Tuesday, 22 September 2015

DIY Toys: Pom Poms


These little pom poms are cute versatile and very easy to make!

They can be used as toys, pretend food, money, balls, etc. The little boy decided that his white one was definitely a lychee.

The can be used as decorations, or for pom pom crafts. (Stick them together to form shapes or animals.)

And best of all, they make great luggage identifiers! Trust me. A luggage adorned with multi-coloured pom poms really stands out on the airport conveyor belt!

All you need is a fork and some wool.

  1. Wind the wool around a 4-pronged fork. Make sure that you leave enough space on the fork to insert the binding string in step 3.
  2. Create a fat ball of wool around the fork.
  3. Insert binding string around the fat ball you have created.
  4. Tie it tightly, pulling perpendicular to the bound loop and do a double knot. (If, like me, you use your big toe to hold the first knot in place while to tie the second, be sure to wash your toes before you begin!)
  5. Pull the ball of wool off the fork.
  6. Using a very small, sharp scissors, cut the edges carefully. (We nicked my husband's shaving scissors.) Be careful not to cut the binding string or you'll just end up with a hand full of woolly noodles. (Which is great too. The kids had hours of fun playing with their woolly noodles, so it wasn't a total waste!)
  7. Give your pom pom a haircut to make it nice and round.
  8. Voila!

    Try winding 2 different coloured strands at a time for a multi-coloured effect!

Have fun!

Monday, 21 September 2015

DIY Toys: Sewing a drawstring bag


My children love little pouches, bags, wallets, (basically anything that can hold anything!) and they somehow always manage to find some treasures to store inside. This little flower drawstring pouch was all the more precious because the little girl made it by herself.

The cloth was from Daiso and the string was made from 3 strands of wool that she braided together. We used a simple running stitch. It was their first real sewing project, so I did not want to overwhelm them with a back stitch or blanket stitch. We began with simple leaf sewing projects months earlier, to familiarise them with sewing techniques, without wasting cloth! Then we progressed to sewing buttons on shirts. When they were confident enough using a needle, they begged to be allowed to sew something, we I picked something simple yet practical - a bag. The little girl had the patience to finish it all in one sitting, though she got very tired towards the end. It's now her Official Hair Clip Carrier.

Boys can sew too! The little boy's is still in the making but he's very excited about making a pouch. It's a bit lopsided but I felt that him doing it by himself was more important than perfection. Anyway, it will be the first out of many, I believe!



Here's a useful tutorial:
http://www.clipwithpurpose.com/marbles-10-minute-fleece-drawstring-pouch/

Happy sewing!