elsie marley

My middle son is jumpy and crazy and skinny and tall–all of which make his pants fall down quite often (if he is wearing pants that is), so I thought I’d make a belt for him. In honor of Celebrate the Boy month at Made and Made by Rae I  drew up a pattern to share with all of you.

The finished belt is 1 1/2 inches wide and adjusts to fit waist sizes of about 20 inches to 24 inches. To make a different size take the waist measurement you want to use then add 8 inches: the main fabric will be (waist size + 8)inches by 3 1/2 inches and the lining fabric will be one inch shorter.

Materials:

• one piece of fabric cut 30 inches long and 4 inches wide, preferablly cut parallel to the selvege, but as long as it’s not cut on the bias it will work out just fine.
• one strip of canvas or denim (or something that is a similar weight) 29 inches long and just shy of 1 1/2 inches wide.
• three snaps and snap setting tool
• one 1 1/4 inch D-ring
• scissors, pins, iron, sewing machine

Steps:

1. Fold your strip of fabric in half the long way (wrong sides together) and press.
2. Open the fabric back up and with the right side down, fold the top edge down 1/2 inch and iron, then fold the bottom edge up 1/2 inch and iron.
3. Set your strip of canvas or denim on the bottom half and fold both short ends over it and press
4. Miter your corners: fold the corner diagonally, so it makes a right triangle where the middle of the longest side (the hypotenuse if you paid attention in geometry) of the triangle lies on the point where the folds of the short end and the long side meet. This makes much more sense if you just look at the picture. And this is just how I do mitered corners, of course you can do it any way you know how.
   
5. Sew all around the belt anywhere from 1/8 inch to a 1/4 inch from the edge–whatever looks best to you.
6. Pick one side of the belt to be the right side (the one that will face out) and put that side down. Slide the D-ring onto the left end of the belt, fold the end over it one inch and sew down. Sew back and forth a few times to make sure it’s secure.
   
7. Now for the snaps (I used heavy duty snaps for the wood grain belt, but there are a lot of options out there). With the right side down again and the D-ring to the left, attach the top part of three snaps: the decorative part on top and the male part (for lack of a better term) of the snap on the right side of the belt. The snaps should start about 1/2 from the end and be about an inch or so apart.
   
8. 6 inches to the left of the last snap attach the bottom part of the snap: the female part of the snap should go on the right side of the belt and the very bottom piece of the snap should go on the wrong side  (the side that will face in). This seems wrong, but it’s not. The belt will go through the D-ring and then fold back on itself and snap.
   
9. Find some pants with belt loops and try that sucker out!  Look at you, you just made a belt!

Variations:

• To make a skinnier belt, your fabric strip should measure 30 x 2 1/2 inches and the lining should be 29 x 3/4 of an inch. Then just follow the directions for the wider belt.
• I thought it would be nice to have a fabric buckle for baby belts (yes, it’s ridiculous I know, but so are baby sneakers and I bet you have some of those) so the metal doesn’t jab their pudgy tummies, or if you don’t have a d-ring around, or if you’d just like to make a cool fabric buckle, whatever, this is how you do it:
  Cut a piece of fabric that is 6 x 2 inches (for the skinnier belt, cut 4 x 2). With right sides facing sew the ends together, so you have a small fabric ring, then fold both the edges in (wrong sides together) to meet each other in the middle. Fold in half again and sew. It’s easiest to sew with the loop going up over your presser foot than the other way around. Attach the fabric buckle just like you would the D-ring, making sure the seam is hidden under the fold and the nice side is facing out.
  
• Buttons! Sew button holes where the snaps would go and then sew some buttons on.

There are so many other things that can be done with this belt: topstitching, grommets, snaps all around, a matching mama belt! If you make one from this tutorial (or any other tutorial of mine) remember to add it to the elsie marley flickr group.  And please add a photo or two to the Celebrate the Boy group on flickr too!

Go Boys!

This tart was delicious. That said, I don’t recommend actually making it, unless you have all day to make a tart. I saw the recipe here, thought, “that looks lovely and hey, I have some pears,” but then didn’t really read the directions. If I had I would have discovered that there were three parts that all required separate making, baking, cooling times before you put them all together and bake it again. I made it for a potluck so I fudged a bunch of steps because it had to be done right! now! but it still came out pretty good. And really you can’t loose with almond cream. I could eat it raw for breakfast and be happy.

My half eaten gingerbread man had a nice little shout out from Jess at howaboutorange and tons of people download the pattern because of it. To date, it’s been downloaded over 2500 times! Damn! So I thought it was about time that I started an elsiemarley flickr group. I love seeing the things people have made from my tutorials–you might recognize the string of lights advent calendar above from last year–and I thought there should be a place to share them with everyone.  So go to the group and join and show us all the awesomeness you’ve made.

I made a rhubarb custard pie yesterday after picking up some lovely rhubarb at the farmer’s market. My mother made this pie every spring and would always say that it proved the existence of god. And really it is damn good. The recipe is from Betty Crocker and it’s quite simple, but the lattice top makes it look extra impressive.  I took some pictures while I was putting the pie together and though I’d share a little lattice top tutorial so all your pies can look fancy fancy too.

Make enough pie crust for a 2 crust pie (there is a good recipe here). Roll half out and line your pie pan, put you filling in and pop it in the fridge while you roll out the other half of the dough. Roll the second half out just like the first: about an 1/8″ thick and slightly bigger than your pie pan. Cut the whole thing into one inch strips. Now place two of the longest strips in the middle perpendicular to each other. Fold the strip that is underneath back over the strip on top and add another parallel to the one on top about a half an inch away. Continue weaving the strips by folding every other strip up and putting a new strip in. If your strips are broken or you don’t have enough long ones, just hide the broken bit under another strip and no one will ever know. When you’ve covered the whole top, seal the pie by pinching the top and bottom crusts together (two fingers on the outside and one on the inside, just like the picture) around the whole pie. With a sharp knife cut all the excess dough off and stand back and admire your work. Before putting in the oven be sure to brush the top with cream (or egg wash) and sprinkle with sugar. This will make the lattice top look even better.

Rhubarb Custard Pie
from Betty Crocker

3 eggs
3 Tbsp. milk
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp nutmeg
4 cups cut-up rhubarb
1 Tbsp butter

Beat the eggs and milk in a large bowl. Mix the sugar, flour and nutmeg together and add to the eggs. Mix well. Add the rhubarb and stir. Pour into your prepared crust. Dot with the butter. Cover with lattice top. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees (Fahrenheit) until nicely browned. Serve slightly warm (with vanilla ice cream!) or cold for breakfast the next day.

Here it is, the string of lights advent calendar tutorial (and pattern!). I made the pdf pattern file all by myself for the first time, so if you have problems with it just email me and I’ll try to fix it. Otherwise, hurry up! because advent is almost over!

materials

green wool felt
multi-color felt scraps
60 feet green yarn
green embroidery thread
lightweight treats (gum balls, dum dums, love notes, tiny ornaments)

pattern

download here

directions

Cut the yarn into six equal pieces (10 feet each or 120 inches each or about 3 meters each). Take three pieces and braid them together. This is more difficult then it sounds, but if you roll up the slack and just work with a little yarn at a time it’s much easier. Braid the other three together the same way. Then twist the two braids together and knot the ends.  It will stay twisted when you sew the lights to it.

Cut out 25 (or 24 or however many lights you want) circles and rectangles. Create the socket by sewing a blanket stitch to the edge of rectangle and the circle attaching them to each other.  If the rectangle is slightly longer than the circumference of the circle clip it to fit and continue sewing the ends of the rectangle together. Sew the sockets onto the cord–one every three inches.

Cut out the light bulb pattern piece. To sew the lights up faster you can fold your colored felt over and simply trace the pattern onto it with a marker (permanent or not it doesn’t matter) then sew the two pieces together staying inside the lines.  To be safe test the first light to see if it fits: sew and turn out, put a treat or two inside, then fit it inside the socket and see if it stays when it’s hanging upside down. If it slips out, just make the lights slightly bigger.  If you’d rather use the lights for decoration and not for treats you can stuff the light bulbs lightly and sew them onto the socket.

I didn’t really finish the ends of the cord (I just tied a knot on both ends).  But it would be sweet to make a little plug out of felt to hide the knot. To do this cut out four extra “socket bottom” circles and two extra rectangles.  Cut a slit in the middle of one of the circles and insert your knot, then attach the rectangle, just like you did for all the sockets, and attach the other circle to the other side–making a  round (European style) plug. You can even make some prongs out of felt to complete the look.

download the pattern here.

This is my little bit for holidays at home.

English toffee was the first christmas candy my mom made each year.  After we were done with all the Thanksgiving leftovers, she would make a huge batch and stick it all in the freezer. And I would spend the entire month of December sneaking pieces of it thinking no one would notice. I think probably half was gone by the time Christmas rolled around! So now I make english toffee every year for Christmas and though I still eat my fair share I try to give most of it away.  The recipe below makes a smallish batch–enough for a nice gift or your own personal use–but it is easily doubled or tripled.  Don’t be intimidated by the long (winded) directions, this toffee is easy and quick to make, I just wanted them to be extra clear.

ingredients
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips or 2 small chocolate bars
1/2 cup chopped pecans

you will also need
saucepan
candy thermometer
cookie sheet  (I used a small one, but the size doesn’t really matter)
a silpat if you have one, extra butter if you don’t

directions

Before you jump right in, measure out all your ingredients so they are all ready to go. If you’ve never worked with boiling sugar before (or if you are prone to accidents) keep a small bowl of ice water next to the stove in case you burn yourself. Boiling sugar is super hot, so this isn’t one for the kids. If you have a silpat (and you really should get one–they are awesome) put in on your cookie sheet and you’re good to go. If not, butter your cookie sheet like crazy.

Now that everything is ready, put the sugar, butter, water and salt into your saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 236 degrees Fahrenheit (soft ball) .  This will take a while and the chocolate chips are not there for you to snack on while you wait. The mixture will bubble up quite a bit.  It will stay around 200 degrees for longer than you think it should, but the temperature will shoot up quickly so don’t walk away. Make sure your candy thermometer is not resting on the bottom of the pan, but taking the temperature of the actual candy.

While you are waiting you can warm up the slivered almonds in the microwave. This will keep the candy’s temperature moving up instead of cooling down when you add them (but if you don’t have a microwave, you can skip it).

When the mixture is 236 degrees add the almonds. Stir constantly until it reaches 290 degrees (soft crack). The candy will turn a lovely amber shade and give off a nice, nutty smell. That when you know it’s done. I might have gone a tad too far with mine, but you’re not going to stop and take pictures while you cook.

Add the baking soda and stir.  Pour onto the prepared pan and spread it as best you can. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, wait a minute for them to melt and then spread them all over the top of the toffee. Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the chocolate and let cool.  You can speed up the cooling by popping the toffee in the freezer. When it’s completely cool break up into pieces and give away all that you don’t eat.

I made this half eaten gingerbread man last year, but I thought I’d post it again in case you are starting to freak out about how soon Christmas is (16 days). He’s super simple to sew up. I wrote up instructions and there is a pattern you can download too. If you’d like to see the other mutant gingerbread man I made click here and to know why I made them click here.

Plenty of you want a tutorial for the string of lights advent calendar, so look for that in a couple days. Now get off the computer and finish those christmas presents already.

I have zero thanksgiving decorations, so I came up with this little project. It doesn’t really need any explanation, just push some cloves into some clementines and spell a word.  You could get all fancy with fonts and it might be good to sketch the letters on first. I just did it freehand (and I’m sure you can tell). Clementines have a thinner skin than oranges so it makes pushing the cloves in much easier. This is a great project for kids and a good spelling lesson to boot. My daughter is really into letters right now and  it went over big. I didn’t dry them so they won’t keep, but they still smell pretty. Now we just have to make some hand turkeys and we’re set!

It’s Handmade Holidays all month long at Sew Mama Sew (if you didn’t know already).  They, so kindly, asked me to be on their board and come up with a few ideas for their amazing blog.  After crossing out many bad ideas, I came up with these little plush ornaments. They are simple to make and you can find all the tutorials here: woodland ornament tutorials.  If you make one, be sure to show it off on the Handmade Holidays flickr pool! Only 33 days until Christmas.

One of the nice things about blogs are the amazing tutorials and recipes that people share. One of the crappy things about having a blog is listening to the tutorial writer in your head narrating all the steps while you make something. Of course this only happens when my two toddlers aren’t screaming or banging or just being as loud as they can be for no reason, but when there is quiet that little voice in my head starts writing an informative and witty tutorial for whatever it is I might be doing at the time. So that’s why, out of the blue, I’m going to tell you how to make popcorn balls.

First make popcorn. Normally I hate popcorn, but it is quite a spectacle for the smaller set and we were stuck inside because of the rain.  We had it with tomato soup for lunch and there was a bunch leftover (how do you make just a little popcorn?). The recipe–Betty Crocker–says you should have 7 cups of popcorn to make popcorn balls–I think I had more, it just a big bowl full really. Be sure to pick all the unpopped kernels out or you will break a tooth on one. This is a good thing for kids to do while you deal with the blistering hot candy syrup.

Now put

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 tsp salt
and
1/4 cup butter

in a sauce pan. If you have a candy thermometer put it in the pan, if not have a small bowl full of ice water next to the stove. Cook the delicious butter and sugar mixture until it hits 250 degrees. This is hard ball stage and the syrup will form a hard ball (duh) when you drop it into the ice water. I broke my candy thermometer, so I had to use the ice water method and I just kept checking throughout.  It will color a little when it’s done and the ball shouldn’t be rock hard, but should give a little under pressure.

When it’s done, take it off the heat right away and add

1 tsp vanilla and
a couple drops of food color if you feel like it

It’s better to have these ready before you start so you don’t forget. Now pour the syrup all over the popcorn stirring quickly. It’s nice to have another person help at this point, but you can manage by yourself just fine. Let it cool a minute or two and make balls. If it’s sticky you can butter your hands a bit and then shape them. Voila! popcorn balls. I always remember these to be a halloween treat. I also remember them being enormous, but I made little ones for little hands. Remember to brush the little teeth when your done!

Now that I have an etsy shop I find myself at the post office more than ever. Along with all the packages I have to carry I have a stroller to push and a toddler’s hand to hold.  The packages are always weird sizes and never seem to fit in a paper bag, so I came up this handy dandy post office bag. It’s just a long piece of fabric with some handles and pockets, but it works like a charm. The pockets are sized to fit a long envelope and there is one on each side. I put my receipts, my stamps, and my custom forms in the pockets so they don’t get lost in the bottom of my purse or the diaper bag (which they usually do).  I figured since there are so many etsy sellers there must be a lot of you who have this package transport problem (kids or no kids) and so I wrote a simple tutorial for this super easy bag. It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours from start to finish. And if you make one drop me a line so I can see!

post office bag tutorial

materials

• 1 1/2 yards heavy duty fabric (I used some home dec fabric I had on hand, but canvas, denim, corduroy, or even twill would work)
• a little more than 1/2 yard interfacing (somewhat stiff)

• thread to match

directions

CUT:

1. two 18″ X 40″ pieces of fabric
2. one 18″ X 40″ pieces of interfacing
3. four 3″ X 18″ pieces of fabric for the handles
4. two 7″ X 12″ pieces of fabric for the pockets

SEW:

1. fuse or sew the interfacing to the wrong side of one of the large pieces (this will be the lining)
2. with wrong sides facing sew each of the two handles together
3. turn out and press
4. find the middle of one of the handles and fold the long sides in to meet and pin
5. continue the fold 4″ out from the middle on either side and pin
6. do this to the other handle and press both
7. your handles should have a 8″ folded part in the middle and the ends will still lie flat
8. sew concentric rectangles on the folded area to anchor it down
9. stop to admire your work
10. take the two pocket pieces and fold the short sides in 1/4″ and press and 1/4″ again and press
11. do the same on the top and bottom
12. sew the across the top of both the pockets
13. pin the pockets 5″ inches from each short side of the outside piece.
14. sew the pocket on and reinforce the top two corners (with an X or a triangle)
15. pin the handles to end of the lining, right sides facing (you should see the fold line)
16. place the outside piece on top of the lining right sides facing (pocket should be down) and sew all
17. around with a 1/2″ seam, leaving an opening for turning out
18. trim the seams, turn out and press
19. topstitch all around
20. create a bottom by stitching large concentric rectangles equidistant from both the handles
21. that’s it! you’re done! off to the post office…

To see any of these pictures in more detail, please go to my flickr site. If there are any problems with this tutorial, please tell me . It turns out it’s much harder to explain how to make this bag than it is to actually make it!