Sew Can Do: Adventure

The Olympic Games officially begin later this week. The whole world will be watching & cheering for their favorite teams and events. What better way for the kids to celebrate the magic of the moment than having their own Olympic torch and gold medals?

I originally designed these plush Olympic accessories as part of an Olympic-themed party over for Bird's Party Magazine. You can see the full spread HERE.

Here's how to make your very own and get into the Olympic spirit:)

You'll Need:
- Fleece scraps in red, orange and yellow
- Scrap polyester batting
- Gold pleather fabric
- 1 1/2 inch wide red grosgrain ribbon
- Fiberfill
- Sewing Notions (shears/rotary cutter, tape measure pins, thread & sewing machine, hand sewing needle)

For the torch flame, start out by cutting out three leaf-shaped pieces as shown below, the yellow being about 3 inches high x 1 inch wide, the orange being about 4 1/4 inches high x 2 inches wide and the red being 6 inches high by 3 inches wide. Sew the layers together to get three layered flames:

With right sides facing, sew all three flames together, leaving a small opening at the bottom. Clip the curved edges and turn right side out. Stuff with fiberfill.

To make the handle portion, cut a long, thin isosceles (aka two equal sides) triangle from the gold pleather. Mine was 15 inches long and 4 inches wide at the base. With the right sides facing, sew together lengthwise and then turn right side out and stuff with fiberfill.

Baste the open end and cinch closed by pulling threads:

Pin flame to handle piece and slipstitch together by hand.

Now it's time to light the way to greatness:

Ready to go for the gold? To make a medal cut two lipped circles about 4 1/2 inches in diameter and a single matching out of batting. Cut a length of grosgrain ribbon (personal preference of amount, I did 28 inches) and overlap raw ends. Sandwich batting on bottom, a gold piece right side up, ends of ribbon and then remaining gold piece (gold side face down). Coil up ribbon in middle and pin outer edges of fabrics.

Sew all the way around, leaving a 1 1/2 inch gap for turning right side out. Clip around raw edges and turn. Fold opening inward and slipstitch closed by hand. Now we're ready to award a little champion.

Let the games begin!

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Ready for a little costume fashion show? I'm really proud of this year's effort. We decided on what everyone was going to be in advance, but I didn't actually start planning or working on them until last week after I'd gotten all my Halloween shop orders done. Part of the enjoyment for me is designing the costumes myself so I really didn't want to go the store bought or store pattern route even though there wasn't heaps of time. Strangely enough, once I had kicked out so many custom costumes & hats for the shop, making these as "something for fun" felt like a walk in the park!

Last year my trio had a Star Wars theme going:

So this year we went with a storybook adventure feel so they could kind of go together again. Here's my little swashbuckler, the self-named "Captain Nightmare" (I don't even know where he got that from, but he's insisting we call him that).

But don't worry, he's a friendly pirate:

His costume was the easiest to throw together. The Pint-Sized Pirate Hat & Eyepatch I made for him earlier this year. I made a little sash with some striped quilting cotton and stitched some skull and crossbones buttons onto the fleece vest I made for his Han Solo costume last year. Foam sword from the $1 section at Target. Plain white shirt & pants from his closet. Mustache courtesy of an eyeliner pencil and...Poof! He's a swashbuckler ready for adventure.

My oldest son is another sort of adventurer - a knight in shining armor. Ready to take on any dragons (or candy) he finds along the way:

Using materials from my stash, I made him a tunic from fleece using a simple kid's pullover vest pattern I lengthened. I added some tapestry-style ribbon trim to the hem and a belt I made from silver pleather with some antique looking buttons for detail. I made a collared cape from fleece that was a different shade of blue, added some silver cord at the opening and some knight-like buttons. I found those at Joanns in a mad dash literally 2 minutes before they closed one night. Fastest shopping trip there EVER. And it was like they were made for this with their crests that say "Honor":

I modified my Little Vader hat design to make his helmet using silver pleather on the outside and blue fleece lining. I reshaped the front part so it would have more of a face guard look like a proper knight:

And of course every knight has to have a shield, so I made this one with a fleur de lis applique in fleece, (also using the pleather) and with a loop on the back so he can have it on his arm, but still keep his hands free for trick or treating. Used some grey thermal pyjamas & fleece sweatpants from the closet to go underneath. Another $1 section sword and his costume was complete!

And what would two heroes be without a little damsel?

She's always willing to get a hand from her brothers, but she's definitely the "I can save myself" type. And already very fond of dressing up at just 2 years old. Last Friday's post showcased her majesty's costume in more detail, but I had to include a few pics here too. Being all fleece means it she can keep a cool, regal gaze but the rest of her will stay toasty warm: