Tutorial | Child Sized Oven Mitts

My kids both love to play with the pretend food that they got for Christmas last year.  So to go along with their food I decided to make them a pair of oven mitts.  I could not find a good pattern online anywhere so I decided to make my own.  After a few failed attempts (sorry no pictures of those), I came up with one that works for all ages.  I would rate this project as easy, it took me about 3 hours to complete the two mittens.  Keep reading if you want to make a pair of your own!

Warning:  These oven mitts are for play only.  They are NOT oven safe.

Materials Needed:
Free child sized oven mitt pattern
2 fat quarters (one in a print, one in a solid)
4 pieces of quilt batting (each about 8" by 11")
2 pieces of double fold bias tape (each about 11 1/2" inches long)

For the bias tape I chose the same color as the solid fat quarter.

Begin with the solid fat quarter.  Fold in half and lay the pattern on top.  Pin your pattern down and cut out.  Repeat.  You need a total of 4 mitts from the solid fabric.

You should be able to get 4 pieces from one fat quarter.

Repeat with the print fat quarter.  Fold in half, position and pin your pattern and cut out 4 mitts.

You should now have 4 solid mitt pieces and 4 print mitt pieces.

Lay one of the solid pieces on the table WRONG side up.  Take one piece of quilt batting and lay over the top so the solid fabric is completely covered.  Lay a print piece over the top RIGHT side up.  Adjust so the print and solid pieces match up perfectly.  Pin the 3 layers in place.

Repeat with the other solid and print pieces.  The picture show 2 pieces ready for sewing, in total you should have 4.

Now comes the slightly time consuming part.  Using your sewing machine, quilt the three layers together as follows.

Lay the first piece at a diagonal to the foot.  Sew straight across (at a diagonal) until you reach the other side.  This line of stitching will be your guide for the rest of the quilting.

Using the foot as a guide for width, sew parallel diagonal lines across the entire piece until it looks like the picture.

Next, turn the piece so your sewing machine foot is perpendicular to your diagonal lines.  You are going to repeat the process above, but in the opposite direction to create a grid of little squares over the entire surface of the piece.

Repeat this process until all your pieces are quilted.

Trim the excess quilt batting and any loose threads.

Take 2 pieces and align them with the print sides facing each other.  Pin around the edge.

Repeat with the other 2 pieces.

Sew the pieces together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Serge or zig-zag stitch the edge so they won't fray. I do not have a serger so I use a zig-zag stitch - it is quite sufficient for this project.

Repeat with the other mitt.

Turn both mitts right side out.

If you haven't already, cut 2 pieces of bias tape, each 11 1/2 inches long.

Take one piece of bias tape and unfold each end.  Pin the ends, right sides facing and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Repeat with other piece of bias tape.

Turn and refold the bias tape so it forms a ring.

Sandwich the raw edge of the mitten in the center of the bias tape and pin in place.  Sew around the edge about an 1/8" in from the open edge of the bias tape.

Repeat with other mitt and voila!  Two oven mitts that any child is sure to love.

I can get my hands inside the oven mitts so they should be big enough for any child.  My two-year-old has no troubles getting them on either.

Enjoy!  I'd love to see your projects - feel free to comment and leave a link to your own project.

Beach Robe Project

One great thing about reading sewing blogs are all the great ideas that I get for projects of my own.  Recently Dana from MADE published a new pattern that she had developed for a beach robe.  Her pictures are always great and I instantly fell in love with this pattern.

The pattern is for 9 months to about 4 toddler and all you need is a large towel and 3 packages of bias tape.  I already had a towel in mind for the project and I made my own bias tape with some fabric that I already had.  When the robe was finished I had Jaden model it for me.

The towel is kind of girly so I figure that this robe will be for Hannah.  I'll have to make another one for Jaden so I'll be on the lookout for cute towels for a boy.

The robe came out really nice.  The yellow bias tape really finished it off nicely and the lined hood adds a nice touch.  I've always liked this particular towel - so bright and cheerful - but it was starting to show some wear.  This project gave it some new life!

Jaden was so wonderfully cooperative during my little photo shoot - quite unusual for this 2 year old.  I think he got a kick out of being outside in his barefeet, and wearing the new robe.  I think he also liked how warm and cozy the robe was.  I can't wait to try this project with a different towel, it was so easy!

Pink Cat Curtains

When my husband and I first moved into our current house Asia and I made a trip to the hardware store to select paint colors for her room. After much deliberation Asia settled on a light shade of pink for the upper half of the walls and a dark shade of pink for the lower half (the room already had the white chair rail). Jason and Asia spent a few afternoons painting the room - all in pink! With the walls completed, all she needed were curtains for the windows. Later, when I was out shopping for fabric with my mom I saw this fabric. It was perfect for Asia's room - it has similar shades of pink and is covered with black cats. The fabric was perfect for a girl who loves both pink and cats. Previously I had found a book detailing how to sew various types of curtains and I settled on this type for their simplicity and tailored look. This type of curtain is simply two flat pieces of fabric sewn together right sides facing, turned, ironed and stapled to a 1 by 4 board. Easy! The to tie them back I sewed a fabric covered button to the point where I wanted them opened and attached a ribbon to loop around the button. Voila, cute cat curtains to go with the pink room.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Room Part 2 - Sewing

When I bought the fabric panel for the fabric wall art for my son's room, I also bought coordinating fabric for other parts of his room. I wanted to make a curtain for the window and a crib skirt for his crib. For both of these projects I used a pattern from the fabric store (though I can't remember which one). For the curtain, I used the spot fabric and created a flat panel that is mounted in the window with a dowel. I used a green ribbon to tie up the panel to open the curtain. The valance has a nice tailored look achieved with a 1 by 4 board mounted to the window with L brackets. The fabric is stapled to the board across the front and sides to create a boxed look. The crib skirt I made looks just like the valance, same boxed look with the green and yellow fabric.

When a woman that my husband works with heard about our theme for Jaden's room, she went right out and got some fabric herself. With it she made a cute quilt that she gave us after Jaden was born. The quilt has two of the printed fabric panels for the front, and the back is a white fabric printed with the text "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and little caterpillars. My favorite part is the border she created with green and red circles - just like the hungry caterpillar! The quilt was a great addition to my son's room.