Kids' Bean Bag With Pockets Tutorial

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Bean bags aren't cheap to buy, but they are easy to make.  If you have old curtains or sheets that need a new life, a bean bag is a worthwhile project to make use of them.  It's a pretty straight forward, though somewhat dull construction process.  There are lots of long, straight seams, and metres of material to manage, but it's not much effort to add details that break the making monotony.

Made from a curtain

Now I don't usually do things on a whim.  I'm what one would call "pretty boring".  Spontaneous isn't my style.  So I'm still scratching my head about how I managed to have a bag of polystyrene beans mere hours after deciding that Zaika was in need of a bean bag.

Even a hoarder like me didn't have the filling taking up some valueless underbed space. We had to pay for the beans.  With money.  Crap.  My extensive experience as a reluctant, nocturnal bean bag assessor in my student days told me that the super-static, ever spilling styro-beans were by far superior to any other forms of filling, such as foam, soft toys and styro-packaging.

Styro beans

There was no way my frugal brain would let me buy fabric in addition to the beans.  That would make the project more expensive than buying the beanbag itself.  No worries, I have piles of material.  I needed fabric that was large enough and strong enough for the project.  I turned to my Ugghhh box.  It's the stash of pretty unappealing fabrics that I  keep just in case they will come in handy for prototyping, etc.  The Ugghhh box is full of ugly fabric ducklings.  I figured that the bean bag was a good opportunity to use up some of my crap fabric.

It didn't take long to find what I was looking for: old curtains.  The textile was the epitome of boring.  Myth Busters proved that you can, indeed, polish a turd, so I decided to test my turd polishing skills with this skull numbingly dull fabric. Still, at least you can add to dull.  You can't take away from garish.  It's like ignorance vs stupidity: one is fixable.

Outer curtain fabric in some non-descript grey hue and a brown stretch canvas liner fabric

Project supplies:

• about 2.5m of strong, breathable liner fabric (like a bed sheet)
• about 2.5m of strong, breathable, easy to wash outer fabric (like an old curtain)
• 35-40l of filler beans
• strong thread
• 2 x 46cm locking zips (they can only be pulled open when the zip tab is lifted up).  Alternatively you can remove the tabs with pliers, permanently and use a paper clip to open the zip whenever you need to remove the cover for washing
• Velcro or domes for the zip flap
• paper, ruler and pencil for drawing the pattern

I found a free pattern here and chuckled at the 90's style instructional photography.  The tutorial is pretty passable, but I made a few adjustments that are worthy of note.

Firstly I added a couple of Grimly adorned side pockets.  Ok, they aren't terrifically useful, but they do take the attention away from the fabric.  In the case of this bean bag, less was never going to be more.  To make pockets, you need to attach them to the panels before joining the panels together.  For the pocket pattern, I cut/folded the panel pattern in half, which gave me perfectly matching seams.

Two panels with pockets sewn on before assembly of the panels.

A more important adjustment was creating a secure zip closure.  If you're making a bean bag for a little person, it's really not a good idea to let the styro beans spill everywhere.  It's essential to make sure that sneaky little hands can't get into the beans.  Locking zips (or tabless zips) help, but I opted for an additional security flap on the outer bag.  An integrated flap is the easiest option, as well as the most refined one.  However, I didn't get fed the idea until the zip was already sewn in, so I attached a separately sewn flap.

1. Cut a strip of fabric 10cm wide x 46 cm long.  Fold in half lenghtwise and press flat.  Sew over one of the zip seams with the raw edges facing the zip.

2.  Fold the flap over the zip and press

 

3. Top stitch over the fold.  The stitching should be overlapping or be close to the zip seam.

 4. Sew on Velcro or add domes to the flap.

This was the reason for making the bag

The bag was milk-stained within a week

The pocket is superficially useful after all

Additional construction and design notes:

• Don't skip the top stitching on any of the seams.  The seams will be much weaker without it.
• Press all the seams for the same reason.  This was boring even for me.
• You will have to occasionally remove the cover for washing.   I would imagine that attempts at getting the bean-filled liner back inside the cover will make you swear profusely.  If I were to make a bean bag of this style again, I would either include a longer zip in one of the side seams or sew the zip around the bottom circle panel and make that panel zip off completely.

 

Reversible Cot Bumper Tutorial

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Many a night's sleep was punctuated by a clanking sound escaping from the baby monitor, followed by a sleepy wail.  The baby smacked her head on the wooden bars again.  It was time to make a bumper for the cot.

Naturally I couldn't do with a plain design and had to add some functionally superfluous embellishments.  Grimlies to the rescue.  Although I suppose the cooky graphics do serve a purpose outside aesthetics because Zaika gets to learn about different animals and poke the little creatures in the eyes.  I wonder whether, when she finally meets a real cow, Zaika will wonder why the animal's eyes aren't trying to pop out of its skull.

This project is simple, albeit time consuming because there's metre upon metre of tangly fabric to sew.

You will need:

• Sewing machine...
• 2m of woven, natural fabric such as cotton, bamboo, linen or hemp: approximately 1m each for the room facing side and the cot facing side.  These two pieces will be cut into 20cm wide strips, making up the length of material that will cover the perimeter of the cot (about 4.5m). You will need more fabric if you're trying to match textile pattern.  I used black calico on one side and quite unsightly striped linen on the other side.
• Batting of the same size.  I used Dacron, but I'm sure it's not hard to find some fair trade, certified organic bamboo batting, complete with an exorbitant price tag printed on recycled brown rice paper.  I serendipitously happened to have a gigantic roll of Dacron exactly the right width.  Hoarding win!
• Sewing thread
• About an A3 sized piece of fusible interfacing for the closure tab if using thick batting.
• Domes or buttons (optional - can use fine webbing or bias binding ribbons instead, with or without eyelets)
• At least 40 pegs or bulldog clips or nylon clamps
• Set square

Step by step instructions after the jump:

How to Print a Photo Book on the Cheap

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As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, so don't expect a glorious photographic masterpiece when using an online printing service.  Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to get a result that won't make you recoil in disgust.  Not using Comic Sans is a given, but there are other tricks.

To commemorate Zaika's first year of life I decided to print a book of the year's photos and digitised keepsakes.  Back in the analogue days these were called "scrap books" and contained everything from photos to hair clippings to hand prints to possibly dried smears of stool samples.

Nearly a hundred pages, three hundred photos and over two hundred hours of image processing later I had a print ready tome.  It should not have taken nearly four months to complete, but I'm an overzealous pedant when it comes to a balance of chronology and visual flow, and the book was like an all consuming gigantic puzzle that threatened my precarious sanity.

Back cover: one year of damned formula spoons

If I wasn't a bum with no income and could afford to use a professional printing service, all those hours of digital toil would have resulted in a lovely InDesign document where all the images were precisely formatted and aligned with beautifully positioned text in a tidy inoffensive font.  I would be able to use this lovely InDesign document to print numerous copies of the book for the grandparents.  And if our house burnt down, I would reprint the book from my  precious offsite back up hard drive.  The print quality would be excellent, with superb detail, vibrant, true to file colour and crisp text.

Alas, because I am a bum with pretty much no income, the above "if" is wishful thinking.  Instead I had to settle for a daily deal for an online printing service at about a third of the price of a traditional book.  After all, beggars can't be choosers.  I've printed this way on a couple of prior occasions, and I was aware that the layout software offered by these online services is pretty limited, the text is basic, and that the prints come out nearly 1/2 stop darker.  I processed all images to optimise the workflow taking into account these software limitations.  The pedantic pixel management that this required took a hell of a lot of time.  Then I uploaded the processed photos to discover that the software has been "updated" to even shittier functionality.  I swore a lot and proceeded to work around this mess.

How to make the most of the deficient online book printing services after the jump:

Orca Hat Tutorial

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Who knew that there is a pleasant way of getting feasted upon by an orca...

I think orcas are some of the most incredible sea creatures.  Their artful, strategic cunning never fails to make my jaw drop in awe.  They are like the rebels of the oceans, completely chromatophobic in their appearance.  They would probably be fans of Nine Inch Nails.  A few years ago I saw a mum orca and a bub orca exploring the harbour, very close to the rocky shore.  I'd just gotten out of the sea where I was collecting mussels, and to my great amusement I watched a diver blast out of the water and dash for the shore in a cartoon-like manner.   He had probably filled his wetsuit in fright at the sight of the grinning whales so close to him.

Zaika's first birthday was on the horizon, and I was trying to think of a theme for costume that I wouldn't mind wearing.  I.e something black.  At some point a light bulb [an energy efficient LED] went off in my head, and all the party planning puzzle pieces positioned themselves neatly into place.

Among the guest list of ornamented octopuses, owls, Optimus Prime and orange-clad octogenarians, we were a family getting devoured by a family of orcas.  Delicious.

Meanwhile, not far from a seal colony...

Firstly, a disclaimer that this undeniably genius costume idea wasn't 100% my own.  I was inspired by this knitted shark hat.  I nearly hyperventilated with excitement when I came across it last year.

Inspiration: credit where credit is due

Right, so time for the hat making process.

Mine was somewhat convoluted, i.e a typical design process.  I started by doodling a bunch of orcas.  This was followed by more doodling, this time stylised and scaled correctly for the hat.  I used one of Zaika's well fitting beanies to guesstimate the size.  Once the doodle satisfactorily addressed the balance between proportions, orca appearance and assumed fit, I traced the individual parts to pattern pieces.

1:1 orca hat doodle

Then I sewed a quick toille from some scrap polar fleece.  It's not like I'd want to make anything wearable out of the camel coloured fabric.  Offensively hued fabric scraps are great for mock-ups.  I think I even have some baby blue polyester somewhere.  *shudder*

Genetically aberrant albino orca

The toille attempt was adequate, so after a few of tweaks I had the final pattern for Zaika's hat.  I had to make two more patterns to fit the two adult heads, which meant going back to the doodling phase, although the repeated process was a lot more efficient.

Nemo's purpled himself with fright.  He doesn't stand a chance.

After the jump is step by step tutorial for the making of the orca hat:

Sleeved Bib 2.0

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The original long sleeved bibs have conclusively justified their existence, having saved mountains of washing in a relatively short period of time.

Zaika has now outgrown them, so the time came to make a couple of new ones and revise some design features in the process.

As luck would have it, I had acquired just the right fabric for the project.  My fifteen year old pyjama pants had outlived their initial purpose, and I was given a pair of well ripped water resistant track pants.  Ambushed by a pair of overzealous fabric shears they underwent a dignified transformation together with an old red towel.

The unholy union

One of the bibs has a pocket for catching dropped food, and it's Zaika's going out apron.  At home it's easier to pick up the detritus off the drop sheet and surreptitiously feed it back to the unsuspecting child.  The 2.0 bibs also have little webbing loops at the bottom.  These can be strapped through the harness for when Zaika decides to amuse herself by pulling up the bib over her tray, which somewhat defeats the purpose of wearing a bib.

Two domes and no binding

Instead of subjecting myself to the frustrations of bias binding around tight curves, I sewed the sleeves in double layers.  They are more waterproof this way also.  The two domes instead of one are more secure for the larger garment size.

Two bibs aren't enough, so I'm rummaging about for some more old clothing to upcycle.

Bib With Sleeves Tutorial

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This sartorial defensive is ready for a battle of gastronomic proportions.

As soon as Zaika was introduced to solids and started feeding herself, it became very clear that her extensive bib collection was insufficient for the demands of the multi-colour food assault.  The end of every meal necessitated a complete change of clothing, and with dropping temperatures that meant several layers flying straight into the washing machine.  And so the trees cried and needed extra hugging.

Plum puree up to the armpits

This simply would could not do no longer, and I doodled a pattern for a long sleeve bib.  I altered a  decades old pattern that my mother in law kindly lent me and found some old clothing and towels to upcycle into the bibs.

The sizing is for an 8kg baby.

For this project you will need:

• an old towel or some other absorbent fabric for the backing, about A3 size
• easy-wash, no too absorbent fashion fabric, about A3 size
• water resistant fabric, e.g from a raincoat, about 0.5m
• bias binding, about 0.5m
• domes or some other fastener, such as a button
• elastic, about 0.3m

1. Cut out the fabric pieces.

2 sleeves, 1 front, 1 back

  2.  Make the bib body.  With right sides together sew the towelling to the fashion fabric. 

Do not sew across the sleeve gaps.

Clip and trim the seam allowance

Turn right way out and press thoroughly

Top stitch around the whole perimeter

Press again after top stitching

4. Sew the sleeves

Don't mix up the left and right!

Machine stitch or overlock the sleeve seams

 5. Make the elastic casing.

Turn under once and stitch all the way around.

Turn under again (leave enough room for the width of the elastic) and stitch nearly all the way around.  Back stitch at both ends.  Leave a 1cm gap to insert the elastic.

Secure the ends of the seam and press.

Insert the elastic

Overlap the elastic ends by about 1cm and sew together

6. With right sides together attach the sleeves to the bib body

7. Use the bias binding to finish the raw edge of the sleeve.  This is a pain in the arse fiddly process because of the tight curves.  If you hate doing this as much as I do, you may want to face the sleeves instead.

 

8. Stay stitch/top stitch the raglan seams sewing across the binding to secure it better.

Add caption

9. Attach domes.  Alternatively, sew a button hole and attach a button. 

10.  Go into battle!