Another Grandchild T-shirt Project

Little Miss Lili-ladybug loves Lalaloopsy. I confess that until recently I had no idea who or what that might be! However, anything can be found on the Internet so I was soon educated! I used that new knowledge to produce a t-shirt for her that I thought she might like:

I traced a black line drawing picture of a Lalaloopsy girl that I then painted with fabric markers. I embellished this with black buttons for the eyes, a tied red ribbon in the hair, red embroidery floss for the shoe laces, black embroidery thread stitching for the mouth, and gold embroidery thread for textured hair. Then I attached t-shirt material with fusible web to the inside of the shirt to protect Lili's skin from the knotted threads.

Not knowing the story, I had no certain character in mind when choosing the hair or clothing colors. I don't think it was a problem. Since Lili's third birthday was approaching we bought her this doll, one of two blond but non-identical dolls she received.

The t-shirt was finished a couple of weeks before her birthday party where Lili wore the shirt! A friend held her while I snapped this photo:

If you're keeping track you know that I still have one shirt left to make. That would be for Polly. And given that she is a preteen and the weather is cooling off I'm thinking something long sleeves and chic would be in order. Stay tuned.

Spring and Easter Crafts: Rose Barrette

I made this barrette for one of my granddaughters. You can't see it, but this is attached to a large barrette form. Here are the supplies I used:

• 18 inches of 3 different 3/8 inch ribbons for the rose (I used pink dotted swiss, plain pink, and plain white)
• green ribbon for leaves (I used sheer green dotted swiss) - the length depends upon how large and how many leaves you wish to make
• needle and thread
• large barrette form
• glue (not shown but I used Gorilla Glue)

Instructions:

Braid the ribbons for the rose together into a long strip.

Begin winding the ribbon around itself to make the inner bud. Use the thread to tack any coils that pull loose, including the beginning of the braid. Pull the center out a little and continue winding in a slight cone shape until you reach the end of the braid.

Tuck the end of the braid under and sew it into place.

Make the first leaf by folding the green ribbon into a point. I sewed this into place and crossed the green ribbon across the bottom to the opposite side to make the next leaf. I did this crisscrossing, folding, and sewing into place until I had as many leaves as I wanted. (The reason for the crisscrossing was to add stability.)

Glue a length of ribbon (I used the green) onto the top of the barrette form. Allow to dry. Either tuck and glue the overhanging ribbon or trim it even with the top.

Remove the forked piece on the inside of the barrette.

Barrette with fork out

Barrette with fork in place

Sew the flower onto the top of the barrette by inserting the needle near the bottom center of the rose before wrapping the thread tightly around the barrette. Make several stitches/loops to anchor the rose securely.

Put the fork back onto the barrette.


Give the barrette to one of your favorite princesses!