HOWTO: Toddler Totoro Costume

You may recall Charlie was Totoro for Halloween, and I promised a tutorial, way back then. Well, here it is, finally!

This costume was really easy and I finished it in a single (long) afternoon naptime, about 3 hours.

Supplies:
1.5 yards charcoal grey fleece
(you could also use blue)
18"x12" scrap of ivory or white fleece
1 sheet craft foam (the thickest white one)
1 22 inch matching grey zipper

First, to make the basic jumpsuit pattern I laid down a set of my son's clothes and traced VERY loosely around them:



This was how I made sure it was roughly the right size - much easier than trying to measure a two year old! The fit is very baggy, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

Trace one side, then fold the fabric in half and cut that piece out for the front. Then fold that whole piece in half, and use that as a pattern piece for the two back pieces, leaving a half inch for seam allowance:



So the body is composed of three pieces that look roughly like this:


Pin & sew the back pieces together from the crotch up to the "butt", leaving the rest open for the zipper. Then pin and sew the front and back together, right sides together, around the arms, body and legs.



Like the body, I also traced loosely around one of my son's hoodies to make the pattern for the hood:



Again, it's loose, so the shape is approximate, but make sure the length of the bottom will approximately match the size of the neck on the body, after hemming.



Sew these two pieces together starting at the top of the head (the zipper opening has to go all the way to the top or your baby will get stuck), then hem the front around the face opening. Pin into either side of the neck hole, right sides together, and sew in.



For the belly design, I cut a 17.5"x11" oval out of the lighter fleece and then ironed it on with fusible web. I sewed this down for safety, like an applique, and then did all the little triangles, similarly, on top of this.



The tail is just two elongated "D" shaped pieces, sewn right sides together, flipped inside out, and stuffed with scraps of fleece.



Tail pattern is about 7" long.



To finish the body, sew the tail on by pinning it to the butt, the round part of the "D" facing up. Sew across, then fold down. Finally, install the zipper from the butt to the top of the head.

The ears are made using this general pattern, pattern piece is about 6" tall:



Cut four ear pieces from grey fleece, then each pair sew right side together and reverse. Trace the resulting shape onto craft foam then stuff the foam piece into the ear so it's stiff.



Then sew onto the top of the head, the same way as the tail. I also sewed in a craft foam "head band" on the inside of the hood, for stability, and sewed the ears to that as well.



I finished with a leaf made out of craft foam - this didn't survive the night, but you could make one out of felt, or even grab something from the floral department.

And that's how to make a super easy Totoro toddler costume!

Vertical Blind Hack, Part 2

As I was saying... I hate vertical blinds!


In my bedroom, I hacked my vertical blinds into curtains by attaching the curtains with tabs fastened with buttons. It worked well, but I wanted to try something different for the curtains in my nursery. Here's what I did.


Again, I removed the blind blades and stored them neatly under the bed, on top of the other set. They come out and go back in very easily, so don't be afraid to remove them.

Here, instead of making two separate curtains, I sewed my fabric into one continuous sheet. The nice thing about these is that they use the existing vertical blind hardware. The fabric is held in the clips with large grommets.***


If you would like to see a useful tutorial on attaching these eyelets, consult Sew Mama Sew. Especially if you do not have a one step button-holing sewing machine, these are much less work than making tabs with buttons.

These open up like vertical blinds, using the hanging cord. They are very easy to use and install.


The fabric for these is from the Ikea Barnslig collection, which is super cute. These are also fully lined, with drapery lining from Joann Fabrics (coupon!) as I wanted to be able to get this room dark.


Now you have two options for curtain-izing vertical blinds.

*** EDITED 4/10/2012: This post has become fairly popular, so I wanted to give an update on this solution. These grommets went in and out easily at the time, but after a few years the plastic was not so pliant as it once was, and when I took these curtains down to move, half of the clips broke!

Now I recommend using curtain clips (like these beautiful cheap ones from Ikea) instead of grommets. They won't break anything and they are easier to install, too... no holes necessary.

Vertical Blinds Hack, Part 1

For some reason, apartment designers in Los Angeles have a love affair with wall-to-wall carpet (yuck!) and vertical blinds (yuck!). Most apartments I have rented have both. I can't do much about the carpets, but I went on a mission to figure out some way to hack the hated vertical blinds.


Why do I hate vertical blinds? They are bland. They are sharp. They always get twisted up, so you have to straighten them all every time you want to open them. They are harsh in the manner they block light. They don't really guarantee privacy, especially when the cats are sitting in them, as cats do. Ugh! I hate them!

I had a conversation with my manager one day about getting rid of the vertical blinds. He basically told me that I was wrong, that curtains were inferior to vertical blinds, and I must keep them.

But I love curtains. So, compromise.


For these curtains in my bedroom, I very carefully removed each of the evil vertical blind slats, and stored them under my bed. I then sewed these curtains around the vertical blind hardware.

Apart from having the strangest curtain rod ever, they open and close just like regular cafe curtains. I love them!


The tabs are closed by big buttons, so I can take them down to wash them occasionally. You can see here how the curtains are, indeed, hung around the vertical blind hardware.


Making the buttonholes was incredible fun. I highly recommend a one step button-holer over a four step button-holer. You can seriously, like, read a book while it goes to work.


So easy, and such perfect buttonholes.


The fabric for these curtains is by Premier Prints, and it is intended for nurseries, but I really like it in my bedroom, which I've done in sea glass colors.


If you are like me, and also hate vertical blinds, but are also cursed with them, here's one way to deal with them. I will post my second way soon.

*Grimace*

I know I promised that I wouldn't go to the craft store, but I was out of fusible interfacing and what can you make without fusible interfacing and I also had this idea that needed ric rac and while I was there I saw a boootiful piece of linen for $2 so you can't fault me for any of that... and I have my period.


Yes, today I made a tampon cozy. And it has a face. A *grimace* face. How-to follows, but if you don't want to know how-to, scroll down to the fun part at the end.


Supplies

7" x 9" Outer fabric
7" x 9" Lining fabric
7" x 9" Fusible interfacing
8.5" Red ric rac
Black embroidery floss and needle
Coordinating thread
1 button

Clip 3/8" seam allowance off interfacing and fuse to outer fabric. Embroider eyes 2" from the sides and 1.75" from the top.


Pin outer fabric to lining fabric, wrong sides together, and sew together leaving 3/8" seam allowance.


Leave two openings at the corners of the mouth, so to speak. Make sure one of them is big enough to push the fabric through (although if you make it a little bit too tight, it could be an appropriate metaphor for the... never mind.)


Flip inside out and iron flat, neatening the openings


Pin ric rac to the top of the front, and fold edges into the openings. Sew in place.


Fold over the bottom so that the top flap is 2.5" long. Pin in place, and sew down the edges. I recommend using a topstitch or denim needle for this, as the fabric is quite thick here.





Pull out your buttonhole foot and make a buttonhole between the eyes, about 1" from the edge.


Sew button to the inside about 0.5" from the edge. Stuff with four tampons and go!


Now, here's the fun part:

Since I ran through this design twice to get the how-to right, I have an extra tampon cozy. So, giveaway! If you would like this tampon cozy, introduce yourself in the comments, and leave some way to contact you, and I'll pick a winner next week. Good times!!

Tardis Tissue Box Cozy

UPDATE: This blog post has gone around some, which is awesome, but I know these instructions are a little fly-by-night. If you want any help please feel free to comment and I will respond.

Allons-y! -Jessica

---

It had to be done. It's so obvious that it's even been done before. This is my interpretation, made for the Great Geek Swap. My swapper partner likes Dr. Who.



The BBC has actually copyrighted the TARDIS design, which is one of those interesting copyright oddities since clearly this "design" was just borrowed from actual police boxes designed for the London PD. Whatever, I'm not selling this.

Supplies:
20x20" Fusible interfacing
1/4 yd Dark denim
1/4 yd lining
Silver Satin (scraps)
Embroidery floss (white and navy)
Print n Press transfer paper (dark fabric)
Sewing Machine, denim needle & navy thread
Bead for top light
1 5.5x5.5" cardboard square

I wanted to do a more detailed HOWTO, but my process got changed and convoluted somewhere along the way so this is the best I can muster. Here's the basic template for the sides:


This should be about the size of the larger side of your tissue box. All the blue is one piece, and the dark blue sections form the top pieces. A base piece the size of the light blue area is also needed.

And here's the sign I used (with Print n Press transfer paper). Print this out for use on one of the denim base (door) pieces.



First step: cut interfacing into shapes based on template, then iron onto the denim. Notice one of the sides has to be split in half, for the door.



Next, cut them apart, cut open the "windows" and baste the window seams under. Topstitch the window pieces on top of strips of satin, and the base pieces. Then sew the sections together, with the "doors" on either end. After this I topstitched four corner pieces over the seams.



Embroidered "Police Public Call Box" labels. The window grids are also (very simply) embroidered.



I cut out a square piece of denim big with sides the length of one of the panels. As tissue boxes are not square, this did not fit exactly, but the cloth was forgiving. I sewed this to the top of my panels.

I added a lining to hide the embroidery mess on the inside. This was done by sewing together a lining in the same shape as the denim exterior, then sewing it to the denim, right sides together, and flipping it inside out.


It would have been more awesome if I had found a lining fabric that had a big polka dot pattern like the inside of the actual TARDIS... but I already had this, and I like money. Both of these fabrics are leftover from a certain other cozy project.

Almost done - just some last minute tailoring. I hand sewed the embroidered signs on at this stage.



The top is just five pieces of fabric sewn together and then hand stitched to the top. It is tightly stuffed so it could be used as a pin cushion if you are so inclined to have a pin cushion on top of your tissue box. The "light" is a clear bead tied on with embroidery floss.



The base is made by sewing denim around a piece of reclaimed cardboard, and then hand sewn to the cozy. I made the base in the actual dimensions of the tissue box (rather than square) and then just pushed the fabric around until it fit properly.



Some final product detail shots.





There really is a tissue box in there.





I love the otherworldly glow in this shot:



I also made a Dr. Who card, which I colored with a highlighter and a green marker. David Tennant, incidentally, looks like an older Scottish version of my brother. Who in turn looks like an older, American version of Daniel Radcliffe.