make-believe cape, the tutorial

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i am sorry that it has taken so long to get the promised cape tutorial to you. it is so simple a project that really you do not need a proper tutorial to accomplish the making of it. which is good! because this is not much of a tutorial when all is said & done. still, i shall do my best.

items to gather:

*2 receiving blankets

*measuring tape

*scissors (yes, spell-check, i do realize that it is not spelled "scisoors". go away.)

*pencil

*round object, approximately 5 inches across

*sewing machine

*1 square of velcro, both halves

the first thing you want to do is make a pattern. i had sheets of very large paper, but if you do not, you can use newspaper, or brown craft paper. how large a piece of paper you'll need will depend on how tall your child is. 

let me say here that elfling is a smallish 3.5yo, being just shy of 3 feet tall. rounding up, that makes him 14 inches taller than the height of the paper; my sheet of paper being the perfect size for him, at 22 x 16 (inches). you are on your own for the math adjustments - though i imagine you could just add however much taller your child to the height of my pattern. sorry if this is confusing, i am allergic to math.

once you've figured out the measurements, cut out the whatever-by-whatever rectangle from your pattern paper, & fold it in half lengthwise. you can see the crease from this in the above photograph.

now you draw your pattern, but only half of it. begin at the top edge of the fold, & curve downward, until you have come to the edge of your paper. on mine, this is 5 inches down from the top.

next, you'll take your round object (i used a lid), place it on the top edge of the fold (with the mid-point of the circle following the fold), & slide it down until the space at the top edge measures 2 inches. draw around the half-circle. later, this will be the neck opening. 

keep the paper folded, & cut away the excess at the top, as well as the half-circle. 

lay your receiving blankets down, one atop the other, smooth out wrinkles, & fold in half lengthwise. place the pattern over this (folded edges matching), pin the whole lot together, & cut it out. 

remove the pattern, & open your fabrics. these two pieces should like identical to the pictured pattern when opened. 

keeping the two pieces together, cut a slit in the top of the circle. this creates the opening for the neck.

re-pin the fabric, & stitch all the way around the edges with a zig-zag stitch. to reinforce, go back around with a straight stitch, at the inner edge of the zig, or, um, the zag. we aren't going for beauty here, merely for quick & sturdy.

see? nobody could accuse me of going for beauty with that stitchery.

it is time to add your closure. pin one half of your velcro square to the topside of one arm of the neck, & the other half to the underside of the other arm. make sure you do this, because you want your arm ends to overlap. stitch on all four sides of each, then stitch an x through each, to make them strong. if i'm not being clear, you can see what i mean in the above photo.

that is all there is to it! because i wanted to keep elfling's cape ambiguous, i did not embellish the fabric. most of the capes i see online have superhero emblems, which you would want to stitch onto the center of the outer fabric, before sewing the two halves together.

happy sewing!
~peace.

i have nothing to say

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perhaps i should not have set forth the royal proclamation that i would write more, & babble less. since doing so i have been struck mute. even now, in just telling you that i cannot write, the words do not come.

i do want to share this play-mat with you, so until i have become unmutificated (real word), i shall indulge in a bit of babble.

elfling was given a set of cars squinkies for christmas. watching him play with them, i remembered this wee map on pinterest. the original source can be found on spoonflower. in their words: a scale(ish) map of paris sized to use with toy cars. you can purchase the fabric by the yard, or a small test swatch.  i hope to by some later this year, to make elfling a blanket. i digress.

how i made this play-mat:

*print the spoonflower image onto card stock.
*cut away the excess paper.
*cover both sides of the map with clear contact paper.
*smooth away bubbles & round the corners. (leave an edge all the way around)
*add one toddler & a handful of squinkies.

elfling loves his new map, & has played with it many times since i made it. this play-mat would make an excellent toy for restaurants & other places you want to enjoy a bit of quiet toddler time. not for my toddler, however, as he tends to announce the end of squinky play by throwing them across the room. sigh.

said squinky-thrower is currently running amok, so i am bringing today's babble to a close. hopefully i shall have something to say soon. have a lovely day, do!

~peace.

ps. i also printed this radiator springs set, which is too cute for words.

notes of note :: i do not own the rights to the map image, so please, do not make play-mats from it to sell. i doubt you would do such a thing, but it had to be said. i know you understand. also, please buy the fabric, if you are able. spoonflower rocks!

in memoriam

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jar filled with bits & bobs from many huell-inspired road trips. pebbles, sea glass, shells, pottery, etc.

huell howser,  you truly were california's gold.

~peace.

change is on the wind

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like so many others this time of year, my thoughts turn inward. what do i want this new year to bring me? to be filled with? what ever shall i do with myself? no matter where my mind drifts, it always comes back to one word: change.

oldies will recall that change & i do not do well together; i am a creature of habit. in fact, there was talk of crowning me queen of habitton. or was that hobbiton? i can never recall which. at any rate, i know that as difficult as change is for me, it is something that i want. something that i need. it is the what that has me stumped.

i do know some of what i want to change. last year was one of health woes; both body & mind. i am determined that twenty-thirteen will see me well. no. not just well - i want to thrive. much easier to type than do, but as thirteen is my lucky number, this is the year for it.

the rest is fuzzy. i know that i want to move across town, but that requires more money than we currently have on hand. so how to earn that money?

i want to write. i want to re-open kats in the belfry. i want to finally open the hogwarts homeschool shop. i want to design & sew vintage-styled clothing. i want to learn photography. i want to get my farm back on track. i want, i want, i want, & there are only so many hours in a day that is already filled with a teen & a toddler, both of whom homeschool, & only one me.

ye olde blogge needs a change, most definitely. i want to write more in this space, to really write. the other day i was searching for something, & came across a post that i wrote shortly after my mother died. reading that post made me cry. not just for the loss of my mother, but because somewhere along the way i forgot that i was a writer. do not mistake me, i enjoy sharing photos, & babbling about my day, but it is not who i am. rather, not only who i am. for now i think i shall post less, & write more. or not. honestly, i do not know. sigh.

until i do better know what i most want to change, & how, i am concentrating on what is easily managed without much thought. like moving my vintage camera collection, i shall move me about & see what looks best. change is on the wind, my one & only reader. but to where will it blow?

~peace.

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happy new year!

~peace.