Materials:

• 3 pieces felt: 2 main color (brown), 1 accent color (purple)
• yarn: main color (brown) for ties, accent color (purple) for stitching
• yarn needle
• 3 pipe cleaners

Step 1: Download & Print Pattern

• Cowgirl_Hat_Pattern_1of2

• Cowgirl_Hat_Pattern_2of2

Step 2: Cut pattern

Print & cut out paper patterns. NOTE: The top center piece might need to be a little bit longer than it prints. I suggest making it as long as your felt piece is, then cutting off the excess when you’re done stitching.

Don’t cut the inner angle of the brim piece yet.

Step 3: cut felt pieces

• Top Front

Cut 2 “Top Front” pieces from main color (brown)

• Top Center

Cut 1″Top Center” piece from main color (brown)

NOTE: The top center piece might need to be a little bit longer than it prints. I suggest making it as long as your felt piece is, then cutting off the excess when you’re done stitching.

• Brim

Cut 1 “Brim Corner” piece from main color (brown) and one from accent color (purple)

• Fold felt for brim into quarters.

• Place “Brim Corner” pattern on folded felt & cut around edges.  I left the corner on the brim pattern to make it easy to line up on the felt. After cutting the outer edge of the felt, I cut the rest of the paper pattern. Do this with main color & accent color

• Star

Cut star out of accent color. I cut it with a little extra room around the paper pattern.

Step 4: Sew on Star

Machine stitch or use yarn to place star in center of one top front piece. You’ll probably notice that I didn’t do this until later in the process, but it’s easier and makes more sense to do this first. These are the things I realize after I’ve already taken pictures of myself doing it differently. : )

This is how it looks when you stitch it on with yarn instead of machine stitching.

Step 5: sew top

Machine or hand stitch long side of “Top Center” piece along each “Top Front” piece.

You can turn it inside out when you’re finished, or leave the raw edges on the outside. When I hand stitched it, I turned it inside out & ironed it with the flat iron I use for my hair. : )

When I machine stitched it, I liked it better with the seam on the outside.

Step 6: sew brim

Optional: Machine stitch outside edge of brim pieces together.

I didn’t do this on the first hat, and it looked fine. But, over time and with much manipulation, the pipe cleaners that make the brim bend started to show. Machine stitching the pieces together before inserting the pipe cleaners should keep this from happening.

Twist ends of pipe cleaners together & place between brim pieces, snugly against the edge.

Optional: You can machine stitch around the inside of the pipe cleaners as well. I used the zipper foot for this.

Then, use accent yarn color to stitch pipe cleaners in place. (I started this step with purple yarn, but I decided that it was too light compared to the dark brown, so I took it out and switched colors.

Optional: Machine stitch around inside edge of brim pieces.

Step 7: attach top to brim

Place the top piece of the hat on the center of the brim. Use the yarn to stitch it in place.

Step 8: Necktie

Braid some yarn into a long necktie and insert between stitches on each side of the hat.

Step 8: Add Baby

Put the hat on a cute baby and take some pictures!

To make the outfit complete, follow these links:

• Crochet Baby Cowboy Bootie YouTube Tutorial

• Crochet Baby Cowboy Bootie Written Pattern

• Crochet Hobby Horse Pattern

• I also used hot glue and iron-on transfer paper to attach a handkerchief to a bib…no link for that one. I figure it’s simple enough to figure out, right? ; )

Here’s Heathers, made of pretty stiff material:

And, here’s mine, made of soft flannel:

They have 8 small pockets on the outside…

…perfect for phone, baby bonnet, snack bar, bottle…

…and 6 pockets on the inside: perfect for diapers, baby booty cream, sunscreen…

…an extra outfit, nursing pads, nail clippers…

…and plenty of room in the middle for wipes, wet-bag, burp cloth, etc.

I toss mine inside a bigger bag, but if you used stiff material and didn’t care about having handles, you could probably use it on its own. I can easily toss it in a backpack or any other bag as well.

YES, my bag is made by a company called “olivia + joy.”

YES, my baby girl’s name is Olivia Joy.

NO, I did not name her after her diaper bag.

YES, this did influence my final decision to buy the bag just a little bit.

Now to show you how I made these bags…

This post should really be called, “I’ll show you my pictures and drawings and tell you generally what I did.” Because, as a how-to, it’s kinda lacking in the detail department.  So, if you already know how to sew and you just want the general dimensions and such, this post should help!

Lucky for YOU, I made all my sketches into paint drawings, haha. YES, my husband is gradually showing me how to use macromedia fireworks for this kind of thing, and YES, it’s still much faster for me to do this in paint in a hurry during my sweet baby’s nap. Try not to be too impressed, okay?

Step 1: Main Piece

1. Cut your main fabric to these dimensions. On my bag, this is the heart fabric. This piece will eventually be folded in half with the drawstring running through the fold in the middle.

Step 2: Pockets

1. Cut two pocket pieces according to these dimensions. I made one from the same fabric as the main piece, and one from a contrasting color. You can do whatever you like.

2. What I didn’t draw: cut, iron, and sew a piece of fabric to finish off the edge (you could also use bias tape, but I generally just use the fabric I have). It should be the same length as the pocket piece, but only an inch or so thick. On my bag, this is the black fabric folded over and sewn on the top edge of the pockets.

3. Mark the pockets following the dimensions above. There will be 8 pockets on one piece, and 6 pockets on the other.

4. Sew the pocket pieces to the main piece by stitching along the dividing lines. I left the top AND bottom open at this point. The pocket pieces are longer than the main piece to allow for some roominess in the pockets- you wouldn’t be able to get anything in the pockets if this piece was sewn on tight!

5. See where those thick black lines are along the two edges in the drawing? Use the same edging/bias tape you used for the pockets to make a nice clean exit point for the drawstring. It’s okay to leave the top and bottom edges raw, because they will be sewn up later. This is what it will look like when it’s finished:

Step 3: Sew into Circle

1. Sew the side edges together, right side to right side, stopping at the bias/edging for the drawstring. I just realized that there are a few things wrong with the picture illustrating this part, but hopefully you get it anyway!

Step 4: Sewing on the Bottom

This part is a little tricky to explain…mostly because I don’t entirely remember what I did! I will make one of these again someday and update this how-to. Until then, all I can do is apologize.

1. Cut two bottom pieces (one for the inside and one for the outside).

2. Sew the outside bottom piece first (right side of the bottom piece to the right side of the pocket/main bottoms. You will need to gather the pocket fabric a little, and I THINK you’ll have to turn the main piece/pocket piece inside out.

3. Sew the inside bottom piece the same way…but leave one edge undone so that you can turn the whole thing right side out again

4. Finish it off by folding over the raw edge and sewing it like this:

Step 5: Add Drawstring

1. Sew about 1/2 inch down from top fold to create a case for the drawstring.

Well, I REALLY hope this made sense at least a little bit. It seemed so clear to me until I typed it all up. There are probably better ways to do these things, but this is what I did, and it seemed to work! I’ve found this bag to be very useful in keeping things in their place! Let me know if you try or have tried something like this and have any better instructions/suggestions!

It was a  ”nursery” project, but I probably wouldn’t have taken it on if I didn’t already love this chair- I know some people who have bought rockers or gliders and hardly ever use them. But, I know this one will get use one way or another, so I think it was worth the effort. : ) Tim and I bought this rocking chair at a yard sale for $5 when we were first married, and I spent many hours sitting in it while doing homework or studying for nursing school. It’s so comfy, but it didn’t match any of our other furniture, and it kept falling apart.

This is the best “before” picture I have- the dowels had pretty much fallen off, and Tim had just re-glued the slats that make up the seat.

Step 1: Stripping & Sanding

The first step was to apply a stripper to the chair to remove the old finish. I’d read stories of people skipping this step and going straight to sanding- and they said it took a bajillion hours. I didn’t have that much time, so I opted to use the stripper first. Tim helped me a bit with this step, which was awful nice of him. : )

The top picture is the goopy stuff doing its work, and the bottom picture is how it looked after scraping it off. After wiping the chair with mineral spirits and letting it dry, I got to work on the sanding. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of this step- that seems to be happening a lot lately, and I blame it on my pregnant mind. There are a lot of things that get to be blamed on pregnancy- it’s great. Even after stripping, there was plenty of work to be done to ensure a smooth and “naked” surface for the restaining. I also had to work pretty hard to clean out all the joints- it seems this chair had fallen apart and been (improperly) put back together many times.

Oh, and for those of you who are worried about this pregnant girl breathing in toxins, fumes, and sanding dust- don’t you worry, I wore THIS baby:

My neighbors may have laughed (In fact, they did: I heard them), but I didn’t care! It was comfortable and I didn’t breathe in any sanding dust or smell any nasty fumes. : )

Step 2: Staining

I chose to use a deep, dark stain that we already had on hand from a previous project, and applying it was easier than I thought it would be (I’d never stained anything before). The wood on the rocker isn’t all uniform, so some pieces took the stain more readily than others, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it soaked it up.

Step 3: Applying Clear Coat

After letting the stain dry for a couple days, I applied three clear coats of a water-based protective finish. (The same one I used on the dresser than my mom and I refinished).

The clear finish brought out the grain of the wood and gave the whole chair a nice semi-glossy finish.

Step 4: Putting it All Together

Finally, Tim used wood glue to put the dowels and top piece back on the chair. Our clamp wasn’t long enough, but we improvised a little to hold things in place. : )

When we first got the rocking chair, I made these pads for it, and they happen to match the colors and feel of our mini-nursery pretty well. Score! 1 less project for me to try to finish right now! I may eventually re-cover them, because I didn’t have the foresight to make the cover removable for easy washing the first time around- oops. The color looks more reddish in this picture- in reality, the pattern on the fabric is more of a cranberry/maroon color. (I really should have changed the white balance on my camera, I know).

So, there it is- another project completed! Here’s a reminder of how the rocking chair looked before I whipped it into shape. The deeper chocolate/espresso color goes with our other furniture (and my taste in general) so much better!

Only 2 weeks and 3 days til this baby girl’s due date!

We spent 1-2 days planning and collecting our supplies, and 1 day doing the majority of the work. Apparently, we were too busy trying to finish the project for me to take pictures of each step, but you’ll get the idea:

Step 1: Find the Dresser

We were blessed to find just what we were looking for at the first thrift store that we visited. The small space in our nursery-to-be was probably our biggest limitation, so I was excited to find a piece of furniture that was the perfect size. It helped that it was only $35 after Craig let us use him to take advantage of “double senior discount day.” : )

Step 2: Research and Make a Plan

First, I researched a few methods of “antiquing” furniture online. We wanted the dresser to have more character, and we wanted to replace those big round knobs with something decorative and perhaps a little delicate. Our final plan:

• Dark brown base coat (already done) that would show through in a few “worn-down” areas
• Creamy off-white top coat (paint color was “vintage lace”- how perfect)
• Tan/beige glaze over entire piece to give it the antique look (paint color was “spice cake,” mmm)

Step 3: Add Decorative Pieces

We found these wooden medallions at Michael’s and decided that they would be perfect for the job.  It required some calling, requesting, holding, and driving around to get the amount we needed, but it was worth it.

After drilling a small hole through the center (as a guide for placement and knobs), we painted them with brown acrylic craft paint to match the dresser. We weren’t too concerned about perfection (I’m learning more and more how to overcome my perfectionist tendencies), because we planned on painting over everything in a cream color. The paper underneath the medallions was lining the drawers- apparently the previous owners also used this for a baby. : )

After they dried, we attached the medallions to the dresser with wood glue.

Step 4: Paint Dresser Creamy White

We painted the dresser with three coats of our creamy white paint. After working on so many projects by myself, I was excited by the speed of our progress together. Twice as fast, baby.

Step 5: Add Antique Detailing

This is where you’ll have to pretend that I took pictures of the process. Tim got home from work and informed us that we had dinner reservations in 45 minutes, so I didn’t take the time to whip out my camera- I just got to work. I used 220-grit sandpaper to carefully wear down the edges and a few other spots. I sanded just until the dark brown started to show through. I didn’t do much of this technique, because I didn’t want to go overboard and hate myself forever. I decided to play it safe with the amount of “antiquing” because it wouldn’t be easy to undo…and I was rushing, so I knew mistakes were more likely if I started getting crazy.

As soon as I finished sanding a section and wiping it clean, my mom would follow along with our homemade “glaze.” She mixed a very small amount of this “spice cake” paint with water and wiped it on with cheesecloth. It took a little playing around to get the feel we were going for, but it was a pretty quick process. I must admit that I was worried about over-antiquing, and I may have said something like, “Ugh! I think we ruined it!” while we were driving to dinner. But, I was happy with the final result when we came home and looked it over again.

Step 6: Apply Protective Coat

A day or two later, I applied two coats of this clear protective finish. I sanded lightly with 220-grit sandpaper between the two coats.

Step 7: Add Finishing Touches

I ordered these “antique amethyst” knobs online, and they look a little more purple in person. They’re reproductions of antique glass knobs, and I like them soooo much more than the big round balls that were originally on the dresser.

The finished dresser with changing pad on top:

I made this changing pad cover by following a tutorial on the Prudent Baby blog. It was so nice to follow someone else’s tutorial, because I didn’t have to spend any time thinking or figuring out dimensions! I didn’t watch the clock, but I can tell you that this was one of the easiest and quickest sewing projects I’ve ever done. The fabric, which was on clearance at JoAnn’s, matches the knobs almost perfectly. : )

So, there you have it: our refinished and “antiqued” dresser. Next up is sewing the crib skirt and deciding whether I want to make my own crib sheet (following the same process I used for the changing pad cover). I’m pretty sure that I have enough projects to last way longer than the 4-ish weeks I have left of this pregnancy. : )

Oh, and thanks for all your help, Mom!!

Bins, Bins, Bins:

Plastic bins: you’ll find them in our bedroom, garage, closets, and even the kitchen. I’ve been organizing most of our things into plastic bins (some with even smaller plastic bins inside) for a few reasons:

• We live in a 1-bedroom apartment and are expecting a baby in 8-ish weeks (gotta maximize all the space we have!)
• I might kind of sort of be a little bit obsessive compulsive
• We’re eventually going to move, and all of the things in bins WON’T have to be put into boxes! Talk about awesome.
• Did I mention that I’m kind of obsessive compulsive?
• Organization is my BFF, especially when space is limited.

Projects:

In addition to the massive bin organization, lots of projects are being completed too! Yes!

Kitchen Shelf:

Here’s the transformation of a little bookshelf that we keep in our kitchen. It started off plain white with a few scuffs and stains here and there. Last year, I got part-way through a re-design with some pretty elaborate plans involving doors, chicken wire, etc. But, I never finished it…

A couple days ago, I majorly simplified the plans and finished the bookshelf in one afternoon. Success!

Vertical Bike Stand:

Tim’s been getting in on the re-organization action as well. He built this vertical bike stand to make more room in the garage. We simply pop our bikes up on their back wheel, walk them into the frame, then put the hook in place to hold the tire. Tim said that he would change/improve the design somewhat if he did it again, but right now I think it’s pretty awesome. With the bikes out of the way, I can actually access and use my elliptical machine. : )

Bookshelf Files:

One last project to show you for now: Making the bookshelf (that Tim literally built by hand…without power tools) less offensive to my eyes. : ) Tim and I prefer a somewhat neutral and unified look when it comes to the books in our bookshelf. But, most of our newer books are all different shapes, sizes, and (bright) colors.

Hello, cheap white magazine files from IKEA.  I bought a couple packages of magazine files and spruced them up with acrylic craft paint and scrapbook paper. Now, all these little books are accessible without making our bookshelf look cluttered. Ahh, so clean.