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Patterns to Share
I like to make my own patterns sometimes so decided to share some here
when I can come up with the time to write out the instructions.
Fort Fun For My Boys
When my boys were young, keeping them entertained--especially
during the summer required some creativity. One of the materials
I discoverd one summer was PVC pipe and connectors. PVC can be
a wonderful material for creative building and I ended up created
a building kit that let them build a light-weight frame, to make
play forts and tunnels--think of it as very large tinker toy set.
It was great for indoor or outdoor play, they could throw blankets
over it and have a fort. They could try and re-configure the pieces
to make forts with more than one “room” in them. I
also picked up some metal "claw" like drapery hooks to
help hold the blankets on to the pipe.
Along the way, I discovered that by adding a water attachment
system and drilling some pin-holes in a few of the pipes, it turned
into a sprinkler run and backyard water park.
The specific pieces to the set I made allowed my boys to reconfigure
the set-up into different shapes and functions on their own.
I think this is a project that other mothers or fathers might
enjoy with their kids so I’ve put together a parts list and
some diagram instructions for building a basic fort and basic water
run. These instructions are available here free of charge, for
personal use ONLY and are not allowed to be copied for
commercial use. So, click
here for a downloadable PDF of the instructions (2.44 mb file
size). Take a look and have fun with your kids this summer. |
Easy to Make Simple Bear
I am the adoptive mother of three special needs boys. All three
of my boys have needed extensive therapy throughout their lives–and
will continue to need it. One day, I was talking with my youngest
son’s attachment therapist and she mentioned how much teddy
bears can help her with some of her patients and how she wished
she had a simple pattern to make teddy bears. She was not big on
sewing, but wanted a way to make something personal for some of
the children she dealt with.
I’m sure there are patterns out there like mine, but this
was specifically developed for her. I wanted something that wouldn’t
take cutting out more than two pieces and that needed little instruction.
Here is the pattern for this bear simple
bear pattern (161 KB) Here are the instructions simple
bear directions (903 KB)
I also created an outfit pattern for added fun. Here is the pattern simple
bear outfit pattern (83 KB) and here are the instructions simple
bear outfit directions |
Santa Head Ornament
For many years, I would come up with a new ornament to make each
Christmas as gifts for friends and family. Not everyone is into
receiving home-made gifts but most people will add an ornament
to their christmas decorations--especially if it looks nice.
This one is relatively easy to make and is especially good as
a group project. The materials are pretty inexpensive, about the
only one that might be harder to come by is the Jumbo Loopy chenille
for the beard. You could use a white plush or fur fabric instead.
Here is a PDF
of my pattern and instructions Santa
Head Ornament (743kb) |
Wrist Pin Cushion
Anyone who has ever seen me in my craft room has usually seen
me wearing one of these. There are versions on the market,
but most have hard plastic wrist bracelets. I wanted something
soft, that could stay on my arm for hours comfortably. After searching
around for some time, I decided to make my own. This pattern is
simple and is a good use of scrap cloth. If you can’t find
chipboard, use matt board. You need something to hold the shape
and to protect your arm from pins. Wrist
Pincushion (536 KB) |
I Call it a Harf
It isn’t exactly original. I had a knitted hooded scarf
that I really liked. I have no idea where I got it or when, it
seems like I’ve always had it and it was getting old and
worn out. I wanted to make myself a new one, but I don’t
knit–not only that, but I couldn’t find a pattern.
So I created my own pattern.
As simple as the concept is, it took a bit of experimentation
to get the exact proportion to the hood. I like to make them out
of fleece because it is warm and soft. It can be worn several different
ways and I know everyone I’ve given one to as a gift has
found it to be very useful so I’m sharing the pattern. Harf
Pattern (274 kb) |
Paper Mini Boxes
This is a fun little pattern for a paper trinket box. These are
small (about 2″ square by 1 and 5/8″ high. Great
for jewelry and little items like that. You can print it off
on to pretty paper and then spray mount it to a thicker paper stock,
or pick up some light card stock made for desktop printers and
print directly on to it.
I like to add personalization–but you have to have access
to some good graphics software to do that so I’ve made a
PDF pattern that you can simply print out ( Mini
gift box 308KB) AND, I’ve made a Word Doc file
( Mini
Gift Box 70 KB) that allows you to make some changes
and customize. Create your own custom trinket boxes with this pattern. |
Easy to Make Gift Bags
Last year I decided to “go green” and wrap ALL of
my holiday gifts in re-usable gift bags. I took advantage of after-holiday
fabric sales and “Christmas in July” sales to amass
a bunch of holiday fabric.
It was a lot of work, but not as much as I thought it would be.
For me, sewing is fun and I can do some things pretty quickly so
it really wasn’t much more time consuming than traditional
paper wrapping (especially since I like to decorate every package).
Friends and extended family members got a kick out of opening
their beautifully decorated bags and my Christmas tree looked particularly
festive with all the beautiful fabric covered gifts and decorative
ribbons. So, even though my kids thought it a bit odd at first,
it turned out to be a real success (and I have all the bags I used
for the family to use again this year). So, if you want to download
a PDF of how I made my bags, just click here gift
bag1 |
Links to Free Patterns
There are patterns all over the internet. Here are some freebees online
that I’ve found fun:
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