was much harder than when it's parallel to the raw edges.  Finally I ended up lining it up and then placing it 1/4" higher and basting first to double check.

Mended Fabric Organizer

Due to the fact that backpacks are not allowed in school, my son keeps trying out different methods to stay organized and carry all his necessary things along.

This year, he plans to reuse this fabric accordion organizer and tuck his agenda in the front. This was what he did other years which caused the elastic to rip off and the button to pull out. 

I bought some new silver buttons and a flat black button for the reverse side. Thin elastic would work for the front and back. 

The buttons sewed together better than I expected.  I thought it might be hard to get them attached to each other through the firm material and still be held together tightly. The elastic tucked into the existing layers.  I just heat sealed the ends first. Everything was sewn by hand and I hope I put in enough stitches that it will last. 

For the back, I added elastic in a "V" to help hold his pencil case.