Decorating baby onesies and clothing ベビー服のリメイク

My younger sister recently had her first baby boy... and I've been itching to

make some handmade gifts to celebrate his arrival.

I have many gift ideas in my mind... but I haven't actually had a chance to

begin making any gifts yet :(  

Meanwhile, my sister asked me to look for any hand-me-down baby clothing that our girls wore when they were still babies, and send them over to her asap.
(They live in Tokyo).  My sis even told me that it doesn't really matter whether the used baby clothes are pink or blue!   :D

So, after selecting the "good" and the "okay" babywear from our storage boxes, I decided to decorate these *used* baby clothing to make them a little bit special for my nephew.

 

For this onesie, I machine appliqued my favorite Beatrix Potter fabric.  I love Peter Rabbit!

For this one, I appliqued these colorful pears...

Then I used this fun Japanese print of elephant and his cookie :)

This one features the Snoopy fabric... another favorite of mine :)

When I machine appliqued these onesies, I first backed each fabric piece with fusible batting.

Then I pinned it on to the clothing, then machine appliqued using either
zig zag stitches or blanket stitches of my sewing machine.



For these baby cotton cardigans, I used alphabet rubber stamps to make handmade name tag applique for the baby.


Well, after all, these are all *used* baby clothes... but I tried my best to make them personalized and fun for the baby :)

Aside from these decorated hand-me-downs,  I am still trying to make *new* handmade gifts for my lovely nephew, so I'll keep you posted...!!

Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying your *crafty* weekend
as much as I am enjoying mine :)

Crocheted ponytail holders with glitter yarns

Here are my latest crocheted additions. 

 

These are crocheted ponytail holders using gold glitter yarns - yes, glitter!  I love glitter and shimmery stuff and I just couldn't help myself but to make another *glittery* item :P

I did not follow any specific pattern to make this one, but I quite frankly played around with a ball of yarn, a crochet hook, and a elastic ponytail holder (one without metal parts). 

I wanted to make a ponytail holder with a "frilled" look.

 

I think I'm really hooked on crocheting lately, and sometimes I feel like I shall change my blog name from "chick chick sewing" to "chick chick crocheting" one of these days...maybe?  ha ha!

Now that I've made these in gold, I'm itching to make more of the same items in silver...

Help!  Someone stop my *glitter* madness!! lol

Thanks for reading and hope you have a pleasant week!



Crocheting doilies (or kitchen scrubbies)

Hello! 

It's been a while since my last post, but I hope you're doing well.

I crocheted these doilies in different colors using 100% acrylic yarns.

These can be used as doilies, coasters, or even as kitchen scrubbies

(or "eco tawashi" in Japanese).

For some of you who are not familiar with kitchen scrubbies made of acrylic yarns, or eco tawashi,  they work wonders with cleaning dishes, bathtub, shower etc., without using any soap detergents.  

If you're interested, I found an English tutorial for crocheting eco tawashi.  Actually, eco tawashi kitchen scrubbies can be made in any shape, color, or size, as long as it's made with 100% acrylic yarns.  

These eco tawashi made of 100% acrylic yarns works like microfiber when crocheted/knitted.  They are not only eco friendly, but also protects our hands from harsh detergents ;)

Even these apple coasters that I crocheted earlier can be used as eco tawashi, as these are also made of 100% acrylic yarns.

BTW it's the tax season and I'm starting to get a bit busy at work,
but crocheting small items as these really help keep my sanity.

I crocheted these in my car, at the kitchen table, at my computer desk, in my kids' room watching them do their homework...



For me, crocheting is very relaxing and enjoyable. 

And the best part is that a simple crocheting hook and a ball of yarn can come handy everywhere I go, and I can pick up wherever I left out even when I only have small chunk of time to spare...

Thanks for reading and happy crocheting!

Drawstring lunch bag set (ladybug version)

Here is something I made recently. 

It's a drawstring lunch bag made of Japanese cotton print, featuring... flowers and ladybugs!    It may be a bit hard to tell from the above pic, but those red circular spots on the print are ladybugs.  Pretty unique fabric, right?

The lunch bag lays flat like this when collapsed.

Here is the side view.  The handles are made of very sturdy cotton webbing.

Using some leftover fabric, I made a matching sandwich bag with velcro opening.
Can you see the ladybugs on this image?

 Opening area of the sandwich bag. 
Lining is made of vinyl covered cotton for easy cleaning.

The drawstring lunch bag and the matching sandwich bag will be a birthday gift to our family friend's daughter, who turned eight recently.

And the reason I used this fabric for the gift is because I learned that the birthday girl likes ladybugs, among other things...  Hope she likes the lunch bag set, too :)

Crocheted green apple coasters

I crocheted these green apple coasters recently, while I waited for

our girls' after school activities in the car...

The coaster matches well with a Japanese tea cup

that I like to use when drinking green tea...



Now I have both the red apples that I crocheted earlier,

and the newly added green apples :)

Hope you're enjoying your February days!