Stuffed Toy Floor Bag

My kids stuff toy collection is getting out of control, mostly due to grandparents but we are just as guilty. And since they are young, I have all their toys in the family room so I can watch them from the kitchen and the pile was becoming unsightly, overflowing their corner. One evening while on Pinterest, I came across an idea to use a bean bag as storage for soft toys. I also found a company that makes a bag but charges more than I wanted to spend. I mean it is just a giant bag.

My version is a giant floor bag, large enough for 2-3 little ones to sit on.

The girls love it.

Diameter of top and bottom circle pieces is 36". Side panel (in grey) measures 15"x 120".

Fabric is a double sided fur fleece.

I cut a 24" diameter inner circle in the top to create a mesh fabric window and zipper opening. The mesh fabric is an old laundry bag but you can buy mesh fabric like this from Seattle Fabrics. I used the small inner circle as a pattern for the mesh window adding 1" more for seam allowance. 

A 1/2" binding strip of sheer tricot was applied to the cut edge of the mesh so one side of the zipper could be sewn on to it. The fur fleece was overlapped to finish the other side of the zipper.

Blouses - yes, they need ironing

One of the consequences of my blouse buying spree is the sad fact that cotton blouses wrinkle when washed. The fabric will look worn and tired (see the picture below). This is true of just about any woven cotton fabric unless they are pre-treated with nasty chemicals. My blouses were getting little rotation in my wardrobe because they would hang, wrinkled, in the closet bypassed for easy wearing knits. In order for my blouses to get worn, I had to develop a new habit and like it. I've never been opposed to ironing, but standing at the ironing board for a long time is something I've never liked much.

So back in December, I pulled out all of my wrinkled clothes and and spent about 5 hours ironing. Adding DH's shirts to the mix would have been a bit over the top, I think. The goal was to catch up. Now, about once a week I pull out just the 3-4 wrinkled items and give them a good ironing. My blouses are back in rotation and not merely taking up space.

One thing that helps tremendously is that I pop in my earbuds and listen to my favorite audio podcasts. Time passes quickly and that chore is not a chore any longer.

I've also rediscovered starch. Cottons will look almost new with some light starching (photo above). I used to buy starch in aerosol cans. Not only was it more expensive, but who knows what nasty chemicals are released when you spray that starch. I invested in a concentrated 1/2 gallon of Sta-Flo starch. It has a few simple ingredients - water, cornstarch, borax, and a few unnamed ingredients. I suppose I could make my own, but I have not ventured down that path. The bottle contains directions of how to dilute it and it's a snap with spray bottles that have a dilution guide. This 1/2 gallon bottle will last a looong time.


Anyway, what say you about ironing? Any favorite tips, irons, starch recipes?

Blouse refashion : shortening sleeves

This was another lucky thrift store find. This is an Eddie Bauer blouse with a print and interesting yoke detail. The yoke has narrow tucks and a narrow double fold ruffle that measures about 3/8 inch. The button band extends below the yoke at the bottom. (click on the picture for a better view of the yoke details. The buttons are fabric covered. The attention to detail and the construction make this a high quality blouse. There are 6 separate pattern pieces resulting in 12 cut pieces just to make this yoke! I'm still not sure how the seam with the ruffle is not bulky considering it is a folded ruffle.

As much as I liked the blouse, the combination of the print and long sleeves made the blouse feel like I was wearing pajamas. So, I closed my eyes (not really) and chopped the sleeves off. The new shorter sleeves were a bit wide, so I added elastic to pull it in.

I like this version much better - a fun new top for Spring.